Revelation Chapter 13 John Karmelich

1. This lesson is called, "Consider the Alternative".

a) In this lesson, the relatively easy thing is to say this chapter deals with the antichrist, the famous number "666". We have visions of beasts and dragons. If those are the "easy" things to understand, wait until I explain the tough part. ☺

b) To me, the tough question to ask is, "How does this apply to my life today?" Let's face it, if you or I meet the antichrist, we would run the other way. ☺ I'm sure this lesson applies well to someone living through the Great Tribulation. Assuming most of us never have to live to see the antichrist, how does this chapter apply to us today? In other words, I want to get practical before we discuss "beasts and dragons".

2. With that said, let me explain what I mean by that title, "Consider the Alternative".

a) I have yet to meet one Christian who doesn't go through periods of doubts. Even if we don't doubt the existence of Jesus, we go through doubts about how seriously we need to take our faith. I find this is true during tragic times. We can easily blame God or say in disgust, "So that's the thanks I get for years of worship!" ☺ Remember we do not give our lives to Jesus for material benefits. If that were true, people would become Christians to get rich (or whatever) instead of giving gratitude for Jesus paying the price for our sins.

b) When I say "Consider the Alternative", Think about the alternative of walking away from Jesus. This may sound silly when things are going well. It is when the world is falling apart and you wonder where is God, that is a time to "consider the alternative". I'm not talking about losing one's salvation as much as I'm talking about not living in obedience to God's will for some time frame.

c) I bring this up because in this chapter we deal with "Satan's hour". What is key to understand is everything we read here is God-allowed. There are hints of that statement in this chapter. It is God saying in effect, "You don't want to live by my rules? Well then, let me give you people what you do want and see if you like it!" ☺

d) People who don't want to live by God's rules essentially want to do it "their way". It is to say in effect, "Yeah, I believe God exists, but I don't want to live by His rules. I believe my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds and God will judge me accordingly". That is probably Satan's greatest lie right there: That God judges on a curve and God will just accept one's faults. If that were true, we would never know if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds. There is no assurance of salvation. Further, how can a perfect God simply "forgive" sins without there being some sort of punishment for that sin? If God just forgave, He would not be perfect in justice.

e) This chapter deals with the Antichrist. Personally, I don't see the guy denying God exists or putting down the God of the bible. People won't accept it. What I do see here is this guy saying, "All religions are right and all religions lead to God. As long as you're a good person, God will accept you just the way you are!" That has universal appeal. It tells people they can live however they want and still satisfy that deep down urge to be pleasing to God. People want world-peace without having to change their lifestyle. God gives people what they want by allowing Satan to work through this guy.

3. What we are going to see in this chapter is "Satan's Trinity".

a) Just as Christians believe in "the" Trinity, this chapter presents "a" trinity with Satan as the godhead, the antichrist as the "son of God" and a worship leader as the "Holy Spirit-role".

b) No, this group is not equal to God. It is a cheap substitute.

c) The first half of Chapter 13 deals with "Satan's son" which is the antichrist. The second half of Chapter 13 deals with "Satan's holy spirit" which is the worship leader of this trinity. Again, these 3 are not equal in any way to "the" Trinity. It is a cheap substitute.

d) These two are not literally an offspring of Satan. A better way to think of them as being Satan-controlled human beings. When Judas betrayed Jesus, the bible says Satan entered Judas. (Ref.: Luke 22:3, John 13:27). The same principal applies here.

e) The point is, which gets back to the start of this lesson, is that Satan is "more than willing" to offer a substitute to those who don't want to turn from God.

f) God created us with a need to worship something. Satan himself is well aware of that need, and thus creates his own version of a promised Messiah as well as a worship leader.

4. Let me get back to my introduction: "Consider the Alternative":

a) Let's suppose we do walk away from God in terms of our lifestyle. We might get smug and say, "Well, I know I won't go as far as worshipping the devil".

b) What it means to a Christian is Satan is more than willing to offer a substitute if we are willing to walk away from God. Satan's goal is to get as few people as possible to turn to God. With the believing Christian, Satan's goal is to make us an ineffective witness. Sometimes simple deceit is sufficient by offering an alternative lifestyle.

c) Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13 NIV). In the direct context, Jesus was talking about serving either God or money. Remember money is just a tool to buy things. The principal is everyone has a god in terms of one's all consuming passion. The question is whether one had to choose between money or God, which would you choose? If one truly has a love for God, worshipping (being consumed) with anything else will eventually make one miserable.

d) Many people wonder, "If I walk away from God for awhile, does that mean I can lose my salvation? It's a classical debate question. My view is people who know enough about God eventually become miserable when they walk away from God for a while. That is the principal behind Matthew 6:24. My view in those cases is those people, "deep down" know the truth of God and even though they are rebelling for the moment, when push comes to shove, they would choose God again.

e) My point here is even during such times, what God is teaching us is how miserable our lives become without Him. Sometimes the best thing a parent can do for a child is let them "mess up" and let them learn the hard way what they did wrong. God can and does do that with out lives as well. Remember confession is simply agreeing God is right and we are wrong and then asking God for help to change toward His way of doing things.

f) The point as it applies to Chapter 13 is God is telling the world in effect, "You don't want me? Terrific, let Me give you what you think you want and see how it works." That is what the antichrist is all about: It is about allowing Satan to offer his cheap substitute and letting the world collectively know what a wrong choice this is.

