CHAPTER 13

(A.D. 96)

ANTICHRIST

¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea (not a body of water, but a sea of people), and saw a beast rise up out of the sea (pertains to the Antichrist, now empowered by Satan as no other man ever has been), having seven heads and ten horns (represents seven Empires that have greatly persecuted Israel in the past, with the ten horns actually being the seventh head; the ten horns representing ten nations are yet future), and upon his horns ten crowns (the horns now being crowned show that these ten nations have now come to power, and will use that power to help the Antichrist; they will be located in the Middle East and in parts of Europe and possibly North Africa, all being in the old Roman Empire territory [Dan. 7:7-8]), and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Satan controls these Empires, and will control the ten nations, therefore, the name blasphemy.)

²And the beast which I saw (represents the fallen Angel who will be let out of the bottomless pit to help the Antichrist [Rev. 11:7]; both the fallen Angel and the Antichrist are referred to as a beast, but they are two different beings) was like unto a leopard (this fallen Angel will help the Antichrist to speedily conquer; Daniel describes this event as well [Dan. 7:6]), and his feet were as the feet of a bear (carries the characteristics of the ancient Medo-Persian Empire, which is ferociousness), and his mouth as the mouth of a lion (portrays the finesse, grandeur, and pomp of the Babylonian Empire): and the dragon (Satan) gave him (the Antichrist) his power, and his seat, and great authority. (So, the Antichrist will have Satan helping him as well as this powerful fallen Angel, and, no doubt, a host of other fallen Angels and demon spirits.)

³And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death (doesnt refer to the Antichrist, but rather one of the Empires of the past, which greatly persecuted Israel; it pertains to the Grecian Empire under Alexander the Great, and in reality speaks of the same fallen Angel helping Alexander; when Alexander died, this fallen Angel who helped him to conquer so speedily was locked away in the bottomless pit [Dan. 7:6]); and his deadly wound was healed (refers to the fact that this fallen Angel will be released out of the bottomless pit to aid and abet the Antichrist [Rev., Chpt. 17]; it is doubtful the Antichrist will know or realize the source of his power, taking all the credit unto himself): and all the world wondered after the beast. (This refers to the part of the world he has conquered, but with the entirety of the world definitely paying him homage as he now seems to exude superhuman ability.)

⁴And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast (refers to the fact that men worship power): and they worship ped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (This proclaims the means by which power is worshiped.)

⁵And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies (powerful claims will be made, with the Name of Jesus being ridiculed); and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months (the last three and one half years of the Great Tribulation; despite his power, the Lord still controls the time frames, and, in fact, all events).

⁶And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His Name (he will use all the power of print, Radio, Television, and computers to demean the God of the Bible; it will be a regimen of blasphemy on a worldwide basis, such as the world has never known before), and His Tabernacle (refers to Heaven), and them who dwell in Heaven. (Even though it refers to all Believers in Heaven, pointedly it refers to the 144,000 Jews who have been Raptured and are now in Heaven. The insults will be thick and fast, in effect, ridiculing Heaven.)

⁷And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them (this will include all Believers all over the world; as well, the Text implies by the word overcome that the Lord will allow such to happen): and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (This doesnt include the entirety of the world, but rather the area over which he has control, which is basically the area of the old Roman Empire.)

⁸And all who dwell upon the Earth shall worship him (first of all, were speaking here of worship, not dominion of nations; as well, the word all doesnt refer to every single human being, but rather people from all nations of the world, however many that number might be), whose names are not written in the Book of Life (refers to the fact that Believers will not worship the Antichrist) of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (This tells us that the only way ones name can be placed in the Book of Life is by acceptance of Jesus Christ as ones Lord and Saviour, and what He did for us at the Cross. Also, the phrase, From the foundation of the world proclaims the fact that the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is the Foundation Doctrine of all Doctrines. In other words, every Doctrine from the Bible must be built on the foundation of the Cross of Christ, otherwise it is bogus.)

