Introduction: In this chapter (as well as others previous and
those forthcoming) we observe many parallel Scriptures, predominantly from the
book of Daniel. In fact, one’s understanding of the book of Revelation will be
diminished if one doesn’t consult the book of Daniel (and the Old Testament in
general). Again, Scripture must interpret Scripture, and where one cannot find
corroborative text of Holy Writ to support one’s interpretation of any single
passage of Scripture then such an interpretation must be abandoned. We base our
beliefs upon the Bible, not vice versa!
We have dealt previously
with REVELATION 13 within the context of what has risen out of obscurity
and into the public domain (such as the UN’s N.W.O. Organization apparently this site was taken down... hmmm), an objective that’s at the
heart of various esoteric and secret societies, the New World Order, which even
today many people, among them Christians, who disparage any such notion as
‘conspiracy theory’. Yet if one examines this chapter, it clearly outlines the
primary objective of this three-fold order: a one world government, a one world
economy, and a one world religion, all spearheaded by a one world leader.
To review this treatment, go to FROM The MIND Of FIRE and check it out here.
REVELATION
13:1
1 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.
The beast rising up from the sea is often seen as this
great empire emerging from the Gentile world, as the sea is sometimes typified
as the (heathen) nations (ISAIAH 17:2). The nature of the oceans is a tumultuous
one, unstable, unpredictable, often destructive, and so we see this world
snared in the power of sin and displaying the same nature.
Corresponding with vs. 1 we see the following in the
book of DANIEL:
DANIEL 7:8
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron
teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet
of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had
ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns
plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of
man, and a mouth speaking great things.
This fourth beast follows the previous three, which
have been determined to be world empires (“kingdoms” and their “kings”; note:
the word for king in Hebrew is melek, which can also mean kingdom; either
definition is based upon the context). Compare DAN 7:17 where it states
that these are four kings with DAN 7:23 where it states that these are
four kingdoms.
A closer observation of this fourth beast reveals that
it has teeth of iron, and nails of bronze that corresponds with DANIEL 2,
where in the vision revealed it shows an empire of bronze (the waist and
thighs) and another of iron (legs and feet), these historically implicating the
Greek and Roman empires respectively.
That this beast is both a kingdom and a king is
revealed in this seventh chapter of DANIEL:
The three beasts or kingdoms prior are kingdoms known
in history – Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece (and then comes Rome, but that
the last empire seems to be presented in two phases as depicted in DANIEL 2
and the vision of the poly-metallic statue: the former phase being strictly of
iron, and the latter being of iron mixed with clay (DAN 2:31-44).) so
it’s no great leap to claim this last beast as a kingdom as well as the prior
three.
Chuck Missler’s treatment of DANIEL 2 - Part One
Chuck Missler’s treatment of DANIEL 2 - Part Two
This beast (the “little horn”) is, within the context
of the greater beast (or the fourth kingdom), a man, as plainly indicated in
the following verses:
DANIEL 7:11
I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake:
I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed,
and given to the burning flame.
The beast is equated with the horn, and we learn in
vs. 8 that this horn had “eyes like a man” and he spoke great and boastful
blasphemies against GOD (see also vs. 20, 25) ; this “little horn” is a king
that arises out of “ten horns” or kings (DAN 7:24; REV 17:12; seen
as the ten toes in DAN 2)*. This horn supplants three of the ten horns,
perhaps claiming the kingdoms that these three ruled over for himself. It’s no
small wonder that these ten kings are ten men, thus the little horn that arises
from their midst must also be a man. In DAN 7:20 it states: “whose look
was more stout than its fellows”, hence he himself being one in the midst of
such “fellows”.
*- “The words ‘horn’ and ‘horns’ in Hebrew is the word
qeren, the Greek is keras; both
are used in Scripture both literally and figuratively. In the latter sense at
least, three meanings appear (1) strength in general (DEUT 33:7); (2)
arrogant pride (PSALM 75:4-5) and political and military power (PSALM
92:10; DAN 8:20-21)”. ~ from Scofield’s notes on DEUT 33:7, foot
note (2), pg. 256 of the New Scofield Reference Bible.
