Study of Revelation 13

1. 1. Study the pages in the order listed on the Prophecy page.
2. 2. Pray as you study for God's will to be done, not your own.
3. 3. Don't let preconcieved ideas, traditions, and beliefs interfere.
4. 4. Wait until you had studied the entire series before passing judgment. Remember, research may be hazardous to your assumptions and personal belief system.

Preface. Before Jesus comes, the Bible tells us that some will "depart from the faith".
1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

We are also told that a "man of sin" will be revealed and that there will be a "falling away". 2 Thess 2:1-4   1)  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2)  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3)  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.

Remember that there is a spiritual Babylon. There is spiritual warfare going on now over human beings on this planet. God alone is Truth. He gave us His Word through about 40 writers over the course of about fifteen centuries. Many half-truths, lies, fables, and myths have crept into belief systems over the years. But, God commands us to come out of this confusion. A big step is understanding these prophecies. Let us continue now with Revelation 13.

Revelation 13:1  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. The sea here represents a beast coming up out of a populated area of the world. Look at Rev 17:15. The ten horns are ten kingdoms, the same number as in Daniel 7. Crowns are symbolic of political entities, so these ten horns are ten kingdoms, as explained in Daniel 7. Blasphemy is claiming the prerogatives of God Himself, such as claiming to have the power to forgive sin. It may also mean impious speech directed against God. Notice Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. This little horn power speaks against the laws of God.

As for the beasts, again, symbols of animals are used to depict kingdoms. As for the time periods, let's remember that John is looking back on history up to that time, and Daniel was looking forward from about 605 B.C. The first animal seen by Daniel was a lion. The second was like unto a bear, and the third was like a leopard. The beast that John saw had characteristics of all three of these animals, and the names are given in reverse order, as though John is looking backward from his day. The beast power described by John has characteristics of the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.

In verse 2, the dragon represents Satan, but in a secondary sense it depicts the Roman Empire, which gave papal Rome its power, seat, and great authority. "Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the 'giant form' of the Roman Church." (A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, 1900, p. 150. Of course, Satan himself tried to destroy the true church by using athiestic rulers such as Nero, but the Christian church could not be destroyed. After several centuries, Satan tried another ploy. He tried to lure the church away from Christ by bringing a great counterfeit system into the church. The word seatmeans place of power. The popes ascended to the throne left vacant by the Caesars. Great authority means that the papacy exercised control over all matters political and religious for a thousand years. History bears this out exactly. Up until the Reformers of the 16th century and onward, the papacy enthroned and deposed kings.

In verse 3, one of his heads was wounded to death. Again, the papacy fulfills this prediction exactly! In 1798, the French general Berthier took the pope as a prisoner to France, where he died. It looked as though the papacy was over. This was the crowning blow to the papacy, which had been losing influence, particularly since the Protestant Reformation started in the 1500s. However, the text also says the deadly wound was healed. In 1929 a concordat, or agreement, called the Lateran Treaty was signed, giving rule of Vatican City, about 108 acres within the city of Rome, to the pope. However, the prophet John envisioned a much greater role than this. Rev 13:8 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.

Again, no disrespect to individuals is intended. God has jewels to make up His kingdom in every denomination. But, the Bible talks about a system which has introduced falsehood and blasphemy. These pages demonstrate that the system described is none other than the Catholic Church. These words are not written with any hatred or malice. Quite the opposite is true. However, truth is truth. Certainly, good things are done in this church. Relief efforts are accomplished. That is NOT the point. The hungry are fed. That is NOT the point. People feel better when they confess their sins. That is NOT the point. Does the Bible identify a false church? Yes. Are there definite characteristics? Yes. What church fits those characteristics?

There is another question that may be asked at this point. Does God have a remnant church today? What are its characteristics? Does God hold us responsible for what church we join? Does that mean that millions will be cursed because they are in the wrong church? Do we serve that kind of God? Look for answers to these questions in the next study. These are all important questions, but now let's return to Revelation 13.

Prophecy indicates that the beast will be a worldwide organization. It shall speak great things.  Daniel 7:25  And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Notice also Revelation 13:5 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. This power was to make war with the saints Rev 13:7 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. The little horn power in Daniel 7 is described as doing the same thing. Daniel 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; The conclusion that can be drawn is that the little horn power of Daniel 7 and the beast of Revelation 13 are one in the same.

What about these time sequences? Let's explain each one, and then tie them together.

Remember the dates mentioned in the history portion-538 A.D. and 1798 A.D.? If you subtract 538 A.D.(the year the papacy was given free reign to grow in Europe) from 1798 A.D. (the year the pope was captured by the French, ie, deadly wound) is 1,260 years!

1798 - 538 = 1260    All of these time prophecies relate to the same events by the same power-the Roman Catholic church. Revelation 13:3 says all the world wondered after the beast. That time is upon us now!

ake no mistake about this. The world was amazed just a decade ago when the Soviet Union fell apart. One only has to look at the recent funeral of the past pope to see world leaders bowing in memory of a MAN, not God. The death of anyone is a sad thing, but world leaders paying this much attention to the death of a man is certainly a fulfillment of Revelation 13:3.

The new pope has vowed to open a dialogue with all faiths. This dialogue will be over the issue of unity. It won't be long before we hear more about unity of the faith. This unity will be possible only as Protestant denominations give up long-cherished beliefs and return to the way the church was in the early 1500s, before the Protestant Reformation.