Lesson 19 Revelation 13 Powers of Evil in Conflict with God

Review Summarize first 12 chapters by giving a title for each chapter 1 Christ among the lampstands 2 3 Letters to the 7 churches 4 God on the throne 5 The Lamb takes the Scroll 6 The Opening of the First Six Seals 7 Interlude; sealing of the saints 8 9 First six trumpets sound 10 The Mighty Angel and the Little Book 11 Two Witnesses and the Seventh Trumpet 12 The Woman and the Dragon Name the 7 churches Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea What phrase closed out all the letters? He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Lessons for Today The world marveled at the greatness of the Roman Empire; it seemed invincible and they were quick to fall in line with emperor worship. Do we view our country in similar ways? Are we susceptible to agreeing with the things it deems acceptable? Here we are warned that the one who lives by the sword will die by the sword. Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. The government may become quite oppressive. Are we to take up arms at the slightest provocation? Christians of John s day had a choice to make whose mark would they wear? They could not serve two masters (Mt. 6:24; 12:30). Whose mark do we choose today?

The Sea Beast Vv. 1 2 John is standing on the shore of the sea and looking out to sea From the sea comes a beast rising up The sea appears to symbolize the whole of society or the tumult of nations (Psa. 65:7; Isa. 17:12; Ezek 26:3; Dan. 7:2ff) This beast has 7 heads, 10 horns and a crown on each horn A fearsome appearance 7 heads completeness of intelligence; craftiness 10 horns fullness of power Crowns on the horns authority, rule in the realm which he represents Similar in appearance to the dragon closely associated with Satan Blasphemous name a totally irreverent attitude toward all that is sacred The Roman emperors arrogation of titles pertaining to deity would apply here; their accepting worship would be most obnoxious to all who hold God and Christ in the reverence belonging to the divine Godhead. (Homer Hailey)

The Sea Beast Vv. 1 2 Three elements (like a leopard, feet of a bear, mouth of a lion) associate this with the first three beasts of Daniel s vision (Dan. 7:4 6) Dan. 7:17 these are kings the empires of Babylon, Medo Persia, and Macedonia (Greece). The Roman was the fourth and terrible beast in that vision. The beast of John s vision is a synthesis, or an embodiment of Daniel s first three, for as their dominion was taken away, their lives were prolonged for a season and a time (v. 12); that is, each lived in spirit in the next until the climax was reached in the fourth beast. (Hailey) This beast, the Roman empire, combined: The tearing power of Chaldea (the lion) The crushing force of Medo Persia (the bear) The swift and ferocious character of Macedonia under Alexander (the leopard)

The Sea Beast Vv. 1 2 The fourth beast in Daniel s vision also had 10 horns as does this one, further pointing to the Roman empire. the dragon gave him his power Even though Satan, the dragon, was defeated and cast to earth in the previous vision, he continues to rule through the kingdoms of men He gives this beast, the Roman empire, power and authority to wage his war

The Mortal Wound & Worship of the Beast Vv. 3 4 One of the heads of this beast appeared to have been mortally wounded But the wound then appears to be healed Many ideas about what this might symbolize 17:7 11 is helpful in trying to understand this imagery as well Several see in this the Emperor Nero Hailey takes this view as well as Victorinus, an early commentator (A.D. 304) The death of Nero dealt a severe blow to the empire It was thrown into a two year period of anarchy and confusion Vespasian brought back order, but the persecution that Nero had initiated didn t pick up again until late in the reign of Domitian To the church this would likely have been the healing of the mortal wound

The Mortal Wound & Worship of the Beast Vv. 3 4 Harkrider takes a different view He sees in the beast not just one empire, but the series of empires One empire being defeated and disappearing is the mortal wound and another takes it place The beast continued to live on The beast is resilient and difficult to kill The world marveled the beast seems invincible His power and authority cause all the world of ungodly men to marvel and adore him

The Mortal Wound & Worship of the Beast Vv. 3 4 Worship of the beast (v. 4) The world therefore worshipped the beast and the dragon who gave it its authority Whether or not they knowingly worshipped Satan (the dragon), they did so inherently by worshipping the beast, the Roman Empire They wondered at this empire Who is like it? Who is able to defeat it? The gods they had prayed to did little for them But now Rome was able to give what those could not worldly wealth, glory, and influence An easy transition from the worship of heathen gods to the worship of the emperor and state

The Blasphemy and War Making of the Beast vv. 5 8 Certain things are granted this beast: A mouth to speak Authority to continue 42 months To make war with the saints Authority over every tribe, tongue and nation It is God that allows these things The powers that be are ordained by God (Rom. 13:1,4). Whatever the beast does is by God s permission; God allows him to act. Cannot begin to understand the providence of God He uses wicked nations to various ends; we must trust that He is in control

The Blasphemy and War Making of the Beast vv. 5 8 Even though this beast, the Roman Empire, is given such power, it fails to recognize from whom all power and blessings flow. The beast rails against God and speaks blasphemies: His name to speak against all that God stands for His tabernacle His dwelling place, includes His people the church Those in heaven even slanders those who have left this world and the angelic realm Certainly fits the oppressive persecution that Rome dealt to Christianity

The Blasphemy and War Making of the Beast vv. 5 8 The beast made war with the saints He prevailed, for time, times, and half a time (Dan. 7:21,25) which corresponds to the 42 months of authority that he is given See this period again appears to symbolize the period of persecution under Rome The worldwide authority that the beast had further points to Rome as the beast all who dwell on the earth will worship him One more reason that points to the late date of writing for the book Worldwide emperor worship did not occur under Nero Not until the time of Domitian and later did this really begin

