Revelation 13

Scripture Reading: Revelation 13

A dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns pursues a women who gave birth to a “man-child”. He was “caught up into Heaven” to rule the nations. Chapter 12 is the background of the spiritual events that happen in the 2nd half of the 7-year tribulation period. John defines Satan as the dragon (Revelation 12:9) and the women as Israel. Israel gave birth to the Messiah, who is caught up to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11). Satan, the Dragon, pursues the Women who is protected for 3.5 years. Identification is important in understanding what is taking place in both the physical and spiritual realms. The book of Daniel is also essential in understanding what is to come.

Brief Summery:

Chapter 13 speaks of what takes place in Heaven at the Midpoint of the 7-year period. Satan and his angels are removed from Heaven are hurled to the earth for their final stand. Chapter 12 reveals the Heavenly view of these events and the battle of the ages between God’s plan of redemption, and Satan attempts to stop it. Satan’s final method of assault on the women, and her offspring (the saved) are revealed to us in the 13th chapter.

Satan on Earth will incarnate the leader of a “Revived Roman Empire” (many believe this to be the EU). This leader will have died, and resurrect, to the wonder of the world. His resurrected body indwelt with Satan, will assume control of the kingdom of the Beast.

Satan, portrayed as a 7-headed dragon in chapter 12, cast out of Heaven, is now the source of power and authority of the 7-headed beast arising from the sea. Satan will assume the controls of this kingdom pictured as the “Beast”. This future kingdom will focus on the glorification and exaltation of this “Satan-Man” and the persecution and destruction of those who refuse to accept his deity. This period will last for 42 months or 3.5 years, and will end with the return of Jesus Christ when surviving Israel, finally recognizes Him as Messiah and calls out in prayer and supplication for his return (Zechariah 12:9-10, Matthew 23:39 24:30 and Revelation 19)

Before the beast will be a false prophet who will perform great signs and wonders in the name of this world leader. He will instruct the world to worship the beast. An image of the Beast, will be the focus of worldwide worship. All who refuse to worship the Beast or his image will be killed. The False prophet is pictured as lamb with two horns, which speaks as a dragon. He is probably the leader of the world wide religion in the first half of the tribulation which persecutes the believers, the saints. Later, this world wide religion is destroyed (Revelation 17:15-17) as the Beast and Satan, become the focus of worship in the second half of Daniel’s 70th week.

In order to enforce worldwide religion an economic system will be established demanding total submission to this world leader. Those who refuse will be killed and cutoff from society. They will be unable to buy or sell without total submission.

The Beast Out Of The Sea: The Kingdom:

Vs 1-2 John’s witness of events now changes from Heaven to Earth. Satan expelled from Heaven, pursued the women who escaped into the wilderness, now Satan is about to war with the offspring of the women. (Rev 12:17). John is about to witness Satan’s method to his war.

“Sand of the sea” “Sand of the sea” is a phrase associated with population and growth of the descendents of Jacob. (Gen 32:12, Isaiah 10:22,Hosea 1:10, Rom 9:27). The dragon’s pursuit of the women ends with frustration and the dragon’s pursuit stops on the “Sand of the sea”.  Then we see the continuation of the Dragon’s work.

“Beast rising up” (Greek “theôrion [a wild animal]) The Beast is the same as the one described in Daniel 7 and Revelation 17. The Red Dragon of Revelation 12 is different from the Beast described here, because this resembled a leopard, lion and bear as opposed to a “Red Dragon. The Beast here has “Seven heads” and “10 horns” like the Dragon. The “Red Dragon” has “Seven” Crowns as opposed to “ten”.

From verse 2, we learn, the Dragon is the source of power and authority for the Beast. In Daniel and Revelation the Beast seen by Daniel and John are portraits of the last Human government before the return of the Messiah. When Christ returns the Beast of Daniel and Revelation will be the dominant force on the Earth. Let’s see what the book of Daniel says.

Daniel Chapter 7:

Vs. 23-27 "He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time." 'But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'

Daniel Chapter 2:

Vs. 40-44 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, in as much as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people: it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

The beast of Daniel will be a revived “Roman Empire”, this is based on the 70 weeks of Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27), Daniel 7 and Daniel 2. The people who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple were the Romans, the “prince who is to come” is their descendent. (Dan. 9:26)

In Daniel 2, the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar is linked to Rom, described as legs of Iron, this kingdom later extends to the 10 ten toes and feet of Iron and clay. Daniel revealed these kings (10 toes) the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom which shall never end. There is a gap of time between the Iron legs and the Iron and clay feet and toes, this gap is described in Daniel 9:26 as a period of “Desolation”.

“Out of the sea” The Sea symbolizes the sea of humanity based on Rev. 17:15 “Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.”

