Revelation Chapter 13
|
This chapter reveals the coming of two world rulers. The Beast is the political leader, while the False Prophet is the religious leader. We see a One World Government and a One World Church. These things are in preparation today. The Beast (political leader) is known as the Antichrist, though Revelation does not actually give him at title. We know that he is the Antichrist because he sets himself up to be worship. The False Prophet will declare him to be the Messiah and God. He will be Satan's man - the embodiment of evil. |
||
| 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. | The First Beast - the political leader - will rise up from humanity. Some have suggested that he will be a demonic spirit in a fleshly body. He in fact will be born like anyone else, but I wonder if cloning has anything to do with this. A cloned human cannot have a spirit given by God! He rises up out of "the sea". The "sea" is symbolic of humanity (see Revelation 17:15 & Isaiah 17:12; 57:20-21). He will offer hope to a world at war and in political / religious disarray. He is described as having seven heads and ten horns. Scripture interprets itself, so we know that the seven heads are actually seven hills (Revelation 17:9). In the Mediterranean world this can only refer to Rome. What we call the European Community was originally named The Treaty of Rome. The E.C. was founded in Rome, therefore it is the Antichrist's system. The Ten Horns are actually Ten Kings in Revelation 17:12. This describes a confederation of ten nations - exactly what the E.C. originally was. Because more nations are in the E.C. now does not take away from this, for Daniel 11 reveals that the Antichrist will take over many lands. It is the Ten Founding Members that are the authority. The fact that "horns" are used reveals that they are in control. We must recognise though that the Beast is the central figure - he wears all the crowns! These nations have pledged their allegiance to him. This man will claim to be the God of all gods, thus he will wear the crowns of all religions other than Biblical Christianity. | |
| 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. |
John portrays the Beast as looking like a leopard, having feet like a bear, and a mouth like a lion. What we are seeing here is a combination of three of the world's most terrifying empires. These are Medo-Persian, Babylonian, and Greek. An in-depth study of Daniel will advance our understanding of these symbols. The Antichrist Empire will have the traits of the other three, but the Beast's power comes directly from Satan. So here we see the demonic trinity; Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet. He gets a "seat" - this is the place of total authority - a dictatorship. History is full of evidence of what evil results from one man gaining ultimate control over a nation. It is possible that this man will be fully possessed by Satan. |
|
| 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. |
This verse teaches us that he will have a
deadly wound that has miraculously been healed. This wound should have killed him. There are three possibilities here in interpreting the meaning of this verse:- a) It describes the revival of the Roman Empire, and that the spirit of ancient Rome is still alive an well within the European Community. b) Some have suggested that the Antichrist will be a reincarnation of a previous world ruler of ancient times since he come from the bottomless pit. This is highly unlikely, but it could be the same demonic spirit that possessed them. c) The wound is actual evidence of an assassination attempt. The world thinks he is dead, but instead he is resurrected (just like Jesus). Whichever way it works out, the world will worship him. Something about him draws the adoration of the masses. They'd never venerate another Hitler would they? Don't doubt it! |
|
| 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? |
He becomes the star of the nations. Everyone loves him. Who will dare speak out against such a wonderful man? It will be at this point that the central government will be set up with the Beast as its elected president (emperor). In adoring the Antichrist mankind will be actually worshipping Satan. So, we see, that the final one world church will be Satanic not Christian, Islam or Jewish. All this multi-faith talk is heading society this way, directly into the arms of Satan. Mankind will get the government it deserves. |
|
| 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. | d) He will gain power, but only for 3 1/2 years. We must remember that he does not have his own power, but is under the authority of Satan himself. | |
| 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. | e) He will gain power through atheism and humanism. He will reject everything of God whilst promoting himself to be the only God. By building his headquarters in Jerusalem he seeks to offend the Lord God Almighty as much as possible. All religions will accept him as their spiritual leader (see Daniel 11:36). | |
| 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. |
f) He will gain power through religious persecution. The world hates Biblical Christianity, so guess where his first line of attack will be! The world will not raise its voice, especially now that he is seeking to destroy Christianity. He will also turn upon Judaism (as we saw in the previous chapter). g) Though he is building a Europe-wide empire, he will endeavour to control the entire planet. This may include forcing other nations to submit to his authority by threatening war. |
|
| 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. | Everyone who submits to the Antichrist can never be part of God's Kingdom. Once the pledge of allegiance has be made there is no going back. Such people will doom their souls to a lost eternity. | |
| 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. | It is time for the church of our day to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The book of Revelation is purposely ignored by the majority of the church world today, but those who are willing to hear will read and understand it. | |
| 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. | It is up to us as individuals how we respond to the message of Revelation. We go into spiritual bondage by personal choice. We can damn our souls simply because we choose to disobey God. Those who have true faith will endure and stand firm in Christ until then end (see Matthew 10:22). | |
