Revelation 13:4-10 “The Beast of Revelation Out of the Sea Will ‘Wow’ the World”

How the Beast of Revelation Out of the Sea Will ‘Wow’ the World

Bible Study Guide

(Verse 4) The beast of Revelation who comes out of the sea has just pulled off the most magnificent counterfeit act in the history of the world. In the previous Bible study guide, John describes how this beast that comes out of the sea will fake a fatal wound. It appears to John in his vision that it was a fake death in order to deceive the masses that the beast had been resurrected.

We understand after examining a passage in Zechariah, that this man described as the beast coming out of the sea will in fact be severally injured. It could be from an assassination attempt. We don’t know for sure.

Why would the beast go through all the trouble of counterfeiting the death and resurrection of Christ? Remember, his ambition is to become the spiritual leader of a global one world religion. In order to do this, he must attract a large number of followers.

How the Beast of Revelation Will Build His One World Religion

When Christ defeated death for the sake of our sins at His resurrection, it ignited a sudden and rapid growth of the Christian church. Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles that when the apostles began evangelizing, people were being saved and coming to Christ by the thousands.

The people living in the horrific chaos of the Tribulation Period will continue to reject Christ. Because so many will be deceived by the dragon (Satan) and the beast (Antichrist). This deception will reach its pinnacle when the dragon uses his power to make it look like the beast was killed and resurrected from the dead.

Just imagine for a moment, all the videos and photos that will race across the globe on cellphones. These videos and pictures will go viral in an instant. The world will be “wowed” by the counterfeit acts performed by the beast of Revelation.

People will be enthralled by the power of the dragon (Satan) and the beast (Antichrist). They’ll agree that they’ve finally found someone they can follow and put their trust in. Not knowing, all the while the deception that they’re falling for.

Imagine this for a moment if you have difficulty swallowing all of this. Look at Covid and remember how easily people were taken in and deceived by the lies generated by governments. Governments were lying through their teeth about vaccine effectiveness. Populations of people were hanging onto every word they spoke.

This will pale in comparison to the world’s reaction of this counterfeit death and resurrection. It’ll be a fake dog and pony show for the record books put on by the dragon and the beast out of the sea.

The Abomination that Causes Desolation Standing in the Holy Place

(Verses 5-6) This verse lets us know that John’s vision is at the midway point of the Tribulation. Because we’ve seen this measure of time before of 42 months that John records here in Revelation. It equates to half of the 7 year Tribulation. In this case, the 42 months represent the last half of the Tribulation. This period is also called the Great Tribulation.

It’s at the end of this period where Christ returns to rule and to judge.

The dragon and the beast know that their time is short and they must act quickly and with power to gain spiritual dominance over the inhabitants that remain on the earth.

Daniel’s Warning About the Beast

This halfway point was foretold of many times before John ever recorded in his Revelation account.

“After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
(Daniel 9:26-27)

Notice the prophet Daniel points to the middle of the “seven.” This is where John is in his vision that we’re looking at in this chapter. See how he indicates that the beast, who’ll begin as a friend of Israel, will turn on them and desecrate the third temple.

Remember, there is not a third temple yet. The same beast (Antichrist) will be the one to initiate a covenant that will allow for the building of a third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Daniel Gives a Second Warning

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1-2)

Here again, Daniel warns of the distress to come during the Great Tribulation. He also mentions the redemption that will follow for God’s people at the end when Christ returns.

Jesus Also Warns the Jews Directly of this Great Tribulation Turning Point

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
(Matthew 24:15-21)

(Verse 7) Notice in this verse, John makes clear that the beast is going to turn the tables on the alliance he has with the Jews. He’s going to wage war with the Jews. Imagine the atrocities that occur during a war. These will be leveled upon the Jews, first in Jerusalem and Israel, and then it’ll spread across the globe. The holocaust will pale in comparison to the works of Satan.

Christ gave a very explicit warning directly to the Jews about this very time. It’s in the quote above that comes from His Olivet discourse in Matthew 24.

