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Revelation
Chapter Thirteen
I.
Content of the Chapter
A Beast
Rising up out of the Sea
And Another Beast
Coming up out of the Earth
I. A beast rising up out of the sea (v.1-10)
A.
having seven heads and ten horns and one of his heads had been mortally wounded
(v.1-3)
B.
receiving authority from the dragon
blaspheming God
overcoming the saints and
having authority over those who dwell on the earth (v.4-10)
II. Another beast coming up out of the earth (v.11-18)
A.
having two horns like a lamb and speaking like a dragon (v.11)
B.
performing great signs and making men worship the first beast (v.12-15)
C.
causing men to receive its mark; the number of the name of the beast is 666
(v.16-18)
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Rev. 13:1 “Then I stood on the sand
of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea
having seven heads and
ten horns
and on his horns ten crowns
and on his heads a blasphemous name.”
YLT: “And I stood upon
the sand of the sea
and I saw out of the sea a beast coming up
having seven
heads and ten horns
and upon its horns ten diadems
and upon its heads a name
of evil speaking
”
Meaning of Words: “then”: and
also;
“beast”: a wild animal
monster; “blasphemous”: evil speaking
blasphemy.
Spiritual Meaning: in some versions of
the Bible
“then I stood on the sand of the sea” was put at the end of the twelfth chapter
showing that this sentence connects both the twelfth chapter and the thirteenth
chapter. In the Bible
the sea symbolizes the Gentiles (See Rev. 17:15) and the
land symbolizes the Jews. “Standing on the sand of the sea” symbolizes that
Satan paints a picture with two brushes at the same time: on one hand it is
angry with the Gentile believers and on the other
it is angry with the Jews.
“The sand of the sea” is the place between the sea and the land
showing that:
1) Satan which is typified by the dragon is hostile to the Gentile believers
and the Jews; 2) the dragon is related to the beast rising up out of the sea
and the beast coming
up out of the earth. They three ones
are the triune Satan.
“And
I saw a beast rising up out of the sea
” a “beast” rising up out of the sea symbolizes the
antichrist and he comes out of the Gentiles.
“Having
seven heads and ten horns
” symbolizes that it
had the royal power. “Ten horns” symbolizes the smaller royal power and “seven
heads” symbolizes the greater power.
“And
on his horns ten crowns
” “crowns” are the
royal crowns.
“And
on his heads a blasphemous name.”
“A blasphemous
name” refers to showing himself that he is God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Satan copied the true God and it also has the
triune person. We should never hold that certain sayings and ways are of God
for their similarity to the Bible.
2) He whoever exalts himself above that which is
written in the Bible and causes others to regard him as God or the
representative of God blasphemes God.
Rev. 13:2 “Now the beast which I saw
was like a leopard
his feet were like the feet of a bear
and his mouth like
the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power
his throne
and great
authority.”
YLT: “and the beast that
I saw was like to a leopard
and its feet as of a bear
and its mouth as the
mouth of a lion
and the dragon did give to it his power
and his throne
and
great authority.”
Meaning of Words: “was like”: similar
in appearance; “like”: as.
Literal Meaning: “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard
” the feature of “leopard” is that it acts
quickly and ferociously.
“His
feet were like the feet of a bear
”
the feature of “the feet of a bear” is its great destructive power.
“And
his mouth like the mouth of a lion.”
The feature of “the mouth of a lion” is its being able to tear and devour.
“The
dragon gave him his power
his throne
and great authority.” It means that antichrist is the embodiment
of Satan. “Power” refers to being able to perform great signs. “Throne” refers
to the throne in the kingdom. “Great authority” represents Satan itself.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The features of antichrist are that it acts
quickly and wherever it arrives it destroys completely and tears and devours
without stint.
2) Many cruel and ferocious regimes in the history
of men could be regarded that they were of Satan the devil. It is Satan that
caused them to play the bully.
Rev. 13:3 “And I saw one of his
heads as if it had been mortally wounded
and his deadly wound was healed. And
all the world marveled and followed the beast.”
YLT: “And I saw one of
its heads as slain to death
and its deadly stroke was healed
and all the
earth did wonder after the beast
”
Meaning of Words: “been wounded”: be
killed
slain to death; “mortally”: death; “wound”: slay.
