Again we are faced with a chapter filled with imagery that, at first glance, does not make a lot of sense. And people often will not stay with something if it is not easy to understand; they move on to whatever else catches their fancy. Several times throughout this chapter are challenges to the reader:
Do you have ears to hear?
As one of God’s holy people, do you have endurance and confidence to face this??
Even in the face of prison?
Even in the face of being killed by the sword??
Do you possess the wisdom to figure out the number of the beast??
I encourage you to grab your bible or use one of the online versions with cross-references turned on to reread this chapter. Each time you come to one of those cross-references, take that minute or two to go read wherever it is pointing you to. When we do this, a lot of the imagery suddenly becomes illuminated when we drill down into previous prophetic books.
The word "ALLOWED" is used several times in describing each beast. I wonder what the LORD is telling us her? What does it means that each was allowed to do each of these?? To grasp who was allowing these Beasts to do what each sentence says, it may be helpful to spend a minute or two reading over Job 1 and Job 2. Now answer the question: Who is doing the allowing?
From where does Beast #1 get his power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority?
What about Beast #2?
Did you notice that the second beast has two horns along with then this description: "like a lamb." Does this tell you anything about what this beast's role might be in whatever the serpent is bringing together?
How long will Beast #1 be given authority to act? How many years does that equate?
Did you notice that in this chapter, there is a party of three: serpent, beast 1, and beast 2? How does this trio compare and contrast to the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit?
What are your thoughts about the beast’s number is 666?
Continue to press in here … the LORD is going to bring it together for you personally. Remember it is the Holy Spirit that is our teacher and, we can TRUST Him.
Be sure to take a look at the notes from the first tour through this chapter in this thread.
Revelation chapter 13: FIRST TOUR through this chapter. Notes from Psalms Cast Digging Deeper.
In Genesis, we are introduced to the GOD and the Spirit of GOD … that is right there in Genesis 1 verses 1 and 2. But was Jesus there?? Glad you asked! We only need to jump over to the Gospel of John for clarity on this question. Let’s read verses 1-5:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
So yes, at creation, GOD's three essences were very present: Father, Son, and Spirit. All three are perfect and pure. They are the true Holy Trinity.
Here in chapter 13, we learn about another trio of characters. This one is most definitely not pure or perfect. And only 1 of the three is a spirit; the other two are human. Today, in this unholy trio, we heard them described at the Dragon, Beast #1 and Beast #2. Only the dragon is a spirit in the form of a fallen angel that we heard about in Chapter 12. This is Satan … dragon = Satan. Yes, this is he appeared to Eve and Adam in the garden as a snake … In Revelation, Satan is represented by a reptile.
Then we have Beast #1 and Beast #2. One comes from the water of the sea; the other comes from the land. Is that significant? An excellent question to engage the Holy Spirit for discussion and teaching. I noted that both of them were described as BEASTS. So of course, I had to look up that definition … the dictionary uses this definition for the beast:
a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate; a lower animal as distinguished from a human being; an animal as distinguished from a plant; an animal under human control
a contemptible person
something formidably difficult to control or deal with
Okay, that gives me a basic understanding. However, I personally still need more help to fully understand what these beasts represent. So for me, it was time to head over to www.wordhippo.com to take a look at the word: BEAST. And under the synonym area, there was an extensive list of categories that I found fascinating and very enlightening.
Contexts ▲
Noun
An inhumanly cruel, violent, or depraved person
A domestic animal, especially a bovine farm animal
A person who behaves in an offensive manner
A difficult or tedious undertaking
An animal, as distinct from a human being
A difficult or very unpleasant person or thing
Wild animal
Wildling
A thing that is extremely or unusually large
An organism which eats others of its own species, especially a human who eats human flesh
(derogatory) A person who is clumsy, stupid or a simpleton
Proper noun
The supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions
Adjective
Extremely unpleasant
I was intrigued to see what synonyms would be listed for BEAST as a proper noun. The list was again eye-opening:
Proper noun▲
The supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions
Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, devil, fiend, serpent, archfiend, Mephistopheles, archangel, diablo, satan, Prince of Darkness, Old Nick, evil one, fallen angel, demon, evil spirit, Archfiend, Old Scratch, Angel of Darkness, The Devil, darkness, Old Serpent, the dickens, Ash-Shaytan, Darkness, Grim Reaper, Old Gooseberry, Old Harry, Apollyon, Shaitan, Diabolus, Antichrist, King of Hell, the Evil Spirit, Lord of the Flies, The Evil One
WOW and WOW.