The Blasphemy and War Making of the Beast vv. 5 8 V. 8b The last part of this verse points to those who did not worship the beast The ones written in the Book of Life of the Lamb Note that it is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. What does this mean? Foundation the beginning of the cosmos the creation Acts 2:23; 1 Pet. 1:19 20 in the sense of foreordination, Christ was slain before the foundation of the world Could also mean that those were written in the book from the foundation of the world see Eph. 1:4ff It was not that Christ actually died or that individuals were selected at the foundation, but in the purpose or plan, that Christ died and the saints were chosen

Admonition vv. 9 10 Same admonition that He gave to the churches in ch. 2 3 Hear the message of these visions and heed what is said next What does v. 10 mean? Leads into captivity shall go into captivity; kills with the sword must be killed with the sword The reign of this political power is only temporary Those leading in this tribulation shall one day be punished. They shall suffer destruction just as they are now bringing it. The patience and faith of the saints The knowledge that the beast will be brought down gave the saints a reason to persevere Their faith in the power of God to overcome helped them to endure

Admonition vv. 9 10 Christians were not to fight against the civil powers Rom. 13:2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. They were instead to fight against the powers of evil with spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:3 5; Eph. 6:10 18) As Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here. (Jn. 18:36) If they followed the world s method of warfare, they would die by the sword An admonition they needed to pay attention to

The Earth Beast v. 11 What is the appearance of this beast? Had two horns like a lamb religion and worship implied Spoke like a dragon associated with Satan, the dragon So, his outward appearance may have been docile, but when he spoke it revealed his true character Later references to this beast as the false prophet (16:13; 19:20; 20:10) associate him with some aspect of false religion; one of the devil s means of deceiving people

The Earth Beast s Work vv. 12 17 What does this beast do? Exercises authority Causes the earth to worship the sea beast Deceives earth dwellers by signs granted him to do Tells them to make an image to the beast Breathed into the image so that it could speak and cause many to be killed who did not worship it Puts a mark on everyone to limit commerce only to the followers

The Earth Beast s Work vv. 12 17 V. 12 This beast has all the authority of the other beast The Roman empire had developed a state religion that involved emperor worship Some of the emperors basically assumed divine status and demanded recognition as such This state religion and the governing power of the empire became intertwined The false religion of the land beast was supported by the authority of the political power of the sea beast

The Earth Beast s Work vv. 12 17 V. 13 Role of this beast (the false prophet) was to entice men to worship the first beast Empowered to work great signs and wonders in order to do this Note that the devil had power to cause lying wonders 2 Thes. 2:9 12 However, whatever signs God may have allowed Satan and his servants to perform, they were never of the same quality of the miracles of God E.g. Acts 8:5 13 the sorceries of Simon were nothing in comparison to the works of God through Phillip

The Earth Beast s Work vv. 12 17 V. 14 Whatever the signs consisted of, they were deceptive; they fooled those men who were willing followers These then made images to the beast In the first century and later, temples were built to glorify the Caesars This established a system that enabled Rome to claim spiritual as well as political dominion over the hearts of men V. 15 The spirit of Caesar worship came to life through the work of priests in the pagan temples They required certain sacrifices and requirements in order to wield influence over the citizens The threat of death or economic persecution were intended to force people to bow down to the image of the beast

The Earth Beast s Work vv. 12 17 Vv. 16 17 This beast causes all to receive a mark indicating loyalty to the sea beast Whether this was a literal mark or a figurative one, the intent was clear Religious tattooing was actually widespread in the ancient world Devotees were often branded to indicate their loyalty Economic persecution was real as we studied in some of the letters to the churches, this was a serious problem

The Mark of the Beast v. 18 Here is wisdom Another call for John s readers to pay attention A call for discernment; if one would want to know who would win this spiritual battle, let him listen The number of the beast the number of (a) man 666 This has been a much disputed subject for centuries The label has been assigned many applications: Nero Caesar, the Catholic Pope, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or even numbers used in the international trade system Some who have done so use a cryptographic system (also called Gematria) to come up with these associations This method assigns a numerical equivalent for letters of the alphabet; the sum is derived by adding together the value assigned for each of the letters by which a name is spelled

The Mark of the Beast v. 18 Problems with these ideas One of the ideas is that it is Nero Those who promote this have to transcribe Neron Caesar into Hebrew letters in order for the value to add to 666 Use a Hebrew transliteration of the Greek form of a Latin name The book was written in Greek, so why would there be a shift to Hebrew to solve this riddle? Another problem is consistency. If some numbers in the book are merely symbolic, why should this number suddenly be literal or specific? Also, the definite article before man is omitted Indicates he has no particular individual in mind The number represents that which is human; a human number

The Mark of the Beast v. 18 Throughout the book the number seven expresses the idea of perfection or completeness So, six which reaches below seven can never reach the perfect It symbolizes the imperfect That which is human is destined to fail To the Jews, the number six was an omen or symbol of dread and doom, so when it was tripled, 666, it represented the completeness of doom and failure This indicates failure, upon failure, upon failure the number of the beast stands for the complete and total failure of all human systems and efforts antagonistic to God and His Christ all are doomed to ultimate and complete defeat and failure. (Hailey) The wisdom is that one must choose whose mark he will have We cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24; 12:30)

Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10