Revelation Chapter 13
We continue with our look at the second beast which arose from the earth.
VERSE 13 “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”
AND HE PERFORMS GREAT SIGNS:
NOTE: at this point in the narrative, the various brethren who interpret this prophecy divide in their opinions.
Some explain Verses 13-17 as part -- symbolic of powers exercised by the English beast similar to those having been exercised by the Roman beast. Others do this but EXTEND the application into the future. Yet others feel that these verses are almost certainly yet to be fulfilled. The arguments are sound on all three accounts. However, we must await the Lord’s interpretation.
Because Brother Russell’s viewpoint was the second of these three options, and because his views seem most reasonable to the fact and the context, we will parallel his thoughts in these verses.
The GREAT SIGNS seem to refer to the exercise of power by the English church-state to ensure compliance to its doctrine and practices.
SO THAT HE EVEN MAKES FIRE COME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN:
Fire represents judgments (and/or their destructive results.) Heaven as used here is in reference to the ecclesiastical world (the religious powers and influences of the world, both the seen and the unseen, the ecclesiastical rulers, thus the nominal heavens). The judgments of the English system (ecclesiasticism) against heretics were severe:
TO THE EARTH IN THE PRESENCE OF MEN: The fire (judgments), which ecclesiastically judged society was a tool of the church to frighten men into compliance. Punishments were public so that none could escape the warning lessons -- hence the phrase IN THE PRESENCE OF MEN (Compare Verse 12 where the same phrase shows how the English church flaunted its authority in front of the Roman beast.)
MEN, in Rev 13:13 may be a reference to true Christians. This practice of the English beast to intimidate dissenters was one of the causes of many leaving England for America.
VERSE 14 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.”
AND HE DECEIVES THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH: The deception was that he actually had spiritual authority. Note, however, that the only ones really deceived are “those who dwell on the earth” – the non-spirit-begotten ones (Tares) whose primary interests are their temporal affairs.
BECAUSE OF THE SIGNS: The best way to deceive is to tell a big-enough lie. The “signs,” the manifestations of spiritual power (authority), exercised by this new beast gave a message:
TELLING THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH: Showing them by example,
TO MAKE AN IMAGE TO THE BEAST WHO HAD THE WOUND: It is important to remember here that those who get the idea (by example) to make an image are “those who dwell on the earth.” Protestantism in general was a Reformation movement in which, probably, all (or nearly all) of the true saints were involved.
It was NOT the idea of the saints to make an image. It was the idea of “those who dwell on the earth” -- those who needed another and newer vehicle to expand their worldly roots.
The image, note, is NOT to the beast who inspired it, but to the 10-horned beast. This is telling.
Why would the 2-horned beast say to make an image to the 10-horned beast?
The fact is, the 2-horned beast was, in its own way, an image of the other beast, by being so (that is, by example), it told the power people (“those who dwell on the earth”) that they TOO could make ANOTHER image if they find it profitable to do so (And so they have, as there are now hundreds of “images”, i.e., church organizations in existence).
In other words, by example, the 2-horned beast was saying:
“If I can do it, why can’t others?”
The Roman Catholic politico-socio economic world had, in a sense, lost the world of Protestantism for their profit-making ventures. How could they regain this market? They could work toward amalgamating Protestantism into one large, cooperative block – a new sort of beast, but not so strong as, only an image of, a reflection of, the first beast WHO HAD THE WOUND OF THE SWORD (inflicted by Protestantism’s Reformation) but who HAS COME TO LIFE in a semi-rejuvenated, new-headed, Holy Roman Empire.
We will take a look at how these last two verses are explained in the Keys of Revelation with our next post.
