Revelation Chapter 13

The Seventh Trumpet introduces seven personages: • The Woman • Man-Child • Red Dragon • Michael • The remnant of Israel • and now, two more: the two beasts of this chapter.

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.

John's initial description of this beast. Beast here is not in the vague sense of a living creature; it describes a wild, dangerous animal. The beast comes from the sea, which is sometimes a figure for evil and chaos in the Bible and ancient thought (Psalm 74:13; 89:9; Isaiah 57:20; Matthew 8:26). The ancient Jews were not a sea-going people; they regarded the ocean as a place of terror and danger. This beast is like the dragon of Revelation 12:3 (clearly identified as Satan in 12:9); it also has seven heads and ten horns. The idea behind having many heads is a picture of vitality (as in a Medusa-like creature); horns (as always in the Bible) represent power and might. Most commentators think that the ten horns are distributed among the seven heads; but David Hocking sees all ten horns upon one of the heads. The heads of the beast all advertise blasphemy against God.

Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

What the beast is like: a connection to the images of Daniel 7. Daniel 7 uses four animals (beasts) to describe the course of human government from Daniel's time until the ultimate reign of Jesus on this earth. The first three animals are a lion (a picture of Babylon), a bear (a picture of Medo-Persia), and a leopard (a picture of Greece). The fourth animal is a dreadful, indescribable beast - which shares the most terrifying characteristics of the previous beasts, yet represents the final world empire under the leadership of a Satanic dictator  (Daniel 7:7-8).

John presents this beast as the extension of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, wanting us to see that his empire will have the characteristics of the great empires of the past. This final world empire will have the catlike vigilance of a leopard; the slow and crushing power of a bear; and the authority and ferociousness of a lion. Also, this beast is the embodiment of Satan's power, throne and authority; this is Satan's attempt to incarnate himself in a human form or power.

Is this beast a person or a government or cultural system? Many believe the beast is a broad picture of totalitarian governments, especially the totalitarian states of the 20th century. Example: "The beast has always been, and will always be, in a final intensified manifestation, the deification of secular authority". Others see the beast as a person; specifically the Antichrist - the final Satanic dictator who leads the world in rebellion against God. The Antichrist is a prominent figure in the Bible; he gets this familiar title because he is the ultimate personification of the spirit of the Antichrist spoken of in 1 John 4:2-3.But the person commonly known as the Antichrist goes by many names in the Bible. Some of his many titles: little horn  (Daniel 7:8); king of fierce countenance (Daniel 8:23); the Prince that shall come (Daniel 9:26); the willful king (Daniel 11:36-45); the one who comes in his own name (John 5:43); the son of perdition, the man of sin, the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:3) Some (like Hocking) combine the approaches; they say that the beast is a modern, world totalitarian government, but the one head which has ten horns is specifically the Antichrist - the leader of this beast of a final satanic dictatorship.

Remember that to a large extent, a man does represent and personify an entire government or system; when we think of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the figures of Hitler as an individual and Nazi Germany as a state are virtually the same.

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

The beast and his wound. As if it had been mortally wounded: this wound is not superficial (is it from God's sword of judgment?); the recovery gives glory to the beast (13:12,14). If the beast is seen as a system, some see this as the revival of the comatose Roman Empire, fulfilling Daniel 7. Here is a genuine "Antichrist," a Satanic counterpart or imitation of Jesus Christ, who "rises again" from a "death wound".

Rev 13:4 And they 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?

The authority and popularity of the beast. They worship the beast, and the dragon behind the beast, because of the beast's might; "Worship of the devil and the devil's agent is justified purely on the ground of brute force". As people worship this beast and bow down before his government, it may be that they do not know they are bowing down to Satan himself; but it is worship of Satan none the less. But, don't expect outward ugliness and horror: For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). The beast will look like the "winner;" Jesus and His people will appear to be complete losers (for a short time!).

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.

The beast's blasphemies. "Blasphemer" may be a more accurate title than "Antichrist"; if this beast is anything, he is a man who speaks against God and everything God stands for. There are many examples of Roman Emperors blaspheming God in this way; but it can't be said they fulfilled these prophesies, even if they did prefigure their fulfillment. The beast continues without restraint by God for a period of forty-two months; the duration of the period shows that the beast has full reign for the first half of the final seven years; the presence of the time period shows that he is on a leash, regulated by God. Why does the beast blaspheme . . . those who dwell in heaven? Perhaps he speaks against those who have been raptured, who live in heaven, not on the earth, and are therefore out of the reach of the terror of the beast.

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.

The beast makes war against the saints. Who are these saints who are overcome by the beast? Various views of the timing of the rapture will determine who these persecuted ones are. Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture believe that these saints are God's people who come to Christ after the church as been raptured; those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture believe that these saints are God's people who are on the earth before the final rapture, including what we think of today as the "church".

Overcome does not mean that the beast can overcome the faith of the saints, but that he can destroy their physical lives, and truly, by all appearances, defeat the cause of God's people on this earth. Jesus said of the church, that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18); if this group of saints (a term not exclusively applied to the New Testament church) is overcome by Satan, perhaps they are not the same New Testament church that Jesus spoke of. Chapter 12 described the broad phenomenon of Satanic persecution during the tribulation period; here, its main instrument is revealed - the government of the beast will persecute and kill all those who do not bow in worship to the beast.

