Revelation13:1-18

1. Intro.
1. this chapter describes the rise of two ungodly men who will play two extremely important roles in the events of the end-times
1. they are both called "beast" in this chapter, but later the second will also be called "the false prophet"
2. both receive their brilliance and power from Satan
3. the first beast is the political antichrist
4. the second beast is the religious antichrist
2. many people take note of the parallel between this unholy trio and the divine Trinity
1. the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet seem to be intentionally counterfeiting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
2. these three willfully and maliciously pull out all the stops in their last-ditch effort to dethrone God and destroy His saints
2. the first beast – Revelation 13:1-10
1. in the last chapter we met the dragon, who had influence over the whole world
1. we learned of his being cast down into the earth
2. the earth is now the main battleground and the scene of Satanic operation
3. God-fearing Jews and Gentiles will be the special objects of Satan's fury and hatred
4. Satan is a spiritual being unseen by mortal eyes, but during the Tribulation period he will actually become a person embodied in flesh
5. God here makes known to us how the enraged dragon will accomplish his bloody work
6. whether we are able to grasp it fully or not, it is here set forth for our learning, that we may know just how things will eventually turn out
2. here we are shown the world-powers in its whole sum, from the beginning to the end, in one figure - 1
1. seven (total, complete) heads (leadership, rule, authority)
2. the beast has horns, and the horns represent power
3. on these horns are crowns, and crowns are the symbol of government
3. a beast that is part leopard, bear, and lion – 2
1. this beast seems to be a composite of the beasts that Daniel saw (Daniel 7)
2. Daniel saw a fourth beast, but evidently it was unidentifiable in terms of an animal
1. it was described as "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly
2. the beast that John saw coming up out of the sea could well be the fourth beast of Daniel
3. this beast will be supported by ten kings (still future and still uncrowned)
4. the dragon gave the beast his power, his seat, and his great authority - 2
1. this beast is endowed with power from the devil himself
2. it is his alliance with Satan that opens the door for him
3. the devil will make him appear so attractive as a world leader that other kings will submit to his authority during the stressful times of the first half of the tribulation
5. one of the old kingdoms from the past will be revived – 3
1. the whole world will stand in wonder at the great miracle of the revived kingdom
2. this empire will not be revived before the Rapture
6. Satan receives worship through the worship of the beast – 4
1. this world is looking for a superman, and this world dictator will sweep men off their feet
2. immediately they will begin to worship him
3. they will declare that no one can stand against him, and that there is nothing he cannot do
4. what horrible blasphemy
5. this is the age of personality worshippers (in religion, politics, and in every other phase of life)
6. this is the age of idols
7. in the pride of his heart the Beast boasts and blasphemes – 5-6
1. he will make satanically inspired proclamations and predictions
2. he will speak blasphemies against the true God and Jesus Christ
3. he is world's master blasphemer: of all that have ever been before him, none can compare to him
4. words -- bad and bold – will be uttered
5. what is said we do not know, but we may be sure that the undying hatred to God is publicly and loudly expressed
6. with their minds deceived and blinded by Satan, people will believe him
7. add to this the confusion of drugs and alcohol, and their minds become the playgrounds of Satan
8. all because "they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved"
8. he makes war with the saints – 7
1. he is permitted by God to overcome the saints
1. God will apparently withdraw from this world
2. He will turn it over to Satan
3. just think of what it will be like when evil men have their way
2. there will be saints in the tribulation period, but they are not saints from the church period
1. this will be the darkest hour in the history of the world
2. thank God, the church will not be here
3. we are looking for Christ to come, we are not looking for the antichrist to come
4. we have been commanded to watch and pray for the second coming of Christ
3. before the beast can establish the world empire that he covets, he must conquer all who resist him
1. his greatest resistance will come from the saints
2. there is no indication that these will offer any armed resistance
3. their moral resistance will be enough to make them the special object of his hatred and wrath
4. many believers will be martyred during the first half of the tribulation, and many more during the second half
