REVELATION 13 In our study of this prophetic book of Revelation, it is important to keep in mind that the contents are almost always metaphoric in nature. In the Bible, God uses imageries and picture galleries to explain parables containing therein as the Bible is a book of parables written by God for our edification. Fortunately, we have the whole Bible as a source for credible referencing. In as much as it is a book about prophesy, we approach it as any other book of the Bible, realizing that unless God gives us understanding, we will be left perilous.
Our prayer goes out to all our loved ones, families and friends alike who may find themselves the subject of these revelations. In our love and obedience to God has the pre-eminence to declare His word above all else. May the grace of God find mercy to bring them to the fold as today is still the day of salvation, should it be His will. However, in our efforts to remain faithful to His word, may His message be declared and His wisdom be known, to all that seek Him and may all glory be unto Him always.
Revelation 13:1-18 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
In this study, in order to find God's truth and purpose, it is imperative that we let the Bible be it's own interpreter: it's own dictionary and it's own commentary. (1Corinthians 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.) We humbly approach this task as the Lord allows us. Without the use of the rest of the Bible, we would be lost in trying to determine what we read. God, throughout the history of mankind, has given us bits and pieces of information, contained in His Word, that helps us come to the truth in testing any conclusion we derive.
Verse 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.
285 ammoj ammos am'-mos
AV - sand 5; 5
We see the the implication of what standing "upon the sand" is. God uses this statement 10 times in the Bible. This statement refers to how God indicates the number of the children of Israel as being many. 1Kings 4:29 ¶ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. This designate the abundant blessing of God on king Solomon. "Sand" indicate much or plenty in number as we see here in verse 1 apostle John standing in the sand, representing the all those in the world, is given the vision as in Isaiah 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. We see the same in Romans 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: This is the premise of God's salvation; only a few will be saved. The vision we are told of what apostle John sees of a beast rising up out of the sea.Next we will examine the word beast and see what God is telling us.
2342 qhrion therion thay-ree'-on
AV - beast 42, wild beast 3, venomous beast 1; 46
The reference to the beast as in Mark 1:13 as we see; And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts <2342>; and the angels ministered unto him. We see the above account of Jesus when He was taken in the wilderness to be tempted by Satan(the wild beast) in Luke 4:1-13. Another account can be found in Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast <2342> that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. Who lives in the bottomless pit but that of the beast which is Satan himself where he rises out of to deceive the world. The phrase bottomless pit is always a reference referring to hell. (The beast here is Satan that is going around as a roaring lion of 1Peter 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Those that he overcomes are the believers that are bringing the Gospel but are killed. They are not physically or spiritually killed but their testimony is hampered for awhile because they get back up in Revelation 11:11. [See verse 15 below in this study] )
Next we check out the word "sea" and see what it is referring to spiritually.
2281 qalassa thalassa thal'-as-sah
AV - sea 92; 92
The Bible talks about the sea as a place where the dead or the unsaved end up when they die to await the judgment day. This is language of the last day where the unsaved are headed for judgment. We read about this in Revelation 20:13; And the sea <2281> gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
It's interesting that we should ask the question; How did Satan end up in the sea? We read about the parable of the man with the unclean spirit whose name was Legion in Mark 5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea <2281>, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea <2281>. In this parable the swine represents the unsaved who are under the control of the unclean spirit of Satan who will end up in hell. Satan who entered the herd of swine. This explains and points out to us how Satan eneded up in the sea. It's very interesting to note that there were two thousand of the swine. In the Bible the number two represents the witnesses for, usually, the true Gospel. That can not be the case here because Satan does not nor is he responsible to bring the true Gospel. ( We will discuss this later because the beast in verse 11 of this study has also two horns. We will defer the explanation till then.) The number 1000 in prophesy generally refers to the perfect timing or the fullnes of time of God's plan as we see in Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, This is not a literal 1000 years but it is a spiritual number that refers to the time appointed by God for these things to come to pass.
Next when look at the significance of the number seven. This is also emphasized with the collaboration of the number 70. This is identified with the purpose of God of bringing the Gospel. We find a couple of references in Numbers 11 and Luke 10: Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
Luke 10:1 ¶ After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
The following account are few of the references that God uses the number seven as we review them and to see how this theme continues.
Matthew 15:36-37 And he took the seven <2033> loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven <2033> baskets full. The feeding of the 4000 is a picture of bringing the Gospel as Christ demonstrate to the believers their task as we are left the seven baskets to continue in We see in Revelation 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven <2033> churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Similarly in Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven <2033> golden candlesticks;
We can find similar references in Revelations 1:13,16,20; 2:1; 3:1; 4:5; 5:1. In all these references there is a strong association of the number seven with bringing the Gospel. The question we ask is: If the number seven refers to bringing the Gospel, what does the beast, whom we have determined to be Satan, have to do with it? Surely this can not be right. As atrocious an idea it is, we must be patient and remain faithful in presenting whatever evidence there is before us and see what God has in store for us to learn. Our next task is to determine what the word head represents.
