REVELATION
CHAPTER 13, “The Antichrist And False Prophet And The Second Half Of
The
Tribulation”
By
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last
study, we looked at chapter 12. In this chapter, we noticed that John saw
two great signs in heaven: a woman who
is gloriously adorned and about to give birth to a child, and a great red
dragon. We saw that this chapter then
detailed a huge persecution against the Jews that will occur during the second
half of the 7 Year Tribulation period
1.1.1. The woman symbolized
1.1.2. The great red dragon
symbolized Satan.
1.1.3. We saw that the Lord will
have a special place of refuge where He will protect and provide for
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at two beasts whom John has a
vision of:
1.2.1. The beast coming up out of
the sea represents the “Antichrist” who will become the one-world leader
during the 7 Year Tribulation period, and then during the second half of that
tribulation period undertake a campaign of terror in requiring himself to be
worshipped by the threat of death, as well by persecuting and killing the
Lord’s saints upon the earth.
1.2.2. The beast coming up out of
the earth represents the “False Prophet” who will become the
inspirational leader and PR man for the Antichrist in getting the people of the
earth to relinquish their power and authority to the Antichrist, as well as to
worship the Antichrist.
1.2.3. We will see that the
Antichrist is killed and then 3 ½ years into the 7 Year Tribulation that the
Devil resurrects him from the dead and then that miraculous act is used to give
credence to the authority and power of the Antichrist and to get the people of
the world to worship the Antichrist.
1.2.4. We will see that great power
to perform miracles is given to both the Antichrist and the False Prophet by
the Devil.
1.2.5. As we look at this chapter
of Revelation, we need to realize that Satan comes to us not as a red dragon
with wings and a pitch fork, rather he comes as an angel of light. His agents in this world appear to be lights in
the world, doing good deeds, and we Christians need discernment in order for us
to be kept from being deceived. There
are many cult groups whose leaders seem to live lives that are holy and
righteous, and they likewise speak much to people which is right and true, and
it is very difficult for even those who are discerning to realize that these
ones are deceivers sent from the pit of hell itself. We Christians must learn to walk closely with
Christ and spend much time in His Word so that we might be able to discern
those who are deceivers from those who are from God. Jesus warned us that “even the very elect”
could have been deceived by the Antichrist and the False Prophet, if that were
possible.
1.2.6. This world will be fooled by
the False Prophet who appears as a lamb, though he is really a wolf in disguise
(empowered by the Devil), mainly because of the great miraculous power which he
possesses. Therefore, we Christians must
guard ourselves by judging with all discernment those who claim to speak in the
Name of God. Miraculous power is no
assurance that a person is from God, neither is smooth or bold preaching and
speech. We must be people skilled at
judging what is true, based upon our knowledge of what God’s word teaches, as
well as what the fruit of a person’s life really consists of. If a person is speaking that which is not
true, they cannot be of God. Neither can
one be of God if he/she does not have the fruits of Christ-likeness in his/her
character. However, I am sad to say that
I think that many in the church today are not very discerning in either of
these areas, and that they can and are being deceived by false teachers and
prophets who do not pass these tests.
1.2.6.1.In Deut. 13:1-3, the
children of Israel were told that the Lord would send false prophets among them
to test whether or not they truly loved the Lord, and the way that they were to
discern the false teacher was by carefully examining what they taught
regardless of whether or not they may perform the miraculous, “1 “If a
prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a
wonder,2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to
you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us
serve them,’3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer
of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
1.2.6.2.Jesus spoke of the end times
in Matthew chapter 24, and He said that in that time there would be false
prophets and false Christ’s, and, in our day we have seen lots of these. He then said that the deception of that time
would be so great (backed up by false signs and wonders) that if possible even
the very elect of God would be deceived (see Matt. 24:24).
1.2.6.3.Paul wrote about the fact
that before Christ returned that there would be a major apostasy (falling away)
that would occur in the church (2 Thess. 2:3).
