THE FIRST BEAST – REVELATION 13:1-10 Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all things and Master Teacher, we humbly come into Your presence to seek Your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to these Holy Scriptures. We earnestly pray for enlightenment as we study together, and we ask You, Father, to open our eyes to see the truths contained in these words. Open our minds to comprehend that which we are reading, and open our hearts to receive the message that You have for us. Finally, dear Father, we ask for the strength and courage to live our lives in a manner of the called, constantly giving You the glory, honor, and praise that You deserve. We claim these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Twenty-nine years before Christ came as the Babe of Bethlehem, the worship of Caesar had been instituted throughout the Roman Empire. Initially, the Caesars viewed this as little more than a way to stir up feelings of patriotism within the people of the empire. But at the end of the first century, Caesar Nero actually believed his press clippings and truly believed he was God in the flesh. Thus, beginning with his reign, every subject within the Roman Empire was required to go to one of the pagan temples, stand before a priest, and confess on a yearly basis that Caesar was Lord. For most, it was merely an annoyance. Not so for the believers. They wouldn’t play the game. As a result, most historians believe that the number of Christians killed in the ten waves of persecution that followed exceeded six million. Consequently, what John writes about here is not only for us in these last days in terms of prophecy and eschatology—but for the hearts of his flock, who themselves were face-to-face with the beast of Roman persecution. You see, John the prophet is also John the pastor—sharing his heart with any and all facing hard times.… Revelation 13:1 (a) And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast… The beast John sees is Antichrist. “Antichrist” literally meaning “in place of Christ,” John would go on to write that there are many antichrists—not the Antichrist, but anything that takes one’s focus off Jesus (1 John 2:18). Here in Revelation 13, however, the reference is to the Antichrist. Revelation 13:1 (b) …rise up out of the sea… “The sea” in Bible typology always referring to Gentile nations as opposed to “the land” referring to Israel, the mention of the sea here indicates that Antichrist will not come from Israel. In fact, chapter 17 goes on to say that the beast will come from the ten Gentile nations that stem from the old Roman Empire and that make up the last world empire. But this doesn’t necessarily mean Antichrist will be a Gentile, for he could be a European Jew. Revelation 13:1 (c) …having seven heads… Revelation 17 identifies the seven heads as the seven mountains of Rome. Thus, Antichrist’s government will initially be based in the city of Rome. Revelation 13:1 (d) …and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns… There are ten crowns on only seven heads because, according to Daniel 2 and 7, when Antichrist comes to power, he will initially grab the reigns of three nations from the ten-nation confederation. As you study history, you catch glimpses of men who wanted to revive the glory of Rome. But it won’t happen until Antichrist comes, for he alone will be able to reignite the fire of the Roman Empire. Revelation 13:1 (e) …and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. The beast has blasphemy upon his heads because he has rebellion on his mind. The image of a seven-headed, ten-horned beast is meant to be monstrous and hideous, for such is the nature of the one who is rebellious, who is blasphemous, who is—as we shall see—the devil incarnate. Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. The four successive empires that would rule during the time Israel was a nation are described as a glorious statue in Daniel 2. Such is man’s perspective. God’s perspective, however, is seen in Daniel 7 through a series of monstrous beasts—the same beasts described here, although in inverse order: the leopard symbolizing Alexander the Great’s ability to pounce; the bear symbolizing the Medes and the Persians, the lion symbolizing Babylon. Why is the order inversed in Daniel? Because Daniel is looking ahead, while John is looking back. Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. At this point in the Tribulation, Antichrist is mortally wounded. According to Zechariah 11:17, there will be an assassination attempt on Antichrist that will evidently cause his eye to be poked out and his right arm to be paralyzed. Because the Greek text can either be rendered “wounded to death” or “wounded to the appearance of death,” there are those who believe Antichrist will only appear to be dead as a result of this wound. My opinion, however, is that he truly will die and descend to hell (Revelation 17:8). Revelation 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? At the point this popular, powerful figure—who captures the affection and imagination of the entire world with all of his grand ideas and peace programs—ascends from hell, he truly is the incarnation of Satan. Just as Jesus Christ comes from heaven and is God, it would seem as though Antichrist will truly be the incarnation of the dragon, of Satan. Put yourself in the shoes of those who will see this great leader come back to life after being assassinated, and you will understand why they will give Satan what he has desired ever since he was cast out of heaven before the fall: worship. Revelation 13:5 (a) And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies… Antichrist is on a roll. He’s on Larry King, Oprah, World News Tonight declaring that he truly is deity. Revelation 13:5 (b) …and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. How long is forty-two months? Three and a half years, 1,260 days, or “a time, times and a half time.” All of these phrases pop up throughout Revelation and describe the last half of the Tribulation—the Great Tribulation. And now begins the hellish last half of Antichrist’s seven-year reign.