Portraits
The interlude between the trumpets and bowls continues. Remember, the scenes in the Revelation are not a linear time line, but a series of shifting scenes. Chapters eleven through fourteen are the history and events of the dispensation of man on earth; the heavenly Prosecuting Attorney is laying out His case. Verses one through nine are a portrait of the beast, the spirit of the Antichrist on the physical side of the veil. Verses eleven through eighteen are a portrait of the false prophet. In the false prophet we find an entity empowered like a puppet by the spirit of Antichrist to enforce worship of the beast.
The Beast Rises
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
In the NKJV, verse one starts out, I stood on the sand of the sea. The King James and New King James versions include this sentence in the first verse of chapter thirteen. However, the original Greek gives us a different view.
In the original manuscripts, no chapter and verse markers are used. This phrase is attached to what would be the last verse in chapter twelve. In earlier translations the actual Greek says; (17) And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (18) And he (the dragon) stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea . . .
Here, he refers back to the dragon in verse seventeen. Sea is symbolic for the restless multitudes of mankind. If John stood on the sand, it would mean he received a vision of the restless multitudes. The dragon standing on the sand means something different. The word stand is the Greek histmi: to be present, to make stand, place, put, to establish.
Standing (histmi) is symbolic for unfinished work.
Sand, or the sands of the sea, are symbolic for multitudinous seed.
Also, the generations of unsaved multitudes.
Here is the meaning of the dragon standing on the sands of the sea. Satan busied himself for the entire dispensation of man preparing, testing, and searching for the right one to take on the mantle of Antichrist. Satan had several traits he was looking for. The man must be proud, bold, arrogant, charismatic, and above all, ambitious. Several pretenders to the throne appeared throughout history. Herod, the murderer of the innocents. Sennacherib the Assyrian. Atilla the Hun. Alexander the Great. In our times, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, Sadam Hussein, Adolph Hitler, and many more ambitious mass murderers marched through time.
Satan will draw out and establish (histmi) the one from the multitudes who is about to rise and take power as the Beast. This beast will rise out of the sea, the masses of humanity. The Antichrist man will not be a fallen angel or spirit person, but will arise out of obscurity. He might be your neighbor, or possibly someone in your family. It could be anybody; perhaps a person not yet born. Satan is preparing him in much the same way God prepared the ancestry and lineage of Jesus. These two events are shadows, mirrors of each other.
The beast will have seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns. Of course this is symbolic. For an explanation of the symbols, refer to chapter twelve, verse three. These symbols are an indication the beast and the dragon are the same. They are mirror images of each other, inhabiting opposite sides of the veil. The dragon is Satan himself, a spirit being. The beast represents the spirit of the Antichrist on earth. Though the power is manifested through the heads, horns, and crowns, the power is Satanic.
The beast is called by a blasphemous name, typical of the Antichrist spirit. Refer to Daniel 7:8, 11:36. The Antichrist will continually blaspheme God. This action will give away who he is. James 3, Matthew 7:20
The Greek word for blasphemous is blasphmia, meaning vilification, evil speaking, railing; all this against God. Many of the ungodly today excel at blasphemy, but the Antichrist man will be the grand champion.
Portrait of the Beast
2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
The Message translation opens up this passage for more understanding:
1-2 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. I saw a Beast rising from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads—on each horn a crown, and each head inscribed with a blasphemous name. The Beast I saw looked like a leopard with bear paws and a lion’s mouth. The Dragon turned over its power to it, its throne and great authority.
A leopard is symbolic for swiftness, cruelty, vengeance, and ferocity.
He will be swift and cruel, showing no mercy.
His feet will be those of a bear. A bear represents evil, cunning, cruel men.
Feet are symbolic of walk, conduct, formal possession.
The beast will possess, or rule over mankind with cunning cruelty.
His mouth will be the mouth of a lion.
A lion represents kingship, royalty, courage, boldness.
The mouth is symbolic of testimony.
The lion is at the top of the food chain, the king of beasts; he takes, kills, and eats whatever he pleases. A pride of lions can take down sickly adult hippos, rhinos, and elephants. This king will do whatever he pleases, and brag (testify) about it. (Daniel 11:16) The beast will take over by the power of Satan the Antichrist, but he is only a puppet; a glove on the hand of Satan his master.
3 And I saw one of the heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
The beast represents a man possessed by the spirit of antichrist, groomed for this position by Satan. He rises from obscurity to power due to his charismatic personality, subtlety, cunning, and supernatural satanic power. He will establish himself as world emperor and attempt to establish emperor worship. The man is persecuted off the center stage or assassinated for his attempt, but he soon shows up again, and this time with greater power.
