Revelation 13:1-4
If you were to look at a New American Standard bible NASB it says, "The dragon stood on the sand of the sea." This appears to be a better translation of the sentence. Remember that we left off chapter 12 with the dragon, Satan enraged at being kicked out of heaven; enraged at not being able to devour Israel; and now he is after anyone who has the testimony of Jesus. Then the dragon stood by the sea. Like a general standing before the field of battle, the dragon stands by this sea and conducts his business. How did Satan do this? The rest of Chapter 13 is going to tell us how.
We see the same language of the signs and symbols we saw in chapter 12. This is still symbolic language of the sign before John. This beast is a sign and he rises up out of the sea. In those days the sea was an uncontrolled place of danger and chaos. It was uncontrollable and who could know what peril lurked below the surface. That's what makes the sea a great symbol of the nations. The bible often speaks of the nations as a sea, specifically gentiles nations. These nations rise and fall; danger and chaos lurk. What brave new king or prince will rise up? It seemed uncontrollable.
We know this beast rises from the sea of nations and peoples at the beginning of the tribulation. He rises up from the vast and somewhat common, from the turmoil and disorder of an uncontrollable sea rises a beast that proves to be extraordinary. He appears to be the one that makes a covenant and brings a false peace to the Middle East. He won't look like a beast at all. To those on the earth, he will look like a savior, a great leader, peace-maker and politician.
John sees him symbolically, and this symbol reveals the character and nature of very real man. He will seem very nondescript and will rise up almost spontaneously from nowhere. Yet we know this man is an emissary of Satan. This man becomes the hands and feet and evil mind that will do Satan's work. The dragon stands by the sea plotting and deceiving and the beast rises to power.
This beast has 7 heads and ten horns. On his horns are 10 crowns. On his heads a blasphemous name exists. The symbol of Satan as a dragon last chapter was very similar. That dragon also had 7 heads with 10 horns like his father, the devil. However, on the horns of the dragon we saw only 7 diadems. On this beast we have 10 diadems.
In the book of Daniel God answered Daniel's prayer by showing him a vision of the great kingdoms of man over the course of history. The first kingdom was like a lion, the 2nd like a bear and the 3rd like a leopard. With each successive kingdom many of the attributes, especially the evil ones, carried on to the next.
- The lion was Babylon
- The bear Medo-Persia
- The leopard was Greece
Israel had persevered through each of these kingdoms and more. In studies of nations there are patterns and cycles that every nation is subject, that is, except Israel. They stand apart, or should we say they are set apart. They refuse to assimilate into the quagmire of humanity. They were regathered to Israel in May of 1948, rocking the world of many scholars who had long since given up. However, God's not done with Israel until Jesus comes again.
In the bear you saw traces of the lion. In the leopard you saw the lion and the bear and so on. As an example, many of the false gods and goddesses can be traced through these kingdoms. The names changed with the kingdoms yet the character and nature of these false gods were the same because they came from the same place. You see this in Ashtoreth, Isis, Venus, Aphrodite, Diana and many others. This shouldn't surprise us.
So, back to Revelation, this final beast is 'like' a leopard, a bear and a lion. This points us right back to Daniel. The kingdoms are listed as the lion, bear, leopard and terrible beast. In Revelation, the beast is first and he is like the leopard, bear and lion. The order is reversed. Some suggest this is because Daniel is looking forward towards those kingdoms; John is viewing them from the other direction.
Here's what Daniel saw in the 4th beast..........
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.
The beast we see here in Revelation is this same beast of Daniel. This is the final kingdom of man, the final fallen kingdom that rises from the chaos and confusion. It is the culmination of all previous kingdoms, the capstone of humanism. It will be a kingdom of the spiritually lost and confused. That chaos and confusion is part of the turmoil of the sea. It may well be caused by a great war or from the rapture of the church. Satan will mount his final 7 year battle against God and mankind and he will work partly through the hands of this beast. This is how people will come to follow another god, another way. They will be deceived by this great world leader who will turn out to be a beast that is dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong with iron teeth for devouring, breaking in pieces. This beast, this kingdom, and all its evil ways have lurked beneath the surface for thousands of years, always at work, always working against God's plan and purpose.
This beast becomes hard to distinguish from the dragon because they are nearly one and the same. This beast exists for one purpose, the purpose of evil, to lie, steal, kill, destroy and lead souls to hell. The beast is the tangible and visible manifestation of Satan during the 7-year end time's scenario. Is the beast the Antichrist or is this beast the nation or kingdom? I'd say both are right. This beast is both a kingdom and the Anti-Christ leader of that kingdom. They are one in the same.
One of the heads, one of the powers of this beast was mortally wounded we are told and the deadly wound is healed. Most believe this world leader is killed by a head wound and then resurrected. It's not hard to imagine. This man is a counterfeit Christ, an instead of Christ, the Anti-Christ. I'm guessing he will rise again and probably will do it in 3 days, not just copying Christ but mocking Him. When he rises from the dead the world will be enamored with him and follow him. This will strengthen his hold on the deceived.
