The Beast From the Sea

INTRODUCTION:

When I was in High School playing football we’d go up to the field house every Saturday and watch game film. We wanted to know the strategies and tendencies of our opposition as well as improvements we could make in our own offensive and defensive strategies.

These past two weeks we have been something similar. We’ve been watching the game film of Satan’s resistance against God and his people throughout redemptive history.

Last week we saw Satan’s ultimate defeat through the cross of Christ and his “end times” strategy for doing as much damage as possible before Jesus comes back and destroys them forever.

Revelation 12 is somewhat of a “look-behind-the-curtain” and “birds-eye-view” of the cosmic spiritual battle surrounding the redemptive plan of God playing out on the earth. From the promise of a Messiah in Genesis 3 to the resurrection of Jesus 2,000 years ago, Satan has been on the losing end of this battle from the very beginning.

Last week, after Satan failed to stop the death and resurrection of Jesus, we saw him turn his attention to destroying God’s people: both the remnant of Israel and believers who hear the preaching of the Gospel and hold fast to the testimony about Jesus.

Some say Revelation 12-13 is ONLY focused on the final 3.5 years before Jesus returns. Others say it’s more of an indefinite period of time spanning from Jesus’ ascension to his second coming. Some say it includes both.

Whatever the particulars, this series in Revelation 12-13 has been like watching “game film” so we can expose the strategy of our opposition and embrace a winning strategy for ourselves.

Context to Revelation 13

Revelation 13 picks up where Revelation 12 left off. I believe the focus is zoomed into that final 3.5 years before Jesus returns. Jesus refers to this time as “the Great Tribulation.”

Throughout this chapter we’re going to be introduced to the rest of what you might call “the unholy trinity.”

We’ve already seen the Dragon in Revelation 12. This is a clear reference to Satan (the devil.) But in chapter 13 we are introduced to two other actors. The dragon - in his attempt to persecute the people of God - raises up two other beats: a beast from the sea and a beast from the land.

We’ll look at the best from the sea this week and the beast from the earth next week.

Together they make up an unholy trinity: satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. Each has a unique role to play in the war against God and His people.

We begin in verse 18 of chapter 12. Satan and his demons have just lost against Michael the archangel and his angelic host. He has been humiliated by Jesus’ death and resurrection. The cross disarmed the rulers and authorities and Satan was cast out of heaven down to the earth.

He is full of rage because he knows his time is short. He sets his sights on persecuting and destroying the people of God: the woman (Israel) and the rest of her offspring (all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ).

Revelation 13 is going to spell out how Satan achieves that persecution and he does so through a political means (headed by the antichrist) and a religious means (headed by a false prophet).

Revelation 12:18 (CSB)

18 The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

Revelation 13:1–7 (CSB)

1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crown, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.

3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

Understanding The Symbols

The best way to understand a Scripture like this is to define the symbols before figuring out the details. We have three main symbols in this passage that need to be defined.

The beast

The sea

The heads, horns and crowns

Thankfully, we don’t have to guess as to what the symbols means because they are defined elsewhere in Scripture. Our two key passages are Daniel 7 and Revelation 17.

The Beast

Let’s start with the beast. We know from another apocalyptic text that the beast likely refers to some kind of nation or empire. In Daniel 7:3 he sees four beasts, each one also coming up from out of the sea.

When the prophet Daniel asks for a meaning of the four beasts the angel says “The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.” (Daniel 7:23) So from that prophecy we know beasts = kingdoms.

It’s also interesting in Daniel’s prophecy how the king of the kingdom and the kingdom belonging to the king are conflated. You can’t have one without the other.

Does that mean the beast in Rev 13 speaks of a kingdom headed up by some kind of a king? Will the nature of that king and kingdom be to rage against the people of God? That’s the general gist I see.

The Sea

The second symbol we need to define is the sea.

In the ancient world the sea is referred to as a source of chaos and a domain from which evil could come. In Revelation 11:7 we see this same beast come up out of the Abyss which was a domain of evil and darkness. We’ll see it again in Revelation 17:8.