2776 kefalh kephale kef-al-ay'
AV - head 76; 76
The use of the word "head" refers to the essence of that being. Goes the head so goes the whole body. The same word we see represents the prominence of the subject in view as we see in 1Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head <2776> of every man is Christ; and the head <2776> of the woman is the man; and the head <2776> of Christ is God. The head is pointing to headship. The beast coming out of the sea is Satan, the head of the evil kingdom coming out of hell to recruit unbelievers to his evil kingdom .
The next thing we are told is that the beast has ten horns. Then the number ten relates to the overall view or complete extend of the proposed plan in view. We find in Luke 19:13 And he called his ten <1176> servants, and delivered them ten <1176> pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. This is a picture of our Lords giving every believer a command to go out into the world to be His witnesses. And of these ten horns we see the emphasis of bringing the Gospel of salvation. Interestingly enough, the word "ten" God also uses it as the word "eighteen" as we see the application following;
1176 deka deka dek'-ah
AV - ten 24, eighteen + 2532 + 3638 3; 27
Luke 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen <1176> years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? As we have seen the commandment of the ten pounds in Luke 19:13; we can only conclude that the burden of sin on God's elect (being a daughter of Abraham) of Luke 13:16 can only be lifted when we bring the Gospel as God saves His people by it.
Next we also look at the word "horn". By all indication, we see a relationship with the Gospel.
2768 keraj keras ker'-as
AV - horn 11; 11
Luke 1:69 And hath raised up an horn <2768> of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; We see the use of the word "horn" as a form of a security or fortress as also is compared to Christ our Rock in whom we build our house. Psalm 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
If the Lord will allow us to see, the implication of the horn being here as a part that is exalted refers to attaining salvation by means of bringing the Gospel. We are not to exalt our own selves but it is God that gives us salvation. The anointing with oil represents salvation by the witnessing of the Word through the Gospel which results in our salvation if we are an elect of God.These are all qualities pointing to salvation because of the Gospel; but we ask what has Satan to do with it. (This is very suspect territory as we proceed cautiously in search of His truth.) The next thing we are told is that "upon his head the name of blasphemy" What do we make of this?
988 blasfhmia blasphemia blas-fay-me'-ah
AV - blasphemy 16, railing 2, evil speaking 1; 19
We examine the use of this word and we find that it is used categorically in reference to wickedness by the devil Satan as we see the account in Revelation 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy <988> of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
If we are identified with any other kingdom other than the kingdom of God we are blaspheming the name of God. Consequently, we see in Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. This verse is revealing to us as we know that anything blasphemous points directly to Satan. If we are not saved we are in the kingdom of Satan and everything we do is blasphemous in the sight of God. We also see the unpardonable sin speaks of the idea of all sins can be forgiven if God saves us but the only sin that cannot be forgiven is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. What then is this sin exactly? We see in Mark 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies <988> wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. The unpardonable nature of this sin is that of verse 30; To believe that Jesus had an unclean Spirit; meaning that Jesus had the unclean spirit of Satan. If we even have a hint to believe that in our hearts, we are not going to be forgiven. To further illustrate the point we read in Luke 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies <988>? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? We see the Pharisees who know the law accusing Jesus of being the devil because they did not believe that Jesus is God to forgive sin, and therefore assume that He was of the devil trying to imitate God. Blaspheming then is any evil and reviling language against the living God as we see in Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking <988>, be put away from you, with all malice: How then do we tie up verse 1 together? This is an eye opening verse within itself. Satan is bringing his gospel and spreading it like the true Gospel? Let's keep that question in check as we look at the next verse.Verse 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.
