Excerpt from “DIGGING DEEP INTO THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST” (pgs. 116/117) a Study Guide by Michael Copple (posted by Elfriede Copple)
We are continuing our study in Revelation:
Chapter 13 Verses 1-2 (NKJV)
1Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast [the Antichrist] rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon [Satan] gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
Commentary, Reference Verses and Commentary on those Reference Verses:
The first beast, the Antichrist, who, although not known yet, will already be among the church before the Rapture
1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
[In 1 John 4:3 the spirit of the Antichrist which is now already in the world is a solid fact. *There are many today who are willing to say good things about Jesus, but not to confess Him as God incarnate. They say that Christ is “divine,” but not that He is God.*]
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshiped, so that he [Antichrist] sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
[Christ will come to the air and rapture believers before the Day of the Lord begins the Tribulation period (see also 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7; Revelation 4:1). *During the Tribulation those who refuse to worship the Antichrist will be persecuted and many will be martyred* (Revelation 20:4).]
*He [the Antichrist] is the Gentile head of the revived Roman Empire, which will exist in a ten-kingdom form.* **The sea here represents the Gentile nations of the world, from one of which the Antichrist comes.** *The seven heads are said in Revelation 17:9-10 to be seven kings, or rulers, or seven different stages of the empire.* The Antichrist will deceive many into thinking he is the messiah in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and
Daniel 11:36-37 36Then the king [Antichrist] shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.
[Daniel 11:36-37 is not only in complete agreement with 2 Thessalonians 2:4 but also reveals an even more startling description of the Antichrist.]
But the Antichrist will not be revealed until after a falling away of faith and until after the Holy Spirit indwelled Church is raptured
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 7For the mystery of the lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way [by way of the Rapture]. 8And then the lawless one [the Antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
[2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 combines with 2 Thessalonians 2:3 to reveal the two things which must happen before the Antichrist will be revealed: In verse 3 we see where that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and in verses 7-8 the lawless Antichrist cannot be revealed until after the Holy Spirit indwelled believers of the Church are raptured off the earth. And then the Antichrist will be revealed. Comparing Scripture to Scripture we see that the Church is raptured before the Antichrist begins the Seven-year Tribulation Period. It is in total agreement with 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9, and agrees with the chronological order in Revelation Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.]
The ten horns were predicted by
Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.
[The end of this verse tells us the Antichrist will subdue three kings. Therefore there will no longer be ten kings, but only seven.]
to be a ten-kingdom form. *The ten crowns on his horns speak of the power to rule from a throne with great authority, which was given to him by the dragon.* **Satan is attempting to duplicate how God the Father gives all authority to the Son. The first beast—the Antichrist—will rule over the previous people and cultures of the three previous empires to the ancient Roman Empire of which Daniel’s prophesies were fulfilled:
Babylonian—lion;
Medo-Persian—bear;
Greek—leopard;
all an outgrowth of the iron toothed Roman Empire.** *In short, the revived Roman Empire combines all the evil features of the preceding world empires. The empire and its ruler receive supernatural strength from Satan.*
Quotations and paraphrased quotations marked *.. quoted text.. * taken from The Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995 by William MacDonald. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com
Quotations and paraphrased quotations marked **.. quoted text.. ** taken from The King James Study Bible. Copyright © 1988 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
