Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material.
Stacey
Take a few minutes to savor Revelation Chapter 13. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations.
13 — The mockery chapter.
13:1 — beast coming out of the sea — the Jews think the sea is an evil place. The beast is a composite of the beasts in Daniel 7. The dragon gives this beast political power.
10 horns — 10 kings who haven't yet received a kingdom. (17:12)
7 heads — 7 hills on which the woman (Israel) sits. They are also 7 kings: 5 have fallen, 1 is, and the other has not yet come. The beast is the 8'h king. (7:9-11)
13:2 – the same animals are mentioned in Daniel 7. This is an indication that this empire will be a combination of the past empires symbolized by those creatures.
13:3 — Fatal wound — since Satan wants to make himself like God (Isaiah 14:14), he counterfeits God's plan. This wound and subsequent healing are a mockery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
allegiance to the beast - see Daniel 9:27 (treaty).
13:4 – Who can make war against the beast? See Revelation 19:11-16. JESUS CAN MAKE WAR AGAINST THE BEAST! (Daniel – Beth Moore)
13:5 — was given — the beast will blaspheme and exercise authority for 42 months (3 1/2 years). God gave him this ability and authority. Is it possible that this takes place at the same time as the testimony of the two witnesses?
See Daniel 7:8 (AMP),
13:7 – beast given power to make war against the saints and conquer them. Will this be us? Or those converted during the tribulation?
13:8 — the beast will fool everyone whose name does not appear in the Lamb's book of Life. This would indicate that there are believers on the earth at this time.
13:10, 14 — sword — machaira — the short sword/dagger. (See 1:16)
13:10 — See Jeremiah 15:2 (AMP)
13:11 – see Revelation 11:7.
another beast — false prophet. See Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10. The unholy trinity is complete. Life App SB says that the dragon gave the beast that comes out of the earth the power to perform miracles.
Two horns like a lamb — appears gentle and harmless. (NIVSB) See Matthew 7:15 — false prophets come to you in sheep's clothing...
Spoke like a dragon — has Satan's voice. Combine the appearance and voice and you almost have a visual like the exorcist! Creepy!!!
13:13 — "astounding miracles" (NLT) - see Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786). Describes false prophet causing fire to come down from heaven.
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
This isn't God's judgment, but another mockery of God's power by Satan.
13:14 — signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast — miracles meant to deceive. Does this remind you of Pharaoh's magicians, who duplicated many of Moses' signs in Exodus?
Does this mean that he can't perform miracles when not seen by the first beast?
See Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (AMP)
13:15 — the statue of the beast built in verse 14 is now given the power to speak! But I'm sure it won't be as entertaining as watching the talking statues at Caesar's Palace!
See Daniel 3:5 (AMP)
13:16 — mark — imitates the sealing of the servants of God in chapter 7. (NIVSB)
right hand or forehead — where Jews wore their phylacteries. See Deuteronomy 6:8.
13:18 — "let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast" (NLT) — it is a solvable cipher. We should pray for wisdom and try to solve it.
Stacey
Take a few minutes to savor Revelation Chapter 13. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations.
13 — The mockery chapter.
13:1 — beast coming out of the sea — the Jews think the sea is an evil place. The beast is a composite of the beasts in Daniel 7. The dragon gives this beast political power.
10 horns — 10 kings who haven't yet received a kingdom. (17:12)
7 heads — 7 hills on which the woman (Israel) sits. They are also 7 kings: 5 have fallen, 1 is, and the other has not yet come. The beast is the 8'h king. (7:9-11)
13:2 – the same animals are mentioned in Daniel 7. This is an indication that this empire will be a combination of the past empires symbolized by those creatures.
13:3 — Fatal wound — since Satan wants to make himself like God (Isaiah 14:14), he counterfeits God's plan. This wound and subsequent healing are a mockery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
allegiance to the beast - see Daniel 9:27 (treaty).
13:4 – Who can make war against the beast? See Revelation 19:11-16. JESUS CAN MAKE WAR AGAINST THE BEAST! (Daniel – Beth Moore)
13:5 — was given — the beast will blaspheme and exercise authority for 42 months (3 1/2 years). God gave him this ability and authority. Is it possible that this takes place at the same time as the testimony of the two witnesses?
See Daniel 7:8 (AMP),
13:7 – beast given power to make war against the saints and conquer them. Will this be us? Or those converted during the tribulation?
13:8 — the beast will fool everyone whose name does not appear in the Lamb's book of Life. This would indicate that there are believers on the earth at this time.
13:10, 14 — sword — machaira — the short sword/dagger. (See 1:16)
13:10 — See Jeremiah 15:2 (AMP)
13:11 – see Revelation 11:7.
another beast — false prophet. See Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10. The unholy trinity is complete. Life App SB says that the dragon gave the beast that comes out of the earth the power to perform miracles.
Two horns like a lamb — appears gentle and harmless. (NIVSB) See Matthew 7:15 — false prophets come to you in sheep's clothing...
Spoke like a dragon — has Satan's voice. Combine the appearance and voice and you almost have a visual like the exorcist! Creepy!!!
13:13 — "astounding miracles" (NLT) - see Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786). Describes false prophet causing fire to come down from heaven.
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
This isn't God's judgment, but another mockery of God's power by Satan.
13:14 — signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast — miracles meant to deceive. Does this remind you of Pharaoh's magicians, who duplicated many of Moses' signs in Exodus?
Does this mean that he can't perform miracles when not seen by the first beast?
See Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (AMP)
13:15 — the statue of the beast built in verse 14 is now given the power to speak! But I'm sure it won't be as entertaining as watching the talking statues at Caesar's Palace!
See Daniel 3:5 (AMP)
13:16 — mark — imitates the sealing of the servants of God in chapter 7. (NIVSB)
right hand or forehead — where Jews wore their phylacteries. See Deuteronomy 6:8.
13:18 — "let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast" (NLT) — it is a solvable cipher. We should pray for wisdom and try to solve it.
- Remember that the main message of the book of Revelation is the infinite love, power and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. How is this evident in today’s text?
- What attributes of God do you see in this chapter?
- What scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
- What counterfeits stand out to you in this chapter? Try to find the supporting scripture that shows what action of God is being mocked.
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