III. THE FUTURE (“THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER"), PART
2b--6:1-19:21
C. The Second Half of the Tribulation, Part
3a--13:1-14:20
4. The third parenthesis, part 2--13:1-14:20
b. The beasts--13:1-18
(I)
The beast out of the sea--vv. 1-10
(A) Its description and nature
(1) A beast out of the sea (generally referred
to the mass of humanity)
(2) Has seven heads, ten horns, ten crowns upon
the horns
(3) Upon its heads the names (Authorized Version
has singular--which may be looking at the beast as a
whole) of blasphemy
(4) Body of a leopard, feet of a
bear, mouth of a lion.
(5) Satanic inspired
(a) So state« in verse
2
((I)) The
dragon gives him his power.
((II)) The
dragon gives him his throne (Authorized Version has "seat.")
((III)) The
dragon gives him his authority.
(b) Comparison with the dragon
shows it
((I)) Both
are hideous animals.
((II)) Both
have seven heads.
((III)) both
have ten horns.
((IV)) Both
have crowns.
((A)) The dragon's crowns are upon his heads.
((B)) The beasts crowns are upon the horns.
(6) He is a beast.
(a) This is not the same
word as that in 4:6 where the word means "living beings."
(b)The word here means "animal
of prey" as in 6:8--its first occurrence in the book.
(B) Its events
(1) Rises out of the sea
(2) Given a threefold position with Satan
(3) One of its heads slain to death and
then miraculously healed
(4) All the world wonders after the beast, worship
the dragon who gave power to the beast, and
glorified the beast.
(5) Has a mouth to speak great things and blasphemies
(6) Continues 42 months (3 1/2 years)
(7) His blasphemy is against God.
(a) His name
(b) His tabernacle
(c) His heaven-dwelling beings
(whether angels, saints, or whatever)
(8) Makes war with the saints (tribulation ones)
(9) Overcomes the saints
(10) Has authority over all on earth
(a) Kindreds
(b) Tongues
(c) Nations
(11) All earthdwellers--i. e.,
those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life (This
therefore excludes the
tribulation saints)
(12) Has associated with him another beast
(C) Its interpretation
(1) The key is found in verse 18.
(a) This person has been
greatly misunderstood, for many have tried to identify the beast based on
the number
666.
(b) Notice it says, "It is
the number of a man."
(c) Therefore, any interpretation
that does not identify the beast as an individual is manifestly wrong.
(d) Newell, 184--"The beast,
. . . , of Rev. 13 is a man who controls absolutely the royal
authority
of the
ten kings at the time of the end, and this by their own united will."
(2) Who is this man?
(a) First, let it be said
the the ten horns, as already suggested by Newell, are ten kings.
((I)) Cf.
Daniel 2:37-44--The ten toes correspond to the ten horns, and are here
clearly
identified as kings.
((II)) Cf.
Revelation 17:3, 12
((III)) Newell
(184; italics are his.) may well be right in saying: "They are ten
distinct powers;
perhaps ( according to the two feet of the image [Daniel 2])
five in the east and five in the
west, although knowing that 'all that dwell on the earth' shall worship
this last World
emperor." "Moreover, the ten horns are kings [or rulers],
not kingdoms; and kings that do
not become such till the beast arises." (cf: Revelation 17:12)
(b) Though this writer has
not yet said so, it should be evident that this man is the antichrist.
(c) The Scriptural proof
as to the identity of this beast
((I)) Daniel
7
((A)) Here
are depicted four separate beasts, but note the last of the four in
verses 7ff.
((B)) This
last beast sounds a great deal like the one in Revelation 13 (in fact this
writer asserts
that it is the same), except that here the kingdoms are in view, whereas
in the book of
Revelation, it is the ruler himself.
((C)) But
notice that the ten horns are identified as ten kings.
((II)) Daniel 9:26, 27--The
prince that shall come is of the people who destroyed the city and
the
temple in
70 A. D.--This clearly identifies this prince as a Roman. or at least of
the greater
Roman empire.
((III)) Cf. Daniel 11:21-24
((IV)) Matthew 24:15 (Daniel
12)
((V)) 2 Thessalonians
2:1-12
(d) Other considerations
((I)) "In John 5:43, our
Lord says, 'I am come in my Father's name and ye receive me not: if
another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive.' "The Greek here signifies
"in name
peculiar to
Himself." "But the second beast of Revelation 13, comes to establish
the name of
the
first."--Newell, 195. Therefore, the second cannot be the antichrist.
and thus, the first is.
((II)) Revelation 16:13 sets
forth the trinity of evil.
((A)) The
dragon--antigod
((B)) The
first beast--the antichrist
((C)) The
second beast. who is the false prophet--the antispirit
((III)) A consideration of
2 Thessalonians 2 in comparison to the second beast will show the
acts
of the
second beast in Revelation 13:12-14 are contrary to those pictured by the
man of sin.
(e) This beast is from the sea.
((I)) The sea here is doubtlessly
the people of the earth.
((II)) Cf. Revelation 17:15
(II)
The beast out of the earth--vv. 11-17
(A) His description and origin
(1) Comes out of the earth
(2) Has two lamb-like horns
(3) Speaks like a dragon
(4) Exercises the power of the first beast
(5) Causes these who are earth-dwellers to worship
the first beast
(6) Deceives the earth-dwellers by wonders and
miracles
(7) Persuades mankind to make an image of the
beast
(a) Cf. Romans 1:23
(b) Gives life unto image
so it speaks
(8) Causes all to receive the mark of the
beast in their right hand or in their foreheads
(B) The interpretation
(1) As already indicated this one is not the
antichrist.
(2) Nor is he a later form of this evil
one.
