Studies in Revelation: The Beasts of Revelation - 2020 Study

STUDIES IN REVELATION

The Beasts of Revelation

Jack Marshall

STUDIES IN REVELATION

The Beasts of Revelation

Jack Marshall

Smashwords Edition

Copyright, 2016 Grain of Wheat Publishing

1st Revised Edition, 2019

2nd Revised Edition May 2020

3rd Revised Edition July 2020

4th Revised Edition August 2020

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This free eBook may be copied, distributed, reposted, reprinted and shared, provided it

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To my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Beasts of Revelation

Chapter Two: The Seven Spirits of God

Chapter Three: Beasts

Chapter Four: Seven Heads

Chapter Five: Four Great Beasts

Chapter Six: The Man of Sin

Chapter Seven: Four Kingdoms

Chapter Eight: Two Great Lights

Chapter Nine: Four Horsemen

Chapter Ten: The Man of Sin

Chapter Eleven: The Kings of the Earth

Chapter Twelve: Babylon the Great

Chapter Thirteen: Seven Mountains, Seven Kings

Chapter Fourteen: The Eighth Beast

Chapter Fifteen: The Mark of the Beast

Chapter Sixteen: Buy and Sell

Chapter Seventeen: Ten Horns

Chapter Eighteen: The Hour of Trial

Chapter Nineteen: Time and Times and Half a Time

Chapter Twenty: Seven Times

Chapter Twenty-One: Names of Blasphemy

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Furnace of Fire

Bibliography

Introduction

My first study on The Beasts of Revelation was published in March of 2016. Since that time, I have learned a great deal more about the book of the Revelation and its contents. While studying and writing on the seven trumpets of Revelation, I was considering the angel’s explanation to John about the beast with seven heads and ten horns in Revelation, Chapter 17, verses 9 through 18. While pondering this, a new understanding arose in my heart and mind, one so contradictory to what I had previously believed that at first I was quite skeptical of myself. But as I researched this new understanding, I began to realize its accuracy, hence the reason for this new study.

I have never been one to agree with many of the teachings of the religious denominations of our time, for I have found over the years that much of what they adhere to has no real foundation in scripture, nor does it explain the plight of God’s people, especially in this time in which we live.

The history of the Christian Church is not a noble one, for it has been laced with all manner of darkness, bloodshed, division, deception, turmoil, strife, and confusion. Yet, God being God, knew before the foundation of the world how His creation would react to His omnipotence and will.

I believe the plight of the New Testament Church over the past two thousand years is accurately reflected in the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The apostle Paul made it clear to us that "all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (I Cor. 10:11).

Beloved, we have done no better than Israel in their history, for human nature has been the same since our beginning. Ah, but God’s wisdom being so far superior to our own, He is not surprised nor deterred from His purpose in all of this. And because He is a God of love and grace, it will be as He has determined through Christ His Son. In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Rom. 14:11; Php 2:10-11).

There are mistakes in this presentation, not by intention, but out of ignorance. I am still and always will be learning. It has been difficult to put aside what I have inherited in order to see from a fresh perspective.

In His Grace,

Jack Marshall

Revelation 12:3 (ESV)

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

Revelation 13:1 (ESV)

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.

Revelation 17:3 (ESV)

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 13:11 (ESV)

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.

Chapter One

THE BEASTS OF REVELATION

In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we find two particular beasts that figure prominently in our understanding of the visions which the Apostle John had on the island of Patmos. The first one is seen with seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3), while the second one is seen with two horns like a lamb which spoke like a dragon (Rev. 13:11; ESV). The fact that the first beast is seen three different times in three different perspectives gives weight to the idea that we need to understand what is symbolized to truly comprehend the book of the Revelation itself.

To be perfectly honest, I held to a particular view for years which has since changed. This happened while working on a study on the trumpets of Revelation. When this new understanding arose in my mind, it stopped me in my tracks. At first, I was skeptical so I spent some time researching it, wondering if what had risen in my mind could be true. I now realize it is and hence the reason for this new study on the beasts.

The most important thing to realize about the book of the Revelation is found in the very first verse where John wrote, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. As we see, this book is not written to the world at large, but to His servants."

Our word servants is the transliteration doulos, which the Strong’s Concordance defines as, "A slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency)." This word is used 126 times in the King James Version of scripture. At his website, biblenumbersforlife.com, Mark Lane cites the spiritual meaning of this number as saved from wrath. Coincidence? I don’t think so; see Romans 5:9.

