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1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And
I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven
heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous
name.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of
a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast
his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound,
but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished
and followed the beast.
4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the
beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is
like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
Revelation 13:1-4
Explanation:
This beast was initially identified with Rome, because the Roman
empire, in its early days, encouraged an evil life-style, persecuted
believers, and opposed God and his followers. But the beast also
symbolizes the antichrist--not Satan, but someone under Satan's
power and control. This antichrist looks like a combination of the
four beasts that Daniel saw centuries earlier in a vision (Daniel
7). As the dragon is in opposition to God, so the beast from the
sea is against Christ and may be seen as Satan's false messiah.
The early Roman empire was strong and also anti-Christ (or against
Christ's standards); many other individual powers throughout history
have been anti-Christ. Many Christians believe that Satan's evil
will culminate in a final antichrist, one who will focus all the
powers of evil against Jesus Christ and his followers. Chapter 13
introduces Satan's two evil accomplices: the beast out of the sea
and the beast out of the earth. together, the three evil beings
from an unholy trinity in direct opposition to the holy Trinity
of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When Satan
tempted Jesus in the desert, he wanted Jesus to show his power by
turning stones into bread, to do miracles by jumping from a high
place, and to gain political power by worshiping him. Satan's plan
was to rule the world through Jesus, but Jesus refused to do Satan's
bidding. Thus Satan turns to the fearsome beasts described in Revelation.
To the beast out of the sea he gives political power. To the beast
out of the earth he gives power to do miracles. Both beasts work
together to capture the control of the whole world. This unholy
trinity--the dragon, the best out of the sea, and the false prophet
unite in a desperate attempt to overthrow God, but their efforts
are doomed to failure. See what becomes of them in 19:19-21 and
20:10. Because the beast, the antichrist, is a false messiah, he
will be a counterfeit of Christ and will even stage a false resurrection.
People will follow and worship him because they will be awed by
his power and miracles. He will unite the world under his leadership,
and he will control the world economy. People are impressed by power
and will follow those who display it forcefully or offer it to their
followers. But those who follow the beast will only be fooling themselves:
he will use his power to manipulate others, to point to himself,
and to promote evil plans. God, by contrast, uses his infinitely
greater power to love and to build up. Don't be misled by claims
of great miracles or reports about a resurrection or reincarnation
of someone claiming to be Christ. When Jesus returns, he will reveal
himself to everyone.
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies
and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name
and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer
them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language
and nation.
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose
names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the
Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear.
10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will
be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on
the part of the saints.
Revelation 13:5-10
Explanation:
The power given to the beast will be limited by God. He will allow
the beast to exercise authority only for a short time. Even while
the beast is in power, God will still be in control. The beast will
conquer God's people and rule over them, but he will not be able
to harm them spiritually. He will establish worldwide dominance
and demand that everyone worship him. And many will worship him--everyone
except true believers. Refusal to worship the beast will result
in temporary suffering for God's people, but they will be rewarded
with eternal life in the end. See the note on 3:5 for more information
on the book of life. In this time of persecution, being faithful
to Christ could bring imprisonment and even execution. Some believers
will be hurt of killed. But all that the beast and his followers
will be able to do to believers is harm them physically; no spiritual
harm will come to those whose faith in God is sincere. All believers
will enter God's presence perfected and purified by the blood of
the Lamb. The times of great persecution that John saw will provide
an opportunity for believers to exercise patient endurance and faithfulness.
The tough times we face right now are also opportunities for spiritual
growth. Don't fall into Satan's trap and turn away from God when
hard times come. Instead, use those tough times as opportunities
for growth.
11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two
horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf,
and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose fatal wound had been healed.
13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire
to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.
14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the
first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered
them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by
the sword and yet lived.
Revelation 13:11-14
Explanation:
Throughout the Bible we see miracles performed as proofs of God's
power, love, and authority. But here we see counterfeit miracles
performed to deceive. This is a reminder of Pharaoh's magicians,
who duplicated Moses' signs in Egypt. True signs and miracles point
us to Jesus Christ, but miracles alone can be deceptive. That is
why we must ask with respect to each miracle we see: is this consistent
with what God says in the Bible? The second beast here gains influence
through the signs and wonders that he can perform on behalf of the
first beast. The second beast orders the people to worship an image
in honor of the first beast--a direct flouting of the second commandment.
Allowing the Bible to guide our faith and practice will keep us
from being deceived by false signs, however convincing they appear
to be. Any teaching that contradicts God's Word is false.
15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast,
so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the
image to be killed.
16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free
and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,
17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which
is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate
the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
Revelation 13:15-18
Explanation:
In every generation, Christians need to maintain a healthy skepticism
about society's pleasures and rewards. In our educational, economic,
and civic structures, there are incentives and rewards. Cooperating
Christians must always support what is good and healthy about our
society, but we must stand against sin. In some cases, such as Satan's
system described here, the system or structure becomes so evil that
there is no way to cooperate with it. This mark of the beast is
designed to mock the seal that God places on his followers. Just
as God marks his people to save them, so Satan's beast marks his
people to save them from the persecution that Satan will inflict
upon God's followers. Identifying this particular mark is not as
important as identifying the purpose of the mark.
Those who accept it show their allegiance to Satan,
their willingness to operate within the economic system he promotes,
and their rebellion against God. To refuse the mark means to commit
oneself entirely to God, preferring death to compromising faith
in Christ. The meaning of this number has been discussed more than
that of any other part of the book of Revelation. The three sixes
have been said to represent many things, including the number of
man or the unholy trinity of Satan, the first beast, and the false
prophet. If the number seven is considered to be the perfect number
in the Bible, and three sevens represent complete perfection, then
the number 666 falls completely short of perfection. The first readers
of this book probably applied the number to the Emperor Nero, who
symbolized all the evils of the Roman empire. (The Greek letters
of Nero's name represent numbers that total 666). Whatever specific
application the number is given, the number symbolizes the worldwide
dominion and complete evil of this unholy trinity designed to undo
Christ's work and overthrow him.
