What is a Beast?
Last night I asked my kids what a beast represents in Bible prophecy. They had no idea.
Then I asked, “What is the beast that comes out of the sea?”
“I know!” exclaimed my 4-year old boy, “A shark!”
“Great answer,” I replied. “But that’s not how the Bible describes this beast.”
That’s right, my kids do not know all about Revelation – even though I write about teaching kids about Revelation. Take heart, I am in the trenches with you, teaching them as they grow, and sharing our experiences with you.
A Great Tool
A great teaching tool for me has to be based on the Bible explaining the Bible and of practical use with my kids. In other words, does it catch or keep their attention and is it based on Biblical truth.
A few days ago I came across this documentary Leopard Vision. It is about the two beasts of Revelation 13 and an intriguing history lesson. After previewing to make sure it was Biblically accurate, my oldest (11) and I watched it together. It kept his attention and afterwards he could accurately state who the two beasts of Revelation 13 possibly are. Now we may not know everything about the beasts of Revelation yet. It is a prophecy that is still being fulfilled. But we can learn a lot from history. It’s a great tool so I’m posting it below.
Note: I recommend this for ages 10 and up. Also, if you’re not a speed reader, be ready to pause in a few places to catch the headlines on the page. They’re important – especially quotes by the popes throughout history.
An hour and a half later my 11-year old could answer the following questions about Revelation 13. There’s much more information in the video if you have questions about the answers below.
A man calling himself God (John 10:33)
A man saying he has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:7)
The papacy and any other “religious” power that claims authority that belongs to God alone.
Speaks like a dragon (Rev. 13:11)
Causes all to worship the first beast (Rev. 13:12)
I found this to be a useful tool and my boy was attentive and learned a lot. More than if I had tried to explain this all to him or made him do a worksheet full of answers and questions.
Did you watch the video? Did you watch it with your kids? What kinds of questions or discussions resulted from this? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
