Revelation Chapter Thirteen
(Chapter 13 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, Let's Study The Revelation)
Verse 1:
We are beginning now the last three and one half years of the tribulation period. This verse shows the coming in fierceness of the Antichrist, the final world dictator who will try to rule the world. He is this Beast.According to the teaching of Daniel, these ten horns will be ten kingdoms that will be under this Antichrist.
This man is the Devil incarnate. In other words, he is to the Devil what Jesus is to God. He is the Devil in a human body. Just as God has His Trinity, even so, Satan has his trinity. This Beast is the opposite to Jesus in the Devil’s trinity.
Verse 2:
Notice that he gets power over the Devil’s throne. This word "SEAT " means "throne. " Since the world is the Devil’s throne, this Antichrist will be on the throne of the world.He is in the process of taking over now as you will find in I John 2. Those who deny the Deity of Jesus have the spirit of the Antichrist now. That spirit is prevalent.
Verse 3:
Probably the teaching here is that Rome will have a king over her kingdom again. There has been no head of the Roman Empire for centuries. This head will be healed, and this man will be the emperor. Many think that this man will be Judas resurrected, and they have some pretty good arguments.Verse 4:
Note that this Beast will be a great religious leader. In fact, Daniel teaches us that he will pose as the Messiah to the Jews and shall be accepted as such. Then in the middle of the seven years of tribulation, he will exalt himself as God. You find this in I Thessalonians 2:4.The Scriptures teach also that he will attempt to unite all religious bodies and form a religious federation. The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches are playing right into his hands. many of the leaders of the National Council are men who have leaned toward Communism for years. Others do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. Following is a chart of what has happened and will happen in religious circles: NOTE: The Catholic church split and many denominations came from her. They are going now into one Protestant body and will very likely join the old Mother herself one of these days. Then the stage will be set for the Antichrist to take over.
Let us summarize the studies on the Antichrist before beginning a new study on the False Prophet:
- He is the Devil in a human body.
- He is the world dictator who will revive the Roman Empire.
- He is the second person of the Devil’s trinity.
- He will be revealed just after the rapture of the church.
An interesting study on this Man of Sin is found in Daniel 11. Vs. 21. He will seem to be peaceful and will offer himself as the Messiah to Israel, making promises unlimited. Vs. 23. He will enter into a league of federation with the Jews and break it at the middle of the seven years of tribulation. Vs. 36-37. He will want to be worshipped as God and will reject the real God.
NOW LET US LOOK AT THE THIRD PERSON OF SATAN’S TRINITY, THE FALSE PROPHET:
Verse 11:
Note that this man comes like a lamb. Read John 1:29. He is simply imitating Jesus, who is the Lamb of God.Just as the first Beast was the political head of a federation, this False Prophet is the ecclesiastical head of a church federation. Since the political kingdom is the Roman Empire, it seems likely that this man could be a Pope since he resides in Rome himself. At any rate, this man is the leader of the great World Council of Churches that will be in existence then. When the church was organized, the pastor was the highest office. The crave for power came and bishops were appointed over several churches. Then they chose one bishop to oversee the others and called him the archbishop. Then they put someone over all of the archbishop. Then they put someone over all of the churches and called him the Pope.
Here you see also a union of church and state. This fits in very nicely with the Roman Catholic Church which has always tried to make theirs the state church.
Verse 12:
Notice that this Beast points to the first one and makes the people worship him. This is proof that he is the opposite of the Holy Spirit, who points people to Jesus.Verse 13:
Notice that he has supernatural powers. Some people think that just because a miracle is performed, that proves that it is of God. That is not so. Satan has power to perform miracles. A good example of this is fortune-tellers. Do not believe that a movement is of God just because it has miracles attached to it.Verse 14:
Here is another evidence that this has something to do with the Catholic Church. Here is an image made of the Beast. God deliver us from anything that resembles idolatry.Verse 15:
"AND HE HAD POWER " is better translated, "And to him was given power. " Satan has no power but that which is given to him by God. God has a governor on him.Notice that death is the penalty for not worshipping the Beast’s image. It reminds us of the three Hebrew children in Daniel when they were cast into the fiery furnace.
This image will be the image of the federation of churches. When the Federal Council of Churches are in control you almost have to bow down now. God keep us fighting the World Council, National Council, etc.
Verses 16-17:
This certainly sounds like Communism, doesn’t it?Verse 18:
The mark of the Beast is 666. Seven is God’s number. Six is man’s number. Six is the best the Devil can do. Each one of these sixes represents one of the Devil’s trinity.
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