We have seen in our day much falling away from the truth in everything
from the liberal movement in the dead church to the supposed new wave movements
of the Holy Spirit where there is supposed revival occurring, however the
scripture is set aside and never preached or taught and there are
extra-biblical phenomena occurring right and left. Today, those who suggest that these supposed
movements of God should be verified and tested through the scripture are chided
as quenching the Holy Spirit. The main
stream church then is being setup to align itself with the religion of the
Antichrist when he comes. We Christians
must be discerning and hold to God’s word to avoid being deceived ourselves.
2.
VS 13:1-2 - “13:1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea,
having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his
heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the
beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear,
and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and
his throne and great authority.” - John has a
vision of a beast coming up out of the sea
2.1.
In this chapter, we are continuing the vision which John was having in
chapter 12 of the red dragon, whom we saw
in chapter 12 was Satan. So then, in this verse, the ‘he’ that
is standing ‘on the sand of the seashore’ is the red dragon. As John was observing the red dragon on the
seashore, something else caught his attention, it was another ‘beast’
which was ‘coming up out of the sea’.
John tells us about his vision
of a “scarlet beast” in Rev.
17:1-13, however when we read about this beast we see that this must be
describing the same beast because of the similarities, however John also then
gives us good commentary as to what various aspects of this beast symbolize for
us, “1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke
with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot
who sits on many waters,2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of
immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of
her immorality.”3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I
saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven
heads and ten horns.4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup
full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,5 and upon her
forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”6 And I saw the woman drunk with
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when
I saw her, I wondered greatly.7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I
shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her,
which has the seven heads and the ten horns.8 “The beast that you saw was and
is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And
those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in
the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast,
that he was and is not and will come.9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,10 and they are seven
kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes,
he must remain a little while.11 “And the beast which was and is not, is
himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.12
“And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a
kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.13
“These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.”
2.1.1. In these verses in Revelation
chapter 17, we see that the seven heads of the Beast are seven hills on which
the city (symbolized by the woman which
is riding the beast) which will control
the whole world sits, and that
they are also seven kings.
2.1.1.1.There are two cities in the
world which sit on seven hills,
2.1.1.2.After the church has been “raptured”,
all of the mainline denominations will continue operating being run by those of
their members who were left behind because they truly did not have a saving
relationship with Christ.
2.1.2. The Beast is himself the
seventh king who dies and comes back as an eighth.
2.1.3. Likewise, the ten horns of
the Beast are ten additional kings who will arise and give their power to the
Beast allowing him to come to have authority and power and rule over all of the
people upon the earth.
2.1.4. I have already mentioned in our study that it has been the thought of many commentators
in recent history that the ten nation confederacy known as the European Union
(EU) could easily be the ten nation confederacy which will enable the Antichrist
to come into power as the one-world ruler.
The EU currently has 15 members
however is soon to add 10 more, however I am told it began with 10 nations.
2.1.5. The woman on the scarlet beast
symbolizes false religion, the ecumenical world church (including the Roman
church) who will initially give the beast power and be a vehicle for him to
rise to world domination.
2.2.
On these heads are ‘blasphemous names’ and this fact describes the
character of that resurrected Roman empire
when it is taken over by Satan through his man, ‘the Antichrist’.
2.3.
This ‘beast’ is the fourth beast of Daniel’s vision in chapter 7
of Daniel. Daniel
saw four beasts in his vision, one which was like a lion with the wings
of an eagle, one which was like a bear, one which was like a leopard with four
wings on its back, and then a fourth
beast that was more dreadful than any of the other beasts. Daniel writes about this fourth beast in Dan. 7:7-8, “7 “After this I kept looking
in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, 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. 8 “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.””
2.4.
The ‘beast
coming up out of the sea’ in this chapter of Revelation is identical to
this fourth ‘beast’ of Daniel’s vision in chapter 7 of Daniel, and we
know this for a few reasons:
2.4.1. Both of the beasts have ten
horns on their heads.
