Lesson 30

Revelation 12 and 13

     Revelation 13 deals with two beasts, but as stated in lesson 28, there is need to see the greater meaning of these two beasts. The first thing we need to understand is that these beasts are not actual beasts, but stand for something else. It is also very important to see how they relate to each other. You may ask how and why these beasts are important? Jesus said it best in Matthew 24:4 -5 and 21 – 25.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and will deceive many.

For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there would no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For false Christs will arise, and false prophets, and will show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

Jesus warned of the events that we are about to investigate.

     Again, I need to ask the question that has been asked throughout this whole series of lessons. Where do you really stand in your relationship with God? If you are not sure then take the necessary time and find out. Allow me to help you with this please. If you know that you are not following the teachings of Jesus Christ. You can use 1 John 1:9 to restore your relationship with Him. You see God knew that we would make mistakes, so He had John to include this verse. However, this scripture does not allow us to go out and do wrong openly ( for an example: the speed limit reads 55 and you go faster than 55). If you do not have a relationship with God and you want one, all you have to do is ask Jesus into your life by accepting that He died for your sins, that He is the only begotten son of God, that He arose from the dead on the third day with all power in heaven and earth, and that you want him to be your Savior and Lord. If you have done this and it comes from your heart, then God says at this very moment, “ALL IS FORGIVEN and welcome home my child, I have been waiting on you to come home”.

    In Revelation 13:1 – 2, the first beast is described with a little more detail than in Revelation 12:3. The symbolism of the first beast is important to this great tribulation. The first thing is that the first beast stands for a Gentile government power that brutally attacks Israel and Christians. The attack will come from outside of Israel with this first beast. The first beast will execute brute force and persecution on believers during this time. We can only imagine how hard it will be. Remember that this first beast symbolizes a government. Let us look at why this beast is a government.

    In Revelation 13:1 – 2, it reads,

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

     We find this first beast in Daniel 7, in which the leopard stands for Greece and the bear is the Medo-Persia Empire, and the loin is the Babylon Empire. The seven heads symbolize the Roman Empire, whose capital city of Rome was built on seven hills. After the fall of the Roman Empire, some think that the ten horns were broken down into several things:
1. Ten kings which will come out of the old Roman Empire (some believe that this is the European Union).
2. The ten horns are ten kings that will build an Empire that will rival the Roman Empire.
With the European Union, there will be more than ten nations to form it. Yet, there are still people that believe that some of these nations will not have the power as others and will become a group of ten that will rule the European Union.

    No matter what you believe, the point is that this first beast is a government. As with all governments, there is a human being in control of it. This government gets its power and authority from the dragon. How does this happen?. Remember that in Revelation 6:12 – 17, the sixth seal is open. But verses 15 – 17 reads:

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Therefore, we have all that is known to mankind turned upside and chaos in all the known governments.

    This beast is not just a government, but also a very real person. Some have called him the Antichrist. He gets his power from the dragon (Satan) and is coming out of a time when mankind will be looking for a leader.(How is the Dragon able to give this power? Matthew 4:8 - 9 and Luke 4:5 - 7) Many humans still will not come to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. In addition, in verse 13:1, it reads “…and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Notice that the heads have a name of blasphemy (evil speaking, railing). Yes, each head will have a name on it that will rail against God and His Son. In addition, this beast will be the last of the Gentile world that will have an affect on Israel and the believers. In Daniel 7:24 – 27 and 9:26, we are told that one powerful leader will come out of the ten and is called “the people of the prince”. In Revelation 17:10, we are given more information about this one. It says “…five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. “

    The questions that come to mind is who are the five and what is the period being talked about. We have talked about four of them. Many people believe that this period begins with Abraham. If this is so, the five kingdoms that have fallen are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The one kingdom that remains is the kingdom or empire that put John in prison, which is the Roman Empire. The one leader to come, will have a short time to rule. Would this be the time period of forty and two months or 1260 days or 3 ½ years? As we have learned in chapter 13 thus far, that leader would be the beast that comes out of the sea known as the Antichrist.