Revelation - Chapter 13
The Beast From The Sea
In this chapter there are two beasts described. The first half of this chapter talks about a beast that rises from the sea. The second half of the chapter talks about a beast that rises from the earth.
In this study we will look at the first half of chapter 13, which describes the first of these two beasts the beast from the sea.
Scripture uses beasts to represent nations or powers. And as you study Bible prophecy it refers to beasts as "he", and it refers to the church as "she". So this beast is very important because God says more about this beast than any other beast in scripture. So it's very important that we are crystal clear as to who this beast is, because it plays a tremendous part in the events that take place in the last days.
Revelation 13:1 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
So this beast is coming up out of the sea, and it's different from any beast that has been before it, it's a non-descript beast, it has seven heads and ten horns, it is symbolic of a power, a power that is to be used in a special way in the last days. This beast is the antichrist power, the Papal Church State. We also know that it arose amongst Western Europe (as Daniel clearly shows) and therefore the sea is representative of the peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues of Western Europe.
This is in contrast to the earth that helped the woman/church. Thus it is clear, as the Papacy ruled from 538 AD to 1798 AD, that the earth is to be recognized as that part of the world of which the Papal power had no control over, it must be outside of the old world. This helps to substantiate the Pilgrim Fathers flight to America as the earth helping the woman, which we will look at in part two of this study.
It must also be noted that the second beast we will look at in chapter 13 also comes up out of the earth in contrast to this first beast. Here is another link to show that this second beast arose outside of the old world or outside of the papal church's reach.
The crowns are upon the horns thus showing that it is the horns that have the power. The horns represent the divisions of the Western Roman Empire as is seen in Daniel 7. It was through the divisions of Western Europe that the Papacy ruled, through the kings and leaders of the countries and therefore the crowns upon the heads.
It is a blasphemous power according to verses 1, 5 and 6. In verse 1 it would represent the blasphemous titles that the head of this system takes to himself; Vicar of God, all names that are attributed to Christ he takes upon himself, God on earth etc.
As we will see in verse 5 he also speaks blasphemies. The Bible defines blasphemy as; when being only a man you make yourself as God.
Also claiming to be able to forgive sins when only a man.
The Papacy also enters into and practices these things. In verse 6 one may ask; how can the Papacy blaspheme against the tabernacle of God, which is heaven, and the angels?
Revelation 13:2 "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."
So this beast is made up of parts of other beasts it has the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion and it's particularly important that we notice that the dragon gave it his power, his throne and great authority.
Like unto a leopard etc. - This casts our minds back to Daniel 7 from whence all of these beasts are found. The papacy is a composite beast, a make-up of those that have gone before it. One thing we must point out though is that it has the mouth of a lion. The lion represented Babylon in Daniel 7 and so when the papacy speaks it speaks as Babylon which is also one of its names.
In looking at this a little more closely, the composite beast aspect, we can gain a greater understanding of the type of rule that the papal power would like, with history also laying open this fact. It is clear that this beast points us back to the image of Daniel 2, for it is a single image made up of a mixture of the kingdoms from Babylon the head through to Divided Rome in the feet, it is a composite image. So what is it that is in these kingdoms that is so vital to the establishment of Satan's empire/the Papal church/system?
If we take the main characteristic for each of these kingdoms we discover something very remarkable about this composite empire.
Babylon was known for its idol worship, they were obsessed with their idols:
Their chief god was Bel/Marodach/Marduk who was the sun god.
So Babylon's main characteristic was idol worship, or more specific, sun worship.
Medo-Persia was known for its passing of decrees/laws that cannot be changed, See Daniel 6, Esther and Ezra.
Greece. The Grecians were known for always seeking after wisdom, some new thing, through philosophy:
Humanism, searching for truth by using human methods to support human interests, is based upon Greek philosophy.
Rome is known for its persecuting/desolating power, as iron breaks and subdues all things:
When we look at the feet of the image in Daniel 2 we see that the strength of the iron/Rome continues through, its persecuting/desolating power of the state, with the miry clay being a symbol of an apostate church - clay is used to symbolize God's people, His church...
