Introduction: Last week we examined several great “billboards” in the
sky to determine what they meant. One billboard had this surly red
dragon of unusual size on it. We found out that he was a killer and,
worse, he has moved into our neighborhood! This week we find that he
has friends – that are just as undesirable. Let’s learn more by
jumping into our lesson, which is the first of two lessons about
these friends!
- The Dragon’s Beastly Brother
- Read Revelation 13:1. Have you ever noticed how brothers
or sisters sometimes look very much alike? Who does this
beast look like? (Compare Revelation 12:3. You would
recognize these two anywhere! The Beast has seven heads,
ten horns and seven crowns just like the dragon. This
similarity is pretty hard to miss.) - What do you think this similarity in appearance
means? (Last week we decided that seven (the perfect
or complete number) heads (the place where you think)
meant perfectly evil.) - Notice the Beast is a sea-creature. Is there any
significance to him “coming out of the sea?” (In
Daniel 7:2-3 we have all of these beasts coming out
of the sea. Some believe this symbolizes people or
political agitation in population centers (Jeremiah
46:7-8; Isaiah 8:7). Others believe this means the
Mediterranean, the “Great Sea” of the area (Joshua
1:4).) - Read Revelation 13:2. How are the Dragon and the Beast
related? (The Dragon, who we learned last week (Rev. 12:9)
was Satan, confers power and authority on the Beast. The
Dragon is the sponsor of the Beast.) - Why would the Dragon, who is not a nice guy, give up
his throne to someone else? (This must be the
Dragon’s agent. Otherwise, this would make no sense.) - We find that in some respects the Beast does not look
like the Dragon. What is different about his looks?
(He looks like a leopard, has feet like a bear, and a
mouth like a lion.) - If you saw an animal like that in the lost
animal pound, would you take it home? What would
you conclude? Would this be a suitable pet?
(Bear claws are a very dangerous part of the
bear. The lion’s mouth is a very dangerous part
of the lion. A leopard is very fast. The total
picture I get is a fast, dangerous animal –
definitely one to be left at the pound.) - Have you ever seen someone who looks like someone you
know? Does this odd-looking beast remind you of
something you have seen before in the Bible? (Look at
Daniel 7:3-6.) - What did those animals represent? (Read Daniel
7:15-17. They represent the three “world”
kingdoms we discussed in the second lesson of
this series. These are Babylon, Medo-Persia, and
Greece. That makes it seem that this Beast of
Revelation 13:2 is a world power.) - Notice that these “beast parts” are mentioned in
Revelation in the reverse order that they are
mentioned in Daniel. It is as if Revelation is
looking back through history. Are we missing a
beast from Daniel 7? (Yes, we are missing the
Roman Empire.) - Let’s review. The beast has a family resemblance to the
Dragon (same horns, heads and crowns)and he also looks
like a committee of beast parts from Daniel 7. What do you
think this means, other than to tell us he is really ugly?
(This paints a symbolic picture of this beast. He is
evil, like Satan, and he is apparently a world power
because he has the attributes of several of the world
kingdoms of the past, and he operates with the authority
of Satan.) - Identifying the Beastly Brother
- Read Revelation 13:3-4. We have learned the beast is evil
and it is a world power. What other characteristic do we
learn about it? (It is resilient (“fatal” wound is healed)
and it is religious in some sense (“worshiped the
beast”).) - Read Revelation 13:5-7. What occupation does the beast
have that is like the dragon? (Remember in Revelation
12:17 we saw the dragon going after the righteous. In
Revelation 13:7 we see this beast has the same occupation
– making war on the saints.) - Read Daniel 7:7-8, 20-21. Do you see a parallel
between the activities of this “little horn” and the
Beast? - As you consider all of this, what clues do we have about
the identity of this Beast? (When we studied the
prophecies of Daniel earlier this quarter, we found the
sequence of world kingdoms was Babylon, Persia, Greece and
Rome. The implication here ( Revelation 13:2) is that this
beast arises after the Greek Empire. What arose after the
Greek Empire was Rome. Daniel 7:7-8, 23-25 identifies the
“ten horns” for the beast that represents Rome and reveals
that the “horn” power that follows Rome, oppressing the
saints. In addition, the geography works for those who
consider the “sea” ( Revelation 13:1) the Mediterranean.
Both the Roman Empire and Papal Rome persecuted believers.
Many commentators point to Papal Rome as filling this
description both as a matter of time in history and the
historical record of the persecution of the saints by the
Church.) - If “Papal Rome” is right, is this just a dusty old
prophecy, of no use to anyone other than those who
want to defame the Catholic Church? - Read Revelation 13:7-8. What clues point to a different
understanding of this beast? (Papal Rome never had
authority over the entire world. (Although some may
dispute this during the Middle Ages.) Verse 8 seems to
point to the future, specifically the end of time. All
inhabitants of the world do not worship Papal Rome now.
Although the “teachers helps” in the lesson point to
increased cooperation between Catholics and Protestants,
any impulse by the Catholic hierarchy to cooperate with
Protestants shows its lack of power to compel worship. Why
try to cooperate when you can just command? In the United
States, there is a strong anti-Catholic bias in the media.
It would take an astonishing change in public opinion for
any church, much less the Catholic Church, to compel
people to worship it.) - How does Revelation 13:5 fit into this
discussion? (It says that this Beast only has
authority for a limited period of time.) - How, then, can the “end-time” people be forced
to worship this Beast? - Is it possible that we have more than one power
that might be represented by this Beast?(While I
certainly do not claim an expertise in this
area, this seems the most likely answer to me.
The Beast certainly was reflected in the Roman
Empire with its murder of Jesus and the
subsequent persecution of the saints. The
terrible role of the Catholic church in
persecuting and killing “unbelievers” centuries
ago also potentially reflects “Beast”
characteristics. However, it appears there is a
Beast to come, which will not be very nice to
those who love the Lord. As Christians, the
important part of this to watch for is the
common characteristics between the Dragon and
the Beast. Both oppose God and attack His
people. Any group that opposes God and attacks
His people in the end times takes on the
characteristic of the Beast. Be alert.) - Our Response to the Beast Problem
- Read Revelation 13:9. What advice does Revelation give to
the saints? (Pay attention!) - What do you think the “pay attention” warning means
as a practical matter? (The danger that I see is the
same danger that the Jews faced when Jesus came.
There were plenty of prophecies about Jesus coming,
but the Jews had fixed ideas that caused them to be
unwilling to examine any alternative explanation of
the Scriptures. Those who were not constantly
studying the Bible to match it with current events
rejected Jesus. Just because someone else has told
you a certain interpretation of prophecy, you are not
safe in just taking their word for it. God requires
every one of us to carefully study His Word so our
(v.9) ears will be open and we will hear.) - Read Revelation 13:10. When the surly red Dragon and his
friend the Beast come after Christians, what should we do?
(We are called upon to faithfully endure.) - Friend, God calls on us to pay attention to these
difficult to understand warnings in Revelation. Will you
commit to studying God’s Word and keeping your eyes and
ears wide open? - Next Week: The Dragon Versus the Remnant – Part 2