But if John uses the word Abyss in those two passages why does he use the word sea here? Some think there’s an added nuance being leveraged. There are several times in the OT where the symbol of the sea speaks to the gentile world (Gentile nations)

Revelation 17:15 says “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.” So we see there that the sea isn’t just a reference to chaos or evil. It’s a reference to a group/class of people or nations.

What kind of people? I don’t think it’s a bland reference to humanity in general. It seems to be a reference to Gentile peoples/nations in particular. (see Isaiah 60:5)

If we put those two things together then what we have is a powerful kingdom rising up from out of the gentile nations. Which gentile nations? We don’t know.

The Seven Heads

That leads us to the third symbol and that is the seven heads.

Thankfully, this symbol is also defined for us elsewhere in the Bible and that’s later in the book of Revelation.

In Revelation 17:3 says “Then he carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns… (so we know this is our beast!)” He continues..

Revelation 17:7–10 (CSB)

7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the ten horns, that carries her...

“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings: 10 Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for only a little while.

That passage raises way more questions than it answers but we can see that the heads in our passage represent mountains in Revelation 17. But the word mountain is also being used symbolically. It’s not just referring to a landmass. He’s referring to kings and/or kingdoms, seven successive kingdoms with seven kings who lead themasaz. These kings act as the head and /or personification of the empire.

Using mountains as a symbol for a kingdom is common in Scripture. (Ps 30:7; 68:15-16; Isa 2:2; 41:15; Jer 51:25; Dan 2:35; Hab 3:6, 10; Zec 4:7)

The entire book of Obadiah is battle between two mountains. The mountain of Edom and Mount Zion. But it’s not two literal mountains fighting… it’s a battle of two kingdoms (Moab and Israel.) Kingdoms in conflict!

Satanic Kingdoms

Putting all of these things together we see that during the Great Tribulation, Satan’s primary method of persecuting God’s people will be through a final, evil, end-time empire. thoroughly antisemitic and antiChristian.

In one sense, this isn’t surprising at all. The greatest cause of martyrdom in the history of the church has always been the state. It has been political actors using their government to crush the advancement of the Gospel.

What has been Satan’s method will be Satan’s method during the end of days. He will crush God’s people through nation states and the politicians who rule them.

The Ten Horns / Crowns

That leads to the final definition of terms which is the horns and crowns. We know from Revelation 5 and elsewhere that crowns and horns refer to authority and power. That’s why some have suggested this final end-times empire will be a conglomeration of 10 different nations/governments that band together to persecute God’s people.

Whatever the particulars, this seven headed beast coming up out of the sea is the personification of Satan’s effort to crush the activity of God on the earth. As the church represents the body of Christ so does the beast represent the body of Satan.

Just as Christ gives authority to the Church to storm the gates of hell, so also does Satan given authority to this beast to unleash hell on the Church. That’s why Satan (the Dragon) is seen as giving the beast his throne, power and authority.

Headed By the Antichrist

Not only will the persecution of God’s people will come through an evil, end-times empire. That empire will be headed up by a satanically possessed “Antichrist.”

We know this because Revelation 13 is going to use third person singular pronouns to refer to the beast. Again, it’s not uncommon for the Bible to conflate kings and kingdoms.

Nations have to be ruled by someone and the someone ruling this final end times empire will be the antichrist. We will talk more about this person later on.

What Will The Empire Do?

Now that we have a general definition of what these symbols mean, let’s spend the rest of our time examining what this empire is going to try to DO. Because that’s going to help us identify this empire whenever it begins to rise to power.

The first thing we see about this empire from Revelation 13 is that is going to seek to dominate the entire world.

Dominate the World

Christians are scattered throughout the whole earth (every tribe tongue and nation) and therefore this state-sponsored offensive against God’s people is going to try and get it’s tentacles as far reaching as it can.

Where do we see this in Revelation 13? It’s in the description of the beast in Revelation 13:2

Revelation 13:2 (CSB)

2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.

John is not coming up with this animals off the top of his head. They are drawn from Daniels vision of four beasts coming up from the sea in Daniel 7:4-6

Daniel’s Prophecy

Daniel 7:4–6 (CSB)

4 “The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.

5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’

6 “After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.

