When you look at Revelation 13, you begin to ask questions. Does the beast look like a dragon, or is he an ordinary person? Does he really come out of the sea, or is he found among humanity? This article attempts to answer your questions concerning him.
The Seashore
The
Dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. In thinking about the word "seashore", is this
beside a real sea, or could it be metaphorically speaking that he stands in the
multitudes of peoples?
Sometimes
the word "sea" in the Bible can indicate people or society rather than a body of water. However
and when possible, the Roman army loved to come out of the sea from boats. Maybe
John sees the dragon on a real seashore and the beast literally coming out of the sea. Just a
thought—don’t know for sure.
Another
possibility for sea, the Jews believed the dragon to be Leviathan who lived in
the sea. Isaiah 27:1, “In that day the Lord will
punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.”
The Dragon
Who is
the dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells you
that the dragon is Satan. In the
previous chapter Revelation 12:3, “Then another sign
appeared in heaven: and behold, a great
red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.”
Then
in verse 9 of chapter 12, the dragon is identified, “And the great dragon
was thrown down,
the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan. . .”
“The
Dragon” is mentioned 13 times in Revelation alone. Here, the dragon has been thrown out of heaven. Some
believe that he never was in heaven that a just God couldn’t allow him to be
there
However,
how can he be kicked out during the middle of the tribulation period if he were never
there? Therefore,
the dragon is none other than Satan.
What is Satan’s Role Today
He
rules our world system
He
isn’t a god; therefore, he has no God characteristics
He can
only imitate the real God
Therefore,
throughout this chapter we see him trying to duplicate the Holy Trinity.
Don’t
you think it would be great if the dragon came into yours and my life looking
like
a
dragon or beast?
However,
here in John’s version, Satan stands on the seashore described as a dragon
The Beast from the Sea
Out of
the sea, or from among the peoples, Satan brings a representative of himself.
The
beast has:
10
horns
7 heads 10
horns and 7 heads appear to be its several powers
10
diadems—crowns represent it’s power v 4 they worship the dragon
because
he gives his authority to the beast (Matthew
4:9)
Blasphemous
names written on his heads oppose
the glory of God by
promoting
idolatry—the people will worship the dragon and the beast
voluntarily
at first later, everyone will
be forced to worship him
One of
his heads receives a fatal wound (death). However, he recovers
somehow, miraculously. This recovery or resurrection imitates the resurrection of Jesus.
Satan
can only lie and mock what God does. Jesus
says that Satan was a liar from the beginning. However,
this resurrected person cannot give life as our resurrected Lord can.
John Describes the Beast
Think
about this. If the beast looks like an ogre, would they follow him? Could
it be that the beast looks like a regular man? I wish
Satan came in a red suit with a pitchfork in his hand and a long pointed tail. However, he
doesn’t look like a beast, does he? He
only acts like one! he comes in our thoughts.
You're sitting in church and instead of listening to the sermon, you think, “If this guy (the preacher) doesn’t hurry, I’m going to starve to death the
chicken will get cold, all the chicken will be gone off the buffet down at XYZ Restaurant.
You
see, he doesn’t want you to listen to the word on Sunday. It’s
ok for you to come to church, but the message isn’t for you. It’s for sister or
brother so
and so! The
same happens here.
John describes the beast as a leopard, a bear and a lion.
However, Daniel
describes this beast in 7:1-8, “In the
first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw in a dream and visions in
his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream
down and related the following summary
of it.
Daniel's Report
Daniel said,
“I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven
were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts were coming up
from the sea, different from one
another. The
first was like a lion (Babylon and Belshazzar) 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 (Medo-Persia and Cyrus). 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,
(Greece and Alexander the Great)
which had on its back four wings of
a bird; the beast also
had four heads, (Alexander’s 4 generals) and dominion was given to it. After this I
kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, (Rome and
Caesar Augustus) 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. While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a
little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before
it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.” (words in parenthesis are the author's).
Daniel’s
beast had ten horns, but three were destroyed leaving 7. That’s
how our beast appeared to John, it had 7 horns, amazing after all those years had passed since Daniel had his vision, John has nearly the same vision!
One Government--One Church
I think John's description of these beasts depicts the ability of the beast to move and conquer. Before
this chapter is over, he will rule the world. Further, he will rule over a one world church.
I believe that having only one church denomination would create universal power for the leader of a one world church. Also, I would point out that although the beasts are pictured in reverse in Revelation as compared to Daniel, I believe there is an explanation for this reversal, also. John
saw them after their time in history. Daniel saw them prior to
their historical appearance. John looks
backwards in history while Daniel looks forward in history.
Besides,
notice that Daniel’s beasts are men in history. Why, then,
wouldn’t John’s beast be a man in history?
A Great Praise and Worship
When the
people see his miraculous recovery from apparent death, they praise him and worship
him and the dragon.
Notice that
no one makes them worship these two
Because of
this miracle and the beast’s ability to speak well, he is given authority over
the whole world. Notice however. God is in Control! Even though
the beast or the antichrist rules the world, God still controls everything.
The
antichrist’s power is limited to 42 months, 1260 days by the Jewish calendar or
3-1/2 years. He can’t harm
the remnant of Jews chapter 12 whom God hides in the wilderness.
His end is
predictable—i.e. 42 months
He can’t
touch the 144000 Jewish evangelists of chapter 7, either
He Captures the World
He was given
authority from Satan
He overcomes
the saints, most likely kills them
He captures
the whole world, every tribe and
people and tongue and nation
All who dwell
on earth will worship him one
church one denomination
However, All Is Not Lost
Remember, God
is in control
The new
kingdom lasts only 42 months
Then the end
comes quickly for the Satanic ruler
At This Point
The beast or antichrist comes on the scene in an unconventional way. He makes war and rules the world in an unconventional way--most likely through economics. Many follow him because of his miracle of returning to life.He comes from humanity; therefore, he may be human rather than a spirit supplied by Satan. His reign will be short lived, 42 months. Yet for the Jews and the believers, three-and-one-half years will seem an eternity.
Bear in mind that God is in control. He will overcome!
If you have questions or comments, I'm here to help. Leave any communication in the comment section.
Blessings,
Howard
PS: A complete study on your freedom through rest can be had from B. C. Ministries, Inc. Email us for your free copy.
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