Rise Of The Antichrist Series

NOTE: This Bible study on the end times comes from the perspective of a pre-tribulation Rapture.

Tonight, we are going to look at Revelation chapter thirteen. We left off with discussing the dragon, which we identified as Satan, who strives to make war on Israel’s offspring. Now, we are going to talk about two beasts – one from the sea, and one from the earth – and discuss their possible identities. We will also encounter a lot of other interesting symbolism; and, I want to encourage you to be filling out the provided handout, so you can keep track of this information. We will begin examining chapter thirteen by looking at “The Beast from the Sea.”

(Refer to Handout: “The Symbolism of Chapter 13)

The Beast from the Sea

Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 13:1:

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

• In our last study we learned that the dragon is Satan, so who do you think the beast is in verse 1?

On your provided handout, please fill in “The Antichrist.”

According to Harold Hunter, the phrase “rising up out of the sea,” is a biblical allusion to the Gentile nations, which means that the Antichrist will probably be a Gentile.

Tim LaHaye has a different opinion on this phrase. He says, “Whenever the Bible refers to the ‘sea,’ it means the Mediterranean Sea . . . The meaning, then, is that the Antichrist arises from among the people around the Mediterranean Sea.”

These two interpretations could be combined to say that the Antichrist will be a Gentile who is from the Mediterranean region of the world. This is confirmed by commentator John Walvoord, who states, “Probably both are true in that the beast is a Gentile and does come from the Mediterranean.” He adds that the reference to the sea portrays the Roman Empire.

The Seven Heads

• Keeping in mind that the Antichrist will possibly arise from the Mediterranean region, what do you think the seven heads represent in verse 1?

Revelation chapter seventeen can help us in our understanding. Revelation 17:9 says, “The seven heads are the seven mountains.” Edward Hindson states, “This is obviously intended to identify Rome, the city of seven hills.”

On your provided handout, please fill in “The City of Rome.”

In Revelation 17:3, we read, “So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:18 tells us, “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” The city ruling over the kings of the earth during the time of John’s writing of Revelation was Rome. To further substantiate this fact, Revelation 17:9, when read in its entirety, says, “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” The woman, or Rome, sits on the seven hills.

What we have seen so far is that the Antichrist is going to have some kind of connection with the Roman Empire and the city of Rome.

The Ten Horns

• Now, what do the ten horns represent in verse 1?

Revelation 17:12 tells us, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.”

On your provided handout, please fill in “The Ten Kings.”

The picture here recalls the description of the ten kings in Daniel 2:41, represented by the toes of a statue in one of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. The dream Daniel interpreted, in Daniel 2:31-45, was a prophecy about the “countries” that would rule over the middle east after Babylon. The prophecy then moves from the toes of the statue to the different sections of the body. These different sections represent large “empires” rather than small “countries.”

The massive statue’s golden head represented the Babylonian Empire. The chest and arms of silver would be the Medo-Persian Empire. The midsection of bronze would be the Grecian Empire. The iron legs would be the Roman Empire. In the dream, this final empire is struck by a supernatural stone which shatters the entire statue to powder (Daniel 2:31–35). The stone probably represents the Messiah (Isaiah 8:14; 1 Peter 2:8). Daniel says that after the final empire is struck, then “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).

Harold Hunter says that this final Roman Empire represents a confederacy, possibly one which is European, which will side with the beast; one that is comprised of ten rulers who give their power to the Antichrist during the Tribulation period.