Waging War on the Saints

The Beast from the Sea is authorized to wage war on the saints on behalf of the Ancient Serpent, the Dragon – Revelation 13:6-10.

The “Dragon” sent his “Beast from the Sea” to destroy the “saints,” and the Beast received authority over the nations to do so. In the Book of Revelation, humanity is divided into two groups: The “Inhabitants of the Earth,” the men who “give allegiance to the Beast,” and those who “Tabernacle in the Heavens,” namely, the “saints.”

The forces of Satan battle the followers of the Lamb in Revelation, not nation-states or the modern State of Israel. The apparent victory of the Devil over the saints – their martyrdom – instead vindicates the people of the Lamb but seals the fate of Satan and his earthly vassals. At the end of the war, they are all cast into “the Lake of Fire.”

[Sword - Photo by Ricardo Cruz on Unsplash]

For disciples of Jesus who endure faithfully in their Testimony, martyrdom does not mean defeat. Their names are written in the “Book of Life of the Lamb.” Believers overcome the Devil “by the word of their Testimony, and because they love not their lives unto death” – (Revelation 12:11).

• (Revelation 13:6-10) - “And he opened his mouth for slander against God, to slander his name and his tabernacle, they who were tabernacling in the heavens. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And he was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all the inhabitants of the earth will give him homage, everyone whose name is not written in the Scroll of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear: let him hear. If anyone is for captivity, into captivity he must go. If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with sword he must be slain. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.”

The “Beast slanders” God, His “Name” and “Tabernacle,” namely, those men who are “Tabernacling in the Heavens.” As elsewhere in Revelation, the imagery of the Tabernacle is based on the portable tent carried by Israel in the wilderness, not the later temple building in Jerusalem  - (Revelation 15:5).

Previously, John “measured the Sanctuary,” and its “outer court” was handed over to the “nations” and “trampled for forty-two months.” Likewise, the Beast is now authorized to “slander the Tabernacle and those who tabernacle in the Heavens” during the same period, the forty-two months – (Revelation 11:1-2).

The “priestly” company John saw in the “Sanctuary” in Chapter 11 is identical to the group described in Chapter 13, those who tabernacle in the heavens. During the forty-two months, the Beast is authorized to slander and kill believers, just as the Sanctuary was handed to the nations for the same period. Those who tabernacle in heaven are not supernatural beings, but the followers of the Lamb who are being contrasted with the “Inhabitants of the Earth.”

This identification is confirmed by the clause, “His Name and his Tabernacle, those Tabernacling in heaven.” There is no conjunction, no “and” preceding the two clauses in the Greek sentence. The clause identifies the “Tabernacle.” The New American Standard Version reflects the correct sense - “His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”

The term “blasphemy,” or more accurately, “slander,” refers to legal accusations made against God’s people before imperial magistrates. Among the Seven Churches of Asia, this manifested in charges against the Church by “the synagogue of Satan”:

• “I know your tribulation, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” – (Revelation 2:9).

THE WAR

Whether Satan wages war against the Lamb, the saints, the “Seed of the Woman,” or “those who have the Testimony of Jesus,” it is the same conflict. The Dragon attacks the Lamb by persecuting anyone and everyone who follows him. The description of this war echoes the language of the Book of Daniel:

• “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them” - (Daniel 7:21).

• “And when they finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the Abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them” – (Revelation 11:7).

• “And the dragon became enraged with the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus” – (Revelation 12:17).

• “And it was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” – (Revelation 13:7).

This war “on the saints” is the same conflict as the assault to kill the Two Witnesses and Satan’s pursuit of the Seed of the Woman. The “Abyss” in Chapter 11 corresponds to the “Sea” in Chapter 13 from which the “Beast” ascends.

The Two Witnesses are identified as the “Two Lampstands,” and in Revelation, lampstands represent churches. Rather than nation-states, the Beast wages war on congregations of believers. Satan and his agents persecute the Church of Jesus Christ - (Revelation 1:18-20, 11:4-7, 13:7).

The passage in Chapter 13 ends with the exhortation, “Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.” These saints are followers of Jesus, and this is clarified in the expanded form of the clause in the next chapter:

• “Here is the endurance of the saints, they who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” – (Revelation 14:12).

The Inhabitants of the Earth are described negatively, “everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.” What determines a person’s identity and fate is whether he or she gives allegiance to the Beast or to the Lamb, not nationality or geography.

The Book of Revelation traces the destructive efforts of the “Dragon” to the Garden of Eden. This is why Satan is identified as the “Ancient Serpent.” The war described in chapters 12 and 13 is the continuation and the culmination of the conflict that began in the Garden - (Genesis 3:15, Revelation 12:9, 20:1-3).

The passage concludes with the exhortation, “If anyone is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword he must be slain.” Saints do not escape persecution or martyrdom - (Revelation 13:7-10).

• “And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” - (Revelation 6:9).

• “And it will come to pass, when they say to thee, Where will we go? Then you will tell them, Thus saith Yahweh: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity” - (Jeremiah 15:1-2).

“Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.” This clause echoes the exhortation found in each of the letters to the Seven Churches in chapters two and three of Revelation: “If anyone has an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” The persecution endured by the saints is their endurance.

We must persevere as we testify to Jesus and his message, especially during times of severe pressure. That is how we will “overcome” and reign with Jesus as “priests” in his Kingdom, and it is how God uses us to bear witness before the world.

• “Unto him who loves us and loosed us from our sins by his blood. And he made us to be a kingdom, priests for his God and Father” – (Revelation 1:5-6).

• “Worthy are you to take the book, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and purchased for God with your blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to be for our God a kingdom and priests; and they are reigning on the earth” – (Revelation 5:9-10).

• “Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years” – (Revelation 20:6).

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SEE ALSO:

• The Ascending Beast - (To identify the Antichrist, we must understand what the relevant scriptures say about him, his methods, and his agenda)

• Suffering for the Lamb - (Following Jesus requires the willingness to suffer for him. Enduring persecution is the highest honor imaginable for his disciples)

• The Dragon's War - (Satan is the Great Red Dragon that attacks the Lamb by persecuting his followers, the men and women who have the Testimony of Jesus)

• The Coming War - (At the end of the age, Satan will wage his final war on the saints, the followers of the Lamb)