Studies in Revelation: The Fourth Interlude, the Antichrist (Revelation 13)

^13:1 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?”

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. 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.

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. (Revelation 13:1-10, NIV)

We know from Daniel 9:27 that the “ruler” whom we identify as the antichrist (1 John 2: 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7, where there are many antichrists preceding the ultimate anticrhist) and the man of sin or lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3), the one identified here as the “beast,” makes a seven-year covenant with Israel which he breaks halfway through by putting an end to sacrifice, setting himself up in the temple to be worshiped (2 Thessalonians 2:4). He is empowered by Satan (is possessed by a demon from the abyss, 11:7; 17:8) who has been hurled from heaven and has three and a half years to accomplish his agenda of world domination and genocide of believers.

The beast is described here as having ten heads and seven horns with ten crowns on its seven horns and blasphemous names on each head, a slightly different description from 17:3, where he is said to have seven heads and ten horns (which tells us that the symbols are just that, not the actual appearance of the beast). The beast’s worship is marked with a question, “Who can wage war against it?” because of his great military success. He has conquered Jerusalem and made an abomination that desolates (Matthew 24:15), and his numerous heads suggests he has a coalition of nations who fight with him (see 17:12-14). His final war is against “Babylon” and is successful (Revelation 17&18).

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. 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. ¹⁶ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

¹⁸ This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18, NIV)

There is another beast who supports the first beast, called the “false prophet” in 16:13; 19:20; and 20:10. His symbolic appearance is like a lamb, but with the voice of a dragon. Here is Satan’s imitation of the Trinity, Satan, antichrist, and false prophet. The false prophet has the antichrist’s authority and makes all the earth’s inhabitants worship the beast. He does miraculous acts to scare people and deceive them, especially making an image of the beast come to life. Refusal to worship he rewards with death. And he uses economic coercion to motivate obeisance to the antichrist.

Everyone is required to take the mark of the antichrist on their head or hand in order to conduct business, buy or sell. The number of the beast is 666 (though some manuscripts have 616) and John says it takes insight to identify this number of a man. The antichrist is a man, as is the false prophet, both of whom are empowered (possessed) by Satan. Believers must have patient endurance because their refusal to take the mark of the beast and worship him will bring much persecution and martyrdom.