The Earthly Battle | Revelation 13

Sermon Discussion | Revelation 13

We ended ch. 12 with the dragon "Enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring..." Rev 12:17 Chapter 13 opens with the dragon on the shore of the sea and John see's a beast coming out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns.

1. Read Rev 13:1-2, Who is the beast and who is the dragon? How do they relate to one-another? Hang with me...Read Gen 3. Can you make a connection to the serpent and his behavior, to the dragon? Think about the serpent as an agent of evil with a mission to corrupt God's people and his creation - what "seeds" of the dragon do you see planted in these early pages? Is it possible the snake is trying to give them power or "knowledge" (by eating) in the same way we see the dragon influencing Rome?

2. Read verses 3-7, Jeremy told the stories of how past rulers had died, Nero specifically by a "head wound"...cutting off his own head and the following rulers that died after him. Then we meet a new ruler, Domitian who takes the throne. This is seen as a "resurrection" of Rome's power. How do you relate this with the "crushing of his head" from Gen 3:15 and the resurrection of Jesus? Reflect on what "real" power over the grave is and why that would demand our worship.

3. Read verses 11-15. We meet a second beast that is a mouthpiece for the dragon, meaning he speaks the language of the dragon but looks like the lamb. If his voice speaks of violence, force, enslaving others - what would the language of the Kingdom be? Verse 13 mentions great signs - can you think of what today's great signs would be? The Roman empire seemed to offer impressive things like - power, the ability to participate in the market, maybe even safety. What are the attractive things of our world that fight for our attention? How do you decipher what is good and what is not? What things/beliefs/agendas tell us they will bring "salvation" to our world today?

4. Read verses 16-18. Jeremy said this mark speaking to the seal of God's people that we learned about a few weeks ago. (Side note: In our Revelation Recap video he talks more about this). He made the point that we should not get tied up in looking for "A Mark" but that the mark is representative of a system or way of life that wants to woo us away from faithful allegiance to Christ. "It is a recurring characteristic of this land-beast religion that it is commercialized. It manipulates us economically, getting us to buy and sell at its bidding, marketing advice, solace, blessing, solutions, salvation, good feelings. The devil's strategy here is not the black mass but the mass market." Eugene Petersen. Reflect on that quote. IF he cannot get to our heart, he'll go for our pocket book knowing our hearts will follow. Is that true of you? What are the things your heart bends toward? The last verse is a call for wisdom - because we need it to discern our heart, desires and who is ultimately reigning in us. Read and reflect on Psalm 1:1-6