First we will look at the beast being likened to a leopard. We can find this reference in Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. The reference points to the nature of evil depicted by Satan. We see the devouring nature of Satan in Jeremiah 5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. All these references point to Satan being the character of a leopard. Next we look at the reference to a bear. We see in 1Samuel 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear <01677>, and took a lamb out of the flock: This is a picture of the cross as David is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ slew both the lion and the bear, both pictures of Satan indicating His victory on the cross over Satan.Further we see similarly in Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Absolutely, unless we are saved, Satan will devour us and keep us in the darkness and not see the light of the Gospel. (Notice the 3 references to Satan as the lion, the bear, and the serpent) Similarly we see the word "dragon"This too is a reference to Satan as we see it in Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon <1404> was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. A similar verse in Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon <1404>, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
In these verses we see the imagery representation of Satan by God. He uses these animals to characterize the nature of Satan. Much like He uses the lamb to personify Christ. (This is a methodoly that God uses that can help us tremendously to understand the Bible especially the book of Revelation.) The essence of this verse then talks about what is going on today as Satan is setting up his kingdom by bringing falsehood and he is reigning like Christ in the churches today as we seek a confirming verse in 2Corintians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. Satan, the master of lies is being worshipped as God. We could say, but surely we can tell if our church would go contrary to the Word of God, we could straightened it out. Well the truth is unless we are saved, we cannot see it. God has to save us because He is the one that has to open our spiritual eyes to understand the deep sayings of the Bible. Those that are not saved will never know it. They will belong in these churches because God allows them to be snared. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god <2316> of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God <2316>, should shine unto them. The first word "god" here is the same Greek word for "God"2316 qeoj theos theh'-os
AV - God 1320, god 13, godly 3, God-ward + 4214 2, misc 5; 1343
How do we then know? The answer is we will never know. When churches twist the truth of the word to make it say what they want it to say we will not be able to tell because understanding comes from God. It is a snare, it is a trap and this should be an eye opener to any church going, Bible so-called-believing Christian. These are the facts about these verses:
1. False prophets are like apostles of Christ.
2. Satan is reigning like Christ in the church.
3. False ministers are like ministers of Christ.
Because they are like Christ they are like the truth and we will not be able to tell unless we are an elect of God. We may ask the obvious question that would naturally come, This can't be my church? Well, the truth is that they are out there; how are we to find out if our church is worshipping Satan? The alarming answer is we cannot tell if we are not saved. God will keep the truth from us. Therefore the essence of these verses is that these false gospels are just like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The average Christian is being snared by their falsehood. Is it any wonder that Satan's ministers are good con-artists as much as Satan is himself as we see them depicted in John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. We must remember that Satan is the best of all liars. He looks and as persuasive as no one ever has. How did he fare against Eve in the garden of Eden? We read in Genesis 3:3-4 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Was that not just the opposite of what God told Adam and Eve? Satan is so crafty that he makes mockery of God's laws that those that follow him do not even know they are being deceived. That is what happened in the case of Eve. Can we imagine what he is doing to the church today without even them knowing it? That is exactly what is happening today. We are, however, not to think that he is running loose; God allows all this to come to pass as we are discovering in this chapter. This is why Christ is the caretaker of our salvation as we read in Hebrews 12 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. A dirty job, but only for the mercy of God.
Verse 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.
Having establishing the fact that the beast is Satan we ask the question; How did his head got wounded. We can go back to Genesis 3:14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. After deceiving Eve, God gave out the punishment for Satan. Notice the reference to Satan's head being bruised or wounded right there at creation. (Does this speak loudly to the authorship of the Bible?) At creation God knew that Jesus the Christ, the seed of the woman, will be always be at war with the devil even to the end. The wounded head points to the cross. When Christ went to the cross, Satan can no longer run his course in the world because Jesus has made a way to pay for the sins of the elects and that is liken to being wounded. Similarly we see in Revelation 20:2-3 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. At the cross the language of Satan bound for a thousand years is the same as his head being wounded. After a thousand years (this is symbolic language, not an actual 1000 years) Satan shall be loosed for a season is the same as that of the head healing so he could go out and deceive many till the judgment day. We know this because we are told the deadly wound has healed, indicating that Satan is back at his old self again as God allows it all to come to pass. As Satan does this the world, in particular, the false churches are in amazement at what he does as they follow his blasphemous teachings.
Verse 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?
Amazingly, we see those that follow false gospels without their realizing it. This is the nature of "false gospels;" (they believe they have the truth when in fact they are worshiping Satan. God is keeping them from knowing it. This is why God has to save us, so He can give us the light of the true Gospel so that we won't be groping in the dark) We see this terrible picture in Job 5:14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. The same language we find in Isaiah 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. What a terrible picture of what its like for God to give us up. When we read these verses, surely we have to be convicted that God is sovereign and in charge of all thing at all times. Satan is reigning as God as we read in 2Thesalonian 2: 3-4 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. What a statement. Do we believe it? The answer is unless we are saved we can not see it. This is why our salvation is of God and God alone. If we try to get saved by our works as in accepting Christ as our Saviour or try to earn it in some way, then the chances are we are still unsaved and we are worshipping Satan the beast whether we like it or not. Remember God is the author of the Bible and God knows what's all going to come to pass. What then will happen? We see this come to its predestinated end as we read verses 8-9 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, Here do we see any of this that is going on in the world today? Can we identify with these churches as having the truth? Yet they will profess that they have the truth. If we didn't have this book of the Bible, we too could be snared. That is the mercy of God; not because we are smart to have figure it out. By no means. The elects are safe as we see in Matthew 24:24 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. Had it not for the safe keeping of the Shepherd of our salvation we would surely perish in Satan's falsehood.Verse 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.
