For you to act. Your law has been broken, but work in us a love for your law that is above gold, even fine gold, that we would consider all your precepts to be right, that we might hate every false way. Father, we thank you for the Psalms. We thank you for this psalm that exalts your word. And we ask that you would use it, even our prayer, to prepare us to hear your word spoken through John this morning.
Work in our hearts as we have need. Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen. This morning we’ll be looking at Revelation 13. You can find the text in your bulletin.
If you want to use the pew Bible, you can find it On page 1035. This is God’s holy and inerrant word. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea with 10 horns and 7 heads, with 10 diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like a bear’s.
Its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it, the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast.
And they worshiped the beast, saying, who is like the beast? And who can fight against it? And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. It opens its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.
And authority was given over it, over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal and the wound was healed.
It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people. And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image, of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. It also causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom.
Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number— Father, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever. Work your word into our lives to the glory of your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen. It is a well-known adage attributed to the U.S. Treasury Department that the best way to detect a counterfeit bill is to be truly and intimately familiar with that which is genuine. That’s good advice, and I think it applies to spiritual and theological discernment as well as to just currency here.
And it’s good because in our text this morning, we are given a picture that frankly could overwhelm us. For if the dragon of chapter 12 wasn’t bad enough, here in chapter 13, we are treated to two more beasts, one from the sea and one from the land, and together they wage an incredible war of deception and destruction on mankind. However, if we can keep our heads in the middle of this terrifying vision, If we can use the wisdom and the understanding that is called for in this text, I think we’ll notice what New Testament scholar Robert Mounts notes, that, quote, “Together with the dragon, the two beasts form an unholy trinity of malicious evil,” end quote. That insight, as unpleasant as it is, is the key to our survival. That unholy trinity ought to point us back to the truth that ultimately the only safe place for a believer is when his eyes or her eyes are on the Lord.
Chapter 12, if you note, uh, ends with the dragon standing on the seashore. He is furiously frustrated at his failure to destroy the kingly son. And the dragon is down, but he is not fully defeated. Our text doesn’t state it, but it is implied that the dragon calls for the beast to, in verse 1, rises from the sea. The sea, you may remember, is regularly associated with evil and with chaos, and from it emerges this first beast who, like the dragon, has 10 horns and 7 heads.
They’re connected. On its horns are crowns, and across its head are written blasphemous names. This beast is described even more in chapter 2, and you may recall as you hear some of this, uh, perhaps the images from Daniel 7. I hope the men that attend morning breakfast on Wednesday, I hope they see some of this. Daniel in that vision in chapter 7 speaks and, and, and describes 3 beasts, and then there’s a combination in the 4th beast, and it looks like this might be that combination.
We see the cruelty and the speed of a leopard. We see the crushing power of a bear. We hear the dread of a lion’s roar. And if we see this beast here as that fourth beast in Daniel, uh, then that will move us to consider what most scholars see, that this beast for John in his immediate context was none other than the Roman Empire. Certainly many of the individual Caesars and the leaders of Rome would fit a picture of this kind of destructive of nature.
And while Rome certainly fits, it is also true that this beast is more than Rome. This beast at one level represents all earthly powers that set themselves up as gods to be worshiped. This beast is given power. It’s given authority from the dragon, and this power is effective. Verse 3 shows us that this beast suffers a mortal wound in one of its heads, and it is healed.
This is a supernatural event, and it causes the world to marvel and to follow the beast. And here we begin to see that this beast is more than the power of Rome. This beast is, in a sense, a counterfeit Christ, a beastly antichrist that in many ways is parroting our Lord Jesus Christ. The beast’s recovery is a parody of Christ’s resurrection. And in verse 4, we see that the people are now worshiping the beast as well as the dragon.
And notice what they say: Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it? This is both a parody and a blasphemy of a repeated Old Testament refrain, like Exodus 15:11, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is majestic in holiness?” The psalmist, at least 4 times, many of the prophets, they all ask the same question, make the same declaration. Who is like you, O Lord?
The parody continues. With the counterfeit Christ in verse 5, he’s given a mouth and he spews haughty and blasphemous words. Appreciate Pastor Jake’s reminder, even in our call to confession, that the Beatitudes speak to the character of Christ Jesus, and you can see what a dramatic contrast that is to this beast. Indeed, Matthew 11:29, from our Lord, also shows that contrast. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Antichrist, the counterfeit Christ, has a different message. And in verse 6, he opens his mouth and he blasphemes God and all who follows it. Not gentle. Not lowly, not giving rest. The counterfeit Christ is driven by a self-focused lust for power and destruction.
And we read that he is allowed to wage war on the saints to conquer them. Notice in verse 7, it also parodies the Great Commission, which is given in Matthew 28. There, Jesus says, “All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Again, throughout the New Testament, we’re regularly reminded that every tongue, tribe, nation will hear of the gospel. And here in our text in Revelation 13, the Antichrist has been given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation to bring destruction, not life.
Here, the Antichrist is seen as powerful and terrifying, and so effective this beast is that verse 8 notes that all who dwell on earth will worship it. At this point, it seems that this beast is unstoppable. The power of the 10 horns and the 7 heads, the marvelous tearing, the haughty spirit, they’re all overwhelming, And it seems that there is no hope for mankind’s survival. And indeed, at one level, this is the case. In our own strength, we are unable to resist the beast.
His power, his allure, his aggressive posture, his recovery, it seems to pull everyone into following him. Some of us know that power presently. Many of us, hopefully all of us, have known this kind of pull, this kind of power that overwhelms us and drives us to evil. You know, the devil made me do it. We know this sense of hopelessness, powerlessness, and despair.
Perhaps we’re remembering, wondering if there’s any way out of the crushing burden, the overpowering pull of sin in our lives. Perhaps some of you are feeling this even now. Is there any escape from sin and evil? Look now at the second part of verse 8. For here is our hope.
And we see that all will follow the beast, that is, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world. ‘In the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain.’ Now we’re given a glimpse of someone who is stronger than the first beast, this counterfeit Christ, and that someone is, of course, the real Christ, the eternally begotten Son of the Father, Christ referred to in verse 8 as the Lamb who was slain, the Lamb who conquers, we see. We know elsewhere in scripture, it’s— we’re taught that he, Christ, is the one who conquered sin and death, and he now reigns seated at the right hand of the Father. This is the Christ who cast the dragon out of the heavens, and our God has inscribed our names in the Book of Life, and he has given us his name on our foreheads. As well, and there is nothing that can separate you from the love of our Father.
Take hope. To drive this point home, John calls for our attention. “If you have an ear, let you hear.” And then he shares a couplet of verses which are admittedly full of translation difficulties. In fact, this afternoon, if you want, break out your old NIV, ESV, King James, and New American Standard, and take a look through all four of those versions. They’ll give you a slightly different rendition of these, of this couplet.
But nevertheless, they all come to drive home the same point, that God is sovereign. They have a different take on who the actor or who the recipient is of the actions here. But in all cases, God is sovereign. And whether we are led into captivity or do the leading, Whether we are slain or slay, God’s will will not be thwarted, and he will accomplish his goals. And yet when we hear this word, when we hear this call, this reminder of such persecution and such suffering that awaits so many of the followers of Christ, it is disheartening.
And so John reminds us once again that this chapter calls for endurance, and it calls for our faith to be strengthened.
Well, if life wasn’t hard enough for the saint in John, John in verse 11 announces another beast rising out of the earth. And immediately we realize that this beast isn’t what it seems either. It presents with horns like a lamb, but when it speaks, it has the voice of a dragon. And so our unholy trinity is complete. The dragon has brought forth the counterfeit Christ, and they together send forth this false and evil spirit to make the earth and all of its inhabitants worship the Antichrist.
Again, for John and for his immediate audience, most scholars agree that John saw that the second beast was a corruption of the priestly order, the Pharisees and priests, especially those that were attempting to appease Rome and therefore were happily persecuting the followers of Christ. But in the same way that the beast is more than Rome, this second beast is more than a corrupted priesthood. For as John begins to reveal some of its actions, we realize that it’s parroting the Holy Spirit. This twisted beast has no integrity between how he appears and his words. Looks like a lamb, speaks like a dragon.
Unlike the Holy Spirit, who can only speak what is good and right and true. The beast’s authority is also derived, but to it is given power to perform great signs, impressing people even as it calls down fire from heaven. Throughout scriptures, we know that God gives his prophets great abilities to perform supernatural actions to validate their message. But God also allows evil spirits to counterfeit this from time to time. Recall, for instance, Pharaoh’s magicians.
They kept pace, in some sense, with Moses for at least the first two plagues. And here, in Revelation, this second beast is given power, like Elijah, to call down fire. Now Elijah did it to expose the idolatry of Baal worship, expose the false prophets there. But this beast isn’t interested in leading people away from idolatry. In fact, it wants the exact opposite.
Notice its goal in verse 14 is to deceive those who dwell on the earth. And along with this power, it’s also given power to enliven images such that they can speak. This is extraordinary. Perhaps you’ve heard of weeping images, images of Mary, perhaps, or other saints that are weeping. Others have reported that they’ve heard these images speak.
It’s possible. Our text here says that this beast has the power to do that. This beast is bringing inanimate objects to life.
A parody of the real ministry of the Holy Spirit, who breathes life into dust in the garden, who breathes life into the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, and who breathes life, new life, into each of us, who have placed our trust and our hope in Jesus Christ. But the false spirit doesn’t bring words of life. Just the opposite. Verse 15 points out that these inanimated, or animated images, speak to cause those who do not worship the beast to be slain.
Notice also that this second beast marks all without discrimination based on power or social standing. Now, that’s a parody again of the Holy Spirit, who also brings the gospel and brings life to all regardless of your social standing or your power. Notice also this, this beast marks them, and this mark sets them apart, but here it’s for economic advantages. Only those marked by the beast can buy or sell. And naturally, you will ask, what is this mark?
Some have wondered if it’s our Social Security number, but that feels a little too American to me. Some say, what about a barcode, or even more modern, a QR code? Maybe it’s just simply electronic banking and credit cards. Again, seems too recent. Is this our only option for this understanding?
If you’ve been a part of our series for a while, you’ll hear, well, Pastor Lloyd saying, “Maybe there’s some symbolism here.” As indeed it seems to be the case. There is symbolism here, and we’ve heard of this marking, although a different term was used. In Revelation chapter 6, that began with the opening of the seals, and Revelation 6:8 ends with a question, “Who can stand on this day of wrath?” And the answer is in chapter 7, which Pastor Jake unpacked, all those who are sealed as servants of God on their forehead. Revelation 14:1 and 22:4 show that that seal is having the name of God written on our heads. And indeed, it is a picture of that invisible mark that the Holy Spirit applies to us in baptism in the name of our triune God.
So understanding that the sealing mark there is symbolic, we have no compelling reason to think that this might not be symbolic as well. There is a sealing there is a marking and there is a name written on our heads. And, and the end, we also realize that all of the inhabitants are divided into two camps. Those sealed by God with his name written on us, with his spirit enlivening our hearts to trust in the truth of God’s word, saved by the Son, or those who have been marked by the beast, worshiping him through essentially denying God and enjoying for a time economic advantages. Two camps, two groups.
Elsewhere you’ll hear this as goat and sheep, but here the distinction is by whom are they marked. You may wonder about your own marking. Look to see the evidence of that marking. It’s a good question to ponder. What is the evidence of my life?
What am I producing? Jesus asked this question in Luke 6:45. He reminds us that a good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good. The evil person from their evil heart brings forth what is evil. And Jesus summarizes this with the statement that “Out of the abundance of your heart, the mouth speaks.” We see that clearly, so differently looking at our Lord and the Holy Spirit versus the first and second beast.
What are you producing? What comes out of your life and my life? Is it praise for the Heavenly Father? Is it genuine sorrow for our sin? Is it a A life of service and sacrifice?
I love Pastor Lloyd’s statement, “Serve, sacrifice, and die.” Is our life evidenced by that for others? Or is it a protection of and a promotion of self, the accumulation of conveniences and comforts in our culture? These are good questions to ponder. John indeed calls us to this. You’ll note that he wraps up this chapter with a call to consideration.
This calls for wisdom and understanding, but then he appears to invite us to try to figure out who this person is, for his number is 666, and it’s a number of a man. Maybe worth noting that in this first-century culture, few of the language actually used numerals. Rather, they assigned a numeric value to the letters of their alphabet. So the first 9 letters were 1, 2, 3, 4 through 9, and then 10, 20, et cetera. A little different in each language, but that’s the basic idea.
So in theory, you could work out a name based on the number that you got. There’s one famous carving, a bit of graffiti that says this. I love her whose number is 545. That’s romantic, isn’t it? Well, they were using it then, and so we could look to this number 666, and if we do, many problems arise.
First, there’s actually some support for a variant reading, rather, that the number ought to be 616. But that’s not nearly as cool, so we’ll dismiss that. Ironically, Nero’s name can be worked into both 666 and 616. In fact, if you play a little bit with Greek, Roman, uh, Latin, Greek, or Aramaic versions of the names, which many have done, you can get a lot of names to end up 666. In fact, one scholar has pointed out that every Roman Caesar but two’s name can be taken to 666.
Most of the popes’ names can go to 666. Martin Luther can go to 666. Stalin, Hitler, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama— all their names can be taken to 666. So it’s not very helpful. Add to that the fact— I didn’t realize I was going to get this kind of response.
It’s different, different than the first service.
The other thing is, 100 years after John wrote this, one of the early disciples, theologians, historians, brilliant man, Irenaeus, who was discipled by Polycarp, who was discipled by the Apostle John, wrote on this text, “I have no idea who this is.” He has 3 possibilities. 2 of them are Roman Caesars. And so whatever the case, John didn’t feel the need to instruct Polycarp in a way that he thought he needed to tell Irenaeus. And to quote another scholar, roughly 2,000 years of conjecture have not brought us any closer. There’s another possibility, and that is to look at the number 666 as a whole and realize that at every point it falls short of a perfect number, 777.