We don’t have time to go into detail on each of these beasts but most scholars think they represent empires that ruled over the middle east during different periods of time. They were all ruthless predators (ala animals).

There’s universal agreement that the three empires are Babylon (Lion), Medo-Persia (Bear) and Greece (Leopard).

CHART - DANIEL 2

These three kingdoms are also mentioned in Daniel 2. King Neb has a dream about a statue with a gold head, silver chest and arms and bronze belly and thighs. The head referred to Babylon (King Neb) and the chest and thighs referred to Medo-Persia and Greece.

So John is picturing these three animals in his vision. The beast of Revelation 13:2 is a reverse order combination of Daniel’s beast and describes the nature and actions of the fourth beast in Daniel 7:7-8.

The Fourth Beast

It’s interesting that Daniel ALSO describes a fourth beast. More terrifying than the first three who utterly crushes anything left unconquered by its predecessors.

Daniel 7:7–8 (CSB)

7 “After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

8 “While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.

This fourth beast of Daniel 7 is exactly what John is describing in Revelation 13. An evil, end-time empire that is headed by a Satanically inspired Antichrist who blasphemes God and persecutes God’s people and seeks to dominate the world.

The bit about the little horn uprooting three of the first horns we will discuss later but essentially the idea is that this Antichrist figure is going to overcome three of those ten rulers/authority and unite the three under one along side the other 6.

When Daniel closes his vision he says “I was utterly afraid” because he had never seen anything like this beast. It was insanely powerful and destructive.

Think Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and the like all put together into one evil empire that wants to crush anything in its path, especially Christians and Jews.

Deceive The World & Destroy the Saints

Not only will this empire try and dominate the world. This empire (and it’s leader) will also effectively deceive the World and destroy the saints. We see it over and over again in our passage.

We see in Revelation 13:3 that one of the heads of this beast appeared to be fatally wounded. That fatal wound, however, is healed. After its healing John says the whole word begins to marvel at the beast and follow after it.

As the world marvels the beast grows in power and authority. The more power it gets the more emboldened it is to blaspheme God and war against God’s people.

Notice that in Revelation 13:7 this authority to war against the saints is global in scope.

Revelation 13:7 (CSB)

7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

This is why many think this antichrist will rule over a global, one world government unified under the authority and leadership of a final end-times antichrist.

Others say it’s not a one-world government but perhaps a type of religion that centers throughout the world (every tribe, tongue and nation)

Whole Earth Worships?

Whatever the particulars, this empire gains enough power that “the whole earth” begins to worship the beast.

Revelation 13:8

8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

Notice the universal language. “All those who live on the earth...” This isn’t a reference to every living being because we see one group who refuses to worship the beast: the saints. (whether tribulation saints or the church depends on your view of the rapture)

If the world is literally worshipping the beast then they are indeed completely deceived.

Some say the word translated worship should be translated “bow down before.” That is a possible translation and the idea would be “bend the knee or pay the price.” We see this today in our culture/politics. If you don’t “kiss the ring” or “toe the line” then you’ll pay the price.

That’s what’s going on here but at a global scale.

This final antichrist is going to completely deceive the world and make every effort to completely destroy the saints.

The Fatal Head Wound

When it comes to this fatal head wound there’s a lot of debate.

Some take it literally and apply it only to the end times antichrist. They suggest he will suffer a head wound and physically DIE and then come back from the dead with a resurrection of sorts.

Whether this is a true death and resurrection - people disagree. It could just be an amazing act of deception.

I would caution you from thinking that this head wound must apply to the antichrist as an individual. Remember these heads don’t only represent kings. They also represent kingdoms or empires.

It could be the head wound signifies the death of an empire and that the resurrection from that wound is the resurrection of a god-hating empire or political force.

I personally find the theory that this end-times empire is an Islamic empire brought about by a new Islamic caliphate and Calif to be pretty persuasive.

It certainly best fits the geographical descriptions of the end times antichrist and antichrist empire. It also fits the blasphemous spirit and antisemitic hatred described in Daniels’s prophecy.

Whatever the particulars, this revived empire uses its newfound power and credibility in the world to blaspheme God and destroy the saints.

