-
Mar
29
2009
Revelation 13:1,11; 14:1
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.
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.
14:1 And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
First Things First
I’m not going to be breaking these two chapters down verse by verse. In fact, this thought from Revelations 13-14 has more to do with the literary effect than it does the careful (and necessary) interpretation of what this passage is referring to. I do not believe in allegorizing the book of Revelation away into some fairy tale or fable. Yet, I cannot be so blind as to not recognize that this passage was written in such a way to create a desired response in the reader. Someday in the future, we may look at the real, as of yet unfulfilled prophecies of these chapters. Today we are going to start simple.
Repetition of Phraseology
In these 2 chapters, we are introduced (or reintroduced) to three of the most important characters of the book. In all three of these instances, John uses very similar words.
And I…saw a beast…
And I beheld another beast…
And I looked, and lo, a Lamb…
I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired these passages like this for two reasons.
- This creates clearly defined sections in the reading.
- This parallelism invites comparisons between the subjects. God wants us to contrast the beast, the other beast, and the Lamb.
Repetition of Imagery
Also images are repeated. Both the Anti-Christ and the False prophet are described as beasts, while Christ is presented as the Lamb. Another recurrent image is the location from whence they are discovered. The beasts rise from the sea and from the earth. On the other hand, Christ does not appear, rise, descend, or any other thing that conveys motion. (Rev. 14:1) John simply saw Christ standing on Mount Sion.
This is crucial for the same reason as above. God is setting up a comparison.
How can this help me?
These two passages are written in such a way as to create a feeling of despair in the reader. There is at least one verse of comfort (13:10), but the overwhelming theme of chapter 13 is the rise to power of evil. One right after the next. No doubt during this terrible time in the Earth’s future, there will be great temptation for God’s remnant to think that help will never come, that evil is too strong. We know that David dealt with this:
Psalm 28:1
Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Don’t we at times arrive at this place in our life? It seems like the heavens are dead to us and our prayers can’t make it through the ceiling. Evil is rising out of the sea and out of the earth. What’s the point? Where’s the hope?
It is at these times that we must remember to keep going. In Revelation, it is not until the next chapter that John see the Lamb of God not rising but simply standing on the mount with 144,000 of His people.
The Anti-Christ tries to be a replacement of Christ. The False Prophet mimics in many ways the work of the Holy Spirit in that his “job” is to turn people to his false Anti-Christ. Yet, as we read Revelation, there is no mistaking of when the Real Christ appears. There is no substitute.
Although David seems pretty despondent in Psalm 28:1, it is not too long before he snaps out of it and realizes that “the Lord is my strength and my shield.”
Psalm 28:6
Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplication.
Loneliness, depression, and doubt may all grip our flesh in the midnight hour, but let us remember that just as real as our troubles may be, so is Christ. He may not seem to be there, but He is. He may not seem to be hearing our pleas, but He is.