Here we see what we have been saying that God is permitting all these things to happen. We can never be presumptuous about God as we see God allowing Satan to "speak great things" even though they are blasphemous against God. The forty two months ( This is the period where Satan is loosed for a season as the wounded head is healed ) is a specific period from the cross until the second coming of Christ. This is the period of tribulation after the cross as Satan is allowed by God to fulfill His purpose for the world as he goes about the world deceiving many. This is all a prelude to the judgment day.
Verse 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Who do we know that blasphemes the name of God? This gives us an idea of whom we are talking about. The devil, who is Satan himself, in all that he does, is in direct opposition to everything that God does and stands for. He mocks God and all those that follow him knowingly or unknowingly are in a blasphemous relationship with God. Right from the beginning of creation we saw this as the serpent told Eve in Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. In this very early exchange we see how the devil tells Eve that the commandment of God was not so. He added that when they eat of the fruit they shall be like gods (The same word "ehlohim" is used here as in God) We know this is a blatant lie and today Satan is in the world killing and deceiving souls.
Verse 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.How is the beast making wars with the saints? This is a spiritual war as believers bring the Gospel, Satan is also proselyting to do the same. How can we really make sense of this verse? Are we going to be faithful in believing its concepts however God tells it? This is our duty as servants of God to disclose whatever understanding God gives us. Again, we see the working of Satan in the world as he brings lies against the Almighty God and His sacred sanctities. Satan is allowed to test the believers, as God is giving him the power to do so; even though he will not prevail, nevertheless he will snare those who are outside the care of Jehovah God who is Jesus Christ the Shepherd. If we are not God's elect then we will be overcome and our end, which has been pre-determined, will be realized in hell forevermore. We read in Luke 18:7-8 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? This is why we must be humble in the sight of God if we hear His message and plead with Him for mercy that He may save us regardless of our knowledge of election because that is God's call and His good pleasure, and not of ourselves that saves us.
Verse 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.
This verse tells us where we all have been. At one time or another we all worshipped Satan. Had it not been the mercy of God, there would not have been salvation for anyone. However we see in Romans 11:4-5 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. These are those to whom God will save as their names are written in the Lambs book of life from before the world began. God has elected a people for Himself and these are those that Jesus said in John 18:9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. This is a statement of Christ to His Father before they took Him to be crucified referring; to the elects of God who will be redeemed, by His going to the cross, to complete their salvation: Those elects of God that were born from the beginning of the world, like Abraham, to those that are in the world before His second coming. These are they that will worship not the beast because they are elect of God. ie they have the name of God in their forehead. Revelation 14:1 ¶ And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. The seal of God is His mark in the foreheads of His elect who will not perish because they worship not the beast. This is the protection the elect will have because the Shepherd of our salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ who has bought us with a price' therefore we belong to Him.
Verse 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.Here we see an identifying statement as it is used throughout the Bible. a reaffirmation of what we have already covered in the previous verse. Those who are not elected unto salvation will not be given the ears to hear the truth of the Gospel message and will continue to worship the beast, Satan. God, from creation, elected those who will be saved. We, of course, do not know who they are. This is God's good pleasure to make the call and to know who they are. We, however, are not given that knowledge. We are to indisciminently bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it is God who draw those that He elected to be saved. So we see the great declamatory phrase referring to the elects as the only ones having ears. (This is the spiritual implication to only those that possess spiritual ears; as the ones having the understanding of God's deep sayings from His word. We see this often used referring to the understanding of parables. Similarly the use of the phrase "eyes to see" as we see in Ezekiel 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. This same reference God uses often to indicate that the non-elect will not understand His Gospel and will not be saved.We also see in the similar call on Saul's (later changed to Paul , the apostle) the command that he is to fulfill; Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Understanding the Word of God is therefore a gift; because God has given the ears to hear and the eyes to see, and not because we are special or smart)
Verse 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Here we ask the question: Who led the captives into captivity? We find the answer from (Ephesians 4:7-10) and in Psalm 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Here we are told that the Lord God who is Jesus Christ who dwelt among men, ascended into heaven, and led captivity captive by going into hell first to pay for the sins of the believers, led the way for those who will end up there to pay for their own sins. These are those that kill with the sword by bringing falsehood and killing others will be be judged by that same sword which is the Word of God because their lies will kill many. Likewise if we bring truth that saves people then by that same sword we will be saved. This salvation will come as we patiently wait on the Lord and trusting Him for their salvation.
