Revelation 13:11-18
Another beast arrives. Out of the ground. It has 2 horns, like those of a lamb but speaks like a dragon. This suggests an appearance of harmlessness as in Matthew 7:15 where Jesus warns His followers to be wary of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This second beast does the bidding of the first beast. This is a trinity of evil. The dragon, controlling, the beast of the sea below it and the beast from the earth doing the bidding of the beast of the sea. Various commentators suggest this is representative of secular power and religious compromise or an antichrist and false prophet.
The second beast performs great and miraculous signs in the name of the first beast. He even calls fire from heaven in a display designed to deceive people into believing his power comes from God. It is recorded here that the beast’s actions deceives the people of the earth. The beast causes the people to set up an image of the first beast which the second beast breathes life into so that it appears to talk and kills those who refuse to bow down to worship it. This is an echo of Daniel 3:5 where King Nebuchadnezzar caused to have made an immense statute of him that all were required to worship or be killed. We should draw comfort from the fact that when Daniel refused to worship the statue he was thrown into the lion pit but God protected him and he survived. Sometimes we are called on to take a stand for our faith, and some may be in a situation where standing firm in faith will result in death. Sometimes God saves the brave servant, and other times He allows them to die and join Him in heaven. This is a reminder that we may all have to take a public stand of faith at some times in our lives. For some that will be a life or death stand, for others it may be ridicule. The important point here is that we have a willingness to die to self and be prepared to suffer the consequences of putting Jesus first and taking a stand for Him.
The activities of the beast do not stop there. All people are forced to receive a mark on the right hand or forehead which will be required in order to buy or sell anything. There have been many times during history when certain groups of people have been excluded from the right to buy or sell anything. One commentary I read suggested the beast is a leader in history. This led me to wonder if it was actually possible that the second beast is actually many deceivers through history with many more to come before Jesus’ return. It is difficult to know and, as I have said earlier, it is not really important. Jesus warned in Mark 13:22, and a further warning is seen in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, of the appearance of false Messiahs and false Prophets. Notice when Jesus issued the warning in Mark He spoke of many, not just one.
In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 the people are warned that prophets may come prophesying things that later happen. These prophets will then call on the people to turn away to another god. This is a test to see if the people of God are true to Him. We are to be wary of those who say they come in Jesus’ name. Not all who proclaim words of God and perform miracles in His name are actually from God. Beware the person who tells you something that is contrary to the Bible and beware the people who rewrite the bible to justify their heresies. If you are told to deny Jesus is the Son of God, your Saviour, the Messiah, the Christ of God then walk away. Those words are not from God. God will never deny Jesus. Jesus will never deny Himself. Those beasts that come are there to deceive those who follow Jesus. If your life is not given over to Him you are vulnerable to being led astray by the beast. Your best protection is to seek to grow in your relationship with Jesus. Spending time in prayer, surrendering self to Him and reading the Bible.

Revelation 13:1-10
I am splitting this chapter into two, each half covering a beast. At the start of the chapter, the dragon (satan) stands on the sea shore. He is taking a stand against God. He calls up a beast from the sea. This beast appears to be a mix of the four beasts of Daniel 7. In the book of Daniel, he is given an explanation of the beasts (chapter 8) and they are likened to four empires. Many consider the four empires to cover the empires that afflicted the Jewish people up to Jesus’ time. The fourth, most terrible beast was said to be Rome. Maybe that is true and maybe it isn’t. Reading this chapter I feel that the beast John describes is yet to come, so cannot be an empire that was currently afflicting the people. Mind you, it could have been written as an encouragement to the people. It may be John is describing an empire that came later or is yet to come. It is interesting that Daniel was troubled by the prophesy he was given. Presumably because it spoke of great persecution against those who believe in God. In the past, reading Revelation has often troubled me at the thought of people being persecuted. Perhaps Daniel’s concern is an encouragement that it is OK to fear hardships that are yet to come. The comfort from this prophesy is seen in verse 8 of Daniel with the information that those whose names are written in the book of life will not worship the beast. If we remain true to Jesus and seek to serve Him then we will not be tempted to serve the beast, even when faced with terrible persecution. It is an aspect of the discussion in the last blog about how hard it is to deny Jesus when He is part of us. Persecution is not pleasant but it does not mean we will lose our faith.
Verses 3 and 4 show how fickle humans are. People see the beast’s power and rush to worship it. They have already forgotten the great power revealed by God. Here is a new power and they are going to worship it. It is as though people will worship anything other than God through Jesus. They will chase other religions, even ones that corrupt the story of Jesus (or deny it). They will do anything than follow the truth. Sadly verse 10 indicates that all who persecute God’s chosen ones will be punished. That is great comfort for us and a difficult truth for those who will deny God.
In chapter 17 there will be some explanation of this chapter, but we will wait until we get to that chapter to talk about it. As with Daniel, John is being given a series of visions which will be explained to him later.

Revelation 12
What is seen in this chapter and some of the following ones is agreed by most commentators to be a recap of events that have already happened. It is often said by people who have gone through a difficult period in their life that it is hard to see God’s hand in those difficult times, but with hindsight His presence and purpose become clearer. It is the case here. John writes this section to remind the readers of what God has already done in achieving His great purpose.
In this vision of the woman and the red dragon can be seen an echo to Genesis 3:15 where God put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
For all Jesus’ life satan tried to stop Him. As a baby He incited Herod to jealousy and an order to kill all boys 2 and under. But God sent Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. The Bible does not say how long they stayed there, but I wonder if it was 3 and a half years. It is not important, just something to be curious about. To quote Chip Brogden “If you know who God is, knowing what and why become less significant”. The answers to these questions are not important and it is more important to spend time with God, getting to know Him and learning to give up self in favour of becoming one with Jesus.
Later Jesus was tempted by satan and resisted (Matthew 4:1-11). After defeating satan on the cross, Jesus was taken up to heaven. Now has come the period of satan’s defeat. He knows there is nothing he can do to win this fight but he is determined to take as many people with him as possible. The greatest danger to the Ekklesia is faulty teaching that corrupts the word of God. This includes the multitude of interpretations of Revelation and the time spend arguing about them. It also includes the multitude of books written about “faith” that are more about the personal opinion of the author than what is found in the Bible. Other faulty teaching includes the doctrine that going to church is how you are saved and lead the Christian life, when it is actually about living your life for Jesus, willingly taking up your cross and following Him. If you are not dying to self then you are not living for Jesus. As Keith Green said “going to church no more makes you a Christian than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger”. Corrupting the word of God is one of satan’s greatest weapons. Be careful not to fall for that one.
One of the most powerful images in this chapter comes in v14-16 where the dragon attempts to stop the woman reaching safety by sending a great stream of water after her. The earth opens up and absorbs that water and the woman is kept safe. No matter what satan tries, he is not as powerful as God.  Remember Romans 8:38 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. No act of satan can destroy us. (if you have time, read 8:28-38 the verses are a beautiful reminder of how God works for the good of those who love Him – an important thing to remember when faced with difficulties and persecution).
In closing, I have been thinking about verse 11 lately. Here the saints are commended for overcoming satan and for not loving “their lives so much as to shrink from death” NIV.  The recent publicity about Islamic State killing people who will not convert to Islam has led me to consider what I would do. My conclusion? I could no more deny Jesus than cut off my arm. Jesus is my life, without Him my life is nothing. How can I deny part of myself? Better to die and spend eternity with Jesus than reject part of me and spend eternity with the most important part of me missing. What about you? What would you do?