2.4.2. Daniel’s ‘beast’ also
utters ‘great boasts’ which we will see
the ‘beast coming up out of the sea’ also does.
2.4.3. The ‘beast coming up out
of the sea’ combines all of the characteristics of the first three beasts
of Daniel’s vision: It is ‘like
a leopard’, has the ‘feet
of a bear’, and it has a mouth
‘like the mouth of a lion’.
2.4.3.1.In Daniel 7, the four beasts
represent the four successive world empires that have appeared in the history
of the world, each a kingdom that was treacherous, powerful, and swift, and are
the following:
2.4.3.1.1.The ‘lion’ symbolizes
2.4.3.1.2.The ‘bear’ symbolizes
Medio-Persia.
2.4.3.1.3.The ‘leopard’
symbolizes the Alexandrian (or Grecian) empire.
2.4.3.1.4.The ‘dreadful’ beast is
much more powerful and treacherous than any before it and symbolizes the
2.4.3.1.4.1.The Beast coming up out of
the sea in these verses in chapter 13 of Revelation will be a resurrected
2.4.3.1.4.2.Using this resurrected
2.5.
Tim Lahaye in his Revelation
commentary has the following entry concerning
the nationality of the Antichrist, “One of the most frequently asked questions about the Antichrist
concerns his nationality. Revelation
13:1 indicates that he “saw a beast coming out of the sea,” meaning the sea of
peoples around the
2.6.
There are some who have claimed and taught that the Antichrist was not a
man but a nation or a confederacy of nations, however the fact that he and the
false prophet are thrown into the
2.7.
Previously in our
study, we noted that there are at least
50 names in the scriptures that may refer to the Antichrist of the book of
Revelation, including:
2.7.1. ANTI-CHRIST...1JO 2:18,22
2.7.2. THE BEAST...REV 11:7;13:1
2.7.3. MAN OF SIN...2TH 2:3
2.7.4. SON OF PERDITION...2TH 2:3
2.7.5. SON OF LAWLESSNESS...2TH 2:3
2.7.6. THE WICKED ONE...2TH 2:8
2.7.7. THE LITTLE HORN...DAN 7:8
2.7.8. THE VILE PERSON…DAN 11:21
2.7.9. THE WILLFUL KING...DAN 11:36
2.7.10.THE IDOL SHEPHERD...ZEC
11:17
2.7.11.ASSYRIAN...ISA 10:5
2.7.12.CHALDEAN...HAB 1:6,11
2.7.13.PRINCE OF
2.7.14.KING OF
2.7.15.ABOMINATION OF
DESOLATION...MAT 24:15
2.7.16.THE SPOILER...JER 48:8
2.7.17.A WICKED COUNSELOR...NAH
1:11
2.7.18.PRINCE THAT SHALL COME...DAN
9:26
2.7.19.KING OF FIERCE
COUNTENANCE...DAN 8:23
2.8.
This beast that comes up out of the sea is very similar to the
description of the red dragon in chapter 12.
2.8.1. The red dragon has seven crowns on its seven heads.
2.8.2. However, this beast has ten crowns on its ten horns.
2.9.
This man that will come upon the earth during the Tribulation as the last
world emperor, will be in essence and nature identical to Satan himself, for
this reason this beast is so similar to the red dragon of chapter 12.
2.10. As we shall see in this chapter, this Beast (or Antichrist) is going to come
and be the counterfeit Christ that the world will buy into. He will mimic the Lord Jesus Christ in many
ways, and this is what the name “Antichrist” infers. Yet, he
will be wholly evil. After he is resurrected
from the dead following a fatal head wound (mimicking Jesus’ being raised from
the dead) he will from that point on in time be possessed by Satan Himself,
who has at this point in the 7 year Tribulation been banished to the earth.
