Revelation 13:3

Revelation 13:3

In Revelation Chapter 13 we are being told some detailed information about the antichrist. Revelation 13:3 says, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast." The antichrist will be a political leader who will go forth conquering and to conquer. His reign will be one of warfare and bloodshed. Perhaps this verse indicates that the antichrist will be the object of an assassination attempt. Whatever it is, it is a significant event that causes him to be very celebrated. And he becomes even more than a popular public figure because the Bible says in Revelation 13:4, "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is able to make war with him?" This verse tells us that during the Great Tribulation the antichrist will be worshipped and so will Satan. Satan-worship will be widespread.

The character of the antichrist is explained to us in Revelation 13:5-6. It says, "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." The antichrist will possess a great ego, and gaining power and authority in the earth will not be enough to satisfy his ego. He will also desire to be worshipped as a god, and therefore he will speak against the One True God. That is what blasphemy is: speaking against God.

The antichrist will not be satisfied with waging war against other countries. Because he is opposed to God, he will also wage war against the servants of God. Revelation 13:7 says, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations." The time of the Great Tribulation will be a time of much persecution against God’s people. That is one of the reasons that the Lord will make this time period very short in duration. Except the Lord shorten those days, no one would be saved.

As we have already seen, in a way that sounds similar to the rulers of the Roman Empire, the antichrist will seek to be worshipped. Revelation 13:8 tells us why so many inhabitants of the earth end up worshipping the antichrist. It says, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." How is it possible that the inhabitants of the earth will one day end up worshipping a world dictator? The main reason is because of the spiritual blindness that infects all those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. In every age and in every generation there is some world philosophy that seems to permeate the air and infect the majority of human beings. It is the spirit of the world. Humanism, materialism, intellectualism: these and other things have infected the systems of the world, and the day will come when the antichrist will be lifted up and greatly praised and will even be worshipped as if he were a god.

The means of escape from the foolishness that will deceive people into being involved in such blasphemy will be the same escape as has always been available to the human race. When Jesus was on the earth He said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." For those who come to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and to serve Him, their names become written in the book of life. They are given from Jesus the greatest of all gifts: spiritual life that will continue beyond the grave. Spiritual understanding is one of the advantages of having received spiritual life from Christ. Those who do not know Jesus and those who do not have their names written in the book of life that belongs to Jesus are the ones who will be deceived into following the crowd and joining the masses. They will be delirious in the praises and honors that they will want to bestow upon this beastly personage that we call the antichrist.

Those who will be the servants of God and believers in Jesus His Son will be misfits in the world as they have never been before. The true believers will be pursued and persecuted and murdered in great numbers. Perhaps that is why we are reminded in Revelation 13:8 that the "Lamb" was "slain from the foundation of the world." Jesus was murdered when He came into this world, and sometimes it is also going to happen to His believers. The period of the Great Tribulation will be one such time of persecution and death for those who choose wisely to forsake the way of the world, but to choose the way of Christ. We are told that Jesus was slain from "the foundation of the world." God knew before it happened that His death would take place, but He permitted it for an important reason: the salvation of our souls. We are being told in this passage of scripture before it comes to pass that a generation of Christians will be asked to give their lives because of their belief in Christ the Savior. This also will be permitted by God and it also will be for a reason: perhaps to be one last testimony to those who worship the antichrist.

Revelation 13:9-10 gives a word of comfort and consolation for those who will assuredly be forced to suffer such things. It says, "If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." When Jesus called us, among other things He called us to have a different philosophy of life than most of the rest of the world. Those of the world will seek to get revenge on their enemies, but Christians have been called to another way. They have been called to put their fate into the hand of God, and to wait upon God’s way and God’s time to do things. Revelation 13:9 reminds us of the doctrine of retribution. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay." The time of the Great Tribulation will be a time of much persecution against believers, but it will be a short time, and it will be followed by the judgment of God and the vengeance of the Holy One.

Every action will have a reaction. Every deed will have a consequence. There are those who are now storming through the world. They are taking their captives, and they are creating their victims. Motivated by their many desires and selfish ways, they rush on. Little do they know that they are also storing up for themselves the wrath of God. There will be no escape for these selfish deceivers. It is only a matter of time. Justice will be served, because there is a God to whom each person must eventually give an account. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." The consolation for the believers who will suffer during the time of the Great Tribulation is the same that we rely upon in this day and age: God is the Judge, and no one will get away with anything, and when it is His time, He will bring His judgment.

