Revelation Part 59

Revelation 13 continues the events introduced in chapter 12, where the dragon is identified as Satan, who wages war against God’s people. In Revelation 13:1-2, John sees a beast coming out of the sea. The beast has ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns and a blasphemous name on each head. Its appearance resembles a leopard, but it has feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. The dragon gives this beast his power, his throne, and great authority.

These images describe interconnected powers working together to accomplish Satan’s purpose. The dragon represents Satan himself. The beast from the sea represents political and military power, while the beast from the earth, introduced later in the chapter, represents another power that is often understood as religious and potentially economic in nature. These powers do not operate independently of one another. They work together as parts of a larger system through which Satan seeks to oppose God and establish a counterfeit of His government.

The big picture is that Satan wants to establish his own system in opposition to God’s system. Jesus explained the difference between these two ways in John 10:10: the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, while Christ came so that people might have life more abundantly. Satan’s system produces destruction, even when it initially promises prosperity, security, unity, or advancement. God’s government, by contrast, is intended to bring life and establish righteous rule.

The world already operates under Satan’s influence, but Satan wants more than influence. He wants absolute authority and control. He wants a unified world government under his control, with the power and position that belong to Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Satan seeks to take for himself what Christ will ultimately establish legitimately. Because Satan works through proxies, his influence is exercised through human beings, governments, religion, political structures, and numerous other systems. These can include education, medicine, the military, social institutions, the judicial system, environmental movements, corporations, commerce, and the broader economy. The point is not that every person or institution within these areas is necessarily controlled by Satan, but that human systems can be influenced and used to advance purposes contrary to God.

Matthew 4:8-10 illustrates Satan’s claim to worldly authority. During Jesus’ temptation, Satan showed Him the kingdoms of the world and their glory and offered them to Him in exchange for worship. The offer would have been meaningless if Satan had no power or influence over what he promised. Jesus did not accept the offer or seek to obtain authority through Satan’s terms. Instead, He rejected Satan and remained faithful to His Father. Satan continues to make similar offers through worldly power and influence. Throughout history, people and political systems have been willing to compromise what is right in exchange for authority, wealth, security, or control. What Jesus rejected, human beings have often been willing to accept.

There are four major schools of interpretation commonly used to understand the book of Revelation. The Preterist approach holds that many or all of Revelation’s prophecies were fulfilled in the ancient past, particularly in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. The Historicist approach views Revelation as an overview of history, describing successive periods of persecution, conflict, and tribulation throughout the ages. The Idealist approach interprets the book primarily as symbolic, presenting the continuing spiritual conflict between God and the forces of evil rather than providing a literal sequence of future events. The Futurist approach understands Revelation as prophecy concerning actual future events, especially those associated with the end of the present age.

The question is which approach best accounts for the book’s imagery, its relationship to other biblical prophecies, and the events Jesus described concerning the end of the age. One approach is to recognize that historical events can fulfill the prophecy and also foreshadow a final fulfillment. From this perspective, elements of the Historicist and Futurist approaches can be considered together. Patterns of persecution, religious deception, and political oppression may recur throughout history while also pointing toward a culmination. This approach takes seriously both the historical experiences of God’s people and the possibility of a future fulfillment of Revelation’s prophecies.

Matthew 24 provides an important framework for understanding Revelation 13. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the signs of His coming and the end of the age, He began by warning them to take heed and not be deceived. In Matthew 24:4, Jesus cautioned that many would come in His name and deceive many people. He then described wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, kingdoms rising against kingdoms, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Jesus called these events the beginning of sorrows, or birth pains, in Matthew 24:8. Birth pains are significant because they are real suffering, but they also indicate that something further is coming. They do not represent the final event itself. Rather, they are part of a process leading toward what follows. In the same way, events throughout history may resemble the conditions Jesus described while also anticipating a greater culmination at the end of the age.

Matthew 24:9 then introduces a further development: 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” 

Jesus warned that many would become offended, betray one another, and hate one another. False prophets would arise and deceive many, and lawlessness would increase. The love of many would grow cold, but those who endure to the end would be saved.

The phrase “the end” can be considered in relation to the end of an individual’s life or period of trial, as well as the end of the age itself. In either case, Jesus emphasizes the necessity of endurance and faithfulness. Revelation 13 develops the picture of a system that gains authority over the nations and brings opposition against those who remain faithful to God. The persecution described is not merely an isolated regional event. In the final development of the prophecy, the power becomes global, affecting nations and people across the world.

UYA Team | uya@ucg.org  

United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.