Thus miry/dirty clay would symbolize a dirty church/apostate church. So in putting all of this together we find the following points about the reign of the Antichrist power:
There will be some form of idol/sun worship with decrees/laws that will be supported with human philosophy/wisdom, and it will be enforced by some form of persecution/death threat with all being done in the name of God, at the end of time.
There will be an enforcement of some type of sun/day worship by political decrees/laws, and it will be reasoned out why this is done through human philosophy/wisdom with the threat of persecution, and it will be done in the name of Christianity at the end of time. Chapter 13 shows this very thing.
At the end of time Satan, through the anti-Christian Papal power, will attack God's people spiritually with sun worship.
He wants to attack God's people politically with human laws.
And he will attack God's people mentally with human wisdom/the wisdom of man.
He will also attack God's people physically with persecution.
And then he wants to attack God's people in the name of God!
Dragon gave - Firstly we saw that Pagan Rome was the dragon in chapter 12. But we need to remember that, even though it was Pagan Rome that gave the Papacy its power etc. which we will see in a moment, primarily the dragon is Satan.
So ultimately the power behind this beast is Satan.
Seat...
It is clear that Constantine gave to the papacy its seat when he moved the seat of government from Rome to Constantinople in the East, thus bequeathing her seat to the papacy. Giving this beast power and great authority was done through Justinian and his general Belisarius in 538 AD.
Revelation 13:3 "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."
So this beast that has risen out of the sea, who has received power from the dragon, it says that he receives a mortal wound, but it then says that the mortal would was healed and then all the world marvelled at and followed the beast.
Wounded to death - With one of its head being wounded to death it shows that the papacy has to be one of the heads, But remember that the papacy is a church/state and that the church never ceased to exist but that the temporal/political power was vanquished. This took place in 1798:
But this wound is to be healed and she will once again be resurrected and restored to her full power, as is seen in the latter portion of the chapter. This means that her temporal/political power must be fully restored to her as it was during her first reign. The healing process for this started in 1929.
On February 11th 1929 an historic treaty was signed between the Italian Government and the Vatican re-establishing the political power and diplomatic standing of the Catholic Church. 60 years of enmity ended as throngs cheered in the streets. The Lateran Concordat was signed by Cardinal Gasparri on behalf of the pope and Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III.
To marvel or have in admiration - We see this now as the Pope is treated like a Head of State wherever he goes, no other church leader has the impact as does the Papacy, and it is growing ever stronger.
Revelation 13:4 "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"
So this beast, this power, is not just a political power. Now beasts in Bible prophecy normally represent political powers, but this beast is different because it receives worship, therefore it is not just a political power it is also a religious power, so we have a religious-political power here that is going to play a very definite part in the events of the last days.
So this beast we are studying here in Revelation 13 is a composite of, or is made up of, four others, and the dragon gave it his power, seat and authority. Now we find that these four beasts are mentioned in Daniel the 7th chapter. And in that chapter you have a lion, a bear, a leopard and a fourth beast like a dragon. And this beast here in Revelation 13 is made up of parts of those four beasts in Daniel 7. And so the Bible is defining for us exactly who this beast power is.
Clearly in worshipping the beast you are worshipping and giving homage to the dragon. Applying the interpretation would mean that in worshipping the papal power you are giving your homage and worship to Satan himself. This is exactly what he has desired from the beginning as we saw in chapter 12.
The beast is just a front man for the dragon, it is the one through whom the dragon works and operates, a visible agency.
Revelation 13:5-6 "5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."
We have looked at blasphemies and now here again we see the 42 months (1,260 days/years), This dates from 538-1798 the longest reigning power, and also of persecution.
As we have seen this beast is contrary to God, it blasphemes God, His name and His tabernacle.
Revelation 13:7 "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
So not only does this power blaspheme God, but it is also against those who are followers of God, because it says here that this power made war against the saints, against God's people throughout the world - this is what we found as we looked at the 42 months, or 1260 days/years.
Revelation 13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
So it says that all those whose names are not written in the book of life will worship this beast. In the end it is clear that there will only be two groups, those that worship the beast/papacy and those that worship Jesus Christ and have their names written in the Lamb's book of life. It is worthy to note that those who follow after the papacy and worship her do not have their names in the book of life to the loss of their salvation.