Verse 11 ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.Similar to the beast in verse one we see another beast which resembles the first one in nature and in purpose with except for the two horns like a lamb. The number two always identifies with the church. The lamb is Christ the Lamb of God. However we don't see a lamb, but the likeness is compared to Christ the Lamb. This identification resembles the true church of Christ because of the comparison to a lamb except that this beast speaks like the dragon in verse one. We know therefore that this is referring to the Satanic activity by the false churches of today who in their methodology, worship the beast who is Satan. (This verse is not talking about those that openly worship Satan that we commonly know as Satan worshipper because of their obvious declared opposition to Christ. The language of what we are reading here in this verse is that the false churches do not intentionally worship Satan, but in their ignorance of the Truth, they are in turn worshipping Satan. By simply not having the truth puts us in the house of Satan because there are only two kingdoms in this world: That of Christ and that of Satan. This could very well includes some devout Christians who claim that they are saved and are not as we see Jesus reject them in Matthew 7:21-23 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. These are good Christian people doing what we would normally accept as doing wonderful works as indicated by this verse. Sadly, to say, God is allowing them not to know the truth. We see this in 2 Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. We may ask, can a good God do that? Well, we can't conceive of any one loving do that but we only see through a glass darkly with limited understanding of God's perspective. We know this from Isaiah 55 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. This is the reason that we do not question anything from the Bible because we do not entirely understand God's justice and righteousness is beyond our human comprehension. We see in Ezekiel 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? We see his knowlwdge and understanding in Job 37:16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? We therefore do not question Him because we don't understand. He is neither a respecter of persons
God in all His high and majestic ways with power and righteousness. In the end it is God that will give us the understanding to believe and trust Him.
Verse 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.We see an intimate relationship between Satan and the false churches that rise out of the earth. By virtue of the fact that they do not have the truth which is of Christ they are proponents of Satan's kingdom. God is orchestrating this whole scenario as we see the proliferation of false churches springing up like wildfire everywhere. We see this prediction in 2Thesalonian 2:9 -10 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. This verse points directly to the false churches who worship Satan by their Satanic activities, who is going around deceiving many because his head in now healed. How can we properly understand this?
We look at the other side of this coin to those that have the truth. Where do we find truth? We find truth in the Bible because it is the will of God. Does that mean that if we read the Bible we can understand it? It is unlikely but what it really means is that if we understand the Bible we are His which further proves that we are saved. We read in John 3:3; Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The gist of this verse is that unless we are born again (saved) we can not understand things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Where's the kingdom of God? It is all that is in the Bible. But how can we understand it? It is God that makes us understand. He reveals it to those of His elects as we read in Mark 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. The Bible is a book of parables so the elects of God can see the message of salvation. This is the reason Jesus Christ when He was on earth he said in this same chapter verse 33 & 34 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Just like today through the Holy Spirit, that draws God's elects to Himself, and reveals truth to them so that they can understand and be saved. This is why salvation is of God, not because we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour, or any such philosophy that the Bible doesn't support. Therefore if we are not in Christ the Gospel draws God's people to Himself and if we find that this is not happening in our lives we should be very concern when we read these verses because Satan's wound has now healed. This refers to Revelation 20:1-3 ¶ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. This reference to the time when Jesus went to the cross. Satan, spiritually, was bound and he would no longer have his way with God's elects until a certain time passes. We can understand this better if we check in Mark 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. The strong man is Satan that had to be bound so that the elects of God could be taken out of the house of Satan and into the house of Christ and be saved. We read in Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. The reference to the horrible pit or the miry clay are all synonyms of hell, the place where Jesus took us out of if He has saved us. The rock is Christ Himself that establishes our new lives being born again. The rest will remain there until the day of judgment.
