Revelation Chapter 13

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Hi everyone, this is Dr. Paula McDonald with your Exhale Bible Discovery. And today we are in lesson number 16, Revelation, chapter 13. And so as we continue past the 7th trumpet being sounded, chapter 13 continues with us looking at this beast. Chapter twelve introduced us to the various characters of Satan, his allies, and Christ and his Church. We continue to see this beautiful message woven throughout the book of Revelation as it is throughout the entire Bible. And that is that our God is in control. He knows the outcome and he wins. We must continue to see Christ first as we continue to tackle each of these chapters in this book of Revelation. Don't lose heart. Chapter 13 continues to look at visions of beasts. And these are two beasts rising out of the sea and the Earth. And as we shall see, we now have a three Satan related being the Dragon from chapter twelve. And now the beast of the sea and the beast of the Earth. So let's get right into it. I have it divided into two divisions. The beast of the sea. Revelation 13, one through ten and then the beast of the Earth, which are the remaining verses in chapter 13. So chapter twelve vision from John was more focused. From a heavenly view, we saw that the Dragon came down or fell down. Chapter 13, we see a shift to visions that are directly right here on this Earth and the sea. So verse one, the Dragons stood on the shore of the sea and I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. Wow, scary indeed when you just read these words. But here the vision shows the Dragon or Satan standing near the sea as the beast is coming up out of it. The vision here is showing us that Satan calls upon his minions to join him in his destructive work. Much has been written about this beast of the sea and it's strange description. Well, seven heads. We will see this again in Revelation 17, nine as they refer to the earthly kingdoms and governments. The twelve crowns represent again the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples of the New Testament which shows a complete and beautiful picture of God's people. The Dragon in Revelation 23 had seven heads and ten horns. Remember that. And therefore this beast that we're talking about here is like Satan. He reflects his image. And remember, horns represent power and strength. And we know large Bulls with two big horns, boy, they can exert a lot of power. Therefore, here comes this creature depicting these ten horns, which is really trying to show much, much more strength. And so the ten crowns. They represent Satan's desire to rule every earthly Kingdom and over the sea. And each of these blasphemous names on them further shows Satan's complete mocking and disregard for the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And so then, in verse two, the beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like a lion. And the Dragon gave this beast his power and his throne in great authority. And if you go and read through Daniel seven, you're going to see many of the same animals mentioned in his vision. In John's vision, all of these animals are combined into one, the leopard, the bear, and the lion altogether. And we also see these references back in Revelation four when we looked at the throne room with the four living creatures. And so again, here we see Satan, who's in competition with God, and he's mocking God with every turn. He too takes on the animal personas that were shown in the throne room to try and show his power and might. It's just a complete look at how Satan is just a big liar and a big mockery joke. That's who he is. But he is very real. The Dragon giving this beast his power thrown in great authority in order to continue to fool more people on Earth. So Satan the Dragon, as we know, he runs around this Earth trying to lure others in, and he's going to send other people in his likeness to help him do that. So verse three, one of the heads of the beast seemed to have a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. This verse has been discussed at length by pastors and theologians over time. And when we view this under the symbolic lens of which this entire book has been written, rather than again trying to put this in terms of a true wound, doesn't it make sense with the fraudster that we know Satan is that he would enjoy even mocking the death of Christ and his resurrection. So even if there is a beast that does manifest into a person who receives a head wound and comes back from the dead, this is all the more reason to know that Satan's desire is to deceive humanity and to have them worship him or this beast, like many do with Christ. Verse four, people worship the Dragon because he had been given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked who is like this beast and who can wage war against it? And this voice points to people who worship dark things, they worship evil, and they believe that it has all authority and might. Verse five, the beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority. For 42 months, this authority has been given to the beast, and through his mouth comes proud and profane words against God Almighty. This beast, however, is limited, as the time frame indicates. Verse six. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. So here the beast specifically spews his blasphemous words directly to God, profaning his name and also to heaven, his home, and to those who reside with him there. You guys, Satan hates everything about God and that includes God's people. So this verse clearly shows the utter hatred of all things God and Christ by this beast. And we see this in today's world so vividly. Verse seven. It was given power to wage war against God's Holy people and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. And I think a key word that's often overlooked here is the word. It's not referring to a hymn, it's, it, it is not a Dominion of humanly persons or of Christ the beast, the Dragon, or Satan. They are waging war at this very moment on humanity. He has desired since his fall and into that garden with Adam and Eve to conquer God's people. And sadly, we know that his demonic influence is throughout the world and many have fallen prey to his lure, his lies, and his destruction. Verse eight. All inhabitants of the Earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. And there is a distinction here regarding all inhabitants of the Earth, showing clearly that those whose