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A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13
Part 1. Literal vs. Symbolic in Revelation 12 Post #64 Link
Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist Post #66 Link
Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist Post #67 Link
Part 4A. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power Post #71 Link
==>Part 4B. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 5. Rev 13: 8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
Part 6. Rev 13:11-13 Another beast: The False Prophet
Part 7. Rev 13:14-15 The Image of the beast
Part 8. Rev 13:16-18 The Mark of the Beast
Overview of Part 4B:
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
2. An Expanded Version of the Text
3. The Explanation
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage (this lesson in bold)
13: 5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent words and blasphemies, and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven. 7. It was granted to him to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.
2. An Expanded Version of the Text (this lesson in bold)
13: 5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent (proud, haughty) words and blasphemies (words against God), and [he was allowed] to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He (or, it {where appropriate}) opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander (blaspheme) his name, and his dwelling place (his tabernacle), and those who dwell in heaven. 7. [Also,]
he was given power (was allowed) to make war against the saints and to conquer (overcome) them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.
3. The Explanation
At the end of the previous lesson (part 4A), we saw that the last verse (13:7) speaks primarily of the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation, where the antichrist will speak against God and the things of God horribly, and, as it says in verse 13:7, “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them.”
Saints? Who are these saints? Will I, will you be included among those “saints” that are persecuted and “conquered”? Maybe. Maybe not.
By way of reminder, according to the premillennial, pre-trib position, all the church was taken up (raptured) to be with God sometime before the start of the seven-year tribulation. So, as this viewpoint goes, there are no Christian believers left on the earth immediately after the rapture. But when the rapture occurred, there were likely many who were weeks, and days, and hours (and minutes?!) away from making a decision to believe in Jesus; and now these people are easily and quickly convinced. And so, shortly after the rapture a new set of believers emerge, a growing number, the saints of the tribulation.
Will there be many people that become believers/saints during the tribulation? Will there be any that believe in Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation?
In Revelation 7:9, when John is standing before the throne of God, he writes of that scene: “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb…”
After a time of worship and praise before God and before the Lamb, an elder tells John who these people are: “These are the ones who came out of the Great Tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14)”
So there you are. The saints that were saved before the tribulation aren't numbered anywhere, but surely must number in the billions since they include every believer throughout history. But the saints saved after the rapture, during the tribulation, cannot be numbered.
This would be the situation according to the premill, pre-trib position, that there would be no purpose for God to take the saints that have already been saved through the tribulation.
(Future posts coming up: Why won’t the saints go through the tribulation, and Just what IS the purpose of the tribulation?)
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Now, lets look at our single verse yet to be considered in this lesson section:
7. [Also,] he was given power (was allowed) to make war against the saints and to conquer (overcome) them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.There are two main subjects here, as follows:
A. The antichrist will be allowed to make war against the saints and to conquer them, and
B. The antichrist will have authority over the whole earth: every tribe, people, language, and nation.
And to them, let’s add a third subject,
C. Eventually the saints will receive the kingdom, and will possess it forever!
Are there any other verses in the Bible that tell us that the antichrist will wage war and conquer the saints besides Rev 13:7? (Note: we do not need any verse other than one. The strength of one verse in the Bible is sufficient to make God’s point!) However, God was pleased to incorporate these points and issues into many verses!
Yes, consider the following verses:
A1. Daniel 7:21 : I was watching (says Daniel); and the same pompous horn (horn: person of power) was making war against
the saints, and prevailing over them.
A2. Daniel 7:25 : [A king will arise], shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints. […] and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time
(3 ½ years).
A3. Daniel 8:22* : [A king shall arise … his power will be great, but not by his own power] … he shall destroy the mighty men and the people who are the saints.
*Note: Some students and teachers think that the Daniel 8:22 scripture refers to an earlier king around 175BC, before Christ came. But within the context of the verse, it says “the vision is for the time of the end”, “this will happen in the latter time of the indignation”, “for it refers to the time of the end”, “And in the latter time of their kingdom”, and finally “…seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future”
A4. Daniel 12:7b …this shall be for a time, times, and half a time (3 ½ years), and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, then all these things will be finished.
A5. Matthew 24:21-22 For then there shall be [a] great tribulation, such has never been until this time, nor shall every be afterwards. And unless those days were shortened, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (the saints, the believers) those days will be shortened.
Do we find any other verses in the Bible that tell us that the antichrist will have power and authority over the whole earth?
Yes, consider these verses:
B1. Daniel 7:23 : The fourth beast (dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong) will be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the [other] kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down, and breaking it into pieces.
B2. Daniel 11:36 : Then the king shall do as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.
B3. Revelation 13:8 : All who dwell on the earth will worship him, those whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
Can we find verses in the Bible that tell us that the saints ultimately end up being rewarded the kingdom?
Yes, consider these verses:
C1. Daniel 7:18 : But the saints of the most High shall receive the kingdom, and will possess the kingdom forever, for ever and ever.
C2. Daniel 7:22 : [and] the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
C3. Daniel 7:26-27 [But the court will take away his (antichrist’s) dominion] then the kingdom and the dominion and their greatness will be given to the people, the saints of the most high God.
C4. Daniel 12:13 : But go your way until the end. And you shall rest, and shall arise to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.
C5. Revelation 11:18 : [The time has come] for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.
Look all these verses up in your Bible. In some of them the context will be more obvious than in others. In some passages, it takes a lot of reading to understand the context. But in the case of Daniel, the questionable passages are sometimes explained within the context.
But the only goals I have for this single verse (Rev 13:7) is understanding that:
A. The antichrist will be allowed to make war against the saints and to conquer them, and
B. The antichrist will have authority over the whole earth: every tribe, people, language, and nation, but
C. Eventually the saints will receive the kingdom, and will possess it forever!
Next lesson: Part 5. Rev 13:8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
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