Literal Meaning: “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been
mortally wounded
and his deadly wound was healed.” It means that one of the seven kings had died and
now was alive. It does not mean that it had the power of resurrection but that
Satan utilized its body and played the game of reincarnating in else’s body
that the world may misunderstand that it had the power of resurrection like the
Lord Jesus.
“And
all the world marveled and followed the beast” because death and resurrection is the greatest
sign sine ancient times.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) What a pity! Men would rather believe the false
death and resurrection of the antichrist than believe the true death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
2) Actually
every Christian who has been truly
saved has the experience of dying and living with Christ (See
Rev. 13:4 “So they worshiped the
dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast
saying
‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him’”
YLT: “and they did bow
before the dragon who did give authority to the beast
and they did bow before
the beast
saying
`Who like to the beast? who is able to war with it?'”
Meaning of Words: “worship”: do
reverence to
adore; “make war”: be engaged in warfare
fight.
Literal Meaning: “So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority
to the beast; and they worshiped the beast
saying
” it means that men worship Satan and also worship
antichrist because they are jackals from the same liar and are of the same kind.
“‘Who
is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him’” it indicates that its status cannot be matched
by men.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Worshipping the beast is equal to worshipping
the dragon. When men worship idols
they are equally worshipping the devil
behind the idols. The deceit of the devil is to usurp men’s worship to the true
God that He deserves behind many invisible idols (idols of stars
the spiritual
idols
the idols of things and etc)
2) From ancient times
men like adoring heroes. The
one who has good status or fame or great ability will have a group of people
who are hell-bent on following and exalting him. There is no exception in the
Rev. 13:5 “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and
blasphemies
and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.”
YLT: “And there was given
to it a mouth speaking great things
and evil-speakings
and there was given to
it authority to make war forty-two months
”
Literal Meaning: “And he was given a
mouth speaking great things and blasphemies
” “great” refers to exalting
oneself. “Blasphemies” refers to defaming and belittling the true God.
“And he was given authority to continue for
forty-two months.” “Forty-two months” refers to half a week (See Dan. 9:27)
i.e. three and a half years (See 12:14) and a thousand two hundred and sixty
days (See 11:3; 12:6). In the final week
the antichrist shall make a covenant
with the country of
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Proud ones ignore God in their hearts and they
like exalting themselves on one hand and looking down upon the works of God on
the other. He whoever shows arrogance in the church has fallen into the way of
antichrist.
2) That Day
the man of sin is revealed
the son of
perdition
who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that
is worshiped
so that he sits as God in the temple of God
showing himself that
he is God (See 2Thess. 2:3-4). Today some ones in the church have the spirit of
antichrist and advocate for “men becoming God”. They have been utilized by
Satan unconsciously.
Rev. 13:6 “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God
to blaspheme His name
His tabernacle
and those who dwell in heaven.”
YLT: “and it did open its
mouth for evil-speaking toward God
to speak evil of His name
and of His
tabernacle
and of those who in the heaven tabernacle
”
Meaning of Words: “tabernacle”: tent
habitation; “dwell”: tenting.
Literal Meaning: “Then he opened his
mouth in blasphemy against God
” the antichrist is arrogant and exalts itself
and calls itself that it is God (See 2Thess. 2:4)
certainly it cannot bear men
to fear the true God. And therefore it blasphemed against God the moment it
opened its mouth.
“To blaspheme His name
His tabernacle
and those
who dwell in heaven.” “His name” represents God Himself. And His person
disposition
power and authority are included in His name. “His tabernacle”
refers to the place where He dwells
i.e. the
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good
things
and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things (See
Matt. 12:34-35).
2) God’s church and saints are predestined to be
supplanted and persecuted
however well they abide by the law and do their
duties in the world. The Lord Jesus said that
blessed are you when they revile
and persecute you
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad
for great is your reward in heaven
for so
they persecuted the prophets who were before you (See Matt. 5:11-12).
Rev. 13:7 “It was granted to him to
make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over
every tribe
tongue
and nation.”
YLT: “and there was given
to it to make war with the saints
and to overcome them
and there was given to
it authority over every tribe
and tongue
and nation.”
Meaning of Words: “overcome”: prevail
conquer; “over”: above
upon.
