END OF TIME PROPHECIES 151

The beast from the sea                   Revelation 13v1-10                           part4/ 

The world accepts him        His adoration

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.   And all the world wondered after the beast ...... and they worshipped the beast saying Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"                                         Revelation 13v3-4

Whatever this apparent deadly wound that was healed is, it caused the whole world to wonder after him.   It brought a new dimension as to how this monster was viewed.   From this point on the beast was universally worshipped, even though he was a brutal tyrant in charge of a brutal regime.   The extent of this is amazing.

• Verse 8   -     "All that dwell on the earth worship him."   (That is all earth dwellers, all people who have made this earth their only home).  
• Verse 12   -   "The second beast causeth all the earth dwellers to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed."
• Verses 15&16   -   This worship was coerced, as they were placed under threat of death if they did not worship the image of the beast.

Some say this deadly wound that was healed was a real miracle.   2nd Thessalonians 2v9 speaks of  "powers and signs and lying wonders."   It may even have been a fake recovery from an apparent deadly stroke, contrived to show that he can even conquer death.   However, what John saw was one of his heads wounded to death, so this is not speaking of the man but the system.   Some say it could be Rome under Nero, which actually recovered after its initial downfall.   Indeed the bible teaches that the Roman empire will be revived.   However, I favour the view that it is Babylon, which will be rebuilt in these days.   In the very next chapter we have the first mention of Babylon and this is expounded in chapters 17&18.   I believe that the beast will rebuild the city of Babylon as the centre of his operations, otherwise how can we understand the details of chapter 18?   It will become a mega centre of world trade and prosperity.   Babylon, the commercial hub of nations, that great kingdom which received a deadly wound so that no one thought it would ever rise.   This view is underpinned by the frequent mention of "the great city" in chapters 14 - 18.   Chapter 14v8; chapter 17v18; chapter 18v10,16,18,19,21 all refer to the great city.  

The basis of their worship was  "who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him?"   They worshipped him not for his character or compassion or his loving kindness but for his brutal strength.   This phrase  "who is like"  is applied to Jehovah in Exodus 15v11, 1st Kings 8v23, Psalm 71v19, Psalm 113v5.   Again in Isaiah 40v18&25  appears the phrase  "to whom then will you liken God.?"   This is the devil's counterfeit worship but it will be a worship of fear rather than of adoration.