⁹If any man have an ear, let him hear (refers to the ability to hear spiritually, and to hear properly in this manner; Jesus used the term many times [Mat. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mk. 4:9; etc.]).

¹⁰He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity (could be translated, He who is destined to captivity will go into captivity; it refers to the fact that those who will not hear the Word of the Lord, but rather the Word of the Antichrist, are guaranteed the worst type of spiritual bondage): he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. (This pertains to the nations of the world that will follow the Antichrist in his quest for world domination and power. The Second Coming of the Lord will bring swift and sure Judgment upon them.) Here is the patience and the faith of the Saints. (This refers basically to Israel, and that her Redemption is very near, which will take place at the Second Coming.)

¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the Earth (refers to the false prophet; by the use of the word Earth, the Holy Spirit is telling us that this man is not from above, but rather from the masses of people); and he had two horns like a lamb (he has a lamb-like appearance which is intended to deceive), and he spoke as a dragon (refers to the fact that he will be greatly anointed by the Devil; in a sense, the Antichrist will claim to be Christ, while the false prophet will try to fill the role of the Holy Spirit).

¹²And he exercised all the power of the first beast before him (the power or authority exercised by the false prophet will come directly from Satan, and not through the Antichrist), and causes the Earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast (the false prophet is promoting Earth and not Heaven, meaning he will promise Heaven here on Earth; the promises he makes will be tied to the worship given to the Antichrist), whose deadly wound was healed (doesnt refer to an assassination attempt or even to the Antichrist being killed and raised from the dead as some teach, but rather that the powerful fallen Angel, who helped bring the Grecian Empire into power under Alexander the Great and has been locked up for many, many centuries, has now been loosed and is helping the Antichrist; this deadly wound being healed speaks of his release from the bottomless pit [Dan. 7:6; Rev. 11:7; 13:2]).

¹³And he (the false prophet) does great wonders (signs), so that he makes fire come down from Heaven on the Earth in the sight of men (will be literal, which means its not a trick; he will do this through the power of Satan),

¹⁴And deceives them who dwell on the Earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast (refers to the efforts of the false prophet to elevate the Antichrist; the word beast is used interchangeably between the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the fallen Angel; whatever they call themselves, the Holy Spirit refers to them as beasts); saying to them who dwell on the Earth, that they should make an image to the beast (it is an image for the purpose of worship, and will probably be set up in the Temple built by the Jews in Jerusalem), which had the wound by a sword, and did live (refers to the Antichrist somehow being wounded, a wound incidentally which should have taken his life; that he lives is construed as a miracle, with credit probably going to the false prophet; this is not the wound of Verse 3; that was on one of his heads, which had to do with an Empire [actually the Grecian Empire], and not an individual; this wound of Verse 14 pertains to an individual, in this case the Antichrist).

¹⁵And he (the false prophet) had power to give life unto the image of the beast (should have been translated, For he had power to give spirit unto the image of the beast; that is the actual word used in the Greek; to give life is solely the prerogative of the Godhead), that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed (by the powers of darkness, this image will be able to somehow speak, and will, as well, pronounce the sentence of death upon all who will not worship the image of the beast; this will probably be in Jerusalem!).

¹⁶And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads (all represents only those in his domain, not the entirety of the world; this domain will include virtually the entirety of the area of the old Roman Empire, which includes North Africa, the Middle East, and most of modern Europe; this will be a literal mark):

¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he who had the mark (we are told in Verses 11 through 13 that the seduction of the Antichrist will be religious; now we are told in Verses 16 and 17 it will be economic), or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (The thought is that either the name of the beast or his number will be required as a brand or mark upon all.)

¹⁸Here is wisdom (this is the wisdom of God). Let him who has understanding count the number of the beast (the idea is that it is the number of a man, not of God, which means he will give account to Jehovah, Whom he has repeatedly blasphemed): for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (It is the number of a man, not a kingdom, not a religion, not a dispensation, but a man. The number will be 666.)