5. the only one who will escape death must do so by fleeing and hiding
4. the beast will achieve his goal of world ruler – [power was given him over all …]
9. the beast is worshipped by all except the true saints of God – 8
1. all people everywhere will worship this very brilliant but very evil man
2. all will reject the true God, even though they do not doubt His existence
3. they will believe that this man, and Satan are greater and more powerful than God
4. they change the truth of God into a lie, and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator
5. in heaven there is a book of life
1. it belongs to Jesus Christ
2. all the saved of all ages have had their names written in it before the foundation of the world
3. here we learn the value and power of the blood, even from the foundation of the world
10. a solemn warning is given – 9-10
1. Christians have great need to study and understand what is shown us here
1. it shows that something of the most intense and urgent importance is revealed to us, not just for theologians and scholars, but for every Christian
2. it shows that the predisposition will be to ignore and disregard this and such like subjects
1. to treat them as wild speculations
2. to pass consider them as being destitute of practical worth
3. it makes plain that it is the will of heaven for everyone to "mark, learn, and inwardly digest," what is here shown of the character and actions of this beast
2. Under the antichrist, all true worshippers be tested and tried as never before
1. those who refuse to worship and bow down to the Beast will be taken into captivity - 10
2. they that endure to the end (unto death) will be among the great multitude out of every nation, tongue, tribe, and kingdom, mentioned in chapter 7
3. those who receive the mark of the Beast will drop into hell
4. there will be those who will succumb to the terrible persecution and horrible suffering while in captivity; and they will accept the mark and worship the beast
5. there will also be those who will endure to the bitter, bloody end
3. these verses call us to make a decision
1. there is a choice we must make, and we need to hear and understand the implications
2. if we have been putting off this decision, the beast is going to force it
4. these words are also meant to be an encouragement for those who are being persecuted
5. the patience of this verse means "patient endurance"
1. they know that in heaven they have something far better
2. their confidence in His promise has a "great recompense of reward"
6. the word "here" urges us to realize that the awful stress of those days will dwarf anything that was endured by saints in the past
1. the suffering of those days will provide the greatest test of patience and faith ever experienced
2. here patience and faith are defined
3. the second beast – Revelation13:11-18
1. a wolf in sheep’s clothing – 1
1. this beast arises from the earth, instead of from the sea like the first beast
1. the first beast is a man, and so is the second
2. their backgrounds are different
2. there is must speculation about this second beast
1. he is later called the false prophet
2. apparently he comes to world attention as a miracle working religious leader – 13
3. the second beast is clearly a religious, and will probably be the leader of the one world religious system of the last days
1. this beast has "two horns like a lamb"
1. horns are the symbols of power
2. these horns have no crowns, and are like the horns of a gentle domestic animal
3. war, conquest, and the strength of military rule are therefore out of the question here
4. this beast is a prophet, a spiritual teacher, and not a king or warrior
5. his power has a certain softness and gentleness about it
6. he will counterfeit the gentle character of Christ
2. the Lamb of God in Revelation 5:6 has seven horns
1. seven being the number of divine perfection
2. the Lamb of God has fullness of power (He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent)
3. the false lamb, the antichrist, has but two horns which denotes limited power
3. this beast has two horns "like a lamb", but his voice betrays him [spake as a dragon]
1. this must be some great impostor, who under a pretence of religion, will deceive the souls of men
2. the pope pretends to be the vicar of Christ upon earth, but his speech betrays him
1. he gives forth false doctrines and cruel decrees which show him to belong to the dragon, and not to the Lamb
2. the Papacy has always put forth an apparent meekness and humility, even when deposing kings, and killing thousands during the Inquisition
3. if this was intended to refer to the Papacy, a more appropriate one could not have been chosen
3. both spiritual and moral ruin is the aim of the dragon, and he is supported one hundred percent by the beast
2. this beast causes all to worship the first beast – 12
1. these two Satan empowered men will become allies
1. the alliance of religion and state have a long and sad history