5. One more point and then I'll get started. Satan read Revelation. The book says Satan will lose in the end. Why would Satan go through the motions? ☺ If God says it is going to happen this way, wouldn't Satan want to avoid this scenario to begin with?

a) As I like to state through these lessons on Revelation, a key is to understand Satan's motivation. The number of people in heaven is not infinite, but finite. If it is finite, there must be a last "x" person to get saved. Satan understands at that point he becomes the chief prisoner of hell, as predicted in Revelation and elsewhere. Satan's goal is to delay that "x" person from getting saved as long as possible. Dead people don't give their lives to Christ, so He attacks people. Persecuted Christians are ineffective witnesses for God.

b) Back in Chapter 12, Satan was kicked out of heaven. (Ref.: Rev. 12:9). Satan understood his time on earth is near the end. This is why some believe he develops the desperation of a cornered animal. It is his last gasp attempt to delay Jesus Second Coming. Thus, Satan organizes the events surrounding the Antichrist to get as many people as possible to turn from God and turn to Him. Maybe Satan thinks he can "beat the odds" and then does what is predicted about him in Revelation, thinking the outcome will be different.

c) God knew in advance all of this was going to happen. Having Satan on the loose is a motivational tool to keep us close to God. The details of Revelation are for us to understand that despite Satan's best efforts to stop the inevitable, he will lose.

d) Which leads me back to the title, "Consider the alternative": During those moments when we are hurting and angry at God, consider the alternative! Look at what ultimately happens to those who decide to turn from God. Whether one believes the Great Tribulation is a single future event or a Christian-history-long tribulation, the application to the believer is the same: Consider the alternative if one turns away from God!

e) Gee, on that happy note, let's turn to Verse 1! ☺

6. Verse 1: And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.

a) Let's discuss where we left off in Chapter 12:

i) Chapter 12 was this strange vision about a pregnant woman, a dragon who wanted to devour the baby and the baby itself.

ii) Chapter 12 was in "signs". This was stated in Chapter 12, Verses 1 and 3.

iii) The child refers to Jesus Christ as Rev. 12:5 said this child is to rule all nations.

iv) The "women" was interpreted to be the Nation of Israel. It is not stated in the text, but that is a majority opinion of bible commentators (and myself).

v) The dragon was stated to be Satan in Chapter 12 Verse 9. This "dragon" (Satan) and his demonic forces were kicked out of heaven and are now on earth.

vi) The last part of the chapter is about how the dragon came to earth and "made war" with the rest of the child's offspring. This refers to Christians who are around when Satan is kicked out of heaven and is now on the earth.

vii) This leads to Chapter 13. We are still dealing with a vision John saw, beginning in Chapter 12. Verse 1 starts with a dragon. That same dragon is still Satan.

b) The first sentence said the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

i) There is a debate among bible scholars whether the dragon stood on the shore of the sea or if John, the writer of Revelation stood on the shore of the sea. The King James Version says, "I (John) stood on the shore of the sea". Personally, I think however you translate this part is irrelevant. Either way, John is watching this vision and either way, Satan is a key player in focus, described as a dragon.

c) The word "beast" can literally mean a monster. The idea is that from God's perspective, whatever this is, or whoever it is, this is something terrible to mankind.

d) The next sentence is, "I (John, the writer of Revelation) saw a beast coming out of the sea".

i) Remember that Chapter 13 speaks of two separate "beasts".

a) The first beast is described in Chapter 13, Verses 1 to 8.

b) The second beast is described in Chapter 13, Verses 11 to 18.

c) The first beast comes out of the sea (Verse 1).

d) The second beast comes out of the earth (Verse 11).

ii) Whatever the "sea" means, the idea is it is different from the "earth" in Verse 11.

e) A debate question among bible scholars is what did John mean by the term "sea"?

i) If you read Revelation 11:7 and Revelation 17:8, it says this same beast comes out of the "Abyss". The Abyss is also translated "the bottomless pit". The idea is some "hell-like" holding tank where demonic beings are kept. Since Revelation Chapters 11 and 17 say this beast comes out of the bottomless pit, then some scholars believe "the sea" is another word-picture for this bottomless pit.

