Introduction
For the last couple of weeks, we have been studying this longest section
of Revelation (6-16) which describes what Jesus called the Great Tribulation—the
period of unparalleled evil and suffering that he will interrupt through
his Second Coming. Last week, we studied the vision of chapter 12, which
revealed the Dragon (Satan), the spiritual being ultimately responsible
for the Great Tribulation. This morning we will study the vision of chapter
13, which reveals the key human instrument of Satan during this time—the
beast (a.k.a. Antichrist, man of lawlessness, prince who is to come, little
horn).
I want to stay away from the Hollywood speculation about this figure
and focus only on what the Bible actually says about him. Revelation 13 gives
us more information about the beast than any other biblical passage, but
we will also be drawing upon other biblical passages about him, which
also use different names for him (“the little horn” in Daniel 7:8,
24-25; “the prince/ruler who is to come” in Daniel 9:26;
“the king” in Daniel 11:36-45; “the man of lawlessness”
in 2 Thessalonians 2:3; “Antichrist” in 1 John
2:18) to compile a profile of the beast. Let's start by simply
reading the passage (read). We can summarize the contents of this
chapter into five key components . . .
Profile of the Beast
The first thing this passage tells us about the beast is that he emerges
from a revived form of the Roman Empire. In fact, this beast is both
this empire and the person who rules and personifies it. Why do I say
this?
John's description of this beast (13:1,2a) may sound strange to you
and me—but it would have been instantly recognizable to most of
his audience because it is virtually identical to a beast that Daniel
described in a vision recorded in Daniel 7. In that vision, Daniel saw
four beasts coming up out of the sea—which prefigured successive
world empires. The first, resembling a lion, symbolized the Babylonian
Empire. The second, resembling a bear, symbolized the Media-Persian
Empire. The third, resembling a leopard, symbolized the Greek Empire.
The fourth beast evidently gathered together all the strength of the
first three beasts and was more powerful and terrifying than any of
them (Daniel 7:7). This beast symbolized the Roman Empire, which
dominated the world in a way that surpassed all previous empires. As
Daniel looked at the ten horns of this beast, he saw another horn emerge
(Daniel 7:8). This “little horn” is a person who will
arise at the end of the age and oppose God for 3.5 years, after which
God's kingdom will destroy his rule and be established on earth forever
(7:24-27). This “little horn” is the Antichrist.
The beast in Revelation 13, therefore, signifies both the latter form of
the fourth (Roman) empire and its leader. This does not mean
that Latin and togas and chariots will make a comeback! It simply means
that a great geo-political power will emerge at the end of the age that
has its roots (Law? Ethnic? Culture? Geography?) in the old Roman Empire,
and that the man the Bible calls the beast will emerge from it and rule
over it.
He will be raised up and energized by Satan. 13:1 describes the
Dragon (evidently) calling the beast up out of the sea, and 13:2b specifically
states this. The demonic power that energized evil rulers like Hitler
and Stalin will be nothing compared to this person, who will be essentially
Satan-incarnate. And he will wield this demonic power to do what other
rulers only dreamed of . . .
The third thing we learn about the beast is that he will achieve for
a short time (3.5 years) what all past tyrants have wanted but could not
achieve—world-wide dominion (13:3b, 5b, 7b). Revelation 13 names
three reasons why he is able to pull this off.
His authority will be “validated” by amazing miracles. Paul
says his “coming is accordance with the activity of Satan, with
all power and signs and false wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).
He will evidently be miraculously restored from the brink of death (read
13:3; see also 13:12,14)—which convinces the world to follow him.
He is also attended by a religious cohort (later called the “false
prophet”) who wields supernatural power to draw people to the beast
(13:13-14a).
He will possess unsurpassed military power (read 13:4). Daniel 11:38,39
tells us that he will pour vast financial resources in to military weaponry.
He will skillfully use this military power to intimidate many of his
rivals into submission, while he will use his weaponry to annihilate
others (resulting in the devastations described in many of the seal
and trumpet judgments).
He will gain control over every person's purchasing power, and use
this power to compel people to swear allegiance to him (read 13:16-18).
He will blaspheme the God of the Bible. This is a constant emphasis
throughout the chapter (13:1b,5a,6). The main way he does this is evidently
not through a frontal assault on God, but by demanding that people worship
him (13:4,8,12,15).
I doubt that he will forbid people to worship other gods—as long
as they swear ultimate allegiance to the state which he personifies.
Roman emperors encouraged the worship of other gods, as long as people
took an oath of worship that “Caesar is Lord.” Other evil
rulers like Hitler, Stalin and Mao have done essentially the same thing.
His blasphemy will reach its zenith in what Daniel and Jesus call “the
abomination of desolation.”
This term was originally used to describe something a Greek ruler
(Antiochus IV) did in 167 BC, when he erected a statue of Zeus in
the Jewish temple and offered swine blood to the idol. This blasphemy
resulted in the Maccabbean Revolt, which Jews celebrate today as Hanukkah.
This terrible event foreshadowed an even more terrible future blasphemy
by the beast, predicted by Daniel and Jesus and described by Paul
in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (read). This event evidently represents
the pinnacle of the beast's power—but it also brings God's judgment
on his kingdom (Daniel 9:27b; see also 16:2-10).
