GETTING THE MESSAGE/Revelation: Christ’s people win!

Revelation 13:13 gives us more information on the 2nd beast, the one that looked like a lamb but spoke like a dragon: “It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people.” The purpose of the 2nd beast is to persuade men to worship the first beast, a king or ruler, someone or some entity other than the grace of Christ.

The second beast is a false prophet, and he is presented as a counterfeit combination of Moses and Elijah. Moses did great signs before Pharaoh when he brought the word of the Lord demanding that his people be freed.  Moses gave Pharaoh a sign: his staff was turned into a serpent; the magicians of Pharaoh did the same with their staffs. But Moses’ staff swallowed up their staffs, a sign of divine authority.

In 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, Paul addresses the issue of the so-called super apostles the Corinthian church was enamored with. The problem was that they taught a different Jesus than Paul did. Paul lists his credentials as a true apostle of Christ: he did not covet their money, he had suffered greatly for the gospel, and the signs, wonders, and mighty works of a true apostle were performed among them when Paul was there.

Paul was implying that there was a clear distinction between him and the well-spoken, but false apostles, in all three of these categories. Someone may be a very persuasive speaker and use the name of Jesus, but if signs, however impressive, are connected to messages of money and prosperity, a red flag should go up. Jesus warned that false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 

The false prophets are all disciples of the 2nd beast and have a different gospel. It is the word of God, the gospel of Christ that is the object of their attack. We would never know Christ or redemption if not for the love of God. The gospel speaks of Christ crucified for sinners so that grace may reign in them, not the beast. 

The fire coming down from heaven is both deceptive and coercive. When Elijah sent a message to king Ahaziah that the king would die because he sought the word of the god Baal-zebul, the king responded by sending 50 men after Elijah. The commander of the 50 said to Elijah: “O man of God, the king says come down.” Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your men.” And fire came down and consumed them.

We need not think about a literal fire here in Revelation 13. In chapter 11, the two witness for Christ represent the word of God going out to the world. The fire that comes out of their mouth consumes their foes, which means a warning of coming judgment. But the beast comes and puts the two witnesses to death. To the people, it seemed the beast had the fire to destroy. But the apparent victory was short-lived (11:12-13). Only Christ can restore us to health after this life, so it is not men or the beast to be feared, but God is the one to be feared. 

Though we have many blessings in this world, the Christian faith is future oriented and God-centered. We are to be heavenly minded people. The phrase, “those who dwell on earth” in verse 14 means those who prefer the world before God and so will be rejected by the Christ they rejected. 

The number of the beast represents this (verse 18). The number 666 is applied to the anti-Christ, but it also applies to his followers. They have his mark. He drives souls away from God. It is a mark that can be erased by Christ alone. God’s people are marked with his name (14:1). The beast drives the Christian to cleave closer to Christ.

666 is the measurement of man. 7 is the number of completeness, triple 6’s makes emphatic that sinful man falls short of the glory of God. The allurement of the anti-christ is that he implies there is no need of Christ; you may have all you desire here and now, or you may lose all you desire if you will not yield to the beast. Where sin has dominion, so will the beast. The more you are convinced of your sin, the more excellent Christ will appear, and the beast loses his appeal.

In verses 15-17, you see that those who refuse to worship the beast suffer one of two things: they are either slain or suffer economic hardship. Christ was willing to suffer the same to save his people from their sin. So, they follow the Lamb wherever he goes.