Notice that it is the Lamb's book of life. The lamb is a reference to the manifestation of His self-sacrificing love in dying for our sins, putting aside Himself for the salvation of others. A life that did not use force or coercion, this is in total contrast to the beast. We are to manifest the same self-sacrificing love that Christ did, a love that will put aside self and devote the entire life to Christ.
True brotherly love.
Revelation 13:9 "If any man have an ear, let him hear."
Now any time the Bible uses this phrase it means that this is something vitally important that God wants us to know and understand.
Now from these things we've just seen, God gives us seven points by which we can clearly identify this beast (and there are many more), so we don't have to be in doubt. It says that...
1. He receives his power and authority from the dragon
2. He would speak blasphemies
3. He would make war with the saints
4. He would rule for 1,260 years (42 months)
5. He would receive a mortal wound
6. The mortal wound would be healed
7. All the world wondered after the beast
It's important to understand what it's talking here, it's about a power, a system, it's not talking about people. We must not take anything here and apply it to individuals. This is talking about a system of false worship, a system that is contrary to God, it's not talking about sincere individuals.
The seven points that are listed here cannot be applied to any other power on the face of the earth. These 7 points have never been found to fit any other power than one. And if all seven points fit this power then we can be absolutely sure that this is who it is talking about. So we are now going to take a look at each of these seven points, one by one, and see how they fit this particular power.
Point 1 - He receives his power and authority from the dragon
Now the beasts mentioned in this verse represent nations the lion represented Babylon, the bear represented Medo-Persia and the leopard represented Greece, and you can see this clearly in Daniel chapter 7. The dragon mentioned here represents pagan Rome. This dragon is also mentioned in Revelation 12. So it says that pagan Rome would give to this beast its power, its authority, and its throne. History tells us that this is exactly what happened.
This was the beginning of what history has recorded as Papal Rome. Pagan Rome gave to Papal Rome its power, its seat and its authority.
Now when we talk about the dragon we need to clarify this, because Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon also represents Satan.
Now Satan does not do things openly, he always uses a power or a system, and the system he used here was pagan Rome. History goes on and says this:
Now the emperor of Rome at this time was Justinian, and we have looked at this history in previous studies, as we have looked at the Goths etc.
Now this date of 538 AD is very important in relation to this beast power that rises up out of the sea.
Point 2 - He would speak blasphemies
So it says that this beast is going to blaspheme God. We have defined from scripture what blasphemy is.
So the Jews wanted to stone Jesus because he made Himself equal with God. Of course Christ had every right to say that He was God.
But the Roman Catholic Church states the following:
So the Catholic Church claims to hold the place of God on earth, this is their own statement and there are numerous other similar statements. In one such statement they claim that all the names that apply to Christ also apply to the Pope.
Forgiveness of sins?
So Christ had just forgiven the sins of this woman, and the Jews complained that He didn't have the power to forgive sins, only God can do that. Again the Catholic Church states the following:
So the Catholic Church states that the priest has the power to forgive sins.
Point 3 - He would make war with the saints
So it says that this beast would make war with the saints, with God's faithful people, to overcome them. As we have looked back in history we have found this to be true. This is what history has to say about it:
All you have to do is go back in history and read about the period known as the Dark Ages. You can read such books as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, or Short's Short Stories of the Reformation, or The History of Europe by Qualben, or Here I Stand by Bainton. These books list case after case, such as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre where 60,000 Huguenots were slain in 1572. History is of full of examples of what took place when this beast made war against the saints. It has done exactly that. History bears out this fact without any question.
Point 4 - He would rule for 1,260 years (42 months)
So it says that this beast will have authority for 42 months, and we found out earlier that the Papacy came to power in 538 AD. Now there are 30 days in a Biblical month, and if we multiply 42 months by 30 days this gives us 1,260 days. And in Bible prophecy a day represents a literal year as the books of Numbers and Ezekiel tells us:
So 42 months gives us 1,260 days, which equals 1,260 literal years during which this beast would rule. And history bears out that this is exactly what happened, because when you add 1,260 years to 538 AD it takes us to the date of 1798 AD. So the beast power would rule, or be in authority, for this period of time, 1,260 years. And this is exactly what took place, because scripture continues and tell us this...