ii) There is another chapter in the bible that is very similar to Revelation 13: Daniel 7. In that chapter, Daniel saw four "beasts" rising out of the Great Sea (Daniel 7:2). The reason Daniel 7 is compared to Revelation 13 is that in both chapters, this beast is compared to a lion, a bear and a leopard. The point here is in Daniel 7, "The Great Sea" would refer to the Mediterranean Sea.

iii) The idea is the Mediterranean Sea represents the world as John knew it. Think of the Roman Empire and that it ruled the world that surrounded that sea. The point of all of this is this "beast" does not come from Israel, but from "the world", or at least from the world as John knew it. This view is that the "sea", as mentioned in Revelation 13:1 refers to the "world" or at least the Gentile (non-Jewish) world.

iv) So, which is it? Does this antichrist come from some Abyss-hell-hole or from the "Gentile world"? The answer in a word-picture sense is both. The idea is this is a "terrible hell-like monster" that has a worldwide domination. The antichrist is hell-based as Satan enters him, but he is also what the "world" wants in a leader.

v) Remember this "beast" represents the antichrist. It also represents some world- wide government lead by the antichrist. We'll develop this more as we go. Just as a great king or emperor is associated with their kingdom, so is this antichrist.

f) OK, John, what is the point of all of this? Remember that the rise of the antichrist is all about "giving the world what they want". What the world (i.e., nonbelievers) want is world peace, but at the same time, without having to change one's lifestyle in order to get that peace. From God's perspective, the antichrist sets up a worldwide government that does, for a period of time, bring world peace and tells people what they want to here. In many word-picture ways, this is "from hell" and at the same time, it is a "world-based" system as opposed to a true-God based system.

g) The real bad news of course, is that we are still on Verse 1. ☺

7. Verse 1 (cont.): He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

a) The first word is "he". The "he" refers to this beast that rose out of the sea.

b) Next, let's discuss the ten crowned horns and the seven heads. The good news about this sentence is the bible defines the horns and heads in Chapter 17:

i) "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour as kings along with the beast". (Revelation 17:12, NIV)

a) This means the ten "horns" are ten "assistants" to the antichrist.

ii) "The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. (Revelation 17:9-10, NIV)

iii) Revelation 17 says the "seven heads" represent seven hills. Rome was and is known as the "city on seven hills", which may be John's "code name" for Rome.

iv) This verse mentions seven kings. Revelation 17:10 states that "five kings have fallen (past tense), one is (present tense to John) and one is not yet (future)".

v) As I've stated in the last lesson, there were five great empires that ruled over Israel in past tense to John, one great empire in present time to John (Roman Empire) and there will be one future, that scholars call "A Revised Roman (like) Empire".

c) In the last lesson of Chapter 12, we read that the "dragon" had seven heads and ten horns. Here in Chapter 13, we read of the "beast" with the same seven heads and ten horns.

i) The idea is the dragon represents Satan as stated in Revelation 12:9. Satan is the one who gives his power to this "beast". Therefore, it would be logical that this beast represents Satan in all of his power. Their word pictures are similar.

ii) If you recall from the introduction, this chapter forms the "unholy trinity", or Satan's cheap substitute for God. Just as Jesus resembled the Father in every way, it would be logical that the antichrist is Satan "manifested in the flesh". My point is that the "seven heads and ten horns" applies to both Satan and this "beast".

iii) Back to the ten horns, Revelation 17:12 says they are "ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast." The idea is that when this antichrist comes to power, he has 10 leaders that are under him. The number "ten" is also associated with human perfection (i.e., ten fingers, ten toes). It is the antichrist ruling "humanity".

d) Let's put this all together and then mercifully move on to Verse 2. ☺

i) John, the writer of Revelation saw this vision of a beast rising out of the sea. This beast has seven heads and ten horns.

ii) This "beast" is "the" antichrist. The word antichrist is not used in this chapter, but is used in John's other writings to describe the same guy. This will become clearer in the next set of verses. This describes both a future worldwide empire and the leader of this empire. This empire is Satan-based in that Satan gives the antichrist his power and the power to dominate the world for a specific time frame.

iii) Let me define "antichrist": It means one who comes in the place of Christ. John, who wrote Revelation said in another letter that there are many antichrists, but also stated there would be only one "the" antichrist. (Ref.: 1st John 2:18, 2:22).