(3) He is the false prophet of Revelation
16:13, for he exercises the position of one who speak on the
behalf of another--a
his representative--and not on his own behalf.
(4) This one is a person even as the first one
is.
(5) The fact that this one has "two horns like
unto a lamb" does not mean that he is the antichrist. "The
'horns like unto a lamb'
merely indicate that the second beast instead of being 'a king of
fierce
countenance' like the first,
will have the relatively plausible and persuasive ways of a great
deceiver
of men." (Newell, 194,
footnote)
(6) This one arises out of the earth, or
land--this may indicate that he is from Palestine and therefore, a
Jew, or at least of Jewish
decent.
(7) If this be the case, one cannot identify
this false prophet with the Roman church.
(8) Also to be noted is that nowhere does the
Scripture identify this second beast with the woman--the
harlot in Revelation 17 (Note
that in 17:18 the woman is identify as a city, not an individual).
(C) What he does
(1) This second beast, who is the false prophet,
is Satan's counterpart to the Holy Spirit, although he is
a mere man.
(2) His chief task is to direct men's minds and
religious inclinations to worshipping the beast.
(3) Causes the image of the beast to breathe,
speak, and destroy non-worshippers.
(4) Performs all sorts of miracles
(a) Newell, 203--"Human science
and philosophy are in the dust: for here is a being returned from
past history
[He may be referring to a return of Judas Iscariot which he discussed
briefly earlier
(194) as possibly
the false prophet], from unseen realm of the dead--and how can man's
puny
wisdom cope
with this? And here is a breathing image--speaking, no one knows how!
Men fall
in worship.
And to crown the terror, this fearsome image is able relentlessly to
slay those who
refuse it
homage. Where, then, are man's boasted powers, his vaunted progress?
Vanished,
gone forever!
The whole world has fallen below the level of the African
fetish-worshipper. The
whole world has fallen flat before mysteries it cannot even
dare to seek to solve!"
(b) These miracles evidently
convince many of the Jews (at least the apostate ones) that this one
is
the Elijah
that was to come.
(5) Causes all people to receive the mark of
the beast
(a) Obviously would exclude
the believers
(b) Includes
((I)) The
small
((II)) The
great
((III)) The
rich
((IV)) The
poor
((V)) The
freeman
((VI)) The
slave
(c) Mark is given in the
hand or on the on the forehead--it may well be branded into the hand or
forehead.
(d) The nature of the
mark
((I)) The
name of the beast
((II)) The
number of the beast
((III)) Or
some other distinguishing mark
(e) The purpose of the
mark is to show who is a worshipper of the beast so that none of
God's
elect among
Israel, or among the gentiles, might be able to buy or sell.
(6) Not the pope
(a) Cf. (II)(B(7)
(b) Both beasts deny that
Jesus is the Christ; the pope doesn't (at least outwardly).
(c) The. pope claims to be
the "Vicar of Christ", thus recognizing his subordination to God; the
first
beast, the
antichrist exalts himself above God.
(d) Papacy worships the Virgin
Mary and saints (though they would deny this), but does not
worship the
devil; the antichrist openly worships the dragon.
(II)
The concluding exhortation--v.18
(A) Here is wisdom--probably serves a connecting link with the
last phrase of verse 17 with the
presentation given in this verse.
(B) He that has understanding
(1) Down through the years since this book was
written, men have presumed to have this
understanding as to the number
of the beast.
(2) One thing certain, that when the time comes,
the believing remnant will know and understand.
(C) The number 666
(1) The verse plainly declares that it is the
number of a man.
(2) There are many guesses as to who the number
represents.
(a) It is based on a system of using letters
to represent numbers (NOTE: Hebrew and Greek did not
have any separate characters
to represent figures, but used letters of the alphabet--the first
letter
being one, the second
two, and so forth.).
(b) Using this system is highly dubious because
of various results.
(c) Suggested names
((I)) Nero--using the Hebrew
letters Neron Kesar
((II))Latin--using the Greek
combination Lateinos (This is the only one that does not identify
it with
a specific
man, but indicated that it is a Latin, or Roman; thus it may have some merit.)
((III)) In recent times,
Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin have been suggested. This writer assumes
that
either a
transliteration to Hebrew or Greek would be necessary to make these names
work.
((IV)) Seventh Day Adventists
claim that it is the pope based on his Latin title, Vicarius Filii
Dei,
which adds
up to 666.
((V)) However, so does Ellen
Gould White, the founder of Seventh Day Adventism, add up to 666
when
transliterated.
(d) Some have suggested that 666 is just short
of complete perfection which would be expressed by
777.
(3) Its significance
(a) Any interpretation that tries to identify
the antichrist with any specific individual now dead or alive is
futile, because the method
used leads to any results that one is previously determined to obtain.
(b) This number may well depict the trinity of
evil.
(c) Osborne--"Antichrist is a Satan-controlled,
God-defying, conscienceless, cruel dictator--the
consummation of the
present apostasy, and the full deification of humanity. His number
,666 is the
number of man,
trebled.”
(d) Having said this, this writer has not, and
perhaps cannot, give any substantial significance to the
number 666.
(e) Perhaps Newell's statement (205) may suffice:
"As to the man whom the number 'Six hundred and
sixty and six' represents,
God will give full 'understanding' when it is needed, in those three and
half
years of horror and
danger. He has never failed His saints. The Church saints will
not be there
(. . .), but many there will
be who 'worshipped not the beast . . . and received not the mark'
(Revelation 20:4). And
they will know and understand this man. His number will be plain then,
for
it is the number of a
man. Those who 'keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony
of
Jesus' will all have divinely
given wisdom in this matter."
(f) With this statement one should let the matter
rest and not try to figure out what God has not yet
made clear.