Behind the scene, Satan stands by the sea conducting his symphony of evil.
There was a day when I would have said I don't think people would knowingly worship Satan. I'm not sure of that now. The world is so full of hatred and spite. People do many things today, I would have never dreamed possible. I don't think they will care who he is as long as it benefits them or serves their purpose. This man will seem too good to be true. This great beast will have all the answers? Every day people follow demons and false gods of this world. The beast will lead them to Satan. This will appear as a great victory for Satan in this war.
Who is like this beast? Who can make war against such a great kingdom and this great man? This is parody of several old testament passages asking the rhetorical question of Yahweh:
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Ex 15:11)
Note: See also Psalm 35:10 and Isaiah 40:25.
This king and kingdom will be a source of hope to a people desiring life on their terms. Theey will long for answers and a plan. This man will meet their needs and they will fall before him.
Revelation 13:5-8
God has not lost control, He remains sovereign. It is He that grants this authority. The beast will:
- Speak great things – extraordinary things, getting the attention of man. Daniel said, "pompous words" which makes us think he is boasting of himself while blaspheming God.
- Speak Blasphemies against God – boldly, without pause, empowering the hardhearted to join him in agreement. This beast will speak against God and everything God stands for. Think about that: love, law, liberty, family, marriage, morality, grace, kindness, charity, joy; these are all God's institutions and ideas. This and more are all under attack today.
He is also given the authority to work out his agenda for 42 months. As he speaks, he disrespects God's name, His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven.
- The beast is a believer in God. To disrespect His name is to disrespect His character.
- What is the tabernacle of God? There was no temple when John wrote this. There would be a rebuilt temple in the end. But John said tent. It was John that wrote, "And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us."
- He hates those who dwell in heaven. God first and all who trust in Him. I believe those heaven dwellers are the church who escaped the wrath to come when the Lord raptured them.
Romans 1 says.....
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
I think this man will sound like a politician, promising jobs, prosperity and change. He will be slick, a smooth talker with authority. He will offer people a means to suppress the truth. He will make it easy for them to ignore what is manifest in them. He will offer them hope in a world crashing down around them.
It's through the beast that these things will be done. The anti-Christ is the means by which Satan conducts his plans. And Satan stands by the sea, as a general on the field of battle. God will allow the beast to martyr those who rejected the dragon's agenda but instead trusted in the shed blood of Christ. He is, in fact, empowered them to have authority over the world, of those who worship and follow him.
This beast, the antichrist, is the leader of a one world government. All the nations and all the people will be called to bow before him. This will not be forced worship, at least not in the beginning. Anyone whose name is not written in the Lamb's book of life will be in trouble. The pressure to bow down and conform will be intense. We see the lines being drawn. To profess Christ will be a death sentence. To choose the beast and subsequently worship him and his ways will be Anti-Christ. This will be especially hard when this beast will seem so nice and proper. He'll seem harmless enough and seem welcoming and make it very easy for people to follow him.
We can see this beginning to happen today. The freedom to seek The Lord is an amazing freedom. The opportunity to openly pursue God and be transformed by Him is slowly being taken away. Sadly, many churches are giving it away and surrendering to the culture.
Revelation 13:9-10
What else are ears for if not to hear? However, mankind has a unique and quite developed ability to practice selective hearing. Ears become filters to cancel out anything we don't want to hear or upsets our plans. A solemn warning is issued that should not be filtered. If you follow the beast and lead other people into captivity and the sword, you will be held accountable. Even though all these end times events are ordained by God, it doesn't remove the personal responsibility from each person.
Why would a warning like this be issued from John to the church?
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. (1 John 2:18-19)
It may appear that the beast is in total control. It may appear that the dragon is sovereign as he stands by the sea and conducts the affairs of the world. It will probably appear that one must bow before this man in order to survive. It will take incredible faith and patience to survive as a saint in these days. Persecution will be severe, suffering extreme and many will die for their faith. This warning is: whatever happens, whatever threat, stay faithful to the Lord.
Revelation 13:11-12
Another beast comes on the scene. While the first came from the sea, this one comes from the earth. This beast has 2 horns like a lamb. We follow a lamb who rose from the earth. This beast rises from the earth and speaks like a lamb. That will be the only thing lamblike about him. This beast is the Anti-spirit. He speaks like Satan and has the same authority of the first beast. This 2nd beast is many times called the False Prophet. This false prophet leads the world to worship the first beast.
The two beasts testify of the Satan, the dragon, and his ways. They appear as a parody of the two witnessed God had in Jerusalem for the first 3 ½ years. The dragon and these two beasts also appear as a false trinity or an unholy trinity. The dragon likening himself as god, the Anti-Christ likens himself to Christ and the false prophet as a kind of unholy spirit pointing to the work of the beast and Satan, the authority behind him.