… Revelation 13:6, 7 (a) And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints… Some people believe that the church must be on earth during the Tribulation in order for Antichrist to “make war with the saints.” But they fail to understand that there are three groups of people in the Bible referred to as saints: Simply meaning “separated one,” throughout the Old Testament the word “saints” refers to Israel. In the New Testament it refers to the church. And after the church is raptured, it refers to those who are saved in the Tribulation. Revelation 13:7 (b) …and to overcome them… “I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Jesus said (Matthew 16:18). The church will not be overcome. Therefore, this passage cannot refer to the church. Revelation 13:7 (c), 8 (a) …and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him… “Dwell” meaning “to be at home with,” and earth referring to the world system, those who are comfortable with the worldly scene will end up worshiping Antichrist. Revelation 13:8 (b) …whose names are not written in the book of life… The book of life includes the names of those who get saved during the Tribulation. Revelation 13:8 (c) …of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The book of life belongs to the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world—or from before the foundation of the world, as the newer translations render this verse. Too many people have far too small a view of what Christ did in dying for the sin of humanity—including me. Growing up, I was under the distinct impression that Jesus died on the Cross and remained there for six hours, paying the price for my sin. While that is true, it’s not the full picture. You see, the Old Testament makes unmistakably clear the fact that every sin needs to be dealt with individually. That is why Old Testament believers were required to lay their hands on the animals they sacrificed and confess their sins specifically (Leviticus 1:4). Yes, there was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement for the nation, but every individual was still required by the law to make sacrifice for his personal transgressions in the trespass offering. Multiply all of the sins of those in your church—add to that the sins of all of the people in our country, all of the folks who have lived throughout history—and the amount of sin staggers the imagination. That is why I believe that when the Word speaks of Christ being slain before the foundation of the world, only heaven will allow us to understand that He was slaughtered and slain in a way we cannot understand in the time/space continuum in which we live. Consequently, when we see Him, we will worship Him with an intensity and an explosion of praise never before experienced because we will at last see Him as a Lamb having been slain—newly slain. “I thought He was on the Cross for a few hours one Friday,” we’ll say. “I had no idea what my sin cost Him.” Revelation 13:9, 10 (a) If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. What is John saying? I can hear his heart, can’t you? He’s saying to those in his day, just as he would say to me and you today who are in tribulation or difficulties, “The one putting you in prison, unsheathing the sword, marching you into the coliseum is himself going down.” Revelation 13:10 (b) Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Do you realize how blessed we are because we know the end of the story? You may be in a difficult marriage, persecuted on the job, fighting illness, undergoing severe pressures financially, or weary of your flesh that rears its ugly head constantly. But we know one day it will all be solved. That’s what John told his people. And that’s what the Spirit would say to us. We who have been saved awhile take this for granted. But what if this was the first time you understood that everything that plagues you presently will be gone in a heartbeat; that you’re going to heaven, where everything will be wonderful forever and ever? “If any man has an ear, let him hear. Listen up,” says Pastor John. “I don’t care if you miss everything else, get this: The forces against you are soon going to be done away with: The beast, persecution, problems, will undo themselves.” That’s why I need to read the Book of Revelation over and over again. It’s not about deciphering the mark of the Beast. It’s not written to help us figure out who the false prophet or Antichrist is. It’s written to give us hope and to bring us back constantly to the fact that life is short and we’ll be in heaven soon. The person who doesn’t understand the Book of Revelation will go through life in his own personal tribulation. The person who grabs hold of Revelation, on the other hand, will live in a state of anticipation and celebration. Every single one of us will either go through this week in tribulation or celebration. Life is short. The Lord is in control. We’re going to heaven. That’s what this book is about. Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 13:30:00 +0000
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