We left chapter 12 with the dragon standing on the seashore, contemplating his next move, as it were, in his efforts to destroy the woman and her offspring. In chapter 13, we are introduced to Satan’s proxies, the beast from the sea, which represents the secular powers, and the beast from the earth, which represents the false prophet. The chapter describes how these two beasts are used by Satan to draw the unbelieving world after him and to persecute the people of God. And by the end of the chapter, it seems that Satan’s master plan worked. The unbelieving world was worshiping the beast, and those who refused to worship it were slain. If the book had stopped there, then Satan would have the final victory, right?! Well, praise God that is not the end of the story; because in the very next chapter, we see Christ standing in victory on Mount Zion with the 144,000, who had His Father’s name written on their foreheads. He will indeed destroy Satan’s kingdom and establish His glorious, eternal kingdom.
This chapter shows us that suffering is inevitable for a Christian living in a world that is dominated by Satan. Therefore we ought to prepare our minds and hearts, so that we may stand firm in the faith, when our time comes. In the second place, we are called to exercise godly wisdom and spiritual discernment, so that we are not taken by Satan’s deceptive schemes. And finally, this chapter calls us to pray for our brothers and sisters, like those in North Korea, who are living under a regime that is carrying out Satan’s bidding.