2.11. Tim Lahaye, in
his Revelation commentary, has the following information from a quote from Dr. Clarence Larkin’s book “Dispensational Truth” wherein he
lists contrasts found in scripture between Jesus, the Son of God, and the Beast
(or Antichrist), Satan’s man:
|
Contrasts: Jesus Christ VS The Antichrist |
||
|
No. |
Jesus Christ |
The anti-Christ |
|
1. |
Christ
came from above – John 6:38 |
Anti-Christ
will ascend from the pit – Rev. 11:7 |
|
2. |
Christ
came in His Father’s name – John 5:43 |
Antichrist
will come in his own name-John 5:43 |
|
3. |
Christ
humbled Himself – Phil. 2:8 |
Antichrist
will exalt himself – 2 Thess. 2:4 |
|
4. |
Christ
was despised – Isa. 53:3; Luke 23:18 |
Antichrist
will be admired – Rev. 13:3-4 |
|
5. |
Christ
will be exalted – Phil. 2:9 |
Antichrist
will be cast down to hell – Isa. 14:14-15; Rev. 19:20 |
|
6. |
Christ
came to do His Father’s will – John 6:38 |
Antichrist
will come to do his own will – Dan. 11:36 |
|
7. |
Christ
came to save – Luke 19:10 |
Antichrist
will come to destroy – Dan. 8:24 |
|
8. |
Christ
is the good shepherd – John 10:1-15 |
Antichrist
is the “idol [evil] shepherd” – Zech. 11:16-17 |
|
9. |
Christ
is the “true vine” – John 15:1 |
Antichrist
is the “vine of the earth” – Rev. 14:18 |
|
10. |
Christ
is the “truth” – John 14:6 |
Antichrist
is the “lie” – 2 Thess. 2:11 (ASV) |
|
11. |
Christ
is the “holy one” – Mar 1:24 |
Antichrist
is the “lawless one” – 2 Thess. 2:8 (ASV) |
|
12. |
Christ
is the “man of sorrows” – Isa. 53:3 |
Antichrist
is the “man of sin” – 2 Thess. 2:3 |
|
13. |
Christ
is the “Son of God” – Luke 1:35 |
Antichrist
is the “son of perdition” – 2 Thess. 2:3 |
|
14. |
Christ
is “the mystery of godliness:God…manifest in the flesh” – 1 Tim. 3:16 |
Antichrist
will be “the mystery of iniquity,” Satan manifest in the flesh – 2 Thess. 2:7 |
2.12. The only places in the Bible
that the word “Antichrist” is found are in three occurrences in the epistles
written by John, and in John’s epistle writings he is speaking about “anti-Christ”
primarily in the sense of all of the false teachers who would lead people astray. For
this reason, some commentators deny that the reference to the “Antichrist”
in John’s epistles even refers to the ‘Beast that comes up out of the sea’
here in this chapter, however I believe
it is clear from the book of Revelation that Satan’s man, the Antichrist, is
set up by him to be a full counterfeit of Jesus Christ, and therefore
fulfills the role of the “anti-Christ” (by definition of the word
itself).
2.12.1.The verses in John’s
epistles which refer to the Antichrist are:
2.12.1.1.1 Jn. 2:18-22, “18 Children,
it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many
antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.19 They
went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us,
they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be
shown that they all are not of us.20 But you have an anointing from the Holy
One, and you all know.21 I have not written to you because you do not know the
truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.22 Who is
the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the
antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”
2.12.1.2.1 Jn. 4:3, “3 and every
spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of
the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is
already in the world.”
2.12.1.3.2 Jn. 7, “7 For many
deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus
Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
2.12.2.If this were all that we had
to go on we would conclude that the Antichrist could possibly be a nation, a
confederacy of nations, or a conspiracy or influence, however when we read
Revelation 19:20 we see that both the
Antichrist and the False Prophet must be individual men, “20 And
the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in
his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast
and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of
fire which burns with brimstone.”