Literal Meaning: “It was granted to him to make war with the saints
and to overcome them.” “Saints” refers to
the Jews who keep the commandment of God and believers who bear witness to
Jesus (See 12:17). “Make war…overcome” indicates that in the period of the
great tribulation the power of the antichrist expands into various places of
the world and no one can match him.
“And
authority was given him over every tribe
tongue
and nation.” “Over” refers to the higher powers (See
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In the period of the great tribulation
there
are believers whose names are listed in the book of life among those who are
alive on the earth (See v.8). And it shows that it is the wishful and
traditional idea that the whole church will be raptured before the tribulation
and it is not trustworthy. If believers have not been raptured when they are
alive
they shall be left on the earth and be bullied enough by antichrist and
suffer tribulation.
2) In the last time
the power of antichrist shall
spread over the whole world and various kinds of men shall be under his control
and listen to his directions. At that time
the antichrist shall treat
Christians harshly. These things are in accordance with expectation and
therefore we should not trust to luck to hold that we will be kept by God in
the great tribulation.
Rev. 13:8 “All who dwell on the
earth will worship him
whose names have not been written in the Book of Life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
YLT: “And bow before it
shall all who are dwelling upon the land
whose names have not been written in
the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;”
Meaning of Words: “dwell”: reside;
“him”: (the masculine pronoun of the third person and it usually refers to
men).
Literal Meaning: “from the foundation of the world” refers to since the beginning of mankind.
“The Lamb
slain” refers to the Lord
Jesus Christ who crucified and died for all men. “The Book of Life” indicates that all those who believe in
the Lord and receive eternal life (See John. 3:16) have their names recorded in
this Book of
Life. If one’s name is not recorded in this
book
he is the one who shall perish.
“Whose
names…have been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It implies that men who were in the
generation of the Old Testament can still be saved through believing the
promise of God because in God’s promise there is the type of the coming Christ.
And therefore their faith can still be acknowledged by God and He will record
their names in the
Book of Life (See Heb. 11).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) According to the flesh
we are those who “dwell
on the earth”
however
we are citizens in heaven (See Phil. 3:20) because our
names have been recorded in the Book of Life.
2) Those whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life have to worship antichrist
however
we
believers cannot worship him absolutely because it is a thing that sins against
God the most.
Rev. 13:9 “If anyone has an ear
let
him hear.”
YLT: “if any one hath an
ear -- let him hear:”
Literal Meaning: it implies that
though many people have ears
they cannot hear. Even though they have heard
they cannot understand (See Matt. 13:13-16).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) May we all have our ears be opened
that we can
hear His voice----all the word of God in the Scriptures
especially the words
in the Book of Revelation (See Is. 50:4-5).
2) Many believers have ears which can hear
but
unfortunately
they always hear for others or hold that many words are said for
others and the words are unrelated to themselves. And therefore they miss many
chances of being blessed by the Lord.
Rev. 13:10 “He who leads into
captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed
with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
YLT: “if any one a
captivity doth gather
into captivity he doth go away; if any one by sword doth
kill
it behoveth him by sword to be killed; here is the endurance and the
faith of the saints.”
Meaning of Words: “captivity”:
capture
taking forcible possession of; “patience”: endurance
tolerance.
Literal Meaning: “He who leads into captivity shall go into
captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.” The whole meaning of this sentence is that
whatever a man sows
that he will also reap (See Gal. 6:7). To non-Christians
they lead others into captivity and shall be led into captivity themselves.
They kill others with the sword and shall be killed with the sword themselves.
To us Christians
if we haven’t been raptured and are left on the earth to
suffer the great tribulation
God’s predestination is that: all those who
deserve to be led into captivity shall be led into captivity; all those who
deserve to be killed with the sword shall be killed with the sword. The
consequence is quite terrible.
“Here
is the patience and the faith of the saints.” The world can only resign themselves to their
fate
however
Christians need to hold fast to patience and faith because only
when we hold fast to faith will we have patience and he that shall endure unto
the end
the same shall be saved (See Matt. 24:13).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God will give to each one of us according to our
works (See 2:23). Since we believers trust that God is righteous
we must be
responsible for our behavior after we have believed in the Lord and confess our
sins and repent as early as possible
that we shall be forgiven by God (See
1John. 1:9).