Revelation 13:10 mentions two very important attributes for believers of all ages, including those who will be alive during the Great Tribulation: "patience and faith." Patience is present when we do not receive something when we would like to have it, and so we wait upon God and God’s time. Without patience you cannot serve God. Without patience you will act like an unbelieving person, going from one angry response or anxious moment to another. God wants you to grow in patience so that you will be more useful to His service in this world. One of the reasons that God permits trials to come your way is so that you will grow in patience.

Patience and faith are closely related. In order to have the patience to wait upon God, you must also have faith in His promises. "This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." "Without faith it is impossible to please Him." Through faith you can see mountains moved and obstacles will vanish. Through faith battles have been won, diseases have been cured, and souls have been saved. Hebrews Chapter 11 is a wonderful list of some of the things that have been accomplished by faith. Hebrews 11:33-35 says, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection."

Faith is a rare and precious commodity. If you have it, hold it fast, and above all find ways to make it grow. If you have no faith, seek it as though your life depended upon it, because it does. Always pray, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." Faith is based upon the promises of God. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." God cannot lie. He is honorable and He will keep His promises. Read and think about the promises that God has given, and these will be the foundation for an ever-growing faith. There may very well be some tough times ahead for you. With the right amount of patience and faith you will be able to get through them. Believers will be called upon to suffer the horrible persecutions of the Great Tribulation. They must rely upon the same resources that God has also provided for us: patience and faith.

During the time of the Great Tribulation a second human will receive power from the devil in addition to the antichrist. This second person will work with the antichrist and will be called the false prophet later in the book of Revelation. Some description of him is given here in Revelation Chapter 13. Revelation 13:11-14 says, "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live."

One of the keys to understanding this false prophet is the phrase in Revelation 13:11 that says he "spoke as a dragon." The greatest damage done by this person will be in his speech. He will probably be the spokesperson for the antichrist. He will advance the programs and the popularity of the antichrist. In some way he will be credited with the miracle whereby the antichrist revives from an apparently fatal wound. Most rulers rely heavily upon a good spokesperson that will say what needs to be said for the sake of the leader. The false prophet will not only be such a spokesperson, but in some way will share power with the antichrist, probably as the right-hand man. That is why Revelation 13:12 says that; "he exercises all the power of the first beast." In addition to being a spokesperson for the antichrist, the false prophet will possess much power. He will probably control all of the mass media. In other words, he will be in control of a vast and effective propaganda machine.

Evidently the false prophet will also have much control over the economic processes and systems of the world. He will use this control to put great pressure on people to conform, and most will give in. Revelation 13:15-18 says, "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." What did the apostle John mean when he said that the false prophet would give power to "the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should" speak? Perhaps "the image of the beast" refers to a television screen or computer terminal. Perhaps the antichrist’s picture and videotapes of the antichrist’s speeches will be broadcast around the world. These kinds of techniques are always used by dictators. The false prophet will have a special talent for presenting the antichrist in such a way that people are duped into following him, submitting to him, and then even worshipping him.

In the technological age in which we live, it is not hard for us to envisage a system in which all commerce is controlled to the point that if you are not a part of the system, you will not be permitted to participate. Just try to cash a check without a valid identification, and notice that the identification is issued by a government agency, and the government makes the rules concerning who can receive identification and who cannot. The system works fine, as long as the government is not controlled by a world dictator; but once such a dictator or totalitarian government comes into power this scripture will be fulfilled, and it will be a powerful tool for forcing people to conform.

According to the Bible, something will be imprinted on the forehead or hand of individuals in order to identify them as being eligible to perform a transaction for buying or selling. It is easy to imagine some of the logical arguments that would be used to justify initially implementing such a system. We already see an increased use of sophisticated computer systems to manage our financial portfolios, and the government must be involved in all of it because of tax laws and other regulations that must be enforced. There is a lot of crime and credit card fraud that would be eliminated if there were a more complex system that automatically controlled who could buy or sell, and that would automatically switch funds from one account to another in order to complete a transaction. Such a system could be used at the local grocery store or anywhere that people buy and sell. But there would have to be a way of uniquely identifying you and how much money you have. Why not have an identification number on your hand or forehead? It does not have to be visible to the naked eye. As long as it can be scanned by some kind of scanning device, it would be much more efficient and practical than the current method of paper money and coins and check books and credit cards, all of which can be stolen or counterfeited.

The system just outlined may not be the system that will ultimately be used by the antichrist. But there will be something that will be used by the antichrist to control all financial transactions, and there will be a number somehow imprinted on the forehead or hand of everyone on the earth in order for them to be a part of such a system. Revelation Chapter 13 tells us that it will happen. In the next verses we will look at the significance of the number, and the number is 666. If you want to avoid becoming a part of such a system and the horrible destiny of those who do, make sure that you turn to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins while you still have time.

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