2. the union of these two will produce the worst period of persecution this world has ever known
2. each leader will assist and support the other
1. the king will enforce the religious authority of the prophet
2. the prophet will persuade the people, that the king should be worshipped and obeyed as a god
3. these two working in partnership will establish universal control over all people
3. the second beast will have power to do miracles – 13-14
1. these miracles will enhance his reputation and authority
2. he will take advantage of his ability to bring fire from heaven, because this is something the 2 witnesses did
1. though the beast had prevailed against them, their resurrection and rapture was known around the world
2. it will be important that men everywhere see that he has power similar to those witnesses
3. the false prophet will play with fire until he is cast into the Lake of Fire
3. these miracles are the means by which he deceives the world – 14
1. men through the ages have always been awed by the supernatural
2. the more skeptical a person is of God’s miracles, the more gullible they will be when they see demonic miracles
3. by these miracle, he will deceive all men except God’s elect (they cannot be deceived)
4. miracles are not necessarily of divine origin, and must always be tested in the light of the Scriptures
5. in the last days, demonic miracles will be abundant
6. the purpose of his miracles is to cause men to believe the lie
4. the goal in all that is being done is a one world system
1. this will bring great pleasure to the ego of the beast
1. pride is the sin of the devil
2. pride is the root of all sin
2. he wants to unit this world so that they will accept him as a god as well as a king
5. this is the image that will be set up in the temple [abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel]
1. this is when the treaty with Israel will be broken, and they will need to flee to the wilderness
2. the rest of the world will quickly and obediently take up the worship of the image
3. the world is ready, the masses are anxiously waiting for the appearance of this superman
1. the ecumenical movement is gaining strength
2. those who claim to cast out demons and to cure diseases popular
4. the greatest feat of magic performed the second beast – 15
1. soon after the image is made, and installed in the temple, the second beast will give life to it
1. this image is more than a mere robot with a computer voice (no great deal today)
2. the image will speak intelligently, and his word will not be preprogrammed
3. this image will issue commands [cause that as many as would not worship the image … be killed]
2. this is a case of demon possession by Satan himself
1. Satan has never been able to make an image speak before
2. at this time, God is pretty much letting Satan do as he wants
5. all people of the world are required to receive a mark – 16-17
1. an attempt to better control the people of his world wide kingdom
2. it will identify a person as a loyal citizen of the world kingdom
1. those who receive the mark can never be saved or forgiven
2. if they do not receive the mark, they will hide in the forest, and mountains; they will beg, borrow, steal, eat out of the rivers and woods, until finally they are caught and killed
3. "They that endure to the end, the same shall be saved"
3. in those awful days, individual thought and individual rights will be crushed to the ground by the iron hand of the beast
1. no matter how rich or how high-ranking a person may be, ALL must bow to the wishes of the false messiah or pay with their life blood
2. it will be extremely difficult to survive without the mark
6. wisdom from God – 18
1. wisdom is required, in order to determine to whom this applies [let him that hath understanding]
1. this is language that would be used when speaking of some difficult matter
2. it would require skill to do it
3. it could not be successfully attempted by all; but there are those who might do it
4. there was hope that, by diligent application of the mind, and by the exercise of a sound understanding, there would be success
2. the word "count" means to compute
3. in the Greek alphabet, every letter has a corresponding numerical value (like Roman numerals)
1. every name has a certain numerical value associated with the Greek letters
2. this suggest that when a popular world leader comes on the scene, Christians would do well to count the number of his name
3. if that numbers turns out to be "666," we should be very careful not to be influenced by him
4. it is obvious that there can be many names with the numerical value of 666
5. the plain meaning is, that the number 666 will be so connected with his name, or with that which would properly designate him that it could be determined who was meant
4. the number 666 is significant all by itself
1. 6 is on short of the perfect 7
2. man was made on the sixth day
3. the number 6 has long been associated with man’s imperfection
4. the three sixes together may suggest the unholy trinity