Back to Revelation
Over the past two weeks, we have explored the prophecies from both Daniel 4 concisely and Daniel 7 in detail. The image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in chapter 4 and the dream that Daniel had in chapter 7 revealed five kingdoms:
Babylon (head of gold/winged lion).
Medo-Persia (arms/chest of silver/humpbacked bear)
Greece (belly and thighs of brass/a winged leopard)
Rome (legs of iron/fierce beast)
Revived Roman Empire/Antichrist (feet/toes of iron and clay/little horn)
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon was the finest and most prosperous of all the kingdoms (Daniel 2:37, 38), and all other kingdoms that followed diminished in their greatness. The statue from Daniel 2 illustrates this beginning with gold, the most precious metal at that time, then to silver, brass, iron and finally the worthlessness of iron and clay.
Last week, we touched on a few questions about Antichrist, and we will answer them this week:
Where will Antichrist be from?
What will Antichrist be like?
Will we know the identity of Antichrist?
We will see answers to these questions and more today.
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.
Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. Revelation 13:1-2 (NKJV)
Who Is On The Beach?
As we discussed two weeks ago, this is not a literal passage of Scripture but is a figurative one. How can we interpret it? By having Scripture interpret Scripture, one of the golden rules of Biblical interpretation. But right off the bat, we are dealt with an odd issue.
The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV some other translations are based, is translated "Then I stood on the sand of the sea" (verse 1a). However, the older manuscripts are quite different in stating "And he stood on the sand of the seashore" (NASB77), with the NASB updated version translated as "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore." So whom is on the beach? Most scholars would agree with the latter view, with "he" being the dragon--Satan. How would we know this? Another golden rule of biblical interpretation: context, context, context.
It's important to remember that verse and chapter divisions are not inspired by God, but are man made. With that in mind, many scholars feel that Revelation 13:1a should actually be part of chapter 12, and I agree.
One of the major characters in Revelation 12 is The Dragon, whom we have already identified as Satan. In the last five verses of Revelation 12, Satan is the main character that pursues Israel into the wilderness and is thwarted in that pursuit. He vents his wrath upon "the rest of her offspring", which is most likely converted Jews that did not make it to the refuge of Petra. The context, then, is one where Satan and his fallen angelic army, loses the war in heaven badly, is cast out never to return, then cannot touch the bulk of saved Israel, then vents his wrath on the saved Jews that he can find. Part of that assault is the official calling by Satan of Antichrist; he summons him "out of the sea".
While Satan is currently limited by God in scope and cannot do anything to a believer with out God's permission, at this point the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will be removed and evil will explode across the planet. Lawlessness will rule, as Satan "shall intend to change times and law." (Daniel 7:25b); Satan hates God and will seek to change the calendar (which is a testimony to Jesus as we live in 2013 AD or "after Christ") and the law (because God created law). Antichrist will be revealed officially at the midpoint of the tribulation, which we shall see next week.
Out of the Sea of Humanity
Satan, full of fury and wrath at the humiliating loss of the war in Heaven (Rev 12:7-9), then calls forth Antichrist to the forefront. The term sand comes from "an old word for sand, for innumerable multitude in Rev 20:8" (Robertson's Word Pictures in the NT). It's important to remember that Satan is "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and "the ruler of the world" (John 12:31). A view here is that Satan stands as ruler over the people of the world as represented by the sand of the seashore.
It's important to note, that although Satan rules the world he does not rule those that are saved by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. God is our Father, and the unsaved's spiritual father is Satan. We are citizens of Heaven, not of this world as the children of God.
