The Two Horns of Revelation 13

This is just a thought. No one is being dogmatic here. This is something to consider.

I had read a post by Son Windham this morning that really had got me thinking. He wrote, “The false prophet with his two horns (two false witnesses, false Moses and false Elijah)”. And then gave this scriptural reference. Revelation 13:11 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and HE HAD TWO HORNS like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” 

Now before we look at this, I first want to say that I personally believe the beast out of the earth (2nd) is this Antichrist character or what some call the man of sin. This is the same as the title the false prophet. They are all different titles for the same person. I believe that this man comes on the scene when Satan is loosed from the abyss (Rev 20:3) to deceive the nations once again and indwells this Judas type of character paralleling with what we read in 2nd Thessalonians 2. I believe these scriptures run parallel to each other. With that said, I see the first beast out of the sea as the same Kingdoms of Daniel 7 and the culmination of Rev 17’s antichrist spirit that make up this 8th and final beast kingdom. I believe there are spiritual connotations to this first beast of the sea and are connected to events at the Garden and the Cross in regards to Satan. 

So with that said, let’s move on to Rev 13:11. Son points out that he is seeing these two horns as two false witnesses ie Elijah and Moses. I can’t a speak for Son, if he is seeing this in a spiritual sense or its two literal dudes, but in my opinion it may be both in this particular case. Satan likes to invert everything God does. I first want to give you the basic pre-mill dispensationalist modern prophecy version of Rev 11. This is crucial to understanding what the relevance of these two horns are on the beast of the earth. This group (pmdmp) believes that these two witness are literal men that will come to earth before the return of Jesus. Some agree that one is Elijah who represents the Prophets while the other is either Enoch or Moses (Law). Their argument is that they say Elijah and Enoch didn’t die but weI Moses did because Satan contended for his body. As far as Elijah and Enoch goes, this just isn’t true. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Hebrews 9:27) This is one of the problems they have scripturally and when it comes to Rev 11 and this view, its just very bad exegesis. I won’t get into it now but when putting scripture upon scripture you can see that these two witnesses can be found in Rev 1 and Zechariah 4. To put it bluntly, these two witnesses are a corporate body, the ekklesia or the Church. You and me. We are the testimony of Jesus.

Now American Christianity wants you to believe that there will be two guys that step on the scene to help rebuild the temple and witness/preach to the Jews. Like I said, this isn’t scriptural. But, this is actually an inversion and lie of what Satan wants done in reality. He needs two guys to be these actors, so then that way he can really deceive the masses of Christianity. Christians are the ones who will (and have) bought into this false doctrine. So the question begs to be asked, if Son is right on seeing what he is seeing with these two dual horns, who or what are they?

My first thought is that these horns are the lie that has been fed to Christianity over all these years – hook, line and sinker. These are the two literal witnesses that everyone has been writing and talking about. The reincarnation of Elijah and Moses or Enoch. Presently, I can see Jared Kushner (Trumps son in law) as one of these deceivers posing as Elijah coming to establish some fake non-Biblical Peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel. They all believe this will lead to the building of the 3rd temple. This is Satan’s version of the end times before Jesus comes back and it’s far from reality. Remember, it’s all about deception.

So what are these two horns that come from this sheep (2nd beast) which is the man of sin? Horns represent power, strength and authority in scripture. The greek word is keras (κέρας) and it comes from the word (κάρ) kar (the hair of the head). If you think back about Samson, you can remember that once he lost his hair his strength was gone but that’s a whole different study. So in this context, the two horns are most likely symbolic of strength and authority. The word ‘keras’ translated in Hebrew is qâran (קרן) which means “to shine or send out rays”. This particular word is used in Exodus 34:29-30 for when Moses came down from Sinai with the two tables of testimony (10 words) and “the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone (qâran); and they were afraid to come nigh him.” 

Now first let me say that a animal horn has always been symbolic of a crescent moon, especially bulls and goats, and we can see this throughout history. Also notice this word ‘qâran’ is similar to the Arabic word ‘quran’. This word ‘quran’ means ‘to recite’. Although they have similar spelling, they are completely different words. It is interesting that the quran is the writings a “angel” gave to Mohammed while Moses got the 10 words from God and His face was shining (qâran) bright. Not only that, Moses received the 10 words (Commandments) which were the “tables of testimony”. As the “two witnesses” of Moses, this is what we are to the world…a testimony for Jesus Christ.

Revelation 19 

9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
1 Corinthians

4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8  Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So Moses bringing down TWO tablets of TESTIMONY from Sinai and his face SHONE bright is a type of these TWO corporate witnesses. These were both Testimonies of Jesus. And this word ‛êdûth (testimony) in Hebrew comes from the word ‛êd which means ‘witness’. The Paleo Hebrew (הָֽעֵדֻת֙) is pictograph of a man, a eye, a door and a cross or mark (the tav was what the saints were marked with in the Book of Ezekiel). In this context it means “A group with a common testimony who has been marked, or in context of Revelation..sealed.” This group or ekklesia (church) holds the testimony of Jesus in their tents (tabernacles/temples). Like I said, this is excellent typology of Rev 11’s two witnesses who are associated with the Body (temple) of Christ. And I’ll throw this in also. The Greek word ‘martus’ (witness) that’s used in Rev 11:3 is ‛êd in Hebrew, the root word ‛êdûth.