2.13. John writes here that ‘the
dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority’, for the
Devil himself will set up the Antichrist to rule over all of the world (every single country and person), something that no emperor in all of history
has ever done.
2.14. As was mentioned, after the Antichrist’s resurrection from the dead, the Devil will possess
the Antichrist and empower him with spiritual power to perform miracles, even
to cause fire to come down from heaven, and he will also give him authority
over the nations as the world ruler.
What Satan will get out
of it is that he will cause everyone
who does not know Christ as Lord and Savior to worship him.
2.14.1.There appears to be even
among those possessed by demons a degree of influence over which the demons have
control over a person. The man in the gospels possessed by a legion
(1000) of demons being the worst case we know of. However, the Antichrist will most likely be the first man to be possessed by the
Devil himself, the most powerful of the demons, and the amount of influence exerted by the Devil
over this man will be unlike anyone else ever possessed by a demon.
3.
VS 13:3 - “3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain,
and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed
after the beast;” - John tells us that he saw one of the heads on
the beast that came up out of the sea be healed of a fatal wound, and because
of this the whole world was amazed and followed after the beast
3.1.
Some have speculated that the seven heads on the Beast that comes up out
of the sea, which chapter 17 of the book tells us are seven kings, refer to
seven of the most godless and wicked Roman emperors, six from history past, and
the seventh being the Antichrist.
3.2.
Here in this
verse, one of the heads on this Beast appears to John as if it ‘had been
slain’. Since the heads could refer to previous Roman rulers, the one that appears to have been slain has
been taught by some to be one of those Roman rulers of history past who
miraculously comes back to life. Nero’s name has been used in this
regard, for instance. However, it seems unlikely to me that the people of
our modern world would be impressed enough by a resurrected world ruler from
the first century in order to submit to him as the one world ruler. On the contrary, it appears that the Antichrist is going to be someone on the earth who is
assassinated, and then Satan causes him to be revived, or come back from the
dead, and as a result of this miracle the rest of the world will follow the
Antichrist as ruler, and bow the knee and worship him. The
Antichrist is most likely some world ruler or statesman that is alive upon the
earth today.
3.3.
In this chapter, John does not give us an explanation as to
what the seven heads of the beast symbolize. However, the beast of chapter 17 is surely the same beast, and there in that chapter John gives
us some good clues as to the meaning of the heads. I will just mention in this chapter that I believe that the seven heads are symbolic
of seven emperors or kings which have had a more-or-less world-wide dominion
upon the earth. The last of these
governments will be the government of the Antichrist, and it will actually be
the first truly world-wide government.
4.
VS 13:4 - “4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his
authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the
beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”” - John tells
us that the people all over the world worshipped the dragon (which symbolizes
Satan)
4.1.
This verse makes
it clear that everyone who is not one
of God’s people on the earth during this time actually chooses to consciously
worship the Devil, however they are worshipping the Antichrist, who is
possessed by the Devil, and thus are worshipping the Devil.
4.2.
A few aspects of
the Antichrist seen in this chapter make him out to be a counterfeit (or
Antichrist), including:
4.2.1. When the world sees the tremendous power of his, in
that he raises himself from the dead, they worship him saying, ‘“Who is like
the beast?”’
4.2.1.1.Ironically, the world in
rebellion against Christ will not acknowledge that no one is like Christ in
that He raised from the dead, instead they will fall for this counterfeit.
4.2.1.2.I believe that Jesus made a comment that relates to
this period in John 5:43, when
He said, “43 “I have come in My
Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own
name, you will receive him.””
4.2.2. The world is deceived into
thinking that he is all-powerful, as they say, “‘Who is able to wage war with him?”’
4.2.3. The Antichrist can perform
miracles just as Jesus did.
5.
VS 13:5-6 - “5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant
words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and
His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” - John tells us that the Beast was given ‘a
mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies’ and that he will have authority
to act for 3 ½ years
5.1.