names are not written in the book of life will worship this beast. If Philippians four three does speak into the fact that those who believe in Christ, our names are written in the book of life, that is something we can hold on to. Therefore, worship of the beast is a choice. Justice is a choice to worship the Lamb Jesus Christ. And the importance of this verse for believers is that once our names are etched into this book of life, we are forever his. We simply cannot worship a beast who is in opposition to God. Verse nine. Whoever has ears, let him hear. Bam. We've had this introduction in 13 of this beast coming up out of the sea. And now here is a little pause, and it's what we've seen earlier in Revelation 2711 and 17 where it says, Whoever has ears, let him hear. This message is once again telling the reader, hey, you need to listen up and pay attention. And Jesus also use this phrase in Matthew 1115 and in Mark 49 and here as it's referenced in this part of Revelation, it's a stern warning for believers and the Church to stand firm, to stay in the faith and to, hey, wake up and pay attention. Whoever has ears, let them hear. We can't bury our heads in the sand. Verse ten if anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity, they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, the sword, they will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people. This cryptic message is for believers. Today we are being told that whatever it takes, we are to continue to follow Christ even if it means to the death and in this world we will have trouble as Christ plainly told us. John 1633 but we must cling to this last part of the verse in John 1633 that tells us to take heart because he has overcome the world and this small break in the action of the beast is inserted to provide us as believers with the hope that we have in Christ. We are to not fear. However, we are to be prepared for the battle at hand. And this battle is obvious as it indeed is a vicious spiritual battle that is raging right now. We can never scoff at the seriousness of how much Satan desires to defeat Christ and his believers. This is why Paul wrote so feverently about putting on the armor of God in Ephesians 610 through 18, and I wanted to fully discuss the weapons that we have as Christians. So whether you're a premalenius, post millennia tribulationists, pre Rapture, whatever you believe, this message right now is relevant for us today in that we've got to have patient endurance. We have to put on the whole armor of God, which is what the verse Ephesians says. It doesn't say we can only put on parts, it says the whole armor of God. And so I broke this down. You've got four weapons that we actually wear and two that we hold. So let's start with the ones we wear with the head and we start with the helmet of Salvation. And this means knowing Christ and turning to Him for all your needs. Then we wear a breastplate of righteousness that covers our heart. And this is where we stand in righteousness with our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we too can stand firmly in his truth and therefore we are seen as righteous. Then we tighten up that belt of truth which is his word, the Bible and all that it stands for. So we've got to know his word in order to fight the enemy and to be prepared for battle. We've got to know his truth because the enemy desires to tear apart, mock and destroy God's Word at every turn. And then finally, the last thing we wear is to have our feet fitted with readiness so that we are ready to stand firmly in Christ, but also to move forward bravely in battle. Your weapons that you're going to hold for battle are the shield of faith. You hold in one hand, which your faith in Christ truly is your stronghold of protection in this world in one hand. You've got your shield of faith that covers you at all times. The sword of the Spirit is your other weapon that you hold. In the other hand, we are promised to have the power of the Holy Spirit with us that was given directly to us from Christ. We're covered in our weapons, we've got our two weapons. And so it's important as we continue to fight this spiritual battle, that we grasp the weapons given to us as believers. And this picture of suiting up for Christ show strength and is the opposite of being a coward. Believers are not to be thought of as mild and meat people, which is a great attribute when we are dealing with those who are in need. But when we're facing our daily battles of the spiritual world, we better understand the importance of staying suited and booted for Christ. And I had somebody say, how come there's nothing on the back as far as your weapons and your armor? I didn't answer them right away because I've never really thought about it, but it's actually an excellent question. And as I thought of it that night, it really came to me and I heard God say very clearly, I have your back. And isn't that the truth? We go forward fighting this daily battle knowing that God's got our back. I just love that. So the last part of the verse in Revelation Ten points out that we've got to have patient endurance and to have endurance requires training and dedication. Christ needs us to be trained up, battle ready. That means read up and prayed up. Any good soldier is going to make sure that they are ready to go into battle. Are you? And so your truth bomb is believers are in a daily spiritual battle with the enemy of Christ. We must stay aware and stand prepared to fight even to the death. We must also have patient endurance in order to do this. So your call to action, are you putting on your armor of God daily without his weapons? You are exposed and vulnerable. And are you ready to fight for him to the death? So the second part of this chapter, the beast of the Earth. This is verses eleven through 18, verse eleven. Then I saw a second beast coming out of the Earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a Dragon. Again, we've got this it thing. Now we are being introduced to a third Satanic beast, the beast of the Earth. And most scholars agree that this beast represents a false Prophet of Satan here on Earth. And this beast completes what they call the unholy Trinity, which again is in mockery and opposition of the Holy Trinity. So you've got the Dragon, the beast of the sea, and now beast of the Earth. And we see this use of a triangle in reference today to those who are in the Illuminati, the cabal, and those who follow Satan. And again and again we can see