Revelation 13
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
1-4 5-10 11-15 16-18
1-4 5-10 11-15 16-18
1-4
1-4
Several people mention that in some texts 13:1 begins with “I stood” but in later texts it is “He stood” the ESV has this at the end of chapter 12 and the He is the dragon or satan. Satan is the one on the shore of the sea as we see the beast rise from the sea.
A far many of the commentators mention that the sea is referring to the Gentiles and this beast is rising from the Gentile nations. MacArthur notes that 11:7 and in 17:8 states that the beast comes up out of the abyss and so he equates the sea to this.
Most commentators liken this beast that rises from the sea to the fourth beast in Daniels vision in Daniel 7:7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.” Also most say that this is the Roman Empire, the historicist and preterist the Roman empire in the past and pre-mil this will be the revived Roman Empire in the future.
It having ten horns and ten diadems mirrors the description of the Dragon in chapter 12 and symbolize strength and power and represent the new empire’s kings, the seven heads represent the seven world empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece or Macedonia, Rome, and the Antichrist revived Roman Empire. There is also a note that later in Revelation the seven heads are the seven mountains where the harlot sits and ancient Rome was known to be the city on seven hills.
On the heads of the beast were blasphemous names, the blasphemous divine names and titles that the rulers of the new Roman Empire will give themselves.
In many places the beast is referred to with a singular pronoun, he, his, so this beast is representing the revived Roman Empire and also the Antichrist who will be its absolute ruler.
The animals listed describing the beast, leopard, bear, and lion are the same as in Daniel 7 but in reverse as Daniel was looking forward in time and John is looking back. The lion representing the Babylonian Empire, the bear the Medo-Persian Empire, and the leopard the Greeks. This beast will be a composite of all of those empires that preceded it and will be supported and ultimately run by Satan.
The mention of one of his heads being slain but then healed has a few different interpretations, one that this is the renewed and revived Roman Empire and that although it fell it has risen again as if from the dead. The wording of this though is singular His head and his fatal wound, and later in this chapter, verse 14 mentions that the beast was wounded by a sword and yet lived could be that the Antichrist will survive or heal from a assassination attempt where the whole world thinks that he has been killed but miraculously is healed. This could be God granting his healing for his purposes or it could be a great deception to trick the world into worshiping the Antichrist. There was also several mentions that this could be the Emperor Nero coming back from the dead because it was widely believed that at the end of the first century he, who had committed suicide in 68 AD, would rise from the dead but most everyone discounts this as just a myth. Also Nero took his own life and was not wounded by the sword as described in verse 14. One other idea that was mentioned, but not believed was that this is Judas Iscariot as both he and the Antichrist are both called “son of perdition” and that Jesus called Judas a devil in John 6:70. Neither of these were believed by anyone that I read but mentioned that some may believe it. After this either real healing or sham healing the world will be amazed and start to worship him, but in reality they will be worshipping the Dragon or Satan as it is Satan that is pulling the strings of the Antichrist. The language of the rhetorical question at the end of verse 4 is like many Old Testament passages describing God. Psalm 35:10 “All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?””
5-10
5-10
Satan empowers this beast or the antichrist and his empire to speak great blasphemies. These will not be subtle hints, they will openly both curse the one true God, God’s tabernacle, and all the saints and angels in heaven, while also the antichrist claiming himself to be god. Here 42 months are mentioned again corresponding to the last half of the 7 year tribulation period.
Satan does not only give him the power to blaspheme God, but also to persecute the remaining faithful, though he may be allowed to persecute and harm them but he will not have the power or the authority to harm their faith, overcome them physically but not spiritually. During this time he will be ruler over all the people of the earth as head of his renewed Roman Empire and those who are not saints, those who have not had their place in eternity in heaven from before creation itself will worship him.
The phrase “If anyone has an ear, let him hear” is used many times in the New Testament, seven times in Revelation alone, and it is used to emphasize a very important truth that follows. The remaining faithful must accept that some may be imprisoned, or killed for being a believer, and that this is God’s providence. They must be like our Lord Jesus Christ who willingly suffered and died and just as 1 Peter 4:14 says “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” Remembering Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
11-15
11-15
John then sees another vision of another beast, this time from the earth. The historicist see this as papal Rome or the priesthood of the Roman Church and preterist think that he is a symbol for the cult of emporium worship or the Roman governor of Judea under Nero, or a false prophet in Israel. Some pre-mil scholars do think that this second beast may represent the organized false religion supporting the Antichrist, most see this as an actual man, the false prophet as he is later named as such in chapter 16. Also in chapter 19 he is thrown into the lake of fire and that punishment is for people not ideas or symbols.
This beast having two horns may indicate that he does not have the same might as the first, the Antichrist, and may seem as harmless as a lamb, but he speaks with the voice of the dragon, the voice of Satan. He will be given the authority by the first beast and by Satan to make all the people worship the first beast, probably by using the implication that the first beast rose from the dead after his fatal wound was healed. He will be allowed to use false signs in front of people like bringing fire down from heaven in order to deceive all the people and “prove” that the Antichrist is to be worshipped. He will tell everyone to make graven images of the first beast and with the help of the deception of Satan these idols will “speak” and all that do not worship these false idols will be condemned to death, mirroring the images made of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:6 “And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.””
16-18
16-18
The Antichrist with the aid of the false prophet and with support from Satan will gain control of all of the world, except those in the faith, great and weak, rich and poor, free or in slavery, which will probably be much more prevalent in these end times, will be forced to receive the mark of the beast on their right hand and on the forehead. This is speculated to be a bar-code or sub dermal chip used to identify them as faithful followers of the beast and ultimately Satan. They will control all the world commerce and without this mark no one will be able to buy or sell anything and probably won’t be employable either. The mark may even replace physical currency on a global scale with world wide virtual banking and credit .To get paid or make a purchase you have to use this mark as your identifier and unlike an identification card which could be forged or used by another this mark is on the body and would not be transferable further persecuting the remaining faithful by not allowing them to buy food or medicine.
The number of the beast, 666, is very debated and there are many, many theories on its meaning. I will mention a few.
The Pope’s official title is Vicarius filii Dei, translated as Vicar of the Son of God, and the Roman numerals in that Latin title V, I, C, L, and D add up to 666. V=5, I=1, C=100, L=50, and D=500. The other letters do not have a numeral equivalent so they equal 0. So the Pope is the beast.
The Hebrew form of Caesar Nero is Neron Kaiser spelled Nrwn Qsr, and the Hebrew value of those seven letters are 50, 200, 6, 50, 60, and 200 and add up to 666. That the text says that let those who have understanding recon the number means that only those who knew Hebrew would get the meaning, not Greek or Latin to avoid detection from Roman authorities. So Nero is the beast.
Using a Greek spelling of Muhammad and its numerical values add up to 666. Muhammad is the beast.
6 is the number of Man since Man falls short of perfection 7. Man was created on the 6th day, slaves were to be freed after six years of service, fields were to be sown for only six consecutive years. 666, the beast is a man.
The beast in the evil sense appears 36 times in Revelation and 1-36, added up, 1+2+3+4 etc add up to 666 so numbers are the beast? or the beast is the beast?
There were also several that just said that they did not know what 666 means, or in the future during the end times it will be obvious and easily deciphered and we, living before that time are not to know its significance.