Revelation 13
“In the previous chapter, we saw a dragon with seven heads and ten horns who attempted to interceptthe promised child and subsequently persecuted the woman who gave birth to the child. We saw numerous indicators which pointed to the Jewish context of that chapter and its events, with the woman finally receiving supernatural assistance to reach a place of protection prepared by God (Rev. 12:6, 14). Since the dragon could not destroy the woman, he became enraged and “went off to make war with the rest of her offspring”. (Garland’s Commentary)
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.
This is probably at the mid-point of the Tribulation. See vs. 5 also.
Beast – this is affectionately known as the “first Beast”; no doubt the AntiChrist, who is a mere mortal that is possessed by none other than Satan himself.
“John sees two beasts in this chapter. The first beast is closely identified with the dragon—having seven heads and ten horns. He is also the beast whose deadly wound was healed. Moreover, he is the object of worship and aided in this role by the second beast (Rev. 13:11). These characteristics identify the first beast as Antichrist, also called the Beast. The second beast which appears later is known as the False Prophet (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).” (Garland’s)
Sea – often refers to large groups of peoples, nations. “This beast arises from the sea, but the second beast arises from the earth or land (Rev. 13:11). This has caused some to expect the second beast, the False Prophet, to be Jewish in origin.” (Garland’s) Coming up out of the sea probably refers to the Gentile nations.
Heads – heads usually relate to rulers. “The [seven] heads represent seven world kingdoms which culminate in the Beast as the seventh which had “not yet come” in John’s day (Rev. 17:10). This is not a matter of conjecture for this same Beast with seven heads is ridden upon by the Harlot, the “mother of harlots and abominations of the earth” (Rev. 17:3). We are told that the seven heads are “seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are seven kings” (Rev. 17:9- 10). One of the heads of the Beast receives a deadly wound which is healed (Rev. 13:3). This revived head is considered as “the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition” (Rev. 17:11).” (Garland’s)
Horns – Rev 17:12 speaks of these as 10 kings. [The 10 horns] could be a 10 nation confederacy like the United Nations. Also, the ECC could be the economic strength behind the confederacy. “Initially, the beast supports the Harlot and she rides upon, or controls, him. Eventually the ten kings who are allied with the Beast will turn on the Harlot, throw her off and destroy her.” (Garland’s)
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.
Reference Daniel 7:4-6 for further explanation of these.
“The order in which the attributes are listed, leopard then bear then lion, are reversed from what Daniel saw. This reflects John’s different vantage point. Daniel, living in the days of the lion beast (Babylon), looked forward in time to see the rise of the bear (Medo-Persia), and then the leopard (Greece). John, writing in the time of the first phase of the terrible beast (Rome), looked backward in time to see them in reverse order.” (Garland’s)
The 4th terrible beast mentioned by Daniel is not listed here; he is the embodiment of all the beasts together into one; and it is believed that this last beast is the revived Roman empire.
The AntiChrist pulls together all these empires of old to control the world.
Dragon – refers to Satan; Satan has been working behind the scenes to set all this up so that he can have a world leader, and now he finds the right time and the right man. Then the Devil possesses him.
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.
Heads – referring to 7 heads or possibly 7 rulers; one of these rulers was killed; or is simply referring to this AntiChrist. “The person of the Beast is the king of the seventh empire (the restored Roman empire equated with Daniel’s fourth beast). When he is personally killed, as head of the seventh empire, the empire also meets its demise.” (Garland’s)
Death – the AntiChrist dies physically and then the Devil heals him and he rises from the dead. Again, we see the AntiChrist imitating Jesus Christ in every major way, including His death and resurrection. Can the Devil raise one from the dead?… The whole world has been watching the AntiChrist and will then give full allegiance after this wonderment occurs. They will declare that he is god.
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?
‘They’ are ‘all the world’. Here, it isn’t the man (AntiChrist) that is being worshipped, but Satan himself. Satan’s identity is blatantly exposed. The people loved him because of his ‘powers’, not because of love or longsuffering or mercy, etc. The USA will be no match for the military might that this beast has! (unless he is part of the USA!)
“This is the first phase of the abomination of desolation (Mtt. 24:15) when the man of sin himself sits in the temple of God proclaiming himself as God.” (Garland’s)
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.
Mouth – I am sure that he had his own mouth; but, it was given to his mind/heart to speak blasphemous things towards the true God. The mouth might be the full control and use of the world’s media outlets. The news networks across the world are almost totally controlled by liberal, Bible deniers. It would be no hard thing for the beast to get absolutely all of them under his control. He who controls the media, controls public opinion.
