THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION - We have established several guidelines from the book of Revelation in order to identify the Beast of chapter thirteen. He must be an evil and idolatrous man, given much power and authority from the devil. The Beast also represents the kingdom which this man rules over. Also, the Beast must appear during the first century for he is known by the early church and the history depicted in Revelation is fulfilled in the first century. Last week we noted that the Beast of Revelation is the Roman Empire under the rule of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbas (better known as Emperor Nero). Rome's involvement in the book of Revelation must be seen purely from a covenantal perspective. This would be the nation used by God to bring about the covenantal curses against Israel who had rejected the Messiah. It will also be the nation which opposes the church during the establishment of Christ's kingdom. Thus, we should not expect to receive a complete history of the Roman Empire in Revelation. We will only be shown characteristics which are pertinent to the covenant of grace in the first century. Today we shall look further at the Beast of Revelation by showing that he is not just a New Testament figure, but is drawn directly from an Old Testament prophecy.

1) THE BEAST OF DANIEL 7 AND THE BEAST OF REVELATION 13 - Why does the Apostle John use such figurative and strange language in Revelation 13 to describe Nero and the Roman empire? Why a beast with seven heads and ten horns, rising out of the sea? Again, we should realize our deficiency in recalling Old Testament passages to help us understand Revelation's message. The early church would have no problem understanding John's description, for they were well-aware of the Old Testament, and in particular, the extremely important chapter of Daniel 7. This chapter in Daniel is the prophet's great vision of the ascension of Christ to the throne of the universe (Daniel 7:13,14). Christ comes on the clouds (this is not describing His second coming), approaches His Father, and receives the kingdoms of the world as His inheritance. This took place at the ascension of Christ into glory. This is the focus and culmination of the entire vision. Yet we are also shown certain events which will finally lead up to the ascension of Christ to the throne of the universe. The first picture we are shown is -

A) FOUR GREAT BEASTS RISING FROM THE SEA - Daniel 7:1-3,17,18 - Daniel's vision begins with these beasts rising from the sea. They are four kings, or kingdoms, who will compete for world domination. Yet one kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, will eventually dominate over all of them. Like the Beast of Revelation, these four beasts rise from the sea. What is Daniel seeing and what is he writing about? Daniel is being told that four great empires will rise before the final kingdom of Christ is established. The four empires, according to world history, will be the Babylonians (the empire under which Daniel writes), the Medo/Persian empire, the Greeks, and the Romans. In Revelation 13, John is describing the last of these beasts, the last great empire, the kingdom of Rome.

B) A LION, A BEAR, AND A LEOPARD - Daniel 7:4-6 - The description of the first three kingdoms is quite fascinating for the animals used are also repeated again in Revelation 13. Babylon is the winged lion/man, a symbol often seen carved in Babylonian architecture. The Medes and Persians are depicted as a bear while Greece is shown as a leopard with four heads (it should be interesting to note that Greece, after Alexander the Great, was divided into four kingdoms - see also Daniel 8:20-25 for a description of the Medo/Persian, Greek, and Roman empires). The fourth beast in Daniel's vision is the Roman empire, the kingdom which follows the Greeks. When we turn to Revelation 13 and the description of the fourth beast, we find that Revelation repeats each of these three animals in the final creature. Thus, we see that the fourth and final beast will be a conglomeration and culmination of all the kingdoms before it. This will be the devil's grand scheme of raising up one final world power, but this too will be overthrown by Christ's kingdom.

C) SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS - Daniel 7:7,8 - When one calculates the number of heads on all the beasts in Daniel's vision, we come up with the number seven. The Beast of Revelation has seven heads (Revelation 13:1) and so again we see that this final beast will be a composite of all the beasts before it, yet he will be mightier and greater in power. Daniel also describes this final beast as having ten horns (Daniel 7:7,8) a feature that parallels the Beast of Revelation (Revelation 13:1) and which both Daniel and John refer to as ten kings (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12).

