Daily Lesson for Tuesday 11th of June 2024
Read Revelation 13:1-18:1-2. Where does this beast rise from, and who gives it authority?
The book of Revelation identifies the dragon primarily as Satan. Revelation 12:3-5 says the dragon attempted to destroy, “as soon as it was born,” the “male Child,” who was later “caught up to God and His throne” (NKJV). It was the devil, working through pagan Rome, who tried to destroy Christ (see Matthew 2:16-18). The archenemy of God and humanity works through political and religious institutions to accomplish his purposes.
Image © Marcus Mashburn at Goodsalt.com
About this beast power we’re told, “The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Revelation 13:1-18:2, NKJV). This prophecy was precisely fulfilled hundreds of years later when the Roman emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to what came to be called Constantinople, in modern-day Turkey. This left a power vacuum at the former throne or seat of the caesars, the imperial city of Rome. Thus, pagan Rome gave the beast its seat, or capital city.
Isaac Backus stated, “By removing the seat of the empire to Constantinople, . . . Constantine made way for the bishop of Rome to exalt himself above all men upon earth, and above the God of Heaven.”—The Infinite Importance of the Obedience of Faith, and of Separation from the World, p. 16, quoted in Le Roy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3, p. 213. According to Thomas Hobbes, “the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.”—Leviathan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 386. A careful analysis reveals that the sea beast of Revelation 13:1-18 is an apostate religious power that rises out of Rome and becomes a worldwide system of worship (Revelation 13:3-4). This beast is not a person; it is a religious organization that has substituted the truth of God’s Word for human decrees.
Read Revelation 13:1-18:1, 6. What key word is used to identify the beast power?
The Bible defines blasphemy in John 10:33 and Luke 5:21 with two examples: (1) a man pretending to be or claiming to be God, and (2) a man claiming the power to forgive sins. These accusations against Jesus were unjust because He is truly God and, therefore, has the right to forgive sins. The Roman Papacy has two distinctive doctrines that the Bible calls blasphemy: its claims that its priests have the power to forgive sins and that the pope has the prerogatives of God on earth.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-11-identifying-the-beast-part-1/