Revelation 11: 15-19
Now the 7th trumpet sounds. Yes it brings the 3rd woe, but this is not what John is shown. He sees the joy and praise as the coming of the Kingdom of God is announced. The third woe is come but we do not yet know what it is. What we are seeing now is the great praise and joy. We hear the 24 elders proclaim the Kingdom in similar words to Psalm 2 (especially v2). Whereas Psalm 2 was about what was to come, this is about what is here, what is come, so the wording is different. It is interesting to note that the elders refer to God as the one who is and was (v17). Gone are the words “and is to come” because He has come and no longer is to come. What an exciting moment, the fulfilment of all we have been waiting for! Now we are delivered from evil and given the gift of life. Now we can see the ark of the covenant – the true ark (v19). The goal of the covenant is now coming to pass. This is the fulfilment of God’s plan to redeem mankind. This plan was first mentioned in Genesis 3:15 with a reference to the offspring of the woman crushing the serpents head. Of course this continued with God’s call to Abraham of Genesis 12:1-3 and onwards through Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David. This is the time when all those questions to God, wondering why He is taking so long to act, will be answered. All the whys and whens, all will be answered. It is the end of our struggle and the start of an eternity with God. What a wonderful revelation!
In the past I have studied Revelation with people who had no understanding of what it meant. They fell for the sensationalist interpretations of the book and argued over the Rapture and the Tribulation and when these would occur and how. They lost the point of Revelation and so lost a precious piece of knowledge of God. Revelation is not over, and there is still more to discuss, but the beautiful message of Revelation is here. This is when God’s Kingdom will come. I wonder if those who seek to see things to fear in Revelation see God as a punitive and harsh God. That is just not so. He seeks justice and cannot tolerate sin, but He sent His Son Jesus to redeem us from our sins so that we may receive justice. The end is something to be eagerly awaited, not feared. Hallelujah! Praise God and our Saviour Jesus. We are truly blessed.

Revelation 11:1-14
This is a description of the second woe. John is given a measuring rod to measure the holy part of the temple. There are different interpretations about the meaning of this. Some say it is to measure it for restoration, but others suggest it is to measure it off for protection against persecution that is to come. There may be truth in both, but I believe the greatest promise in this is that the Ekklesia will be secure during this time of persecution. The persecution will be 42 months, 3 and a half years or 1,260 days. Will it be a literal time period or just purely symbolic? 3.5 is half of 7 and it is probable there is a symbolic element in this time. This appears to be a time of persecution for the Ekklesia. During this time two witnesses, described as the olive trees and lampstands of Zechariah 4, will stand in the temple, before God, and witness. They will be dressed in sackcloth, symbolising repentance, and they will witness to God’s truth. They will witness of the need for repentance, of the enormity of our sins and of the sinfulness of what we do. People will feel uncomfortable because they will be convicted of their sins. They will not want to hear these witnesses, because they cause the people to feel guilty in their sin and unable to enjoy themselves. Anyone who tries to hurt them and remove them will be incinerated by fire out of the witnesses’ mouths. During this time the witnesses will be able to stop the rain and send disasters on earth. When they have finished their witness and there is no more to be heard, the beast will come out of the abyss and fight then kill them. (The beast will be discussed later in Revelation.) The bodies of these men will lie in the streets and no one will be able to bury them. In Jesus’ time this was a great mark of disrespect. The people will cheer at the cessation of the words that took the joy out of their sinning. They will no doubt be relieved. But to their horror, after 3 and a half days, the men will be resurrected and taken up to heaven. So their words were true after all, and not able to be defeated! What a terrible thought for the people. At the time of their ascension, there will be a mighty earthquake that will destroy a tenth of the city and cause the death of 7,000 people. Whether this will be a real 7,000 or symbolic of a very large number is not clear. What will happen will be horrifying enough that the people will pray prayers of repentance. Will they be genuine? Or will they be just prayed out of fear and a need to survive? How many people claim to come to faith in Jesus when they have not truly accepted him? Sadly it happens a lot and will no doubt continue at the end as well.