In this episode, Rob and Vinnie take a deep dive into Rev 13:1-10 in order to discern who or what is the Beast. They examine the context of the book of Revelation and remind us of the importance of Daniel 7--see last week's episode--for discerning the nature of the Beast. They they ask: "What does this mean for us today?" If, after all, the Beast represents all empires/nations in history, does this mean that the US is a beast? Furthermore, they discuss what this means for the people of God (the church) today. After all, contrary to popular opinion, the...
In this episode, Rob and Vinnie take a deep dive into Rev 13:1-10 in order to discern who or what is the Beast. They examine the context of the book of Revelation and remind us of the importance of Daniel 7--see last week's episode--for discerning the nature of the Beast. They they ask: "What does this mean for us today?" If, after all, the Beast represents all empires/nations in history, does this mean that the US is a beast? Furthermore, they discuss what this means for the people of God (the church) today. After all, contrary to popular opinion, the Beast does not represent the nations of the world waging war against Israel but the people of God (Rev 13:7).
Please "follow" this podcast and give a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your review will go a long way toward helping others find this podcast.
Then share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Also, our goal is to keep these episodes free of charge. I do not intend to ever hide them behind a paywall. I can only do this if those of you who have been blessed by them and can afford to give ($5, $10, $25, or more/month) do so. You can give a tax-deductible contribution by following this link.
Good news: the determinetruth App: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone. As it downloads you will be asked “what church you want to connect with”—insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow (and Mesa as the city if needed). Then you will be asked if you want the tithe.ly logo or the Determinetruth logo—choose the Determinetruth logo. Once it finishes installing, you will be good to go.
Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and it will automatically load.
Finally, we just want to say thank you for listening in and supporting the work of determinetruth. If you have any questions that you would like us to address, we would love to hear them. Use the contact page on Determinetruth.com
If you have been blessed by these episodes, we want to encourage you to make sure you follow this podcast, share it with others, and post a review. By posting a review you make it easier for others to find the podcast on Google searches.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via Zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on the determinetruth.com site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Show notes:
Since John combines all 4 of Daniel’s beasts into 1, then John’s 1 beast represents all empires
The Sea and the Abyss (13:1; 11:7)
Horns are a common symbol of power,
The Beast’s ten horns correlate with the “ten horns” of Daniel’s fourth beast (Dan 7:7)
In Daniel the 10 horns are 10 kings (7:24)
Beast wears his 10 diadems on his horns
The Dragon who has “seven diadems” (12:3)
The only other use of diadem in the book of Revelation is of Christ (19:12)
- Christ’s diadems are not numbered—they are simply “many” (19:12)
The means by which Satan wages his “war” against the people of God is by empowering the Beast to do his work for him
The Beast was like a leopard, a bear, and a lion:
- This also connects John’s beast to Daniel’s 4 beasts
- The Beast combines attributes from the first three beasts of Daniel 7
“These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth” (Dan 7:17)
“One of his heads was as if it had been slain to death” (13:3)
- The next clause in 13:3, in fact, mentions, “the plague of his death” (13:3, 12)
- The Beast is said to be the one who had the wound of the sword and “came to life” (13:14)
The language that one of the heads of the Beast was, “as if it had been slain” (13:3) is intended as a parody of the Lamb (5:6)
- Slain; Beast’s death is similar to Christ’s (13:3, 14; 5:6; 13:8)
- Both rise to new life
- Followers names written on foreheads; People follow the beast ‘who was slain’ (13:3) but they reject Christ ‘who was slain’ (13:8)
- The Beast has horns (13:1) provides is a blasphemous imitation of Jesus who has seven horns (5:6) 2nd Beast has 2 horns like a lamb (13:11; 5:6)
“‘Who is like the Beast and who is able to wage war with him?’” (13:4; Isa 40:18)
Beast blasphemes, “His [God’s] name and His dwelling place” (13:6)
- “that is, those who are dwelling in heaven” (13:6)
Who are “those who dwell in heaven”?
- Heaven dwellers contrasts with earth dwellers
This relates to the promise in Gen 12:1-3 that God will bless those who bless Abraham and his seed and curse those who curse them
The focus of his deceptive aims is the people of God
The Beast wages “war” against them (13:7)
The Beast not only wages war against the people of God but is able to “overcome” them This statement would be truly shocking if it were not for the fact that John already made virtually the same statement in 11:7
- both 11:7 and 13:7, John refers to a “Beast” who “makes war” and “conquers” the people of God
