Revelation 13 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Rev 13:1-4

1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’

A. Find Out:

1. Where did the dragon stand? v.1a
2. Where did the beast come from? v.1b
3. How many heads, horns and crowns did it have? v.1c
4. What did the dragon give it? v.2
5. Why were men astonished? v.3
6. Who did men worship and why? v.4

B. Think:

1. Recap, who was the dragon? (See 12:9)
2. If the dragon gave the beast power, what sort of beast is it?
3. What does it say about mankind that it worshipped it?

C. Comment:

     We finished chapter 12 seeing that Satan went off to pursue the Christians after the Jews had been dispersed across the earth. Following on from that comes the appearance of this beast, described in symbolic language, which is partly interpreted in Chapter 17.

     First it comes from the sea and the sea in symbolic language refers to all the peoples of the earth (see 17:15) It comes, therefore, as an expression of the peoples of the earth. However we may seek to interpret the heads etc. (possibly in the light of 17:9-12), the suggestion is that the beast, which is multi-headed, is either an organisation or an ideology that is led by a number of godless leaders or expressions of ideology or philosophy (note “blasphemous – v.1) Then Satan gives his full backing to it. Somehow something apparently supernatural seems to happen and part of it which seemed dead came back to life, with the result that many followed or worshipped it (rather like communism in the soviet block apparently dying at the end of the 1980’s yet coming back to life again in the mid 1990’s?).

     The beast, whatever it is, seems to predominate in men’s minds and seems to be invincible, thus gaining a massive following. Varying ideologies today gain the following of multitudes.

D. Application:

1. The beast is godless and has Satan giving it complete support.
2. The beast comes from the peoples of the world.

Passage: Rev 13:5-10

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling-place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 ‘If anyone is to go into captivity,
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.’

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

A. Find Out:    

1. What did the beast speak? v.5a,6
2. For how long was he allowed to do this? v.5b
3. What power and authority was he given? v.7
4. Who will and who will not worship this beast? v.8
5. What may be the end for many Christians? v.10a
6. So what does it call for? v.10b

B. Think:

1. How will the WORDS of the beast be against God?
2. How will the ACTS of the beast be against God?
3. How will this be a proving time for Christians?

C. Comment:

     The activity of this beast that we were introduced to yesterday is now made quite clear. Pride is at its heart and pride always rises up against God and is at the root of all sin. Thus the beast rejects and abuses the name of God and rejects and abuses His church (His dwelling on earth) as well as heaven. The beast is not only allowed to speak against God and against the saints, but also to act against them as well, with the result that many are likely to be put to death for their being followers of Jesus. All non-Christians will agree with its words and its actions.

     In all this we must remember that the beast is “allowed” to do all this. It does not have any rights but is simply allowed to reveal its heart in this way, for its suits God’s purposes for the heart of mankind to be revealed for what it is. We also need to remember that for the believer, death is merely the doorway into eternity, and is not therefore something to be feared or dreaded. Death by the sword is indeed something that requires more faith than death by natural causes in old age, and that is why we are told that we will need patient endurance and faithfulness. God does not promise that our end on this earth will be easy, only that the time thereafter will be glorious!

D. Application:

1. God IS still sovereign despite the activity of mankind.
2. Our future is in God’s hands and His grace is available for us.

Passage: Rev 13:11-18

11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

A. Find Out:

1. How was the 2nd beast similar but different to the first one? v.12
2. What was it able to do? v.13
3. What effect did it have on the earth? v.14
4. What power did it have? v.15
5. What did he make happen? v.16
6. With what effect? v.17

B. Think:

1. List the strange powers the second beast had?
2. What was the ultimate effect of his activity on the earth?

C. Comment:

     With the arrival of the first beast came an unnatural power. With the arrival of the second beast came even more power. Jesus warned that this would happen (see Matthew 24:5,24) so we should not be surprised. The second beast does not seem initially to be so impressive as the first one (with less description) but what he seems able to do seems much greater. He appears harmless, like a lamb, but speaks harshly and with deception, like a dragon. He works in harmony with the first beast, continuing its activity and even enhancing its activity which, remember, was entirely anti-God.

     Deception is part of his activity, which of course is Satan’s activity, and somehow he manages to get the earth to submit to some form of image of the first beast which takes on demonic and destructive powers. The end result of all this is that Christians who refuse to bow to this “thing” are put to death and anyone refusing its mark finds it impossible to survive through buying and selling. Any surviving Christians will obviously have to be in self-sufficient communities! The first beast was allowed to carry on its activity for a limited period (see v.5 = 3.5 years = half of 7, the perfect number in Scripture, i.e. a period set by God of limited duration). We must assume the second beast was similarly limited. God is still in control!

D. Application:

1. The aim of the enemies activities is to turn everyone from God
2. He also seeks to destroy the work of God i.e. the Christians.