The Judgments on Earth
The second of three studies of The Revelation of Jesus Christ by Paige Ramsey
“The Beasts” – Lesson 8
Revelation 13:1–18
The Beast from the Sea
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. 2 Now
the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 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?”
5 And he 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. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe,
tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
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 the faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as
many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Remember the three basic approaches taken in studying the Book of the Revelation:
1. Amillennialism – most everything in this book is figurative (symbolic)
2. Postmillennialism – first, we must establish the kingdom – then the King will come
3. Premillennialism – there can be no kingdom without a King – the King must come first
We are taking the premillennial approach. As such, most premillennialists believe the 1st Beast is the
political Anti-Christ and the 2nd Beast is the religious false prophet.
In Matthew 4:8-9, Satan tempted Jesus with the nations of the world. Jesus, of course, refused and would not bow down to Satan. Satan turns to the Anti-Christ with this same offer, who readily accepts.
Throughout his endeavors, Satan has always tried to imitate God.
1. God operates in a holy trinity Satan operates in an evil trinity
2. Father, Son, Holy Spirit Satan, Anti-Christ, False Prophet
3. God sent His Son Satan sends the Anti-Christ
4. God will reign through Jesus Christ Satan will reign through his Anti-Christ
5. The Holy Spirit exalts the Son The False Prophet exalts the Anti-Christ
6. God’s children worship the Son Satan’s people will worship the Anti-Christ
The 1st Beast comes out of the sea; the sea is an unruly, conquering, authoritative entity marked by
waterspouts, hurricanes, and tsunamis. It is possible that this could literally be the Mediterranean Sea. (See Daniel 7)
The 2nd Beast comes out of the earth; the earth represents peace and safety. Religious tranquility has almost
never existed on this earth. Most wars have had religious disputes at their base. To achieve religious tranquility would seem to most people to indicate a very good, positive, noble, and miraculous accomplishment.
Rev. 13:1-2 – Most premillennial theologians believe this the reviving of the Roman Empire. The Leopard, Bear, and Lion are also mentioned Daniel 2:31-45; and Daniel 7:1-7.
We are quickly approaching the day of political union in this world, with a one-world government, one language one currency, and one dictator. One of the newest devises out on the market today is a portable translator that a person can speak into and set the dial to the language needed and it will speak what you have said in that language. With this devise, there is no language barrier. This is necessary in order for the Anti-Christ to rule.
Religiously, we are being steered into an ecclesiastical union where there are no doctrinal differences. The World Council of Churches was set up to help accomplish this task, and the Roman Catholics desire this union; they view it as a returning to the Roman Catholic “mother” church. See Dan. 8:27
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 – Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is
called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is
according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that
they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The First Beast
The Beast from the sea (Anti-Christ) has 7 heads. Rev 17:9 explains that the 7 heads are 7 mountains. Ancient Rome was built on 7 hills. You can go to GoogleEarth and view the city of Rome in horizontal view and see the seven hills. Many times, hills represented dominions – forms of government. Through the years, Rome has been under the following governments:
1. Kingdom (one king)
2. Consulate (Republic w/ two consuls)
3. Dictator (most power)
4. Decemvirate (A board of 10 rulers)
5. Triune
6. Triumvirate (a board of 3 rulers)
7. Imperialism (World-wide Dominion)[i]
The ten horns and ten crowns could refer to ten puppet kings that correspond to the ten toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – ten toes of iron & clay – speculated to be the ten member nations of the revived
Roman Empire which is beginning to take place.[ii]
The 1st Beast will be assassinated then revived as he wants to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Second Beast
The Second Beast (who comes out of the earth – the False Prophet) will lead the people to worship the first Beast (Anti-Christ). He will duplicate the power of Elijah by calling down fire from heaven and by giving life to the image of the Beast.
The Anti-Christ
We’ve had world dictators before. Xerxes, Alexander the Great, the Roman Caesars. They ruled such a large portion of the world that they were considered world dictators. The next world dictator will head up the revived Roman Empire, and it will extend to the entire planet.
John writes of the Anti-Christ in 1 John 2:18-22; 4:2-3 – John certainly believed in a real, personable
Anti-Christ who would one day appear, and even then (as now) the spirit (the thinking, the attitude, the nature, the influence, the doctrine) of Anti-Christ is in the world. See Dan 7:7-8, 19-21[iii]
I believe the Anti-Christ is a person – not a system, not a principle – but a literal person who will rule on this earth during the Great Tribulation period.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, the Anti-Christ is described as the “man of sin” “son of perdition” “who” “himself”
“he” “him” “the Wicked”. These are all depicting a person rather than a thing – a personality, a human being. The people will be more interested in what he has to say than what the Bible (God) has to say. He will provide for everything for everyone so that all will love him and readily follow him. Notice that he will appear after God’s children are taken out.
If the world will be ruled by a Satanic government led by Satanic leaders. All worship of Jesus must cease. All gospel preaching and music must be destroyed. All Bibles must be destroyed.
The Identity of the Anti-Christ
Through the years, many men have been accused of being the Anti-Christ. Among them are: Vladimir Lenin, Nikita Khrushchev, Adolf Hitler, Henry Kissinger, Barak Obama.
The Anti-Christ is the son of perdition. Only two times is this title mentioned in God’s Word: 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and John 17:12.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…
John 17:12 – While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name: those that You gave me I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
To my knowledge, Judas Iscariot is the only person ever mentioned that Satan himself entered (Luke 22:3). In John 6:70 – Jesus says, “Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is diablos (devil).” There are many demons – only one devil.
Acts 1:25b – …from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Judas went to his own place. Where did he go? When someone dies, they either go to be with the Lord, or they go to Torment to wait for Judgment. Both places are crowded with other souls and/or spiritual beings. But Judas went to his own place – a place assigned just for him.
According to Matthew 25:41, everlasting fire (gehenna) is prepared for the devil and his angels.
Prepared -- I looked up the word “prepared” to find that verse, and discovered that God always prepares. He prepared a sacrifice to take Isaac’s place. The Lord prepared a place for Israel if she obeyed. He prepared instruments of death to slay the enemies. He prepared His throne in heaven. He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. He prepared a gourd to shade Jonah. He prepared a worm to eat the gourd. He prepares the going forth for those who follow Him. He prepared a place for Israel in the wilderness. He prepared a people for Himself. He prepared a Sacrifice to take my place. He has prepared what eyes have never seen and ears have never heard for those who wait for Him. He prepared a kingdom for us to inherit. He has prepared the riches of glory on the vessels of mercy. He has prepared for us a city. Isn’t it great to know that God is prepared? That’s a good thing to keep in mind as we study the events of the end times.
So, God prepared the Lake of Fire for the devil and his angels. According to Rev. 11:7, the Anti-Christ ascends out of the bottomless pit. I believe the bottomless pit is in Sheol-Hades (Hell) in the center of the earth. Some have said it could be in the 2nd heaven – outer space, where the planets and stars abide. That’s logical – space has no bottom. But Rev. 11:7 says the Anti-Christ will ascend out of the bottomless pit. If he came from outer space, he would descend, not ascend. The spinning earth creates gravity to hold us onto this planet, but there would be no gravity in the very center of the earth, so it would be bottomless.
Rev. 17:8 says the Beast was, is not, will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and will go into perdition.
Question: Could the identity of the Anti-Christ be Judas Iscariot possessed by Satan?
Judas Iscariot was. He lived on this earth and walked with the Lord. After he betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, he hung himself and died and went to his own place. Judas Iscariot is not. He does not live on this earth now. Could he be in a special place in the bottomless pit awaiting his time to ascend back to the earth? Our Lord called Judas Iscariot the son of perdition, a title also given to the Anti-Christ.
The only thing I’ve found to bring question to this identity being accurate is in Rev. 17:11 which says, “And
the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.”
The eighth is speaking of the eighth ruler of the Roman Empire. John had just been explaining that the seven heads were seven mountains and there are seven kings and that the Anti-Christ is the eighth and is of the seven. Judas Iscariot was never a king or ruler – he was the treasurer for the twelve disciples, so he could not have been of the seven. However, with so much else as evidence, I have to give acquiescence to the possibility that I do not understand Rev. 17:11 properly.
What is the Mark of the Beast?
Rev. 13:18 – It is the name of the beast, which is also a number – 666.
In Biblical numerology, 6 is the number of fallen man who is short of perfection. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23. 666 is wickedness multiplied and personified.
THE WORD ANTI
If you look up in Strong's Concordance word 473 in the Greek dictionary, you will find the word anti is often used to denote substitution:
473. anti, an-tee'; a prim. particle; opposite, i.e. instead or because of
(rarely in addition to):--for, in the room of. Often used in composition to
denote contrast, requital, *substitution*, correspondence, etc.[iv]
Antichrist (word 500 in Strong's Greek dictionary) can be correctly interpreted then, as someone who substitutes himself for the Christ, the Son of God.
Upon the Roman Catholic Pope’s mitre are these words: Vicarivs (in place of), Filii (son), Dia (God) – “In place of the Son of God”, which is a good definition of Anti-Christ.
In the Roman language, letters are also numbers: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000. If you take the inscription on the Pope’s mitre (headdress) and add up the numbers represented in it, you could calculate the number of the phrase itself.
[i] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon: The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[ii] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon:The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[iii] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon:The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[iv] Strong’s Greek Dictionary, 473 – anti.
called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is
according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that
they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The First Beast
The Beast from the sea (Anti-Christ) has 7 heads. Rev 17:9 explains that the 7 heads are 7 mountains. Ancient Rome was built on 7 hills. You can go to GoogleEarth and view the city of Rome in horizontal view and see the seven hills. Many times, hills represented dominions – forms of government. Through the years, Rome has been under the following governments:
1. Kingdom (one king)
2. Consulate (Republic w/ two consuls)
3. Dictator (most power)
4. Decemvirate (A board of 10 rulers)
5. Triune
6. Triumvirate (a board of 3 rulers)
7. Imperialism (World-wide Dominion)[i]
The ten horns and ten crowns could refer to ten puppet kings that correspond to the ten toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – ten toes of iron & clay – speculated to be the ten member nations of the revived
Roman Empire which is beginning to take place.[ii]
The 1st Beast will be assassinated then revived as he wants to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Second Beast
The Second Beast (who comes out of the earth – the False Prophet) will lead the people to worship the first Beast (Anti-Christ). He will duplicate the power of Elijah by calling down fire from heaven and by giving life to the image of the Beast.
The Anti-Christ
We’ve had world dictators before. Xerxes, Alexander the Great, the Roman Caesars. They ruled such a large portion of the world that they were considered world dictators. The next world dictator will head up the revived Roman Empire, and it will extend to the entire planet.
John writes of the Anti-Christ in 1 John 2:18-22; 4:2-3 – John certainly believed in a real, personable
Anti-Christ who would one day appear, and even then (as now) the spirit (the thinking, the attitude, the nature, the influence, the doctrine) of Anti-Christ is in the world. See Dan 7:7-8, 19-21[iii]
I believe the Anti-Christ is a person – not a system, not a principle – but a literal person who will rule on this earth during the Great Tribulation period.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, the Anti-Christ is described as the “man of sin” “son of perdition” “who” “himself”
“he” “him” “the Wicked”. These are all depicting a person rather than a thing – a personality, a human being. The people will be more interested in what he has to say than what the Bible (God) has to say. He will provide for everything for everyone so that all will love him and readily follow him. Notice that he will appear after God’s children are taken out.
If the world will be ruled by a Satanic government led by Satanic leaders. All worship of Jesus must cease. All gospel preaching and music must be destroyed. All Bibles must be destroyed.
The Identity of the Anti-Christ
Through the years, many men have been accused of being the Anti-Christ. Among them are: Vladimir Lenin, Nikita Khrushchev, Adolf Hitler, Henry Kissinger, Barak Obama.
The Anti-Christ is the son of perdition. Only two times is this title mentioned in God’s Word: 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and John 17:12.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…
John 17:12 – While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name: those that You gave me I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
To my knowledge, Judas Iscariot is the only person ever mentioned that Satan himself entered (Luke 22:3). In John 6:70 – Jesus says, “Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is diablos (devil).” There are many demons – only one devil.
Acts 1:25b – …from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Judas went to his own place. Where did he go? When someone dies, they either go to be with the Lord, or they go to Torment to wait for Judgment. Both places are crowded with other souls and/or spiritual beings. But Judas went to his own place – a place assigned just for him.
According to Matthew 25:41, everlasting fire (gehenna) is prepared for the devil and his angels.
Prepared -- I looked up the word “prepared” to find that verse, and discovered that God always prepares. He prepared a sacrifice to take Isaac’s place. The Lord prepared a place for Israel if she obeyed. He prepared instruments of death to slay the enemies. He prepared His throne in heaven. He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. He prepared a gourd to shade Jonah. He prepared a worm to eat the gourd. He prepares the going forth for those who follow Him. He prepared a place for Israel in the wilderness. He prepared a people for Himself. He prepared a Sacrifice to take my place. He has prepared what eyes have never seen and ears have never heard for those who wait for Him. He prepared a kingdom for us to inherit. He has prepared the riches of glory on the vessels of mercy. He has prepared for us a city. Isn’t it great to know that God is prepared? That’s a good thing to keep in mind as we study the events of the end times.
So, God prepared the Lake of Fire for the devil and his angels. According to Rev. 11:7, the Anti-Christ ascends out of the bottomless pit. I believe the bottomless pit is in Sheol-Hades (Hell) in the center of the earth. Some have said it could be in the 2nd heaven – outer space, where the planets and stars abide. That’s logical – space has no bottom. But Rev. 11:7 says the Anti-Christ will ascend out of the bottomless pit. If he came from outer space, he would descend, not ascend. The spinning earth creates gravity to hold us onto this planet, but there would be no gravity in the very center of the earth, so it would be bottomless.
Rev. 17:8 says the Beast was, is not, will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and will go into perdition.