2) Before the coming of the great tribulation
we
should have “the patience and the faith” and probably we can avoid suffering
the great tribulation because of them. However
if we cannot overcome and be
raptured and are left on the earth to suffer the great tribulation by ourselves
we need to have “the patience and the faith” more because they are the key to
deal with sufferings (See 2Thess. 1:4).
Rev. 13:11 “Then I saw another beast
coming up out of the earth
and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a
dragon.”
YLT: “And I saw another
beast coming up out of the land
and it had two horns
like a lamb
and it was
speaking as a dragon
”
Meaning of Words: “coming up”: climb
arise; “like”: similar; “like”: as.
Spiritual Meaning: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the
earth
” the “beast” coming
up out of the earth symbolizes the false prophet (See 16:3; 19:20; 20:10) and
it comes out of the Jews.
“And
he had two horns like a lamb” symbolizes that
the false prophet was full of the power of the evil spirit (See 5:6).
“And
spoke like a dragon” symbolizes that
the false prophet spoke with the power of the evil spirit.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The words and walking of the false teacher make
men discern that he is false hardly because he has the supernatural power like
the true prophet (See 11:5) and speaks with the tone full of authority. And
common ones are deceived by him submissively and always follow their advice.
2) There is the Holy Spirit and the evil spirit in
the world. Heretical teachers always speak and walk by the evil spirit to
deceive the hearts of the simple (See Rom. 16:18). And therefore Christians
should not judge whether one is true or false merely by appearance and we must
discern.
Rev. 13:12 “And he exercises all the
authority of the first beast in his presence
and causes the earth and those
who dwell in it to worship the first beast
whose deadly wound was healed.”
YLT: “and all the
authority of the first beast doth it do before it
and it maketh the land and
those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast
whose deadly
stroke was healed
”
Meaning of Words: “exercise”: make
do; “heal”: cure
be fully recovered.
Literal Meaning: “And he exercises all the authority of the first
beast in his presence
” it means that the
false prophet walked according to the order of antichrist.
“And
causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast
whose
deadly wound was healed.” The main task of
the false prophet is to deceive men who dwell on the earth to worship the image
of antichrist (See v.14-15).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Satan authorizes antichrist (See v.4) and
antichrist authorizes the false prophet. The source of the false prophet is
Satan the devil. If we Christians believe the words of the false prophet
we
indeed are deceived by Satan. What a serious thing!
2) The final aim of the devil is to make men
worship it. Those who like worshiping men apparently worship men
but actually
they worship the devil.
Rev. 13:13 “He performs great signs
so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men.”
YLT: “and it doth great
signs
that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth
before men
”
Meaning of Words: “sign”: miracle
indication
token
wonder.
Literal Meaning: “He performs great signs
” the false prophet has the power of the evil
spirit and he can perform supernatural signs and miracles.
“So
that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” “Making fire come down from heaven on the
earth” is similar to what
the two witnesses had done (See 11:5) and it is hard for men to discern the
true or false.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The greatest feature of the false charisma is
performing “in the sight of men”. They heal men by miracles and speak with a
tongue in order to make men see and hear
that men may regard the false as
true.
2) Performing signs is natural
however
today in
the church
many ones attract men to follow them through performing signs and
their ways make men hardly believe that they are of the Holy Spirit.
Rev. 13:14 “And he deceives those who
dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of
the beast
telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast
who was wounded by the sword and lived.”
YLT: “and it leadeth
astray those dwelling on the land
because of the signs that were given it to
do before the beast
saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to
the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live
”
Meaning of Words: “deceive”: lead
astray
seduce; “lived”: to live
alive.
Literal Meaning: “by those signs which he was granted to do in the
sight of the beast” It indicates that
the false prophet’s power to perform signs is from antichrist.
“And
he deceives those who dwell on the earth
telling
those who dwell on the earth” it indicates that
the false prophet’s motive to perform signs is to deceive those who dwell on
the earth.
“To
make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.” It indicates that the false prophet’s aim
to deceive men is to make men make an idol for antichrist and worship it (See
v.15).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) It is the fault of common ones to like seeing
signs and wonders and even many Christians are no exception. Satan seizes hold
of this weakness of men to deceive us through performing great signs and
wonders (See Matt. 24:24).
