STAND FIRM
Opening Prayer
I praise You my God, my Rock of refuge. Open my heart to Your Word.
Read Revelation 13:1b–10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Beast out of the Sea
13 The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.[b]
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”[d]
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
Footnotes
a Revelation 13:1 Some manuscripts And I
b Revelation 13:8 Or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slain
c Revelation 13:10 Some manuscripts anyone kills
d Revelation 13:10 Jer. 15:2
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are there really only two stark choices about whose we are and whom we serve? Whose are you?Satan delegates all the symbols of his power to a beast that straddles the whole world. He is the power behind all worldly power, and his aim is to destroy the church according to Satan’s murderous intent (12:17). The passage vividly paints a counter-Christ: a mirror image of God’s power.
This captivating beast has to be resisted as we stay faithful to Jesus. It’s not easy. Scared or seduced, we can stray from Jesus—from him, personally; not just from doctrines or “quiet times” or fellowship with other believers or whatever—from him. If your name’s written in the book, it’s written. But don’t give the beast your affections or your abilities. Don’t spend today feeding his power. It might be costly but resist it.
And notice, the world is divided into only two types of people, whatever their background: those who worship the dragon and the beast and those who worship the Father and the Son. There is no third category of “really nice people who don’t actually worship Jesus even though they’re nicer than some of the Christians in my church.” There is no fence to sit on.
Apply
Do you know someone who is “straddling the fence”? How can you serve God today so that they might start to worship him? Ask God to give you opportunities to share the truth of God’s Word with them.
Closing prayer
Jesus, open my eyes to see those around me as having eternal souls. Help me to feel Your love and desire towards them.
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