Here Is the Call to the Saints

Revelation 13:1-18 - Riley Boggs

Last week we looked at chapter 12 of the book of Revelation. A chapter that put before us the image of a dragon trying to destroy a woman, her son, and her other offspring. And as we worked through that chapter, we learned that the dragon was a depiction of our enemy, of Satan. And the woman was a depiction of God’s people, specifically spiritual Israel. We know this because the son whom the woman gives birth to is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. So the image is of God’s people being guarded and protected, throughout the ages, so that the Messiah might indeed be the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David.

Not only this, but the picture being painted in Revelation 12 is one where the dragon continually wages war against the woman and her offspring, despite the fact that Jesus dealt a fatal blow to the enemy when He rose from the dead. As life returned to the body of Jesus, death came to the enemy. This doesn’t mean that the enemy has been done away with, but it does mean that his end is certain. He is like an injured animal. He is angry, writhing in pain, and aggressively seeking the destruction of all who would follow the One who dealt the fatal blow against him. And yet, we saw that as the enemy is constant in his attacks, the Lord is constant in the protection of His people. He nourishes them and sustains them. He makes their feet steady so that they might stand firm against the enemy time and time again. The message of Revelation 12 is that God’s people have indeed conquered by the blood of the Lamb. That no matter how the enemy comes against us, when we stand in Christ, we stand secure. That is where victory is found.

This week we find ourselves in Revelation 13, the second sermon through the 4th cycle of the book of Revelation. And what I believe we find in our passage today is the outflow of what we saw in Revelation 12. That is, we are told that the enemy will come against us and that the Lord will sustain us in chapter 12. And then in chapter 13 we are shown specific ways that the enemy might come against us and specific things that God has called to to remember so that we might stand firm. I think the last verse of chapter 12 actually tells us that this is indeed the case. Look at what it says with me, verse 17 of chapter 12. “17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”

That last phrase, “And he stood on the sand of the sea” is a bit odd, isn’t it? It seems almost irrelevant at first, at least as it pertain to chapter 12. There doesn’t seem to be any apparent reason why this detail of the vision would be necessary. That is until you read the first verse of chapter 13, which you heard me read a minute ago. Verse 1 of chapter 13, “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea…” Do you see that connection? The enemy, furious with the woman, goes to make war against her and all those who follow Jesus. He’s angry. He wants to destroy them. And so he stands on the sand of the sea and calls forth a beast from the waters. In other words, we are being shown one of the ways in which the enemy intends to wage war against God’s people. It’s first from the beast of the sea, and then as we see later, the beast from the Earth.

Truthfully, this is one of the passages in the book of Revelation that made me really want to preach through this book. It’s passages like these that have often been misconstrued or misinterpreted, and as such the meaning has been nearly lost. Think of the number 666 for moment. We’ve all heard that is the number of the devil, right? We’ve seen the conspiracy charts and the wild conclusions that some have come to. It’s a number that people want to avoid because it’s supposedly evil. And as common as we hear this, you’d expect it to be a number than you frequently see in the Bible. But, as it turns out, it is mentioned 3 times in the Old Testament. Twice when referencing and King Solomon’s wealth and once in a census. And when it comes to the New Testament this number is only mentioned once, and it is right here in the last verse of Revelation 13. And there seemingly isn’t a big deal made about it. It certainly doesn’t seem to be the theme of the passage. And yet, if you were to poll Christians on the book of Revelation, the number 666 would be one of the most common things they attribute to this book.

So, what is the meaning of this passage? What does the first beast represent? What does the second beast represent? What is the church being called to do? Those are the questions we set out to answer this morning.

