Revelation Chapter 13: The Beasts from the Sea and Land

Introduction

Chapter 13 continues John’s account of signs of events that began in chapter 12, presenting prophecies of two beasts, one coming out of the sea and the other out of the earth, both of which continue the persecution of believers that he describes in chapter 12. The two beasts receive their power from the dragon in chapter 12. We noted in 11:7 that the beast of the earth comes from the Abyss, and we will see later (chapter 19) that the beast will form an alliance with the “…kings of the earth…,” but will meet his end in the lake of fire.

The Exposition

In the beginning of chapter 13, John sees a being, a “…beast…,” arising from the sea (vv. 1-4):

¹ The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

I need here to note that the beginning of v. 1 in the King James Version (KJV) reads: “And I stood on the sands of the sea…,” which is an inaccurate rendering arising from changes and errors that occurred in more than 1,000 years of hand-copying biblical manuscripts. The KJV relied on those late manuscripts, but since the production of the KJV, many early and more reliable manuscripts of the New Testament have been discovered. “The dragon stood on the shore of the sea…” is without doubt the accurate English rendering of v. 1.

You may notice in chapter 13 that John’s perspective changes. Until this chapter, John’s vision has been that of watching events in heaven or watching from heaven. In chapter 13, however, John is not watching from heaven, but he is on earth as the beast emerges.

The beast from the sea gets power from the dragon, has seven heads and 10 horns, and “…on each head a blasphemous name…” This beast resembles “…a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion” (v. 2) and receives a fatal wound that is healed, causing the whole world to be “…filled with wonder…” (v. 3) and to follow the beast. For 42 months, the beast speaks blasphemies and wages war worldwide. John calls on believers for endurance and faith.

To the ancient Israelites, the sea was a dangerous, mysterious place. They feared that ferocious creatures might live under the surface, due partly to the history of ships that had gone missing and imaginations about unknown sea creatures. We find mention of the sea containing satanic sea monsters in the Old Testament (the dragon, Leviathan, etc.—Job 26; Psalm 74, 87, 89; Isaiah 27, 51).

The word translated “…beast…” here in vv. 1-4 is θηρίον (thérion), a Greek term meaning vicious wild animal that poses a great danger to humans. The beast is different from the dragon, which also had a reputation in Israelite mythology as ferocious. John described a beast in 11:7 as rising from the “…Abyss…,” which was believed to be the source of demonic powers opposing God.

We should remember that in John’s vision the dragon was defeated and cast out of heaven (12:11), but here in chapter 13, we find he is still able to wage war against believers on earth.

The beast shares some similarities with the dragon, but it has seven heads and 10 horns (v. 1; see 12:3). A creature with seven heads is thought to represent a creature with power that is hard to kill. In biblical imagery, the 10 horns express strength and power, so the imagery here is extraordinarily strong—a bull with two horns is a powerful creature, but a beast with 10 horns has that much more power.

In v. 4, we find the unbelievers in the world will engage in idolatrous worship of both the dragon and the beast, the beast because the beast is invulnerable, having survived a fatal wound (v. 3). The people will proclaim: “…Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” (v. 4).

The entities in the vision John experiences are literal as well as symbolic. In v. 1 the dragon and the beast are symbols of the rise of powers in the world during the tribulation, a total dictatorship, the deification of secular authority controlling all the people of the earth, and an all-powerful one-world government with leaders the population will regard as god-like.

The dragon represents Satan, who takes his position amid the nations of the world, which are represented by the sand of the sea, meaning, all nations. The beast is the antichrist. Rising from the sea may represent the antichrist coming out of the abyss, or it may just be ascribing to the antichrist with the characteristics of the vicious monsters that were thought to live in the sea—big, powerful, angry, and murderous.

The 10 horns with crowns represent the leaders of the world, all of whom will come under control of the antichrist. John’s vision is like that of the prophet Daniel, who records his dream of future kingdoms of the world, represented by four beasts coming out of the sea. He writes of the fourth beast he saw in his vision, (Daniel 7:7): “…in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left…and it had ten horns.”

John’s vision in Revelation 13 portrays a satanic worldwide empire that will be under the control of the beast, who is the antichrist and who is the fourth beast of Daniel 7. John notes in his description of his vision of the beast with seven heads, “…and on each head a blasphemous name” (v. 1). The beast, or antichrist, is the leader of an end-time one-world government. He will be blasphemous in that he will demand or accept worship as a god and consider himself as a god.

Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7 also includes the symbols of a lion, leopard, and bear in reference to future kingdoms, and in Revelation 13:2, John sees the qualities represented by the lion, bear, and leopard as the power the end-time one-world government, the lion representing dominance; the bear, power; and the leopard, swiftness and shrewdness. Thus, the beast in Revelation 13 should be regarded as having the power and dominion of all the world powers in history. John makes it clear that the power of the beast, as the one-world leader, comes from Satan.

The names and titles given in the Bible to the beast, or antichrist, include:

·         The little horn (Daniel 7:8).

·         The king of fierce countenance (Daniel 8:23).

·         The Prince who shall come (Daniel 9:26).

·         The willful king (Daniel 11:36-45).

·         The son of perdition, the man of sin, the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Over the centuries, there has been debate about whether the antichrist in the prophecy represents a real future human world leader, an abstract symbol of an evil one-world government, or entirely symbolic of the struggle between the concepts of good and evil.

Scholars throughout history have differed in their interpretations of chapter 13, with varying views about the Antichrist, some holding that he appeared very early in the history of Christianity, some teaching that the idea of the antichrist was represented heresies of that time—for example, Irenaeus, 130-203 AD.; Tertullian, 155-220 AD.; and Polycarp, 69-155 AD., who understood the antichrist as merely a representation of the docetic heresies of the time and not a literal being.

Many modern interpreters who do not believe in a literal interpretation of biblical prophecies follow a similar line of thinking, that the antichrist is just the idea of what they view as modern-day heresies or an abstract idea, rather than a literal being. The protestant reformers in the 16^th century identified the antichrist as the pope.

There are those who argue that the prophecies of Revelation are mere symbols, and do not represent actual future events, and who hold that the book of Revelation is a highly symbolic description of events that happened in 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Today they are known as “preterists,” who believe the prophecies in the book of Revelation are not of the future but took place, and the book of Revelation is not a prophecy of the future.

In my view, the Bible is the source of truth and must be understood as literal, due to the host of prophecies that have been literally fulfilled (for example, Isaiah’s prophecies of the future Messiah in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7). To be consistent in our Bible interpretation, we must regard the beast of Revelation 13 as one who will rise to power as head of the world-dominating government. He is depicted as having a great desire for power and authority, the fulfillment of which come from Satan himself.

This prophecy shows us that the antichrist will accept the offer that Jesus rejected, described in Matthew 4:8-10:

⁸…the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “⁹All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

We are not told the mechanism of the relationship between Satan (the dragon) and the antichrist (the beast). It may be that Satan takes possession of the beast, as was the case with Judas, whom Satan possessed (John 13:27). We need to realize that the dragon (Satan) does not seem to the unsaved in the tribulation as the horrible, treacherous being that we Christians regard him. Scripture tells us that Satan is seen as a powerful and positive force, as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:14: “…Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light…” who can appear righteous and able to rescue people from danger and oppression, while at the same time, actually oppressing and enslaving the people who are not Christians. Notice in 13:3-4 the devotion the people of the world give to the antichrist and Satan:

“³ The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’”

Worship that is due to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is instead given to Satan and his antichrist as the tribulation period begins to end.

The beast’s blasphemies are demonstrated in vv. 5-6:

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

Just as the antichrist’s efforts are to do everything possible to defeat God and turn people away from Him, so his speech offers blasphemies against God and God’s people. The unsaved people of the earth will willingly believe and follow the antichrist and continue to reject God.

The beast will be allowed to blaspheme for 42 months, or 3-1/2 years, the second half of the tribulation. These final years of the tribulation period comprise what the Holy Spirit calls “…the time of Jacob’s trouble…” in Jeremiah 30:7 and the latter part of Daniel’s 70th week in Daniel 9:24-27.

The blasphemies are intended to elevate the antichrist in the minds of the unsaved people on earth and to deny the greater power of God. In addition, the beast expresses his fury at those who have been taken in the rapture and are out of his reach.

This second half of the tribulation period will be launched by “…the abomination that causes desolations…,” first described in Daniel chapters 9 and 11, and then by Jesus in Matthew 24:15. Both Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 2: 3-4, and John, in this chapter (vv. 14-15) describe this as a future event, when the antichrist causes his own image to be set up in the temple at the midpoint of the tribulation period, an event which starts the great global cataclysm that will precede the coming of Christ with His church.

Vv. 7-8 tell about the antichrist’s war against the tribulation believers on earth:

⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

In the tribulation described here, to “…wage war…” means physical violence of all types with the intent of defeating the tribulation believers— “…to conquer…” or kill them. But we will see later that the apparent victory of the beast becomes his ultimate defeat in 15:2.

