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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 13:5 - 13:10
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The power of the first beast:
v. 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
v. 6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
v. 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.
v. 8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
v. 9. If any man have an ear, let him hear.
v. 10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
From these words it is plain that the old heathen Roman Empire is continuing in the form of the papacy, for the description is so clear and unmistakable: And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and there was given to him power to do so forty-two months; and he opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name and His dwelling, those that dwell in heaven; and there was given to him to wage war with the saints and to conquer them, and there was given to him power over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. Here the rise of Anti-Christ's kingdom is depicted in a few masterful strokes. For it is characteristic of him that he speaks great and vaunting blasphemies, not only with regard to his own position in the Church, but also in the doctrines which place him in the temple of God as a god, and give him power over the Godhead Himself, as in the Mass, where the priest is said to have power to create the person of Christ by his blessing of the bread. By God's permission, Anti-Christ had only a limited time for the unrestricted indulgence in this behavior, but he made the most of this time. The blasphemies which are contained in the official declarations of the Roman Church, especially as to the power of the Pope, are such as to make a Bible Christian shudder. There can incidentally be no greater folly than to underestimate the power which Anti-Christ possessed in the past and which he wields today. Not only does he wage war against the saints, the believers, but he also had overcome untold thousands, getting them into his power and poisoning their souls with his idolatrous poison. Not only over a single city, state, or nation does his authority extend, but his officials are found in all tribes and peoples and tongues and nations. The power of Anti-Christ is a scourge of God visited upon the nations, and many a person that did not want to accept the simple doctrine of the atonement of Christ, of the justification of a poor sinner without the deeds of the Law, by grace alone, has been enmeshed in the net of Rome and in the blasphemous doctrine of salvation by works.
For that reason St. John continues: And there will worship him all those that dwell upon the earth, every one whose name is not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. The power of Anti-Christ is not confined to those that actually are members of His Church. There are thousands and millions outside of his kingdom that secretly or openly worship him, because they admire the wonderful perfection of the system which he has built up in the last fifteen centuries, or because they fear his power. But by the grace of God such worshipers are only those whose names are not written in God's Book of Life, that is, in that of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose death for all sinners was a fact established by the counsel of God from the foundation of the world. In the very first prophecies and types Christ was revealed as the Savior of the world, Gen_3:15-21; Exo_12:6; 1Co_5:7. This is such an important thought and it must be kept in mind so continually by all Christians that the seer calls out: If anyone has ears, let him hear. And he adds the warning: If anyone leads into captivity (or: is destined for captivity), he leads into captivity (or: into captivity he goes); if anyone kills with the sword, by the sword he must be killed; here is the patience and the faith of the saints. These words contain a warning for the enemies and a consolation for the believers. The latter must expect martyrdom: that is inevitable where enemies of Christ come into power. But the wrath of God will find these and will give them the punishment which their transgression merits. But he who loses liberty and life for the sake of Christ will at the same time gain eternal liberty and life. It is here that the patience and the faith of the saints, of the true believers, come into their own; for they will inherit the promise through the grace of God, Heb_6:12.