This false prophet will bring another level of deception by performing false signs and wonders. It's not hard to imagine an astonished proclaim, "He must be from God, did you see what he did, he called down fire from heaven." By calling down fire, the false prophet associates himself with Elijah and parodies the two witnesses who did the same. He could also be mocking tongues of fire of Pentecost.
The signs and wonders are authentic, they're just not from God. All those who dwell on earth will be deceived. No one will have seen anything like this. In addition, an image was made of the Anti-Christ. In John's day, this wasn't anything uncommon. Several of the Roman empowers came to think of themselves as gods. There were temples in many of the major cities built to worship the Caesars. The image set up in these temples gave them a connection to their god as they burned a pinch of incense and hailed him.
Somehow the false prophet gives breath to this image. By that it is able to speak and even punish those who don't worship it. There's no way of knowing if this is some kind of supernatural idol or its some technological statue. Either way, it's a spiritual idol. This is one of those passages we couldn't imagine how it could be fulfilled. Now, with computers and robotics or just video technology or deep fake, this Idol will seem intelligent and present a kind of false omniscience.
This is probably the idol set up in the temple at the midpoint of the tribulation; the abomination that causes desolation. As the world is called to worship the antichrist, the Jews offering sacrifices in the temple will cease. This idol will become a permanent presence in the temple. The temple was created for the worship God. The holy of holies was where God's presence once descended. That same place at the midpoint will be used to worship the Anti-Christ. The holy of holies may well become unholy of unholies with this idol of the Antichrist set up there.
Revelation 13:16-17
It's just in the last few years we've seen this idea of marking people come to fruition. It's strange because many resists the idea of making voters identify themselves in a positive way. However, the idea has surfaced to mark people who have taken the Covid vaccine, which is another way of saying they want to identify those who didn't. The far left wanted to start making lists of conservative voters after the last election to bring persecution against them. Others are using chip implants for purchasing or security. It's not farfetched at all and may be closer than we think.
This beast isn't going to force worship per se. However, if he sets up a cashless culture and welcomes everyone to come to his authority to buy groceries or receive a paycheck, people will line up. It will seem harmless. It won't appear to be worship of Satan or the Anti-Christ.
This mark of the beast is probably the most widely known part of the end times scenario. It's also the most widely speculated which means there's a lot of junk out there. Under the government of this unholy trinity, one must have a mark to function in the end time's economy. This 2nd beast, the false prophet brings this about. It doesn't matter who you are, how much money you have, you will need a mark to buy or sell.
Once again, we see Satan has no original thoughts. This idea of marking his followers came from God. We saw specifically that God marked the 144,000 on the forehead back in chapter 7.
Look at another place though.
Deuteronomy 6:6-8, 14
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
God called for His people to be marked by His word. The Jews literally wore it on their hand and as frontlets between their eyes; and Tefillin that bound the word to their hands. It's interesting that the false prophet requires something very similar.
The word for mark is just what it sounds like a mark or a stamp. Whatever this is will reveal ownership and allegiance to the beast. There are 3 acceptable things: you will have to have the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
The number of a name was well understood at that time. In the Greek and also Hebrew letters were associated with a numerical value. For example: If A=1 and B=2 and C=3 and so on..... Then Doug would be 4 15 21 7......or 47. The number in my name would be 47. Of course, the values weren't that simple and the Greek alphabet is different from ours.
What do you do with this? Here is wisdom. If you have understanding, you calculate. If one could figure out the name behind the number then one would know who the Anti-Christ is. This is a popular topic of rampant speculation. I'm guessing we won't figure out any more than anyone else in the last 2000 years.
It's entertaining to see some of the stuff people have come up with. The Roman numeral for 666 is DCLXVI; this is one each of the roman numerals under 1000. Six times six is 36; if you then add all the numbers from 1 to 36 it equals 666. So, this man is clearly a 36 year old Roman. That's how goofy some of these speculations are.
Others have taken the numbers of names and thought they found the antichrist. People have named popes, John Knox, Martin Luther, Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin. I remember hearing Ronald Wilson Reagan since there are 6 letters in each name. You could spend hours studying all the tortured math and contortion of facts people have put on the internet, all to match the number 666 to a man. There are better ways to spend your time. Spend it reading and studying the word.
John wrote, "Here is wisdom." It isn't wisdom to spend endless hours of speculation on who this man is. The information given is for those who will live through that time. When this man rises to power, those who have wisdom will be able to associate this man, whoever he is, with the number of his name. This call to calculate and have wisdom is for the Saint in that day. What we need to know is the power behind this number. Satan stands by the sea and conducting his war against God's creatures and creations.
Satan will stand by the great sea of nations. One will rise that will be the "instead of Christ". And another will rise from the earth dwellers and "instead of Holy spirit". Satan, the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet make up the unholy Trinity. This unholy trinity will deceive and lie and destroy. They will be very successful but their time is short. This same spirit is at work today. And the world is rushing to its divine appointment with the end.
Facebook