“Revealing the Revelation”
Chapter 13
January 31, 2010
Revelation 13
1And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The 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. 3One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4Men 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 make war against him?"
5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9He who has an ear, let him hear. 10If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea”; “a seven headed Beast comes out of the sea”; “Mark of the Beast”; “666”. These are a few of the images we will think about today.
I think the best interpretation of the Bible – is the Bible. And there are a few things we know – because the Bible tells us so. First of all, the dragon – who is he? I got hung up on this. Some later translations of the Bible translate “I” instead of “The dragon”. Some translate it “Serpent”. One translated the beginning of the chapter, “I, John, stood on the shore of the sea.” I’m not sure why there is a difference of translation. The best explanation was “Later versions add I”. The previous chapter ends talking about the dragon – so it seems correct to me that it is not John on the seashore, but the dragon. And we know the dragon is the devil. We know that. Last week in our study we read:
“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. ..” Revelation 12:9
So, we know the dragon is Satan or the devil – the bible tells us so. But who is the beast? We know that, too. The Bible tells us so. Listen to Daniel:
"I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. "So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.” Daniel 7:15-17
So it appears to me the beast is not a real animal or some weird creature – it is a kingdom. The sea represents humanity – or the earth. That’s how the angel translated the word ‘sea’ to Daniel. So from the sea of people on the earth rises up a kingdom – which is called a beast. From the place identified with evil and chaos and resisting God, a beast comes forth. The ancient Greek word translated beast here has the idea of a wild, dangerous animal. So it must be a terrible kingdom. And Because John calls him a ‘beast’ and not a dragon, as in Revelation 12:3, this creature represents someone distinct from Satan - but who was in league with the dragon (Revelation 12:9). But even though this beast is distinct from the dragon of Revelation 12, he is still closely identified with him. He is not the dragon, but he is like him. Notice the dragon also had seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 11:3). So they are in cahoots with each other.
What about those horns? In Biblical imagery horns express strength and power. Let’s look to Daniel again. Daniel said,
20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
23 "He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.” Dan 7:20-24
In Daniel’s vision, the ten horns specifically represented ten kingdoms that this final world dictator has authority over. In John’s vision the ten crowns on the ten horns emphasize this same idea. The visions of Daniel 7 and Daniel 2 connect the governments represented by the ten crowns with the ancient Roman Empire. In those visions, Daniel saw three successive world empires, each succeeded by a fourth - which in the context of the visions is plainly the Roman Empire. Most scholars believe that the Roman Empire will “resume” in some way, which is expressed by this collection of ten crowns.
One commentary said,
“Today we see the revival of the Roman Empire taking shape in Europe. It is called the European Union. They intend all members to join together in one central government, constitution and currency. However, there are and will be only 10 full charter members out of old Europe in the EU, if that has any significance. At some point in the not too distant future, the EU or the wreckage of it will evolve back into the final Beast.” -Don Koenig
The seven heads of the beast each have a blasphemy against God. This speaks of more than the beast’s message - it speaks of his character. He is a blasphemer, who speaks against God. He is anti-God and anti-Christ. Many rulers have called themselves “god” or “The Lord supreme” and such things. Each of these seven heads of the beast will be similar. They will be against God and His people.
In this vision, God used images from Daniel’s vision of Daniel 7 to communicate the identity and nature of this beast to John. Daniel 7 uses four animals – four beasts - to describe the course of human government from Daniel’s time until the ultimate reign of Jesus on this earth. The first three animals are a lion (a picture of the Babylonian Empire), a bear (a picture of Medo-Persian Empire), and a leopard (a picture of the Greek Empire). The fourth animal was a dreadful, indescribable beast which shared the most terrifying characteristics of the previous beasts, yet represents the final world empire under the leadership of a Satanic dictator (Daniel 7:7-8).
John presents this beast as the extension of the fourth beast of Daniel 7. This connects this empire with the characteristics of the great empires of the past. This final world empire will have the catlike vigilance of a leopard, the slow and crushing power of a bear, and the authority and ferociousness of a lion.
Since the beasts of Daniel 7 represented empires more than specific men, some have thought that the beast of Revelation 13 is not a person, but a government or a cultural system. Many believe the beast is a picture of totalitarian governments, especially the totalitarian states of the 20th century. But others see the beast as a person, specifically the Antichrist - the final Satanic dictator who leads the world in rebellion against God. Some (like David Hocking) combine the approaches and say that the beast is a modern, world totalitarian government, but the one head that has ten horns is specifically the Antichrist - the leader of this beast - a final satanic dictatorship. But with any empire, especially brief empires, the government is almost totally identified with the ruler. When we think of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the figures of Hitler as an individual and Nazi Germany as a state are virtually the same.
