Revelation - THE FIRST BEAST -

The Book of Revelation
Unit 16

To Unit 15 This Course Index Studies Index E-Mail BACK

THE TWO BEASTS

THE BEAST RISING FROM OUT OF THE SEA - Chapter 13:1-10

vv.1 & 2 "And I stand on the sand of the sea"(aorist active)
From this precarious vantage point John sees the threatening sea.
"the sea"
Isaiah 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

Turbulent sea!
Rev.17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

The sea represents the restless peoples of the world.
Danger from the sea
The beast rises from out of the turbulent impulsive sea. Beastliness arises from below the surface of mankind.
"I see a beast" (aorist active)
In Daniel 7:2-8 four beasts are described: lion, a bear, a leopard with four heads which was given dominion, and a ten horned beast. These portrayed characteristics of four successive empires: the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman.
Here there is one beast which has similarities to all four. It has ten horns, is like a leopard, has bear's feet and a lion's mouth,
Also it is similar to the dragon [12:3].
"heads" - Authority. See 17:9 "mountains" symbolise kingdoms: e.g. Babylon:-
Jeremiah 51:25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

And the church:-
Daniel 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

"seven heads" - Complete (in essence) authority, like the dragon.
"horns" - Power/mightiness
"ten horns" - Total (in quantity) power, like the dragon.
[ten horns for seven heads - evidently figurative use of numbers]
"diadems" - Ruling
"ten diadems upon his horns" - Total ruling power
The dragon has seven diadems - power, complete in essence. He has the the subtlety. He knows how to use his power]
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

The beast's power is all pervading throughout mankind but he does not have the essence, the subtlety, how to use it.
"name of blasphemy on its heads" - One name for the seven heads.
"gives him his power" (aorist active)
Now the beast has the subtlety as well as the power.
The shrewd beastliness of the world comes from the devil [Greek: diaboloV = blasphemer/slanderer]. Satan himself gives his might, throne and great authority to the beast rising out of turbulent mankind.
Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him [Jesus] up into an high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power I will give you, and their glory: for that is delivered to me; and to whoever I will I give it. 7 So If you will worship me, all w[ll be yours. [cp. Ephesians 2:2]

vv.3 & 4 "I see* that one of its heads seemed [to have been] slain to death and its deadly wound healed" (*aorist active)
The wound was by "the sword": v.14 "the beast, which has the wound by a sword, and lives." The sword - the word of Christ:
1:16 ... out of his mouth proceeds a sharp two edged sword: ...
19:15 ... out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations...
19:21 ... the remnant were slain with the sword of him who sits upon the horse, [with the sword] which proceeds out of his mouth ...

Note: the nature of the battle. It is not fought with carnal weapons. It is fought with the word of God:
Ephesians 6:17 ... take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The Lord Jesus' death is the antidote for the wickedness of mankind but the beastliness of turbulent mankind survives. The ameliorating effect of the gospel does influence world powers for a while, then the beast rises up with renewed force. All the earth marvel at its survival, commend its world view and see it as the effective way forward for mankind, saying "Who can argue against it?"
"who gives authority (exousia)" (aorist active)
This evil comes from Satan himself.
"Who is like the beast?"
This seems to be a parody on Michael's name which means "Who is like God"
Senacherib's boast against YHWH was similar
2 Chronicles 32:14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? 15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?

vv.5 to 6 "there is given* to him a mouth speaking** great blasphemies" (*aorist passive. **present participle)
The beast' slanderous accusations and pretensions come from the Devil himself whose name means."the Blasphemer".
"authority (exousia) is given* to him to do** [it for] forty two months" (*aorist passive. **aorist ifinitive)
He has received sufficient authority for a 'mere' 42 months.
This is for the same period of time that the two witnesses are prophesying [c.11 v.3 "1,260 days"], the woman (spiritual Israel) is fled into the wilderness [c.12 v.6 "1,260 days"] and is nourished with spiritual food, the word of God [c.12 v.14 "3.1/2 times" -years], which figuratively represents the whole gospel age.
His blasphemies are onerous but here the number 42 shows it to be limited in significance when compared with the 1,260. Moreover the number 3.1/2 in c.12 v.14 shows that the nourishing Word, which strengthens us, makes the present sufferings appear insignificant and "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us". [Romans 8:18]
His blasphemies may continue throughout the gospel age but he has no authority to continue his blasphemies beyond the day of judgement. Satan has no authority, nor can he delegate his authority, beyond the day of judgement.
"speaking ... blasphemies"
A head on spiritual battle of profanities and slander.
"he opens* his mouth in blasphemy against God" (*aorist active)
Against God, the real authority. The beast argues that Christianity has failed, meaning the gospel (which Paul says is God's power, Romans 1:16) is a failure in other words he is claiming the Lord Jesus' death was a pointless farce.
"to blaspheme his name" [YHWH - He who is]
Defaming God, the real authority.
"his tabernacle" [tent]
His dwelling in the midst of his people.
Ch.21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

The beast ridicules the Christlike presence in his people.

v.7 "there is given to him to make war with the saints"
The beast argues that Christianity has failed,
"and to overcome them: and authority is given"
Such is its commanding influence that it renders the saints gospel work ineffective throughout mankind.
ch.11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

[To understand the use of the word "kill" note the way the word "destroy" is used in:
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3: AV)]

It helps to keep Ephesians 6:10-18 before our minds eye when considering these passages.

v.8 "on the land (gh) will worship* him" (*proskunew - the outward acts of worship)
In the end all reasoning non-believers will finish up doing homage to him. This does not apply to those who remain faithful to God:
"whose names have not been written in the Lamb's scroll of life"
Bible references to the scroll containing the names of the faithful.
"slain from the foundation of the world"
The sacrifice of the innocent little Lamb of God that we might have eternal life was not an afterthought, decided on when Adam sinned. It was God's strategy even before the creation. Those who "worship the beast" reject God's salvation. They are not in the book of life.
Colossians 1:16 (AV) For by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Bible references to the foundation of the world.

v.9 "If anyone has an ear, let him hear"
These words are similar to the Lord's words in Matthew 11:15 , 13:9, 43, Mark 4:9, 23, 7:16, Luke 8:8, 14:35, and to the seven churches [Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22]. The spiritually minded are invited to take notice.
They are addressed to all Christians. It is to our spiritual disadvantage if we ignore them. We depreciate their importance to our peril:
"if anyone should remove any of the concepts [logwn] of this scroll's prophecies, God will remove his part from the scroll of life.." 22:19 [direct translation] .

v.10 Compare with Daniel 7:2-8.
Verse 10 is almost an echo of the Lord's words to Peter "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." (Matthew 26:52 AV)
This verse might be translated:
"All who gather into captivity, go into captivity. If someone is killing with the sword, inevitably that one is himself killed with the sword. Here is the persevering endurance and the trust of the saints."

In a context [Revelation 13:1-10] that describes the vicious foe (the brutalistic beast rising from out of the turbulent sea of mankind) the sanctified ones have such trust in God that they perseveringly endure abuse and brutality inflicted on them, not rendering evil for evil.
There is no new spiritual teaching introduced in Revelation. Verse 10 is just one example of how teaching from other places in the New Testament is applied to real life situations in Revelations. Even though described figuratively these are real life situations we could be faced with.

