The Reality of the Spiritual Battle

• Living the Christian life can be difficult at times.

  Being with Jesus, Becoming like Jesus, and Doing what Jesus did is difficult to do 100% of the time. It is not easy to resist temptation, do the right thing 100% of the time, maintain spiritual disciplines (Bible study, prayer, solitude, sabbath), grow in character, and navigate complex relational or family dynamics.

• Life in a broken world throws additional trials our way:

  Financial troubles, sickness, grief, and dealing with difficult ("EGR" - Extra Grace Required) people.

• We shouldn't be surprised by these hardships because we are in a spiritual battle.

  Spiritual realism means expecting opposition and planning for it.

The Context of Revelation 12 & 13

• There is a war for control of the universe and humanity that has gone on for a long time between God and Satan.

  Having failed to stop salvation through Jesus' birth, death, resurrection, and ascension to the throne of heaven, Satan now directs his wrath toward God’s people, the Church. He knows his time is short so he is attempting to draw as many people as he can away from God and persecute and kill followers of Jesus in an attempt to stop our witness to the world.

• The apocalyptic timelines (1,260 days / 42 months / 3 ½ years / A times, time, and ½ a time) are symbolic.

  They represent half of 7 (the number of divine completeness), signaling that the Enemy’s persecution is temporary, bounded, and has a definitive end. These timeframes represent the "church age" – the period spanning from the inception of the Church until the visible return of Jesus.

The Two Beasts of Revelation 13

The First Beast (Out of the Sea): Worldly Power & Empires

Revelation 13:1-2a…

The sea symbolizes darkness, evil, and chaos. The beast rising out of it signals that its origin is rooted in spiritual darkness and chaos. The 10 horns symbolize complete human power, while the crowns resting upon them represent complete human authority. Each of its heads bears a blasphemous name, openly mocking and slandering the name of God. The 7 heads symbolize complete knowledge. However, because it belongs to the beast, it represents a counterfeit completeness. It has maximum amount of spiritual deception.

The beast is a combination of the characteristics of the oppressive empires in Daniel 7 – Babylon (lion), Persia (bear), Greece (leopard), culminating in a terrifying final expression (Rome). It represents the total concentration of worldly, earthly power under the direct control of Satan. It includes all past, present, and future kingdoms up to the Last Day that oppose the Kingdom of God, demand ultimate allegiance, and progressively wage war against the Church.

Revelation 13:2b-3…

One of the beast's heads suffers what appears to be a fatal wound, yet it is miraculously healed, causing the entire world to follow it in awe.

Historically, this mirrors the Roman crisis of 69 AD (the year of three emperors and a bloody civil war), where the empire seemed on the brink of collapse before Vespasian restored stability.

Revelation 13:4-7…

The dragon gives the beast authority over the world and the power to wage war against God’s people. However, it can only exercise as much power as God allows, proving that God remains completely sovereign even when the battle gets ugly. The point John is making when he says the beast is given authority for 42 months is that his ability to conquer the world and wage war against God’s people is temporary and limited to the church age. This gives God’s people hope.

Revelation 13:8…

The word in the Greek that is translated as “inhabitants of the earth” is literally “earth dweller”. All earth dwellers will worship the beast. The number one name that's used for Christians in Revelation is translated as “holy ones” or “saints”, which has a very close affinity to non-earth. This is the reason we say, This world is not our home. We are people of another kingdom – the kingdom of God, if our name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.

This means we are not to put our hope and trust for our security and well-being in our government - our politics, economy, military. They will eventually fail us. Every worldly empire throughout the history of the world has failed and will eventually fail people because it is controlled by human beings, not God. Worldly powers are under the influence of the Dragon (Satan). I invite all of us to ponder that this election week. – Are you putting your hope for this nation in your political party (whatever one it is)? No matter what political party you align with, they ALL at some point take something that is a value of God’s and turn it into something that is not how God wants us to live. This happens because they are part of the beast described in Revelation. If we are putting our hope and trust in the political party which we have an affinity for, we have become like the people of God in 1 Samuel 8. God saw his people back then as rejecting him and his rule by putting their hope and trust in Worldly Power and government.

Jesus says His kingdom and His people are not of this world. We are a new creation according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, the way we function shouldn’t look like the rest of the world. Why? Because they are living in the old creation. People of the world are characterized by things that are different than what we are characterized by as followers of Jesus. So which kingdom are we putting our hope and trust in this week and beyond?

Revelation 3:9-10…

At the end of each message to all the churches in chapters 2-3, Jesus said, Whoever has ears, let them hear. He said this after calling his people to live out an ethic which he described for them – telling them how God’s people are to live and stay loyal to Jesus and overcome evil. The ears of the people perk up saying okay, you're going to tell me something about how to live my life for you. What does he say? Expect opposition in this world, and even persecution and death for some who don’t worship the beast or trust worldly powers.

Revelation is a violent book but never is violence done by Christians. It is always done by God, Jesus, or the minions of Satan against followers of Jesus. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness because our human tendency is to strike back. This is not an easy teaching or something easy to do (e.g., the 21 Christian men beheaded by radical Muslim extremists).

The ethic we are to live by is to let the world devour us as we love those around us! That’s how we win and how the kingdom grows. Whenever and wherever the beast wars against God’s people, the kingdom of God grows. What Satan intends for fear and intimidation turns into more wins for the kingdom of God. No other kingdom functions like that. No government says to just go into captivity or be killed by the sword.

The Second Beast (Out of the Earth): Worldly Propaganda

Revelation 13:11-14…

Rising out of the land or earth signifies an origin that appears more stable, tranquil, and less overtly threatening than the chaotic sea.

The Counterfeit Lamb: This beast has two horns like a lamb. It is intentionally designed to look gentle, attractive, non-threatening, and highly appealing. It is a "wolf in sheep's clothing." While it looks harmless, its speech immediately betrays its true nature because it speaks with the harsh voice of a dragon, carrying the exact spirit of the Devil.

The False Prophet

Later identified in Revelation as the false prophet, its sole mission is to execute the authority of the first beast and deceive the inhabitants of the earth into giving their life, worship, and ultimate trust to Worldly Power. It does this through worldly propaganda: false religions, secular philosophies, corrupted morals, distorted ethics, and compromised science. It uses cultural venues – media, movies, television, news networks, universities, and influential voices – to build a philosophy of life that completely excludes God.

Revelation 13:15-18…

Historically in Rome, refusing to worship Caesar meant economic exclusion from the Agora (marketplace). It also meant other kinds of persecution and possibly death due to being viewed as treasonous. Symbolically, the mark on the forehead (thoughts/beliefs) and the right hand (actions), reflect to who and what a person gives their allegiance.

Countering Satan's Strategies to Draw Us Away from God

Deception

Revelation 12:9, 13:14, John 8:44

Satan is the father of lies and seeks to paint false pictures in our minds to minimize sin or cause us to doubt God's goodness. Every chain of sin begins with a link of deceit.

How to counteract it: Ask the single truth question: Is this true? Evaluate whether the temptation will truly deliver what it promises. The Enemy will never prompt you to pursue real truth.

Intimidation

Revelation 13:4, 17

Satan uses social, psychological, economic, and peer pressure to force believers to cave in to the crowd. Often, deception leads us to do what is wrong, while intimidation stops us from doing what is right (sins of omission).

How to counteract it: Make a pre-decision before the pressure hits. Predetermine to stand firm and stay faithful, relying entirely on Christ’s strength rather than your own.