8. Verse 2: The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

a) Let's take the last sentence first, as it is easier. The "dragon" gave the beast his power and his throne. We've already shown that the dragon represents Satan. The idea is that all of the power Satan has is on this "beast". In other words, Satan is "betting the house" on the antichrist. ☺ This man is Satan's cheap substitute of "God the Son".

b) Now we can go back to the first sentence of this verse: This "beast" resembled a leopard, except the feat look liked bear's feat and the mouth looked like a lion's mouth.

c) I mentioned earlier that many scholars compare Revelation 13 to Daniel Chapter 7.

i) In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel saw four different beasts. One of them resembled a bear, another was compared to a leopard, another to a lion and the fourth was not compared to any specific animal. Here in Revelation 13, John saw a single beast with characteristics all three of those animals.

ii) At the time of Daniel, there were still to be four empires that would rule over Israel. The first was the Babylonians who ruled at the time of Daniel. That was compared to the lion. Next would come the Medo-Persians, which is compared to a bear, and then the Greek Empire, compared to a leopard. The "fourth beast" in Daniel's vision was greater than the other three, and ties to the Roman Empire. The reason scholars believe the antichrist leads a "Revised Roman Empire" is based on Daniel 7:12, where the "other 3 beasts" are still alive, but give their authority to this "great beast". Some believe that's the "Revised" Roman Empire.

iii) In Revelation 13, the animal order is reversed:

a) In Daniel 7, Daniel first saw a lion, then a bear, and then a leopard.

b) In Revelation, John first described a leopard, with bear and lion features.

c) Some suggest this is a "time reversal". Daniel was looking forward in time while John looks backwards at history.

iv) Confused? Let me put it together: God wants to be control of our lives. God allows these great empires to rule over His people in order to motivate His people to turn back to God. Each of these empires are called beasts (think of monsters) in that they were human based and got people to turn from God to follow their leaders or their own religious pagan rites.

a) John is describing a single, final empire, with references to the past empires all rolled together into a single "animal".

d) What we have is this final world empire and its leader explained in word pictures:

i) A leopard is the fastest of the land-based animals. This beast looked like a leopard. It may be describing just how fast this final world empire grows.

ii) This beast has feet like a bear. A bear's has powerful claws. This may be describing a bear-like grip this empire has on the world.

iii) This mouth has a lion's mouth. A lion has a powerful roar. One thing coming up is how this antichrist verbally blasphemes the name of God.

9. Verse 3: One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

a) Remember that this beast had seven "heads". Chapter 17:10 described the heads in effect as "five in past-history, one in present time (Roman Empire) and one in the future."

b) Apparently, when this antichrist rises to power, he will suffer some fatal wound, and miracously live through it. That ties to the "fatal wound" reference of this verse.

c) This sentence is here to distinguish the antichrist from other world leaders. I can't think of any great world emperor that had his head mortally wounded than lived through it.

d) Again, think about the "unholy trinity" and Satan trying to offer his cheap substitute. Just as Jesus died and rose again, so this antichrist will appear to have risen from the dead.

e) Some people believe this ties to the fact the Roman Empire rises again in the final days and that is how this great leader rises again. Personally, I see it as a person who is the antichrist being resurrected.

f) In our world of modern medicine, we don't think much of a person who is almost dead and then lives again. We just shrug it off and say, "It's a miracle they survived through that tragedy". My view is this antichrist literally dies and is resurrected like Jesus or that he is loved so much as a world leader, he gets a lot of sympathy for what he has suffered.

g) Believe it or not, this prediction about the wounded head goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Even sinned, God in effect "declared war" on Satan. God made this prediction about the "future seed" of Satan as compared to Adam and Eve:

i) And I (God) will put enmity (distance) between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve), and between your offspring (antichrist) and hers (mankind). He (mankind) will crush your head, (this wound, here in Revelation 13) and you (Satan) will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15 NIV, with everything in parenthesis added.)

ii) My point is this head wound as described in Revelation 13 was first predicted way back in Genesis Chapter 3. God allows this antichrist to survive ultimately to fulfill God's purposes with this final world empire.

10. Verse 3 (cont.): The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. ⁴ Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"

a) Imagine this antichrist being shot at. This antichrist gets hit and loses a part of his brain. Despite that, this antichrist still lives (or is resurrected). You can imagine the world saying, "How can this guy ever lose? His head gets blown off and he still lives! I'm backing a guy like that because he can't lose!"

b) The text says the world follows this guy and "worship the dragon" who gave this antichrist the power.

c) As I stated in the introduction, I don't see people saying, "Praise the devil". What is more likely is they praise the "god" who gave the antichrist his power. They don't realize they are worshipping the devil in disguise.

d) This leads me back to my introduction of "Consider the Alternative". Anytime (yes anytime) one is turning from God to worship something else (worship means one's all consuming passion in their life) they are worshipping false gods. Whether one realizes it or not, the devil is behind it. Satan's goal is to make Christians ineffective witnesses for God. If Satan can get us to focus on "other things", w