Book of Revelation - Part 31 Revelation 13:1-18 From last week s discussion: Wilderness = Out of Egypt - I will use the place of grumbling into a place of refuge = Jesus Temptation - The Head used His Blood and His Testimony (The Word) to defeat the enemy - Here the Body does the Same Devil Spouting Water vs. Bowls of Wrath - God destroyed the earth with water - Satan says, I will too - God says, that goes against my promise, not a chance! Timeline: We have noticed that the Timeline of Revelation (as John recites the story of what he saw) goes back and forth Revelation 1-3 deals with the Church Age: - Jesus introduces Himself in the Spirit Realm as a Supernatural Being full of Power, Glory and Love - He then recites 7 letters to His Beloved Believers about the cause and effect of their actions BEFORE End Time Events unfold Revelation 4 & 5 deals with the Throne Room in Heaven: - We meet lots of Beings and Creatures - We watch the events just prior to the beginning of the Tribulation Revelation 6 deals with the 7 years of Tribulation: - 6 Seals unleashing the 7 years ending at the Great day of the Lamb! ; The Second Coming Revelation 7 goes back in and then out of the Tribulation: - The 4 angels are told to hold back from destroying the Earth for a moment - The 144,000 are sealed with God s Seal - Then we go to the end of the Tribulation to meet the Great Multitude - The full number of Gentiles killed in the Tribulation Revelation 8 goes back into the Tribulation: - The very last moment of the Tribulation when God inspires Himself to wipe out Billions of Unbelievers by consuming Himself with the prayers and relationships with His Believers - Then the 7 th Seal is opened - The Second Coming of Jesus! - Then we go back into the Tribulation to see the effects of 4 of the 7 Trumpets Revelation 9 stays in the Tribulation: - The next 2 Trumpets Revelation 10 stays at the every last moment of the Tribulation: - John is encouraged to prophecy one more time Revelation 11 goes right back into the Tribulation: - The trampling of Jerusalem by the Gentiles - The 2 Witnesses - The 7 th Trumpet blasts announcing the Second Coming Revelation 12 goes right back into the Tribulation again: - The Full number of Gentiles has come in as God s Raptures them to Heaven - Israel (The Woman) runs into the wilderness from Satan who is pursuing her - War breaks out in heaven to distract Satan from his pursuit and he is ultimately banished - Satan continues to pursue the woman but she escapes into the wilderness - Satan, then, goes after the rest of her offspring ; new converts during the Tribulation who refuse to give up their Testimony of Salvation! Now, we go right back into the Tribulation to meet more characters and to receive more details about the events of those 7 years:
Revelation 13:1-18, The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it? 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast all whose names have not been written in the Lamb s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God s people. 11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. Overview: - A Dragon - A Beast from the Sea - A Beast from the Earth - An Image of the Beast from the Sea - The Dragon gives authority to the Beast from the Sea - One of the Heads on the Beast seems to die and rise again - People Worshipped and Followed the Beast & Worshipped the Dragon - The Beast blasphemed God for 42 months and conquers His holy people - Then a Beast comes from the Earth - It acts on behalf of the Beast from the Sea, performs great signs, deceives all people and forces people to worship the Beast from the Sea - It facilitates the creates of an Image of the Beast from the Sea and forces people to worship it as well - The Beast from the Earth establishes a system of commerce that only allows people with a mark on their hand or forehead to buy or sell anything Now let s go line by line: Vs. 1, The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. Many versions of the Bible don t have this line - NIV 1984 doesn t have it; NIV 2011 includes it - Some versions say this: The dragon and I stood on the shore of the sea. - Including the phrase shows the relationship between the Dragon and the Beast: - It seems as though the Dragon is summoning the Beast out of the Sea - The text later reveals that the Dragon and the Beast is definitely connected The Dragon s identity was revealed in the Chapter 12 (though this dragon isn t described as being red): Revelation 12:9, The great dragon that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan Vs. 1, And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. There are 4 Beasts in Revelation: - The Beast out of the Abyss (Revelation 11) - The Scarlett Beast out of the Abyss (Revelation 17) - The Beast out of the Earth (Revelation 13)
