The Beast out of the Sea (Revelation 13:2-10)
OPEN IT
- What alternatives to God do some of your friends have (such as New Age, Islam, atheism, etc.)?
EXPLORE IT
2. What kind of creature did John observe? (Revelation 13:2)
3. What did the beast look like that John saw? (Revelation 13:2)
| 4. What did the dragon (Satan) give the beast out of the sea? (Revelation 13:2) |
| 5. What was unusual about one of the heads of the beast? (Revelation 13:3) |
| 6. How did the world react and respond to the beast out of the sea? (Revelation 13:3-4) |
| 7. How long did the beast have authority? (Revelation 13:5) |
| 8. What kind of pronouncements did the beast make? (Revelation 13:5-6) |
| 9. How did the beast use his authority? (Revelation 13:7) |
| 10. Who will worship the beast? (Revelation 13:8) |
| 11. What warning did John give to all who would listen? (Revelation 13:9-10) |
| 12. What do we need to do about this? (Revelation 13:10) |
GET IT
13. What difference does it make who we worship?
14. In what way do we need to be close-minded about faith in Christ?
APPLY IT
15. How can you worship God in your attitudes and actions this week?
Commentary
And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. (13:2) As John looked more closely at the beast, he saw that it incorporated the characteristics of the animals from the vision recorded in Daniel 7:3-7:
“And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus, they said to it, Arise, devour much meat!’ After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, 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. After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
The leopard, bear, and lion were well-known in Palestine. They dramatically emphasize the characteristics of the nations they represent. The lion was a fitting symbol for the fierce, consuming power of the Babylonian Empire. The ferocity, strength, and stability of the Medo-Persian Empire led to its depiction as a bear. The Greeks’ swift conquests, particularly under the mercurial Alexander the Great, reflect the speed and viciousness of the leopard. John lists the three animals in reverse order from Daniel since he was looking backward in time. Daniel, looking forward in time, listed the animals and the kingdoms they represent in chronological order.
Like the indescribable fourth beast of Daniel 7:7, which represents the Roman Empire, Antichrist’s final empire will be a composite of the empires that preceded it. It will incorporate all the ferocity, viciousness, swiftness, and strength of the other world empires. This powerful empire, unparalleled in human history, will be Satan’s last and greatest attempt to stop the reign of Christ. But, like all Satan’s other attempts to thwart God’s purposes, it will ultimately fail.
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast; (13:3)
The head whose fatal wound will be healed can only be the future Antichrist. Whether his death is real or fake (v. 14; 2 Thess. 2:9) is not clear. It may be that Antichrist is really killed, and God, for His own purposes, allows him to be resurrected. More likely, Antichrist’s alleged death and resurrection will be a counterfeit of Christ’s death and resurrection, staged, as one of the “lying wonders” perpetrated by the false prophet (13:12-15; 2 Thess. 2:9).
Whatever happens, the people of the world will believe that Antichrist, already popular because of his great powers, has also transcended death. Since the Tribulation will be a time where the world will experience death on a scale unprecedented in human history, Antichrist’s seeming invulnerability to death will win him greater, more widespread acclaim. As a result, the whole earth will be amazed and follow the beast (v. 14; 2 Thess. 2:8-12).
They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” (13:4)
The world’s fascination with Antichrist will quickly become worship. He will encourage and demand that worship by “exalting himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4). Not content with acclaim, Antichrist will seek adoration; not content with respect, he will require reverence; not content with being hailed and heralded, he will demand to be worshiped. And those who “did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10) will be deceived into worshiping him. That deception will be fostered by the Antichrist’s associate, the false prophet, who “makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast [Antichrist], whose fatal wound was healed” (13:12).
Not only will the deceived unbelievers worship Antichrist, but they will also (wittingly or unwittingly) worship the dragon (Satan) because he gave his authority to the beast. By worshiping Antichrist, unbelievers will be worshiping Satan, the real power behind him. Some people will fully understand that; most will probably be deceived, like those of whom Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:20: “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God.” Thinking that they were worshiping the god to whom they sacrificed, the pagans were worshiping the demon impersonating that god. So, it will be for many people, who will think they are worshiping a supernaturally powerful leader but will be worshiping Satan.
