The Two
Beasts of Revelation 13
What is the
difference between them?
What do they
signify?
What does
the number 666 represent that is found in the last verse of the chapter?
The first
beast comes out of the sea. It has ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns
or diadems upon its horns, and a blasphemous name upon its head. And it “was
like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s
mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.”
Now this is our first clue, that really teaches who this first beast is. “The
dragon gave to it his power and his throne and great authority.”
The dragon
is Satan. Again and again in the Bible God speaks about the dragon as Satan, or
Satan as the dragon. And the beast therefore would be the kingdom of Satan,
totally synonymous with Satan himself. But it is the kingdom of Satan as it is
found in the world throughout time. The seven heads refer to the rule of Satan
throughout time.
In
Revelation 17 we find another reference to this beast, and we find in verse 8:
“The beast that you saw was and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless
pit and go to perdition.”
It says that
“the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are
also seven kings, five of whom have fallen. One is and the other is not yet
come. And when he comes, he must remain only a little while.”
Therefore,
it’s speaking already in the past tense of seven of the heads, five of the
seven heads representing kings who had already reigned. Now this simply is
indicating that it is going all the way back into time, wherever the kingdom of
Satan has been. It is the rule of Satan as it is found in the earth.
The ten
horns more particularly relate to the rule of Satan right at the end of time,
and tie very closely, incidentally, into the second beast, or in some respects
to the second beast, as I’ll show in a moment. But the ten horns do refer to
the rule of Satan at the end of time because again, when we read Revelation 17,
it says in verse 12, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast.”
The
interesting thing is that in the Book of Daniel God makes reference to ten
horns, out of which the little horn comes. And when we look at the Book of
Daniel carefully, we find that in this reference to the ten horns and the
little horn, it is really speaking about the false prophets, or it’s talking
about the church itself. The fourth beast spoken of in Daniel seven has ten
horns:
Daniel 7:8
“I
considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little
horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots:
and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking
great things.”
“Eyes like
the eyes of a man” is a figure of speech speaking about prophets. If we tie
that back into Isaiah 29:10, we can see this.
Isaiah 29:10
For the LORD
hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes:
the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
The beast,
therefore is the kingdom of Satan that rules throughout time, although
particularly the period that’s in view here is the whole New Testament period,
the forty-two months of Chapter 5. And in verse 3 it says that one of its heads
seems to have had a mortal wound, indicating that at the cross Satan was dealt
a death blow. The kingdom of Satan was dealt a death blow because of Christ’s
victory on the cross.
But yet,
“his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
(Revelation 13:3)
The kingdom
of Satan still goes on, even though the destruction of Satan and all the wicked
was guaranteed because of Christ’s work at the cross. Yet the kingdom goes on.
Then in
verse 4 it says, “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?”
This beast
is what unsaved man is totally involved in. Any unsaved man is a worshipper of
the beast, a worshipper of the kingdom of Satan, a worshipper ultimately of
Satan himself.
In verse
seven it says that this beast was allowed to make war on the saints and to
conquer/overcome them. And this of course is pointing to the end of time, just
before Christ returns, when Satan will be able to silence the Gospel.
Beginning in
verse 11 it speaks about a second beast coming out of the earth, that had “two
horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” Now the minute it says that it
spoke like a dragon, we know that again it is totally related to Satan.
This beast
is Satan in his religious rule, particularly, as he works through false
prophets and false christs. “Two horns like a lamb.” You see, he appears like
Christ Himself. Christ is the Lamb that was slain. Remember, in 2 Corinthians
11 it speaks about Satan going about as an angel of light. Well, that’s another
figure that is tied in with this other beast that rose up out of the earth. The
phrase “out of the sea” or “out of the earth” is a figure relating to hell
itself. Hell is sometimes spoken of as the heart of the earth, or the heart of
the seas.
Revelation
13:12
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.
Revelation
13:13
And he doeth
great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the
sight of men,
Revelation
13:14
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.
Revelation
13:15
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.
Now you see,
Satan, as he controls the minds of unsaved men, normally does not show himself
to be of any life, or the giver of any life, or of having any life
characteristics. A political kingdom ultimately is a fairly dead kind of a
kingdom. It exists, and then it doesn’t exist. It has no supernatural power.
But when
Satan comes through his emissaries, false prophets and false christs, who come
with signs and wonders, as predicted in Matthew 24:24, as he comes through
occult activity of one kind or another, this makes the worship of Satan far
more glorious and marvelous. Now of course those who are worshipping him don’t
understand that they’re worshipping him. They are deceived, because Satan is
the great deceiver. But nevertheless, ultimately they are worshipping him.
And they
give breath to the image of the beast. They make the worship of the kingdom of
Satan a live venture, as if through this there is a vital, energetic eternal
relationship with the god that they are worshipping failing to realize that
their god is Satan, and that he is doomed to eternal damnation.
Those who
worship the beast are spoken of in verse 18 as having a number, the number of
man. In your King James Bible you’ll find that it says, “It is the number of a
man.” But the word that is used here, the Greek word, is the identical word
that is used in the Bible repeatedly where it speaks of Christ being the Son of
Man. Now under no circumstance would that be translated the “Son of a Man,”
because Christ under no circumstance was the Son of a man. He was the Son of
Man. He was of mankind. In other words, He was a human being.
And here
also the same word is used, so it would have to mean that it is the number of
man, the number of mankind, the number of the human race. In other words,
anyone at all who is unsaved symbolically has the number 666 on his forehead.
It is the number assigned to an unsaved man, who is destined for hell, because
he is a slave of Satan.
This number
originally had its beginning in Zechariah 13, or at least it’s referred to
there, where it says in verse 8: “Two-thirds I will cut off and destroy, but
one-third” And it goes on to speak about the redemption of the one-third. The
number two-thirds, if written as a decimal, is .666666. And if we just use the
first 3 numbers, we get 666.
And there
are at least two illustrations in the Bible where this is put forth. We read
about David, when he defeated the Moabites, that he caused them to lie down in
three lines. Two of the lines he put to death. One line he spared, and they
served him. David there was a type of Christ as Messiah, the two-thirds a
figure of those who are under the judgment of God, the one-third a figure of
those who are saved.
In 2nd Kings
chapter 1 we read of Elijah, that he was sent for by the wicked king of Israel.
And a company of men came to take him, and he called down fire from heaven, and
they were destroyed. A second company of men came to take him, and he called
down fire from heaven, and they were destroyed. A third company of men came to
take him, and plead for mercy, and they were spared. Again we have two-thirds
being destroyed, one-third being spared.
The
two-thirds representing the reprobate – the unsaved of mankind and the
one-third represented those who are saved – the elect of God.
2 Peter
1:19-21
King James
Version (KJV)
19 We have
also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as
unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star
arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
ALL THE
CREDIT AND GLORY GOES TO GOD.
Pray to God
for great discernment and test everything.
Remember let
Scripture interpret Scripture.
1
Corinthians 2:10-13
King James
Version (KJV)
10 But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even
so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 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.
1
Corinthians 14:3
King James
Version (KJV)
3 But he
that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and
comfort.
1
Corinthians 14:29-33
King James
Version (KJV)
29 Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any
thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye
may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God
is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Acts 17:11
King James
Version (KJV)
11 These
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things
were so.
1
Thessalonians 5:20-21
King James
Version (KJV)
20 Despise
not prophesyings.
21 Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good.
2 Timothy
2:15
King James
Version (KJV)
15 Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
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