Verse 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,This verse as we said in the beginning of our study that God has to show us truth. This is a puzzling statement because we know from the account of the false prophets of Satan against the prophet of God Elijah. The account on Mount Carmel in 1Kings 18:21-39 when the prophets of Baal could not call down fire from heaven. This tells us that Satan among other things, is not able to call down fire from heaven, which is the equivalent of bringing judgment. How come we can are told here Satan as the beast is calling down fire from heaven? Have we made a mistake? Well, when we study the account of 1Kings 18 on Mount Carmel we will find that that whole event point to the judgment of God. The prophet Elijah is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as God paints a spiritual picture of judgment for those that are worshipping Satan and the result of what will happen to them on judgment day. The judge, Jesus Christ, when He comes again will consume this present world with fire. He is the only one who can call fire from heaven because He is the judge. We read in 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. How then can we believe that Satan can call down fire from heaven? We read in the account of Jesus when Judas Iscariot and the the men that came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane in John 18:4-6 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. It is very interesting as we see how God is telling us here that when Jesus said "I am he" they all fell backwards. What is the significance of this action? This is a significant piece of information because in Luke 22:3 we see Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. This verse tells us that Satan was standing right there in the person of Judas, as we see the rest of the verse which tells us that "Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them."and because Jesus is God (verse 4; " Jesus therefore knowing all things" only God can know all things) He could have called down fire from heaven and consume Satan and those that were with him right there for defying the living God. Jesus, however, could not do this right there and then because for one, He has yet to go to the cross to complete the salvation for His people (elects). The sign we see depicted right in this verse of them that "fell backwards" is an indication by God that is synonymous with calling down fire from heaven. We see God use this in several other places in the Bible: Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
1Samuel 4:18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Isaiah 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
All this is being done as we are told " in the sight of men". What does that mean? Are all these miracles being done to the glory of God? The fact is these miracles is only for men so they wold be decieved. It is a blashphemy against God as we are told. We seem to make light of this phenomenon This verse in particular points directly to those denominations that feature such great wonders and falling backwards as sign of the Holy Spirit's intervention. This we know from other places in the Bible that points to signs and wonder as the work of the Satan himself. We read in 2 2Thesalonians 7-11 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: This is the will of the God of the Bible that points to all such works as Satanic activity and not what is as perceived is a lie. We see here, however that those these are ministers of Satan. That is the only indication that Satan can produce to indicate the wonders that he uses to deceive those that follow him with. The snare is they think that because Jesus did miracles therefore they also should do miracles. Those miracles was pointing to the miracle of salvation through the Word of God, which is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Today, all miracles with signs and wonders points to Satanic activity. This is why the true believer will not be found in these churches today. The miracle we bring is the miracle of salvation because without salvation we could live to be 200 years old with good health but if we are unsaved what does it matter? We read in Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Not a thing.We will end up in hell forever; and forever is much longer than 200 years, if we can be so lucky? Moreover, these signs and wonder does not demonstrate any faith at all. What is faith? We see in the definition in Hebrews 11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. First we hope for it and secondly we do not see it.This is also explained in Romans 9:24-25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. This is the salvation of the Bible that our hope is in Christ for our salvation; not because of anything we do.
Verse 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
We can see this today as these false churches sensationalizes people with these miracles. We have seen that the miracles performed today are of a perceptual nature. We read in Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. There appears to be healing and miracles going on but none of these are like the miracles that Jesus perform which points to salvation. The believers of our times are supposed to be given the faith of Christ to believe as we see in Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. If we have to see a sign to believe then we are not of Christ because we are not given the faith to believe Him. We see Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and the Seduces that came to see a sign in Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. All manner of miracles with sins and wonder are the works of the devil that deceive those who are not elects of God as we read in Matthew 24:24 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. Isn't is wonderful as we see how God keeps His elects from being snared by false Gospel. This is why we should be thankful forevermore that the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God has us in His care. The image of the beast is simply the violation of the first of the ten commandments in Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: The image therefore refers to anything that is worshipped other than the true God. The wounded head of the beast is healed as we see him today being allowed by God to deceive people for a season. Even though it did not kill him but as we see what will happen to him and his false prophets in in the end in Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Verse 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.Satan gives power to his ministers who teach his lies. He gives power that he speaks in the church and would kill those that do not worship the beast, Satan. The true believer who is a witness for God is killed as we saw in Revelation 11:7-9 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. What we are seeing is that the witnessing of the true Gospel will be hampered for a time due to the proliferation of the gospel of the beast. Notice that the two witnesses, even though they are dead, are not put into graves. Their witnessing is there but quite inconsequential compared to that of the beast. The 3 1/2 days is the period that points to the time the beast deals with the the world. (The time period is not literal) After the 3 1/2 days we see in verses 11-12 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. We see the two witnesses (all the believers) will be on their feet (indicating their appointed time to continue their witness) Their work will result in lives being saved as a voice is calling for those who hear the gospel to come up to heaven (indicating that those that hear their witness will be saved) Because the false churches are ministers of Satan they will propagate