The “great things” may be ‘hidden’ (occult) philosophies from ancient days. In Dan 11:36-39, the Bible speaks of the AntiChrist, saying: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:”
Power – as in vs. 4. The Devil probably made sure that he continued the entire last half of the Tribulation; for after this, Jesus Christ takes over and they all lose their power completely! Though, was it Jesus Christ giving him the power?
“This period begins at the midpoint of the week, when he violates his covenant with many in Israel (Dan. 9:27) and overcomes the two witnesses (Rev. 11:7) who had prophesied for 1,260 days (the first half of The 70th Week of Daniel). This is the time of Jacob’s Trouble which shall be “for a time, times, and half a time [(42 months)].” (Garland’s)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Blasphemy – Satan is the great counterfeiter, the great blasphemer of the holy things of God: a counterfeit God, Christ, Spirit, Resurrection, Gospel, Baptism, Miracles, Peace, Preachers, Bibles, and Church! He specifically wants to hurt God’s holy name (specifically, Jesus Christ), His Heaven (and how one gets there…via the blood), and against His children (us). We will be in Heaven at this time and will be blasphemed against by the AntiChrist.
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.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
War – those who put their trust in Jesus Christ during this time (Tribulation) will have the AntiChrist and all his forces (world, devils) after them. It won’t be a ‘local police detective’ action, but a worldwide declaration of war against all “Christians”!
Power – it is worldwide; I suppose there will be a few nations that may resist this (righteous nations; those that continue into the Millenium). Ecumenicism is paving the way for a man to have religious control over the entire world in the name of “Christ”. Thus, the antichrist will have worldwide power and authority to make war with the saints on Earth.
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.
Worship – probably some will be ‘forced’ to worship him; just like in Daniel’s time. There will be appointed ways in which one must worship him: taking the mark; giving monies; publicly renouncing the God of the Bible, etc.
Book – The Book of Life of the Lamb most likely contains all those names who ever would receive physical life; then when they receive spiritual life, there name is possibly written over in blood ( Lamb’s Book of Life ); the others will be ‘blotted out’, erased, at the end.
“Some understand the phrase of the Lamb to denote a different book than the Book of Life mentioned elsewhere (Php. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 20:12), but such a view is exegetically precarious. The two books serve the same purpose—differentiating between the redeemed and the unredeemed. So why have two books? The book which the names of the Beast worshipers have not been written in is referred to as both the Book of Life of the lamb (Rev. 13:8) and the Book of Life (Rev. 17:8). It is one and the same book.” (Garland’s)
“We believe it is better to understand all references to the Book of Life as denoting a single book which records three categories of people: 1. The Unsaved – Each person to be born is written in the book. Those who die before coming to faith are blotted out. The Saved – Each person to be born is written in the book. Those who come to faith prior to death have their names retained in the book. 3. Beast Worshipers – The beast worshipers are a unique category of people of the time of the end. They are so hardened against God and destined to reject Him in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary that they are never written in the book (Rev. 13:8; 17:8).” (Garland’s)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. The phrase ‘unto the seven churches’ is not present here indicating that the churches are all gone.
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.
Leadeth – AntiChrist group? Those leading one into the captivity of Satan, must be captive themselves…eventually with Hell as there home.
Sword – those beheading Christians, will at the end, be killed the same way? Christ will come again and kill those in the valley of Armageddon. The Law of Capital Punisment. All those that are murdering the saints will in like turn be murdered by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Patience – the Tribulational saints need to concentrate on the coming vengeance of the Lord; He will recompense! God is in control.
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.
Another beast – this 2nd one is the False Prophet: The AntiChrist came out of the sea; the significance of the earth might be that the False Prophet is not from afar, and probably a Jew. Some say that he ascends out of the bottomless pit (very doubtful). Others say he is the same as the first beast. “The refusal of the second beast to participate as the object of worship is fatal to any view that the second beast is the Antichrist.” (Garland’s) Not fearsome like the 1st beast; not a dragon. Like the ‘Lamb of God’; he appears to be like the Christ. Dragon – appears like the Christ of the Bible, but speaks from Satan. The evil trinity is made up of the first beast (antichrist), this second beast (the false prophet), and the dragon (Satan).
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.
Exerciseth – Satan’s powers; via possession by Satan himself? Was he possessed by a different ‘devil’? He nonetheless was very powerful! This 2nd beast, the false prophet, is human, but is at times, or continually, controlled by a devil, or the devil.
Causeth – via the great miracles; via sensationalizing the rising from the dead; via economic sanctions (vs 17); via threat of death (vs 15). The goal is to convince all the earth that this man is God. One way or the other, almost all will indeed worship the 1st beast. He is trying to ‘cause’ all the earth to do this now through various means (miracles, ecumenicism, music, tongues, etc). The 2nd beast is never worshipped; only the first is. So, on that declaration, I assume that the 2nd beast is not possessed by Satan, but by another devil…for Satan alone wants to be worshipped. The main function of the 2nd beast is to cause the world to worship the first beast as god.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Wonders – he mimicks Elijah here; maybe this points to the future act by Jesus Christ at the end of the Millenium.
