Rev 13:1a (NIV) And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
Rev 13:1-4 (ESV) And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with
ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names
on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like
a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his
power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a
mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as
they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his
authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like
the beast, and who can fight against it?"
- The dragon is standing on the seashore and the beast is coming out of the sea
- They are not the same, they are different
- Dragon has seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns (authority over the whole earth through his son, the Antichrist)
- Beast has seven heads and ten horns and ten crowns (He has the three crowns of the three rulers defeated in battle)
- Seven heads: These are the seven rulers
- Ten horns: These are ten regions
- Ten crowns versus seven crowns: The Antichrist wears the crowns of the three defeated rulers (this is the only distinction between the Antichrist and Satan -- the distinction is only in appearance -- I think that is a clue personally)
- It comes out of the sea
- Ancient world often associated evil with the sea and used the sea as a figure for the abyss
- The sea is also a symbol of the agitated surface of unregenerate humanity [NOT IN NOTES]
- Isa 57:20 (ESV) But the wicked are like the tossing sea; // for it cannot be quiet, // and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
- The beast resembles what? A picture from Daniel
Dan 7:2-8 (NIV) Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked,
and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3
Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.
I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so
that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a
bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth
between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast,
one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of
a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before
me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had
large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot
whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten
horns.
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was
another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first
horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a
mouth that spoke boastfully.
- Lion is Babylon
- Bear is Medo-Persia, somewhat large and bulky
- Leopard is Greece which under Alexander the Great swept across the East. He died early, and his kingdom was divided among his four Generals
- Fourth beast is terrifying, frightening, and very powerful. It starts out as Rome, but it is not clear the it has ever ended, for it is really imperialism
- Imperialism (www.yourdictionary.com)
- the policy and practice of forming and maintaining an empire in seeking to control raw materials and world markets by the conquest of other countries, the establishment of colonies, etc.
- the policy and practice of seeking to dominate the economic or political affairs of underdeveloped areas or weaker countries
- IMPLICATION: The beast is a ruler or system of government
- One of the head of the beast has a mortal wound that was healed (verse 3) -- that gives us the identity -- who is it?
- It is the Antichrist who is brought back from the dead by Satan
- Could also be Satan embodying the Antichrist
- Men worship the dragon, Satan
- Men worship the beast, the Antichrist (some of it may be out of fear of his military capabilities)
- APPLICATION: Men have had a desire to rule the world from all time. It is sin that gives people the desire to rule over others. Even today, we see bullies in the workplace because of our sinful desire to exalt ourselves over others. Show mercy at work. Treat people with kindness. Don't bully others
Rev 13:5-10 (ESV) And the beast was given a mouth uttering
haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for
forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God,
blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7
Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And
authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8
and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been
written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that
was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let
him hear:
10 If anyone is to be
taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain
with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the
endurance and faith of the saints.
- The Antichrist now fully rules the earth for 42 months, the last half of the tribulation
- He is apparently an Atheist (He sounds like one of the new Atheists)
- He blasphemes God
- He slanders his name
- He slanders his dwelling place
- He slanders those who live in heaven
- He has authority to go after Christians (and conquer them, verse 7) -- God does not stop him
- Every atheist's dream: to finally take religion out of the world and show everyone how great humanity can be without the evils of religion
- Example: myth that most war is caused by religion. An actual analysis shows:
- Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, a massive 1,502-page compendium compiled by nine reputable professors of history, shows 123 wars out of 1763 wars of 6.98 percent
- Half of the 123, or 66 wars were waged by Islamic nations
- He actually has authority over every person on the earth
- Everyone, who is not a believer, worships the beast
- The verse makes it clear that not everyone's name is in the Lamb's book of life -- so universalism cannot be true
- Verses 9,10 are fearful but also hopeful. There are two views, but in both God is control
- One thought is that the believer cannot stop what happens, it will happen. In vs 7, Satan is given power over the tribulation saints, and that is why patient endurance and faithfulness is required
- The second thought is that the perpetrator will be the one going into captivity or to be killed. In which, you still need to be patient to see God's justice
- The grammar and the context seem to suggest the first explanation
- APPLICATION: Atheism believes that the good of the many can allow it to take the lives of the few. The end justifies the means. Even today, we abort babies, because it makes life better for the individual. Ultimately, real life is only found in a relationship with Christ. Sin begets sin, and sin will never satisfy the true desire of your soul
Rev 13:11-18 (ESV) Then I saw another beast rising out of the
earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises
all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and
its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire
come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it
is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on
earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the
sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the
beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those
who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes
all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be
marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell
unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its
name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the
one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the
number of a man, and his number is 666.
- We have another beast, what is the difference?
- The first comes out of the water (which could mean the abyss). Second comes from the earth (lesser quality; also monsters from the deep are more scary than those from the earth)
- First has ten horns, second has two horns (lesser authority)
- Verse 11: Second is like a lamb (fools people with gentleness-emphasizes Christ as a prophet) but speaks like a dragon (his words are more like Satan)
- The second beast performs like a prophet
- Miraculous signs (Note that only then Antichrist is around!)
- Orders an image of the first beast to be worshipped
- He appears to give life to the inanimate object
- He kills those who refuse to worship
- He forces everyone to receive a mark in order to execute commerce
- The mark is required to conduct commerce. It is stated in conjunction with the requirement to worship the beast or be killed
- So, if you are not dead, then you have agreed to worship the beast
- It is not evil to get a mark on your forehead or your hand. It may be that because of theft that the world moves to this system. What is evil is the agreement to worship the beast in order to conduct business
- There are a number of suggestions as how to view the 666. The text gives us some clues
- Name of the beast
- Number of his name (number of man)
- You must calculate the number
- The Jewish alphabet has 22 letters. Give example of how you might use English
- תומאס וויליאם מיקס
- Thomas: (200+8+60+40+1+100) = 409
- William: (500+9+30+30+9+1+40) = 619
- Mix: (40+9+600) = 649
- Total is 409+619+649=1,677
- Jesus Christ is ישוע המשיח = 749 or 7 and 7x7
- Certainly there is also symbolism in the number. The three sixes are a trilogy. The six is just short of seven for God
- APPLICATION: We need to employ principle and not religious dogma as we view the future. There is nothing evil with a one-world government. The messianic kingdom will certainly have some aspects. There is nothing wrong with an NFC card inserted into your skin. Let's not confuse the real evil with actions that will occur at that time
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