“Seven heads and ten horns” The Beast is identified in Daniel and Revelation. The Beast described in Daniel 7 has 1 Head and 10 horns not the same as the “red dragon” of Revelation chapter 12 which has 7 heads and 10 horns, which is the same beast in Revelation 13 & 17. It sounds difficult to understand but the explanation is within the texts.

1. The Beast represents the fourth and final government on Earth

2.  10 horns represent 10 future kings who turn their power over to the “Last-days” ruler. (Revelation 17:12)

3. 7 heads represent 7 kings or kingdoms. Five are fallen in John’s day and one is yet too come (Revelation 17:10). The Dragon, who pursues the women in Revelation 12, has 7 heads. These seven heads represent the seven kingdoms from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob until the “end of Days” which tried to stop God’s plan of redemption by trying to stop Messiah’s birth. The Beast arising from the sea, is all seven kingdom in one “World kingdom” with the same Dragon, as the source of authority and power.

Revelation 17:10-12 “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. "And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.”

“On his horns ten crowns” Ten crowns or kingdoms make up the initial kingdom but at the Midpoint or earlier 3 of the 10 kings are subdued by the little horn.

“Blasphemous name”(Greek ... Blaspheômia … vilification) blasphemy, evil speaking. Each of these kingdom’s have railed against the God in their own way. The Antichrist incarnated by Satan, will be the ultimate blasphemer. Demanding worship from the whole earth.

“The beast which I saw” Verse 2, draws from the 3 additional beast of Daniel 7.

Daniel 7:3-6 “And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ “After this I looked, and there was another, 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.”

The reason the beast of Rev 13 has characteristics from the 3 previous animals described in Daniel 7 depends on your understanding of Daniel.  Most interpret Daniel 7 in combination with the rest of the book of Daniel in foretelling the succession of kingdoms leading toward the final kingdom.

The Lion represented Babylon, the Bear, Persia, the Leopard, Greece, the Beast, Rome. With Rome revived at the end, for the final conflict between Israel & the Messiah, and The World and Antichrist. This combination of “animals” composing the final kingdom on the Earth in Revelation 13 means two things.

1. The final kingdom “Revived Rome” will have characteristics of the 3 previous kingdoms, Babylon, Persia and Greece.

2. The final kingdom “Revived Rome” will be a “world kingdom” ruling the lands of the 3 previous kingdoms. Daniel 7:23 says it “shall devour the whole earth”

The kingdom of the Antichrist will be a world kingdom with a world capital. Revelation 18 and Isaiah 14 confirm the rebuilding of Babylon as the capitol city of Antichrist. Revelation 17 demonstrates he will try to unite the world through a “World wide religion”.

“The dragon gave him” The dragon is a reference to Satan. Now Satan is the power behind the Beast and his Kingdom. Satan before his expulsion from Heaven had tremendous power and influence in the kingdoms of Men. (Luke 4:5, 2 Corn.4:4, Job 1:12,2:6)  At his last stand, Satan and his forces concentrate their power in one final attempt to thwart God’s plan.

The Beast out of the Sea: The Man:

Revelation 13:3 “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.”

“I saw one of his heads” The heads represent the succession of kingdoms throughout history opposed to God’s redemption through Israel’s Messiah. This Seventh head represents a “Revived Roman” kingdom, which has recovered from its mortal wound. This head, is lead by the Antichrist, who is Satan himself. John like Daniel focuses on the Beast’s appearance and notices one of the 7 heads.  Daniel notices one horn among the 10 and describes its appearance and actions.

Daniel 7:8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.”

“Mortally wounded” The Beast is somehow mortally wounded, we know he dies or appears to die, goes into Hell and ascends out of Hell (Rev 17:8). The Beast is a satanic counterfeit of Christ resurrection. The death of the Beast corresponds with the fall of Satan from Heaven. At the death of the Beast, Satan was able to indwell the body and begin to rule the world thru the Antichrist.

Revelation 17:8 “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.”

The mortal wound becomes the focus of worship during the last half of the tribulation. Rev 13:12 “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.”

“All the world marveled” The mysterious death of this world leader and his resurrection will give credibility to the next phase of Satan’s plan. The world turns to the Beast not only as a political leader but also as “god on earth”. Satan’s pride was his demise in Heaven, he wanted to be God, he will seek to be god on earth as well.

Ezekiel 28:1-2 “The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Daniel foretells the character of this coming world leader; he is the ultimate example of man’s fallen nature as he seeks to glorify himself above all.

Daniel 11:36-37 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.”

Three verses and so much information. We have covered the Kingdom of chapter 13 and the man. Next week we will cover the religion of the beast, the persecution of Saints, the false prophet, satanic signs & wonders, the image of the Beast, and the Economic system of the Beast. Fifteen verses left and a ton of information. Till next week may God Bless you and yours.