- And the Beast out of the Sea (Revelation 13) The Sea: - Specifically referred to as a separate location when locations of inhabitants were listed in Chapter 5: Revelation 5:13, Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: - Sea and Land are mentioned three times in Revelation 7 as places not to be harmed by the 4 angels - 3 Times it is mentioned that the angel had 1 foot on the Sea and 1 foot on the Land - Here, the Sea is a separate place then the Earth (The source of the 2 Beasts) - Physical Attributes of the Sea: - People on Land cannot live in the Sea - People in the Sea cannot live on Land - Most Land has been discovered while the Sea is still highly unsearched - Visually, Land cannot be seen from in the Sea and inside the Sea cannot be seen from above it (There is a liquid visual barrier) - There is also an Audio barrier between Land and Sea - The Sea is imminent Death for Humans (unless you can walk on water) - At Creation, while the earth was described as formless, empty and dark, the waters existed (The Sea was here first) - In contrast, the Sea of Glass in front of the Throne in Heaven is clear as Crystal - In Heaven there is no more Sea (just a River) * The only conclusion that may be observed is that the Sea is a mysterious place not safe for humans and this Beast comes out of it. Since the Abyss is the holding place for Demons waiting for their assignment, this beast could have come from the Abyss opening under the Sea. He then appears to be coming from the Sea. - He then could still be the beast that comes from the Abyss who kills the 2 Witnesses and/or the Scarlett Beast who also comes from the Abyss who wages war against Jesus at His Second Coming. Vs. 1, It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The Scarlet Beast in Revelation 17 includes an explanation of the Heads and Horns: - The Heads are a History of Kings Revelation 17:10, They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. - The Horns are Kings without Kingdoms Comparison of Creatures with Horns and Heads: - The Red Dragon (Rev 12): 7 Heads w/7 Crowns 10 Horns - The Beast from the Sea (Rev 13): 7 Heads 10 Horns w/10 Crowns - The Beast from the Earth (Rev 13): 1 Head 2 Horns - The Scarlet Beast (Rev 17): 7 Heads 10 Horns Each Beast is described as an individual yet represent multiple Kings - The Kings are either collectively the Beast or they are at the bidding of the Beast - One thing is certain, it will not be obvious until they rise up to power Vs. 2, The beast I saw resembled a leopard. But it had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. Leopard: - 8 References in the Bible. The most noteworthy are: Jeremiah 5:6, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out Hosea 13:7, like a leopard I will lurk by the path Habakkuk 1:8, Their horses are swifter than leopards * Leopards represent Stealth, Patient Observers and Swift to Strike Think about our Global Technology and Social Media - you can run but you can t hide! - Note: You can t change a leopard s spots Jeremiah 13:23, Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. * Though the beast will be a superstar admired by all, no good will come out of him
Bear Feet: - You can hear a bear coming from a long way off. - This is opposite to the leopard s stealthy quality: The beast s presence will be obvious all over the world, though his eye will be secretly watching everyone else - A prophetic Word to from the Head of David s Kingly Line: 1 Samuel 17:37, The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you. * And it will be the persecuted and executed of the Tribulation that defeat the Dragon (Revelation 12:11) - Proverbs 28:15, Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people Lion s Mouth: - The beast will have a kingly quality in what he says - Since Jesus was already given the title in Revelation 5:5, The Lion of the tribe of Judah, what comes out of the beast s mouth, his words, will sound like Jesus at times. - Satan used The Word against Jesus while tempting Him in the wilderness - Peter warns us to Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour * Once again, you will need to know Jesus and the Bible!; The True Word of God Vs. 2, The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. The connection between the Dragon and the Beast is declared Power, Throne, Great Authority: - These are the counterfeits to what had been declared to God around His Throne - Power has already been attributed to God 7 times in Revelation (up to this moment) (1:6; 4:11; 5:12; 5:13; 7:12; 11:17; 12:10) - Him who sits on the Throne has been declared 7 times (up to this moment) (4:9; 4:10; 5:1; 5:7; 5:13; 6:16; 7:10) - Authority was attributed to Jesus 2 times (2:27; 12:10) and Jesus promises the transfer of His authority to the overcomer (2:26) This confirms that the earth is Satan s kingdom. He has the ability to grant these things because they belong to him (for now) - Note that this comes on the heals of the story of Satan being kicked out of heaven and the earth turning against him. (Revelation 12:10) - Which comes on the heals of the announcement of heaven at the Second Coming, The kingdom of this earth has become the kingdom of our God! (Revelation 11:15) Vs. 3, One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. This is the verse that people use to say this is the Antichrist Note the word seemed : It will not be a death and resurrection, that belongs to Jesus! It will only be an illusion. Vs. 3, The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 1 st Century readers would have been baffled at this. Today, with our Global Communications, within seconds everyone knows everything! filled with wonder - people love to know how magic tricks are done. When the answer cannot be found, people feel like they are in the presence of someone special, more powerful than they are. If they can do that, they must also have the answer for life! This counterfeit death and resurrection will turn people towards the Beast willingly - Remember the 1 st Seal: The Rider on the White Horse - Remember Jesus warning: Matthew 24:5, For many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Messiah, and will deceive many. * Knowing Jesus is the #1 readiness tool for End Times!
