Revelation 13

These chapters of Revelation describe the end time kingdom of the antichrist and its origins. Similar to Daniel 2, but with a different focus and further look back at history. It also ties in with other visions and prophecies in Daniel 7, and Daniel 11.

I’ve excerpted Revelation 13 below without verses as it was originally. If you would like to read it with verse numbers and inline Hebrew definitions, read it at Blue Letter Bible.

Identity of the Beast from the Sea: The Antichrist

Revelation 17:1; 15 says the whore riding the beast sits on many waters(G5204) and these waters are interpreted as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” This is not the same word used in this chapter as sea(G2281), which is used 92 times in the New Testament as referring generically to a sea and more specifically to the Mediterranean and Red Seas. So it may be that this represents the beast coming from among the multitudes, or it could just be a descriptive aspect of the vision.

This mention of the same word sea from chapter 13 is the only other place in Revelation that the sea is associated with some sort of symbolic nature. Perhaps meaning comes from the globe being comprised of land and water and thus symbolically encompassing all the earth and those that dwell on the earth and the sea.

It could be then that the two beasts represented in this chapter, one coming from the sea and one from the earth are meant to represent the global control of the people that they will have during the time they are allowed to reign.

7 Heads with Crowns

In the previous chapter, Revelation 12, we see the identity of this same dragon, defined as Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, the old serpent, father of lies, and the great deceiver who will deceive the whole world. It is this dragon that has the seven crowned heads and ten horns there and in Revelation 17, however now we are told this beast coming from the sea has the same distinctive features of the dragon. This makes sense from the next verse.

Animal Hybrid Symbology

Another interesting description of this beast from the sea is the combination of several animals that many have drawn in artwork depicting a bizarre looking hybrid creature coming from the water. However, I believe we only need look back to Daniel 7 to understand what this represents.

Daniel 7:12 tells us that all four of these beasts are contemporaneous and separate, or diverse, from each other. In this chapter we can interpret what John is seeing when combined with the depictions in Daniel 7, Daniel 11-12, Revelation 12, and Revelation 17-18. This is a picture of the fourth kingdom, the kingdom of the antichrist, comprised of all four diverse kingdoms who have given their power to the beast and therefore are combined into one.

10 Horns

It is critical to look back to Daniel 7’s fourth beast to discern that these 10 horns originated from the fourth beast, they were not present on the other diverse three beasts. In this I believe Daniel 7 provides a more detailed look at the political rise of the beast’s kingdom, starting with four separate beasts, one of which has ten horns. We further learn of a little horn that comes up from those ten and before whom three of the horns fall and are plucked up by the roots. These being interpreted as kings would indicate some kind of power struggle prior to the other three kingdoms uniting with the beast with ten horns and giving us John’s vision of this united beast from the sea representing the kingdom of the antichrist after the abomination of desolation when all the world follows in wonder after the dragon’s proxy. For more detail about the interconnection of all these visions of Daniel and John, see the fourth kingdom page.

Wounded Beast’s Reign of 3½ Years

Another aspect of this beast from the sea is that one of his heads is wounded to death and the deadly wound is healed. We gain greater understanding of the seven heads and the antichrist kingdom from taking part of Revelation 17 into account.

Here we see the deadly wound healed hinted at with the language of a beast that was, is not and yet is. This represents a point in time when the beast was, has a deadly wound, and has that deadly wound healed so he is again. Furtheremore we have this tied to the symbology of the 7 heads where he is said to be the eighth head of the seven. Taking into account the meaning of this symbology, it would seem that the healing of the deadly wound marks the transition point of this seven headed beast becoming that of the antichrist, after the deadly wound is healed.