All the indications in Revelation 13 are that the beast is a man, a human individual, although he is closely identified with his world-dominating government.
“The Beast is worshipped as a god; but people never worship an empire as such; neither do they make a succession of emperors into an object of religious devotion. The paying of divine homage to kings has been a common thing in the world’s history, but it has always been rendered to individuals.” (Seiss)
An image is set up of the beast, and the whole world is commanded to worship it. How can one set up an image of an empire or a government? This hasn’t been done in the past, but men have often bowed down to an image of a political ruler.
“This Beast also has a proper name - a name expressive of a particular number, and that number ‘a number of a man;’ which cannot be conceived except on the idea of an individual person.” (Seiss)
With all this in mind, I have to agree with Seiss:
“We would therefore greatly err from the Scriptures, as well as from the unanimous conviction and teaching of the early Church, were we to fail to recognize this Beast as a real person, though one in whom the political power of the world is finally concentrated and represented.”
So this beast is a real man of flesh and blood, probably a leader of a world power. He is empowered and supported by Satan. Through this man, Satan will express his own desires. So the beast is a man, but he is no ordinary man. He is called “the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7, 17:8), and ordinary men do not come from there.
“One who hails from that place must either be a dead man brought up again from the dead, or some evil spirit which takes possession of a living man. In either case, the Beast, as a person, is an extraordinary and supernatural being.” (Seiss)
It may be that Satan himself takes possession of this man, and this is what makes him exceptional. This was the case with Judas, who was possessed by Satan (John 13:27). So the beast is not merely ‘demon’ possessed – he is Satan possessed.
One of the heads on the beast receives a moral wound. This is a head wound. It is certain death – but the wound heals and the beast lives. Consequently, the world marvels and follows the beast. He seems to have great power and the world is in awe. They say, “Who is like him? Who can make war against HIM?” He seems to be a winner – and the world wants to follow a winner. He boldly mocks God. He blasphemes. For 42 months, the first half of the final seven years, he is given authority. He is even given power over the Christians. The government of the beast will persecute and kill all those who do not bow in worship to the beast. He overcomes them. Overcome does not mean that the beast can overcome the faith of the saints, but that he can destroy their physical lives, and by all appearances he defeats God’s people on this earth.
But who are these saints who are overcome by the beast? Your view of the timing of the rapture determines the opinion of who you think these persecuted ones are. Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture believe that these saints are God’s people who come to Christ after the church has been raptured. Those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture believe that these saints are God’s people who are on the earth before the final rapture or second coming of Christ. Personally, I lean toward the latter view. I think Christians WILL go through the tribulation – but that God will protect them from the wrath of God that will be poured out on the world. Last week we read:
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.” Rev12: 13-14
If Christians WILL be on the earth all through the tribulation – God has a place prepared for us. The Old Testament parallel is the plagues the Children of Israel went through when they left Egypt. They were there – but they were spared from the worst plagues. But the serpent, that old dragon, the devil, will try to destroy God’s people. He won’t be able to – but he will try. God always saves a remnant, doesn’t He? But the dragon will be allowed to be victorious over God’s people for a little while. He will be allowed to kill our bodies – but not our spirits. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We will not love life more than God – and so many of us will be killed.
This final world dictator will demand and receive worship from the whole earth. Those who refuse to worship will be killed – at least many of them. But those who worship him pay the price. They are those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life. They may save their earthly life – but lose their eternal life.
Their worship will probably be after the pattern of the worship demanded by the Roman Emperors in the days of the early church. There were times in the early church when all residents in the empire were required to burn a pinch of incense before a statue of Caesar and say, “Caesar is Lord.” Christians refused to do this and were persecuted because of it. The Romans saw it as an act of political allegiance, but the Christians saw it as an act of religious worship. After the great and terrible totalitarian rulers of the 20th Century (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao), it isn’t hard to imagine a dominating world leader demanding such a declaration of allegiance and loyalty.
Then John gives a warning. He says: “He who has an ear, let him hear” This is a solemn word of warning, meant to get our attention. “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity” This means that those who do the will of the beast are not without guilt. Though these things are prophesied and part of God’s predetermined plan, it does not lessen in the slightest way man’s personal responsibility. If you work for the beast and lead others into captivity, you will go into captivity yourself. God will measure unto you what you have measured to others. That’s a spiritual law. Count on it.
Then we read: “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Though they are viciously attacked by the Antichrist and his followers, the saints of God must keep steadfast faith in the ultimate justice of God. He will reward their persecutors with persecution of His own. 2 Thessalonians promises:
“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you” 2 Thess 1:6
Sometimes we get so stressed about evil people getting away with stuff. “No one’s getting out of here alive – and no one is getting away with anything.” God has it under control. Just trust Him.