| 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. |
Here we have the prophecy concerning the second beast and his area of activity upon the earth. Though most Bible commentators focus upon the Antichrist (the first beast) it is important to note that he needs the second beast. In this final section of Revelation 13 we will come to understand who he is and what he will do. He comes from the "earth". This probably means that he will come from the common people and that he will not be a politician, though he will be elected to high office under the Antichrist. The masses will accept him because he will be "a down to earth" type of person. He will be a man of humility and meekness, visualised by the lamb, but behind his sugar-coated words is all the power of Satan. He will appear to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but in fact he will devoted to the devil. Jesus warned us to be careful of wolves dressed in sheepskin coats! - "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:15). This second beast will be a religious leader in the Christian world, but he will not be promoting the true Christ, instead he will be the Antichrists PR man. He will motivate people, especially nominal Christians, to accept the first beast as their saviour. We know that he will be a religious leader because he is termed a "false prophet" wherever he is mentioned (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10). |
|
| 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. | His Satanically given ministry involves directing mankind to worship the Antichrist. He will represent the Antichrist on the religious level, and like him will be a very charismatic figure. In this we must see that Church and State must be united in the Antichrist's Empire. This will evolve into a Europe-wide single religion. The foundations of this religion must be Roman Catholicism. Therefore it is highly likely that the second beast will be a future pope. | |
| 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, | Because he has the power of Satan he will be able to perform miracles (or at least appear to do so since the next verse reveals that it is deception). Calling down fire from the sky will certainly convince many that he is from God. We must remember that this is happening during the second 3 1/2 year period, at exactly the same time the two prophets of God are calling down fire in Jerusalem (11:3-13). Therefore the false prophet will seek to prove that he has the same credentials as they. | |
| 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. | He will work by counterfeiting the power of God (the devil has been highly successful in this area). In a word, it is all deception. The goal is universal worship of the Antichrist. It will then be suggest that a statue of the Antichrist be built as an aid to worship. Amongst all the denominations within Christendom, the Catholic Church alone has had no problem with idolatry. Some believe that this "image" will be an holographic representation, this could be true considering the next verse. This, whatever form it takes, will be placed in the new temple in Jerusalem. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand). (Matthew 24:15). | |
| 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. |
With the help of modern technology he will cause the image to speak. It is obvious that the image cannot speak by itself. We have three options here: a) It will contain pre-recorded speeches by the Antichrist. b) It will be live audio-visual broadcasting from the Antichrist's headquarters. c) It will be the direct voice of Satan. It seems that this image helps bind this multi-faith religion together, and that it is vital if the Antichrist is to secure total devotion. There will be those who know the truth and will not accept this deception. Through this image the Antichrist will be able to pronounce the death sentence upon them. We should read a Europe-wide persecution of Christians and Jews into this. |
|
| 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: |
How will the "image" know that the person before it is not a devotee of the Beast? Probably, by the same modern technology, it will be able to scan for the "Mark". Everyone who submits to the Antichrist system will receive an identification mark in their right hand or upon their foreheads. This "mark" will be similar to "bar-code" but based upon personal DNA. It is highly unlikely that it will take the form of a tattoo since it is placed "in" the hand and forehead, that is, implanted - a silicon chip implant. | |
| 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. | This implant contains everything about the person. Where he lives, how much he has in the bank, and a record of every aspect of his life. Credit cards are not the Mark of the Beast, but the next step in the process must be the implanted version. The Antichrist system will control every person finances, but it also proves that they must be contained within a Europe-based Centralised Bank. Which also means that one country within Europe will hold the purse-strings of all. The majority will take the mark because they will have no other way of but food upon their tables and sustaining life. | |
| 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. | Here is wisdom. Who is the Beast? Many have come up with names of historical characters whose names added up to 666. Please see our article on 666 to amplify this discussion. It is no use trying to figure it out in English, Latin or Hebrew, since Revelation was written in Greek. The Greek language will reveal who this man is. I believe that this part of Revelation will not be unfolded until the time. One man will have 666 (Six Hundred and Sixty-Six not three sixes or three times six [18]). It is that person's DNA / Identification code. Many Bible Commentators teach that 6 is the number of man who has fallen short of perfection (7), therefore 666 explains that the Antichrist is a fallen man. Revelation does not offer us three individual sixes, it is a single mathematical figure - Six hundred, three score and six. Do I know who the Antichrist is? No, but keep your eyes on his False Prophet (the pope of Rome), he will reveal him soon enough. Then go and add up the numerical equivalent of his name. It adds up to 666 doesn't it! |