September 23: MORE IDENTIFIERS OF THE DRAGON’S FIRST ALLY
And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Revelation 13:5
Jesus was accused of blasphemy when He forgave the sins of the paralytic whose four dear friends had carried him to Jesus. The religious leaders present, in their own reasoning and based upon their understanding of Scripture, were thinking “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21) Although they were wrong in their failure to recognize the Messiah, they were correct in the belief that God alone has the power to forgive sins. This incident provides for us one definition of blasphemy.
When Jesus declared, “I and My Father are one” some of the Jews were angered and ready to stone Him. They said, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” (John 10:30,33) Thus, we are given another definition of blasphemy: claiming to be God.
It is ironic that these Jewish leaders, with full access to the written Word, hurled false accusations against the Lord Jesus. They had many of their facts down to a “T”, yet actively rejected the Source of that Truth.
The mouth speaking great things and blasphemies takes us directly back to Daniel’s dream of the little horn: And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words (Daniel 7:8b). This little horn symbolizes a worldwide system of power with a single man at its head.
This mouth was given. Yesterday’s verse tells us by whom. It was the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and the beast exercises this authority in speaking to the world, claiming both the power to “truly forgive sins” and claiming to “hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”
For the seventh time, we are reminded of the period of unrestrained rule of the sea beast: forty-two months. The Holy Spirit of God communicates thoroughly on this point*, for it is a positive identifier even though nearly the entire world is unaware of the beast’s identity. In addition to the glance back to Revelation 11:2, it alludes to Daniel 7:25 which describes the activities of the little horn power. This prophetic (day/year) time period parallels the literal time period of the ministry of Christ on the earth. From the time of His baptism until His crucifixion, Jesus had many experiences of rejection and persecution. The plotting against Him by religious leaders necessitated the involvement of political power. It was the Jewish religious leaders who saw Jesus as a threat to their positions. It was they who wanted Him removed. But, in the end it was the Roman civil government that carried it out.
Likewise, during Medieval times, the true worshippers of God were viewed as an affront to the visible church. Due to the loss of the Holy Spirit’s power, the church disintegrated into a likeness of the Jewish leadership of Jesus’s day. While claiming to be God on earth and claiming the power to forgive sins, the fallen church exercised its power over the monarchies—employing their military strength—to carry out its wishes against the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:25). The start of this period was marked by the plucking out by the roots (Daniel 7:8) of the last of three opposing nations in 538AD. This unhindered reign was brought to a halt in 1798 by order of Napoleon. Thus, the papacy seemed to have a mortal wound (see Revelation 13:3). With this 1260-year history of the sea beast, we have the undeniable record of persecution against the Lord’s saints who are symbolized collectively as the woman clothed in light of Revelation 12:1.
Jesus said to His followers, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:20b
*Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2,3; 12:6,14; 13:5