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.

A warning to all. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity means that the functionaries of the beast are not without guilt; though these things are prophesied and part of God's predetermined plan, it does not lessen in the slightest way man's personal responsibility. The Antichrist and his system will not be beaten by the sword of man; only by 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 spoke as a dragon.

The beast arising from the land. John's initial description of this second beast. The two beasts are the same in type (the same word meaning essentially "wild beast" is used of both), but different in specifics. They are diverse in origin (one comes out of the sea, the other out of the earth); the second is subordinate to the first (causes the earth . . . to worship the first beast); and they are different in appearance (the second has a mild, "lamb-like" appearance). The two horns may symbolize authority in two realms (perhaps religious and political authority); or the two horns may just be a mark of a lamb! Despite his appearance, his message is the same as the first, horrific looking beast; they both spoke like 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,
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

The second beast's "job description". He is essentially a Satanic prophet, who leads the world to worship the beast and the dragon. He has the "signs and wonders" to back up his false teaching (as Jesus warned in Mark 13:22 and Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:9). He uses a deceptive, animated image to be the focus point of the worship of the beast. It may seem strange to us to have the whole world give this kind of worship to the image of a man, but the personality cults of totalitarian governments in the twentieth century are a good example of this kind of thing (like the omnipresent pictures of Stalin or Mao). The image of the beast is animated in some way; it has breath and can speak; whether the image is animated supernaturally or technologically, the result will be impressive. This is what Jesus, Daniel, and Paul spoke of as the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). It is an idolatrous image set up in the holy place of a rebuilt temple; it is an abomination in the sense of being supreme idolatry; it is desolation in the sense that it will bring the desolating judgments described by the seals, trumpets, and bowls.

This is the summation of the power of the Antichrist, whose authority ends after forty-two months (13:5); this marks the half-way point of the final seven years of man's rule of this planet. The Antichrist's power ends as soon as it peaks. This is not a recent understanding of this passage; the first commentary we have on the book of Revelation, written by Victorinus in the early church, says of this verse: "He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles".

Rev 13:16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The economic strategy. This is a mark given to every person on earth; one must have this mark to participate economically. Since the specific Greek word for mark (charagma) is never applied to people, some have taken this as a symbolic mark. But a literal mark, needed to buy or sell, is certainly conceivable and practicable. Modern technology has made it possible to tattoo a scannable mark on someone, or even to implant a scannable chip on someone - something that might have all a person's personal information, given in a theft-proof manner, carrying all their financial information as well.

Satan is not a creative being; we are not surprised to find that this too is a Satanic parody of something God has does; it imitates God's mark upon his people (Revelation 7:3-4). The concept of the number of his name was common, because in Greek (and Hebrew as well), letters were assigned a numerical value (such as A=1, B=2, and so forth). For example, a graffiti in Pompeii reads "I love her whose number is 545".

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.

The number of the beast. Does this tell us who the beast is, by figuring out the numerical value of a name and seeing if it adds up to 666? Using this method, many candidates for Antichrist have been suggested through the ages, such as the Pope or the Papacy, John Knox, Martin Luther, Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and so forth. Many have thought the number adds up to be "Nero Caesar," a Christian persecuting Roman Emperor in the early church (the "Nero revived" myth); but to make the name "Nero" fit, one must take a variant spelling of the Greek form of a Latin name, transliterated into Hebrew characters.

The letters of "Jesus" in Greek (I+e+s+o+u+s) add up to 888; 666 may be a Satanic counterpart to the name of Jesus, or 666 may be God's evaluation of such a Satanic counterpart. As compared to the number 888, the number 666 may signify an unholy trinity; a human/demonic imitation of God, inherently falling short of the perfect and true (7 is the number of completion and totality). Or, the number 666 may hearken back to Solomon's wages (1 Kings 10:14 says that Solomon received yearly six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold); perhaps this suggests that the Antichrist, like Solomon, is a good man who was corrupted. Modern interpretations of the idea of the Antichrist are full of the idea of some demon-child, marked by obvious evil from his birth (such as in the Omen movies); but the Antichrist may be someone whose evil is only seen after his rise to power. Christians need not fear the number 666 in a superstitious way; but it interesting to see the way the world has an attachment to this number - even with things like "666" brand cough syrup.

The two beasts are a Satanic imitation; we are presented with a false "Christ" and a false "John the Baptist" to promote the false Christ; Satan can't create, but he can effectively deceive with imitation. "Imitations have ever formed the gravest perils in the history of the Church and the world, and the devil's final attempt to gain the government of the race will thus be an appalling attempt to imitate." Imitations work precisely because they are similar; if they were so obviously different, it would be easy to tell the difference. We must beware and be familiar with the genuine. Instead of obsessing with fear and interest about the imitation - the Antichrist - how much more appropriate is it for Christians to be interested in the genuine: Jesus Christ.