If we’re going to stand firm in this battle, we need to know: What’s the enemy’s playbook and strategy? Chapter 13 delivers precisely that. Chapter 12 provides an overview of Satan’s war against God’s people, while Chapter 13 focuses on how this battle plays out through two main figures in the dragon’s army. 

Big Idea: Satan seeks to destroy Christian faith through both forceful government persecution and subtle cultural pressure to compromise, so stay faithful to the end.

You’ve probably heard of The Art of War, an ancient Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu, a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher. It’s believed to have been written around 500 BCE. The book consists of 13 chapters, each focusing on different aspects of warfare and military strategy. It talks about strategy and planning, leadership, deception, and more.

Despite its age, it’s a book that’s still influential today. It’s studied in military academies, business schools, and leadership programs worldwide. One of its key insights is this: “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Knowing your enemy’s strengths, weaknesses, motivations, strategies, and resources helps you prepare for victory.

Last week we looked at Revelation 12. Here’s what we saw last week:

• We’re at war. We’re living in a spiritual war zone. Revelation 12 reveals the hidden truths of our daily lives, much like a movie where the plot becomes clear.
• Satan (the dragon) is especially fierce now because he realizes he has already lost due to Jesus’ victory and that his time is limited. Think of him like a defeated enemy making his last, desperate attacks.
• Despite the battle, we’re on the winning side. We are protected by God even in difficult times, and Jesus has already secured the victory through his death and resurrection.

Having lost his war against Jesus, Satan now unleashes his rage on God’s church. Like a predator changing targets, he sets his sights on those who follow Christ. Satan is waging a war against God’s people, but his defeat is certain, so stay faithful to the end.

But here’s what we need to understand: When Satan stalks God’s people, what’s his game plan? What weapons does he use? What’s his endgame?

In other words, if we’re going to stand firm in this battle, we need to know: What’s the enemy’s playbook and strategy? Chapter 13 delivers precisely that. Chapter 12 provides an overview of Satan’s war against God’s people, while chapter 13 focuses on how this battle plays out through two main figures in the dragon’s army. Chapter 12 reveals the spiritual war in heaven, while chapter 13 brings it to earth, introducing Satan’s two main agents of chaos.

Here they are:

The First Beast: Political Power Gone Wrong (13:1-10)

In verse 1, John sees a beast rising from the sea. In the Bible, the sea is always a place of evil and chaos. So this is not good.

But verse 1 would also ring a bell. This is not the first beast to rise from the sea in Scripture. This vision builds on Daniel’s earlier vision from Daniel 7, over 600 years ago, where he described “four great beasts coming up out of the sea, each different from the others.”

In Daniel 7, the beasts that come from the sea are governments. Daniel sees four earthly kingdoms in succession which are followed by the establishment of an everlasting kingdom. These were the governments from the Babylonian kingdom in Daniel’s time to the Roman Empire in John’s time.

How does this first beast of Revelation 13 relate to the four beasts of Daniel? It’s like a composite of all the beasts that Daniel mentions.

So what exactly is this beast? The clue lies in verse 1. It wears royal crowns, symbolizing governmental power as noted in Scripture. Both Daniel and Revelation use beasts to represent something specific: political powers that fight against God and attack His people. Consider the history of empires: Egypt enslaving God’s people, Assyria conquering Israel, Babylon exiling Judah, followed by Persia, Greece, and Rome. Each demanded complete loyalty. Each punished those who wouldn’t bow. And this pattern continues today—any government that demands the allegiance only God deserves, and crushes those who refuse. This is the beast.

Look at what this beast is like in Revelation 13. It’s fearsome and blasphemous (13:1). But it’s also powerful (13:2). It mimics Christ both in its exercise in power, in coming back to life from a mortal wound in verse 3, and in the praise it receives in verse 4. By the way, I think this beast coming back to life represents how persistent this beast is. It keeps coming back even when it looks like it’s gone. It keeps reemerging.

This beast blasphemes and declares war on God’s people, according to verses 5 to 7. According to verse 7, it has some authority for a period, which I believe refers to the church age between Christ’s ascension and his return. This beast will wage war against the church, and those whose names are not written in the book of life will go after this beast.

Verses 9 and 10 bring the point home: God’s people will endure opposition from this beast. They will be jailed and killed. But God’s people are called to endure despite this opposition.

What does all of this mean? Revelation is telling us that one way that Satan will war against God’s people is through evil governments.

Is this a future evil government during the end times, or are we experiencing it now? I believe this is something that will occur in the end times, yet we are also experiencing it now. 1 John 2:18 says, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.” 1 John 4:3 says that the spirit of the antichrist, which denies Jesus, is in the world already. 2 John 7 says, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

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