NT Fire Starters – Day 353: Revelation 13:1-10

READ: Revelation 13:1-10

THINK: Taking a step back from the devastating images of end-time judgment, this section provides a symbolic description of persons and events that are part of the great tribulation, including a graphic depiction of the end-time antichrist, embodied in a satanic-empowered world ruler who will oppose God and all He has accomplished through Christ. This individual, and the god-defying world system he represents, will deceive people and engineer Satan’s final assault against Jesus, His work and His followers before Christ ultimately returns to earth to defeat the forces of evil and reign forever. (See article on The Age of the Antichrist, p. 1760.)

RESPOND: Who or what is represented by the beast who comes out of the sea? (See 13:1 note.) What do the ten horns symbolize? What does it mean that each head has a “blasphemous name”? What does this indicate about the nature, activity and deception of the antichrist? (See 13:1 note.) What kind of power will the antichrist possess and where will he get it? (See 3:2 note.) What is implied by the term “anti”-christ? How will the issue of “a fatal wound” enhance the antichrist’s deceptive influence? (See 13:3 note.) Who will be deceived by the beast’s pretentious “miracles”? Who will people really worship because of the beast (v. 4)? How long will the beast exercise authority, and what will he do to God’s people during this time (vv. 6-7)? What choice will people have to make during the tribulation, and how will that choice affect their lives? (See 13:7 note.) Who will worship the antichrist, and why? (See 13:8 note.) What will the antichrist’s “religion” teach, and how does this relate to religious views and philosophies past and present? (See 13:8 note.)

PRAY: Worship the name of Jesus. Pray for people you know–Christians and non-Christians–that their minds and hearts will be open to God so they won’t be deceived in the end times. Pray for those who have been swayed by humanistic philosophies, that they will be open to the truth and that they get an accurate impression of Jesus through you.

ACT: Make an effort to do good and to show kindness to someone who has a reputation for opposing God and Christians and who knows that you believe in Jesus. Pray that your actions will influence them to consider the truth of Jesus.