Point 5 - He would receive a mortal wound
In 1798 something had to happen. Now at this time in history Napoleon is in power, and he wanted to rule Europe, he wanted Europe to become one nation, he wanted to create a European empire. Napoleon knew full well that he could never accomplish this as long as Papal Rome had power, and so this is what took place:
Just as scripture had said, when the 1,260 years came to an end in 1798, the Papal power also came to an end. Napoleon's general Berthier marched into Rome, took the Pope prisoner and took him back to France where he died in prison. So in 1798 the beast received its deadly wound.
Now the Papacy was very powerful, it owned large amounts of land in Italy, which was known as the Papal States, it owned huge amounts of land, its power extended across Italy, across Europe and even as far as Britain. And when Napoleon took the Pope prisoner, he took away all of that power, abolished the Papal government and set up a secular power in its place.
Point 6 - The mortal wound would be healed
So it says that the deadly wound that this beast received was healed. Now if all the beast's power had been taken away in order for the beast to be healed that power would have to be given back.
When the rule of the Papacy came to an end in 1798, this began a period of time known as the Roman Question, and this lasted for over 100 years. During this period there were many efforts made to re-establish the Papal government, but every time they tried the Italian parliament would not accept it. And so this process went back and forth for over 100 years, until finally we come to the 1900's.
Now at this time (as we have looked at above) there is a man who has come to power in Italy, who is no longer controlled by the Italian parliament, and his name is Mussolini. Now Mussolini decides that he is going to settle the Roman Question, and so negotiations were set up with the Papal power, and these went back and forth for quite some time, until finally they worked out what was called the Lateran Pact, and this pact was signed and put into effect in 1929.
This is how the historic event was reported in the press:
With the signing of the Lateran Pact, this is what was given back to the Papacy:
1. It made the Vatican City a sovereign government
2. The Papacy was paid 21 million dollars for the spoliation of (doing away with) the Papal states
3. It gave the Papacy the right to send and receive ambassadors
4. It gave the Papacy diplomatic immunity
5. It resulted in the uniting of Church and State
Now when Napoleon took away the power of the Papacy, all that remained was the church, they no longer had any political power. But with the signing of the Lateran Pact they became more than a church, it made them a sovereign government, a sovereign nation, it gave them the same rights as all other governments, and so the Papacy became the head of a state and thus regained its political power.
In 1929, 21 million dollars was a lot of money, so the Papacy became immensely wealthy.
This is what the signing of the Lateran Pact did for the Papacy. The deadly wound, which it had since 1798, was starting to be healed. Today we can see the effects of this. In the tiny Vatican state within the city of Rome you can find ambassadors from every country in the world. For years the United States had no ambassador at the Vatican, today it does. What other religious leader has spoken at the United Nations?
So the Papacy has been given back all its authority.
Point 7 - All the world wondered after the beast
So this beast received a deadly wound, it was healed, and now it says that all the world followed the beast. So what has happened since 1929 and the signing of the Lateran Pact?
| 1929 | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | ? | 1.4 billion |
| Ambassadors | None | 180 |
| Civic Power | None | Sovereign |
| Leadership | None | Foremost |
In 1929 the membership of the Catholic Church was probably not very great. In 2010 it had 1.4 billion, that's at least one fifth of the world's population. At the signing of the Lateran Pact the Pope gave a speech, and he ended it with the words; "go and have babies". Now you know why he spoke those words! The membership of the church has risen unbelievably.
In 1929 the Vatican had no ambassadors. Today it has 180.
In 1929 the Vatican had no civil power, it had been taken away. Today it is a sovereign government.
In 1929 the Vatican had no leadership in the world. Today the Pope is one of the foremost leaders in the world.
As you read through the scriptures you find that both John the Revelator and the apostle Paul believed this power to be the antichrist, they both speak of it this way:
So Paul says that this man of sin exalts himself above God. Now when people hear the word "antichrist" they think it means "against", but that's not the way it's used in scripture in scripture it actually means "in place of", and that's what Paul is saying here. This is a power that is usurping the position of God, setting himself in the place of God.