I want to begin by explaining how I plan to frame the sermon. I think from this chapter we are told 2 ways that the enemy comes against the church, and then we are given 2 things to do amidst these attacks. And so let me just go ahead and give you the first way that the enemy comes against the church before I start to explain too much how I came to this conclusion. It is this…

2 ways the enemy comes against the church

1.) Political forces

If you look at the description of the first beast, it is a clear callback to Daniel 7. And in Daniel 7, Daniel has a vision of four great beasts rising out of the sea. And the description of each of the beasts in that passage is clearly where John is getting the description of the beast coming out of the sea here in Revelation 13. This is very intentionally done so that we would rightly understand how this beast, that the enemy is calling out of the sea, is supposed to be understood. And the key to all of this is what Daniel says later in that same chapter, as he begins to interpret the dream. In verse 17 he says, “17 These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.” Did you catch that? These four beasts are political powers. They are kings.

That fits with the rest of what is being said of this beast all throughout verses 1-10, but especially in verses 5-10. In those verses what is described is a very arrogant and blasphemous beast who wages war particularly on the saints. A beast that has great power and authority, and often asserts it to punish those who are of God. This beast is a picture of one of the enemies greatest means of attacking the church; political forces.

For the first reader Revelation 13, they would have no doubt taken this to mean Rome. Rome fit all of the characteristics of what is being described here. They would’ve known that the beast was a symbol of evil kings who the enemy uses to harm the church, and they would’ve raised their eyes to see Rome doing exactly what is described here. And they would’ve been right to interpret this passage in this way. But I don’t believe the interpretation and application ended when Rome fell. No, this is a word to the church throughout all the ages. The enemy will undoubtedly use earthly kings and kingdoms to harm they church. At their best they will make Christians lives very difficult, and at their worst they will make it their goal to destroy everyone who claims the name of Christ. Throughout all of history this has been the case, beginning with the first century Christians and continuing today all around the world.

One of the interesting things you might have noticed about how this beast is described is that one of it’s heads has a mortal would, but it was healed. You can see that in verse 3. It says, “One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed…” But then look at what it causes people to do? “…and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.” What’s actually happening here is that this false impression that the beasts is immortal is being put forth.

Remember back in chapter 5 when John turns and sees the Lamb of God and he says, “...among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…” What’s being put forth is this idea that the Lamb of God cannot be defeated, and that’s because it’s true. Christ, the Lamb, though slain shall liver forevermore. Well now, in Revelation 13, we are being told that the enemy tries to convince people that political powers are just as infinite. He wants people to be enamored by the power and strength of kings and kingdoms. He wants them to put all their hope and trust in this seemingly almighty power that cannot be defeated. He wants them to say, in verse 4, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” And all of this is used cleverly and intentionally by the enemy so that worship might directed away from God and onto the enemy himself, which you can see in verse 4, where people marvel at the beast and worship who? The dragon.

This beast of the sea is actually has a name that is mentioned multiple places in the Scriptures. Maybe you’ve heard it before, but it’s called the Leviathan. When it’s used throughout the Bible it’s a reference to powerful kings or kingdoms, God’s means of judgement, or a very powerful sea creature that lies under the control of God. All 3 of those interpretations are intertwined here. The reality is that the enemy often lies behind the walls of the powerful leaders in nations. He wants to call people’s attention away from King of the world and onto the supposed king of the sea. And not only that, but the enemy often uses these same kings and kingdoms to afflict the people of God. But no matter the case, we need not fear. And we’ll look at why that is when we look at the 2 calls for the church amidst these attacks. But before then, I want us to look at this second beast.

You can see the description of this beast begin in verse 11. This beast doesn’t come out of the sea, but out of the Earth. It too has authority, but seemingly only as a result of the first beast. It leads people to false worship, particularly worship of the first beast. Not only that, but look at verse 13. This beast performs amazing signs that captivate people. Again, pointing to this idea that the beast cannot be slain, that it is immortal. Then in verse 15 we get this picture of not only false worship taking place, but an attack of those who refuse to partake in this false worship. And everyone who does indeed worship this beasts we see, in verses 16-18, gets that famous mark. The mark of the beast, 666. And it says that if you do not have this mark, you are restricted from buying or selling.