their symbolism and how they try to Rob from God what is God's and use it in their own unholy alliances. Well, the Dragon in chapter twelve made his entrance by falling from heaven. And now we have these two beasts coming directly from the sea and the Earth. And so they're trying to form this Trinity, this unholy Trinity to take over humanity. The description of the second beast says it had two horns like a lamb, which indicates again the mockery of Christ. Remember the saying a Wolf in sheep's clothing? Because as this beast speaks, it is more like a Dragon. And this is an important message for believers that many people me and they're out there and they look the part. But when it really comes down to their words and their actions, this is where you can sift the wheat from the tears. And trust me, there are people out there that know scripture, but there's no fruit coming from their bodies. So always pay careful attention to those who wow you with slick words. People who are truly Christ's followers will have fruit to show. Go back and read the fruit of the Spirit. This would be a great time because that fruit is what you want to watch for. An imitator will ultimately be shown for who they are. So make sure and vet those people that you let into your life. The enemy so desires to destroy believers that he sends people who appear to be good people, but upon further inspection really are self serving and they're ready to dismantle you, tell lies about you, and desire for you to fall. Verse twelve. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and made the Earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed. Again, here's another reference to Satan's desire to imitate and show up the death and resurrection of Christ. Here I am, beast. I've been fatally wounded and now I'm back to life. It's just a mockery. The beast will appear to have been killed, but will arise from the Ashes to life. It's a joke. Verse 13 and it performed great signs and even causing fire to come down from heaven to the Earth in full view of the people. And here how this beast is acting like God. It's another insult and imitation of the true God. And as people desire to worship this beast, this will cause many more to be infatuated and deceived by fake signs and wonders. You guys, people are desperate to want to see signs and wonders, and if they are not grounded in God's word of truth, they're going to fall for anything. Verse 14. Because of its signs, it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast. It deceived the inhabitants of the Earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. So here we have it confirmed that this beast is given these powers in order to deceive people. The imagery of worshiping an idol or a statue is very indicative of the time in Exodus when Moses was up on Mount Sinai meeting with God while Erin was down in charge of the people. And the people became rebellious and they created a golden calf that they began to worship and do all kinds of horrible things. And so today we have many items that people worship. Money, status, jobs, Fame, sports, food. And as believers, we've got to make sure that we are not putting anything ahead of Christ. These idols are cunning and they sneak into our lives and become what we truly worship if we're not paying attention and we're not standing on God's word. And this also means we've got to be aware of false preachers, false teachers, and false religions. And you guys, there are many out there deceiving people right now. Anything that dismisses anything in the word of God is deceitful. You cannot simply leave out portions of the Bible like the Book of Revelation to just keep peace with people and make people happy. When this happens, the word of God is distorted and twisted to fit the needs of what people desire to hear, what their Itching ears desire to hear. Verse 15. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image be killed. Just as God breathed life into man and the Holy Spirit breathes life into believers. Now the second beast continues the charade against God. And this is so evident of Satan's continued mockery of all things belonging to God. The reality today of having a statue or an idol speak man. It can easily be done with technology that we have. And you can go do some deep diving into a topic that many are working on. And it's called the Giant. And it's a company in Ireland that's hoping to bring the world's tallest moving statue to 21 cities, including Phoenix. And it's called the Giant. It's programmable moving statue that's ten stories tall and covered with millions of Led pixels that allows it to take the form of any person weird. I think that's so weird. According to a Press release, the Giants arms and head can be moved in multiple directions and would change shape every hour as crowds gather together. The Giant can take on any image, so you can even find yourself featured. Wow. Talk about the ultimate selfie. And the statue can sing and speak. And so the project's website calls it an exciting digital art Gallery. The world's most captivating Billboard and most scary fun for the entire family. Wow. If this doesn't scare the pants right off of you, I just don't know what to say. Here we are on the verge of having a larger than life statue come to a town near you. It's unbelievable. But we do know that throughout history, many Christians, they have been killed because they have refused to worship a King or an idol or a government. And as Satan's time is running out, there is no doubt that we're going to see more and more persecution against believers. The final three verses of this chapter are some of the most referred to in all of the Book of Revelation. And these verses scare many people and much has been written about them. So let's look at verse 16. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a Mark on their right hands or their foreheads. And in John's time, at the writing of his vision, it was very likely that this was probably extremely difficult to grasp. And the word that's key here is forced. And so this is referenced to all people, regardless of status. Well, does this sound a bit daunting in light of the governments around the world forcing or mandating jabs medical passports and going into a cashless society? I never, ever thought this day would come. Yet here we are. The reality of moving to a fully cashless system is upon us. There is no doubt the next step involves implanting a chip directly into our skin so that we can simply run our hand over a scanner. But the dangers of this being misused by those in power is very clear. If something with a computer chip is inserted into your body, you can be controlled. You can be cut off without your consent. Who knows what else they could do with that chip? It's a computer and consent. Here is the key word to be forced by anyone to do something against your will. That's rape. And as believers, we must all determine what we will and will not accept. And it may come to a point for those who will not comply that they will either be starved to death or outright killed. As frightening as this is, the choice is ours alone. And again, whether you believe in a Rapture happening before all this happens or during this happens or after, we are facing persecution right now. And so we have to understand this. Will we bow down or will we stand even to the death? No doubt it's a very difficult topic, but we are on the verge of being faced with it. All the more reason you guys, we must stand together. And I had a dear friend asked me, why would I run for the school board again when they know how hard the job is? And it's very harsh criticism, slanders and slurs on a daily basis. And I knew her intentions were there to protect me and out of love of our friendship. But I answered her with this. Now more than ever, believers are asked to take hard stance. God is asking his warriors to do the hard things. He is asking each of us to stand for the right things. If I have been entrusted with this job, I have a duty to continue to fight the fight despite the difficulties that come with it. Sure, it would be easier on my family and myself to lay it down. Who's going to come in and fight for what is true and right? I urge each of you to go to God right now and ask Him what is it he needs you to do for the Kingdom. No longer can we simply stand aside and let others fight these battles. The reference to the forehead here easily points to Where are your thoughts? Are they on things of God or are they on other things? Who has captive of your mind? Christ tells us that we must look to Him and only to Him. When we take our focus off of his ways, it is easy to become prey to the things that are not of God. Where is your mind? By keeping your focus on Him and staying in the word of God, you will remain laser God focused. Verse 17 So they could not buy or sell unless they had the Mark which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This part of the verse absolutely confirmed Satan's desire to control all people. And we do know for certain that if this is a physical Mark or simply agreeing to bow down to Satan and his control, that we've accepted His Mark. Just like when we take the seal of Christ, we are sealed in Him. And so those who bow down to Satan, they could be marked and sealed in Satan. We know this is true. So it's easy to imagine during what we've experienced in these last few years where things seem to be headed and how all the more we have to be extra vigilant to ensure we do not fall into any Satanic trap. Verse 18 this calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is wisdom is called for here. In this last verse there are 60 plus verses in the Bible regarding wisdom. So the more steeped we are in his word, the more wisdom we gain with his wisdom. We are not fooled by anyone. And the number for the beast says it's six, six, six. And so much has been studied and surmised about this number, so much that many people will not even live in an apartment numbered six six. And as we've been studying the Book of Revelation, we know numbers mean something to God. He is the architect of codes and numbers. Therefore, when we see a specific reference to number, there's an important message and it says right here, Let those who have wisdom understand what this means. And as we've seen in this chapter, Satan has his unholy Trinity formed and we know that the number seven references God in his perfection and completion. So we have the Holy Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit which is perfect and complete and it makes sense that Satan's unholy Trinity is the incomplete alliance. If seven is perfection the number six falls short of seven. How perfect that God shows us that this unholy Trinity is seen as six, six, six. No matter how much Satan desires to be in the place of God he will never be equal to God. So you have this unholy Trinity with these three unholy beings all with the number six. Thus together the three make six six, six. The Latin expression by Karius filet day means in place of the Son of God and it's actually said to be one of the titles used by certain Popes vicarious filet day. Actually when you take the numerical values of the letters it comes up to this makes much more sense when we see the wisdom in this phrase rather than a single name or referring to a single person. We know that anything or anyone that is against Christ denies him and defies him and so therefore they are antirist. So during the course of history man has desperately tried to seek the man of Satan is the Antichrist and he will do his dead level best to bring others into full power to bring himself into full power and to fool as many people as possible. So your truth bomb. Satan is very real and his number one desire is to steal, kill and destroy anything of God in your call to action because of the wisdom you have in Christ what do you take away from chapter 13 that is burning in your soul that you need to get busy doing so. Your Summary as frightening as the study of the unholy Trinity is we know that the Holy Trinity trumps everything else. We simply cannot be lured into Satan's trap. If we are wearing the armor of God and are remaining in him we can be tempted and yes we're going to sin. When we have received Christ into our lives and we are sealed with him. No Mark of the beast can undermine the Mark of Christ. We are sealed, we are saved and we are on the winning side. Satan desires to rule but God has the final say. Father God thank you for this lesson. I pray that everyone's listening understands who they are in Christ and that they are saved. They are sealed and they are safe. It may be a tough battle out there but you Father you are calling your warriors. Let us be battle ready each and every day in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Be sure to visit my website. Dr. Paulo mcdonald.com Click on podcast and an excellent Bible discovery for self study. Guides and resources support you with each episode.