Session 6 (part 2) – chapter 13

   - John exposes the spiritual forces behind the kingdoms of the world and encourages the Church not to be rattled by this kingdom’s power or deceived

   - In this chapter, John explains how the kingdom of this world is a blasphemous imitation of the kingdom of the Lamb

THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA

   - Context - Daniel 7:1-7

   - It represents a compilation of all the worldly empires of Daniel’s prophecy

   - Dragon gives this beast enormous power and authority

   - The world is deceived and worships the beast because of its false resurrection

   - Represents worldly empires, systems, structures, and ideologies

   - Incredibly impressive and powerful to sight

   - The beast’s range is global

   - Aim – to make war on the saints

   - Everyone on the earth will suffer the rule of this beast

   - The Church are called to patient endurance and faithfulness

THE BEAST OUT OF THE EARTH

   - False messiah – appearance of a lamb

   - It spoke like a dragon – Satanic

   - The human face of worldly empires that have Satan behind them

   - A deceiver

   - Aim – get people to worship the beast out of the sea and ensnare them through economic control

   - Demands to totally control people’s thoughts and actions (mark of the beast)

             > This represents a contrast to God’s call to Israel (Exodus 13:9)

   - The dragon and the two beasts form an unholy trinity

   - In the end, John is not presenting readers with a riddle. He is warning the Church to beware of people and empires who behave like a counterfeit God – behind them is Satan.

   - Wherever a society attempts to create something that seeks to replace the Church or Christ, you’ll find these beasts.

   - Keep your eyes on Jesus (Matthew 4:23 )

Questions

1. How is Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:23 helpful in understanding the deception and brute power of the beasts in chapter 13?

2. In what ways is the Kingdom of the world a false version of the Kingdom of God?

3. We are called to be people “in the world but not of the world”. Where do you encounter the Kingdom of this world? How can you stay faithful to Jesus?