Why am I belaboring the point that this “beast” is a
kingdom as well as a king, thus a man? Because there are those who would deny
that the beast is in fact a man, but a kingdom only. This view is becoming more
and more prevalent and so this needs attention.
So, what are we seeing here? We see a fourth beast
with ten horns, and in the midst of these ten horns a “a little horn” who is
himself a “beast” upon the greater beast, ergo a king that presides over the
greater beast or the kingdom which is this forth empire. This empire will not
dominate a section of the world only as did the ancient empires of
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, or Rome, but will be different in nature than all
the others and will “devour the whole Earth” (DAN 7:23) and “wear out
the saints” (vs. 25), which some conclude must be the church.
The church however is promised that they will not go through this time of
tribulation or “wrath” (ROM 5:9; 1 THESS 5:9; this wrath is evident in
REVELATION as early as REV 6:15 at the opening of the 6th
seal); that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church (MATT
16:18), but this beast will prevail against the saints at this time of
tribulation (DAN 7:21); that the authority of the church which is based
upon Christ Jesus who indwells us and is greater than the spirit of anti-Christ
that is in the world (1 JOHN 4:3-4); that this time of the tribulation
covers the last of the 70 weeks of prophecy given to Daniel by Gabriel in DAN 9 and involves Israel exclusively just as the prior 69 weeks did, in my
mind, proves this out.
Just as the church was not present during any of those
69 weeks, nor will the church be present during the 70th week
because it is “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” (JER 30:7) – a time of
chastening and rebuke for having rejected her Messiah (MATT 23:37-38; ACTS
2:36; 4:10), and upon the Gentile nations as well (JOHN 1:10; 1 COR 2:8)
who are guilty of the same sin (but not so with the bride of Christ which is
the body of Christ, the church).
REVELATION
13:2
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto 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.
Now we are seeing the Beast with even more details than
were described in DAN 7; these various beasts/kingdoms there were
portrayed as a lion, bear, a leopard but here we see them in reverse order: the
leopard is first, the bear (stays in the middle) and the lion is last. It’s
almost as if, being presented in this order, this is pointing back to what was
prophesied earlier in DANIEL. The fact
that this beast has aspects of the former three strongly suggests that this
last global empire will have aspects of Babylon, of Medo-Persia and of the
Greek Empire, but still, a stronger resemblance to the Roman Empire (but simply
a ‘Phase II’ of that ancient government as already seen in the statues legs of
iron and its feet and toes of iron mixed with clay; DAN 2:33).
This beast, being both a kingdom and a man, are given
power by the dragon, who is of course Satan. Not only this beast, but also the
second beast revealed in this chapter who has come to be known as the False
Prophet – a sort of ‘satanic version of John the Baptist’ if you will (In fact,
many perceive an ‘unholy trinity’ in the Dragon, the beast and the false prophet).
Up until this point, in the last days, we know not
only that false prophets will arise showing signs and wonders to deceive, but
that as one of those signs given by the LORD in three of the four Gospel
accounts (MATT 24; MARK 13; LUKE 21) would be “false prophets” and that
these would occur (as do all the signs listed) with greater frequency and
intensity – as a woman in labor pains (MATT 24:8). This build-up of
false prophets and “many [who] will come saying, ‘I am Christ’” will reach a
crescendo with these two. Deceptions and false signs as never seen previously
so that people will believe that this man is truly Christ (Remember, in the
Greek the prefix “anti” means “against” but also “in the place of” or a
replacement)!
MATTHEW 24:23-25
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
These miracles are described as being so powerful that
if it were possible, they would deceive GOD’s elect (His saints), but being so
armed with the truth of the Holy Word as well as the Holy Spirit, saints are
able to discern and know the false from the true – one of the reasons why these
will be persecuted and martyred by this beast.
While the world over will be extremely religious and
have a “form of godliness”, because they deny the “power” of godliness, that
is, they deny the Holy Spirit, they’ll be defenseless against this
extraordinary deception unparalleled in any time in history (1 TIM 4:1; 2
TIM 3:5; 4:3-4)!
REVELATION
13:3
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and
his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
There will come a time – I believe it will be just
prior to the mid-point of this last and 70th week of Daniels
prophecy – or three and a half years into this seven year period (3.5 yrs.)
that there will be an assassination attempt on this beast. While it could be
someone who has understood the required wisdom to identifying the beast (see
vs. 18), it is at least someone who opposes his dominance over the world and
seeks to end him.
