Lesson 29: The First Beast

Revelation 13:1-10
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming His name and His dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.


Much of what we read here is also found in the book of Daniel chapters 7 and 8. The beast, arising out of the sea (what Daniel saw as the legs of iron and the feet of iron and clay – the Roman empire, and then its last-days counterpart) is a human, and the dragon is Satan. The fact that the beast looked like a lion, a bear, and a leopard is the picture of this being the first one-world ruler since Babylon, Greece, and Rome in ancient times. All were vicious rulers, destroying what they could not conquer.

The beast dies and “lives” again – an imitation of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but his power comes from the dragon – Satan. The position Satan wants to hold is that which has been given to Jesus – the Son of God! The blasphemies named here will all be to the goal of usurping Jesus’ throne which is why so many true believers in Jesus will be killed.

Notice in verses 7 and 8 that there will be believers in Jesus during this time, both Israelite and Gentile. But verse 10 describes the huge number of people who will be killed by the dragon-beast because of their faith in Jesus.

The forty-two months named in verse 5 are the last three and a half years that Daniel called the Great Tribulation.

*How do you see our world today heading towards this one-world government system?