On the Shore of the Sea

And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. (Revelation 13:1a).

My Musings – The dragon, “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,” (Revelation 12:9, NIV 1984). At one time the highest of God’s angels, he tried to usurp the throne of God and capture the worship that belongs only to God (Matthew 4:8–10).  “I will be like the Most High,” (Isaiah 14:14, NIV 1984), reveals his basic strategy, for he is an imitator that “masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NIV 1984). He aspires to the position of God the Father, the first person of the Trinity. But he could never even “be like the Most HIgh,” much less usurp His throne.

Standing on the shore of the sea, literally upon the sand, uses the same word that is used for “in number they are like the sand on the seashore.” (Revelation 20:8, NIV 1984). The phrase foreshadows what is about to come, the summoning and coronation by Satan of the beast from the sea, the anti-Christ. At least one commentator insists that “stood on the shore of the sea” means across the ocean.  Although it may be a stretch, the commentator connects this with the beast arising out of the sea (the nations, or more specifically nations arising from the geographic area comprising the ancient Roman Empire).  Of course, only one nation is comprised of such nation that settled across the ocean – the United States.

The dragon will give the beast from the sea his power, throne and authority and he will work through this beast.  Satan claimed that he had this power when he tempted Jesus. “He [Satan] said to him [Jesus], ‘I will give you all their [all the kingdoms of the world] authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So, if you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:6-7, NIV 1984). Christ Himself called Satan the prince of this world. “The prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.” (John 14:30, NIV 1984).

Once the dragon bestows his power on the beast, the beast will share many of the dragon’s characteristics.  He will use this position to exercise “authority over every tribe, people, language and nation,” (Revelation 13:7, NIV 1984).  He will be worshipped by all who do not belong to God. Satan, who has always yearned for the worship and the place belonging to God alone, will seemingly achieve that goal on earth through the counterfeit Christ (anti-Christ) who will rule in his name.

My Advice – Neither the dragon nor the beast have any authority over the God’s elect. But if you are not part of God’s Kingdom, through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, you are under the under the authority of the prince of this world. Why not change allegiance?

Resources:

Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 958). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 45). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 12:18). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 13:1–10). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Fraley, Bob, (1978), God Reveals the Identity of the Beast, Phoenix, AZ: Crane Publishing Company, Inc.

Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 13:2). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 13:2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 1081). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.