2) The scheme of the false signs and wonders makes
men make idols and worship idols unconsciously. Today various kinds of
“movements of making gods” are carried out in the church and unfortunately the
majority of believers cannot see through the scheme.
Rev. 13:15 “He was granted power to
give breath to the image of the beast
that the image of the beast should both
speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be
killed.”
YLT: “and there was given
to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast
that also the image of the
beast may speak
and it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of
the beast
that they may be killed.”
Meaning of Words: “breath”: spirit;
“should”: appearance
likeness.
Literal Meaning: “He was granted power to give breath to the image
of the beast
that the image of the beast should both speak” the idols made by the hands of men can
neither speak nor have breath in their mouths (See Ps. 135:16-17)
however
the
idol of antichrist has breath and can speak unusually and attracts the simple
to worship it.
“And
cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” It shows that in the period of the great
tribulation
the so-called “freedom of faith” no longer exists and the false
prophet condemns those who are unwilling to worship the image of beast on the
excuse of “the union of religions” to death for their destroying the peace of
mankind.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In future the idol of antichrist is not usual:
it has breath and can speak and it seems to be the height of deification of
creatures. If we think seriously
actually today there are many “invisible
idols” which have breath and can speak and they are the embodiment of the
coming idol. They are deceiving thousands upon thousands men and they also
deceive the people of God.
2) Christians should be careful: if you and I face
this choice of life and death
we should remember the sentence said by the Lord
Jesus that “fear not them which kill the body
but are not able to kill the
soul” (Matt. 10:28) and not love their lives to the death (See 12:11). And we
can be overcomers in the last time at least.
Rev. 13:16 “He causes all
both small
and great
rich and poor
free and slave
to receive a mark on their right hand
or on their foreheads
”
YLT: “And it maketh all
the small
and the great
and the rich
and the poor
and the freemen
and the
servants
that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their
foreheads
”
Meaning of Words: “all”: every
the
whole; “mark”: stamp
graven.
Literal Meaning: “He causes all
both small and great
rich and
poor
free and slave” “small and great”
refers to the status in the society. “Rich and poor” refers to the degree of
the material wealth. “Free and slave” refers to the motive for volition (active
or passive). The above-mentioned three conditions include all the people in the
world.
“To
receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads
” “mark” shows that only those who are of
antichrist can enjoy the right of existence (See v.17).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Today men always desire to hide their ideas and
behavior and are unwilling to declare on the excuse of “the right of privacy”
however
in future Satan won’t let anyone “hide himself and be unwilling to
declare”. If you want to live
you have to declare your attitude. Our Lord
never forces us and He always waits us to please (See S. of Sol 2:7; 3:5; 8:4).
2) Believers should “bind the words of God for a
sign upon our hand
and they shall be as frontlets between our eyes” (Deut.
6:8) and remind ourselves and men around us that we are men of God. And we should
also mediate the words of God day and night and let the words be manifested in
our walkings
that men can see that we bear in our body the marks of the Lord
Jesus and they won’t trouble us (See Gal. 6:17).
Rev. 13:17 “and that no one may buy
or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast
or the number of
his name.”
YLT: “and that no one may
be able to buy
or to sell
except he who is having the mark
or the name of
the beast
or the number of his name.”
Meaning of Words: “buy”: properties
purchase; “sell”: sell off.
Literal Meaning: “except one who has the mark or the name of the
beast
or the number of his name.”
“The beast” and “the name of the beast” have the same meaning. The former is
the plain text and the latter is the signal and both of them refer to the
beast. Originally every Greek and Hebrew letter represents a number. Add all
the numbers that the letters represent together and we have the number of the
name. It is like ID and the credit card in the present generation and on which
there are different card numbers and secret codes respectively except the names
of each one for the identification.
“That
no one may buy or sell” “Buying” and
“selling” is the essential means for existence and therefore “no one may buy or
sell” is equal to depriving the right of life and one cannot live if he does
not worship it.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God knows whether one believes in the Lord or
worships the devil and so does the devil (See Acts. 19:5). Originally the mark
is not needed
however
the false prophet uses the mark to show the difference
with the purpose of utilizing the sanction of the society----if one desires to
live
he has to identify with the society----and forces believers to follow the
bad examples of others that they have to worship it.
