We left off
at the end of chapter 1l. In that chapter we saw that John was given a reed
with which he was to measure the Temple, the altar, and the people but that he
was not to measure the court of the gentiles. We also saw the two witnesses who
will testify of Jesus the Messiah who the Anti-Christ will murder and leave
lying in the streets of Jerusalem but whom the Lord will bring back to life and
bring to Heaven. Then there was an earthquake, the result of the second woe.
Chapter
12
Chapters 12 -14 are parenthetical as well but cover
a greater time span than just what is happening on earth during the tribulation
period, though the tribulation period is included. In fact, as we shall see, we
are going back in History a very long way. There are several personages that
are pictured here, and through which this history is reviewed. We begin with:
1.
The Woman-
A “great wonder” (sign) appeared to John as a woman “clothed
with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars:” (v.1) This is reminiscent of Genesis 37:9 which says, “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren,
and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the
moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” As spoken by Joseph to
his brothers. The reference here is clearly to the family of Joseph, Israel.
The woman is Israel, who will deliver the child (v.2).
2.
The Dragon-
This is another wonder (sign) that appears and this Dragon has seven heads and
ten horns. He also has 7 crowns upon his 7 heads. He is said to have brought a
third part of heaven to earth and he is in pursuit of the woman. In verse 9 we
find a further description as this Dragon is also known as “that old serpent”, the Devil, and Satan who
deceives the world and who was cast to earth out of heaven along with his
“angels”. These are fallen angels, of course.
NOTE
We will see this reference to Seven Heads, Seven Crowns, and Ten Horns
come up several times in the next couple of chapters. Here 12: 3 referring to
Satan, the Dragon; in 13:1 referring to the Beast that rises up out of the sea;
in 17:3,7,9 referring to Mystery Babylon. I don’t want to get ahead of myself
here, but most of these seven heads with seven crowns refer to the historical
empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the Revived
Roman Empire which will be represented by the 10 horns. We’ll, hopefully, get
into this in more detail as we move through the chapters.
3.
The Child-
It’s not difficult to identify this man-child as the text says, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to
his throne.” (v.5) But then suddenly we’re jolted forward in the
vicinity of two thousand years, the seventieth week of Daniel and the woman
(Israel) flees to a place of protection by God for 1260 days, or the last half
of the tribulation period. The child will yet rule with a rod of iron but first
things first!
4.
Michael-
This is Michael the Arch-angel who is the overseer of Israel (Daniel 12:1)
There is war between Michael and the Heavenly angels and Satan and his fallen
angels and this explains how Satan and his angels were cast to earth. Verses
10-12 inform us that this event occurs in the middle of the tribulation period.
The “accuser of our brethren” will have no more access to God at this point.
You see, Satan was kicked out of Heaven long ago, along with his demon legions,
but he still had access to God for the purpose of accusing the brethren but his
time for that is finished at this point. You see, those who take the mark of
the beast (13:16) are clearly manifest but so are those who have refused the
mark of the beast. The Lord knows those who are His! At this juncture there
will be no more accusations made; no charges brought! Verses 10-12 also shout
the warning of Satan’s wrath!
Satan’s Persecution of Israel
12:13-17 tell us that since Satan
only has 3 ½ years to continue his murder and mayhem he pursues Israel out of
sheer madness! She flees and is protected and nourished by God for the 3 ½
years and though Satan attempts annihilation of Israel his plan is thwarted by
God which angers him even more! He sets out to make further war with the
“remnant”.
Chapter 13
The First Beast
This chapter introduces us to two of the central figures of the Revelation;
they are the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet. They are both called beasts but
are distinguished from one another by the words “another” and “first”
(vs.11,12)
The First Beast- Verses 1-10 tell
us a few things about this Beast:
· He is seen as
coming out of the sea. This could be either the Mediterranean area or it could
mean the sea of people. In either case it distinguishes him from the 2nd
beast. (v.10
· He is pictured
as having seven heads, ten horns (powers), and ten crowns. Notice the
difference in the number of crowns from the description of the Dragon. (v.1)
· The likeness of
a leopard, the feet of a bear, the mouth of a lion, and his power by the Dragon
remind us of Daniel’s prophecy of Daniel 7 where they are representative of
Babylon (the lion), Persia (the Bear) and Greece (the Leopard) so the beast
will incorporate elements of these empires with the added feature that he
receives his power from Satan, the Dragon. (v.2)
·
One
of his heads was wounded. Without going into great detail I will only
say that this probably refers to Rome as the
last of the great empires. Rome was not destroyed from without, but from within, yet elements of the
Roman Empire still exist today, even in our American political system. But
the Roman Empire will be revived in the last days so the wound was not
fatal.
