Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 1

• As I read through the Greek here and surveyed commentaries on this scene, I noticed something in the text that wasn’t really mentioned in anything I read.  I’m a mind picture guy…and I just picture what John must have seen here because understand he’s just doing the best that he can do to describe and write the things which he is seeing and they are out there man!  Very different than anything he has ever seen in the past…colored horses, locusts with crowns something like gold and faces like the faces of men…
• But as he describes this horrifying beast rising up out of the sea, I notice, he’s standing on the beach…literally in the Greek, he has been placed on the sand of the sea…yet no speak of fear.  No speak of concern…this seven-headed, ten-horned hydra-monster is rising up before him and he stands his ground and goes on to give us a detailed description of this grotesque monstrosity!  Why?  How is that?  Would I not tremble?  Would I not take cover?
• Well I believe the answer is found all the way in verse 18.  “This is wisdom.”  I believe John is filled with the power and the presence of God, man…and in that he is filled with wisdom…he is not fearful because a close walk with the Lord, a close intimate relationship with Jesus…well the Bible says that Perfect Love, (which He is), casts out fear…and I dig that…I desire that…I like that part of this scene…that John is standing, just standing…and because he doesn’t bolt, because he is not overcome with fear, because he is in the spirit, notice…great revelation continues!
• The beast rises out of the sea.  Now who is this beast?  We know from other parts of the Bible, specifically the Book of Daniel but also just right here in this chapter, that this beast is a “him” and as we read through this description it’s clear that this best is the anti-Christ himself and notice he rises up out of the “sea.”  Now some Bible scholars believe that the “sea” is a term for the gentile nations and I find that acceptable (especially in light of Revelation 17).  And so, I’m good with that…but of course I have my own ideas! J
• You see at a distance of 12 nautical miles off of any shore, according to the UN-sponsored Law of the Sea Treaty, once you go out that far, you’re in what is called “International Waters.”  America can’t claim the center of the Atlantic as their own…China can’t claim the center of the Pacific as their own…they are “Internationally” or “universally” owned by everyone really…and so I find this eerily symbolic as we see this thrust for a One World Government, a New World Order in which boundaries exist only in our history books and in the minds of the politically incorrect…and so this “sea” that John sees, from which arises the beast…well I see it as symbolic of International waters if you will…the New World Order in which Babylon will be reestablished upon earth…
• And notice this beast has seven heads which we have already looked at as representative of “head” quarters for the New World Order, the reestablished Babylon, the revived Roman Empire as Rome is the “land of seven hills” being literally surround by seven hills (Revelation 17)…and upon those heads, or within that confederation, that New World Order…ten heads, all with crowns, so ten kings or ten rulers from ten nations coming together to rule the Nuovos Seclorum the New Order…but only for a short period of time (Revelation 17) which is entirely in lock step with Daniel Chapter 7!
• As you recall Daniel proclaimed his vision of the four beats, the lion the bear and the leopard and finally the exceedingly strong beast…which John completes the picture for us here in Revelation Chapter 13, this fourth beast had the power of all of the others man…why?  Because they joined forces!  The ten nation conglomeration…like that old cartoon where the things would come together to create the major player!  What was that Photon or Thundercats or something?  Anyway, the fourth beast had ten horns and among the ten arose a little horn who eventually conquered three of the other horns…these are kings mind you and this little horn was speaking terrible things against God…
• Just like this beast here in Revelation as the heads bear a blasphemous name…even the name blasphemes God!  Now I find this interesting because yes I believe he has a blasphemous name on his head because rebellion is on his mind…and this image is hideous and monstrous just as is the nature of anyone who feeds upon rebellion BUT, I think this name, this title upon his head may be some sort of weapon.  Why?  Did you know that there is a missile named, “Nimrod?”  Who was he?  The founder of what?  Babylon!  And guess who the owner, designer and manufacturer of this missile is…Israel Aerospace Industries!
• Man, this is heavy…could it be that this anti-Christ, who instituted peace and then ripped it away at the half-way mark of the Great Tribulation by running the Jews out of Israel…could it be that he has assumed the military might of their warfare technology?  And who is a primary contributor and ally to Israel today militarily?  The most powerful nation on earth in terms of military capability, America…and so the beast, the ten nation New World Order…rising out of International togetherness, with power that has never been seen, bears a blasphemous name upon its head…possibly the Nimrod missile mounted somehow someway…with the power of all the world within his grip…and by the way, this man, this anti-Christ, is the devil incarnate himself…this is a terrifying scene!

Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 2

• Understand what John sees here is entirely aligned with Nebuchadnezzer’s dream that we read of in Daniel Chapter 2 where he sees a vision like a man and the man has a head of gold, chest of silver, stomach of brass, legs of iron and his feet are a mixture of iron and clay (which actually makes a very weak substance) and on those feet, ten toes (Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 36 – 45) and each of these portions represent a governing world order beginning with Nebbie himself as the head of gold.  But after him another, and then another, and then another until finally the stone not cutout with hands dashes them all to bits…
• Now how does that correlate to this beast?  Well later the same governing world orders were further revealed to Daniel in a vision of his own…Daniel Chapter 7.   He sees a vision of four great beasts coming out of the sea (just like John) and these four beasts, the first is like a lion, the second is like a bear, the third is like a leopard, and the fourth beast is, well Daniel writes, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”
• Lines precisely up with what John sees here.  So what does it all mean?  The vision of the man by Nebbie, the vision of Daniel, the revelation of John…you see it explains, it describes, it embodies the four successive empires that would rule during the time Israel was a nation beginning with the rule and reign of the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar described as the head of gold and as the lion who loses his wits, or his wings, in Daniel Chapter 7.  Then Alexander the Great, the mighty chest of silver as Alexander was a great warrior and pounced on his enemies as the Leopard…then coming after him to persecute and war with Israel, the Medes and the Persians, a mighty empire of harsh rule and judgment symbolized by the belly of bronze and fierceness of the bear, and then finally the most terrible beast, symbolized by the industrial acumen, the legs of iron and the feet of iron mixed with clay, the beast more terrible than the others…seven heads, ten horns, the collective New World Order that has emerged just in our recent history as Israel again formed as a nation in one night on May 14, 1948…
• And so John’s vision is the same beast that we find in the Book of Daniel hundreds of years before.  Mind you, the beasts, the statue, the dreams and the visions, people will go round and round with ideas and interpretations and so you go research and study for yourself and see what God will show you…but there are some sure items in this portion of text to point out…items that are clear…
• One is that when you compare Daniel 7 with Revelation 13 you find the descriptions to be in the reverse of each other.  In other words, Daniel names the lion first while John names the lion last…why?  Simple, Daniel was looking forward, John is looking back…Daniel sees the beast in terms of the future, John sees the beast in terms of the past…and that is one reason why I personally accept the teaching that I just gave above some of the others that I’ve heard and read…
• Second, notice that man sees the empires of power as a glorious statue…Nebbie’s vision…such is man’s perspective.  God’s perspective however is seen in Daniel Chapter 7 and Revelation Chapter 13…through a series of monstrous beasts man…man’s rule over man…man conquering man…man looking to self…a self-made man we might say…society says well done, God sees the tragedy of it all…isn’t that interesting?  The same subject yet man’s perspective is “hey this is good, this is fine, a glorious statue,” yet God’s perspective, “this is monstrous.”  I wonder God’s perspective on how you’re living…
• And then finally, no matter how you slice and dice this vision with its clear parallel’s to the Book of Daniel, what is clear is that the rule of man, man’s ways, the world system…all coming to an end because behind it all is the dragon and his demise is sure…

Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 3 - 4

• Now, we are told a little further down (verse 14), that the false prophet comes and says to the people who dwell upon the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. This man will be a world leader. There will be an assassination attempt, apparently successful, but he miraculously survives the deadly wounds. Though, according to Zechariah, it will probably leave him blinded in his right eye and without the use of his right arm. Yet the very fact that he survives this assassination attempt causes the world to marvel and it brings him immediately into a prominent position in the minds of so many people, because it is by a definite miracle that this man survives. "One of his heads were wounded to death, but the deadly wound was healed."

Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 5

• Notice John says he “continues” for 42 months, which is 3.5 years, not that his entire prominence was 42 months but that he continues…

Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 6 – 8

• And so he turns against God completely and anything having to do with God….why?  Because Paul said it in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”  He himself will claim to be God and John tells us here…the people will bow…Jesus said, you reject Me and I come in My Father’s name but one will come in his own name…him you will accept…well here it is…

Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 9

• Who is John talking to then?  Those that are left man…that may be fortunate enough to find a Bible…he’s not talking to the church…how do I know that?  Where’s the Spirit?  Every other place, “He who has an ear to hear let him hear what the Spirit says…”  Not here…John is saying here, heads up man!  Heads up to where this is all going…wide-eyed they’d be reading this seeing it unfold right in their recent yesterday…and where is it all going…verse 10

Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 10

• Patience is so much easier when we know the end of the story isn’t it?  Anxiety subsides, frustration halts.  John is saying to them and even to us…the end of the crud is sure…you may be in a difficult marriage, persecuted on the job, fighting illness, undergoing severe pressures financially, or just plain weary…understand in a day soon coming, it will all be solved…all the knots will be undone…
• The Book of Revelation is not written so that we can decipher the mark of the beast or figure out who the anti-christ is…its written to reveal to us Jesus Christ man…the Lamb slain from the beginning…its written to give us hope and to bring us back constantly to the fact that life is short and soon it will all be folded up neatly and put away…all of it.
• The person who misses that message will go through life in their own personal tribulation…but the person who does have an ear for the Spirit, a heart open to hope and eternity, will grab hold of Revelation and will live in a state of anticipation and celebration…every person in here will finish out this week either in tribulation or celebration.  It’s our own choice man…
• Life is short, the Lord is in control, we’re all on our way home…that’s what this book is all about…therefore patience saint…your salvation will soon appear…you’re captive yourself because you’re imprisoning others…you’re harmed yourself because you draw the sword on others…patience man…trust in the Lord and you’ll find great rest and joy in faith.