This passage speaks of a foolish(H196 - perverse) shepherd that doesn’t care for the flock but instead claws in pieces. This shepherd is litrally described as an idol(H457 - idol, image, no value) shepherd. This is the very thing he will set himself up as in the temple of God showing himself that he is god. If this is indeed referring to the man of sin who declares himself above all gods demanding worship as an idol, then it may be this describes deadly wound as something that affects his dried up(H3001 - dry, whithered, or primitive root to be ashamed, confused, or disappointed) arm(H2220 - arm, strength, forces) and his right eye(H5869 - eye, sight, face). Whether this is literally speaking of a deadly wound to the arm and right eye or is just symbolically speaking of his strength failing due to lack of vision I’m not sure, but it would seem that he is given power to control the world for 42 months, it’s more likely the former if this is indeed speaking of the man of sin and his deadly wound that is healed.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 brings another potential aspect of this deadly wound being healed. It brings together the revealing of the man of sin, his deceiptfulness after the working of Satan with signs and lying wonders. Because men turn to this man instead of the Truth God has given, God sends them a strong delusion that they would believe a lie.

We also see this repeated period of 42 months from Revelation 13:5, Daniel 7:25, and Daniel 12:5-11 regarding the time of the reign of the antichrist and his persecution of the saints. It will start at the abomination of desolation and end when Christ returns in glory at Armageddon and casts them into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20

Bringing this all together, we have this resurrected beast given power by the dragon and comprised of all four of the end-time kingdoms that are following after him. He is blaspheming God and making war against the saints and killing them. He is given power over the whole earth who wonder at him and the inability to make war with him and his power will last for 3½ years.

The message to the reader, the saint, is that anyone who participates in this persecution will so be persecuted and those who kill will be killed. I think this may have two meanings, first as a warning to keep apart from those fulfilling the will of the man of sin, and secondly not to fight back against it although it is unjust. You will not be able to overcome what is coming, the wrath of the dragon will kill all who do not worship him and you are no match for a fallen angel or his minions. If you participate, you will receive the punishment of the dragon, if you fight you will lose your life. If you spead God’s Word and go as a lamb to the slaughter if caught, you will die but you will spend eternity in the presense of God.

666

There are all kinds of theories out there and I will just say I don’t really know. It may be one of those things that is only revealed in due time fully. However, I recently heard an interesting perspective I had not before and it is intriguing. The following concepts comes from a Cambridge University Press New Test. Stud. from 2020 by Keith Bodner and Brent A. Strawn titled Solomon and 666 (Revelation 13.18).

Excerpt from Keith Bodner and Brent A. Strawn paper titled Solomon and 666 (Revelation 13.18)

Two things in particular should be emphasised. First, the specific verse in 1 Kings 10 concerns the inordinate wealth of Solomon – wealth that is, moreover, gained by means of exploitation of Solomon’s own people and his eschewing God’s law (divine revelation). Indeed, the placement of 1 Kgs 10.14 is strategic, for it invites the reader to consider how Solomon generates such a lavish revenue stream. A survey of the narrative of 1 Kings reveals that Solomon organises a carefully controlled and substantial infrastructure with administrative centralisation, but among the most controversial of his initiatives is forced labour (1 Kgs 5.17), the same infamous term that is used for the Israelite labour-gangs imposed by Pharaoh in Exod 1.11. This clear echo of Egyptian servitude has the effect of comparing Solomon’s burgeoning regime to the tyranny of Pharaoh, and it is difficult to escape the inference that a proportion of Solomon’s wealth is generated precisely through similar, if not identical, means of coercion. Perhaps less well known, but equally troubling and illuminating, is Solomon’s reconfiguration of Israel’s traditional tribal allotments into more favourable tax districts, usually governed by appointees with ties to the royal family (see 1 Kgs 4.7-19). This implies that the king’s lavish table in Jerusalem is supplied at the expense of ordinary Israelites, and the recounting of Solomon’s nepotism at this point must be viewed as a subtle critique of his increasingly oppressive policies. More obvious and well known is Solomon’s rampant predilection for intermarriage, first revealed in his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter in 1 Kgs 3.1 but then shockingly unveiled in the disclosure of 700 wives of royal birth in 1 Kgs 11.1-3 from a legion of surrounding (and forbidden) nations. These partnerships no doubt created a network of alliances that produced Solomon’s military–industrial complex, replete with the acquisition of horses from Egypt – surely symbols of a war machine – in clear violation of Deut 17.16-17. Finally, it should be emphasised that 666 talents of gold are received annually by Solomon, and, combined with his ancillary revenue streams, this stockpiling of gold is likewise in contravention of Deuteronomy 17. Collectively, the above considerations form a highly suggestive allusion for the economic corruption described in Revelation 13.

