Revelation 13

Revelation 13:1

13:1 Chapter 13 introduces us to two great beasts: one beast rising up out of the sea, and one out of the earth or land, that is, the land of Israel. There is no doubt that these beasts symbolize men who will play prominent roles during the Tribulation Period. They combine the features of the four beasts of Dan_7:3-7. The first beast is the head of the revived Roman Empire, which will exist in a ten-kingdom form. He rises out of the sea, a type of the Gentile nations. He has ten horns.

Daniel predicted that the Roman Empire would be revived in a ten-kingdom form (Dan_7:24). He has seven heads. In Rev_17:9-10 these are said to be seven kings, a possible reference to seven different types of rulers or seven different stages of the empire. He has ten diadems on his horns. These speak of the power to rule, which was given to him by the dragon, Satan. He has a blasphemous name on his heads, and he makes claims for himself as if he were God and not a mere man. 13:2 The beast is like a leopard, his feet like a bear’s, and his mouth like a lion’s. In Daniel 7, the leopard symbolizes Greece; the bear is a type of Medo-Persia; and the lion represents Babylon. The revived Roman Empire thus resembles its predecessors in that it is swift to conquer like a leopard, powerful as a bear, and greedy as a lion. In short, it combines all the evil features of the preceding world empires. The empire and its ruler receive supernatural strength from Satan. 13:3 The beast has a mortal wound in one of its heads. Scofield explains: Fragments of the ancient Roman Empire have never ceased to exist as separate kingdoms. It was the imperial form of government which ceased; the one head wounded to death. The deadly wound is healed. In other words, the empire is revived with an emperor as head, namely, the beast. 13:4 The beast is worshiped by men. They are not only amazed at him; they actually worship him as God. They also worship the dragon. 13:5, 6 The beast makes proud boasts and utters unspeakable blasphemies. He is allowed to make war (NKJV margin) for forty-two months. He speaks with callous irreverence against God’s name, His tabernacle, and the hosts of heaven. 13:7 He makes war with God’s people and overcomes many of them. They die rather than submit to him. His rule extends over all the worldthe last world empire before Christ’s Reign. 13:8 Those who are not true believers readily worship the beast. Because they never trusted Christ, their names were never written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. And because their names are not found among those of the redeemed, they are given over to error. They would not believe the truth; now they believe a lie. 13:9 This should be a warning to everyone to accept the light of God’s word when it is available. The consequence of rejecting light is to have light denied. 13:10 True believers are assured that their persecutors shall go into captivity and be killed with the sword. This enables the saints to wait in patience and faith. 13:11 The second beast is another prominent figure of the Tribulation Period. He works in close cooperation with the first beast, even organizing an international campaign for the worship of the first beast and of a huge idol representing the Roman emperor. The second beast comes up out of the earth or land. If the land of Israel is in view, then this leader is almost surely a Jew. He is the False Prophet (see Rev_16:13; Rev_19:20; Rev_20:10). He has two horns like a lamb, giving the appearance of gentleness and harmlessness, but also suggesting that He impersonates the Lamb of God. He speaks like a dragon, indicating that he is directly inspired and empowered by Satan. 13:12-14 He exercises all the authority of the first beast, meaning that the Roman emperor gives him unlimited authority to act on his behalf. He has supernatural powers, even causing fire to fall from heaven. The purpose of his miracles, of course, is to deceive the people into worshiping a man as God. 13:15 He gives animation to the great image, the abomination of desolation, so that it can actually speak. The penalty for refusing to worship it is death. 13:16 The second beast insists that people indicate their allegiance to the Roman emperor by wearing the mark of the beast on their right hand or on their foreheads. 13:17 In addition to this mark, the beast has a name and a mystical number. Unless a person takes the mark, name, or number of the beast, he will not be able to buy or sell. It is an effort to force men by economic means to forsake Christ for idolatry. This will be a severe test, but true believers will prefer death to renouncing their Savior. 13:18 The number of the beast Isaiah 666. Six is the number of man. The fact that it is one less than seven may suggest that man has fallen short of the glory or perfection of God. The three sixes are a trinity of evil. One of the biggest questions raised in connection with chapter 13 is whether the first or second beast is the Antichrist. Basically, the argument for the first being the Antichrist is that he insists on being worshiped as God. Those who hold that the second beast is the Antichrist point out that no Jew would ever accept a Gentile as Messiah, and that since the second beast is a Jew, He must therefore be the false messiah.