How We Should Respond

With these things in mind, how should God’s people respond? What does this have to do with us today? So what?

I think we can find three actions steps out of our passage today. They’re really listed in Revelation 13:9-10

Revelation 13:9–10 (CSB)

9 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.

10 If anyone is to be taken captive,

into captivity he goes.

If anyone is to be killed with a sword,

with a sword he will be killed.

This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints.

I want to draw out four points of application from this verse. Acrostic spells test.

Trust God is sovereign no matter how you feel.

Encourage other believers until the very end.

Stand for the truth no matter what it costs.

Tell Yourself it’s temporary because it really is.

Trust God is Sovereign

First, trust God is sovereign no matter how you feel and no matter what it looks like.

Did you notice how many times in our text we saw words like “given” and “allowed” and “permitted” (Rev 13:5, 7) All of these are passive verbs which means this antichrist and evil-end times empire is under the control and authority of God himself.

Spurgeon - Devil. But he’s gods devil. Devil is on a leash!

When it feels like evil is winning and God’s people are on the defensive it’s easy to feel like God is caught off guard or helpless against the offensive of the enemy. But he is NOT. This whole thing is part of God’s plan.

Learning to trust God in suffering is difficult but necessary. Learning to trust God even when it costs you socially, financially or even your physical health and well being is difficult but necessary. And we are NOT very mature in this area as Americans.

We are so used to our liberties and our rights and our political victories and platforms that we might not be prepared for this kind of world. A world that God will one day bring about.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t fight for our rights, and liberties and political platforms. But do so knowing there may come a day when those things are striped away and it doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. It just means we are being invited into a season of faithfulness and endurance.

Encourage Other Believers

The second thing I see by way of application is to encourage other believers until the very end.

There’s a parallel passage in the book of Hebrews 10:23-25

Hebrews 10:23–25 (CSB)

23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

The truth is, the closer we get to this day of judgement the MORE necessary it is to gather together for encouragement and building one another up. Sadly, Jesus says the opposite will actually take place. The closer we get the more people’s love will grow cold.

We saw this with COVID. When times get tough there’s a tendency for God’s people to check out or isolate. We must reject that tendency and encourage one another!

Verse 9 says if anyone has ears to hear let him listen. We must be together so we can speak the truth to one another and encourage one another to stand strong.

Stand for & Speak the Truth

That leads to the third application point: stand for and speakthe truth no matter what it costs.

The day is coming when standing for the truth of the Bible is going to cost you. It’s already happening all around us.

In Canada it’s about to be illegal to counsel people towards God’s original design for human sexuality and marriage. That will soon become the standard throughout the West.

You can already see it. There’s a separating out of those “good Christians” who are tolerant and not so belligerent about what the Bible says and then there’s those evangelicals or fundamentalists Christians who have dangerous views and judgmental spirits.

Be wary of that spirit that causes you to say what people want to say so you’ll be liked and accepted. You don’t have to be a jerk about the truth but you do have to STAND for the truth. No matter what it costs. And stand KNOWING that one day it WILL cost me but I’m going to be found faithful.

Tell Yourself It’s Temporary Because It Really Is

Finally tell yourself it’s temporary because it really is. Remember last week that Satan’s rage is increased because he knows his time is SHORT. This end-times empire is only allowed to rule for 3.5 years or 42 months.

People will debate as to whether it’s an indefinite period of time or a literal 3.5 years. No matter what you believe you can’t get around the fact that it’s TEMPORARY. And because it’s temporary you can endure it.

The very worst they can do is take your life but even that they can’t do really. Because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So hold fast knowing your redemption draws nigh.

Conclusion

As we conclude I want to encourage you to practice these things regardless of the test you’re in in life. Whether it’s the end of days and we’re fighting against the anti-christ and his empire or it’s tomorrow morning and you’re feeling the pressure at school or the work place:

Trust the Lord is sovereign

Encourage yourself and others

Stand for the truth

Tell yourself it’s temporary

The beast may rage and destruction he will bring. But our God is faithful and we can overcome.

Do you have confidence YOU will overcome? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Is your name written in the lambs book of life?