Let's see from scripture a description of the antichrist. This list shows things about Christ compared with things about the beast or antichrist. Remember Satan always tries to impersonate Christ...
| Christ | Beast of Revelation 13 |
|---|---|
| Begins His ministry coming out of water Luke 3:21 | Comes up out of water |
| One with His Father John 14:9 | One with the Dragon |
| Authority from the Father Revelation 2:27 | Authority from the Dragon |
| Wearing a crown Rev 19:12 | Wears a crown |
| Wielding a sword Rev 1:16 | Wielding a sword |
| Seven horns Rev 5:6 | Ten horns |
| Ministry lasted for 3½ years | Rules for 3½ prophetic years (42 prophetic months/1,260 literal years) |
| Receives a deadly wound Rev 5:6 | Receives a deadly wound |
| Came back to life Rev 5:6 | Deadly wound healed |
Let's also look at the parallels between Daniel 7 and Revelation 13...
| Daniel 7 | Revelation 13 |
|---|---|
| Blasphemous | Blasphemous |
| Persecutes the saints | Persecutes the saints |
| Reigns for 1260 days/years | Reigns for 42 months (1260 days/years) |
| Arises out of divided Roman Empire | Rome gives power, seat and great authority |
| Lion, Bear, Leopard, 10 Horns | Lion, Bear, Leopard, 10 Horns |
| Diverse, Church and State | Beast (State), Church (Object of worship) |
It's very important that you and I are settled into what we understand and what we believe because it says here in Revelation 13:10...
So it's very important that we know exactly who this beast is, because as we continue our study of Revelation this beast will appear over and over again. But now we are now going to look at the beast that rises from the earth, the second of the two beasts described in this chapter.
The Beast from the Earth
Many great nations are mentioned in the word of God, and the United States is no exception. This nation is mentioned because of the influence it has on the whole world and because of how it relates to the people of God. This is why nations are mentioned in scripture, because of their worldwide influence and their effect on the people of God, and the United States is mentioned for the same reasons, this is what we will now look at. Abraham Lincoln, when he gave his famous cooper union address on the eve of the Civil War, said this:
This is basically the purpose of Bible prophecy - it's to help you and I understand where we are and where we are heading. And that is the subject of these Revelationn studies to help you and I understand where we are heading.
There are three important characters involved in prophecy that it's important for us to identify.
The first of these is "The Dragon". This dragon is pictured in Revelation 12, and the Bible says clearly that it represents the devil. So when the Bible talks about the dragon it's referring to Satan. Satan works through earth's leaders and nations to hurt God's people and thus bring heartache to Jesus and the Father. We so easily forget that Satan is the enemy. He is the one responsible for all evil.
The next character is what the Bible calls "The Beast", and we have found out that this beast represents Papal Rome. The Bible also refers to this beast as the antichrist.
The last of the three characters is called the "False Prophet". In Revelation 19:20, God mentions the destruction of the beast, He also refers to the destruction of the false prophet. In this passage, God identifies the false prophet as the power which "wrought miracles" before the beast and "deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image". This is a very clear reference to the activities of the lamb-horned beast, which are described in Revelation 13:11-18. These verses identified the lamb-horned beast as the United States of America. So the lamb-horned beast and the false prophet are obviously the same power.
These three characters figure prominently in the rest of the book of Revelation so it's very important that we understand clearly who they are.
So here you have these three characters, and it says evil spirits come out of their mouths, and these three are opposed to God and His people, the Bible says that these three are the ones who will make war with the Lamb.
We saw how the beast character received its deadly wound this happened in 1798 AD when Napoleon's General Bethier made his entrance into Rome, took the Pope prisoner, abolished the Papal government and established a secular one, and the political power of the Papacy came to an end. So in 1798 the Papal power received a deadly wound.
Revelation 13:10 "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
The Papal power had led people into captivity and plunged many into the dungeon to rot. She killed, persecuted and coerced by the sword, but she received that which she dealt out. The scriptures said; he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword and go into captivity. It had killed people with the sword, and the Bible says that this power would also be killed with the sword. And so we find that in 1798 the Papacy was taken into captivity just as the scripture said.
