Series on Revelation
II The Viewpoint
C Cycle Three, Seven Symbolic Histories
2 The Personages
c The Sea Beast
Text: 13:1-10
Introduction
Just as we saw in concluding our last study, Satan has a two pronged attack against the bodies and the spirits of men. His henchman and primary agent in the attack on man’s physical dimension is human government epitomized here as the beast out of the sea, the first beast of Revelation 13, also known as the antichrist. We read about this in our present text. In the ensuing verses we will read about the second beast, commonly referred to as the false prophet, and he is the agent of Satan for the fatal capture of mens’ spirits. There is little question that this first beast is a political figure controlling men’s bodies and fortunes. He is pictured in the same fashion as godless kings and kingdoms in the Old Testament. He wears crowns and looks like the beast that he is, and he exercises authority over all people from a “throne,” slanders God, makes war, and compels men to worship him as god just as the Caesars of Rome did. Let us look then at this beast from the sea and observe his identity, his imitation, and his ineffectiveness.
I His Identity
The beast is readily identified as a composite of tyrannical human governments that oppose God. The description is in verses 1 and 2, And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. We must go back to the time of Daniel and his visions in order to understand this imagery. In Daniel 7 Daniel has a vision of four beasts, a lion, a bear, a leopard and unnamed beast with ten horns. He does not understand and so we read in verses 15- 22, I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever. Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.The fourth beast has ten horns just as in John’s vision and in the end we read of the same time period in Daniel 7:25, The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. We cannot explore all the details of Daniel’s visions, but it is sufficient to see that the beast of Revelation 13 embodies all the features of the successive kingdoms in Daniel’s vision. Thus, John’s beast is a composite of all the kingdoms that have throughout history been opposed to the cause of God and the truth.Throughout history men have vainly attempted to identify the “antichrist.” Historicists have said it was a Roman emperor; Reformers said it was the Pope of Rome wielding his sizable political influence in the middle ages; various tyrants have been named as candidates through the years; and futurists have insisted that it is some mysterious figure who will only emerge at the end of the age. All have missed the obvious truth that the picture is a composite and at any given moment in history the danger is the particular ruler then reigning. John says it all in I John 2:18, Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. People do not take John seriously. He means what he says to his contemporaries. Just like you they heard that the antichrist was coming in the last days. John says these are the last days and we know that because the antichrist is already here. That is for us too. Christians need to wake up. The antichrist is already here and has been here for 2000 years opposing God and His Christ from his throne, or, if you will, executive office in the halls of human government.
II His Imitation
If he is here, how do we identify him? By recognizing that he is the great imitator as we read in verses 3-8, One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. Obviously nobody will recognize the antichrist except those whose names are written in the Lamb ‘s book of life, and the rest of the world is taken in. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent in Paradise, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Here the ancient prophecy is remembered as the beast receives a fatal wound to the head, but it is healed. This is surely an imitation of Christ. Jesus’ heel was bruised but healed when he rose from the dead. This is not a resurrection, but a resuscitation. The beast makes war against the seed of the woman while Christ makes war against the seed of the serpent. The beast is given authority “over every tribe, people, language and nation,” while Christ after his resurrection says in Matthew 28:18, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And then Jesus adds, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so that we understand that the goal is for the whole world to worship Christ. What we see here in our text is the whole world worshiping the imitation, the beast who is the antichrist. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. John looks to the future and predicts that the population of this earth will follow the directions of the beast and worship him. On all the continents, the people as a whole will obey and venerate the Antichrist. This person will receive the adulation of all the people on the earth, except the saints. It is, you see, Satan’s plan to usurp all the worship that is properly due to Christ and direct it at himself through the antichrist. We might wonder how so many people could be deceived until we look at the world today. How many billion people are held in the thrall of utterly false religions? Two thousand ten was the ninetieth birthday of a man, a Korean named, Sun Myung Moon. This man has founded his own religion and he has made the most outlandish statements such as “The whole world is in my hand, I will conquer and subjugate the world,” and “History will make the position of Rev. Moon clear, and his enemies, the American population and government, will bow down to him.” “The time will come when even a presidential candidate will need Father’s endorsement in order to succeed.” Doe this sound absurd? Yet this man has met with heads of state, spoken at the Vatican, the UN, and various legislatures, including our own and conferred with important politicians around the globe that you would think would know better. I am not suggesting at all that he is the antichrist, but only that apparently it is not that difficult for a very false prophet to deceive the mass of men whose names are not written “ in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”
III His Ineffectiveness
Thank God His people will never be deceived but they will have to endure as we read in verses 9 and 10, He who has an ear, let him hear. “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. The quotation here is from Jeremiah 15:2 which reads in full, And if they ask you, “Where shall we go?” tell them, “This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.” The prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the people in Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian captivity. For them there was no appeal, for the inevitable judgment of God had come. This passage in Revelation changes the perspective, but the meaning is essentially the same. As the people in Jeremiah’s day would not escape judgment, so the believers here will not escape the inevitable pain and death inflicted by the Devil and his henchmen which is why they must have patient endurance and faithfulness. This is something that has repeatedly been stated to the churches in chapters 2 and 3. For example, To him that overcomes, I will give to him to eat of the tree of life; and Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life; and he that overcomes, and he that keeps unto the end my works, to him will I give authority over the nations; and He that overcomes, he shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and He that overcomes, him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God; and He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne. These suffering Christians had abundant reasons to persevere and remain faithful even under the threat of death. They knew the reward and therefore Satan could not touch them where it mattered.
Dr. John P. Clark's Sermons & Writings 