Second, the language of wisdom and discernment that one finds in Rev 13.18 is quite at home in the traditions about Solomon and his wisdom. The legendary wisdom of Solomon, one might recall, is a divine bestowal in  Kings  that is given when God offers the new monarch a choice of gifts: ‘Give to your servant an understanding mind in order to judge your people, to discern good from evil, because who is able to judge this great people of yours?’ (1 Kgs 3.9). Yet it should be noted that, in context, this gift of wisdom is arguably framed as a kind of test of Solomon, since, along with wisdom, God also grants Solomon wealth and a long life. Solomon is ostensibly being tested, therefore, to see how he will use this wealth and whether he will remain faithful to God for his entire life. Numerous interpreters, not to mention the narrative of  Kings, agree that Solomon did not, in fact, use these gifts well, and his persistent ignoring of the divine voice (e.g. 1 Kgs 6.11-13; 9.3-9) clouds his legacy as the nation’s great temple-builder. Then too there is the fact that the temple is not the only cultic installation sponsored by Solomon. Immediately after the disclosure of his foreign wives, 1 Kgs 11.7-8 narrates that Israel’s monarch erects shrines for Chemosh and Molech – notorious deities from neighbouring countries who, according to the biblical authors at least, required human sacrifice from their devotees. Finally, one should note that the temple is not the most impressive construction project that Solomon undertook: his own palace is considerably larger and took almost twice as long to build (compare 1 Kgs 6.2, 38 with 1 Kgs 7.1-2).

How, exactly, Solomon deceived the faithful of Israel with his syncretistic practices and corruption of religion (and disappointed YHWH in the process) is beyond the scope of the present argument. Instead, we would simply submit that the economic duress and religious malfeasance that seem both patent and endemic in Solomon’s empire combine to provide a rather clear picture of deeply distorted kingship that results in social fissure and political chaos. It is not difficult to see, therefore, how Solomon’s own rapacious – dare one say, beastly – total of 666 talents of gold that came annually to this monarch could become a powerful image in Israel’s memory, ripe for appropriation in Revelation 13.

To sum up to this point: Solomon’s legendary riches come in no small way at the expense of his people and as a result of despotic monarchic rule. The unusual and memorable number 666 that is used in 1 Kgs 10.14 as a kind of summation of this kind of despotism activates, for the reader who knows it (cf. Rev 13.18: Ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν), the exploitive economic practices of Solomon since these are also at work – and in spades – in the evil empire of the Beast.

Identity of the Dragon

Clearly the power and authority that the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth have are due to the dragon and that’s all we really know about the dragon from this chapter. We can also see that the world worships the dragon in addition to the beast. Does this mean he is understood to be behind the beast’s power, or is this just the natural result of worshipping the beast, who is the dragon’s proxy? I’m not sure, but either way, worshipping the man or the dragon or both are all rejection of the One True God. This character is explicitly defined in Revelation 12 where we have him defined quite clearly for us.

This comes into play in identifying the seven mountains on which the woman sits from Revelation 17-18.

Identity of the Beast from the Earth: The False Prophet

As opposed to coming from the sea, this supporting character of the first beast comes from the earth. He has two horns like a lamb and speaks as a dragon. This symbology brings to mind the saying “a wolf in sheeps clothing.” This seems somewhat obvious given the context of the end and there may be some further symbolic meaning, but at this time I don’t see it. If horns were used in the case of other symbolic meanings that are interpreted as kings elsewhere, I would expect it not to associate it to a lamb, which is a symbol in itself. In this way it seems to be associating the dosile or harmless nature of a lamb as an outward appearance, but in reality the spirit of the dragon is behind him. That same dragon defined as Satan, the Devil, and the old serpent that deceives the whole world.