Revelation 13:11 "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
In contrast to the Papal power, which arises out of the densely populated area of Europe, or the sea, Protestant America rises out of a sparsely populated area of the earth.
The timing of these beasts are very important, because what the scripture is saying is that just as the first beast (the sea beast that came up out of the sea), just as that beast is going into captivity, then John saw another beast rising in power. Just as one beast goes down, the other beast is coming up. And this happed around the time of 1798. So as one beast was taken into captivity, the scripture says that another beast would be coming up on the horizon, rising in power.
John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist church. He was a great man and a great teacher of God's word. As he studied the book of Revelation he made notes and put them in a file. When he died they found his file which was full of notes on the book of Revelation, and they turned it into a book which you can buy, called "Notes on Revelation" by John Wesley. In his notes he talked about the two beasts in Revelation 13, and this is what he had to say about the second beast of chapter 13:
The pilgrims who emigrated to the New World were trying to get away from persecution. They landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 AD, and they began to set up a colony there and they began to grow. And as they began to grow they began to want independence from England, they wanted to form their own nation. And so in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was written. Then in 1789 we have the Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1791. And in 1798 the first beast goes into captivity. So, just as one beast goes into captivity, the other beast was rising. There is no other power that fits this time sequence, except the United States.
Two horns like a lamb - Protestant America would be built upon anti-Catholic principles - the 2 horns on the one beast is a symbol of 2 kingdoms within this one power.
This beast with "two horns like a lamb" represents a nation of youth, innocence and gentleness, which is based on the two great principles of civil and religious liberty.
At its inception, the United States had the strength of its form of government, and of its people's religion. Republicanism and Protestantism were the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. It is strong because the government and the church are separate, without one controlling the other.
The kingdom of the church and the kingdom of the state (as the 2 horns are separate so are church and state to be separate in the nation of America) a separation of church and state, civil and religious freedom which is contrary to Catholic teaching. Notice the following in the Constitution of the United States:
The Lamb is also a reference to Christ, the Lamb of God (verse 8 and John 1:29), thus the nation was to be built upon Christian principles, separation of church and state being one of them.
So this second beast comes up out of the earth, whereas the first beast came up out of the water.
In Bible prophecy water represents peoples, nations and languages as we have seen in Revelation 17:15. So the other beast, the first beast, came out of nations, from populated areas of the earth, through war and strife etc, but that's not the way this second beast comes into existence. It comes into existence exactly as it says on the Statue of Liberty:
The pilgrims came to the New World seeking a better life, seeking freedom of worship. That's how the United States came into existence, not out of the sea, not in populated areas of the world, but out of the earth, in a place that was not populated.
So it says that this beast has two horns. Now horns on a beast represent power. And some of the beasts in prophecy have 10 horns, and some of them have crowns on meaning that they are ruled by a monarch. This beast has two horns but it doesn't have crowns on them, but it still represents power. What do these two horns represent? They represent the two founding principles on which the United States was established. America didn't want independence from England as much to avoid the taxation as they did over the question of rulership, how they were governed, that's what they did not like.
Civil and religious rights those are the two horns. The pilgrims came over to the New World and they said; we want a government by the people, for the people and through the people. We do not want a king; we want a government by the people. Secondly we want to have the right to worship as we please, as our conscience dictates. These are the two principles, the two horns, on which the United States was built. These give everyone the right to worship according to their conscience, and it also gives them the right to representation in the government.
This man is speaking about how they were being governed and what England was doing back then; this was the conflict that was taking place. And the two principles of civil and religious rights are how the United States came into being and are the principles on which the government was based. Those two principals have held the United States in good stead for over 200 years, but now the government in various ways is coming close to altering or abrogating these principles on which the constitution is based, disregarding what the founding fathers believed and stood for, and forgetting how God has blessed the United States as a nation since it was formed. America's greatest need, by the grace of God, is to remember from where it has come, it needs to look back and see how the hand of God has presided over the nation and how He has led it in such a marvellous and special way.
The word "Lamb" means "young" and also "gentle".
So this Lamb represents Christ. It also represents being "Christ-like", having a gentle spirit, and this is how the United States began as a nation.