The devils can perform very impressive wonders, indeed. Just because it is mystifying and impressive, doesn’t mean that it is from the Lord. Charismatics (and many others) focus on this; they will be used to ‘sponsor’ in this beast!
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.
Deceiveth – People might not believe on him unless there are these impressive miracles. Deceives them into believing that the first beast is god.
Image – back to ancient, old-fashioned idolatry. I’m sure it will be a very realistic representation of the 1st beast.
The 1.2 Billion Catholics on the earth right now would have no problem worshipping an image. Catholicism has practiced this for centuries: forced worship of idols (Mary, Christ on Crucifix, saints). So has many countries: Muslim countries, Buddhist countries. What country is not predominantly Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, or Buddhist? Not too many.
This image would most likely be placed in the holy of holies in the new temple and would serve as a place for devotees to come and pay homage.
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.
Life – not like all those ‘dumb idols’ with the heathen of the O.T. time. This one comes to life and can speak! But, it can’t be human; it surely is more than just a modern-day robot. Some say it is what is known as a TV image. Others say it to be a Hologram. Maybe technology will allow ‘life’ to come to machines (super hi-tech robots); DNA splicing, cloning, computer controlled… I believe it to be a miraculous abberation. I don’t believe the image will be human. Maybe the image becomes controlled by an evil spirit.
The False Prophet’s main job is to make sure everyone worships this image of the beast; a forced religion based in idol worship; with Satan as the entity that is worshipped. Why worship the image and not the real thing? Maybe it is even another step down into evil; a step into idolatry. Is the antichrist not available for worship? Is he busy doing some other important tasks?…
What would give a death warrant to earth’s inhabitants was to purposefully not worship ‘the image’ of the beast (note: realize that it is the image and not the real person that is the object of worship).
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
The False Prophet will oversee everyone getting the ‘mark’.
This ‘mark’ may not be simply 666 etched into the skin; 666 is the number of the beast (his name), not necessarily the mark. It may be symbolic of the AntiChrist and his government/religion; today there is a lot of logos and symbolism that stands for beliefs, creeds, convictions, etc.. This ‘mark’ will be visual and identifiable as such; there will be no doubts about what it means.
Received – this mark is ‘received’, thus it is a voluntary acceptance by the individual, and it is an actual ‘mark’, not just a pledge of allegiance.
In – not simply a tatoo, but something that goes into the hand or forehead structure.
There are plans with biochip technology to place these either in “R” or “F” positions (referring to Right hand or Forehead)! Having it in these positions makes it very convenient to extract data; it is easily swipped by a scanner. There are ‘timeclocks’ for employees to punch in and out on that require only the ‘right’ hand to be scanned by it. It is very commonplace now to Biochip ID your pet. Inmates are being ‘marked’ this way too. Soon, all babies born will be…of course, to help identify them or even locate them if they are kidnapped.
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.
Buy or sell – the mark will control one’s ability to buy or sell; without it, you will not be able to. It may be that you only need one of these 3 listed here.
Name – these 2 (name, number) may be totally separate from the mark; some say they are one in the same. His name is probably not referring to a birth name, but a title or position. Maybe he will be called ‘the Christ’?
Number – his name, or title, must somehow correspond to the number 666. Some use Gematria (the assigning of numerical values to letters) to identify the AntiChrist as Clinton, Reagon, Hitler, the Pope, etc. It might be that this man, the antiChrist, will control the world’s banking systems and will have a number associated with himself that will be required in order to do any banking transactions.
The UPC symbol has for decades been declared the ‘mark of the beast’, for it uses 3 numbers across the bar code line: 6,6,6.
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.
Wisdom – it appears that those of spiritual wisdom and understanding ‘will’ be able to figure out the identity of the beast.
Though, it will probably only be those that are alive while the AntiChrist is coming to power. Could Christians today be able to?
Count -We know that it is a number of a man’s name, the AntiChrist (beast) (vs 17,18); probably referring to the AntiChrist’s title, i.e. what the masses will respectfull call him. Counting involves math; maybe a somewhat complex mathematical formula…though maybe it is simple math with complex spiritual insight.
The Hebrew equivalent of our “w” is the letter “vav” or “waw”. The numerical value of vav is 6. So the English “www” transliterated into Hebrew is “vav vav vav”, which numerically is 666.
666 – not simply 3 sixes together, but the number six-hundred sixty six.
The Beast – that 1st beast, the AntiChrist; for this beast is actually a man (a human possessed by Satan)
The IRS code #666 requires that everyone take a social security number.