We saw in chapter 12 the general Satanic persecution during the tribulation period. Now, in chapter 13, the main instrument of that persecution is revealed. The global government of the antichrist will persecute, hunt down, and kill any people on earth who do not worship him. So complete will be the persecution of the tribulation saints that it will appear to those who worship the antichrist that God’s people, and thus God’s power and might, have been defeated.

These tribulation believers are people who come to Christ after the church has been raptured. V. 8 informs us that all those on the earth who are not God’s people will worship the beast, the antichrist. There will be little or no atheism and or the many different ideas about religion that exist today. There will be just two kinds of people: the tribulation saints, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, and everyone else, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life and who worship the antichrist.

“…The lamb” in v. 8 (“… the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world…”) is a title for Jesus and reminds us that God’s plan of redemption is not an afterthought, but was established from the beginning, before He even created those who would be saved. He was not surprised at seeing the fallen nature of man, and He established the way back to Him and His righteousness from the very beginning of time.

The Bible teaches that God the Father and God the Son had a relationship of love and fellowship from before the foundation of the world. Jesus acknowledges this in His prayer in John 17:24: “…you loved Me before the world.”  Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:20: “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake…,” and Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4 that “…he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” John in Revelation 17:8 refers to the lost as “…inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world.”

And finally, Jesus says in Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’”

Vv. 9-10 record a warning to all people:

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear. ¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The only other places in the book of Revelation we read the words “…he who has an ear, let him hear…” are in chapters 2-3, the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.

The warnings of v. 10 bring to mind the Lord’s warning against His disobedient people in Jeremiah 15:2:

² This is what the Lord says: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.”

And in Jeremiah 43:8-11, the Lord uses similar language about punishing the Israelites who had returned to Egypt for their idolatry:

⁷ So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes. ⁸ In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ⁹ “While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. ¹⁰ Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them. ¹¹ He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.’”

V. 10 poses interpretive problems, however. The latter part of v. 10 calls for “…endurance and faithfulness…” on the part of Christians in the face of persecution and is in no way a sense of punishment, as in the passages cited from the book of Jeremiah. Here, in v. 10, the Lord is merely warning the tribulation Christians that they will suffer because of their faith, a call for them to endure the persecution from the antichrist, as in the early centuries of the church, because of their faith.

In v. 11, a second beast appears:

¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

This second beast John sees in the vision completes what interpreters call the “triumvirate of evil,” consisting of the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast.

The “…second beast, coming out of the earth…” serves to the wounded beast that came “…out of the sea…” The beast “…coming out of the earth…” is also called the “…false prophet…” in 16:13, 19:20, and 20:21.

There is some diversity of opinions about the identity of the beast “…coming out of the earth…” In the view of some modern interpreters, both beasts constitute merely the representation of a spiritual movement and not real persons or beings, but this view seems to contradict the description of them as actual beings, both of whom will be “…thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur…” (19:20).

The dominant view among conservative evangelicals is that both beasts will be actual beings. Some see them as John's way of describing the false prophets of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:24). Early Christian interpreters viewed both beasts as actual beings, the first beast the antichrist and the second beast one who will assist him by influencing demons to deceive the people of the earth.

The 16^th- and 17^th-century Protestant reformers, however, regarded the “…second beast, coming out of the earth…” as the papacy or as various popes of the time. To them, the “…second beast…” was a then-present threat and not a part of the future tribulation.

The second beast’s “…two horns like a lamb…” indicates an imitation of the true Lamb of God, since appearing as a lamb might contribute to masking its identity as a gentle lamb, rather than a satanic presence; “…it spoke like a dragon…,” teaching heresy. It reminds me of Jesus’ admonition: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). It is revealed in chapter 16 as the false prophet, giving us therefore what has come to be called the “unholy trinity”:

• The dragon—Satan (opposite of the Father).
• The first beast, out of the sea—the antichrist.
• The second beast, out of the earth—opposite of the Holy Spirit.

Vv. 12-15 describe the functions of the second beast, who serves the first beast, giving breath to the image of the first beast in the Temple:

¹² It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

The second beast “…coming out of the earth…” (v. 11) “…exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed…” (v. 12). It encourages worship of the first beast “…coming out of the sea…” (v. 1); it was “…given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed…” (v. 15).

The second beast deceives people by performing “…great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth…” (vv. 13-14).