If you go to Washington DC, you can walk through the park or go to the House of Representatives, you can go into the Senate, you can visit all those places, and you'll find that God is written all over that city, there is statement after statement in which they say things about God. These were God-fearing men and women who laid down the principles of the nation, and these were based on Christian principles, and these principles are what has guided and led the nation over the years since its formation.
Conflict broke out between England and the United states - the War of Independence took place. That war was unbelievably hard, it was so hard that it totally bankrupted all of the 13 colonies, it took all their finances and they had nothing left. It was so severe that it severed all of the lines of communication between the colonies, and because there was no communication each one of the colonies believed that it bore the brunt of the war, each colony believed that it had been affected worst by the war. When the war was over, a constitutional congress was called, but those who went there ended up in so many arguments until finally the delegation from New York went home and it looked like the whole congress was going to fall apart. Then a man stood up and gave a speech, and said this:
And with that speech he was able to pull that congress together, and as a result they sat down and wrote one of the greatest documents that has ever been written, the constitution of the United States. These were men and women that believed in God and His word - this is what motivated them, they based their lives upon Christian principles and teachings.
When the first president of the United States was elected, George Washington, he spoke the following words in his inaugural address:
He said that no one should be able to see and understand God's providence and leading better than the people of the United States. He went on to say:
He said that no nation which goes contrary to God should ever expect His blessing and protection.
This is the heritage of the United States; this is what God gave that nation. That is why the scripture says that this beast from the earth had two horns like a Lamb, because it was young, it was gentle, it was Christ-like in character.
If only the scripture ended there. If only the scripture said nothing more about this Lamb-like beast. But God doesn't work that way. God gives the whole story. And so the scripture goes on to say:
Now if a lamb is gentle and Christ-like, what is a dragon? It's the exact opposite. So the scripture says that this gentle, Christ-like, two-horned beast is going to completely change its character, it will change to the point where it will speak like a dragon. So this beast will change its character and will no longer exercise gentleness, but it will instead exercise force.
So this two-horned beast exercises the power and authority of the dragon, and the dragon represents Satan. Now let's look at what this two-horned beast is going to do.
Spake as a dragon - Eventually Protestant America will turn against those great principles that made her a strong nation and speak like a dragon - a persecuting power as seen in verses 12, 15-17. She will change to the side of the devil who ultimately is the dragon. She will speak through her legislature.
It is interesting to note that at the time of the Bush administration the Justice system/Supreme Court of America was made up of the following people:
Chief Justice John Roberts - Catholic
Stephen G. Breyer - Jewish
Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Jewish
Anthony M. Kennedy - Catholic
Antonin Scalia - Catholic
David H. Souter - Episcopalian
John Paul Stevens - Protestant
Clarence Thomas - Catholic
Samuel Alito - Catholic
Two places became vacant, Rehnquist died and O'Connor resigned about 2 weeks later, during George Bush Jr's presidency and it is interesting to note that he placed 2 Catholics to the high court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Something else that is interesting to note is that there is only one Protestant filling a position.
So it is seen that the Catholics have 56% of the votes and thus the balance of power to push through decisions they want made. The Catholic Church already has control of the justice system of America. Which brings to mind a very relevant quote from Archbishop Quigley back in 1903:
This point is also shown by the following points.
Alberto Rivera, an ex-Jesuit priest, spoke of a secret sign to be given amongst the Jesuit order:
From March 4, 1837 when Martin Van Buren was inaugurated through to January 20, 1977 when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated, the ceremony was conducted on the East Portico of the Capitol Building. But when it came to Ronald Reagan it all of a sudden changed to the West Front of the Capitol Building, from whence one looks to the west, straight to one of the biggest obelisks.
Studying Reagan's Presidency we find that he did much to unite the U.S. and the Vatican. Much more information could be given but space does not allow it.
As of 2015 the Supreme Court consists of six Catholics and three Jews.
So we can see that the dragon, or Satan, is the controlling power behind both beasts in chapter 13, as the two horned beast eventually speaks as the dragon speaks.
The USA who had fled from Papal persecution and the right for freedom of belief have now forgotten where they come from and why. Sadly by the time they see, for many it will be too late.
