The Rise and Demise of the Second Beast

The Final Evolution of Satan’s Counterfeit Kingdom

The Second Beast Evolves From the First Beast

John saw two beasts in Revelation 13.

The First Beast symbolized Satan’s power in the Roman Empire from 70 AD until 1830. By the early 1800s, the Protestant Reformation had reshaped the balance of religious and secular power in the Christian world.

John then:

“Beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” (Rev 13:12)

The two beasts are from the same genus.
The Second Beast evolved from, and inherited the traits of, the First Beast.

The Second Beast Rises in 1830

The Second Beast rose from the earth in 1830, at the time of—and in direct opposition to—the restored church of Jesus Christ.

By this time, many manmade Protestant churches had emerged “out of the earth” as the metaphorical offspring of the mother church of Roman Catholicism.

Thus:

“Christian Protestantism may be viewed as the product of late medieval ‘protests’ against various elements of the Roman Catholic church.”
(Daniel H. Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 3, 1170)

A Lamb That Speaks Like a Dragon

The Second Beast represents far more than Protestant offspring of Catholicism.

It possesses two horns of power—both religious and political—indicating that it represents:

“Earthly kingdoms, cultures, or philosophies that follow Satan, that stand opposed to Christ, and that seek to supplant Him in the hearts and minds of the people of the earth.”
(Donald W. Parry, Understanding the Signs of the Times, 213–214)

Today, many religious and secular organizations that belong to the Second Beast display praiseworthy attributes and even Christ-like motivations.

This is exactly why John describes them as an innocent-looking lamb.

The Second Beast is deceptively harmless, but it represents a deliberate counterfeit of the Lord’s true church. In its many forms, it leads people away from salvation, which can be found only in Christ’s true church.

Truly, these lamb-like organizations:

• have a form of godliness,
• but deny the power thereof. (JS–H 1:19)

They speak as a dragon.

They are:

“False prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
(Matthew 7:15)

As Daniel H. Ludlow explained:

“All churches that are not the true church of Christ are false churches, and they thus represent the ‘church of the devil’ to the extent that they contain error and lead people away from the true church and its saving principles and ordinances.”
(A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, 105)

The Lord Himself declared:

“He that is not with me is against me.” (Matthew 12:30)

The Second Beast Maketh Fire Come Down

Revelation 13:13 states that the Second Beast:

“Doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth.”

These great wonders are acts of evil by the Second Beast that spread wickedness throughout the earth until the Second Coming.

In that future day, the fiery judgments of God will come down from heaven to destroy the lamb-like institutions of the Second Beast, as with Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Second Beast does not have power to call down fire like Elijah on Mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18)

Rather, the Lord will send down fire from heaven to destroy the wicked who are part of the Second Beast. The motivating cause that maketh fire come down is the wickedness of Modern Babylon.

Learn More

For a deeper dive into the identity and wonders of the latter-day Second Beast, check out my podcasts from:

🎧 February 8, 2026 – → Listen here

🎧 February 10, 2026 – → Listen here

(Also available wherever you get your podcasts)

John Cassinat
Unveiling Jesus Christ