Study Audio

Rev 13:10-13 Part 1, Here is the Patience and Faith of the Saints

[Study Aired January 24, 2025]

Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

Introduction

Let’s read that again!! “The patience and faith of the saints is to lead into captivity and be led into captivity? The patience and faith of the saints is to kill by the sword and be killed by the sword”? Is that what we just read? Is that how far the holy spirit’s doctrine of “all things are ours” doctrine goes?

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Is that how far “living by every” word goes?

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Is that how far “keeping the things written therein goes”?

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Every time we come to God’s Word thinking that we are coming to it to study history or to seek to know the future, we are failing to approach God’s Word with the proper mindset. That mindset is this:

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Let us be very clear… ‘living by every word’ means believing and doing everything the scriptures tell us to believe and to do. If the scriptures tell us that we are to follow the footsteps of Christ then that is what we are to do.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

If, on the other hand, the scriptures tell us:

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Then we should believe and teach that all who are the first to die daily with Christ, to die to our old man, and to overcome the wicked one in this present world, and are the first to be judged in this present time, shall not be hurt of the second death. The “second death… [which] is the lake of fire” is ‘second’ in time and in order. It is not common to all men and will not ‘hurt’ the elect (Rev 2:11).

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

God’s elect who will rule with Christ for a thousand years, go through judgment and “die daily… in this present time”:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

It is only because the Lord’s elect ‘die’ first, in ‘this present time’, and it is only because “judgment… first begins at us” in “this time” that we are granted to “come forth… unto the resurrection of life”, the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” at the commencement of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His ‘Christ’, who will rule with Him for a thousand years. The elect live by those words of God, but they do so “first… to the praise of His glory”, and not later at the “great white throne… judgment/ lake of fire/ second death” (Rev 20:11-15).

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: ‘Krisis’, judgment, the “great white throne… judgment”].

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory [of His grace, vs 6].

“Man” in Matthew 4:4 is the Greek word ‘anthropos’ and it means ‘mankind’. What that means is that you and I will live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We will “keep the things written therein… because, all things are ours” (Rev 1:3, 1Co 3:21-22).

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Now, since mankind will live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and since all things present and things to come are ours, and since we must all “keep the things written therein”, then it is a very safe bet that “all things [will] come alike to all” men.

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Now if it is true that “there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked”, and if it is also true that in the end we are all to be redeemed by the blood of the Christ, then the only conclusion we can draw from all of these verses of God’s Word is that we must all first be wicked before we can become righteous, and we must all experience “the day of evil” before we can be “accepted in the beloved.” Put another way, we must all be “in Adam” before we can be “in Christ”.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

All of this is by God’s own deliberate design:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Eze 20:25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;

With this Biblical approach to today’s verses in Revelation 13, let’s look and see…

What is the patience and the faith of the saints?

Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Now doesn’t a statement like that make you very thankful that you have never led anyone at any time into captivity? Don’t these words make you very thankful that you have never in your life killed anyone with the sword?

But wait a minute. It is the leading into captivity and going into captivity, it is the killing with the sword and the being killed with the sword which is “the patience and the faith of the saints.”

Surely we have read this wrong, or maybe we have simply misunderstood what “keep the things written therein” means. Let us take the time to see if “the patience and faith of the saints” is mentioned anywhere else in this book, and let us look very closely at those verses to see what they tell us is “the patience and faith of the saints.” Is there a “second witness” to this definition of the patience and faith of the saints?  Yes, of course there is always a second witness to any Biblical doctrine, and this ‘second witness’ is found in the very next chapter of this prophecy, and it again demonstrates that we endure everything those in the lake of fire endure, but we do so but once in this present time, and we do so first:

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come [1Pe 4:17]: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel [three signifies the process of being judged] followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

There it is again, just as plain as it can be stated. The patience of the saints and they that keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus Christ, are those who drink of the wrath of God, poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and are tormented day and night in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. The patience of the saints, and of those who keep the commandments of God and keep the faith of Jesus, is to “keep the things written in this book”, which things happen to include the worship of the beast and his image and receiving the mark of His name. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

“Another angel… another angel… and a third angel” is not speaking of three different spirits. They are all the same spirit with three messages concerning these three steps in the process of the judgment of the worship of beast that is within us all. This message in chapter 14 is the exact same message as the message of chapter 13. Both are the necessary ingredients of “the patience and the faith of the saints.”

Now let’s go back to Rev 13:10 and notice how the preceding verses parallel these verses here in chapter 14:

Rev 13:4 And they [all mankind, you and I] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Who among God’s elect have not worshiped and served the beast before the coming of Christ into their lives? Who among us has not opened our mouths in blasphemy against God, “to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven”? We have all “made war with the saints” when we first heard their doctrine. Here are a few more words which have been inspired by our God, demonstrating that we will all live by every word of God:

1Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief.