Here in this
verse, we see the direct correlation to
the fourth beast in the vision of Daniel in chapter 7, in that he speaks out ‘arrogant
words and blasphemies’.
5.2.
In 2 Thess. 2:4, we see these same
characteristics of ‘arrogant words and blasphemies’, “4 who opposes and exalts himself above
every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the
5.3.
When the
Antichrist begins to do these things this
event is called the “Abomination of Desolation” that Daniel wrote
about in Dan. 12:11, and which
Jesus referred to in Matt. 24:15.
5.4.
John records that the blasphemies of the Antichrist relate to ‘God’,
‘His name’, and ‘His tabernacle’.
5.5.
Note that in this
description of the Antichrist blasphemies, that John is saying that God’s people are a ‘tabernacle’ (place
where He dwells) unto Him. The
Antichrist blasphemies God’s people evidently then.
5.6.
John records
again that the Beast is given authority
to do the things mentioned in this chapter for this last 3 1/2 years of the
Tribulation.
5.7.
We have already
seen how that at the beginning of the
last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation that the Antichrist will kill the two
witnesses, break the treaty he had made with Israel, stop the daily sacrifices
and take his seat in the temple in Jerusalem in order to be worshipped, and then cause all of the world to worship
him.
6.
VS 13:7 - “7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints
and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and
nation was given to him.” - At this time, the Antichrist will make war
with the saints and kill them (overcome them)
6.1.
The Antichrist
will be allowed by God to have authority, and to do very wicked things upon the
earth. Right now, the Devil is being restrained from doing the evil that he
wants to do, however there will
come a day after God’s saints have been raptured from the earth when the Devil
will be allowed to wreak havoc upon those who are upon the earth. Paul wrote about this in 2 Thess. 2:6-12, “6 And you know what restrains him
now, so that in his time he may be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness
is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out
of the way. 8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will
slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His
coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the
deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the
love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send upon
them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, 12 in order
that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in
wickedness.”
6.2.
The Antichrist
will be allowed to have authority to ‘make war with the saints’, and
even to ‘overcome them’, which means “put them to death”. Likewise, Daniel prophesied that the Antichrist (Beast) would wage war and overcome
the saints in Dan. 7:21, “21 “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war
with the saints and overpowering them.”
6.3.
The Antichrist will really be the world’s very first emperor to have complete
and total domination over the entire world,
and thus John writes in these verses that he will rule ‘over every tribe and people and tongue and nation’.
7.
VS 13:8 - “8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him,
everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in
the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” - John tells us that all who dwell on the earth
whose name is not written in the ‘book of life of the Lamb’ will worship the Antichrist (and thus worship
Satan who is possessing him)
7.1.
The only ones upon the earth who will not worship the Antichrist will be
the ones who have come to saving faith in Christ, and thus their names were ‘written from the foundation of the
world in the book of life of the Lamb’.
This book contains the names of
everyone who has truly been saved and is headed after this life for heaven and
eternity with the Lord.
7.2.
This verse
indicates that the names of those who
are God’s people and thus will inherit eternal life, were written into the book
before God created a single thing.
7.2.1. Some have conjectured that
everyone’s name was originally written in the book, and that names are blotted
out only if people refuse to receive Christ in this life.
7.2.2. However, the other view is
that since those who will be saved are “predestined” to salvation, that
the Lord wrote in the book only the names of those whom the Lord who is living
outside of time, knows in the end will have come to salvation through Christ’s
blood and death on the cross (those who
have persevered faithful unto the end in serving the Lord and holding onto
their faith in Christ).
8.
VS 13:9 - “9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.” - John challenges those with a hearing ability
to listen to and consider what he has written
8.1.
These words were originally written to each of the churches in chapter 2 of the book of Revelation, however since the church
was “raptured” up to heaven after chapter 2, now these words which
challenge us who have ‘an ear’ to ‘hear’ God’s Words, are not addressed
to the church, but rather to all everywhere who will hear and receive God’s
Word.