Revelation 13:12 "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
Exercise all the power of the first beast - To understand this we must ask what power the Papacy had. The Papal power exercised authority over matters of the state and that of the church. So for America to exercise the same power/authority she must enter into the realm of religion and seek to dominate religious worship. It must change so as to allow church and state to unite and thus religious liberty would disappear with religious oppression being legalized. Showing that it is a world-wide power which will force or coerce the inhabitants of the earth to worship the Papal power whose wound is healed. It will go from anti-Catholic to pro-Catholic, of which we see taking place before our eyes.
The two-horned beast is going to exercise all the power and authority of the first beast, and we saw that the first beast persecuted the saints, and that it was also a uniting of church and state.
Revelation 13:13-14 "13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."
The two-horned beast will have great power.
This two-horned beast, referred to here in Revelation 19 as the false prophet, will be given power to perform signs/miracles to deceive the whole world.
Miracles and deception - Miracles are for the purpose of deceiving those that dwell on the earth. But the deceptive miracles that this two-horned beast does in the sight of the first beast clearly links us to the false prophet, who performed miracles before the beast to deceive those that had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image, which is the identical work of the two-horned beast of Revelation 16:
These verses in Revelation 16 show that these deceptive miracles find their origin with the spirits of devils, that is, spiritualistic forces or demons. But why the miracles? One reason is that Jesus pointed to the many miracles/mighty works that He performed as testifying to His divine mission as the Saviour of mankind and attested to the truth of His mission. Jesus pointed to these mighty works as evidence of His divine authority and Messiahship (John 5:36; 10:25, 37-38; 14:10-11).
Here in Revelation, the miracles are used to give authenticity and authority to the errors they are teaching and enforcing and thus aiding their work of deception, bringing the populous under their control, to encourage them to make an image to the beast/Papal power.
This is how the two-horned beast speaks like a dragon.
Revelation 13:15 "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, 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."
Notice that the earthly government that it is to be connected with is the two-horned beast/false prophet, the United States of America. The agency that is behind the outward manifestations is Satanic, the spirit of devils. It is also interesting to note that The United States is the birth place of modern spiritualism.
In verse 15 we see John bringing the subject matter to its natural climax, the death decree for those who refuse to worship the beast/the papal power and his image/the replicating of the papal power in the U.S. Then in verses 16-18 John steps back and gives more information on the coercion used, the mark of the beast and the number 666.
Putting these verses together in their correct order, we see that there is a progression of coercion against those who do not bend the knee in false worship. First, laws will be made dealing with the enforcement of the mark of the beast (note that the mark of the beast is the "mark" of the "beast" or the mark of the Papal power). Also note that the entire issue in this chapter is worship - who you will worship - the beast and his image or the Lamb that was slain.
So the two-horned beast makes an image to the first beast, and it has power to give life to that image, it makes the image come to life. The scripture says that the two-horned beast would both "speak" and "cause" "speak" means to legislate, "cause" means to enforce.
Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
The two-horned beast speaks and causes everyone in the world to receive the mark of the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. To receive the mark in the hand means to be led, or coerced into receiving the mark. To receive the mark in the forehead means to receive it willingly, by conscious choice.
Revelation 13:17 "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
Laws will be made to boycott (so they cannot function in society nor survive physically) those who will remain faithful to God and worship Him alone, to try and bring them into submission. When it is seen that this is not working, a death decree will be issued to exterminate God's true people.
So there are three laws:
1. The mark of the beast global Sunday Law
2. No buying and selling, to enforce/coerce people to receive the mark
3. A death decree, to coerce and enforce the mark
Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
The scripture says this beast would have the mysterious number 666. Verse 18 says "It is the number of a man" and Revelation 15:2 says it is "the number of his name":
What man do you think of when you think of the Papacy? Naturally, we all think of the Pope - but that is not his official name. Here is a Catholic quote:
Malachi Martin, in The Keys of This Blood, uses the same title for the Pope on pages 114 and 122 of this book. A footnote for Revelation 13:18 in some Douay [Catholic] versions of the Bible says, "The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number."
In Roman numerals, some letters are given a numerical value. If we take the official Latin title of the Pope and convert this to Roman numerals, we get the following:
So the Pope's official Latin title, "Vicarius Filii Dei", in Roman numerals = 666.