Zechariah
speaks of such an event:
ZECHARIAH 11:16-17
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall
not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal
that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the
flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to
the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and
upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be
utterly darkened.
This text follows immediately after the prophecy of
Christ’s betrayal by Judas (ZECH 11:13); that this is placed in such proximity
to that prophecy, I believe, is not coincidental. Remember that Christ foretold
that He would not be received by Israel but that “another” would be (JOHN
5:43). That is, the anti-Christ; just as Christ is the GOD-Man, this beast
could potentially be an ungodly hybrid, a nephilim, where
the spirit of Satan manifests, impregnates a human female who then literally
gives birth to ‘the seed of the serpent’ (GEN 3:15).
It’s in this passage of ZECH 11 that we
are given this insight to this ‘idol shepherd’ – a strange phrase: a shepherd
is one who leads sheep, but this one leaves the flock, that is, leaves off
caring for them as a good shepherd and instead, this idol shepherd will lead
people to worship a false god, namely, himself! Yet he received a
serious, seemingly mortal would in his head (REV 13:3) that results in a
paralyzed (right) arm and a blinded eye. Nevertheless his “deadly wound” is
healed and leaves the world in stunned awe so that they follow his idol
shepherd.
There is likely a second and applicable interpretation
to this verse: this “head” of the beast (in this sense, the kingdom now, rather
than the king) would be healed after it’s mortal wounding – that is, that there
has been no emperor for centuries to rule over what was the Roman Empire,
though all the nations there have tried without success to so reign: the Dutch,
the Spanish, England, France and Germany – none of them were able to unify
Europe.
Even today with the European Union in disarray, there seems to be a serious
lack of cohesion in these days. In this second decade of the 21st
century, nations are shifting more towards nationalism than they are globalism
(it’s not just the United States). Yet we know what the last days world will
look like, and we understand that the younger generations that will enter into
government, politics, media, education, etc. in a decade or so, have definitive
favor to the ideas of globalism.
From Prophecy News Watch we have the following:
The Unhindered March Toward Globalism
When the beast (the man) rises to power, he will reinstitute this office of
rulership in Europe (and, or Eastern Europe along with the Middle East) only in
this ‘Phase II’ of the revived Roman Empire, it will be a federation of ten
kings who in fact may also be given jurisdiction over the globe, divided into
ten regions or “magna-regions”. Check out what the World Constitution and
Parliament Association has been up these last seventy years to in dividing the
globe into these ten magna-regions. See also this diagram.
REVELATION
13:4-5
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the
beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who
is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him
a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him
to continue forty and two months.
The worship of dragons and serpents seem odd to those
of us in the West, having connotations of evil (because of, in part, GENESIS
3), but in the East, dragons and serpents are seen as wise, benevolent
creatures with god-like knowledge and powers. In the last days spoken of here,
there will be outright worship of the devil who is the serpent, the dragon –
Satan himself (REV 12:9; 20:2). There is such a thing as Luciferianism that has been promoted by various secret societies and esoteric groups, such as
the Theosophical Society, and they believe that Lucifer is wise, benevolent, a
god in his own right in his knowledge and powers and wholly worthy of our
allegiance and worship:
From the youtube channel, Info Freedom Fighter we have: EXPOSED! Lucis Trust President Speaks ~ Satan, Lucifer, & the UN
The following quote is from their youtube channel:
“Today we learn about the life and times of Alice
Bailey and her mentor Madame Helena Blavatsky, then McKechnie helps to clarify
the so-called controversial threads of the Lucis Trust, from what inspired
Bailey to name the organization after history's most famous fallen angel
Lucifer; why they await the world teacher known as the Maitreya”
The dragon gives his power to the Beast. The Jewish
people rejected their Messiah but will accept this coming One World Leader.
Satan offered all the world itself to the LORD Jesus if only He would worship
him but He utterly rejected the offer. This other will in fact worship the
dragon and to this man, the dragon will give to him what he had offered to the
LORD.
Note that there was given to the Beast, “to his mouth”
(no doubt given to him by the Dragon – Satan) to speak “great things and blasphemies”,
blasphemy is a direct offense aimed at the Eternal GOD, an intentional attempt
to desecrate the Holy Name of the LORD. The response of the people is “Who is
like him? Who is able to make war with him?” – It’s hardly a stretch that these
devil worshipers would include YHWH in that challenge, such is the depraved
delusion that they are under! In verse 5, it states that the beast is allowed
to continue for forty-two months (three and a half years). This is the period
known as “the great tribulation” the latter half of Daniel’s 70th
week (of seven years).
The LORD Jesus Christ Himself used such language in
MATTHEW’s Gospel account of the last days (MATT 24:21): and in this
entire account, we learn the commencement point when this terrible time will
occur:
MATTHEW 24:15-22
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let
him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into
the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come
down to take anything out of his house: 18 Neither let him
which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And
woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
The LORD here is not addressing the church – but national
Israel (note words like “…Judea flee into the mountains”, “Sabbath” “Holy Place”).
It is when “the man of sin”, “the son of perdition” (2 THESS 2:3) will
enter into the Holy Place, in the Temple – the place that only the Levitical
priests could enter; and only the High Priest could enter into the Holy of
Holies, just once a year (Yom Kippur) – and he will demand worship of
the Jews! But more of this will be examined in Part Two of this study.
The LORD says that this ‘great tribulation’ will be
more intense than any other time previously (including the approximately one
million Jews slaughter at the diaspora or the 6 million Jews murdered in
Hitler’s concentration camps) or any time after this dreadful day of GOD! It is
blessedly good news for Israel that once they endure this time, they will never
again face anything like it for all eternity!
During the Nazi reign in Germany and over much of
Europe, one third of the world’s entire population of the Jewish people were killed.
During the time of Jacob’s Trouble, these numbers will be doubled! Two
thirds of the entire global population will be slain (ZECH 13:8-14:4)!
Yet those who make it through (“those days shall be shortened … for the elect’s
sake), about a third of the Jews, represent the godly and elect remnant that
will call upon Y’shua ha Meschiach and be saved! And these shall enter into the
glorious, beautiful, blessed, and great reign of the Messiah in His righteous rule
from Jerusalem, over all Israel and the Gentile nations! GLORY TO YOU LORD!
REVELATION
13:6-7
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And
it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
This beast has such a BIG MOUTH, doesn’t he? It
seems he is compelled to blaspheme GOD and makes every available opportunity to
do so (DAN 7:8,11,20,25) – and all the world: its kindreds and tongues
and nations that follow after him, it’s a reasonable assumption that they
follow his lead and blaspheme GOD themselves! Yet also “His tabernacle and them
that dwell in heaven” – this reference to the tabernacle could very well refer
– not to the rebuilt Temple that he pollutes in Jerusalem, but that which
dwells in the heavens, because in the same breath it states that he blasphemes
those that dwell in heaven: the saints of GOD, and most probably the angelic
host which the dragon once belonged to himself.
Again, this beast makes war with the saints, and like
the two witnesses, he overcomes them (DAN 7:21). It is my personal
belief that for this reason (among many and various others) the church of the
LORD Jesus Christ will not be here for this time of “great tribulation” nor for
that matter, for any part of Daniel’s 70th week for other reasons
previously explained. The LORD expressly states that “the gates of hell” will
not prevail against the church. In the Greek the word used for ‘prevail’ is katischuo which means, “to be strong to another's detriment, to prevail against; to be
superior in strength; to overpower: MATT 16:18 (meaning, 'not even the
gates of Hades — than which nothing was supposed to be stronger — shall surpass
the church in strength'); absolutely, to prevail (i.e. succeed, accomplish
one's desire): because the LORD says, the gates of hell shall not prevail, we
can rest assured that these gates are not strong to our detriment and cannot
prevail.
Gates in ancient times were places of authority, as
most major cities were walled with thick edifices, modeled after Babylon and
within these thick walls were offices were official presided over the politics
of the city. Speaking of the authority of hades, this can be none other than
Satan (HEB 2:14-16; LUKE 1:79) who will not prevail against the church –
as he does “overcome” the saints that are in the time of the great tribulation.
The Greek word for “overcome” [these saints] used here
in vs. 6 is nikao and this means, “victory) – properly, conquer (overcome);
" 'to carry off the victory, come off victorious.' The verb implies a
battle" (K. Wuest). Conquer (1), conquering (1), overcame (2), overcome
(11), overcomes (10), overpowers (1), prevail (1), victorious (1). The same
word used for the beast overcoming the saints is used of the LORD when He arrives
in REV 19 and overcomes the beast and the false prophet and all the
armies arrayed against Israel. These who refuse the beast, who refuse the mark
and allegiance to the rule of the beast will be martyred by beheading (REV
20:4; 6:9-11). Yet in the beast overcoming the saints, all he will
accomplish is the death of their bodies and nothing more. In eternity, at the
Great White Throne, these faithful martyrs will stand in glorified bodies with
the LORD pronouncing judgment upon their executioners (unless they repent of
course) and shall enjoy the ultimate overcoming victory over Satan (See MATT
10:27-28; REV 12:11)!
It is the inheritance of the saints, we who believe in
Christ Jesus and who stand for truth and righteousness to suffer persecution (PHIL
1:29). However, for every ounce of suffering for Christ’s sake that the
saint endures, this will earn for them ten thousand tons of reward (LUKE
6:22-23; 2 COR 4:17)!
REVELATION
13:8-9
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. 9 If any man have an ear,
let him hear.
These ‘Earth dwellers’ are classified as those who
worship the beast; the worship of the beast is associated with those people
whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. An angel from heaven
confirms that those who worship the beast and receives his mark will “drink of
the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup
of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (REV 14:10).
We creatures that dwell in this space/time continuum who are born of GOD’s Spirit of Truth understand that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David died 2000 years ago on a rough-hewn and blood stained cross erected in Judea, outside of Jerusalem. Yet this verse tells us that the Lamb was slain “from the foundation of the world.” What does this mean? Is this simply speaking of GOD’s foreknowledge and that because this provision for our salvation was so absolutely certain, that it was a “done deal” in the mind of GOD – or was it more than this?
I believe that in the sense that GOD is eternal, and exists outside of this space/time
continuum, that from this Divine perspective, the propitiatory sacrifice of
Christ likewise had an eternal element to it, so that it affected salvation to the
Old Testament saints who looked forward to the coming Messiah, as much as the
New Testament saints (post-ascension of Christ) could look back and understand
that Christ’s sacrifice is efficacious in every respect. It is because GOD is eternal
and thus the truth of His Holy Law is likewise eternal: and so likewise the
punishment for sin against the Holy Law must be eternal (which is why there is
no terminus date for hell – it likewise is eternal).
Because of this, the sufferings of Christ, Who is
Eternal Himself, took on eternal proportions that extended beyond the beginning
and ending of creation. I don’t pretend to understand the ramifications of this
sacred transaction but then again, I am a finite creature within this space/time
continuum, whose mind is not (yet!) wired to comprehend things of an eternal
nature.
Suffice it to say, that the sacrifice of Christ is
wholly sufficient for all the sins of the world to be erased and forgotten, and
for those who by faith will receive Christ, they will not only know the certain
and complete forgiveness of sins, but they will also receive the eternal life
promised to all who accept Him as LORD and Savior. Eternal life is not
something we receive once we die and go to heaven; it is a spiritual condition
that happens when a repentant sinner turns to Christ and to Christ alone for
salvation and by the grace of GOD, inherits this eternal life which is Christ’s
life in us!
JOHN 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
JOHN 20:31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
ROMANS 5:17, 21
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.)
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Finally, this phrase in REVELATION 13:9
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
We see this phrase twice in the Gospel of Mark:
MARK 4:23; 7:16
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
We also see something almost exactly like this in the
seven letters to the seven churches, and this phrase likewise occurs seven
times: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.” REV 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22.
“Hearing” in this sense intimates ‘understanding’ – it’s
the same idea in the verse that states:
ROMANS 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
He who lives to endure this time of the Beast’s reign
and has understanding will perceive the depths of truth of this book of
REVELATION as no one else could, for these will require wisdom and understanding!
We will end Part One here and pick up from vs. 9 and conclude this chapter in Part Two.
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