such lies which refutes what we find for instance in Exodus 22:20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. The worshippers of Satan will be killed or end up in hell because their allegiances are not to God but toward Satan. We see this evaluation in Proverbs 29:27 ¶ An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked. We see representation from the two kingdoms and there is no compromise.We see further from Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Satan can not kill our souls so we don't fear him so we do not have to be fearful of the lies he brings. Again, we can rejoice, if we are God's elects, because Satan's lies will not affect us, but woe unto those that are not. This is why salvation is of God to be under His control as we see in Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. We are under the care of the Shepherd, Jehovah God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Verse 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:As we saw in verse 2 that it is God that is allowing Satan to deceive the unsaved. God is sovereign and even though that these verses may indicate that Satan is doing this and that; it is only so because God is allowing him such range and only to those that are unsaved; those that have the mark. Continuing on, the false churches bring their type of gospel deceiving many. The reference to "all" can not be talking inclusively of the elect because we see how this could not be in the previous verses. These specifically are referring to all those non-elect who will worship Satan the beast because they do not have a Saviour. In looking at the word "mark" we see it used 9 times
5480 caragma charagma khar'-ag-mah
AV - mark 8, graven 1; 9
The mark on their right hand is not a physical mark but this is referring to the fact that because they are worshiping a graven image other than that of God, it is their spiritual mark that identifies them with the kingdom of Satan. We are told in Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. If we worship anyone or anything else we are disobeying God even if we are doing it ignorantly. We find in Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven <5480> by art and man's device. Our worship of God should be in spirit and in truth. (The reference to the mark on their "right hand or forehead" points to their will being taken over by Satan, again there will not be a physical mark on a hand or forehead) We see further the terrible end what becomes of these followers of Satan in Revelation 14:9-11 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark <5480> in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall 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: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. This is the language of those who will end up in hell. They will "drink the wine of the wrath of God" Only the unsaved will end up under the wrath of God. Similarly we see in Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark <5480> of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. This is a confirmation of everything we have discussed here. The first beast in verse 1 who is Satan along with the second beast in verse 11, the false prophets, will both be cast in hell. We see also what happens to them that did not worship the beast in Revelation 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark <5480>, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. How wonderful it is that without the mercy of God, we would all end up in hell. Salvation is realized because God has elected us to salvation, not because we done something to obtain it. If we ever contributed anything to be saved, then the Bible is clear, we are not truly saved. Further we see in Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark <5480> upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is the picture of the believers with Christ, together they will judge the unbelievers at the end of the world as judgement is given unto them because they didn't receive the mark of the beast nor worshipped him. We see in 1Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? This is the fulfillment of the promise that all those that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved, if saved then heir, joint-heirs with Christ. The thousand years is not a physical 1000 years. This number indicate the fullness of time when the perfect harmony of God's plan will come to fulfillment without hindrance. God alone knows the actual length of time, much like the time of Christ's return. Conversely we see the believers whoare not snared by Satan and his false ministers, which also indicate what happens to them who are the elects of God who do not worship Satan as having the the mark of the beast in Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. In the same period signified by a 1000 years (not a literal period) of those that do not have the mark of Satan the beast.
Verse 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
When we see the phrase "buy and sell" the reference is not to buying of food or merchandise. We follow the basic mandate of Bible based study. We look elsewhere in the Bible where God uses this phrase. This takes us to Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. What truth is being referred to here? Christ is the essence of truth (John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ) wisdom and understanding. We look elsewhere and find Isaiah 55:1 ¶ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. These references is talking about the Gospel; spiritually when water is made reference to it is talking about the Word of God. Buy wine refers to the wine of the Gospel for the matured Christian and milk refers to those that are new and young in the faith. We see then that this verse is pointing to bringing of the Gospel. However because this is of Satan, therefore the gospel he brings is false. The beast, Satan will convince those that follow him to bring his false gospel. Those that believe and worship him will buy it and be identified with it. Therefore those that believe him is identified here as either having the mark of the beast, or the name of his number.
Verse 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
This verse opens up as "here is wisdom" This relates directly to the wisdom of God revealed to the believer. This means that those that are saved can understand the Word of God. As we see earlier on from Mark 4:11 regarding the wisdom of God because it is God alone that reveals His secrets to the believers and to no one else. In 1Corinthians 2:6 ¶ Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: This is the wisdom of God to discern the things of the Spirit, the truth of God. Further we also see in 1Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom <4678> of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: In bringing the Gospel God the believer proclaim the hidden mystery of God and He prepares those that are being witnessed, if they are His elects, to understand that mystery. What we say in Godly wisdom will accomplish God's purpose because that is His will. The result will be that God will open the spiritual eyes of those He draws to see and understand and will subsequently believe and become saved. (Therefore understanding the mysteries is from God and not because we are of ourselves are worthy in knowledge. God give the wisdom and it is God that gets the glory and praise.) Next we are told that the number 666 is the number of the beast which is Satan and it is also the number of a man, this is unsaved man.