I have long believed that the foundation of the book of the Revelation is given in Chapters Two and Three in the form of the seven prophecies to the seven churches. This is because they came from the mouth of Christ Himself. In the seven prophecies lies the mystery of God’s will through His Son who is clearly in the midst of the seven lampstands or churches at all times throughout the visions in this book (Rev. 1:13). The seven prophecies to the seven churches set the precedent for all of John’s visions. Those things which follow the prophecies illustrate and enhance the understanding of these words which our Lord spoke.

One of the most profound passages in the Bible is found in John 1:1, where we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was God in the beginning and every word which proceeds from God through His Son is God as well. This is the true meaning of prophecy. Once delivered from the mouth" of God, it is assured, for "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Num. 23:19; NKJV) So it is with the words of Christ to the churches. The Lord Jesus Christ understood this quite well, stating in John, Chapter 12, verses 47 and 48, And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (NKJV).

It should come as no surprise to us that God’s Word is God. After all, words are the very essence of our existence, incorporating the wisdom necessary to sustain our existence in both the natural and spiritual realms. No wonder Proverbs states, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it (either death or life) will eat its fruit" (Prov. 18:21).

Chapter Two

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD

Revelation 1:4 (KJV)

⁴ … and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne…

Revelation 3:1 (NKJV)

¹ … 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars…

Revelation 4:5 (KJV)

⁵ … and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Revelation 5:6 (KJV)

⁶ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

The first thing to consider in our passages above is our number seven. In his book, The Biblical Meaning of Numbers from One to Forty, Dr. Stephen E. Jones wrote the following:

Seven (zayin)

Completion, Spiritual Perfection

Zayin is a weapon in Hebrew. The perfect weapon is the Sword of the Spirit, by which spiritual warfare is accomplished, for "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (2 Cor. 10:4).

Seven is the biblical number of completion and spiritual perfection. As such, Psalm 7 speaks of the two floods by which the earth is cleansed and brought to the perfect order of the Kingdom.

Seven days completes a Sabbath cycle. In Rev. 10:7 the mystery of God is finished when the seventh angel blows his trumpet. In Rev. 16:7 it is done when the seventh angel pours out the seventh vial into the air. It took seven days to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priesthood (Lev. 8:31-35) before emerging from the tabernacle on the eighth day. Joshua and the Israelite army had to march around Jericho seven days (Joshua 6:15) before the city fell.

The spiritual meaning of seven can best be illustrated by the fruit of a tree (Matt. 12:33). When a tree reaches maturity, it has reached its seven, able to produce fruit for consumption and seed for further planting.

Another way to think of seven is fullness or fulfilled. When a prophecy is given, it always refers to a future event, but once the prophecy comes to pass, it has reached its seven, i.e. it has been fulfilled, now manifest in agreement with its original declaration.

The book of the Revelation is filled with sevens, beginning to end, however, there are six very important sevens that stand out above the rest. They are the seven stars and seven golden lampstands, which symbolize the angels of the seven churches and the seven churches (Rev. 1:20; NKJV). Following this, we have the seven prophecies to the seven churches in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, along with a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals in Revelation 5:1 (NKJV). Finally, there are seven trumpets in Revelation 8:2 and seven bowls in Revelation 15:7 (NKJV). When we add our six sevens together, we have forty-two. Coincidence? Not at all! Please consider.

Revelation 11:1-3 (NKJV)

¹ Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. ² But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

See the forty-two months? Might this represent the manifestation and fullness of our six important sevens? I believe they do, and using definition by context, our one thousand two hundred and sixty days is synonymous with our forty-two months.

Another passage emphasizes our understanding of the forty-two months found in Matthew, Chapter One.

Matthew 1:1, 17 (NKJV)

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Here we find three sets of fourteen generations. What is three times fourteen? Forty-two. Is this a coincidence? I don’t think so. Furthermore, I believe this reveals a pattern that is relevant to the book of the Revelation. Using Matthew 1:17, here is what we have:

Abraham to David

1. Seven angels

2. Seven churches

David until the Captivity in Babylon

3. Seven prophecies

4. Scroll with seven seals

The Captivity in Babylon until the Christ

5. Seven trumpets

6. Seven bowls

Three sets of fourteen. Jones tells us that three represents divine fullness, completeness, or perfection and a complete witness, while in his book, Biblical Mathematics, Ed Vallowe states that it signifies resurrection (as in death (1), burial (2), and resurrection (3)). And fourteen? Jones tells us it is "the number of deliverance or release. Vallowe agrees, stating, Fourteen is the number that represents deliverance or salvation. So it is that we see a divine purpose in the forty-two months," which is the deliverance and salvation of His people.

In the midst of our six important sevens is the most important of all, i.e. the seven Spirits of God in Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, and 5:6. What are these seven Spirits? Isaiah describes them for us.

Isaiah 11:1-5 (NKJV)

¹ There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit