Friday, September 19, 2008

The Beast is Wounded


As we continue our study of the Antichrist this Sunday we will see from Revelation 13:3 that this one world ruler of the tribulation time period will suffer a serious wound as one of his 7 heads receives a fatal wound that is healed. Is this literal or symbolic? One option is that this is speaking of the Revived Roman Empire which appeared dead but is powerfully revived during the tribulation period. Another option is that this is teaching that the Anti-Christ is a resurrected figure from the past like Mussolini; Hitler; Stalin; or Nero. There are many who believe that the Antichrist is a resurrected Judas because Jesus refers to Judas as the devil (John 6:70, 71) and the Bible teaches that Satan actually entered Judas (Luke 22:3; John13:27). Another reason for this theory is due to the title “Son of Perdition” being used of Satan in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and Judas in John 17:12.

A third option as to the meaning of the wound is that it is teaching that the Anti-Christ is killed and rises from the dead. However, I am not sure that this is signifying the death of the Beast as just one of the heads is wounded and the heads represent world powers. It is also questionable that Satan has the power to restore life. The final option appears to be the best and that is that the Anti-Christ appears to be dead and claims a false resurrection (13:12, 14; 17:8-11). The effect of this wound and the healing is that the whole world is totally amazed resulting in their worshipping the beast, and according to Revelation 13:4, by worshipping the Beast they are actually worshipping the Dragon who is Satan.

In giving homage to the beast the people exclaim, “Who is like the Beast? Who is able to wage war against the Beast?” This description is a direct result of the Antichrist killing two witnesses of God (Revelation 11:7-10). The bodies of these two witnesses lie in the streets of Jerusalem and all the world sees them resulting in a world-wide celebration rivaling Christmas including gift-giving. These two witnesses had a powerful ministry during the first 3.5 years of the tribulation (Revelation 11:3-6). Who are they? Some believe they are Moses and Elijah due to their ability to do miracles and the fact that they appeared with Jesus at His transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3). Others believe they are Enoch and Elijah due to their never dying physically (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). Whoever they are, they will testify about Christ and perform great miracles. Anyone who opposes them is killed supernaturally but the Antichrist is able to slay them which gives more reason for the world to worship him. These witnesses are resurrected (Revelation 11:11-14) but the world continues to worship the Antichrist (Revelation 13:8).

The Antichrist now begins a verbal assault (Revelation 13:5-7). Satan gives him words of great blasphemy (Daniel 7:8; 11:36) and great power for the remaining 3.5 years. At the beginning of the tribulation, the Antichrist is able to orchestrate a covenant of peace with Israel allowing the Jewish people to rebuild its temple and reinstate the sacrificial system of worship (Daniel 9:27). But half way into the tribulation, he breaks this covenant with Israel and commits the height of blasphemy by seating himself in the Holy of Holies proclaiming to be God (Daniel 11:36-39; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). He wages war on Israel causing Jews to have to flee for their lives (Matthew 24:15-26; Luke 21:20-24).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am curious how you feel about the view of the authors of the "Left Behind" series that the healing of the wound and apparent ressurection comes from an indwelling of the beast by Satan himself. Any thoughts?

Pastor Scott said...

Hi Jon! I think that view is in the real of possibility. There is no doubt that Satan is the one who energizes the Antichrist and gives him his power, throne and authroity. I personally am not convinced that Satan has the power to restore life. Like eveything else Satan does, I believe this is another one of his counterfeits as the angel of light that he is that he uses to deceive the world.

Anonymous said...

If the sea that the beast comes out of is a sea of people, then what is the seashore referring to?

Pastor Scott said...

Anonymous, thanks for the question. I beleive the sea is the sea of people based on Rev 17:15. This would mean that the Antichrist comes up out of the sea of people in Rev 13:1...he is a real person. The Dragon (which is Satan according to Rev 12:9) standing on the seashore would simply be a reference to his overlooking the mutitude of people. At least, that is my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Hi there. Ive been doing a study recently on Revelation and found that the book of Daniel makes the understanding of the book much clearer. I've also noticed that the wound of the beast must've been in round about 1798 when Napoleon took the pope into captivity. It has become more clear that this anti christ power is rather a religous political party rather than just one person. In round about 1925 Mussolini restored the power of the pope in the vatican wich is easily noticeable that a wound was healed. Please note that i am not spreading any hate speech against the Catholic church but it is becoming more clearer in looking at current world events that the anti christ is already rising and not only coming far in the future. You might ask me how can the vatican have any political power... my answer is look at how many times world leaders meet up with the Catholic church. The beast that came forth out of the earth is clearly refering to a new world. in taking in account the power tha Australia or south africa has is not nearly as great as the power of the U.S.A. it is becoming more clear that the Catholic church might work through the U..S.A. government by changing laws and forcing new religous aspects.
Last piece of interersting thought that i can leave with you is that wich is written on the crown of the pope Vicarius Filii Dei: which is translated from latin as Vicar/ Representitive of the son of God. As all of the the latin letters have numerical value the letters of Vicarius Filii Dei adds up to 666. You can research this on Google as alll the math has already been done. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity of sharing this iformation. I do hope that you will publish this. I will also keep you posted on any new discoveries.