The term sea, as we saw two weeks ago in our study of Daniel 7, would be the Mediterranean Sea (the Great Sea). As we have discussed before, the term sea also refers to people, and again having Scripture interpret Scripture, we look to Revelation 17:15 which speaks of a harlot riding the beast with the harlot being a one world religion and the beast, of course, being Antichrist and his empire: Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Revelation 17:15 (NKJV)
Part of the question from Monday is answered here in verse 1: "From where will Antichrist come?" He will arise out of the area of the Mediterranean Sea. While that covers quite a bit of area, it also is quite narrow considering the size of the rest of the world. Dr. Tim LaHaye sums up quite neatly the most likely origins of Antichrist:
"One of the most frequently asked questions about the Antichrist concerns his nationality. Revelation 13:1 indicates that he 'rises up out of the sea,' meaning the sea of peoples around the Mediterranean. From this we gather that he will be a Gentile. Daniel 8:8, 9 suggests that he is the 'little horn' that came out of the four Grecian horns, signaling that he will be part Greek. Daniel 9:26 refers to him as the prince of the people that shall come, meaning that he will be of the royal lineage of the race that destroyed Jerusalem. Historically this was the Roman Empire; therefore he will be predominantly Roman. Daniel 11:36, 37 tells us that he regards not 'the God of his fathers' (KJV). Taken in context, this suggests he will be a Jew. In all probability the antichrist will appear to be a Gentile and, like Adolph Hitler and others who feared to reveal Jewish blood, will keep his Jewish ancestry a secret. It may be known only to God, but the Bible teaches that he will be a Roman-Grecian Jew, a composite man representing the peoples of the earth. This technically qualifies him to be the embodiment of all evil men." (Revelation, 172)
Antichrist will most likely be of Roman, Grecian and Jewish descent.--JH
Heads, Horns, Crowns And Blasphemy
We must remember that Christians today will not know the identity of Antichrist because he will not come to power until the time of the Tribulation--after the Rapture. The reason why is that in Revelation 5, the church seems to be present, and Antichrist is revealed in chapter 6 by Jesus opening the scroll
We can't really be dogmatic, or stand firm on the meaning of these seven heads. Some feel that these seven heads refer to the seven hills of Rome, and there is some merit to this position. "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits." (Revelation 17:9, NKJV) . However, it may refer to six kingdoms of the past and one yet to come. "the beast is described by John as having seven heads. ...those seven heads represent seven successive world empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Antichrist's final world kingdom. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary Revelation 12-22). Jeff Lasseigne, in Unlocking The Last Days, notes "the seven heads, here in verse 1, refer to the fact that the empire of the Antichrist will be an accumulation of all those successive world empires all rolled into one".
Interpreting the ten horns requires us to look, as we saw last week, to Daniel 7: The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. (Dan 7:24, NKJV). Antichrist will supplant three of the ten kings, and end up controlling them all.
"The ten horns with ten diadems speak of the tenfold division of the Roman Empire in the time of the Great Tribulation. The horns are the ten kings who rule over this tenfold division. This interpretation is confirmed by Revelation 17:12: 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." (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary).
On his heads a blasphemous name: "Blasphemy manifests itself in two ways according to Govett: (1) making oneself equal with God, that is, usurping His place, and (2) slandering and taking God's name in vain. The emperors of Rome were guilty of the first form. They made themselves equal with God; there was emperor worship in the Roman Empire. The Pharisees were guilty of the latter when they blasphemed the Holy Spirit. The Beast here is guilty of both forms." (J. Vernon McGee). The third commandment, taking God's name in vain, is so common today that people do not realize they are committing that sin and the serious nature of that sin. When you say "OMG", "I swear to God", and using God or Jesus' name as a swear word you are committing a sin common to Antichrist.
Speed, Strength, Ferocity and Power
The empire of Antichrist will be like none other in history. Antichrist will achieve what no other ruler in history has accomplished: world rule. This beast will be an amalgam or blend of the characteristics of all prior kingdoms "rolled into one". This thought continues with the metaphor found in the vision of a leopard, a bear and a lion. This vision corresponds with Daniel's dream of Daniel seven, but each in reverse order. The reason for the reverse order is actually quite simple; Daniel saw the kingdoms represented--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome as future but John's view would be in reverse from the future backward.
The coming "One World Order" of the Antichrist will have characteristics of each of these kingdoms. First, the leopard--one of the fastest animals on earth-- in Daniel represented the speed in which Alexander the Great's Grecian army took power. Antichrist will rise to unprecedented power with lightning speed as the world will clamor for a leader in the wake of the rapture of the church and the subsequent economic and emotional upheaval. Antichrist will have what appears to be answers for all of the problems of the world; he will be "a world leader possessing the leadership of a Washington and Lincoln, the eloquence of a Franklin Roosevelt, the charm of a Teddy Roosevelt, the charisma of a Kennedy, the popularity of an Ike, the political savvy of a Johnson and the intellect of a Jefferson" (Willmington's Guide to the Bible). He will appeal to all the world and rise to power quickly.
Antichrist will have the "brute strength" (Lasseigne) of a bear, which symbolized the Medo-Persian empire. He will come to have a military and law enforcement strength that will be unwavering and brutal.
Antichrist will also have the "fierce nature" (Lasseigne) of a lion, symbolic of Babylon. The name of Antichrist, when uttered, will strike fear into the hearts of those that oppose him as surely as those that feared the SS, the KGB, or the Taliban. When Antichrist speaks, people will listen.
The dragon--Satan--will put Antichrist in power, the throne of the world and his authority. Satan made the offer of the world to Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, after His baptism.
...the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " (Matthew 4:8-10, NKJV).
Today, people have a choice: accept Jesus Christ as Savior, give up the world and gain eternity or reject Jesus, gain the world but endure eternal death apart from God in Hell. If you don't lose yourself, you lose for all eternity.
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:25 (NKJV)