Vs. 4, People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it? The people are willing to follow, obey and take in everything that the beast says. He will be admired by ALL The dragon seems to be present as well. They worship the dragon and somehow know that he is behind this wonderful Beast - Satan has been lurking in the shadows, but now that the Body is Raptured, he can flaunt himself without rebuke. Vs. 5, The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority given a mouth : given a voice! - Greek = stoma = The mouth; by implication language ; figuratively an opening in the earth; specifically the front or edge of a weapon - Language ; the beast will be understood by all languages (counterfeit gift of tongues? ) - Edge ; counterfeit of the Word of God Hebrews 4:12, For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double edged sword - Further confirmation to our interpretation of the beast being given the mouth of a lion * You need to know the Bible! 2 Timothy 2:15, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Vs. 5, for forty-two months Since the Second Coming ends the reign of the beasts collectively, these 42 months (3½ years) would most likely be the last half of the Tribulation - This is confirmed in Daniel s description of End Times and the Antichrist: Daniel 9:27, He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. So the Beast out of the Sea will be given Power, a Throne and Authority right away - Notice how it doesn t put a time frame on that (at the beginning of the Tribulation or most likely long before to give momentum to usher in the Tribulation) - Then, halfway through the Tribulation, the Beast is given a mouth and desecrates the Temple Vs. 6, 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. Blasphemous = Irreverent towards something considered sacred = Claiming the attributes of a deity = Placing evil attributes towards something holy Slander = To make false statements to discredit someone - Some versions use the word blasphemous again God and His Name: Specifically separated (like saying, Chris and his name ) because the Name is Powerful! Exodus 20:7, You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Philippians 2:10-11, That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord His Dwelling: - Heaven & Believers who are the Temple of God Those who Live in Heaven: - Believers throughout history - The Raptured Church - Angels * Think about the declarations from Heaven about the Defeat of the Dragon and the Beasts! Vs. 7, It was given power to wage war against God s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. God s Holy People is referring to Believers in Jesus not Israel: - Israel are God s Promised People - Believers are God s Holy People
The Death of Believers is a sure thing. If you are not Raptured, to become a believer means certain death. This will be confirmed as the Chapter reads on. It was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation = All inclusive - Note: Someone can have Authority over you without having Power over you. In the midst of declaring the Beast s power is the description of a rebellious group who will be conquered. Luke 12:4-5, I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Vs. 8, All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast all whose names have not been written in the Lamb s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. It will be impossible to be Lukewarm during the Tribulation 3 Groups of People: - Those who get the Mark - Those who have their names in the Lamb s Book of Life - Israel who become Believers when they see the Messiah! who was slain from the creation of the world is NOT referring to Jesus being slain in Genesis - The sentence structure is such that from the creation of the world can either refer to who was slain or names not written in the Lamb s book of life - Since we know Jesus died on the cross circa 33 AD, this must be referring to the names not in the Lamb s book of Life * Some versions read this way, all whose names have not been written from the creation of the world in the Lamb s book of life, the Lamb who was slain. * This does not mean God has preselected those who will be saved, it means that God already knows who will choose Him and who will not Vs. 9, Whoever has ears, let them hear. This is a call to the Church! - At the end of every letter in Chapter 2 & 3, Jesus said these words - This is used here as a note to the Church! Vs. 10, If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed. The confirmation that the post Rapture believer WILL DIE! - And Jesus is telling the Church this! This is a quote from Jeremiah the Prophet. Let s look at it s context: Jeremiah 15:1-2, Then the Lord said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, Where shall we go? tell them, This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity. - The people harmed in the Tribulation, in the last half in particular (42 months) are those who were not believers at the Rapture - Here, the action is paused and God speaks to the church ( for him who has ears to hear ), and says, I told you so! - My letters outlined the cause and effect of your actions and the call to persevere to the end! - Now that you have missed the Rapture and the Tribulation is in full effect, any potential for good in this life is over. Let your destiny unfold as it will. - Maybe for the first time you will fix your eyes on the prize which is heavenward in Christ Jesus! (Philippians 3:14) Vs. 10, This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God s people. The Church is Raptured The new converts become the Great Multitude - We see them first under the altar asking God, how long do we have to wait? * But they become the very ones that kick Satan out of Heaven by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of their Testimony! * Satan had them killed because they would not deny the Testimony and it s that very same Testimony that overcome him! Acts 20:24, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the good news of God s grace.