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The Unholy Trinity Pt. 3 A Study of Revelation 13 1. What does the second beast of Revelation 13 create according to verse 15? a. He was granted power to create an Image of the beast and give it Life. i. In a very real sense the earth beast creates an Idol. 1. Please note that the power from the earth beast comes from the Dragon. 2. Upon receiving life what does the image of the beast do? a. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both Speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be Killed. i. Two things that the image of the beast does, firstly it Speaks and secondly it demands the Death of those who do not worship it. 1. Where else in the Bible has this scenario been played out before, in Daniel 3 when Nebuchadnezzar orders everyone to worship an image at the threat of death. 3. According to one scholar two things are evident from this part of the chapter. a. Firstly the issue in the final crisis will be Worship. According to the Bible only God is worthy of worship and to worship anyone else is a sign of Disregard to God and His word. Therefore the final test won t be about a Denial of worship, rather it will be about Who is worshiped. b. Secondly this chapter shows us that Satan s two-fold strategy of Deception and Force will once again be employed. 2
4. Are there any implications from this text for how the image of the beast will operate? a. The text suggests that the earth beast through the image of the beast would have the same Medieval Authority of the first beast. i. It would appear though that the earth beast will even replace the first beast in universal Power and Authority and will act as the end-time worldwide oppressive power. 5. Does the image of the beast make a demand of those who worship him? a. Yes he makes a demand and the demand is to receive his Mark. i. The mark is located in two places, their right Hand or their Foreheads. 1. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16 6. What s the significance of the two places where the mark is located? a. The forehead stands for the Mind and the right hand stands for Deeds and Actions, therefore the reception of this mark will ultimately be about control of Thoughts and Actions. i. Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O 3
Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:1-5 1. The command from God is that He alone occupies our Thoughts, our Soul and all our Strength. 7. What other implications could the buying and selling of this verse be pointing to? a. Perhaps the control of buying and selling might be a symbolic way of expressing the social Isolation and Hardship that the faithful and sealed followers of Christ will endure at the time of the end when everyone in the world will be drinking the cup of Babylon. 8. How does God end this chapter? a. God admonishes that there is Wisdom in understanding one final point of Identifying the beast. i. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. Revelation 13:18 9. How can we identify this man? a. In Latin, the language of Catholicism, some of the letters double as numbers, and the numerical value of Vicarius Filii Dei adds up to 666, and a great many Bible scholars believe that this is how 666 is to be interpreted. i. This is the title given to the Pope and it is Latin for vicar of the Son of God. 4
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