SUMMARY

1 Not done

2 Not done

RESEARCH TOPICS

1 Not done

2 Not done

To Unit 17 This Course Index Studies Index E-Mail BACK

vv.1 & 2	"And I stand on the sand of the sea"(aorist active) From this precarious vantage point John sees the threatening sea. "the sea" Isaiah 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! Turbulent sea! Rev.17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The sea represents the restless peoples of the world. Danger from the sea The beast rises from out of the turbulent impulsive sea. Beastliness arises from below the surface of mankind. "I see a beast" (aorist active) In Daniel 7:2-8 four beasts are described: lion, a bear, a leopard with four heads which was given dominion, and a ten horned beast. These portrayed characteristics of four successive empires: the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman. Here there is one beast which has similarities to all four. It has ten horns, is like a leopard, has bear's feet and a lion's mouth, Also it is similar to the dragon [12:3]. "heads" - Authority. See 17:9 "mountains" symbolise kingdoms: e.g. Babylon:- Jeremiah 51:25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And the church:- Daniel 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. "seven heads" - Complete (in essence) authority, like the dragon. "horns" - Power/mightiness "ten horns" - Total (in quantity) power, like the dragon. [ten horns for seven heads - evidently figurative use of numbers] "diadems" - Ruling "ten diadems upon his horns" - Total ruling power The dragon has seven diadems - power, complete in essence. He has the the subtlety. He knows how to use his power] Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. The beast's power is all pervading throughout mankind but he does not have the essence, the subtlety, how to use it. "name of blasphemy on its heads" - One name for the seven heads. "gives him his power" (aorist active) Now the beast has the subtlety as well as the power. The shrewd beastliness of the world comes from the devil [Greek: diaboloV = blasphemer/slanderer]. Satan himself gives his might, throne and great authority to the beast rising out of turbulent mankind. Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him [Jesus] up into an high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power I will give you, and their glory: for that is delivered to me; and to whoever I will I give it. 7 So If you will worship me, all w[ll be yours. [cp. Ephesians 2:2]
vv.3 & 4	*"I see that one of its heads seemed [to have been] slain to death and its deadly wound healed"** (aorist active) The wound was by "the sword": v.14 "the beast, which has the wound by a sword, and lives." The sword - the word of Christ: 1:16 ... out of his mouth proceeds a sharp two edged sword: ...* 19:15 ... out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations... 19:21 ... the remnant were slain with the sword of him who sits upon the horse, [with the sword] which proceeds out of his mouth ... Note: the nature of the battle. It is not fought with carnal weapons. It is fought with the word of God: Ephesians 6:17 ... take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: The Lord Jesus' death is the antidote for the wickedness of mankind but the beastliness of turbulent mankind survives. The ameliorating effect of the gospel does influence world powers for a while, then the beast rises up with renewed force. All the earth marvel at its survival, commend its world view and see it as the effective way forward for mankind, saying "Who can argue against it?" "who gives authority (exousia)" (aorist active) This evil comes from Satan himself. "Who is like the beast?" This seems to be a parody on Michael's name which means "Who is like God" Senacherib's boast against YHWH was similar 2 Chronicles 32:14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? 15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?
vv.5 to 6	*"there is given to him a mouth speaking** great blasphemies"** (aorist passive. present participle) The beast' slanderous accusations and pretensions come from the Devil himself whose name means."the Blasphemer". "authority* (exousia) *is given to him to do** [it for] forty two months"** (aorist passive. aorist ifinitive) He has received sufficient authority for a 'mere' 42 months. This is for the same period of time that the two witnesses are prophesying [c.11 v.3 "1,260 days"], the woman (spiritual Israel) is fled into the wilderness [c.12 v.6 "1,260 days"] and is nourished with spiritual food, the word of God [c.12 v.14 "3.1/2 times" -years], which figuratively represents the whole gospel age. His blasphemies are onerous but here the number 42 shows it to be limited in significance when compared with the 1,260. Moreover the number 3.1/2 in c.12 v.14 shows that the nourishing Word, which strengthens us, makes the present sufferings appear insignificant and "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us". [Romans 8:18] His blasphemies may continue throughout the gospel age but he has no authority to continue his blasphemies beyond the day of judgement. Satan has no authority, nor can he delegate his authority, beyond the day of judgement. "speaking ... blasphemies"* A head on spiritual battle of profanities and slander. "he opens* his mouth in blasphemy against God" (aorist active) Against God, the real authority. The beast argues that Christianity has failed, meaning the gospel (which Paul says is God's power, Romans 1:16) is a failure in other words he is claiming the Lord Jesus' death was a pointless farce. "to blaspheme his name"* [YHWH - He who is] Defaming God, the real authority. "his tabernacle" [tent] His dwelling in the midst of his people. Ch.21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. The beast ridicules the Christlike presence in his people.
v.7	"there is given to him to make war with the saints" The beast argues that Christianity has failed, "and to overcome them: and authority is given" Such is its commanding influence that it renders the saints gospel work ineffective throughout mankind. ch.11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. [To understand the use of the word "kill" note the way the word "destroy" is used in: And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3: AV)] It helps to keep Ephesians 6:10-18 before our minds eye when considering these passages.
v.8	"on the land (gh) will worship* him" (proskunew - the outward acts of worship) In the end all reasoning non-believers will finish up doing homage to him. This does not apply to those who remain faithful to God: "whose names have not been written in the Lamb's scroll of life"* Bible references to the scroll containing the names of the faithful. "slain from the foundation of the world" The sacrifice of the innocent little Lamb of God that we might have eternal life was not an afterthought, decided on when Adam sinned. It was God's strategy even before the creation. Those who "worship the beast" reject God's salvation. They are not in the book of life. Colossians 1:16 (AV) For by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Bible references to the foundation of the world.
v.9	"If anyone has an ear, let him hear" These words are similar to the Lord's words in Matthew 11:15 , 13:9, 43, Mark 4:9, 23, 7:16, Luke 8:8, 14:35, and to the seven churches [Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22]. The spiritually minded are invited to take notice. They are addressed to all Christians. It is to our spiritual disadvantage if we ignore them. We depreciate their importance to our peril: "if anyone should remove any of the concepts [logwn] of this scroll's prophecies, God will remove his part from the scroll of life.." 22:19 [direct translation] .
v.10	Compare with Daniel 7:2-8. Verse 10 is almost an echo of the Lord's words to Peter "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." (Matthew 26:52 AV) This verse might be translated: "All who gather into captivity, go into captivity. If someone is killing with the sword, inevitably that one is himself killed with the sword. Here is the persevering endurance and the trust of the saints." In a context [Revelation 13:1-10] that describes the vicious foe (the brutalistic beast rising from out of the turbulent sea of mankind) the sanctified ones have such trust in God that they perseveringly endure abuse and brutality inflicted on them, not rendering evil for evil. There is no new spiritual teaching introduced in Revelation. Verse 10 is just one example of how teaching from other places in the New Testament is applied to real life situations in Revelations. Even though described figuratively these are real life situations we could be faced with.