There’s a lot happening here, but I think it can be summed up in this. The second way that the enemy comes against the church.

2.) Secular myths and false religion

I’ve combined these two ideas because I think they are combined in this symbol of the second beast. What you have with this beast is a picture of the enemy directing worship away from God at all costs. Whether that is through the uplifting of secular powers or through the display of evil spirits masquerading their powers. In both of these, the aim of the enemy is draw people from God and to attack the true church.

And like the first beast, this second beast can also be found throughout the Bible under a certain name. The name is, Behemoth. By the way, if you’re curious about the Leviathan and the behemoth, go back and read Job 40-41. But the point of this reference is that these secular myths and false religions can appear incredibly powerful. They appear to be superior in every way, especially when compared to the measly Christian church.

According to Pew Research Center, Islam was the fastest growing religion between 2010-2020. In those years, the number of Muslims increased by 347 million. This means that there are roughly 2 billion people who identify Muslims today. In this same time period Christians also grew, but only by 122 million. And by most projections, there will be more Muslims than Christians in the decades to come. Now I don’t say this because this means some holy war is coming. I say this because we are being told right here in Revelation 13 that this would happen, and that is a play by the enemy. He wants worship to be directed away from the God who saves. He wants kings and kingdoms, false religions and lofty ideas to enamor people so that they might die in their sins. And not only that, but then be used to persecute the ones refuse the worship of the beast. (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/10/islam-was-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religion-from-2010-to-2020/)

See that is actually what is meant by the mark of the beast and this number of 666. There have been many who try to make the number 666 mean a lot of stuff it doesn’t mean. They translate words around and make the numbers correspond to letters, so that they can get this definite answer. But I’ll be honest, all of those seem to be vain attempts to get an answer that wasn’t intended. I don’t want to give the impression that there aren’t other possibilities for interpretation here, but I do think there is an interpretation that makes a lot of sense.

What is the number that has been used time and time again throughout this book to mean fullness? The number 7. It was used to describe the church, God’s power, and even the Spirit of God Himself. It’s the number of perfection. Now, what number do we have three times? The number 6. Well if the number 7 is meant to convey this idea of complete fullness, then what would 6 mean? Incomplete. Lacking. Not perfect. But not only is the number 6 once, but it’s 3 times. The number 3 has also been used many times in this book, and all throughout Scripture. It calls to mind this divine perfection of God, who is three-in-one. Put all of this together and what do you have? Divine imperfection. John is using a parody of the number 777 to describe the utter imperfection and lack found in the enemy and his tactics.

Though the enemy hides behind and uses things that seem powerful, there is a truth that remains ultimate. They are imperfect, failing, and their end is sure. They are lies. They are not of God. This image that is being painted here is one where there is the witness of the One true Living God, that is perfect and full in every way. And at the same time there is a counterfeit witness that changes shapes and forms throughout history. At times it’s the king or that kingdom, at times it’s this idea or this religion. But every time, it’s imperfect and lacking. It comes from the enemy.

And the truth is, many will buy into the ladder. When they rule, they will not rule with God in mind but with their enemies interest at hand. They will persecute and harm God’s people. Think about what is being said in verses 16-17. If one doesn’t take this mark of the beast, what happens? They are restricted from buying and selling. In other words, they are persecuted. They are pushed out. They are considered lesser than. This is how the enemy has and will attack the church until the Lord returns.

But the call of this text is not to be disheartened or worried about what is to come. It’s not a call to tuck our tails and run for the hills. No, throughout this passage we have the marching orders from our Lord. There are 2 things specifically that we can see, each in direct response to each beast. The first one is this…

2 things the church has been called to amidst the enemy’s attacks

1.) Faithful endurance

This one can be clearly seen in verse 10. It says, “If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” Do you see what is being said here? In response to this mighty beast from the sea, that symbolizes political forces, the call is very simply. Just endure. When you are taken, you are taken. When you are slain, you are slain. The call isn’t to spend your days trying to upheave earthly kingdoms. Yes, there is a time and place where earthly good must triumph over earthly evil. But the your primary call in life is not this. Your primary call is just to endure in the faith. Keep believing and keep trusting. Not only is that your call as a Christian, but it’s your defense against the enemy.

