Revelation 13: 1 – 10
Clue
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. 2 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. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Today is the day. You are going to see who the Antichrist is. I am not going to come right out and tell you. It is up to you to see from the ‘clues’ our Precious Holy Spirit has given us and on your own determine who Satan’s man will be. In addition to chapter 13 we will refer from other chapters in the book of Revelation and from the book of Daniel. So, are you ready? Do you really want to identify who this person is no matter what it reveals?
Beast = Kingdom or nation
First of all we read . ‘And I saw a beast’.
In chapter 7 of the book of Daniel we learn that a beast is a kingdom or nation. “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces”.
Have you ever studied the book of Daniel? Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an idol made of valuable metals? And Also did you remember the vision to Daniel talking about 4 beasts? Well, they are the same! You see in man’s view the kingdoms of the world are precious. But in God’s eyes they are nothing but evil beasts. So here is clue #2
Four Kingdoms [Beasts]
1. Babylon
2. Media-Persia
3. Greece
4. Rome
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
• An important thing to consider is this point, ‘did the Roman Empire cease to exist?’
The Beast came up from the Sea
If you notice in chapter 7 of Daniel that all 4 of the beasts came up from the sea. In Revelation chapter 13 we see - 1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea,
What does the significance of the ‘sea’ mean?
In chapter 17 we find the answer, Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.”
Seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns
Again we find some answers to this statement is chapter 17. “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition “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 “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”
Is everyone clear with all this? - Of course not!
So, let’s break this down. First of all please notice the statement – ‘The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.’ So, we see that the seven heads stand for seven mountains in which the woman sits. Our key questions must now relate to the terms ‘mountains’, ‘woman’ and ‘sits
Remember our definitions that we have recorded? What does the symbol of ‘woman’ represent? The answer is a corrupt church. So, this corrupt church sits on 7 mountains. What does the word ‘sit’ mean? Give me your answer to this question, ‘Where is the ‘sitting’ President’s Headquarters? You should be thinking that it means ’our current President’s Headquarters is in Washington DC.’
So. Let us put this all together. The 7 heads are leaders or kings [the 7 heads are also called seven kings ]. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.] whose headquarters are located on 7 mountains or hills. Why did I add the term hills. The Jewish people have overextended certain terms. For example the Sea of Galilee is smaller than most lakes in the US. The river Jordan is smaller than the creek next to where I live. A city resting on seven hills represented by the beast’s seven heads would in all probability be a capital, as the word “capital” comes from the Latin word “capitalis” meaning “head”. Further, it would be the capital of the kingdom represented by the beast.
Now in John’s vision he sees that 5 of these kings are from the same kingdom or Beast are dead, one is currently ruling, and one more is to come which leads to the ‘8th’ ruler or king which is the ‘beast’
Remember our definitions for a beast. It equals a kingdom.
Now let us continue as we read, . ‘The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.’ Let us replace the word beast with kingdom and look at the verse again. ‘The kingdom that was [existed before] , and is not [ not a current kingdom’ , is himself [ruler] also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.[ The word “perdition” means “eternal damnation” or “utter destruction.” It can also be used as a noun, as a synonym for hell. When a person is called “son of perdition,” the connotation is that of a person in an unredeemable state, someone who is already damned while they are still alive.]
So in a nutshell this 8th king is the Antichrist and his future is not going to turn out very well.
Now what about the 10 horns and crowns? Again it says in Revelation 17, ‘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 “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”
Do you know what the word ‘diadem’ means? It is a crown having other crowns on top of it. So, we have to stop and think what king in today’s world wears such a crown?
There are going to be 10 leaders that will fully back this ruler – The Antichrist. The word ‘hour’ means a short time. We see in chapter 18 verse 10 that all their support and unity will only last for a short time before total destruction will happen – ‘Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.’
Who are these 10 leaders that give their allegiance to the Antichrist? It doesn’t say. However, it is important to note that these 10 are not some worldly divisional leadership or nations but they all are part of the Beast’s kingdom.
"And the ten horns which thou saw are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. See, they never were crowned kings, but they received power as kings one hour in the reign of the beast.- "Received power as king one hour with the beast." Now, all right. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He Is Lord of lord, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, the chosen, and faithful."
Please note that the crowns and horns are on the beast or Antichrist. They are not independent nations.
So, we have 10 important people who do not have power or authority but support the Antichrist. As a reward to them they are promoted to a leadership position with the Beast but this only lasts a short time.
and on his heads a blasphemous name.
Okay, what is Blaspheme? The first answer many say is using our Holy God’s Name in vain or cursing. Not so!
Here is what the Bible lists as the sin of Blaspheme.
. The Unpardonable Sin
Matt. 12, 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
. A man claiming to be God
John 10 31 , Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
. Only God can forgive sins
Matthew 9, 1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
2 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 Beast has incorporated the 3 kingdoms that were before it. Remember the kingdom of Babylon was represented as a lion; Media-persia was the bear, and Greece was the leopard. So what kingdom comes after these? – Rome.
3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed.
One of the heads looked like it was mortally wounded. This kingdom appeared as though it died. It really didn’t yet it looked that way. Then miraculously it came back to full power that it once maintained.
And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
People who currently exist on the world pay homage to the leader of this kingdom by kneeling or bowing down before him. This kingdom is exempt from any and all wars as people reverently worship it.
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies,
This individual as we just discussed blasphemes.
and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
This leaders ruler ship lasts for 3 and ½ years.
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
Now as we have seen this guy has first worn a crown full of blasphemy, then he started speaking blaspheme, and not he is upping the blasphemy to our Holy El Shaddai – Almighty God.
7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The 42 months have also been described as the Tribulation. There will be natural and super national disasters going on in the world. The world will turn to him to be the answer for all the ‘woes’ going on. Little do they realize that they are selling themselves into slavery.
Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ will not go along with this move and as a result the Beast will direct his hatred toward them and will be successful in killing many Christians.
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
In the book of Job Satan had defiantly spoken to our Holy Master that mankind is weak and will break when threatened. He told our Holy God, ‘skin for skin’. When faced with a crisis mankind will do whatever it takes to survive even to the point of rejecting God.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Just like many saints of old believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may have to be martyrs
. Clothes worn by individuals in this kingdom are different than what is worn by others
These people dress differently than other people in the world. They appear to go back thousands of years ago and wear the clothes of people who lived then. Significantly they like the colors scarlet and purple. These colors were worn by nobility.
A drucken woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet,
Do you remember what a woman represented? It was a church. The woman reflected in chapter 17 was an immoral woman which represents a corrupt church
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”3 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. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Items used in this current kingdom are expensive
Revelation 17 ‘and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
So, it’s now time for you to determine who the Antichrist is and what is the name of his kingdom. Again for your benefit here are the clues John gives us;
.Beast = kingdom
.Beast absorbed the first 3 empires – Babylon, Media-Persia, & Greece.
.Refers itself to the title Holy Sea [See]
.The capital of this kingdom sits on 7 hills
.Known by the things he wears – Diadem, purple and scarlet robes, use gold and precious jewels
.Blasphemes - Claims he can forgive sins
.Blasphemes - Claims that he is god on earth
/ Immoral woman = corrupt church
.Kingdom appeared to have ended and then came back to full power or life again
.People all over the earth pay him homage to him.
.Will cause believers in our Lord Jesus Christ to be killed