This blasphemous ruler will obviously pose a big problem for the followers
of Jesus and the God of the Bible, who declares himself to be the only
God and therefore demands our exclusive worship. This is why the beast
will implement an unparalleled persecution of Christians (13:7a, 8-10
NIV). As is always the case when the state is deified, Christians will
be vilified as traitors. The beast will kill possibly millions of Christians—but
God will preserve many and use the martyrdom of the rest to bring others
to Christ.
The most important thing about the beast is that he will be completely
defeated by Jesus Christ when he returns to earth. Though not mentioned
in chapter 13, John sees a vision of this event in 19:19,20 (read). For
a short time, God will give Satan and rebellious humanity what they want.
But God will work through their rebellion to expose the folly of this
rebellion, to spiritually polarize humanity, and to bring many people
to Christ. And then he will intervene through Jesus to rescue the world
from destruction and establish his kingdom forever. We will learn more
about this event in a few weeks. But let's spend our remaining time considering
how we should react to this material . . .
3 wrong reactions to this material
“This could never happen.” This is the skeptical reaction—which
is the way I reacted initially. “It has never happened before, therefore
it can't happen in the future.” But there are several reasons why
this scenario is very plausible.
First, history is full of tyrant who aspired to this goal. The lust
for world domination has been around as long as fallen humanity. Empire
after empire has sought to attain this goal. The reason why no one has
every ruled the whole world is not because people don't try, but because
they haven't had the means to do so . . .
But today, key pieces of this scenario are now in place for the first
time.
As we saw a few weeks ago, the Bible describes the beast's military
devastation of nature and people that is so horrible that Jesus intervenes
to prevent us from completely annihilating ourselves. Only in the
last 50 years has this become a possibility—and now it is a threat
that concerns every country.
As we saw today, the Bible describes the beast's power to control
every individual's economic activity. Only in the last decade has
the technology been developed (CASHLESS ECONOMY & CHIP IMPLANTS)
to make this scenario possible.
As we saw today, the Bible describes the beast's blasphemy in Israel's
temple. This implies what other passages explicitly state—that
Israel would be re-constituted as a state before the end of the age.
Only in the last 52 years has Israel re-emerged as a nation, only
since 1967 has Israel gained control over Jerusalem, and only very
recently have Israeli's sentiment for rebuilding the Temple grown
significantly.
Lastly, I wouldn't bet against biblical prophecy, because it has an
outstanding track record. This fascinating subject goes beyond our study
this morning. The point is that there are hundreds of biblical predictions
that have already been fulfilled, and that provides a rational and compelling
basis for believing that its future predictions will also be fulfilled.
If you're interested in studying the accuracy of biblical prophecy,
check out Christianity: The Faith That Makes
Sense.
So yes, these events could happen. And, in fact, they could happen
in our lifetimes.
“I'll bet the Antichrist is Nero, Hitler, Kennedy, etc.”
This is the opposite of the first reaction. This reaction believes
that these events are real, will take place—but gets obsessed with
foolish speculation about the identity of the beast.
This is what I have called the “National Inquirer” approach
to Revelation. When I was a new Christian, thousands of American Christians
were convinced that JFK was the beast (mortal head wound) and that he
was hidden on one of Onassis' Greek islands! Or maybe it's Gorbachev
because of the birthmark on his forehead! And on and on it goes. Many
Christians love to speculate about this—and the result is that
Jesus' reputation gets dragged through mud when these foolish speculations
don't come true. I also think that this kind of speculation is appealing
to many Christians because it provides an excuse to ignore our main
calling—to be lights of Jesus' love and truth to a broken humanity
that he loves.
At any rate, Paul warns the Thessalonians (and us) against this in
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (read). There is no need to speculate about when
the beast will emerge; we will know when he is here because the abomination
of desolation will be unmistakable to Christians (see also Matthew 24:15ff.).
This may happen in our lifetimes, or it may not. Until then, we should
guard against unfounded dogmatism.
“I am terrified because the world is out of control!”
I know Christians who have become so terrified by this that they won't
use credit cards, or even move to the wilderness in order to protect themselves
from the influence of the beast.
This reaction is ironic as well as unfortunate, because (as we noted
when began this study of Revelation) John wrote this book to provide
us with hope and confidence by showing that God is sovereign over human
history. Remember 1:8 (read)? The world is not spinning out of control,
history is not headed into total chaos—because God is the beginning
and the end, he was and is and is to come, he is the almighty Ruler
of the universe. The very fact that God predicts these events in advance
demonstrates his sovereignty over them.
This is why Jesus said John 16:33 to his followers (read). Yes, there
is real evil in the world, so we will have tribulation here. But he
has overcome the world, and we can have peace if we know and trust him.
He has overcome the world through his death by paying for our sins so
we can be forgiven by God and be guaranteed of spending eternity with
him. And through his indwelling Spirit, we can have peace and stability
and hope in the midst of great chaos and suffering and tribulation.
Therefore, the main issue is not whether you can control your world,
but whether you know Jesus Christ. The truth is that we can control
very little in our lives. Our culture tells us that we can control things,
it gives us the illusion that we can control things—but we really
can't. The main thing we can control is who we will trust. Have you
put your personal trust in Jesus to make you a child of God?
Copyright 2002 Gary DeLashmutt