Revelation

Lesson 10 w/answersRevelation 13 (Cont'd)

This week we will examine Chapter 13, the two beasts and the mark of the beast – all symbols telling us something about the end times – here again we’ll get to apply the symbols we learned earlier in our prophecy study.

Bible

Put on your thinking caps for this one and may God bless you as you study this passage.

Questions For Week 10

  1. Chapter 13 describes two beasts (1-10 and 11-18). One rises out of the “sea” and one from out of the “earth”. If “sea” has always symbolized peoples in turmoil and earth symbolizes organized civilization, then read these verses and write down what you think this means, “rising out of the sea” and “coming up out of the earth”.
    1. ANSWER: A government that rises up from turmoil and unrest – the Anti Christ will rise to power out of turmoil and unrest, the False Prophet will come to power by leading an organized religion to worship the Anti Christ. Some have previously speculated this might be the Pope and the Catholic Church, but I don’t believe that at all, I also don’t believe it will be an Islamic religion. This will be a true ecumenical movement and organization that will lift the Anti Christ up as God to be worshipped much the way the Romans did the Caesar. You may remember that in the Roman Empire they allowed a variety of religions as long as acknowledged Caesar as the Supreme Being over all. It’s unclear what religious form this will take, but I reject the idea that it will be either the Catholic Church or Islam.
  2. Who are these two figures?
    1. ANSWER: The Anti Christ and the False Prophet.
  3. Where will the Anti-Christ come from? (His birthplace?) (See Micah Chapter 5, especially 5:5 and Isaiah 14:24-27)
    1. ANSWER: He will be an Assyrian
  4. If horns and crowns are symbols of power, then what does the fact that they have ten crowns but only seven heads mean? (Before you answer, read chapter 17, verses 6 thru 18 and Revelation 12:3 – let the Bible interpret the Bible.)
    1. ANSWER: Ten who join as a ruling federation in support of the Anti Christ, but only seven them are actually kings of kingdoms, the others are in places of high authority but not kings – head of the WTO or President of the UN for example – although this is not a reference to either of those two organizations, just examples of someone who has a lot of authority and power but is not over a kingdom.
  5. Where does this “beast” in 13:1 get its power? From whom? (Chapter 13, verse 2)
    1. ANSWER: From Satan.
  6. Who is “the dragon”? (See Chapter 12, verse 9)
    1. ANSWER: Satan.
  7. What is the dragon’s main purpose – that which he hopes to accomplish through “the first beast”? (12:13)
    1. ANSWER: Persecution of the Jews on a world wide basis.
  8. From all of the above and the understanding you’ve gained from it, read 13:3 again and tell me who is “wounded to death”? Is it a person?
    1. ANSWER: It is a government that is “wounded to death” not a person, note that it references “one of his heads” Many believe this is reference to an old form of government long since thought as dead that will come back to life and rule the world again – probably the Roman form of government that ruled the known world through the Holy Roman Empire, it would explain as well the role of both the Anti Christ as god and the False Prophet as validating that the Anti Christ was both leader and god.
  9. What “blasphemies” are written on him and his empire or voiced by him (verse 1 for example)? Come prepared with some suggestions (Ezekiel 9:9 is one example; you should be able to think of plenty more).
    1. ANSWER: If we consider the Caesars or Pharaohs of prior kingdoms they believed they were both leaders and gods. It’s certainly reasonable to think he will call himself God, or he will say he is above God, or say that he is the savior everyone is looking for that God cannot save them, but he can for example.
  10. In verses 11 through 18 of Chapter 13 the Second Beast – the False Prophet - causes several things to happen – list each one with a verse for reference. (Note he is able to do this because verse 12 tells us he has “all the power of the first beast”.)
    1. Verse 12
      1. ANSWER: Caused the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast.
    1. Verse 13
      1. ANSWER: Did great wonders, made fire come down from heaven.
    1. Verse 14
      1. ANSWER: Deceived through the miracles he did.
    1. Verse 15
      1. ANSWER: Had power to give life to the image of the beast so it spoke and caused the death of all those who would not worship the image.
    1. Verse 16
      1. ANSWER: Caused great and small, rich and poor, free and bond to get the mark of the beast on their right hand or forehead.
  11. We will examine the number 666 in class this Sunday. But I want you to consider several things. 1) The number for man is 6 - imperfection, the number for God is 7-perfection or completeness. 2) A “mark” sets someone apart (see Ezekiel 9:4) so it is normally a symbol, not an actual “name”, 3) A “mark” indicates either ownership, or something that happens or results from some type of action or decision (see Galatians 6:17). Given this, do you suppose the number 666 is someone’s name (containing six letters in each name - Adolph Hitler, etc)? What could possibly be meant by this “symbol” and the “mark” of the beast?
    1. ANSWER: Given that God is a Triune being, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit His number would 777. An imperfect imitation of that by Satan would be Satan as god, the Anti Christ, and the False Prophet and that imperfect number would be 666. It is not the number of a person’s name it is the number of the beast and his part in the false trinity.
  12. Can you tell what the basic difference is between Chapter 13 and Chapter 17? [BONUS QUESTION]
    1. ANSWER: Chapter 13 is about a one world system of government and Chapter 17 is about a one world economy and the collapse of both.

May God richly bless you this coming week.

Yours in Christ,

Wes