We are still observing the interlude before the seventh trumpet judgment (which is the same as the seven bowls judgments).
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. Revelation 13:1
John sees a dragon standing on the sand of the seashore (the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan) and a beast coming up out of the sea (the beast is different than the dragon). Go back to Revelation 12:3 where it describes the great red dragon—he had seven heads and ten horns. What does the beast of Revelation 13:1 have? Ten horns and seven heads. Same things but listed in different order. When we look closer we can see some important differences. The dragon (Satan) has seven diadems on his seven heads—the beast has diadems, too, but he has ten of them and they are on his ten horns, not on his seven heads. Another difference is that, while the dragon has seven diadems on his seven heads, the beast has blasphemous names on his seven heads. Very similar, but not the same.
And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Revelation 13:2
The beast that John saw was like a leopard (he wasn’t a leopard, but he was like a leopard). His feet were like those of a bear (he didn’t have bear feet, but his feet were like bear feet) and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion (I know, I know, I’m sure you get it—but let me say it anyway… he didn’t have the mouth of a lion, but a mouth like a lion’s mouth). We will talk about the identity of this beast later, but for now, let’s keep observing.
Who will empower this beast? The dragon, who is actually Satan, will give the beast his power and his throne and great authority. This beast will have the power of Satan, the throne of Satan, and great authority, but (contrary to the popular book series) he will not be in-dwelt by Satan—they are two separate entities. Nevertheless, the beast will be the final game-changer. (Except, that is, for the return of Jesus Christ!)
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” Revelation 13:3-4
John saw that one of the beast’s heads (remember, he has seven) appears as though it had been slain, or as in the Greek, slaughtered. But John also saw that his fatal head wound was healed. The entire earth is amazed at his miraculous recovery and follows after him. One of the beast’s heads has a fatal wound, dies, and is healed or brought to life. What does that remind you of? Yes. The resurrection. This beast, dear friends, is going to appear as a false Christ. Before long, we will see him actually declare himself to be God!
The world doesn’t just worship the beast, though; it will additionally worship the dragon because he is the one who gives his authority to the beast. Again, notice that the dragon and the beast are separate persons.
When the whole earth worships the beast, they will say, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” Why might they say that? Who had the world been warring against for 3 1/2 years? The two witnesses. Nobody else was able to kill them, but when the beast came on the scene, he killed the witnesses and became the world’s greatest hero. They will now follow him because they believe he cannot be defeated and they want to follow the winner! Alas, they do not know the whole story… There is One much greater than the beast—the True Christ—Who will come and wage war 3 1/2 years from the time the beast begins his reign. At that time, the beast will be no more… and neither will anyone be who followed him…
There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Revelation 13:5-6
The beast is given a mouth which will speak arrogant words and blasphemies. He will have authority to act in this way for 42 months. In other words, the beast has a platform from which to spew his evil. Will he be covered by the media? You know it! This monster is a hero for killing the two witnesses and he’s got the world’s attention. The beast’s arrogant words and blasphemies against God and His people will be the top story every single night for 42 months!
Reason with me for a moment. If you believe in God, you have humbled yourself because you believe that it was God Who created you. You submit yourself to the place of the created and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. You call Him, “Lord” because He is your master. Look at the contrast which will come from the beast’s mouth. Arrogance says, “I don’t need God!” (We are going to see a phrase later on in Revelation when Babylon will say, “I sit as a queen and I will not mourn.” In other words, “I didn't need any king to get me here. I sit as a queen and I'm not a widow. I got this position all by myself!”) Arrogance is independence from God…
When the beast opens his mouth to speak, he will blaspheme God—attack God’s character. His slanderous railing against God will be abusive to God’s Name and God’s tabernacle. In the Greek, the word for blaspheme carries the idea of “bruising”. In other words, blasphemy bruises or damages God’s reputation.
The tabernacle is defined for us; it is those who dwell in heaven. In other words, the beast will blaspheme the angels and the created creatures around God’s throne in heaven. He will slander and defame the departed souls of the righteous, both martyrs and others. Additionally, he will scurrilously attack all believers on earth at that time simply because they belong to God. Whoever is part of God’s household, whether in heaven or on earth, will be vilified by the beast for 42 months. In contrast to the earth-dwellers, we can call this group the heaven-dwellers.
Do we know when this will happen? Is it the forty-two months before Satan was thrown down? No, we know for certain this is the forty-two months after Satan was thrown down.
Although our purpose is not to study all prophetic passages in the Bible (it’s to observe the book of Revelation), I think it would be beneficial to consider a few cross-references that you might want to observe for yourself.
Do you know who this beast is? Have we seen him anywhere else in the Bible? The beast introduced in Revelation 13 is… yes… you guessed it… the one who is commonly referred to as the anti-christ. He is the very same person as the little horn of Daniel 7, the prince who is to come of Daniel 9, the one who puts the abomination of desolation into the holy place from Matthew 24, and the man of lawlessness from 2 Thessalonians.
Daniel 9:27 tells us the prince who is to come (the beast in Revelation) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week (seven years) but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. He will cause desolation and perpetrate abominations until he, himself, is destroyed. Our Savior and Messiah, Jesus Christ, will be the One Who will cause his destruction when He comes again at the end of Daniel’s 70th week—3 1/2 years after the anti-christ is made manifest.
The prince who is to come (Daniel 9) will be a remarkable diplomat who is able to convince the world of his great idea to bring peace to the Middle East after all these centuries… The world will agree with him and a seven year treaty, or covenant, will be made. But the beast himself will break that seven year covenant at the midway point—3 1/2 years. The beast will kill God’s two witnesses (His prophets). He is able to do so (whereas no one else has been able to) because he has been given Satan’s power and Satan’s throne and great authority. The beast will declare himself to be God… and the world will follow…
This will all take place at that great big intersection of Revelation 10:7, Revelation 11:15, and Revelation 12:10. The middle of Daniel’s 70th week is when the Great Tribulation begins. Satan will be thrown down to the earth and in rage go after the Jews. God will pour out the entirety of His wrath. And when God’s wrath is finished… Satan and his beast will be, too…
