Lesson 39
Revelation
Chapter Thirteen
The Rise and reign of
the Beasts!
Review:
Observations
on the False Prophet!
1.
The power of the False Prophet.
2.
The False prophet performs superhuman or supernatural feats.
#1 Its
display;
#2 What's the displays effect 13:14a
- deceives plana,w [pres]
a term used by John to describe the activity of false teachers who lead
people to worship gods other than the true and living God. (
#3 What is his
message? 13:14b
How is he going to implement this worship??
The ultimate blasphemy.
- In vs:15
it is noted that "he was given" the ability/power to "give
breath to the image"; word is pneu/ma breath, spirit; not zwh, life.
* This is in actuality the 2nd of 2 phases of the
Abomination of Desolation;
#1. The first phase occurs
when the A/JC actually breaks the covenant with
#2. The 2nd phase is the
image created, animated and placed in the temple taking the place of the real live A/JC.
13:16-17 The beast has Total Economic Control
of world!
- All strata of society is covered; Economic control is universal;
What were their limitations? What could they do or not do without
incurring the wrath of the State?
#1 In the Roman empire
you had freedom to worship any god you chose!
#2 However
there was a catch, a condition imposed!
#3 Failure to do so, was
considered rebellion against the State!
#4 The
extent of worship, involvement required was not much!
#5 To say that the Caesar
is kurios; that he is lord and master was for the
Christian a denial of Christ as lord and master; they understood that.
The Mark and the Number
of the Beast 13:16-18
- The mark is first and
foremost an indicator that one is a beast worshiper and as such you then have
the right to buy and sell.
- In Cl.Gk.
the term ca,ragma was used to indicate three things:
#1 ownership of property;
#2 documents were validated as true by a ca,ragma.
#3 Imperial decrees were shown to be true by a ca,ragma.
What is your understanding of this "mark?"
Is it forced on mankind??
The implication is that whatever the mechanism that
is available to get this mark; they fall all over themselves in getting it.
- Believe that the beast,
the F/P, will appear to have all the answers and will offer a total package, cradle to grave
security.
**
Do you get the picture as to what is really happening?
These people are willingly flocking to their
eternal doom; Rev. 14:9-11
Now what about the mark itself, do we have any
clues?
Its related to: #1 the name of the beast;
#2 the number of his
name.
#3 the number of the beast;
#4 for it is the number of man;
#5 his number is 666.
- Vs:18
is a call for discernment by those who will live in the time; to them it will
have special importance!
Summary:
1. This is saying then
that the mark can be either, the number of the beast, or his name itself.
2. The number of his name
is no mystery since it also is given to us.
666.
3. Since the number 6 is
the number of man in the Bible; the number 666 indicates that the first beast who is
Satan's masterpiece is still only a man; he is not deity; he is not Jesus
Christ as he will be billed.
4. The number 6 [number
of man - amplified 3x's in 666] when contrasted to 7
[perfection/completeness] is an allusion to incompleteness and the deceptiveness of the almost perfect.
5. The number/the mark is connected with idolatry and blasphemy against God. [every passage tied
to the worship of the beast indicates this]
6. It is impossible to
figure out the name of the beast, what this 666 refers to, before the time of
the Tribulation.
7. Why say that? The way they will be able to calculate the
name is by a method called gematria.
9. One thing that this
number 666 does not portray is the Satanic Trinity since one of them is not a
man.
10. So the triple 6 is
the number of a man, each digit falling short of perfection, deity, but in the
beast it represents the ultimate in human ingenuity and cleverness.