Revelation 13

God rules the raging of the sea. The waters may roar, together with all the creatures that fill the oceans; the restless world and all who dwell in it. But when the Son of God came to atone for our transgressions, He was able to still the sea with the power of His voice. When God sent forth His messenger earlier in John's vision, he did what man could not do. He stood securely with one foot on the sea and the other on the land. Jesus can defeat any beast that rises up against us.

Revelation 13 speaks of two beasts that are on the same evil team. The first comes out of the sea crowned with ornaments of power and authority, standing against God with blasphemous names on his heads. This beast has the power of the old dragon, Satan. If the beast seems to be dead, do not imagine that his story is over yet. The world worships the beast as well as the dragon who is the one who empowers him.

That beast has his three and a half times of the current age during which he is able to speak against God and His heavenly church. Yet the beast and the dragon are not above the Lord. Their pretense at absolute majesty and divinity fits into a larger sovereign plan that is beyond them. We are told that the beast is “given” a mouth to say certain things, and that it is “allowed” to exercise authority for a defined period of time. It was “allowed” to make war against the church on earth and even to conquer them. Remember that God allowed Babylon of old to conquer Jerusalem. That was part of His larger plan as well. We can trust Him even through overwhelming setbacks.

This beast is not only allowed to plague the church. He is also given an extraordinary friendship with the world beyond the church, everyone “whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” This phrase is worthy of your careful consideration. God has known His people long before they were born. He also knew that His Son would be the Lamb slain for our salvation. All of the central truths of sin and redemption were part of the eternal decree of Almighty God. It should not surprise us that the suffering that comes to us in our lives was also planned by God.

Some will be taken captive, as the Israelites were so many centuries before. Some will be slain by the sword, as was James the brother of the writer of this book in the early years after the ascension of Jesus to heaven. The call to the church is not to safety and ease, but to faith and endurance.

There is a second beast who now appears rising out of the earth. The role of this being is to make “the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.” He performs spectacular prophetic, Elijah-like, power encounter signs that impress and deceive many people, leading them to make an image of the beast and to worship that image.

This image is more than a lifeless idol. Just as the serpent in the Garden had capabilities beyond what would have been expected from a being lower than mankind, this image inspires fear in the hearts of those who fall for these spectacular displays. It can kill you if you don't worship it.

Christ is the true image of the true God. He speaks to us as the Word of peace who was willing to suffer the pains of hell for us. He looks on us in our trembling need and says, “Fear not.” And we are marked through baptism in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The idolatrous image also demands that the people be marked, claiming absolute authority over everyone. Small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, they must all have his mark. If they do not then they cannot buy or sell. Do you want to make something of your life in this world? Even more than that, do you want to be able to eat, to have a place to live, to engage in necessary acts of commerce? Sorry, the law is the law, and there are people ready to enforce it. You need to get with the program. That bit of incense to Caesar. That sign in the shop window that assures the authorities that you are a loyal comrade. Participation in customary observances that display the right kind of patriotism. Don't you just love the world? Won't you stand up for the great beast that came out of the tumultuous seas? Would you dare to defy the voice of this second beast. He calls all the people to give appropriate respect to the image of the one who has done powerful deeds.

Behold the man! Here is the new Adam. His number is six. He is one and many. He defies the living God and stands against the true Son of David, our Messiah. But he must do all this according to God's permission. Every opportunity for authority must be given to him by the real God. How humiliating!

But what a test for all those who would follow the Suffering Servant of the Lord! What a difference between Christ and the beast. The beast seems to be able to bring about impressive displays of the spectacular. He can make you starve. He can kill you. But Jesus died for you. He is the Lord of love.

As for the spectacular, the true resurrection is a worthy achievement. And the kingdom of heaven above is the very definition of matchless glory. Do not be fooled by any usurper demanding your worship. Stay with the one King who gave His life for your eternal well being. Here is a call to patient endurance.