2) The aim of “the mark” is to make camps between
believers and those who worship the devil by utilizing “ideology”. And those
who are faithful to the Lord are few and therefore the pressure is great and
probably few ones are able to keep unyielding by “patience and faith” (See
v.10).
3) Today some leaders of the church use the way of
“isolation” frequently to deal with believers who are unwilling to obey them
unconditionally and make them lose the normal communion in the church
as the
false prophet does not allow men who do not have the mark to buy or sell.
Rev. 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him
who has understanding calculate the number of the beast
for it is the number
of a man: His number is 666.”
YLT: “Here is the wisdom!
He who is having the understanding
let him count the number of the beast
for
the number of a man it is
and its number 666.”
Meaning of Words: “wisdom”: knowledge
discernment; “understanding”: reason
mind
intellect.
Literal Meaning: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding
calculate the number of the beast
”
“wisdom” refers to having the outstanding sight. “Having understanding” refers
to having the ability to think. “Calculate the number of the beast” refers to
figuring out who the antichrist is.
“For
it is the number of a man:” the number of the
beast now becomes the number of a man
it means that the beast refers to a
man.
“His
number is 666.” Many Bible
exegetes tried to figure out and guess who the antichrist was over the years.
And some ones figured out that Caesar Nile
Hitler
Mussolini and many tyrants
and dictators and the number of their names was 666. Some said that a certain
pope or certain presidents or politicians conformed to the number. Opinions
were widely divided. What’s the closest to the conditions recorded in the Bible
among them was Caesar Nile the Roman Emperor who was fierce and cruel and had
killed the innocent. And he probably will find reincarnation in another’s
corpse as one of the seven heads of the beast which was mortally wounded.
However
some Bible exegetes held that the Hebrew translation of Caesar Nile
did not conform to the convention and it was not admissible. And probably
nobody will know who he is until the period of the great tribulation.
One
saying is provided here for the readers’ reference: 666 is made by three six. 3
represents God
6 represents a man and therefore 666 is a man who shows himself
that he is “God”. The greatest feature of antichrist is “showing himself that
he is God” (See 2Thess. 2:4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Christ is our wisdom (See 1Cor. 1:30). The true
wisdom is Christ Himself and only Him is the source of our understanding and
wisdom. We have no way to have understanding and wisdom without Him.
2) Many believers are keen on figuring out what 666
represents and want to find out who the antichrist is
however
they ignore
Christ Himself in their daily life. And it is not the normal understanding or
wisdom.
3) All those who advocate the theory of “men
becoming God” are from one source----the antichrist who shows himself that he
is God and have fallen into the trap of 666 and are deceived by the evil spirit
of antichrist unconsciously.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Triune Satan
II. A beast rising up out of the sea (1-10
18)----antichrist
A. its origin----out of the sea
(v.1)----out of the Gentiles
B. its position----seven heads and ten
horns (v.1)----seven greater royal power and ten smaller royal power
C. its nature----like a leopard
a bear
and a lion (v.2)----being ferocious and cruel
D. its authority----the dragon
(v.2)----out of Satan
E. its features----having been mortally
wounded (v.3)----reincarnating in else’s body
F. its power----no one can match it
(v.4
7)----overcoming all men
G. its words----speaking great things
and blasphemies (v.5-6)----looking down upon God and everything of God
H. its days----continuing for forty-two
months (v.5)----three and a half years
J. its status----His number is 666
(v.18)----showing himself that he is God
III. Another beast coming up out of the earth
(v.11-17)----the false prophet
A. its origin----out of the earth
(v.11)----out of the Jews
B. its power----having two horns like a
lamb (v.11)----full of the power of the evil spirit
C. its language----speaking like a
dragon (v.11)----with the evil power
D. its authority----exercising all the
authority of the first beast (v.12)----from antichrist
E. its task----causing men to worship
the first beast (v.12)----making men worship antichrist
F. its ways----performing great signs
(v.13-14)----deceiving men who dwell on the earth
G. its work----telling men to make an
image to the beast
giving breath and can speak (v.14-15)----making idols
H. its evil----killing those who do not
worship the image of the beast (v.15)----extremely vicious
J. its influence----no one may buy or
sell except one who has the mark of the beast
or the number of his name
(v.17)----isolating the saints
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren