Revelation Chapter 13 Continued
Revelation 13:10 "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
This is just another way of saying, whatever you sow, you will reap.
Those who teach false doctrine causes his neighbor to go into captivity and so will those who teach it.
A call for the believers to accept persecution from Antichrist with perseverance and endurance.
God has chosen some believers to be imprisoned and executed which they must not resist (compare Matthew
In Matthew Jesus taught Peter that they that take the sword shall perish with the sword when he cut off Malchus' ear. (i.e. don't return evil for evil).
End time believers are to depend on God and not to take matters into their own hands.
This scripture is for the believers alive at that time during the Antichrist's persecution.
God will punish those who do evil.
The Beast and his followers will be overthrown and judged.
Patience (Gr. hupomone), is perseverance or endurance.
Those who have genuine saving faith will endure all the persecution of the Beast because they are God's saints.
Verses
Just as the dragon has already been
His capacity in working for the worship of the Antichrist will correspond with the present ministry of the Holy Spirit.
This second beast is the False Prophet. He will not seek to cause people to worship himself.
He will not court his own personal prestige but will work purely for the purpose of getting others to worship the Antichrist.
This evil scheme will be used by the devil and his 2 cohorts to deceive people during the Tribulation.
They will victimize many individuals because they will traffic in amorality.
In these 2 verses, 5 characteristics chart the role of the False Prophet.
(1)"Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth".
Many Bible teachers suggest that his coming up out of the earth indicates that he will not come up out of the sea of people, as the first beast does.
That is, he will not be of mixed nationality; that he comes out of the earth (around Palestine), may indicate that he will be a Jew.
This points to an apostate Jew who, during the first
(2)"He had two horns like a lamb."
The Lord Jesus Christ is often referred to in the Gospels and in the book of Rev. as "the Lamb of God".
As such He has taken away the sin of the world.
The False Prophet coming on the earth will look like a lamb with two horns.
Lambs do not have horns, which are symbols of authority; instead, they are meek and mild animals.
The Lord Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Watch out for false prophets (see article False Prophets”).
They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matt. 7:15). The False Prophet will come to Israel in sheep's clothing, but God terms him "a beast".
(3)"He spoke like a dragon"
Suggest that he will derive power of speech from the devil who is the dragon.
This False Prophet (see article "False Prophet - The Beast), will deceive human beings by acting like a lamb; but really, he will speak the words of Satan.
(4)"He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf."
The close relationship between these two world leaders is seen in the fact that the False Prophet will be given power by the Antichrist himself.
His whole purpose will be to work toward the complete dominance of the earth by the Antichrist, including a form of religion satisfactory to the Antichrist.
(5)"He made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast."
The False Prophet's basic purpose and operation with all of this power from the Antichrist and speech from the devil will be to drive people to worship the Antichrist.
When indwelt by Satan in the midst of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be so deceived about himself that he will deem himself God and seek the worship of human beings (2 Thess.
This form of worship will be propagated by the second beast or False Prophet.
He may well be described as the high priest of the Antichrist's religious system during the Tribulation period.
The second “beast” is the False Prophet (compare 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), whose role is to bring people to “worship the first beast”.
He is a deceiver (compare verse 14).
His “two horns like a lamb” represent an attempt to give the impression of gentle harmlessness (compare Matt. 7:15).
His “dragon” speech depicts his empowerment by Satan.
He is given full exercise of the “power of the first beast”, who is the political ruler.
His priestly role identifies him as a religious power or leader.
He promotes global worship of the Antichrist.
Revelation 13:11 "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
The chief religious figure in the world during the Tribulation years is identified in Scripture as the False Prophet or the second beast.
He will apparently be a Jew, influential in religious affairs, motivated by Satan, having authority delegated to him as he promotes the worship of the Antichrist.
Authenticating his ministry with signs and wonders, successfully deceiving the unbelieving world, promoting idolatrous worship, having the power of death, having authority over commerce, and having an identifying physical mark.
An Illustration is: As the Father sent the Son, so will Satan send the Antichrist.
As the Son sends the Holy Spirit to accomplish His purpose, so will the False Prophet carry out the program of the Antichrist.
Christians should recognize Satan’s attempts to minimize the plans and people of the Godhead, and therefore should guard themselves with biblical doctrine (see 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev.
“Another beast”: This is the final false prophet (called such in 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), who promotes Antichrist’s power and convinces the world to worship him as God.
This companion beast will be the chief, most persuasive proponent of satanic religion (compare 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).
Antichrist will be primarily a political and military leader, but the false prophet will be a religious leader.
Politics and religion will unite in a worldwide religion of worshiping the Antichrist (see verses
“Out of the earth”:
Likely another reference to the abyss that lies below the earth.
The false prophet will be sent forth and controlled by a powerful demon from below.
The earth imagery, in contrast to that of the foreboding, mysterious sea (in verse 1), may imply that the false prophet is subtler and more winsome that Antichrist.
“Two horns like a lamb”:
This lamb imagery may also imply that the false prophet will be also a false Christ masquerading as the true Lamb.
Unlike Antichrist, the false prophet will come not as a killing, destroying animal, but as one who appears gentle and deceptively attractive.
This "beast" was pretending to be Jesus, but when he opened his mouth, you knew he was evil. This is a deceitful character.
While pretending to be good, he was very evil.
Of course, a lamb doesn't have real horns, a goat does; so this has to do with power.
“Spake as a dragon”:
The false prophet will be Satan’s mouthpiece and thus his message will be like the dragon, Satan, the source of all false religion (compare 2 Cor. 11:14).
Revelation 13:12 "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
“He exerciseth all the power of the first beast”:
The false prophet will exercise the same kind of satanic power as Antichrist because he is empowered by the same source.
He too, will have worldwide influence and reputation as a miracle worker and speaker.
“Causeth the earth … to worship”:
The phrase “he makes” or he causes” is used several times of him.
He wields influence to establish a false world religion headed by Antichrist and to entice people to accept that system.
“Whose deadly wound was healed” (see notes on verse 3; 17:8).
This likely refers to the carefully crafted deception of a false resurrection, a false murder to inspire allegiance for the world.
Verses
He will produce the miracles of Elijah (compare 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10), and as a false Elijah he will lead people to worship a false messiah (compare Matt. 24:24).
The “image of the beast” will apparently be set up in Jerusalem for the “worship” of the Beast (2 Thess. 2:4, 9, 11).
Jesus called it the “Abomination of Desolation” (compare Matt. 24:15; Dan. 9:27; see article “Abomination of Desolation”).
The ability of the “image” to “speak” is a satanic miracle.
The people of the earth must either worship the image of the beast or “be killed”. There will be no room in the Beast’s empire for religious freedom.
Revelation 13:13 "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,"
“Great wonders”:
The same phrase is used of Jesus’ miracles (John 2:11, 23; 6:2), which indicates the false prophet performs signs that counterfeit Christ’s.
Satan, who has done supernatural works in the past (e.g., Exodus 7:11; 2 Tim. 3:8), must use his strategy of false miracles to convince the world that Antichrist is more powerful than God’s true witnesses (chapter 11), including Jesus Christ.
“Fire come down from heaven”:
The context indicates that the false prophet does counterfeit pyrotechnic signs continually to convince men of his power, and also the elimination of the two witnesses (11:5, 7).
The False Prophet will deceive unbelievers of the earth by means of wonders and miracles, accomplished through satanic power.
He will produce the miracles of Elijah and as a false Elijah as he will lead people to worship a false messiah.
We will see in the next few verses of Revelation that the Antichrist system, which is a counterfeit god, contains three positions.
You see, the Antichrist is trying to take the place of the Godhead.
The Godhead is God the Father, God the Word (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.
The Antichrist system will contain Antichrist, the false prophet, and the beast.
The devil is trying to mimic God.
In our age, it would be no problem to have fire come down from heaven. This is a lying wonder.
Revelation 13:14 "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."
“Make an image”:
This refers to replication of Antichrist that is related to the throne he will erect during the abomination of desolation, halfway into the Tribulation period.
This will happen in the Jerusalem temple when Antichrist abolishes the former false world religion and seeks to have people worship him alone as god (compare Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4).
The false prophet and Antichrist again will deceive the world with a clever imitation of Christ, who will later return and reign from the true throne in Jerusalem.
Revelation 13:15 "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
“Speak”:
The false prophet will give the image of Antichrist the appearance of life, and the image will seem to utter words, contrary to what is normally true of idols (compare Psalm
The False Prophet will cause an image of the Antichrist to be built and will have power to "give breath to the image of the first beast".
In the midst of the Tribulation, after the Antichrist has been slain and resurrected, the False Prophet will cause people to build an image like Nebuchadnezzar's image and will demand that it be worshiped (see article “Daniel's Prophecies - Nebuchadnezzar's Vision”).
By some mysterious means unknown in the previous history of the world, he will give life to that image. How long it will manifest life we are not told. What characteristics it will have we are not told.
Possibly the only characteristic it will manifest is that it can "speak" (verse 15).
This speech will be caused by the False Prophet, who in turn will get his authority from the Antichrist and the dragon, Satan himself.
“Cause … should be killed”:
His gentleness is a lie, since he is a killer
Some Gentiles will be spared to populate the kingdom (Matt.
He will issue an order that all who do not worship him will be killed.
(Rev. 20:4), tells us that many will be slain by the guillotine.
Everything the false prophet does is calculated to increase the power and authority of the Antichrist.
That is not surprising, for he receives his own power and authority from the Antichrist.
Verses
The “mark” will be placed either on the “right hand” or on the “forehead”, both very visible places.
No one will be able to “buy” or “sell” anything without having; thus submitted to the political and religious system of the Beast.
The word “mark” (Greek charagma), is often used to describe an image, stamp, brand, or other mark (compare Acts 17:29).
According to (verse 17), the mark of the beast may be;
(1)The “name of the beast” (either the person or the empire);
(2)The “number” of the Beast’s “name” (666) or;
(3)An image or other representation of the Beast (compare 3 Maccabees 2:29).
The “number of the beast” is 666, the “number of a man (Greek Anthropos, “man” or “mankind”). This number may be;
(1)The number of imperfection or humanity (666, the evil trinity, rather than 777, the holy Trinity, also 888 is the numerical value of Iesous (i.e. Jesus);
(2)A number representing the Antichrist’s name, which will be recognized by believers during the Tribulation period; or
(3)A number derived from the Hebrew spelling of Caesar Nero (Kaisar Neron), who prefigured the Antichrist in his evil actions (compare Antiochus Epiphanes in Daniel chapter 8).
Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
“A mark”:
In the Roman Empire, this was a normal identifying symbol, or brand, that slaves and soldiers bore on their bodies.
Some of the ancient mystical cults delighted in such tattoos, which identified members with a form of worship.
Antichrist will have a similar requirement, one that will need to be visible on the hand or on one’s forehead.
This is the Mark of the Beast," one of the most often quoted and least understood end time prophecies of the Bible.
The word translated "Mark" means, literally, "graven." It conveys the sense of being "branded."
The custom of the Hebrews, when they took a slave for life, was to mark them by driving an awl through their ear (see Exodus 21:6).
In John's day, slaves were branded by their owners in a similar fashion.
Accepting the mark of the Beast means you are sold into slavery to Satan.
It really will not matter how wealthy you are; you will still have to have the mark before you can purchase.
Remember, though, if you receive this mark in your head or right hand, you will seal your doom with God.
Our security is not in this world or it's system, if we belong to God.
Our security is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Revelation 13:17 "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
“Buy or sell”:
Antichrist’s mark will allow people to engage in daily commerce, including the purchase of food and other necessities.
Without the identifying mark, individuals will be cut off from the necessities of life. “The number of his name”:
The beast (Antichrist), will have a name inherent in a numbering system.
It is not clear from the text exactly what this name and number system will be or what its significance will be.
Without a mark, a person will be unable to engage in routine commerce.
Notice here, it does not say you cannot live.
It says you cannot buy or sell.
DO NOT TAKE THIS MARK; Jesus will help you.
Anyone who accepts this mark during the Tribulation has already made his choice, and that choice will permanently disqualify its wearer from heaven.
Remember, when you get the mark you MUST swear allegiance to the Antichrist as god.
It isn't merely economic, it is a worship system.
Accepting the mark is tantamount to a rejection of Jesus.
This is a permanent, irreversible rejection.
Many currently worry that they will accept the mark accidentally, such as the case with national ID cards.
This is not so.
To accept the mark of the beast, one will knowingly agree to renounce God and to accept this mark.
Without the mark, no one will be able to buy or sell and will they fear their family will die.
But to accept the mark means eternal death.
Rev.
Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six."
“His number is six hundred threescore and six”:
This is the essential number of a man.
The number 6 falls one short of God’s perfect number (7), and thus represents human imperfection.
Antichrist, the most powerful human the world will ever know, will still be a man (i.e., a 6).
The ultimate in human and demonic power (is a 6), nor perfect, as God is.
The
When Antichrist is finally revealed, there will be some way to identify him with this basic number of a man, or his name may have the numerical equivalent of 666 (in many languages, including Hebrew, Greek and Latin, letters have numerical equivalents).
The False Prophet will use this mark as a means of forcing people to worship Antichrist.
He will demand that everyone have his mark on their foreheads or on their hands, in order to buy or sell.
One can scarcely imagine the pressures of having to possess such a mark necessary to secure the necessary food for his family.
There are many views on what the 666 stands for but nowhere is it given in the bible as to what it means exactly.
I was told by programmers when I was reading various chat groups before Y2K began that some computer programs begin with a starting coding of 666.
That's why there are many who today will not receive any type of computer chip implanted into them.
Nor do they want any sort of a national ID which is again is something that is computer driven.
Many think that the Antichrist’s name (first, middle and last), each will contain 6 letters each.
I personally believe that when that time comes, those with discernment of the Word will know exactly what it means.
We do know that to accept the mark is to accept Antichrist as god and thus deny the true, living God.
Only those who walk with Christ will be able to understand why taking of this mark cannot be done even if it means death to their physical body.
Revelation Chapter 13 Continued
1.What does verse 10 mean? In one sentence.
2.Where did this second beast come from?
3.What did his horns tell us?
4.Who was he pretending to be?
5.What gave the beast away as to his true personality?
6.Which has horns, a goat, or a lamb?
7.What does this second beast cause the earth and them that dwell therein to do?
8.What happened to the beast's deadly wound?
9.What wonder does this evil one do in the sight of men?
10.What three will the Antichrist system contain?
11.Why?
12.Which three Godly beings are they trying to imitate?
13.How were those on the earth deceived?
14.What will happen to those who do not worship the beast?
15.What are the two choices of places that you may receive the mark of the beast?
16.Will being wealthy help you not to receive the mark?
17.What reason will they give you to put this number on your body?
18.Where is the Christian's security?
19.What two things will you not be able to do if you do not receive the mark?
20.What is the number of the beast?
21.What is the number six symbolic of?
22.Explain your feelings about the mark of the beast and who and what you believe the false trinity is.