People will worship the Dragon and the Beast
for forty-two months, the
last 3 ½ years. The Beast will speak great
blasphemies against God and pollute the Temple. He will make war with the saints. Remember, this is
after the sealing of 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the evangelizing of the
remnant of Israel from the middle of the 70th week of Daniel to some point
during that last three and a half years. Daniel speaks of the abomination that
makes desolate and our Lord mentions it as well in Matthew 24:15. The
Apostle Paul writes of him, “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so
that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
·
All
of the lost will worship him! “And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8) Here is
the first of two references to people names NOT being in the Lamb’s Book of
Life. In 17:8 we will find that their names never were written in the Book of
Life.
The Seven Heads Revisited
Some see the seven heads as Rome
because in 17:9 where the Scripture says, “And here is
the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the
woman sitteth.” Since Rome is known as the city of seven hills many
believe the Whore as Rome. BUT, verse 10 says, “And
there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not
yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” So while
there may be a double meaning here, it is the Revived Roman Empire we are
speaking of here. At the time of John’s writing there had been five Empires:
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. Rome was the Empire in John’s
day, the writing of the Revelation. That makes six and the seventh is yet to
come and after that the eighth, as we shall learn later. In the Revived Roman
Empire, which is to come, there will be ten horns (powers) from which one will
rise to become the anti-Christ personified. But the heads themselves are these
Empires.
The Second Beast
The second beast, called “another”(another of the same kind), comes out
of the earth. He is often called the “False Prophet” because he exalts the
first beast. I don’t believe we can define exactly what “out of the earth”
means as opposed to “out of the sea” for the first Beast. One might guess that
he comes from a place in the Mediterranean area. Some actually believe he is
Jewish which is plausible but it could be he is someone who is a “friend” to
the Jews.
·
He
is like a lamb but speaks as a dragon. Satan is the source of his speech.
·
As
the Holy Spirit exalts Jesus Christ, this False Prophet exalts the anti-Christ
causing people to worship the first beast.
·
He
works great wonders and miracles. These are similar to those of the two
witnesses and are meant to deceive.
·
He
orders an image be made of the 1st beast and causes the image to
speak.
·
He
orders that any who will not worship the beast should be killed. He forces men
to receive a mark in their right hand or forehead symbolizing the beast and by
which they can buy and sell. The mark is “the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (13:17) The number is
666.
The Number
There has been a lot of guessing over the
centuries as to whom the Beast is and exactly what the numbers means and I’m
not sure we have a satisfying answer. I believe that since the number 7 is God’s
number of completion and perfection, the number 6 is mans number and comes
short of completion or perfection. Just as the triune God (Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit) would have the number 777 so the impostors (Satan, Anti-Christ,
and False Prophet) would have the number 666.
No doubt there will be human personages
related to these two beasts, it seems likely that we are talking about this
world’s system in both Socio/economic terms and Religious terms, though there
is most certainly an overlap with them. During the Tribulation period,
especially the last 3 ½ years, 42 months, 1260 days, there will be a clear
division between believers and non-believers. Non-believers will accept the
mark of the beast and the saved will already been sealed by God. But among the
worldlings there will still be plenty of “religious” people. They will be
fooled by the two beasts and will worship the first beast.
NOTE
It is my opinion that there is a sort of preliminary
worship of the beast going on even in the time in which we live. We can see the
divide in our country as we breathe. Some are born again believers who seek
after God and some are determined to be anything but. Other’s are in the
middle, playing with their religion. The world is collapsing economically with
superficial fixes and morality has degraded. We are ripe for the appearance of
the beast and the only thing holding his appearance back is the Holy Spirit.
The Church is indwelt by the Spirit of God and when the Church is translated
from earth to Heaven, the Holy Spirit, in His present ministry, will be caught
up as well. Who is the Anti-Christ? Well I don’t know who the human personage
is, or will be, but it’s clear that the Beast is the Revived Roman Empire and
that the “little horn” of Daniel’s prophecy, the Anti-Christ, will most likely
come from one of the 10 horns or powers under the Revived Roman Empire.
Keep watch for
Part Four…
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