He works in the same power as the beast before(G1799) him. The Greek word before means in the presence of, not an order or sequence. This indicates that this false prophet relies on the power of the beast from the sea, who in turn receives his power from the dragon, to perform his miracles in the sight of men. In verse 14 it seems to reinforce this point stating that he deceives the earth by the miracles he had power to do in the sight of the beast. However, it then says he causes the world to worship the first(G4413) beast, which is indicative of an order such that the beast from the sea came first although it can also be used in context of first as in rank, chief, or principal.

False Elijah?

The reason for this focus is that in the Jewish Antichrist context, the idea is that this false prophet would come on the scene as a false Elijah to prepare the way for the beast. This fulfillment already happened with John the Baptist who prepared the way for Yeshua, but the Jews as a nation have not accepted this in their blindness and it would not be difficult to see some of the Old Testament passages used give credence to a false prophet and false messiah.

In modern tradition, a cup is set asisde for Elijah at seder rituals who is supposed to come on Pesach and herald the Messiah. (Source) This has evolved over time and is not scriptural, but if a great deception is coming, why not use what the modern Jew is doing traditionally, whether it has any basis in truth or not?

Excerpts from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim
Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah

“The Synagogue is careful to trace this analogy step by step (Yalkut, vol. ii. p.32 d) the final deliverance of Israel of Egypt, so would the final deliverance by Elijah for ever break the yoke of all foreign rule.”

“Commenting on Is. lii.7, it is explained, that on the first of those three days Elijah would stand on the mountains of Israel, lamenting the desolateness of the land, his voice being heard from one end of the world to the other, after which he would proclaim: Peace’ cometh to the world; peace’ cometh to the world! Similarly on the second day he would proclaim, Good’ cometh to the world; good’ cometh to the world! Lastly, on the third day, he would, in the same manner as the two previous days, make proclamation: Jeshuah [6423] (salvation) cometh to the world; Jeshuah (salvation) cometh to the world,’ which, in order to mark the difference between Israel and the Gentiles, would be further explained by this addition: Saying unto Zion - Thy King cometh!’”

“The period of Elijah’s advent would, according to one opinion (Pirqé de R. Eliez.43), be a time of genuine repentance by Israel, although it is not stated that this change would be brought about by his ministry. On the other hand, his peculiar activity would consist in settling ceremonial and ritual questions, doubts, and difficulties, in making peace, in restoring those who by violence had been wrongfully excluded from the congregation and excluding those who by violence had been wrongfully introduced (Bab. Mets. i.8; ii.8; iii.4, 5; Eduy. vii.7). He would also restore to Israel these three things which had been lost: the golden pot of Manna (Ex. xvi.33), the vessel containing the anointing oil, and that with the waters of purification - according to some, also Aaron’s rod that budded and bore fruit. [6424] Again, his activity is likened to that of the Angel whom God had sent before Israel to drive out and to vanquish the hostile nations (Tanch. on Ex. xxiii.20, § 18 at the close; ed. Warsh. p.106 b). For. Elijah was to appear, then to disappear, and to appear again in the wars of Gog and Magog [6425] (Seder Olam R. xvii.). But after that time general peace and happiness would prevail, when Elijah would discharge his peculiar functions. Finally, to the ministry of Elijah some also ascribed the office of raising the dead (Sotah ix.15, closing words). [6426]”

Another perspective is that these two horns of the lamb actually represent two people, a counterfeit Moses and Elijah that coincides with God’s two witnesses, the actual Moses and Elijah. They would be representing themselves as messengers of God, but speaking as the dragon. In this way the two being part of the same lamb would together represent the beast from the earth.

