The Beast or the Lamb: Discerning the Nature That Determines Your Destiny

© 2022 by Derek Prince Ministries International

Published by Chosen Books

Minneapolis, Minnesota

ChosenBooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2022

Ebook corrections 04.24.2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-0-8007-6253-7(trade paper)

ISBN 978-0-8007-6278-0(casebound)

ISBN 978-1-4934-3719-1(ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022006102

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016

Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations identified NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Cover design by Rob Williams, InsideOut Creative Arts, Inc.

Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This book was compiled from the extensive archive of Derek Prince’s unpublished materials and approved by the Derek Prince Ministries International editorial team.

CONTENTS

Cover

Half Title Page    1

Title Page    3

Copyright Page    4

Publisher’s Note    5

Introduction    9

PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THE WILD BEAST    11

1. Many Antichrists    13

2. Marks of the Spirit of Antichrist    18

3. Historical Examples of the Spirit of Antichrist    26

4. The Rise of Antichrist Predicted    34

5. Our Protection against Deception    41

6. The Wild Beast from the Sea    51

7. The Second Beast    62

8. A Pure Bride    76

PART 2: UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THE LAMB    85

9. The Lamb of God    87

10. War between the Lamb and the Beast    94

11. Strength in Weakness    102

12. Written on Human Hearts    109

13. The Key to Purity and Holiness    118

14. The Lamb Wins    133

PART 3: CHOOSING THE LAMB, EMPOWERED BY THE DOVE    147

15. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament    149

16. The Holy Spirit into the New Testament    156

17. Aspects of the Holy Spirit    161

18. Jesus and the Holy Spirit    169

19. Prayer in the Holy Spirit    179

20. Immersion in the Holy Spirit    188

21. Receiving the Holy Spirit    197

22. Led by the Spirit    204

23. Behold the Lamb    212

Back Ad    223

Back Cover    224

INTRODUCTION

Does it seem strange at first sight to have two animals mentioned in the same title or sentence? Does that combination pique your interest and kindle a desire to find out more?

In essence, this book is about the contrasting characters of the wild Beast and the Lamb as revealed in Scripture—the false christ and the true Christ. The Beast and the Lamb represent two completely opposite natures. The wild Beast is cunning, deceitful, arrogant, boastful, vicious, cruel, treacherous, murderous, despotic and dominating. In contrast, the Lamb is truthful, peaceable, humble, meek, pure, strong, simple and self-sacrificial.

The Bible reveals that Satan is behind the Beast, while Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. A third creature we will discuss in some detail is the Dove—which represents the Holy Spirit. (Later in this book, we will learn more about this key note: The Holy Spirit will only rest and remain on the nature of the Lamb.)

You and I have a choice before us. We will either choose to cultivate the nature of the Lamb or the nature of the Beast. Unfortunately, most believers have never been taught how to discern the difference between these two natures. Nor have most of us realized that, by our thoughts and actions, we are presently assuming one nature or the other. Of even greater significance, we have not been informed that this intrinsic choice will actually determine our ultimate destiny in life.

Unapologetically, this book represents a very significant and important part of God’s total revelation concerning the end times. I believe that Christians who do not take the trouble to find out the basic teaching of the Word of God about the Antichrist and the spirit of Antichrist are in great danger of being swept away by deception.

For our protection and enlightenment, God has made knowledge available to us—and we are responsible to find it and decide what we should do with it.

This is not an easy study. To get the most out of it, you will need to use your mind to comprehend and follow the revelation of Scripture. Let’s trust God together to give us understanding and insight.

We will examine a great deal of content in this book. Here is my advice and encouragement: Do not try to read through it too quickly. Take time to let these truths soak in. Otherwise, as with a hard rain on dry ground, there may be runoff, and you may not receive the refreshing rain you need. If you will allow yourself to be immersed in this content about the Beast, the Lamb (and the Dove), availing yourself of the Word and the Spirit, you will be able to absorb these truths to the fullest extent.