The Greek wording refers to the head wound as a single stroke. The word used is plege, a sword stroke, calamity, wound, stripe. Isaiah 53:3 says, He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. This Messianic prophecy refers to Jesus. Satan would like to be seen as the messiah, but he can’t get it right.
Literal Greek describes the wounded head as if it is slain. The clue is as if. The head only appears slain. Satan does not possess the ability to bring back the dead. (John 10:10) Satan is like a slight-of-hand magician. He is the master of lying illusions but can only make things appear so. Only God the creator holds the power of life. Any wound the Antichrist suffers cannot be fatal; the puppet master can not bring him back.
Some teach the slain head is the Roman Empire. Rome fell over a long period. Socialism and sexual immorality caused Rome to grow weaker over a long time span. The empire came to an end when Odoacer the Goth conquered it in the year 467. Therefore, the Greek plege doesn’t fit here.
Others believe the Roman Empire has returned and still exists in the form of the Roman Catholic Church. But the Church is not a governmental ruling body. This wounded head represents a single individual, rather than a government body or kingdom, and fits better with the singular concept of the Antichrist.
When the beast returns, he claims to be a resurrected messiah, and brings a second beast (the false prophet) with him for support; the leadership of the apostate “Ichabod” church. Since all the world knew of the beast’s demise, all will marvel at his resurrection. With the help of the apostate church he will claim to be the messiah who died for our sins, and has been resurrected to fulfill biblical prophecy. Too late; Jesus beat him to it.
4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
The dragon and the beast are Satan and his false Christ. This is a mirror image of God and His Christ.
Who is like the beast? Refer to Exodus 15:11 and Isaiah 46:5 The Antichrist spirit and the spirit of the false prophet, the apostate church were around long before the Church, the body of Christ. It took the form of the Pharisees, who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah and crucified Him. Judas carried the spirit of the false prophet. He claimed to be a believer, but was not.
(Revelation 3:9) Gnostics claim to be religious; they worship wisdom and knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:24), and are still active today in the form of several cults. Acts 17:21
5 And he (the beast) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
Remember the mouth is symbolic of testimony. Second Thessalonians tells us; . . . The son of perdition, who . . . exalts himself above all that is called God, or all that is worshiped. . . .
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
This blasphemy will continue forty-two months. Forty is the number of probation; two is the number of witness. This time span will be long enough for the trial; all ungodly people and followers of the beast will be tried and found guilty.
7 It was granted to him (the beast) to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Authority was given to him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The Antichrist is granted authority. This may appear God’s people are losing, but appearances are deceiving. Take comfort. God never loses. God’s people never lose; even when martyred, they win. The words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28 say; “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Antichrist will make war with the saints. Refer to chapter 11:7-10 He exercises authority over every tongue, tribe, and nation, and, in essence, becomes the one world ruler. This authority did not come from God; rather, Adam gave it to Satan back in the garden of Eden. God gave man (Adam) dominion over the earth. (Genesis 1:28) Adam gave his dominion and authority away to Satan in exchange for the knowledge of good and evil.
For a moment, consider what’s happening around you. Who is in charge of the peoples of the world today? Plagues. Abortion. War. Terrorism. Drug abuse. Rampant sexual immorality. Evil men attempting to crush the people of God. The ungodly seem to be winning. This is not a one-time occasion. It has been going on since the beginning of time.
Take heart; be comforted. When you are marked with God’s new name in you forehead, your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. No mark, you’re not in the book. If you find yourself worshiping the beast, participating in the above listed things of the world, better check whose mark you’re marked with. People carry the mark of the beast in their heads today, taking the form of hedonism; the worship of things, idols, the fleshly lusts and worldliness. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:21-24
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.
Pay attention. Not all who hear, listen. Those who lead into captivity shall go into captivity. Here at last is justice. From the beginning of time, anyone who takes others captive shall himself be taken captive. He who puts others into bondage shall go into bondage. If you kill by the sword, you shall die by the sword. Who is the he in verse ten? Satan and the spirit of Antichrist.
Remember, sword is symbolic for the Word. What we bind on earth is bound in heaven. Be careful what you say and what comes out of your mouth. Jesus gave us the authority to bind and loose with our words. (Matthew 16:17) When we bind others, we ourselves will be bound. Perfect your love, and you will find perfected love.
This is the patience and faith of the saints. Our patience and faith will be rewarded. We wait for, pray for, believe for, trust for His justice.