Excerpts from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim
Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah

“Similarly, it is asserted that the cave from which Moses beheld the Divine Presence passing before him (Ex. xxxiii.22) was the same as that in which Elijah stood under similar circumstances - that cave having been created with the rest of the world, but specially on the eve of the world’s first Sabbath (Siphré on Deut. ed. Friedmann, p.147 a, last line). Considering this paralelism between them, the occurrence of the somewhat difficult expression will scarcely surprise us, that in the days of the Messiah Moses and Elijah would come together - as one’ (Debar. R.3, at the end). [6420]”

Miracles of the False Prophet

Will the false prophet come first and appear to come in the power of Elijah? This second beast has the power to call fire down from heaven in the sight of men. As deceptions go, this would be a good one considering the Jews are expecting a forerunner to the Messiah and this is one of the main things Elijah is known for historically.

Bringing an image of a man to life and having it speak is probably not something in modern culture that would be called a miracle, but calling fire down from heaven is not something you see every day. In 1 Kings 18:20-39, in a revealing of the false god Baal, 450 of Baal’s prophets are challenged to offer a sacrifice without starting the fire but let their god start the fire. All day they prayed and cut themselves as Elijah mocked them. Elijah then took 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and built an altar from them. He then dug a moat around the altar and put wood and the sacrifice on the altar, pouring water all over the altar and filling the moat. Elijah prayed and God sent fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, dust, and the water in the moat.

Then in 2 Kings 1:1-16, king Ahaziah gets sick and send messengers to Baalzebub to see if he would get better. Elijah meets the messengers and tells them to let him know that he won’t leave the bed and will surely die. The king is not pleased at this and sends a captain and 50 of his men who call on Elijah to come with them. Elijah says, “If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty.” And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. This happens again, and a third time the captain falls before Elijah, knowing what was to happen and pleads with him and the Lord tells Elijah to go with him.

Both of these stories have God sending fire from heaven on Elijah’s behalf in the sight of men. There was another more miraculous thing that Elijah was known for that may fit in with all the talk of the mortally wounded first beast who comes back to life. The combination of what Elijah is known for and the strong delusion that God sends may just be the deciding factor for many on the earth who don’t know the Truth and therefore will be deceived by this great miracle.

Excerpts from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim
Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah

“Not only was he the only ambassador to whom God had delegated His three special keys:’ of birth, of the rainfall, and of waking the dead (Yalkut, vol. ii.32 c), but his working was almost Divine (Tanch. Bereshith 7; ed. Warsh. p.6 b, last line, and 7 a).”

“Finally, to the ministry of Elijah some also ascribed the office of raising the dead (Sotah ix.15, closing words). [6426]”

The Mark of the Beast

Here is the passage that just about anyone, Christian or not, has heard before. This beast from the earth not only makes people worship the beast from the sea, but institutes a mark on their right hand or forehead that is required to participate in society, being able to buy or sell.

The ability to buy or sell is dependent upon having this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Either there is some choice as to what indication you get, a mark, name, or number, or these all represent the same thing. (ie: the mark is the name of the beast and is the number of his name, which is 666.)

Regardless of how it is eventually implemented, this is not something that can be done accidentally or forced on someone in the sense that they’re tied down and marked. This is a line in the sand that once crossed over seals your fate. If you refuse to take the mark you are killed, but you will be with God forever. If you take the mark, you will die the second death and be separated from God for time without end. This is the hour of temptation that comes on the whole world to try mankind. It will be a personal choice to either keep faith in God to the death, or save your mortal life and lose your eternal life.

So we see those who are killed for not taking the mark and those who are punished eternally for taking it. Notice also that there is an element of worship involved in taking the mark. Those who take it are worshipping the beast and therefore the dragon. This is a warning to all those who will be in this hour of temptation, trust in God and keep your heart and eyes fixed on Yeshua.

Revelation 13: The Beast and False Prophet