Look back in verse 8. This beast has authority over everyone except who? Except those whose names were written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. That is, the enemy has no authority over those in Christ. Yes, he will send kings and kingdoms to harm you. Yes, there will be moments of persecution and confusion. But do not be mistaken, you are victorious in Christ. The battle you fight is not of flesh and blood, and so when your flesh is blood is captured or killed, it speaks nothing to your victory. The battle you fight is a spiritual battle, won by Christ, and attributed to the saints who simply endure in faithfulness.

It is so easy to get distracted from this. Because we are flesh and blood, we often focus all of our attention and energy on the things that pertain to that. All of our prayers are for physical healing. All of our worries are about the wars raging between nations. All of our words are about those in power and what they should or shouldn’t do. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do these things. I am simply saying that these things will continue to totter back and forth until the Lord returns. And when He returns, it’ll all be gone. Our primary calling is to faithfully endure. Keep trusting Jesus. Keep preaching Jesus. Keep obeying Jesus.

One of the best passages about this first beast, the Leviathan, can be found in Isaiah 27. Listen to what the Word of God says here. “In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The Lord has promised to slay the fleeing serpent, the beast of the sea, the Leviathan, the dragon, the kings and kingdoms, the enemy… whatever you want to call it. The Lord has promised to defeat it all, finally, at the end of all things. Until then, we simply keep the faith. We endure.

The second thing that the church has been called to amidst the enemies attacks can be seen in verse 18. It says this calls for what? Wisdom. Our final point this morning.

2.) Wisdom

So you have this second beast, a representation of the endless secular myths and these false religions that are all around. There’s this idea and that idea. This belief and that belief. A never-ending constant stream of lies being places before us by the enemy himself. And the simple response, the simple call, is for wisdom. We are to calculate that number. That is, we are to look as see that which is true and that which is false. Does this bear the mark of our Lord, who is true and perfect? Or does it bear the mark of the beast, who is a liar and imperfect in every way. We need wisdom to discern these things, and so it is wisdom, we pursue.

Proverbs 2 tell us where wisdom can be found. If you will, turn there with me so you can see this. Starting in verse 1, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul…” Wisdom can be found in one place; in God and His Word.

The call for the church here is not to learn all that you can about every myth or religion so that you won’t be swayed. The call for the church is to immerse yourself entirely in the Word of God. As you do this, as you hear the Word preached and taught and read, then wisdom will come to you. Not as a result of your own brilliance and strength, but as a result of having the Word of the Living God inscribed on your heart and mind. This is how we fight the second beast. Not with iron swords, but with something sharper. Hebrews 4:12, “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This is how we fight the second beast.

In Job 40 we see this second beast mentioned, the Behemoth. And this is what God says to Job about it. He says, “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!” In other words, mere man cannot finally defeat these it, only God can. Again, we are being reminded that our call is to grow in wisdom, keep the faith, and trust that God will bring about final victory over all these things just as He promised.

And His Word is good. You can trust it, no reservations. On the cross He proved that to be true. For He sent His only begotten Son to die for the very people who crucified Him. He sent His Son to die the death we deserve, to save a people who did not deserve saving. And yet, He did it. He did it willingly because of His great love. The meal we are going to come partake of in a moment is a reminder of this. That God’s infinite grace and mercy was put on grand display as Jesus hung on the cross. But not only that, for His infinite power and might was put on grand display when Jesus rose from the grave. This morning we come to the table in humility, but also in victory because of what Christ has done on our behalf.