Question: Could the identity of the Anti-Christ be Judas Iscariot possessed by Satan?
Judas Iscariot was. He lived on this earth and walked with the Lord. After he betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, he hung himself and died and went to his own place. Judas Iscariot is not. He does not live on this earth now. Could he be in a special place in the bottomless pit awaiting his time to ascend back to the earth? Our Lord called Judas Iscariot the son of perdition, a title also given to the Anti-Christ.
The only thing I’ve found to bring question to this identity being accurate is in Rev. 17:11 which says, “And
the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.”
The eighth is speaking of the eighth ruler of the Roman Empire. John had just been explaining that the seven heads were seven mountains and there are seven kings and that the Anti-Christ is the eighth and is of the seven. Judas Iscariot was never a king or ruler – he was the treasurer for the twelve disciples, so he could not have been of the seven. However, with so much else as evidence, I have to give acquiescence to the possibility that I do not understand Rev. 17:11 properly.
What is the Mark of the Beast?
Rev. 13:18 – It is the name of the beast, which is also a number – 666.
In Biblical numerology, 6 is the number of fallen man who is short of perfection. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23. 666 is wickedness multiplied and personified.
THE WORD ANTI
If you look up in Strong's Concordance word 473 in the Greek dictionary, you will find the word anti is often used to denote substitution:
473. anti, an-tee'; a prim. particle; opposite, i.e. instead or because of
(rarely in addition to):--for, in the room of. Often used in composition to
denote contrast, requital, *substitution*, correspondence, etc.[iv]
Antichrist (word 500 in Strong's Greek dictionary) can be correctly interpreted then, as someone who substitutes himself for the Christ, the Son of God.
Upon the Roman Catholic Pope’s mitre are these words: Vicarivs (in place of), Filii (son), Dia (God) – “In place of the Son of God”, which is a good definition of Anti-Christ.
In the Roman language, letters are also numbers: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000. If you take the inscription on the Pope’s mitre (headdress) and add up the numbers represented in it, you could calculate the number of the phrase itself.
[i] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon: The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[ii] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon:The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[iii] Cozart, Dr. Dan W., sermon:The Personal Anti-Christ, 2-7-2010
[iv] Strong’s Greek Dictionary, 473 – anti.
V = __ __ __ F D = __ __ __
I = __ __ __ I = __ __ __ E
C = __ __ __ L = __ __ __ I = __ __ __
A I = __ __ __ (Add this column) __ __ __
R I = __ __ __
I = __ __ __ __ __ __ (Add this column)
V = __ __ __
S__________
__ __ __ (Add this column)
Vicarivs = __ __ __
Filii = __ __ __
Dei = __ __ __
Total = __ __ __
Whether the Anti-Christ is a Roman Catholic Pope or Judas Iscariot coming back to fulfill the role of Satan’s man, or someone else who has yet to come on the scene, he will be in full power on this earth to rule the world under the guidance of the Dragon, that old Serpent… Satan himself.
Please remember: If you are a child of God, trusting in the death of Christ to pay for your sins, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You have a home that God has prepared for you. You are not in danger from this man of sin. You will be protected in the presence of our Lord and Savior, enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb during this awful time of judgment on the earth.
If you are not a child of God and have not yet trusted in the death of Christ to pay for your sins, you are in danger. You are in danger if you should die without Christ, and you are in danger if the Lord comes for His Bride and you are left behind to face the judgments that will come upon the earth. Turn to Christ. Pray that He will open your eyes to the truth of the Gospel.
I = __ __ __ I = __ __ __ E
C = __ __ __ L = __ __ __ I = __ __ __
A I = __ __ __ (Add this column) __ __ __
R I = __ __ __
I = __ __ __ __ __ __ (Add this column)
V = __ __ __
S__________
__ __ __ (Add this column)
Vicarivs = __ __ __
Filii = __ __ __
Dei = __ __ __
Total = __ __ __
Whether the Anti-Christ is a Roman Catholic Pope or Judas Iscariot coming back to fulfill the role of Satan’s man, or someone else who has yet to come on the scene, he will be in full power on this earth to rule the world under the guidance of the Dragon, that old Serpent… Satan himself.
Please remember: If you are a child of God, trusting in the death of Christ to pay for your sins, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You have a home that God has prepared for you. You are not in danger from this man of sin. You will be protected in the presence of our Lord and Savior, enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb during this awful time of judgment on the earth.
If you are not a child of God and have not yet trusted in the death of Christ to pay for your sins, you are in danger. You are in danger if you should die without Christ, and you are in danger if the Lord comes for His Bride and you are left behind to face the judgments that will come upon the earth. Turn to Christ. Pray that He will open your eyes to the truth of the Gospel.