D) THE "LITTLE HORN" - Daniel 7:8 - If the fourth beast is Rome, and the horns represent its rulers, then the "little horn" is obviously one of the rulers of Rome. Again, the parallels between Daniel and Revelation are clearly seen here. Daniel tells us that the "little horn," this ruler in the Roman empire, will speak blasphemies, will make war with the saints, and will actually overcome the saints for a period of time. This is exactly the same description of the Beast given in Revelation 13:5-7. Would the first century church know who the "little horn" was? Easily, they would see themselves as being the saints under persecution and they would see Nero and Rome as the Beast which both Daniel and John describe.

E) THE FINAL AND ETERNAL EMPIRE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - The thrust of Daniel's vision, and the book of Revelation, is not the persecution of the Roman empire, rather, it is the great triumph of Christ and His kingdom. Babylon, the Medo/Persian empire, Greece and Rome, were all attempts by the devil at world domination apart from the rule and reign of Christ. Satan's last attempt would be with Rome, but this too would be overcome with Christ's ascension (Daniel 7:9-14). When Christ enters the throne room of God in the first century, He is given all power and authority. All world powers are now subservient to Him for He is the last and final emperor of the universe.

2) THE WAR WITH THE BEAST AND THE SAINTS OF GOD - Revelation 13:5-7 - Both Daniel and John tell us about the great holy war with the final Beast. Does Nero fit into this description? Did he persecute the church and did this persecution last for forty-two months (Revelation 13:5)? Remember that the Apostle John has been exiled by the Romans to the penal colony of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Already the Neronian persecution had begun as he writes this book. Nero began his persecution of the Christian church in 64 AD as he used the church as a scapegoat for the burning of Rome. His oppression of the early church is well documented by both pagan and Christian sources. Eusebius (260-340 AD) writes, "Nero was the first of the emperors who showed himself an enemy of the divine religion." Severus (360-420 AD) tells us that "He (Nero) first attempted to abolish the name of Christian." Clement of Rome who lived during the persecution wrote to the Corinthians about the many who were killed by Nero and who suffered "many indignities and tortures." Tacitus, the pagan historian (56-117 AD), writes that Nero persecuted "…those who were vulgarly called Christian." Suetonius, a Roman who opposed Christiantiy, praised Nero's efforts at persecution and wrote that "During his (Nero's) reign many abuses were severely punished and put down, and no fewer new laws were made…Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition." Perhaps the most fascinating and graphic account of the persecution is given to us by the Roman historian Tacitus (56-117 AD) - "But by no human contrivance, whether lavish distributions of money or of offerings to appease the gods, could Nero rid himself of the ugly rumor that the fire was due to his orders. So to dispel the report, he substituted as the guilty persons and inflicted unheard of punishments on those who, detested for their abominable crimes, were vulgarly called Christians…So those who first confessed were hurried to the trial, and then, on their showing, an immense number were involved in the same fate, not so much on the charge of incendiaries as from hatred of the human race. And their death was aggravated with mockeries, insomuch that, wrapped in the hides of wild beasts, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or fastened to crosses to be set on fire, that when the darkness fell they might be burned to illuminate the night. Nero had offered his own gardens for the spectacle, and exhibited a circus show, mingling with the crowd, himself dressed as a charioteer or riding in a chariot. Whence it came about that, though the victims were guilty and deserved the most exemplary punishment, a sense of pity was aroused by the feeling that they were sacrificed not on the altar of public interest, but to satisfy the cruelty of one man."

Both Peter and Paul met their deaths at the hands of Nero. One could imagine the chaos inflicted upon the church at the loss of those two great leaders. Christian and pagan sources tell us that great numbers of Christians were persecuted to the point that it even evoked the pity of the Roman people. Amazingly, and according to the statement made in Revelation 13:5, the Neronian persecution lasted just a few days short of forty-two months. With its end and with the fall of Jerusalem, "the kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ" (Revelation 11:15). The kingdoms of the world have all fallen and now Christ calls every ruler, every monarch, to bow in submission to His eternal kingdom.