Much has been written about the end times—some of it by me. But I believe that if you allow this message to penetrate deep into your heart, it will not only prepare you to live an effective, empowered life here on earth in the challenging days ahead, it will also prepare you for a glorious eternity in the presence of the Lamb.

Part 1

Understanding the Nature of the Wild Beast

Very often in life, it is necessary for us to look at the negative to fully appreciate the positive. How can we be thankful for warmth if we have never been cold? How can we appreciate springtime if we have not survived the winter? How can we savor the day unless we have endured the night?

In the spiritual dimension, you and I can take this principle even deeper by asking ourselves: Can I truly appreciate the life Jesus bought for me on the cross if I have not followed Him through death, burial and resurrection?

In seeking to understand and appreciate the glory, the power and the wonder of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, it is necessary to start by looking at His––and our––greatest opponent: Satan. In the first part of this book, we will examine some of what Scripture reveals about Satan, the Beast and the Antichrist.

1

MANY ANTICHRISTS

What do we mean by antichrist? It is important for us first to know the meaning of the word itself. The word Christ is taken from the Greek word Christos, which corresponds to the Hebrew word Meshiach, or in English, Messiah. It means the Anointed One.

When we speak about Jesus Christ, we are speaking about Jesus the Messiah. Thus the Antichrist is someone who is the anti-Messiah.

The Double Meaning of Anti

The preposition anti in front of christ or messiah has two meanings, both of which apply to the Antichrist’s activities. First of all, anti means against or opposing. Of course, we use that regularly in modern speech, for example in the terms antibacterial or antisocial. But the other meaning is less well understood. It means in place of.

We can understand the operation of the Antichrist as having two phases:

To come against the true Christ to get Him out of the way, and

To replace Him with a false christ.

Three Forms of Antichrist

In 1 John 2:18, John speaks about the connection between the Antichrist and the last days. He says:

Little children, it is the last hour [not just the last day, mind you, but the last hour]; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

Seeing evidences of the activity of the spirit of the Antichrist is a distinctive mark of the end times.

Then in 1 John 4:2 we read: By this you know the Spirit of God [the Holy Spirit]: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.

That is, every spirit that confesses that Jesus came in human form and lived as man with flesh and blood is of God.

Verse 3 completes the thought:

Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Within the verses we have cited above, we see three forms of antichrist:

many antichrists, plural

the Antichrist, singular

the spirit of the Antichrist—the spirit of antichrist which operates through every antichrist.

This last truth is a supremely important concept to grasp: Any antichrist is controlled by the spirit of the Antichrist. Throughout history, there have been many antichrists who have arisen. The Jewish Encyclopedia records at least forty false messiahs who have come to the Jewish people since the time of Jesus. They were all antichrists.

Probably the most famous example was Simon Bar Kochba. He led a revolt against Rome from around AD 132 to 135. Then in the fifth century came Moses of Crete. He persuaded people that they should wade out into the sea from Crete in order to meet the Messiah. Thousands of his followers went into the sea and were drowned. In the year 1666 (which was supposed to be a miraculous year), Sabbatai Zevi claimed to be the Messiah, and he was enthusiastically received by multitudes.

The history of Europe also records many antichrists. Down through the ages in the history of the Church there have been ungodly men who claimed to be ministers of Christ and who led immoral and dissonant lives.

If we look to the Middle East, one outstanding antichrist is Mohammed. (We will deal more with Mohammed and the religion of Islam in a later chapter when we look at examples of the spirit of the Antichrist.)

In Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in central Africa, there was an African religious leader who declared straight-out that he was Jesus. But then he died. Very wisely, the political leadership in Zaire would not allow the people to bury his body. They set a guard around it, and then after three days, they let the people take the body away and bury it. Not surprisingly, the Africans who had believed him got very angry, and they threw stones at the coffin because they realized they had been deceived by this false messiah.

In the history of many nations of the earth, you will find the record of many antichrists. What makes them antichrist is the spirit of the Antichrist—the spiritual force that works in them and for them.