9.
VS 13:10 - “10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity
he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here
is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.” - John tells us that those who are destined for
captivity will go to captivity, and those who kill with the sword will be
killed with the sword
9.1.
This verse has been interpreted basically in two different ways:
9.1.1. Some say that this verse is a warning to those who are part of the government under the Antichrist,
and as such warns them of God’s
eventual retribution to them of all of the evil and cruel things that they do
to people.
9.1.2. The second and better way to look at this verse is
that it speaks to those who are God’s
people, or come to be such through their new-found faith in Christ, and
that as such it warns them that
authority has been given to the dragon and his man, the Antichrist, and that
therefore if anyone tries to resort to any violence in order to avoid
persecution, that he will suffer retribution for his actions under that evil
government. Therefore, the saint
is challenged to persevere in his faith
and to trust his life fully to Christ.
If he must die for his faith, he should do so and trust his life to his
creator who is faithful.
10.
VS 13:11-12 - “11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. 12 And he exercises
all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth
and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was
healed.” - John has a vision of another beast, this one
coming up out of the earth
10.1. The next several verses deal with a second ‘beast’
who comes on the scene. This beast is distinguished from the first
beast become instead of coming out of the sea, he comes ‘out of the earth’.
10.2. People have tried to place some significance upon the
“sea” or the “earth” as being the place where the respective
beast comes up out of, however I think that all of those speculations don’t
really amount to much. This second beast is simply different from
the first one.
10.3. This beast is the “False
Prophet” which we will hear more
about in the rest of the book of Revelation.
10.4. In verse 11, we see that this beast has ‘two horns’, and that he is ‘like a lamb’.
10.5. The ‘two horns’
indicate the authority that he has,
however as we will see all throughout the book of Revelation, the function of the False Prophet is simply
to be the inspirational leader and public relations man for the Antichrist. Like
James Carvel, president Bill Clinton’s savvy political advisor, the False
Prophet will function as a political advisor of the highest echelon in helping
the Antichrist establish his government and rule over the earth.
10.6. The False Prophet can do all
of the miracles that the Antichrist can do, however he is not the man in charge
but rather is a subordinate to him, and
his job is merely to support the Antichrist and his authority as ruler and
counterfeit (or Antichrist).
10.7. Some have wrongly tried to
say that the False Prophet is himself the “Antichrist”, however this is
a faulty assertion. It is the
first Beast (Antichrist) which has all of the authority and who is worshipped,
not the second beast, or False Prophet.
10.8. It is interesting that in recent years the present pope over the Roman Catholic
church has said that he thinks that possibly the next pope will be the False
Prophet of the book of Revelation.
This of course is only a conjecture, but it is interesting considering
the source from where it has come.
10.9. Again we see mentioned that the first beast had a ‘fatal’ head wound which was healed by demonic
activity. The Antichrist is going
to be killed, and then resurrected from the dead at the middle of the 7 Year
Tribulation.
11.
VS 13:13-15 - “13 And he performs great signs, so that he even makes
fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he
deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given
him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the
earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come
to life. 15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not
worship the image of the beast to be killed.” - John tells
us that the second beast (the False Prophet) performs incredible miracles in
the presence of men, and in doing so deceives the people who are on earth
11.1. In verse 13, we see that the False Prophet is given the demonic power to perform ‘great signs’,
and that he is even able to make ‘fire come down out of heaven to the earth
in the presence of men’, as the Antichrist is also able to do. This of course is a counterfeit copy of the miraculous power which prior to this was only
performed by God through his prophets, such as Elijah, as well as the two witnesses
whom the Antichrist will kill at the middle point of the 7 Year Tribulation.
11.2. Satan has been able to
counterfeit miracles (such as with
11.3. These ‘great signs’ of miraculous power will
have such convincing power that all but
God’s elect people will be fooled into thinking that the Antichrist and the
dragon who is behind him is worthy of worship.