The deceiving miracles in this part of John’s vision also are found elsewhere in Revelation and in other places in the Bible: Revelation 16:14, 19:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Matthew 7:22, 24:24; Mark 13:2; and 2 Thessalonians 2:9; among others. Even today, we must be careful. The Holy Spirit instructs us to be constantly alert to discern the spirits, as John warns in his first epistle:

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world (1 John 4:1-3).

The second beast “…causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people” are satanic copies of three miracles of God:

1.     Elijah called down fire from heaven in defeating the prophets of Ba’al at Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:38-39):

³⁸…the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

2.    he fire to come from the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-5:

³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.

3.    We also know fire represented the word of God and the Holy Spirit's witness at Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-4):

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

It is imperative for tribulation Christians to warn the unsaved during the tribulation that they must not be deceived by the spectacular miracles that the second beast performs: “…Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth…” (v. 14). Those signs will be false and satanic, but nevertheless, the satanic signs by the second beast will deceive the scores of people who follow the beast, the unsaved “…inhabitants of the earth” (v. 14).

John describes in vv. 14-15 that the second beast will cause:

 “…an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived…” (the first beast, v. 14). , adding that “¹⁵ …The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.”

The purpose of giving “…breath to the image of the first beast…” will be to encourage people to engage in idolatrous worship, making the beast to appear powerful, even invincible. Worshipping the image violates the first two commandments (Exodus 20:3-4), where God said: “³ You shall have no other gods before me.” ⁴ You shall not  make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”

Note that the first satanic beast will have the power of death over those who refuse to worship it. I am reminded of the attempts to kill Daniel and his friends, and the deaths of various prophets of God, Stephen (Acts 7:60), James the apostle (Acts 12:1-2), and Antipas (Revelation 2:13).

In summary, the first beast has the authority of the antichrist and acts on his behalf. Often called the “satanic prophet,” it will lead the world in idolatrous worship, “…causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth…” (v. 13), thus parroting power of the two witnesses from God, who devoured their opponents with fire (11:5), or perhaps it is an attempt to rival the demonstration of the power of God when the prophet Elijah prayed for fire from heaven in 1 Kings 18.

Thus, the image of the first beast who speaks has been erected in the temple and is what Jesus, Daniel, and Paul spoke of as the “…abomination that causes desolation…” (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). It is an abomination in the sense of being a huge act of idolatry in opposition to the true God, and it is desolation in the sense that it will bring the judgment described by the seals, trumpets, and bowls, discussed in previous posts.

The beast uses signs to make the false teaching appear true and inspired or powerful. This reminds me of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh (Exodus 7-9). Many signs they performed were matched by Pharaoh’s magicians. Remember Paul’s warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:9: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie…”

Vv. 16-17 reveal that the beast will mark its followers:

¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The Koine Greek word John uses here translated “…a mark…” is χάραγμα (charagma), which is used widely: an engraving, a stamp, or sign, a carved image of a god (see Acts 17:29), an inscription, a wax impression or seal of the emperor, and even the brand marking on camels indicating ownership.

While some commentators hold that this is not a visible image placed on a person, but John's way of symbolically describing ownership and loyalty, there is no evidence, from the simple, literal interpretation of the text, that the mark is not a visible sign of devotion to the beast. Only people having the mark can “…buy or sell…” thus placing severe economic limits on tribulation Christians and exposing the as followers of Jesus and subject to death. Indeed, this is a real, physical mark, an attempt to imitate the action of the angel in Revelation 7:2-4; He will give a physical mark to confirm the identity of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists as “…the servants of our God…” :

² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel” (the 144,000 Jewish evangelists).

Finally, in v. 18, we find the number of the beast’s mysterious identity:

¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

There have been a host of interpretations of “…His number is 666…” over the centuries, from serious to the truly bizarre.

The early church father Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.) warned against endless speculations. History records endless speculation about v.18, nonetheless. John’s observation that “…it is the number of a man…” may signify that the satanic beast may appear as a human being. Regardless, we can speculate that the number of the beast may help the tribulation Christians to recognize his true character and identity.

Only one other location in the book of Revelation refers to the number identifying this beast (15:1-2):

¹ I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name.

Countless attempts have been made to solve the puzzle of 666 over the last 20 centuries, and we will not try to solve it today. It is thought to reflect some practice of the first century that we do not understand. There are some examples of graffiti from the time that are expressions of love for people identified only with a series of numbers, which may be some code for letters or initials. We simply do not know.