Today we are just going to stop here for a moment.
I encourage you to take your questions to the LORD. Jesus desires us to know what is here, so we are not tricked into believing the ULTIMATE LIAR, the counterfeiter. That evil desires to capture us to drag us into his pit. Yes, Satan is a reality and very active with many followers today. No, I seriously doubt that he has horns sticking out of his head or a tail sprouted from his tailbone. Our only protect and place of safety is with the LORD GOD.
Revelation chapter 13: FIRST TOUR through this chapter. Notes from Psalms Cast Digging Deeper.
In Genesis, we are introduced to the GOD and the Spirit of GOD … that is right there in Genesis 1 verses 1 and 2. But was Jesus there?? Glad you asked! We only need to jump over to the Gospel of John for clarity on this question. Let’s read verses 1-5:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
So yes, at creation, GOD's three essences were very present: Father, Son, and Spirit. All three are perfect and pure. They are the true Holy Trinity.
Here in chapter 13, we learn about another trio of characters. This one is most definitely not pure or perfect. And only 1 of the three is a spirit; the other two are human. Today, in this unholy trio, we heard them described at the Dragon, Beast #1 and Beast #2. Only the dragon is a spirit in the form of a fallen angel that we heard about in Chapter 12. This is Satan … dragon = Satan. Yes, this is he appeared to Eve and Adam in the garden as a snake … In Revelation, Satan is represented by a reptile.
Then we have Beast #1 and Beast #2. One comes from the water of the sea; the other comes from the land. Is that significant? An excellent question to engage the Holy Spirit for discussion and teaching. I noted that both of them were described as BEASTS. So of course, I had to look up that definition … the dictionary uses this definition for the beast:
a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate; a lower animal as distinguished from a human being; an animal as distinguished from a plant; an animal under human control
a contemptible person
something formidably difficult to control or deal with
Okay, that gives me a basic understanding. However, I personally still need more help to fully understand what these beasts represent. So for me, it was time to head over to www.wordhippo.com to take a look at the word: BEAST. And under the synonym area, there was an extensive list of categories that I found fascinating and very enlightening.
Contexts ▲
Noun
An inhumanly cruel, violent, or depraved person
A domestic animal, especially a bovine farm animal
A person who behaves in an offensive manner
A difficult or tedious undertaking
An animal, as distinct from a human being
A difficult or very unpleasant person or thing
Wild animal
Wildling
A thing that is extremely or unusually large
An organism which eats others of its own species, especially a human who eats human flesh
(derogatory) A person who is clumsy, stupid or a simpleton
Proper noun
The supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions
Adjective
Extremely unpleasant
I was intrigued to see what synonyms would be listed for BEAST as a proper noun. The list was again eye-opening:
Proper noun▲
The supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions
Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, devil, fiend, serpent, archfiend, Mephistopheles, archangel, diablo, satan, Prince of Darkness, Old Nick, evil one, fallen angel, demon, evil spirit, Archfiend, Old Scratch, Angel of Darkness, The Devil, darkness, Old Serpent, the dickens, Ash-Shaytan, Darkness, Grim Reaper, Old Gooseberry, Old Harry, Apollyon, Shaitan, Diabolus, Antichrist, King of Hell, the Evil Spirit, Lord of the Flies, The Evil One
WOW and WOW.
Today we are just going to stop here for a moment.
I encourage you to take your questions to the LORD. Jesus desires us to know what is here, so we are not tricked into believing the ULTIMATE LIAR, the counterfeiter. That evil desires to capture us to drag us into his pit. Yes, Satan is a reality and very active with many followers today. No, I seriously doubt that he has horns sticking out of his head or a tail sprouted from his tailbone. Our only protect and place of safety is with the LORD GOD.