Devotion 6: The Warning Brings Comfort
Joanna Montgomery
When I was a young girl, I remember hearing sermons on the Great Tribulation, the mark of the Beast, and the end of the age. It used to frighten me because I did not fully understand the beauty of truth. We currently live in a world where truth is treated as subjective. We are told by those who do not follow the Word of God, that truth is what you want it to be; the truth is up to the individual to discern or to know. For those of us in Christ, we know that is a lie and is very evil. It is a voice of confusion and torment for anyone who believes it. I am so thankful for the truth. God is truth, and He is not the God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). I love Isaiah 46:9-10 which states, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” I find great comfort in knowing that nothing surprises God. Not only does He know everything, but He has declared from before time began exactly how time would end, and in ancient times, He declared things that have not happened yet. He states He will accomplish all His purpose. As people who love and serve God, we can take great comfort in that.
In Revelation chapter 13, we see exactly what God refers to when He declares the end from the beginning. John is writing to us about our future, and while some of the descriptions and truths we read can be disturbing, knowing our loving Father in Heaven is laying it all out in the fashion He has already described, brings great comfort because it proves He is real, He is in control, and if we love Him our eternity is secure.
Revelation chapter 13 gives us the picture of the Antichrist, or “The Beast.” Before we look in detail at this future ruler, we need to think about the term Antichrist. Many people see Antichrist as someone who is against Christ, which is accurate, but there is an even deeper meaning. Antichrist also means “in place of.” When we look at this term fully, this Beast is a person who is against Christ and will be put in place of Christ. There are two different Antichrists, or Beasts, mentioned in Revelation Chapter 13. The first one is described in verses 1-10.
The “Beast” described is a human, but God identifies him as a beast. Man is made in the image of God; however, the Antichrist is not an image of God, but a wild beast out of control and without discernment and knowledge.
In verse one, the Beast rises out of the sea. According to Revelation 17:15, this is not a literal sea, it is instead a sea of people. This individual will rise up out of the nations and will be a leader as noted by the crowns or diadems. The Beast has ten horns and seven heads, which is directly related to the vision in Daniel chapter 7. In his vision, Daniel saw an unidentifiable beast coming out of the broken Roman Empire. Ten horns represented ten rulers of ten kingdoms, and of those ten, three would be replaced by a single ruler. This single ruler is the Antichrist, or the Beast, and he speaks great blasphemies against God.
The Beast gets power and authority from Satan, or the dragon (verse 2), and the people worship him. This Beast is like a leopard with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. This reflects the vision in Daniel chapter 7 where three beasts represent Babylon (the lion), Media-Persia (the bear), and Graeco-Macedonia (the leopard). The Revelation chapter 13 Beast rising out of the sea of people is a composite Beast. The Beast combines characteristics of the beasts representing kingdoms in Daniel’s vision. They are given in the reverse order from Daniel, perhaps because Daniel was looking ahead to the future, and John in his vision is in the future, looking backward. This Beast, the Antichrist will have the advancements in arts and sciences, philosophy, architecture, beautiful literature, and the outward culture that was the glory of Greece (the leopard). He will also, noted by the feet of the bear, have elements of the Media-Persian empire, with its pagan splendor and wealth. Finally, the mouth of a lion reminds us of Babylon (the lion) under Nebuchadnezzar. The Antichrist will rule with the dictatorial authority of the ruler of Babylon.
The all-powerful Beast will willingly be under the domination of Satan which God will allow to fully rule the Earth at this time. Satan will indwell the Antichrist and will control him as the ultimate dictator. The Beast will be the closest thing to an incarnation of Satan that is found in Scripture.
In verse 3, something strange happens. The Beast receives a wound that either kills him, or is bad enough to kill him, but he appears to rise from the dead (as Christ did). This creates quite a stir among the people, and they follow the Beast in admiration and astonishment. It is amazing to me that people will not believe in the resurrection of Christ which has many witness accounts, but they will easily believe in the resurrection of the Beast, which may be a lie.
The people will be deceived. They will worship the dragon, Satan, and the Beast that was healed. They will say there has never been anyone or anything as wonderful as the Beast, and will truly worship him and Satan, the one who gives him power. Satan hates God. Satan wants to turn everything and everyone against God, and so this Beast will speak great blasphemies.
The Beast will be allowed to reign and to blaspheme God for forty-two months, or three and one-half years. This Beast will delight in speaking making many promises and declaring things people want to hear; even Daniel mentions the large mouth of the Beast. As believers in God, it is important to test everything we hear or read against the truth of the Bible. The Beast will be able to smooth-talk people into believing in him and rejecting Christ, the true Savior of the world, and God the Father.
The Beast will speak blasphemies against God, Christ, and those who are in Heaven (verse 6). Satan will do everything within his power to turn everyone on Earth against the loving God who has created them. The hate for the things of God will grow during this time, and for those who are believers, verse 7 states the Beast will make war on the saints (those on Earth who believe in God) and will conquer them. The Beast will be given authority over every people group, every ethnicity, every language, and every nation left on this Earth. He will have all power over all people.
While this may sound like an uncompromising dictator, verse 8 states those who dwell on the Earth will worship the Beast. The people will love what the Antichrist provides and promises and gives to them. It is everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is only those people who have rejected Christ and the salvation offered through Him will worship the Beast.
Verse 9 pleads with everyone to hear the Word and to listen. The saints, those who belong to Christ and love God the Father, are told to endure and have faith. That is our job as believers in God and our Savior Jesus Christ. We are to tell others the truth of the Word so they are not swayed by the Beast who will speak beautiful things about life on this Earth, and horrible things about God and Heaven. We are the light of the world, and we are given the Bible to understand the truth. These things were written so we would believe in God. The true God of the Bible has given us this detail and knowledge so we know He is really God, and we can trust in Him. It is a secure truth that never changes. God wants us to know and to trust Him so our eternity will be in Heaven where we will have joy and peace and love. We find great comfort in knowing God is in control, and nothing that happens will surprise Him. He loves those who love Him, and His desire is for us.