As the people of the world worship Antichrist they will cry out in awe, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” By blasphemously referring to Antichrist in superlative language reserved for the worship of God (Ex. 15:11; Ps. 35:10; 113:5; Isa. 40:18, 25; 46:5; Jer. 49:19; Mic. 7:18), Antichrist’s deluded worshipers will attribute deity to him (2 Thess. 2:4). The implied answer to both rhetorical questions is “No one!” In the political, military, and religious realms, Antichrist will reign supreme and unchallenged by earth and hell.
There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. (13:5-6)
Like his master, Satan, Antichrist will be an arrogant blasphemer. Blasphemy will not be incidental but central to his operations. The phrase there was given to him refers to God’s sovereign control of events (6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5; Dan. 4:17, 25, 32). God will allow Antichrist to blaspheme to give full expression to the satanic wickedness that will cover the earth at that time. He will exhibit a total disregard for the true God by continually speaking arrogant words and blasphemies. Antichrist’s blasphemy will not be subtle, but open, outrageous, and monstrous—even to the point that he “takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess. 2:4).
But neither Antichrist’s blasphemies nor his reign of terror will last indefinitely. God will grant Antichrist authority to act for only forty-two months (the last three and a half years or 1,260 days of the Tribulation, the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy: Dan. 9:24). Antichrist and Satan will be allowed to operate only within the time limit set for them by the true Ruler of the universe. But for a few years, they will dominate the world.
It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. (13:7)
Antichrist will not be all talk; he will also be capable of decisive, deadly action. Once again, the text notes that Antichrist can do only what he is given permission by almighty God to do, thus stressing that God never relinquishes His absolute control of events. Because they will refuse to worship him, Antichrist will make war with the saints and overcome them; believers in the true God will bear the brunt of his murderous fury. He will perceive them as a threat to his authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, which again was temporarily given to him by God’s sovereignty. The result will be a worldwide slaughter of God’s people (6:9-11; 7:9-17; 11:7; 17:6; Dan. 7:25).
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. (13:8-10)
As noted previously in the discussion of verse 4, all who dwell on the earth will worship the Antichrist. (John here shifts from past tenses to future tenses.) The phrase all who dwell on the earth is used throughout Revelation to describe unbelievers (vv. 12, 14; 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 17:2, 8) and does not include everyone who will be alive at that time. Here the limiting factor is specifically stated; it is everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain that will worship Antichrist. Unbelievers, those whose names are not recorded in the book of life, will “perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10).
This astounding vision of the beast from the sea concludes with a call for spiritual understanding. The warning If anyone has an ear, let him hear is used sixteen times in the New Testament (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:9; Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35) to emphasize a particularly important truth. In all its previous uses in Revelation (chaps. 2-3), it is followed by the phrase “what the Spirit says to the churches.” The omission of that phrase suggests that the church is not in view in this passage, having been raptured before the start of the Tribulation (3:10).
Here the phrase introduces a proverb that concludes this passage: If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. This proverb contains important practical truth for those believers alive at the time of Antichrist’s persecution. They are to depend on God’s providence and not take matters into their own hands. Those believers destined by God’s sovereign plan for captivity (imprisonment) are to accept that incarceration as God’s will. They are not to resist or fight against Antichrist.
Instead of reacting violently, believers must exemplify the perseverance and the faith of the saints. They must be like the Lord Jesus Christ, who “while being reviled … did not revile in return; while suffering … uttered no threats but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). When believers follow Christ’s example, noted Peter, “those who revile [their] good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Pet. 3:16). Those who are “reviled for the name of Christ … are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on [them]” (1 Pet. 4:14).
THINK ABOUT THIS: Satan has long wedded political tyranny with false religion to rule the world. Believers of all ages have suffered under such unholy alliances of persecuting powers, whether under Babylon, the Roman emperors, Muslim governments, Roman Catholic princes and the Papacy, the Stuart kings of seventeenth-century England, or Nazi and Communist totalitarian states in the twentieth century. Though differing widely in ideology, all such powers display the Devil’s methodology: use violence and economic penalties to unify people around a common idolatry. How do you see this principle operating today?
Comments
Post a Comment