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Let’s pray:
Father,
Today, the subject of our lesson is «the beast rising from the sea», a prophetic character we need to better understand.
Please open our minds to the teaching You wish to give us through Your holy inspired Word, the Bible.
In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 12:3,9
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads. (...)
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
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In our lesson «The Pure Woman», we have seen a great dragon with seven heads and ten horns.
This great dragon is none other than Satan.
The book of Revelation chapter 12 showed us some of his actions on the earth.
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Revelation 12:4
The dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her Child as soon as He was born.
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Matthew 2:13
The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying,
«Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be you there until I bring you word: for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.»
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Knowing that the success of Jesus’ ministry on earth would bring about his ruin, Satan used a nation, the Roman Empire, to destroy the Savior of men.
But all his attempts failed.
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Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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After his failure in trying to destroy the pure woman’s Child, that is, Jesus Christ, Satan then attacked the woman herself, God’s Church, and the remnant of the woman’s seed.
In his effort to destroy the woman and the remnant of her seed, Satan will use two powers, and the very next verses of Revelation give us a clue as to their identity...
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Revelation 12:17; 13:1 [NRSV]
Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore.
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By standing «on the sand of the seashore», Satan shows that he will use the powers of both the sea and the earth to achieve his aim.
In fact, immediately after that, two powerful beasts appear:
- the first beast rising from the sea, which is the subject of this lesson;
- and the second beast coming up out of the earth, which will be the subject of our next lesson.
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Revelation 13:1
And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.
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Revelation 12:3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns.
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Let’s try to discover the identity of the beast rising from the sea.
Right from the beginning, its description indicates that this power is controlled by Satan, the great dragon, since it has seven heads and ten horns, just like the dragon.
But there is even more...
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Revelation 13:2
And the beast which I saw was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.
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Surprisingly, the same beasts which were presented in Daniel 7 (the lion, the bear, and the leopard) make up the body of this beast.
Also, we can see that they had previously been listed in reverse order: whereas Daniel saw the fall of Babylon (the lion), Medo-Persia (the bear), and Greece (the leopard) in the future, the apostle John saw them in the past.
This explains the inversion of listing order.
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Daniel 7:3
Four great beasts came up from the sea.
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Revelation 13:1
I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.
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Revelation 17:15
The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
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Like the four kingdoms of Daniel chapter 7, the beast rises up out of the sea.
Since the waters symbolize «peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues», this beast therefore represents a power which came out of a densely-populated place.
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Daniel 7:7,8
Behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly. (...) It had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn.
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Revelation 13:2
The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
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Furthermore, the beast is strikingly similar to the little horn.
First, both take their power from Rome, which is symbolized by the fourth beast in Daniel chapter 7, and by the dragon in Revelation chapter 13.
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Revelation 12:4
The dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her Child as soon as He was born.
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Revelation 13:2
The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
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We have seen that Satan, the great dragon, used the Roman Empire to attempt to kill Jesus at His birth.
And Satan also used the Roman Empire in order to give power and authority to the beast rising from the sea.
But how did this take place?
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Revelation 13:2
The dragon gave [the beast] his power, and his seat, and great authority.
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Daniel 8:24
[The little horn’s] power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.
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Both the little horn and the beast rising from the sea symbolize the same power: the Papacy.
When Roman emperor Constantine left the city of Rome in A.D. 330, he also left his place, «his seat», to the Bishop of Rome.
From that time on, the Papacy made every effort to establish its authority over Europe.
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John 10:16
[Jesus said,]
«And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice.
And there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.»
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Now, let’s remember a very important point we have already seen in our previous lessons: God really loves the individuals who are in the Papacy’s system.
This is why He gave us His Word, so that, by studying it, we may become aware of the warning God gives us, and responding to Jesus’ call, we may leave this system and join the Savior’s flock.
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Revelation 13:5
And there was given to [the beast] a mouth speaking great things.
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Daniel 7:20
[The little horn] had eyes and a mouth that spoke very great things.
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The rest of the description of the beast rising from the sea indicates without a doubt that it really symbolizes the same power as the little horn, that is, the Papacy. (For more details, please review the lesson «The Little Horn».)
First, both the beast and the little horn speak great things, pompous words, and this is indeed what the Papacy did...
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«And he was given a mouth speaking great things.» (Revelation 13:5)
«The supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with a perfect accord in the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.»
(Leo VIII, On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens, Encyclical letter, 1890.)
«For not man, but God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff (who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God), having weighed the necessity or benefit of the churches, dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority.»
(Decretals of Gregory IX, Book 1, C.7.3.)
«Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions (infernorum).»
(Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, “Papa II”, Vol. VI, p.26.)
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Revelation 13:5,6
And there was given to [the beast] a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. (...)
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle.
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Daniel 7:25
[That king] shall speak great words against the Most High.
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Both the beast and the little horn blaspheme against God.
Did the Papacy really blaspheme against God?
To answer this question, let’s look at the meaning of blasphemy in the Word of God.
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John 10:33
The Jews answered Him, saying, «For a good work we stone You not; but for blasphemy; and because that You, being a Man, make Yourself God.»
