Wednesday, October 20
Read Revelation 13
Think About It:
- Verses 1-8 speaks about the beast of the sea. The ancient Greek word translated beast has the idea of a wild, dangerous animal. This first beast is not the dragon (Satan), from the previous chapter but is like him. It is believed that this is a man (also called the Antichrist, with a catlike vigilance of a leopard, the slow and crushing power of a bear, and the authority and ferociousness of a lion). See Daniel 7 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9. The prefix antimay mean “the opposite of” or “instead of.” The Antichrist will look wonderful, be charming and successful. He will be the ultimate winner and appear as an angel of light. In this sense the Antichrist will be a satanic messiah, instead of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Thus, leading to the deception of even the elect. God allows the beast to rule for 3 ½ years, the first half of the last 7 years. In this time period, the beasts will make war against the saints. Why is it important to stay alert in these last days?
- The second beast, the beast of the earth is also known as the false prophet (see Matthew 24:24). This makes three enemies: Dragon (Satan), Beast of the Sea (Antichrist) and Beast of the Earth (False Prophet). The goal of all three is to be worshipped. Seems hard to believe that people/Christians would be deceived into worshipping a man or idol. We don’t have to go back far in history to see that in our world. Can you give an example where people were deceived by a man or political power in office?
- The two beasts are Satanic imitations. We are presented with a false “Christ” and a false “John the Baptist” who promote the false god. Satan can’t create, but he can effectively deceive with imitation. Imitations work because they are similar; if they were obviously different, it would be easy to tell the difference. We must beware and be familiar with the genuine. Instead of obsessing with fear and interest about the imitation – the Antichrist – how much more appropriate is it for Christians to be interested in the genuine: Jesus Christ.
Family Time:
- “All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, whose names have not been written in the ______________ of _________________ of the ________________ slain from the fountain of the world.” (verse 8)