So spiritually speaking, this is a match of what these two witnesses are in Rev 11. They are a corporate body of believers in Jesus that keep His testimony. Old and New Covenant believers alike. And if Satan is flipping the script and making people believe that these are two literal guys instead, who are literally Moses and Elijah (for sake of argument), who are they really representing (spiritually speaking)? Let me go out on a limb here and say Jannes (he vexed) and Jambre (foamy healer). When I first read Son’s comment about these two horns, this was my first thought.

2nd Timothy 3 

8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (adokimos) concerning the faith. 9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

The Jewish Encyclopedia says this about these two. “Names of two legendary wizards of Pharaoh “who withstood Moses” (II Tim. iii. 8) by imitating “with their enchantments” the works of Moses and Aaron, though they were defeated (Ex. vii. 11, viii. 7). According to rabbinical tradition they were the two chiefs of the magicians at the court of Pharaoh who foretold the birth of Moses, “the destroyer of the land of Egypt,” thereby causing the cruel edicts of Pharaoh (Soṭah 11a; Sanh. 106a). They said to Moses when he performed his miracles with the water and the rod: “Dost thou wish to introduce magic into Egypt, the native land of the magic art?” (Men. 85a). According to Midrash Yelammedenu, Ki Tissa (Ex. xxxii.), they were among “the mixed multitude that went up with Israel from Egypt” (Ex. xii. 38) and aided in the making of the golden calf. They were the “two youths” (A. and R. V. “servants”) that accompanied Balaam on his travels when commissioned to curse Israel (Targ. i. to Num. xxii. 22). They flew up into the air before the sword of Phinehas and made themselves invisible, until, by the power of the Ineffable Name, they were caught and slain (Zohar, Balaḳ, 194; comp. Targ. Yer. to Num. xxxi. 8).

Numenius the Pythagorean, quoted by Eusebius (“Præparatio Evangelica,” ix. 8), relates after Artapanus (see Freudenthal, “Alexander Polyhistor,” 1875, p. 173) that “Jannes and Jambres, the most powerful Egyptian magicians, dispersed the plagues which Moses (Musæus) had brought upon Egypt.” In the third century the tomb of Jannes and Jambres was shown in Egypt; Christian saints knew it as a place where the evil demons could be consulted for magic purposes (see the story of Macarius in Palladius, “Historia Lausiaca”; Fabricius, “Codex Pseudepigraphus Vet. Test.” i. 181, ii. 106-111). Jannes and Jambres are the subjects of many legendary tales, one of which is presented in a Greek work entitled “Pœnitentia Jannis et Mambre,” counted among the Apocrypha in Pope Gelasius’ “Decretum,” and referred to by Origen (to Matt. xxvii. 9). These legends seem to have been known also to such pagan writers as Pliny and Apuleius; Pliny (“Historia Naturalis,” xxxi. 11) mentions Moses, Jannes, and Jotape (Rotape?) among the Jewish magicians, and Apuleius (“Apologia,” xc.) mentions Moses and Jannes among the world’s great magicians.” (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8513-jannes-and-jambres)

So these two “witnesses” were the ones that Moses went up against. These were in fact reprobate false prophets who oppose the Truth. The only two plagues that they could duplicate that were like Moses and Aaron’s were the changing water into blood and the frogs (pretty obvious right?). “The names “Jannes” and “Jambres” appear in the Talmud as well. According to one midrash, the two magicians left Egypt with the Israelites after the first Passover (see Exodus 12:38) and were later instrumental in promoting the worship of the golden calf that Aaron made (Exodus 32). Another midrash identifies the “two servants” of Balaam as Jannes and Jambres (Numbers 22:22). According to the midrashim and other sources, Jannes and Jambres continued to exert a wicked influence on Israel until the time of Phinehas (Numbers 25). These stories are interesting, but they should not be taken as equivalent to inspired Scripture.” (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/Jannes-and-Jambres.html)

So you see, these two horns of this beast do in fact represent these two false prophets that Christendom is waiting for. They will be deceived because they come with false signs and wonders but just like Jannes and Jambres, they are no match for the real two witnesses, the ekklesia. Will it be two literal men? I don’t see why not, that’s what Christianity is waiting for. Could it also be a corporate body like the real symbolic two witness? I can see that too. Do you want to know why? The horns are on the head. It didn’t actually say that in scripture but we do know, that horns are always on the head. And maybe these two horns are the antithesis of the two witnesses. When you look at the Greek you can see that the image of the beast is the opposite as the Body of Christ and this image is given breath by the second beast who has been two horns. Remember, this is a symbolic book only to taken literal when it is not symbolic. This image is symbolic of us being in the image and likeness of Jesus and these earth dwellers are in the image and likeness of their father, the devil. This man of Sin will copy Jesus and his bride (the Body of Christ) to a T. He will want his body in his image too. And the kind of fruit his reprobate image bears is nothing but briers and thorns. “But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected (reprobate – adokimos), and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:8). “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (adokimos).” (Titus 1:16)

Revelation 13

14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Here is a word study I did on Revelation 13:14-17. Included are the parallel verses on the abyss and a study on the two beasts of Chapter 13 compared to Job 40-41. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwuUBwTrZu4qX0dmLXZuY1lzUmM/view?usp=drivesdk