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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 5 - ANTI-CHRIST AND THE LAMB OF GOD (REVELATION 13:1 - 16:21)
PART 5.2 - ANTI-CHRIST APPEARS (REVELATION 13:1-10)

1. The Beast Out of the Sea (Revelation 13:1-4)


REVELATION 13:1-4
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. 2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

The Image of Satan: Earlier, the patriarch John had seen how the fiery red, seven headed dragon, which had fought against the women and her offspring, stood on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, staring into the space of the water surface as if wanting to attract a ship or a dolphin with his eyes (Revelation 12:17-18).

While it was waiting in this strained manner, suddenly ten horns cut through the water surface. Upon these horns were ten crowns. Then seven heads appeared being defiled with blasphemous names

John was stunned when he saw the image of Satan, the fiery red dragon, wading out of the sea towards his procreator. The father of the dragon had also seven heads with ten horns. Yet the beast from the sea had ten crowns and not only seven as its procreator (Revelation 12:3). It was even more admired and worshipped.

May be that John remembered the testimony of Jesus: He who has seen me, has seen the Father! (John 14:9) Likewise but in a negative, satanic manner the beast from the sea appeared as image of the dragon who misleads the whole mankind (Revelation 12:9).

The sea is understood as sea of peoples by some expositors likewise as it is with the Book of Daniel, while others see in it the abyss of darkness.

Japanese film producers once made a dreadful monster, had it emerge from the sea, wade slowly to the shore, enter a big city and tread down skyscrapers under its feet. This beast roared in anger, its eyes and mouth sprayed fire against its enemies. Not any human weapon had any effect against this monster until it waded back into the sea and sank into its depth after accomplishing the destruction. The vision of John is still up-to-date also in the technical age. The fear of the beast emerging from the abyss lies dormant in the subconscious of mankind.

The ten horns in the visions of Daniel and of John symbolize ten mighty rulers who are in close contact to Satan (Daniel 7:7.24). Some of them themselves have got two horns and two crowns on their heads, but most of them only one horn and one crown. The horns are symbols of the power given to the rulers by Satan, and the crowns represent their presumptuous majesty. They want to rule the world in the spirit of Satan with cunning, violence and self-glorification. The blasphemous names on their heads illustrate the character of these rulers. The blasphemous names explain their speeches, deeds and objectives. The Roman emperors in the days of John, for instance, had been lavish with such slogans and titles. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was called “Augustus” (meaning 'the exalted'), the “Holy One” and “the Adorable". Titus Flavius Domitianus had his subjects exalt and even worshipped him with the title “our Lord and our God”. The Germans shouted in masses “Sieg Heil” to Hitler! And the Pope calls himself “the Holy Father", a name which belongs only to God. Therewith the Pope claims infallibility in his magisterium and claims that only priests can forgive sins.

The Seven Heads of the Beast From the Sea: The seven-headed beast from the depth does not speak with one accord. His seven heads may advance at the same time seven different contradicting philosophies, which finally come out of the one heart of the beast. Socialism and capitalism, Hinduism and Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, humanism as well as liberal Christianity are fascinating philosophies of life which presumably come from the seven different heads of the Son of hell. The beast is not bound to the truth, as his father is the most cunning of all of them (Sura Al 'Imran 3:53). His goal is to set up a world dominion against God and his Lamb. Nowadays numerous associations and lodges combine contradicting philosophies under the topic of “tolerance” in our multicultural society, but in fact in order to force the command and control of the world.

The masses and even intellectuals accept over and over again the cunning and reasonable lies of the seven heads as they turned out to behave with Hitler, Mao, Nasser, Khomeini, Saddam Hussein and others. Most people do not want to realize that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the live (John 14:6). Their blind confidence in the lies of their seducers creates in them a collective hardening against the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Because of their rejection of the truth God allows the lie powers to lead them astray (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

John recognized that the last beast from the sea combined in itself the horrid characteristic traits of all his predecessors. He looked like the rapid panther, the versed bear and the roaring lion (Daniel 7:4-6). Yet the dragon-like beast was more dreadful than all his predecessors, more terrific and very strong (Daniel 7:7). It had got big iron teeth and devoured everything in sight and trampled underfoot whatever was left. Its deeds were beast-like, even bestial!

The mystery of the last beast is that Satan, the fiery red dragon, will hand over to it all his power so as to carry out its plans! He will even leave it his throne, the throne of injustice and darkness. He will hand over to it the satanic authority for welding together all countries to an empire ruled by it. Nobody will dare to contradict the beast. Not only will the son of perdition resemble his father, the arch evil, according to outer appearance and shape, but he will also receive all his power from him.