7. It is lacking in every digit. And so as we look at the whole unholy trinity, we recognize that it lacks the perfection of the Trinity. We see that the dragon is bent on destruction, the seed of the first beast as a counterfeit Christ, the second as an evil or a false spirit intent on deception. This unholy trinity hates you.
And it is such a contrast to our one God, the love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. Blessed Trinity. John says that this calls for wisdom and understanding. So how should a Christian live in the days of these beastly attacks, or taking a survival tips for a zombie apocalypse and bringing them into here, let’s consider a few survival tips.
First, for us, do not let the relative ease of life as a Christian here in Montana in 2026 lull us into complacency. Remember, all the second beast is trying to do is lead you away from a life of worship and sacrifice to Jesus and into a life of ease, comfort, and convenience. “Worship me, and all this is yours,” Satan said to our Savior. All the beast wants is your worship, and that could simply be turning your gaze away from the Savior and onto your stuff. One New Testament scholar boldly declared, “Every time you buy something you don’t need, you pay a little homage to the beast.” Ouch.
That may be overstating it, but maybe not by much. Shh. Secondly, know that you’re in this time now. The unholy trinity takes different forms and measures of aggression throughout history, but if we could talk to the Christians in Nero’s day, or at the destruction of Jerusalem, or in other times of trials and tribulations, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and more recently, North Korea Eritrea, South Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Nigeria, those Christians there would say, “That looks a lot like this.” There are places in the world that if you are known to be a Christian, you are not allowed to have any legal transactions. You can’t get a marriage certificate.
You can’t file any papers. In North Korea, if you are found with a Bible, you can be killed. There are some of these countries in which It is not illegal to kill a professed Christian. And for those believers, this persecution would look a lot like what they’re experiencing. And so how can we help our brothers and sisters?
Pray for the church worldwide. Pray that she brings glory to God in the midst of her persecution and suffering. If you have opportunity, assist in any way you can. But for us, also for them, remember that throughout this text we’ve been reading, “It was granted to the beast,” or “It was allowed to work.” The beast is not in control. God is in full sovereign control, so praise him and let that truth begin to defuse your fears.
Fourth, use whatever times and opportunities you may have to advance the truth of the gospel. I recently read a story where a newly converted young Jewish doctor by the name of Boris Kornfeld was sentenced to execution in Soviet gulag. He only had time to share the gospel with one fellow inmate before his own death, and that man was Alexander Solzhenitsyn. And he lived for decades writing, speaking, and encouraging the faithful through a life of persecution and hardship, multiplying the impact of that one conversion. Next, take confidence in that statement in verse 8 that your names are written in the book of life before the foundation of the world.
In other words, before God knew you, he loved you. This has nothing to do with our actions and our behaviors and our intentions and our efforts. If you’re in the theological Training for Leadership class, I hope you think, “This sounds like unconditional election.” The Father’s election accomplished by the Lamb who was slain, applied as a seal by the Holy Spirit, it’s all the Father’s work. Work. And so rest in that truth.
Salvation is not your work. It’s all God’s. And he is in control. Lastly, consider that call to endurance and to the faith in verse 11. Each of us should ask ourselves the question, “Where am I the weakest?” And then apply the armor the spiritual armor of Christ there, which is ultimately Christ himself.
It is our union with Christ that protects us and that will ultimately preserve us to the end. So fix your gaze on Christ and enjoy his means of grace for your life. I love C.S. Lewis when he writes, “Take courage, dear heart.” Take courage. So in this time of trouble, in the beastly attacks, the antidote is simply to look to Jesus.
Remember that he is both the author of and the perfecter of your faith. Jesus is the only safe place in times of these attacks. Let us pray. Father, again, we thank you and praise you for your word. Lord, you have shared us a dramatic story.
And at times, our focus on the drama here can actually move us away from you. Lord, sometimes in reading through a chronology and reading through the genealogy, we are also moved away from considering you, but sometimes even in the fantastical passages of Scripture, we are so focused on the drama that we miss you. Father, please don’t let that happen to us here. Please bring us back to gaze upon you in your goodness and your glory and your beauty and your strength and your majesty. And let our understanding of that over— overwhelm us.
That it would spill out of our lives with a gracious confidence to live in a world and in a culture that minimizes this. And Father, as we pray for our brothers and sisters who would wonder and marvel that we can so publicly gather to attest your goodness and your glory together. Father, I pray that we would use the times that you have given us well. Well and wisely to the glory of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Discaimer: This sermon text was generated by an automated transcription service.