Revelation
13: The Two Beasts
The
First Beast
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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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. 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. 9 If
any man have an ear, let him hear.
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.
The Greek word for beast here is not
the same as Rev 4 & 5. Here it is
the Grk word therion, which means "wild beast or animal." In chp 4
the word was zoon which meant "living creature or created
one".
Read the following passages and draw
conclusions about the description of the 1st beast.
Daniel 7:1-8; Daniel 11: 36-39; Rev
17:3-16; 2Thess. 2:3-4
What does the sea represent?
Humanity or the nations
What are the seven heads?
Different views all revolve around
forms of the Gentile Kingdoms,
Since the seven heads are mountains
the city of Rome and Jerusalem are both identified.
The seven heads are pagan kingdoms:
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Revived Rome (10 kings)
The seven heads are all aspect of
the Roman Empire of which the Imperial was the sixth, the Revived the seventh.
The seven heads are kingdoms which
have ruled over Israel starting with Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Revived
Rome (10 Kings), The Harlot, The Antichrist (after his resurrection)
The seven heads simply represent the
total or finished run of the time of the Gentiles.
What are the ten crowns?
The ten kings which rule during the
revived Roman Empire one of which is the Anti-Christ.
What is significant about the
combination of several beasts?
This king will be the combination of
all the previous empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.
What does this beast do?
Blasphemes God and persecutes the
saints.
What event brings this beast to
domination of the world?
His apparent resurrection.
Is this death and resurrection of a
person or of a kingdom?
Revelation 11:7 and 17:8 say that
the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit.
The bottomless pit is a synonym for hell. Only persons or demons inhabit it not
governments or kingdoms. Furthermore,
the beast is said to be taken and thrown alive into the lake of fire at the end
of the battle of Armageddon. Only a
person could be so judged.
What is God's promise to his saints
and warning to the worshippers of the beast?
The beast will be punished and die
in like manner as he lived.
The Antichrist In Scriptural
Revelation 13:1 Beast with 7 heads
Beast having 7 heads and 10
horn and 10 crowns.
Revelation 17:3,8 Scarlet Beast
A scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Daniel 7:8 The Little Horn
I considered the horns, and,
behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were
three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn
were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Daniel 11:36-39 The Willful King
36
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself,
and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against
the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for
that that is determined shall be done. 37
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women,
nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of
forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and
silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds
with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he
shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
2 Thess 2:3-4 Man of Sin, Son of
Perdition
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God.
The
Second Beast 11-18
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. 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. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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. 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. 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: 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.
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.
Read the following passages to help
identify the second beast. Rev. 16:13,
19:20, 20:10
Who is the second beast?
The false prophet who together with
the Anti-christ and Satan form a counterfeit trinity.
What is the role of the false
prophet?
To cause the world to worship the
Anti-Christ.
How does he accomplish this?
Miracles, lying wonders , an image
of the 1st beast which appears to come to life and the threat of death to any
which do not worship the beast.
If you relate this image with Daniel
9 and Matthew 27 when and where might the image be set up and cause to live?
At the mid-point of the tribulation
in the temple at Jerusalem.
What does the number 666 tell us?
If seven is the number of man 666
may show the Anti-christs attempt to approach Godhood. Since revelation says it is the number of man
it may represent the complete man apart from God. Some have related it to Latin, Roman and
Hebrew numbers and have used it then to identify Nero, Hitler and even Jimmy
Carter. The true purpose will be plain
during the tribulation.
What will be the actual mark of the
beast?
Whatever tech is available at the
time, tattoo, RFID tag, bar code, magnetic decal, invisible chip, etc.
The key will be who is issuing it,
who has authority over its use, where it will be installed and what will happen
if you don’t receive it.
Timeline
|
Chp
|
Before the
Tribulation or Earlier
|
First Half
of the Week
|
Middle of
the Week
|
Second
Half of the Week
|
Immediately
After the Tribulation
|
|
Rev 11
|
The two witness prophesy 1260 days
|
2 witness slain & 7th Trump
|
Gentiles tread down Jerusalem 42
months
|
||
|
Rev 12
|
Dragon Fights Christ
|
Dragon Fights Michael
|
Dragon Fights Israel for 1260 days
|
||
|
Rev 13
|
The Beast (AntiChrist) rises
|
The Beast resurrected, begins sole
world domination
|
The Beast in power 42 months, All
worship with influence of False Christ
|
Conclusion
At a time when so much of the world
is changing so rapidly it is easy to imagine the events of Revelation taking
place at any time.
Technology, communication, social
networking, computers have moved us to a society that can erupt in chaos at any
time.
Such an eruption will one day result
in the Beast arising from the ashes of fallen kingdoms to rule the world.
What do we do? Paul dealt with this
same question in 2Thess 2:13-16
But
we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you
by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught,
whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God,
even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every
good word and work.
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