When Satan was cast out of heaven he was filled with fury (Revelation 12:7-12), so that he empowered the ten princes of the beast to appear in his spirit in one accord so as to enforce his will.

Its Mortal Wound: John recognized, as he was gazing to the monster from the sea, that a little horn was coming up out of one of its seven heads which plucked out and destroyed three other horns (Daniel 7:8). The new prince brought together three crowns on his head and became stronger than the rest of the rulers. Presumably, the beast from the sea received during these internal power struggles a deathly wound on his head, out of which the new horn had grown out. The slain beast seemed to bleed to death slowly but surely. In the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation this “deathly wound” of the son of the dragon is mentioned three times expressly (Revelation 13:3.12.14). It is the intrinsic feature of the fourth beast. Yet its wound was healed by the action of Satan who could achieve therewith that his “immortal” son appeared as a victor over death.

The Imitation of the Lamb of God: Through this vision at the latest it becomes obvious that Satan with the beast from the sea tries to imitate, even outdo the Lamb of God.

  • Likewise as Jesus Christ is the image of God and reflects the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15 and other verses), so the beast from the depth is to represent the image, power and lawlessness of its father from the hell.
  • Likewise as the Lamb of God agonizing died for us on the cross and rose on the third day from the death, so the beast from the sea was to bleed to death slowly so as to become revived and healed by the dragon.
  • Likewise as Jesus Christ received at his enthronement all authority in heaven and on earth, so the son of the Evil One was to receive all power and the throne of his father, the destroyer. Jesus Christ, however, had suffered death in the weakness of his body and only after his victory over death and hell received all authority in heaven and on earth, while the beast from the beginning had been empowered and nevertheless died so as to appear afterwards alive.
  • The aim of the imitation of Christ as Lamb of God is finally the adoration of Satan and of his son, likewise as our Father in heaven (Revelation 4:1-11) as well as his Lamb (Revelation 5:1-14) is adored and worshipped by all his creatures ardently.

The Adoration of Satan and His Son: John saw in his vision that all people on earth could observe the death and resurrection of the beast as ruler (by television). Likewise he saw that all people had watched wide-eyed the corpses of the two witnesses of Jesus Christ, who were killed by the beast from the sea, as well as their ascension from Jerusalem (Revelation 11:7-13). The masses, however, did not respond to the recovery of the prince of this world in repentance and returning to God but in a great astonishment which made them resign and led them to a deliberate or forced adoration of Satan and his son.

Worship means commitment, surrender and submission. This is the exact meaning of the Arabic word “Islam”! Worship is not only exercised in the biblical culture region but in all religions and sometimes even in the domain of dictators or god-kings. The worshipper is bond to him whom he is worshipping and to whom he surrenders completely. A worshipper is no longer a free man. He has committed himself to his Lord forever and unconditionally. All Muslims are to surrender to Allah up to 34 times by their worship in the five times of daily prayer. For Christians a once for all commitment to Jesus is sufficient, as beforehand our Lord had sacrificed himself for us and set his seal on his eternally valid covenant by his blood and afterwards by giving his Holy Spirit.

Yet at the end of times the masses will worship Satan, the fiery red dragon, intentionally and frankly. The beast from the sea will confess that it will have received its power, reviving and authority solely from the devil. Therefore many of those who are far from Christ will say, Who will fight against this son of the dragon who is possessed by all demons? Even if we succeed in killing him, he would live on! It is wiser to serve the authorised representative of the hell then to be his enemy!

Wherever people will be honored and worshipped like gods, the spirit of the underworld is operating. The image worship in communist and other dictatorships, the fanatic faith in Muhammad, the persevering worship of Buddha, the blind confidence in Hitler, the waves of enthusiasm during the visits of the Pope or the fuss about film stars, tennis players and football idols is like the idolization of men. Wherever God and His Lamb will not be the centre of a culture any longer, surrogates of gods and demons will push through the backdoor. Whoever does not love God and Jesus Christ with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22, 37 and other verses), will open the door of his heart slightly for the spirit of the beast from the sea and of the fiery red dragon!

PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, if we looked at the image of the beast out of the sea, we would become afraid and scared; but if we looked at You, we would become secure and we would rejoice in the midst of the last days. You are the Almighty and no beast or antichrist can snatch us out of Your fatherly hand, or out of the hand of Your Christ to whom You have given all authority in heaven and on earth. Amen.

QUESTIONS:

  1. What are the characteristics of the beast out of the sea of the world? Compare them with the characteristics of the fourth beast in Daniel, chapter 13!
  2. Who gave this Evil One the destructive authority and the great pride?
  3. Why did the beast have to be killed and be raised alive by the strength of Satan, his spiritual father?
  4. Why will the majority of people worship the devil and his antichrist?

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