Chapter 13:  Woe to the earth and the sea (continued):

Let's look again at the end of Chapter 13:

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. Revelation 13:18 (NAS)

Clues to those under persecution:

As a reminder, the Revelation was written at a time when Christians were suffering tremendous persecution from the empire that ruled the known world at that time (see the preface to this lesson).  In Revelation 13, these Christians were given some clues as to who these two beasts represented: 

The first beast:

• Spoke great things and blasphemies against:

  • God,

  • God's name,

  • and His tabernacle (verses 5-6);

• Was given power to war against the saints and to overcome them (verse 7);

• Was given authority over every tribe & people & tongues & nations (verse 7); and

• The people of the earth would worship it (all those except those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life).

The second beast - the false prophet:

• Was a deceiver and fooled people into worshiping the image of the first beast (verses 14-15);

• Killed those who refused to worship the image of the beast (verse 15)

Question:

According to Revelation 13:18, the second beast is:

1. The Roman Empire.

2. The Emperor of Rome.

3. The beasts are not specifically named in the Revelation.