Introduction: Today in the United States, we have all these silly
warnings about obvious dangers. These warnings are the unfortunate
result of the work of lawyers. As you all know, I’m a lawyer and law
professor, so let me give you a warning about something that you
probably already know. The studies today and last week are based on
my reading of the Bible. Many Bible scholars disagree with me. I
readily admit their superior training in all areas except logic.
With that warning, let’s dive into our study of Revelation 13!
- The Dragon and the Ten Horn Beast
- Read Revelation 13:1. Who did we decide last week is the
Red Dragon? ( Revelation 12:9 explains that it is Satan.
The rest of that chapter explains how Satan and his angels
are in a war against the followers of Jesus.) - As the Red Dragon is standing on the shore, what
comes out of the sea? (A “beast” with ten horns,
seven heads, and ten crowns.) - Is this Ten Horn beast a friend of God? (No. Each
head had a “blasphemous name” on it. Its seven heads
and ten horns make it resemble the Red Dragon.
Revelation 12:3.) - What does it mean to come out of the “sea?” (Read
Revelation 17:15. This tells us the water represents
a populated area.) - Read Revelation 13:2. What else does the Ten Horn
resemble? (The beasts coming out of the sea that Daniel
saw in Daniel 7:2-6.) - What does this suggest to us? (The beasts of Daniel 7
represent the history of the world starting with
Babylon. Thus, the Ten Horn of Revelation 13 bears
some resemblance to these prior world powers.) - What does Satan give the Ten Horn beast? (Power, his
throne and “great authority.” Ten Horn is an agent of
Satan!) - Read Daniel 7:7. How many horns does this beast have?
(Ten.) - Do we know the identity of this beast? (If this was a
prophesy about the future (which is now history),
then this fourth beast, Ten Horn, is the Roman
Empire.) - Read Daniel 7:8, Daniel 7:11, and Revelation 13:3-6. What
do you find that is similar between these two accounts?
(Both Ten Horns speak things that are proud and contrary
to God. Because of the references to worship and talking,
this describes a power that is at least, in part,
religious and opposed to Jesus. Both suffer a fatal wound,
and Revelation 13:3 indicates that at least part of this
Ten Horn is healed of that wound.) - Read Revelation 13:7-8. What other nasty thing does this
Ten Horn do? (It not only makes war against the saints, it
conquers them and demands worship from them.) - What is the Ten Horn that receives worship and persecutes
the saints? Are the Ten Horn beasts of Daniel 7 and
Revelation 13 the same? (Old Protestant commentaries
(which are the ones I most consult) identify the Ten Horn
of Revelation 13 as pagan and Papal Rome. I think there is
great agreement that the Ten Horn of Daniel 7 is the Roman
Empire. The time line works. The commentaries describe the
persecution of Christians by both pagan and Papal Rome.
Obviously, Catholics do not agree with the “Papal”
identification, but I think the points of comparison are
extremely compelling.) - Look again at Revelation 13:8. Is this in the future?
(It must be. That means this beast will be around
until the end, which excludes the interpretation this
beast is only the Roman Empire.) - The Earth Beast
- Read Revelation 13:11-12. What does this second (Earth
Beast) do for the Ten Horn? (It causes the inhabitants of
the world to worship the Ten Horn.) - What does it mean for this beast to arise out of the
earth? (If water means people, then this would mean a
sparsely populated area.) - What is this Earth Beast? (Some of the old Protestant
commentaries view this Earth Beast as Papal Rome, and my
church teaches that it is the United States. There are
various other theories about the Earth Beast.) - Let’s look at the logical problem with both of the
U.S. and Papal views. - If the Earth Beast is Papal Rome, did it
promote worship of the Roman Empire? (I’m no
serious historian, but that seems inconsistent
with history.) - If the Earth Beast is the United States, does
it promote worship of Papal Rome? Does it
promote worship of the Catholic Church? (This
is history about which I have no doubt. The
U.S. has been exceedingly anti-Catholic.
President John Kennedy was a Catholic, and that
was a serious problem in his election campaign.
Currently, the press and the movie industry are
extremely anti-Catholic. Some of that
criticism is justified based on recent
scandals, and some comes from pagan anger at
the stand of the Catholic Church against
abortion and homosexuality.) - Read Revelation 13:13-15. What else does this Earth Beast
do? - Re-read Revelation 13:11. What other world power has
promoted worship? (Islam.) - Did Islam “come out of the earth?” (Yes, it arose out
of a sparsely settled area.) - Does Islam have “two horns?” (It has two major
divisions: Sunni and Shia. Islam also has two major
teachings: there is no god but God; and Muhammad is
the messenger of God.) - Read Revelation 16:13, Revelation 19:20, and Revelation
20:10. What other name is the second beast, the Earth
Beast, given? (The “false prophet.”) - What does the term “false prophet” suggest about the
identify of the Earth Beast? - Let me ask the same question I did about Papal Rome
and the United States. Has Islam ever promoted Pagan
Rome or Papal Rome? (No! They have historically been
enemies.) - If we look at history, Papal Rome, the U.S. and Islam fail
to fit the description of the Earth Beast. What if we look
to the future? Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10 and compare
Revelation 13:13. Do you think these two verses describe
the same event? - If they do describe the same event, has that taken
place? (Based on this text, Christians believe that
Satan will stage a false second coming of Jesus. What
most Christians don’t know is that many Muslims
believe that the Mahdi, who is also called the
redeemer, will come and rule on the earth for a
period of time before the “Day of Resurrection.”
They believe that the Mahdi will be accompanied by
Jesus.) - Now look at the Earth Beast with this understanding of the
future held by both Christians and Muslims. Does this now
satisfy the various views of the Earth beast? Could the
Earth Beast be the combined power of the United States,
Islam and Catholicism when the counterfeit second coming
takes place? (I have Catholic friends who jokingly say,
“Catholics don’t read the Bible.” What I think is that all
Christians (including Catholics) who do not read their
Bibles will believe what they see – that Jesus has come.
Muslims will accept this as the anticipated Mahdi. This
Satanic counterfeit of the Second Coming of Jesus will
bring together all humans who are not students of the
Bible.) - Read 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. How powerful will be this
delusion? - The Mark
- Read Revelation 13:16-18. We have previously discussed the
idea that a “hand” or “forehead” mark means that either
the person was forced or was convinced to take the mark.
What is the result of a refusal to engage in this false
worship? (Death or economic disaster.) - When you think about the potential role of the United
States in this terrible time, does this seem
reasonable? (Consider that the U.S. is the leader in
the technology that could make this possible.
Currently, the U.S. monitors large cash transactions.
Very few employers in the United States pay employees
in cash. I rarely buy anything with cash. The
technology is so sophisticated, that before the
merchant hands my credit card back, my watch tells me
that my account has been charged!) - Read Revelation 14:6-7. What is the alternative call
to worship? (True worship is of our Creator God.) - What theological controversies are connected to
the Creation account? (Creation, the Seventh-day Sabbath, heterosexual marriage, the
relationship between humans and animals. You
can see the battle lines forming now!) - Friend, the stakes are high. Will you commit to being a
serious student of the Bible so that you will not be
deceived? - Next week: God’s Everlasting Gospel.