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Mark 2:7
Why does this Man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?
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So, as we have seen in the lesson «The Little Horn», blasphemy is not only taking God’s name in vain.
According to the Word of God, when a man makes himself God, or claims to have power to forgive sins, he speaks blasphemies.
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The pope claims to be God and to have power to forgive sins:
«The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, (...) he is as it were God on earth, Sole sovereign of all the faithful of Christ, chief king of kings, having a plentitude of unbroken power.»
(Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, “Papa II”, Vol. VI, pp.25-29.)
«And God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of His priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse or give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.»
(Alphonsus Liguori, Duties and Dignities of the Priest, p.27.)
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Revelation 13:6
And [the beast] opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
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Daniel 8:10,11
And [the little horn] waxed great, even to the host of heaven. (...)
Yes, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.
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By teaching salvation by works, and by claiming to be the mediator between God and men, the pope elevated himself to Jesus’ place, robbing Him of His ministry of intercession in the heavenly sanctuary.
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Revelation 13:7
And it was given to [the beast] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.
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Daniel 7:21
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.
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Both the beast and the little horn persecute God’s people.
History reports that more people were killed by the Papacy, during its reign in the Middle Ages, than by Hitler during World War II.
About 50 million people, who refused to recognize its authority, were killed by the Papacy.
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Revelation 13:5
And power was given to [the beast] to continue forty and two months.
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Daniel 7:25
The saints of the Most High (...) shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
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Finally, both the beast and the little horn reigned 1260 years:
- «3½ times» = 3½ x 360 days = 1260 days;
- «42 months» = 42 x 30 days = 1260 days.
The Papacy reigned precisely 1260 years: from A.D. 538, when it became a political power, to 1798, when it lost its power to France.
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Revelation 13:10
He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity.
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The way in which the reign of the Papacy ended, after the 42 prophetic months, is also specified in Revelation chapter 13: having led many people into captivity, the pope, in turn, was taken captive.
In fact, on February 10, 1798, French General Alexander Berthier entered the city of Rome, took Pope Pius VI prisoner, and exiled him.
The pope died in a prison the next year, in the city of Valence.
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Revelation 13:3
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.
And all the world wondered after the beast.
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The apostle John then adds an interesting detail: the beast would be mortally wounded, but its wound would be healed. Then, the whole world «wondered after the beast».
Now, history reports that this is exactly what happened: the Papacy, having lost its political power in 1798, recovered it in 1929, when Mussolini, by the Lateran Treaty, restored temporal power to the Pope who has, since then, ruled over Vatican.
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Revelation 13:3,8
His deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. (...)
And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
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Due to the numerous travels of Pope John Paul II, the Papacy has gained much prestige throughout the world.
But the Word of God foretells that very soon, all those who dwell on the earth will have to choose who they will worship: either God or the beast.
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Revelation 13:16,17
And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.
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In fact, very soon, the beast will impose its mark on all the inhabitants of earth, without exception.
Those who reject the mark of the beast will go through severe difficulties, threatening even their lives.
On the other hand, those who accept this mark will be regarded by God as worshippers of the beast, and will lose eternal life.
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Revelation 13:3,4
All the world wondered after the beast.
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
«Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?»
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Psalm 113:5
Who is like the Lord our God?
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Worshiping the beast, and therefore worshiping Satan, the inhabitants of the earth will, without realizing it, defy God by proclaiming,
«Who is like the beast?»
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Revelation 14:9,10
If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.
And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.
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God warns us not to receive the mark of the beast, or our punishment will be eternal destruction.
But what is the mark of the beast?
This crucial question must obtain a very precise answer from the Word of God. This will be the subject of a future lesson.
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Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom.
Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.
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Before ending this lesson, let’s take a moment to solve an enigma which has mystified many students of Bible prophecy: the meaning of «666».
This number is a last clue allowing us to identify the Papacy as the power symbolized by the beast rising from the sea.
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Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom.
Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.
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The Bible doesn’t tell us to seek the inscription «666», but rather to «count», to calculate in order to get to 666.
In the apostle John’s time, there was a well-known game named «Gematria», in which one calculated the number of a name by adding up the numerical value of the letters of this name, according to the Roman numeral system: V=5, X=10, C=100, etc.
Now, the Pope’s official name is «VICARIUS FILII DEI», meaning «Vicar of the Son of God».
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Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom.
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Let’s remember that the number 666 alone would not be enough to identify the Papacy as the beast rising from the sea.
This is simply an additional clue, completing all the other identifying marks which we have already studied.
Now, we are ready to start our next lesson, in which we will study the beast coming up out of the earth.
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Let’s thank God for His prophetic Word:
Our Father,
You have shown us that the little horn and the beast rising from the sea both symbolize the Papacy, a power which made war against the saints for 1260 years.
But we know that You love sincere people who are still in the papal system, and that You call them to come out of this system, and join Your Church.
Please give us the courage we need to leave this system, to join Your people, take a stand for You, and worship only You. In Jesus Christ our Savior we pray.
Amen.
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