Revelation 13

Read

Read Revelations 13

Meditate on the whole passage.

Reflect

What do you think the 2 beasts in the passage represent (from the descriptions given for each)?

What do they do, or what are their roles? 

How does the world respond to the beasts? How do they secure their following? 

What do you think is the significance of the marking on the forehead or hand? What do you think is the significance of the number 666?

How should we respond to them?

Relate

This passage, the 10th last chapter of the bible, introduces the villainous characters of the end times, if they have not already been introduced in other chapters of the bible, for example Daniel 7. 

The first beast, arising from the sea, is largely known as the anti - Christ. The sea has always had a foreboding air to it in biblical times (see Psalm 74: 12 -13, 89: 8 - 9, Isaiah 57: 20). This sense of foreboding rightfully attends the coming of the first beast, which is the same beast as mentioned in Daniel 7:7. Although the word anti - Christ is not spelt out here, it is mentioned 5 times elsewhere in the bible. The first beast, with the seven heads, ten horns and ten crowns, is indisputably the anti - Christ. The anti - Christ is also called by various other names such as: The little horn (Daniel 7: 8), The king of fierce countenance (Daniel 8: 23), The Prince that shall come (Daniel 9: 26), The one who comes in his own name (John 5: 43), The son of perdition, the son of sin, the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2: 3).

The second beast, on the other hand, comes from the earth, and has a lamb - like appearance with 2 horns. Belying that deceptive appearance is a beast. Like the earlier beast, it is also one with the dragon, or Satan. Together, they form the unholy trinity pact.

This second beast is widely thought to be the false prophet. It is subordinate to the first beast, which in turn is subordinate to the dragon. They pave the way for the other as John the Baptist paved the way for Christ, who then did all of God's bidding.

There's still confusion as to whether the anti - Christ is a system of government, one with an absolute control over ten nations, as depicted by the ten horns and crowns, or a person. Pundits are, however, leaning towards the latter. At the end of the passage, we're also given to think that it’ll be a man.

Aside from their subtle similarity, the world is also enticed by their seductiveness as they are cheap imitations of the real thing that work on the weaknesses of men and women. In short, they are blasphemies in the subtlest form, which means that we may go against God without even knowing it. Furthermore, with all the monopoly that they hold and power in their control, their sway and influence will be hard to resist. If it is true, this is what man has always wanted - a religion without God. So, we find ourselves playing into the schemes of the false prophet and the anti - Christ who themselves are unwittingly playing into the hands of Satan. What he had failed to do with Christ in the wilderness, he would have no problem with the anti - Christ. Through soft power and threats, he will try to win the world over to its side.

A mark is simply a sign of ownership. Just as we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit as a show of ownership by Christ, the beast is likewise hungry for us, wanting our allegiance, and eager to own us. The marks could be literal like bar codes or embedded chips although the bigger picture is that of allegiance to the beast, or ownership by the beast or worship of the beast, whichever sounds the grandest.

Concerning the mysterious number 666, many theories have surfaced to try and decipher it. One of them actually claims that the number is the sum of Nero's name in Hebrew where letters were assigned numeric values. Others offered that it simply means short of perfection, being a number less than the perfect 7. Still others have gone as far as looking at the ruin of Rome in 1666 and subtracting 1000 from it for the number of years that Satan would be bound to arrive at the remaining number. There are still others who say that if you add up all the 6 Roman numerals (I, V, X, L, C and D), you'll get the number 666. All these theories seem to be pointing their finger at Rome. It's not surprising that there are some who are of the opinion that there will be a resurgence of the Roman empire.

But instead of obsessing over the number and who is the anti - Christ, which is nothing more than a cheap imitation of Christ, we should be more interested in the genuine Christ. Imitation works because they are similar. If they were obviously different, it would be easy to tell the difference. Therefore, we must be familiar with the genuine. It requires wisdom to know the difference.

There is also the call for patience on our part to endure the difficult time. Only then, with faithfulness and wisdom, can we withstand the onslaught of the anti - Christ on the true followers of Christ.

Therefore, let's be wise, faithful and patient. We need to know who the real Christ is by getting closer to the real Christ as Paul echoes in Philippians 3: 10:  I want to know Christ.

Rest

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Lord, let us know you more. For the more we know you, the more likely we can spot the fakes. The more we know you, the more likely we can be like you. The more we know you, the more likely we are your disciples.

Naville Chia

PS. A Blessed Christmas!