Look carefully at what John records in the second sentence of verse 7. The beast of Revelation will not only war against the Jews, he’ll also go after the Zionist and Christians. In other words, anyone who’s for God will be a target for persecution and then death.

This is why Jesus tells the Jews specifically to run and don’t look back. The beast will turn on them quickly.

The entire world recently caught a glimpse of this after the attack on Israel against the Jews on Oct. 7, 2023. Antisemitism flooded the world with its hate for Israel and any Jew on the planet. Notice how it began to evolve into a protest against Zionist and Christians alike. This is no coincidence. This is by design of the dragon and what he’ll attempt on a much greater scale during the Great Tribulation.

The Power of the Beast Out of the Sea

(Verse 8) John doesn’t begin this verse by recording that “some” of the inhabitants, “many” of the inhabitants, or even “most” of the inhabitants of the earth will follow the beast. He says “all” the inhabitants who are not in the Lamb’s book of life will follow the beast.

This is an indication of how powerful the counterfeit death and resurrection of the beast will be. If you haven’t given your life to Christ at this time, you will be forced to follow the beast.

How will the beast force people to follow him? We’ll look at this a little closer in the next Bible study guide and see how he plans on pulling this off.

What Is the Lamb’s Book of Life?

Verse 8 tells us that it belongs to the “Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” This is obviously Jesus Christ. He is the only perfect Lamb who was slain on the cross. This book of life is His book.

If you recall from the Revelation Ch. 3 Bible study guide, we first learned of the book of life.

“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

Christ mentions that those of the church of Sardis who are victorious in their love for Christ and following Him will have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Paul the apostle mentions the book of life in his letter to the Philippians.

“Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.” (Philippians 4:3)

Anyone who has their name written in the Lamb’s book of life is a true Biblical Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ. So if your name is not written in this very important book, you’ll find yourself following the beast of Revelation during the Great Tribulation. It’s dreadful to think what that will mean.

Can Your Name Be Removed From the Book of Life?

Let’s take a look at a couple of Bible passages that gives us the answer.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:37-39)

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)

We could continue researching scripture but the answer is quite clear. Once we give our lives to Christ and we become children of God, nothing can separate us from Him.

Once your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, it can never be removed. What a beautiful reminder of God’s mercy, love and faithfulness for His people.

We’ll take another look at the Lamb’s book of life as we approach the end of the book of Revelation.

What If Your Name’s Not Written In the Lamb’s Book of Life?

Christ is going to use His book of life at the time of judgment.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.” (Revelation 20:12-13)

So what will happen to those whose name is not written in the book of life?

“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

Did you know that as a follower of Christ and having your name in the Lamb’s book of life will get you exclusive access. Access to what, you ask!

When the new heaven and the new earth are created, there will be a brand new Jerusalem that God will create also. One that has not been defiled by sin. This city will only be accessible to those whose name is written in the book of life.

“The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:24-27)

Those who follow the beast of Revelation coming out of the sea during the Tribulation will never enter or see this new Jerusalem.

Is your name written in the book of life?

Whoever Has Ears, Let Them Hear!

(Verses 9-10) We learned in previous Revelation study guides that people will have the opportunity to be saved and follow Christ during the Tribulation. But that begs an important question.

If you haven’t chosen to follow Christ during this present age, what makes anyone think that they’ll decide to follow Christ when there is a threat of death on their lives if they do. Surprisingly, according to scripture, many will be saved. We learned about this through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the two witnesses for Christ.

Many people will die for Christ in the Tribulation. Fortunately, we have the book of Revelation to show us what’s coming. This should be an enticement for following Christ. If someone can’t be convinced that following Jesus is the right thing to do, maybe scaring them with the book of Revelation will help.

This is why John records, “whoever has ears, let them hear.” In other words, everybody needs to pay attention to what John is being shown. He goes on to state that it’s going to take an incredible amount of patient endurance and faithfulness. But the victory will be worth it.

<< Rev. 13:3 “The Beast Out of the Sea and It’s Deception” | “Who’s the Beast Out of the Earth and the Unholy Trinity” Rev. 13:11-13 >>