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (verse 11)
This creature represents someone like the beast rising from the sea, because the same word beast is used to describe them both. At the same time, this beast is different. They are different in origin, because one comes out of the sea, the other out of the earth. They are different in rank, because the second is subordinate to the first. They are different in appearance, because the second has a mild, “lamb-like” appearance.
It could be that this beast looked gentle and harmless - but he “spoke like a dragon”. Despite his lamb-like appearance, the message of the second beast is the same as the message of the first beast. With the dragon, the beast rising from the sea, and the beast rising from the land we have an unholy trinity. The dragon is the anti-Father, the beast rising from the sea is the anti-Christ, and the beast rising from the land is the anti-Holy Spirit.
The beast rising from the earth is essentially a Satanic prophet, who leads the world to worship the beast and the dragon. The beast rising from the sea has the “signs and wonders” to back up his false teaching. A specific miracle of the false prophet is described: “he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men”. It is important that John highlights this miracle. In the eyes of the world, it answers the miracle of the two witnesses, who minister during this period and are persecuted by the Antichrist and his false prophet (Revelation 11:5). To the deceived world, this also puts this false prophet in the class of Elijah (1 Kings 18). We can imagine the false prophet as saying, “Let the true God answer with fire” and then performing his fantastic miracle.
“There is a supernatural power which is against God and truth, as well as one for God and truth. A miracle, simply as a work of wonder, is not necessarily of God. There has always been a devilish supernaturalism in the world, running alongside of the supernaturalism of divine grace and salvation.” (Seiss)
In the days of the Exodus, Aaron performed miracles, and up to a point was matched miracle-for-miracle by the magicians of Egypt (Exodus 7-9). In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God assumes there will be supernatural works on behalf of false prophets and idols, and He warns His people to judge a worker of miracles by their message, not only by their works. Jesus said that some who worked miracles - even in His name - were false followers and would perish in hell (Matthew 7:22-23). Jesus said that in the end times, false prophets would emerge and show great signs and wonders to deceive (Matthew 24:24). Paul said that the Antichrist will come with all power, signs, and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9).
Knowing all this, the emphasis on signs and wonders among some Christians is kind of scary. Some Christians say or think, “You can really know where God is and where His power is by signs and wonders.” They go to those churches where they think they might see or experience a miracle. Thinking this way is leaving yourself wide open to deception. Signs and wonders will be present among Christians, but the real marks of God’s work are love and truth and the fruit of the Spirit as revealed in Galatians 5.
The image of the beast is animated in some way; it has breath and can speak. Whether the image is animated supernaturally or technologically, the result will be very impressive.
The first commentary we have on the Book of Revelation, written by Victorinus in the early church, says of Revelation 13:15:
“He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles.”
The bottom line is that “…all who refused to worship the image are to be killed.” But that isn’t all.
“He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.” (verse 16)
You can find a ton of stuff on the mark of the beast on the internet. I watched YouTube videos, read commentaries on it, saw technology for it explained – but the bottom line is that everyone will receive one – if you want to buy or sell. Imagine if all credit cards, all identification, all bank and financial statements were put on a computer chip. Imagine if your Social Security check, welfare check, food stamps, and any kind of paycheck was put on a chip – and “oh, by the way” you have to swear allegiance and worship this wonderful person in power, to get it.
One more thing - 666. It is fantastic what has been attributed to that number. I’m not even going to go into it. There are a tons of stuff on it. Remember I began by saying that the best interrupter of the Bible is the Bible? 1 Kings 10:14 says,
“The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents.”
Maybe the mark of the beast has something to do with money or the monetary system. Maybe it is suggesting that the Beast is a good man, like Solomon, who goes bad. I don’t know. But this I know – I’m not going to worry about it. As long as we fix our eyes on Jesus – He will see us through. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has promises to be with us to the very end. So whether I lose my head or am safety protected in the desert place or am raptured out – I know as long as I am with Jesus I will be okay.
But a scary time is coming. The battle lines are being drawn. The technology is in place. The goats are being separated from the sheep. Whose side are you on? Jesus invites you to join Him. It may not be easy – but it will be worth it. Keep the final end in view – always! If you want to join the Lord’s Army; if you want to become His disciple, you simply begin that journey with a pray like this:
Jesus – I believe in you. I want to follow you. Please forgive me of my rebellion and sin. Wash me and cleanse me. Make me the person you want me to be. Give me the grace to always stand for you. Give me the grace to confess you – though it may cost me my life.
Baptismal service:
