Revelation Sermon Series–Week 10 Preview

The dragon does not take defeat well, and proceeds to conjure up two terrifying beasts to wage war against the woman and her seed. The devil is pictured at the end of chapter 12 looking out at the sea and we see in chapter 13 the first beast comes rising out of the sea. The description of the beast places it as the fourth beast from the Daniel 7 vision (the first three have already been but are also rolled into this one) for the duration of the time of the Church until Christ’s return. From John’s vantage point on the island of Patmos, he was most likely thinking of the beast as Rome. In general, the beast is any ruling authority that reigns terror on the Christian Church (Caligula, Nero, Hitler, Stalin, etc. fit the description).

If the first beast is a political beast, the second would be religious as it comes up out of the earth and is described like a lamb, meaning that it is impersonating Christ. This beast is first described as the “false prophet” (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), then the “prostitute” (Rev. 17-18). Looking at the progression, it’s fairly certain that this religious beast evolves into the deadly antichrist (1 Jn. 4:1-3). The control of the Antichrist is so far reaching that everyone has to carry the mark of the beast in order to live. This of course is not a literal mark (what is actually literal in the whole book?). The mark of the beast on the forehead or hand is an indicator that the person has left Christ and is now looking to the beast for direction, for help, for life. Not only are they looking, but they are also directing and working (hand) to recruit more people. This is apostasy.

While the devil may have been defeated, he by no means is giving up. He is actively deceiving the nations through any political or religious power he can raise up. As the end gets near, the Antichrist will gain so much power that he will force the world to identify with him or die. In all this, God promises that the saints will endure and keep the faith (Rev. 13:10b) because Satan is already defeated.

This Week’s Verses: Daniel 7:1-8, Psalm 2, Rev. 13, John 14:1-7