“Who before was a blasphemer [who]… led into captivity, [and] killed with the sword…” Those words are not unique to the apostle Paul. They speak of all of us.

Are there any of us who have not first been “the children of wrath even as others”? Think before you answer that question, because we will all be “judged out of our own mouths”. Here is the answer to that question:

Eph 2:1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were [all] by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

No, there are none of us who were not first “the children of wrath, even as others”. Not one of us was born perfected. We are all ‘shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin’:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

“We all [have been] in times past… by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. It is all “the patience and faith of the saints” who are given to “look behind [themselves]” and witness this entire revelation of Jesus Christ and to see and understand that this revelation of Jesus Christ includes both the first and then the last Adam, and it is so stated in both chapters 13 and 14. The worship of the beast in both chapters precedes the statement, “This is the patience and faith of the saints.”

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

“I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth…” This ‘coming up’ is the same phrase used to tell us “what the Lord is about to do” in Pharaoh’s dream:

Gen 41:1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Gen 41:2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
Gen 41:3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
Gen 41:4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Gen 41:5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
Gen 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
Gen 41:7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

Pharaoh’s dream involves seven well favored and fat fleshed cows being eaten up by seven ill favored and lean fleshed cows. This is so troubling to Pharaoh that he is awakened out of his sleep. Then he falls asleep again and dreams a second dream involving seven ears of corn on one stalk “rank and good.” These seven good ears of corn are then eaten up by seven thin ears of corn, blasted with the east wind.

So in Pharaoh’s two dreams we have seven fat cows and seven thin cows, and seven fat ears of corn and seven thin ears of corn. What does it all mean? It all means the same thing. The message in these two dreams is one single message which the Lord is giving to Pharaoh about things He is about to do. Both dreams have one message, and the different kinds of cows and the different kinds of corn are simply expressing the different stages of the progression of that one single message being delivered by God, through Joseph, to Pharaoh.

Here is what Joseph tells the Pharaoh.

Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Gen 41:32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

The fact that the dream was doubled to Pharaoh indicates that it is “written in God’s book” (Psa 139:16), and it will happen very soon. Two is God’s number for witness, and God’s witness is always given as “the time is at hand… it is near, even at the door” (Mat 24:32-33, Rev 1:3).

Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Joseph is sent by God to Pharaoh to confirm to Pharaoh that these two dreams are just one message to Pharaoh. This message has been established by God and will soon be done.

That is just as true of the message we are being given here in Revelation 13. “Another beast” like “other kine” is really nothing less than the same beast, at the next stage of his progression. Just as the “seven other kine” are simply that which follows the first seven cows, here, too, in Revelation 13, this “other beast” which “comes up out of the earth” is the natural, predestined progression of what will become of the first beast which comes up out of the sea.

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Here is the message contained in these two verses, in their Old Testament type and shadow form:

Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

In Biblical terms, the first beast represents the sea of our naked flesh, and the second beast represents the dry land which rises ever so slightly higher than the sea. The second beast is aware of his nakedness and is thereby one step closer to being like God than the first beast. Nevertheless, like the cows and the corn in Pharaoh’s dream, both are a single beast. It is very similar to this statement which “proceeded out of the mouth of God” immediately after our original parents first disobey their Father:

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man [H120: ‘adam’, mankind] is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

The separating of the dry land from the waters of the sea is the preordained progression of God’s work upon His one single creation, you and me, “the earth”, and the beast that comes up out of the earth is the predestined progression of the beast that is within God’s one single creation, the earth, which we are.

Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

There are two beasts mentioned in this chapter. There is the first beast which “rises up out of the sea.” Then there is this second beast of our study today, which “comes up out of the earth”. This second beast, has “two horns like a lamb, but he speaks as a dragon.” It is this second beast, ‘which speaks as a dragon’, who makes an image of the first beast and is given the power to give life to the image of the beast and to cause all men to worship the image of the beast, but like the 14 cows and the 14 ears of corn in Pharaoh’s dream, the three beasts are all nothing more than a predestined progression of a single message about a single beast, which beast we and all the rest of mankind are:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

The vision of the two beasts of this 13th chapter of Revelation, like Pharaoh’s different dreams, is also one vision of one beast, but the fact that John sees three angels in chapter 14, tells us that this beast is in the process of being judged. These three angels are really just the three phases of where we are while we are in the process of being judged in this present time, on this earth. God has “made manifest to us that we ourselves are beasts”, and as such we live the process of the judgment of that one beast which is in us all.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Three is God’s number for the process of judgment, and all the chapters of Revelation 10-16 are all about the judgment of the beast within us, and that judgment, as we will later see, comes in three separate and distinct phases.

Now what does this mean:

He had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

In our next study we will seek to discover what the scriptures reveal about this second beast which comes up out of the earth with two horns like a lamb, yet speaking as a dragon. Lord willing, we will learn what these words signify.