11.4. Do to the marvels of
television and satellite networks, all the world will see the miraculous works
of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and thus everyone shall at once be deceived into believing that it is the
right thing to do to worship the Antichrist.
11.5. The False Prophet will also
create an image of the Antichrist and through demonic power cause it to
actually come to life, or cause it to appear to have life. This image of
the Antichrist will speak and at least
appear alive, and everyone in the world who does not know the Jesus as
their Lord and Savior will be tremendously influenced so as to worship the
Antichrist and the dragon, Satan.
11.6. Further, the
False Prophet causes all who will refuse to worship the Antichrist to be put to
death. The death penalty will be
enforced for non-compliance, and through
modern technology the government will be able to know who does and who does not
worship the Antichrist.
12.
VS 13:16-17 - “16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the
rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their
right hand, or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one should be able
to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the
beast or the number of his name.” - John tells us that if anyone
wants to but or sell anything that he/she will have to have the mark of the
beast (Antichrist) on his/her right hand or forehead
12.1. Everyone on the face of the earth, no matter what
their status or station in life, will be required to have an identification mark which will be placed in one of two places: the ‘right hand’, or the ‘forehead’.
12.2. The mark itself will consist
of one of three things:
12.2.1.The ‘mark’ of the
Beast (a kind of tattoo).
12.2.2.The ‘name of the Beast’.
12.2.3.The ‘number of his name’.
12.3. This mark evidently has
something to do with buying and purchasing and today modern technology has created
devices that could fulfill what these marks do.
There have been designed and now manufactured identification chips that
can contain lots of information. These
devices are small and can be inserted under a person’s skin and then read by
scanners up to 15 feet away or more.
Animals have been getting these for a few years so that pet owners can
track a run away or lost pet. These
identification devices can contain personal banking data and could be used
perhaps in a similar way that banking cards are used today. These devices now can also contain on them
transponders which can be tracked and they will soon be sold as implants for
children and elderly people so that they can be tracked if they were to be
kidnapped or lost.
12.4. Anyone who refuses to receive
this mark will be killed, and anyone who receives the mark will not be
able after that point in time to come to Christ for salvation, for the
mark is synonymous with Satanic worship, and, it will be received only as an
act of final turning away from the Lord.
12.5. It will be virtually
impossible to avoid having to make a decision about receiving the mark of the
Beast (Antichrist), for a person will not be able to complete any business
transaction, or even to buy food, unless he has the mark, name of the Beast
(Antichrist), or the number of his name.
12.6. Surely there will be some
who will hide out in the rural areas and avoid receiving this mark, however as the earth goes through the seal, trumpet,
and bowl judgments, the earth will not provide very many hiding places where a
person might be able to live off of the land.
So, very few will be able to
hide and avoid detection unless the Lord supernaturally provides for them.
13.
VS 13:18 - “18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding
calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his
number is six hundred and sixty-six.” - John tells us the number of the
beast is 666 and that it can be calculated for it is the number of a man
13.1. John knew that a time would
come when it will be important to know about this number and that it can be
calculated as that of a man, evidently because God’s people would be able to
discern who this world leader is by the ‘number’ of his name.
13.2. Most likely, this verse is
saying that the name of the Antichrist can be calculated via the letters of his
name being added up in numerical value.
13.2.1.Both the Greek and Hebrew
alphabet letters have a one to one relationship to numeric values, and thus by adding up the letters of a person’s
name, that name, can be checked to see if it adds up to 666.
13.2.2.Also, some of the letters in
Latin have a direct relationship to numeric values.
13.2.3.Likewise, any name in many
languages can be translated letter by letter into Greek and then the numeric
values for the letters added up in order to determine the total numeric value
for the name.
13.3. Whoever the Beast
(Antichrist) is, and whatever his nationality, the letters of his name will
evidently add up numerically to the value of 666.