Revelation 13:1-10 The Beast That Rises Out of The Sea

Woodland Hills Church of Christ

The Beast that Rises Out of the Sea

The Dragon’s Last Gasp

Revelation 13:1-10

Introduction: Chapter 12 is the pivotal chapter in Revelation. It is heart-warming to think of first century Christians reading this letter up through chapter 11 with all its judgments fulfilling Daniel’s prophecy against the Jewish nation. Then suddenly in chapter 12 God reveals what all of this has been about. The turmoil on earth is a result of a battle in heaven where the “serpent of old” and his angels have tried to take the dominion of God’s earthly creation from him and destroy mankind. But God to the rescue through the Lamb.

Though the battle is still being fought, the Dragon will ultimately lose and God’s saints will be victorious. In the meantime, the serpent is furious, and with a last gasp, makes war with the woman and her offspring. Obviously, the war is still raging!

1. Daniel 7: the Four Beasts & the Beast Out of the Sea
   1. As you noticed in the reading, the dragon stood on the sand of the sea and seemed to call up a vicious beast that had all the characteristics he has. He is like a leopard, a bear, and a lion and given all the power and authority of the dragon. The picture is an allusion from Daniel 7.
   2. 7:1-8 Notice the following details:
      1. The beasts come up out of the sea (3)
      2. One was a lion, then a bear, then a leopard, and the 4th was a diverse beast, terrifying, dreadful, and exceedingly strong with iron teeth.
      3. The fourth beast had 10 horns, three of them were plucked up, with a little one that came up speaking great things.
   3. 7:9-14 is a picture of the judgment that will be rendered on the beasts and especially the horn speaking great things.
   4. 7:15-22
      1. The four beasts are four kings which are representative of kingdoms (vs. 23, 2:31-45). These would represent Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
      2. These kingdoms will end but the kingdom of the Lord will last forever.
      3. The horn on the fourth beast was a persecuting horn that made war with the saints until God came and judged him and made it so the saints could possess the kingdom.
   5. 7:23-27
      1. The diverse beast is the fourth kingdom: Rome.
      2. The ten horns are ten kings, with an 11th rising up and three being plucked up – leaving only eight. Revelation will talk about these 7 plus the 8th which is the persecuting horn. We see this more clearly in Rev. 17.
      3. This horn will wear out the saints for a “time, times, and a half a time.” Revelation will say the same or refer to it as 42 months or 1260 days.
      4. After the time given him to persecute, God will judge him and destroy not only the horn but also the beast.
2. The Rise of the Sea Beast: Revelation 13:1-8
   1. It is clear now that the beast in Revelation is the fourth beast of Daniel and a composite of all of Satan’s beasts that he used to destroy and persecute God’s people. Psalm 2: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed…”
   2. Notice how Satan imitates God and that which is divine:
      1. He calls up two beasts to whom he gives power and authority. They are his allies in his battle for supremacy over mankind. Later in chapter 14, we will see God’s two allies: the Lamb and the saints.
      2. Just as God created us to reflect him and share in his glory, Satan’s two beasts reflect him, but will share in his demise.
      3. Just as Jesus draws all people to himself by his resurrection, Satan deceives the world when one of heads of the beast receives a mortal wound, but then the mortal wound is healed causing the people of the earth to marvel and say, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
      4. Just as God’s people worship Jesus, all who dwell on the earth worship Satan’s beast. It is interesting that the earth dwellers blaspheme those who worship God, and yet do not understand that they are worshiping a beast.
   3. The heads of the beast and the mortal wound:
      1. In Daniel 7, we saw 10 horns which were 10 kings with one rising up who would persecute the saints. Now in this chapter, the beast’s heads refer to rulers/emperors (see 17:8-11). Since the emperor is the essence of the empire, a mortal wound would be a threat to the fall of the empire and cause the people to believe that Rome was about to fall. But just as it seems the beast will not survive, the mortal wound is healed and the empire becomes stronger than ever.
      2. This likely refers to the civil war that arose following the death of Nero (June, AD 68) over the control of the empire. Four emperors competed for the throne: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian, and all seized power in less than one year. The first three died, two by murder and one by suicide, leaving Vespasian, who became emperor December 21, 69, solidified power and stabilized the empire.
   4. Verse 6: “given a mouth to utter blasphemies against God.” We must immediately ask the question, what would this look like? The idea is that the ruler and the empire speak evil of God’s people and even those “who dwell in heaven.” But this isn’t just speaking evil of a person who worships God, but also of what God teaches and how these people adhere to it.
      1. Mark 8:38 “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
      2. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 describes this same picture as Paul warns the Thessalonians of the coming “lawless one.”
         1. Notice verse 4: he exalts himself above every other god and even God himself.
         2. He is characterized by lawlessness. That is, he defies God’s laws and teachings.
3. Applications and Conclusion: 13:9-10
   1. While it is easy to quickly apply this text to the Roman Empire, we need to see the broader picture. The Roman Empire is not the only government Satan has used to crush Christians. Remember, the principles of Revelation, as well as every biblical writing, are to be applied to all peoples. And Psalm 2 warned us about this!
   2. Therefore, when any nation lifts itself up against God and his words, they fit the profile of this chapter and it is evident that the Dragon is still at work.
   3. Not too many years ago, we used to have discussions about “politics,” that is, we debated taxes, government spending, and Social Security. In the meantime, we tried to keep politics out of the pulpit. But that kind of politics is long gone.
      1. During Covid, many mayors and governors learned that they could exercise absolute control over the populace even to the point of taking away their jobs and threatening churches if they did not comply. The government learned it could make itself a supreme god.
      2. Since that time this has gone to another level. Children in some schools are urged to choose their gender, and those children are protected from the knowledge of their parents (California law).
      3. Corporations and even the military have been threatened and coerced into celebrating and promoting so-called “Pride” or lose their jobs.
      4. And now, elected government leaders are saying that those who object to this new morality are threats to democracy and threats to America. That is not a little bit like Rome during the their persecution, it is exactly like them.
   4. “Rome’s practice of deifying its emperors is reflected here as the earth worships the beast and as the beast utters “haughty and blasphemous words.” At first, it may seem quite strange to us that the emperor might consider himself to be a god or that people would believe such a thing. But it is vital to understand that emperor cult worship was less about religion and more about politics.” (Scott Kercheville)
   5. Gordon Fee: “Part of the adhesiveness of the Empire had been made possible by the cult of the emperor, which was the primary reason — thus political rather than religious — for it to exist in the first place. It is in fact highly unlikely that the emperor…took himself seriously as a god; nonetheless he was quite willing to have temples built in his honor and thus for the cult of the emperor to flourish. After all, such ‘divinity’ was to his advantage.”
   6. Remember, this is Psalm 2! Compare, Acts 17:6-8, “And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.”
   7. Verse 8: Who worships the beast? Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” Don’t worship the beast! Satan is still using government to threaten and persecute God’s people.
   8. By the way, their is a reason Roman Empire type governments are called a beast. They act like “irrational animals” (2 Peter 2:12), as do those who follow it.
   9. Verses 9-10: shows how God wants the saints to view the matter. They are to put their complete trust in God and let be what will be. If they are to be taken captive, then to captivity they will go. If killed, then they must be killed. But God will take care of it all in the end. Don’t worry about it, you are just going to be completely out of control for awhile until judgment is made on the beast.

Conclusion: Psalm 115:1-8

Berry Kercheville

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