(The Creek word used here: [444- anqrwpoj anthropos anth'-ro-pos] is for mankind not a specific individual or pertaining to a specific gender ) Breaking down this number 666 to it's prime numbers may give us some understanding of what God is talking about; 6(3x37)=666. The number "six" points to work as God worked 6 days in creation. [This can easily procured when we do a word study of this number.] We see also in Exodus 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: The number 6 therefore points to those that trust the work they do for their salvation. Those that believe they have the will to choose or not to choose God. Those that believe that salvation is a result of the work they do in water baptism to be saved, or those that feel that accepting Christ as their Saviour gets them saved.The Bible is clear in Ephesians 2:8-98 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is the result of the work of Christ because He is our Sabbath that we rest on. It is His faith whereby we are saved as we see in Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Next we look at the number "three" This number is featured throughout the Bible by to indicate the will of God to accomplish His purpose in the world. We see this number used more than 15 time in connection with the cross. Likewise, we see this used in comparison with the prophet Jonah that points to the significance of Christ's being 3 days in hell for the purpose of God: Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This is the sacrifice that the Lord had to endure hell for 3 days so the believers would not perish. The number "three" therefore, we can surmise, points to the atonement by Christ; the price He had to pay as the price demanded by the law of God for our the wages of the sins of His elect. The number "37" is used by God to designate His judgment for all those that will perish. We read in 2 Kings 19:35 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. We see the number 185,000 used in this verse to point to the final judgment of the unsaved as depicted by the Assyrians who are the picture of all the unsaved in the world. When we break down the number 185,000 we get 5x37x1000= 185,000. When we study this number we see the number "five" as the number to signify either salvation or judgment depending on the context. [See Matthew 25:1-13; The parable of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins. The wise are the saved and the foolish are the unsaved] Thirtyseven is the number of those that will end up in hell as depicted by those that the angel smote in the parable of 1Kings 19:35. The number 1000 is the number that signifies the perfect sovereignty of God. It is used throughout the Bible to indicate that God will bring what is in view when His perfect timing is done. As we see in the 1000 year reign in Revelation 20. These prophetic numbers can not be taken literally. In our analysis therefore, we can surmise that this number 666 refers to those that work(6) for their own salvation and will end up in God's (3) judgment (37). (The study of numerology in which we have quoted the example of some, can be very helpful in determining and confirming the truths of the Word as we have applied it to our study so we can see the deeper picture that God is saying to us.) We can also see that the number 666 relating directly to the separation of the believers from the unbelievers; the saved from the unsaved. The number 666 can be also understood when we look at when we read in Zachariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. The elects of God is represented by 1/3 and the non-elects is represented by 2/3. When we write the number 1/3 we get .333; when we write the 2/3 out we get the number .666 (The decimal point "." has no significant value other than the increments of 10 or higher: i.e. 100, 1000, 10000, etc. indicates greater emphasis of what God is emphasizing )These numbers according to the above verse refer to 333 as the part of the people that are saved. The rest 666 part will be cut off to die or these are the people who are going to end up in hell. So is Satan going to take over, no but God is allowing him to bring these lies as being predetermined by God. A point to remember is that this verse is both referring to the number 666 as the number of the beast for it is the number of man. Within this statement itself, we don't need to look at others, but the implication is that is is also a number about mankind. What is in our nature that identifies with the beast? It is our prideful and arrogant nature. We read in Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. When we try to liken the mind of God to ours thinking that we could reasonably figure out God without reading His Word with reverence and humility as we read in Proverbs 13:13 ¶ Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. We can never speak glibly or be dogmatic about matters pertaining to God unless we have a well thought out and thorough understanding of His Word. We must check out our understanding with the Bible. Those that teach us must not be believed empathically without our having come to the sane conclusion ourselves, because God allows us to see what He is willing to let us see and understand. After all all understanding is from God.
Summary We should ask the question; Why was the Bible written? What is its purpose? And more specifically, why Revelation 13? Well, the Bible was written so God would have a manuscript of His will in the world for His elects. A book of instruction, a guide, to be corrected by as we see in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The Bible even though it talks about the unbelievers as in this study, it is not for them because God has no relationship with the unbelievers. We see this in Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Because our sins that are many we can never be in the presence of God.We see in Isaiah 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. There is so much evidence of the fact that God will not deal with the wicked as we see in Jeremiah 14:12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. This is the reason of our need of a Saviour, who is also our High Priest, that has provided an atonement for our sins, if we are His. The elects of God, whose names that are written in the Lambs book of life from before the foundation of the world, will be drawn to the preaching of the Gospel and there will they be pardoned as we read in Psalm 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. Those that fear God are those who are the chosen of God and His will be done in their lives. Therefore if we are His elects, the Gospel will mean something to us as we see in Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. It is God that will accomplish His purpose by the sending of the Gospel. May the name of the Lord be glorified in all the world and that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Acknowledgements First of all we thank God, our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for the opportunity to proclaim His Word as we are commanded. If God has allowed us to see His truth and declare His message then His purpose will be accomplished by those who will benefit from this study. For those that see no benefit from it, His purpose also will be accomplished as we thank them for their time. I would also like to thank Elder Harold Camping www.familyradio.com, my mentor in the Lord, for answering my questions regarding this study and for being used of the Lord to have nurtured my understanding some 4-5 years now.. Also to my trusted friend Martin Lee www.goodmessage.org for his suggestions and for being a sounding board for my interpretations and understanding as the Lord may have used me as a beacon of light into our dark world of understanding. To my wife also for allowing me the time and support to spend on these studies, and my children for being so contrived in all manner of learning and obedience in their growth in the Lord.
Soifua
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