To Modern Times

Interestingly, just to bring this subject closer to the present, in the summer of 1988 in Jerusalem, elegant posters were circulated on all the main streets of the city. They read in Hebrew: Messiah has come and if you want to meet Him, go to the Mount of Olives on [a certain Sunday] and He will be there.

I have no idea who printed the posters, but they were beautifully done. I know of one journalist who went to the Mount of Olives to see what might happen, but he did not find the Messiah. I relate this story to show how real this issue is. People are looking for the Messiah. If you talk to Jewish people in a sympathetic attitude and you use the name Messiah, something changes in their eyes. It is a word that has a special significance for Jewish people.

Down through the pages of history from the time of John’s writings until the modern day, there have been many antichrists. However, there is one who is called the Antichrist who has not yet appeared on the stage of human history. He is the ultimate manifestation of the spirit of the Antichrist. I am inclined to believe that his coming is so near that we might say his shadow has already fallen across the stage of history. That, however, is just my personal opinion.

As we progress through this book, particularly in Part 1: Understanding the Nature of the Wild Beast, I would encourage you to keep asking yourself the following questions as you consider this material:

Does this refer to the spirit of the Antichrist?

Does it refer to one of the many antichrists?

Does it refer to the Antichrist?

This questioning exercise will be a part of the discernment process you and I need to develop as we learn to navigate this important subject.

In the next chapter, we will look at four specific marks that Scripture tells us are likely to be manifest where the spirit of the Antichrist is in operation.

2

MARKS OF THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST

Having seen that there are three manifestations of the spirit of the Antichrist, along with specific examples of some of the many antichrists, it is imperative that we can identify the marks of the spirit of the Antichrist. We must understand the ways to discern this spirit. Thankfully, they are clearly provided for us in Scripture.

The First Mark—It Goes Out from Us

We see the first mark in 1 John 2:19:

[Many antichrists] went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

This is a very important point for us to recognize: The spirit of the Antichrist begins in association with the people of God. It is amazing to see that the spirit of the Antichrist is never totally removed from Scripture. It is not paganism. It always arises in clear view of the fact that Jesus has come. By way of a denial, it is always related to the true Christ. Here is the most important part of this truth: Those who adhere to the Antichrist do not remain with Christians; they go out from Christianity.

This is significant because it indicates, if I understand it rightly, that the Antichrist will arise somehow in association with professing Christians. In other words, he is not going to be some dictator who has no Christian profession or association. Rather, he will be closely associated with the professing Church.

I do not believe we will see the spirit of the Antichrist operating in areas of this earth where the Gospel has never been preached. The spirit of the Antichrist will only operate where the true Christ has first been presented.

When Jesus foretold His death to His disciples, recorded in Matthew 16 and Mark 8, Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Discerning the spirit behind Peter's rebuke, Jesus said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! as it is recorded in most translations. However, that is not really a correct translation. What Jesus said was, Follow behind Me, Satan. In other words, I will go first, and you can come after.*

Everywhere the true Christ has been preached, we can expect the spirit of the Antichrist to manifest itself in due course. It cannot be manifested where the true Christ has not been preached because it has no relevance, for it is essentially a denial that Jesus is the Christ. If no one has preached Jesus—if no one has preached the true Christ in a way that produces true believers—then the spirit of the Antichrist has nothing to work upon. The emergence of the Antichrist is Satan’s retaliation, or counterattack, against the Gospel of the Kingdom and its King, Jesus Christ.

The Second Mark—It Denies the Father-Son Relationship

Continuing with the passage we just cited, in verses 22–23 of 1 John 2, we see this question:

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

This passage gives us another mark of the spirit of the Antichrist: It denies the relationship of the Father and the Son within the Godhead. It does not acknowledge this revelation of our unique God.

I will deal with this subject more specifically in the next chapter, but as I mentioned before, this repudiation of the Father-Son relationship is very conspicuous in one of the most powerful anti-Christian forces in the world—Islam, the religion of Mohammed. This religion ferociously denies that Jesus