The Beast of the Sea
"As I stood on the sandy beach, I saw a beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads. On his horns he had ten royal crowns (diadems) and blasphemous titles (names) on his heads. And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear and his mouth was like that of a lion. And to him the dragon gave his [own] might and power and his [own] throne and great dominion." (Revelation 13:1,2 - Amplified Bible)
Satan wants to be God. So he often imitates God. This chapter describes his attempt to imitate the Trinity. He is Satan the father. The Anti-Christ is the son of Satan. The False Prophet is the unholy spirit. Like all of Satan's imitations, this one is imperfect and evil.
Some Greek manuscripts say, “He stood upon the sand of the sea” instead of “I stood on the sand of the sea.” The he would refer back to the dragon of chapter twelve. This would suggest that Satan is always watching for the one who will be the Anti-Christ. Satan has always had those whom he has used to promote wickedness. However, he is waiting for the one man who will bring him the worship of the world.
The sea represents the Gentile nations. The Anti-Christ will be a Gentile. According to chapter seventeen, the seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings. The ten horns are ten kings who support the Anti-Christ in his rise to power. When we get to chapter seventeen I will discuss this symbolism more fully.
The description of the Anti-Christ is similar to the description of the dragon in the previous chapter. This shows how closely related the two are. Satan is the true power behind the Anti-Christ.
Upon the ten heads are written a name or names of blasphemy. This man will be ungodly from the beginning. He and his supporters will be opposed to the truth. They will speak blasphemous things.
The description of the beast reveals to us his connection with the past world powers. According to Daniel, the leopard represents the Greek Empire; the bear represents the Media-Persian Empire; and the lion represents the Babylonian Empire. The fourth beast that Daniel describes representing the Roman Empire is like the beast described by John.
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.” (Daniel 7:7,8 – New International Version)
This fourth dreadful beast represents the Roman Empire. The Anti-Christ will rule over a revived Roman Empire. His initial power base will be in Europe. The little horn that Daniel describes is the Anti-Christ. At first the ten rulers represented by the horns will support him. But Daniel tells us that for some reason three of the rulers will eventually oppose the Anti-Christ and he will turn upon them. They will be removed from power.
The great things that the Anti-Christ speaks are to be equated with the blasphemous names that John mentions. The Anti-Christ will make himself out to be god-man. He will oppose the truth of the Lord.
Satan wants to be God. So he often imitates God. This chapter describes his attempt to imitate the Trinity. He is Satan the father. The Anti-Christ is the son of Satan. The False Prophet is the unholy spirit. Like all of Satan's imitations, this one is imperfect and evil.
Some Greek manuscripts say, “He stood upon the sand of the sea” instead of “I stood on the sand of the sea.” The he would refer back to the dragon of chapter twelve. This would suggest that Satan is always watching for the one who will be the Anti-Christ. Satan has always had those whom he has used to promote wickedness. However, he is waiting for the one man who will bring him the worship of the world.
The sea represents the Gentile nations. The Anti-Christ will be a Gentile. According to chapter seventeen, the seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings. The ten horns are ten kings who support the Anti-Christ in his rise to power. When we get to chapter seventeen I will discuss this symbolism more fully.
The description of the Anti-Christ is similar to the description of the dragon in the previous chapter. This shows how closely related the two are. Satan is the true power behind the Anti-Christ.
Upon the ten heads are written a name or names of blasphemy. This man will be ungodly from the beginning. He and his supporters will be opposed to the truth. They will speak blasphemous things.
The description of the beast reveals to us his connection with the past world powers. According to Daniel, the leopard represents the Greek Empire; the bear represents the Media-Persian Empire; and the lion represents the Babylonian Empire. The fourth beast that Daniel describes representing the Roman Empire is like the beast described by John.
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.” (Daniel 7:7,8 – New International Version)
This fourth dreadful beast represents the Roman Empire. The Anti-Christ will rule over a revived Roman Empire. His initial power base will be in Europe. The little horn that Daniel describes is the Anti-Christ. At first the ten rulers represented by the horns will support him. But Daniel tells us that for some reason three of the rulers will eventually oppose the Anti-Christ and he will turn upon them. They will be removed from power.
The great things that the Anti-Christ speaks are to be equated with the blasphemous names that John mentions. The Anti-Christ will make himself out to be god-man. He will oppose the truth of the Lord.
posted by David Frank Wilson | 6:14 AM
1 Comments:
i'm happy u clarified this for me because my colleagues and i were trying to understand the beasts and their levels. bless you!
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