What does 'the land' or 'out of the earth' refer to in Bible prophecy?
In prophecy, 'the land' or 'out of the earth' refers to Israel, Palestine—the one land and part of the earth God concerns Himself with. It is not a general reference to the whole earth but specifically to that land.
Les explains that in the verse under discussion, verse 11, the phrase 'up out of the earth'—like 'the land' elsewhere in Scripture—has a specific prophetic meaning. He says there is only one part of the earth and one land that God concerns Himself with: Israel, Palestine. Many commentaries agree, and he had checked again that past week. Because God's focus is that land, Les would like to think the false prophet will be an apostate Jew. He adds that this should not be dismissed, since Jews such as Moses and Daniel rose to near-throne authority in Gentile empires—Moses in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon and then in the Median-Persian empire.
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.
More Questions
What does 'out of the earth' mean in Revelation 13:11?
Les teaches that when the Bible says the second beast comes up 'out of the earth' in Revelation 13:11, the earth or land refers specifically to Israel/Palestine, the only land God concerns himself with.