d not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And
he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a
man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six" (Rev. 13:11-18).

There is a deep suggestion, in the person of this second beast, of a
counterfeit of the Holy Spirit of God. He who came not to speak of
Himself, but to glorify Christ and to unite all believers; leading them
in worship and praise. This second beast is probably identical with
"Anti-christ," who appears under that title only in the writings of
John, and who is there seen as the consummation of a long succession of
false religious teachers who have denied the Christ and His sacrificial
work.

When the testimony of all Scripture upon the Man of Sin is considered,
he is seen to be a person whose superhuman power is plainly ascribed to
Satan. He appears upon the scene, after the removal of the heavenly
people and during the great tribulation, as the climax of all Satanic
exaltation and opposition to God. He is the last and greatest of earthly
rulers, and, from his position of unsurpassed influence, speaks great
words and manifests great wisdom. He is externally religious, and the
promoter of great righteous projects and principles which in God's sight
are only hypocrisy and blasphemy because of the subtle Christ-denying
motive which prompts it all. His hold upon the public mind is by a
process which is natural. Great miracles are performed by himself and by
his prophet,--fire is called down from heaven; a dumb idol is made to
speak and live; and he himself has been wounded to death and yet lives.
By such supernatural works his assumption to be very God is accepted,
and he becomes the world's ideal of all that is supreme. The people are
said to first marvel and wonder; then to worship at his feet; and at
last, in mad devotion, they challenge the universe to produce his
equal--"Who is like the beast?" they cry. He has been wounded to death
and yet lives; he performs as great miracles as the world has ever seen;
his teachings are based upon Scripture; and he must, therefore, be God
manifest in the flesh. His wisdom, beauty and majesty are a seeming
warra