Revelation Chapter 13:
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24: 23, 24) The 13th chapter of Revelation is a fulfillment of Jesus’ words of warning in these verses. As John stands in spirit upon the sand of the sea, he sees a beast rise up out of the sea, having 7 heads and 10 horns and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. We realize immediately that this description is a continuation of the symbolic language which was used in the previous chapter.
This beast reminds us of the four beasts which Daniel saw rise out of the sea, as recorded in Daniel 7. There, the four beasts represented four mighty kingdoms, with the anti-Christ corning from the last of these kingdoms, and seen as the “little horn.” In our present chapter of Revelation, the beast described is the kingdom of the anti-Christ and his rule over it. This same beast is seen in Revelation 17.
In Isaiah 57:20, we read, “The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” The description of the “waters” of Revelation 17:15 is “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” So this beast rising up out of the sea is a picture of the anti-Christ rising up from the wicked political powers of the world. The 7 heads are a league of 7 nations that will be in power during the first half of the Tribulation, and the 10 horns are 10 powerful leaders who will have great authority even though they do not rule as kings. The horns speak of power, and the name of blasphemy upon the heads denotes the very worst kind of slander against the name of the Lord. The beastly characteristics of the ruling nations at the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles will be manifest in these political powers at the end of the Times of the Gentiles.
These beastly characteristics are seen in the further description of this beast, which is said to be like a leopard. This no doubt has reference to the leopard-like kingdom of Daniel’s vision which represented the nation of Greece with its swiftness in conquering the world at that time. Even so, the anti-Christ will conquer swiftly when he begins his conquests. The feet of the beast were as the feet of a bear. Just as the bear of Daniel’s vision represented Medo-Persia, which was well known for its cruelty, the anti-Christ and his kingdom will trample everything and everyone in their pathway. The mouth as the mouth of a lion shows the terror and devouring policies that will come from this beast, even as Babylon was represented by a lion in Daniel 7. Babylon had supreme control over all the world and brought fear and destruction to many. This will also be true of the anti-Christ and his kingdom throughout the 7 years of tribulation, but most especially during the last half of this time.
How could one man have such power, be so cruel, and yet have the whole world follow after him? Because it is the dragon (or Satan) who will give him his power and his throne and great authority. Remember Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him if He would bow down and worship Satan that he would give to Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus did not in any manner give place to Satan’s taunts; but the anti-Christ, the man of sin, will become a puppet in Satan’s hands, to do his bidding and bring destruction to the world. Jesus prophesied of this when He said, “The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy … “(John 10:10)
“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.” (Revelation 13:3) “One of his heads” speaks of the anti-Christ. During the first half of the tribulation, the anti-Christ will be one of the 7 political leaders. However, in comparing this chapter with Revelation 17, it appears there will be a war around the middle of the Tribulation. It is probably during this war that the anti-Christ will receive a deadly wound. At this time, evil spirits from the bottomless pit will enter into him and bring him back to life, controlling him completely. (Revelation 17:8) His corning back to life (a counterfeit of Jesus’ resurrection) will cause the entire world to wonder after him and worship him. They will also worship Satan, who has given the anti-Christ his authority. So Satan will finally have what he has sought after ever since he rebelled against God—the worship that belongs only to God! Never before has God allowed Satan to give life to anyone. However, He will at this time allow him to do this. I believe the reason for this is found in the fact that the people “received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) However, the anti-Christ’s time is limited to exactly 42 months, or 3 1/2 years. God is still in control!
In verse 6 of our chapter, the anti-Christ is said to blaspheme God, His name, His dwelling place, and His people. He is truly a wicked man, ruled by Satan, and yet the world is deceived into believing that he is God, just as Jesus warned against in Matthew 24. During this time, many believers will be slain because of their refusal to bow down and worship the anti-Christ.
Verse 8 tells us that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain from the foundation of the world. This is wonderful assurance that none of these events of the Tribulation is a surprise to God. He knew from before the world was created exactly what would occur, and He had everything planned out in order for His will to come to pass. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and a God of love. Therefore, we can leave all things in His hands, knowing that His way is perfect! And when the exact time the Lord has allotted to the anti-Christ comes to an end, he who has taken people into captivity shall go into captivity, and he that has killed with the sword must be killed with the sword. This is the encouragement to God’s people who are still on the earth during this terrible time.
Verse 11 introduces us to another beast, this one coming up out of the earth. This beast represents the third person of Satan’s counterfeit trinity. Just as there is a Trinity in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the counterfeit trinity is Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet. The fact that this beast comes out of the earth shows he will come from the people of the earth—that is, non-political mankind, in contrast to the first beast that will come from the political nations. Satan is the god of the earth, and he empowers this man just as he does the anti-Christ. This beast is described as, “like a lamb.” A lamb is a tame animal. He appears meek and harmless, and yet his words are those of a dragon (Satan). He has two horns, showing that he and the anti-Christ are the only prominent leaders at this time.
This second beast represents the false prophet, a religious man who will exalt the anti-Christ, even as the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself, but exalts Jesus Christ (John 16:13, 14). Satan will empower the false prophet to do great miracles and thus deceive the world. Jesus spoke of an “abomination of desolation” that will stand in the holy place (Matthew 24:15). I believe this refers to the image of the anti-Christ that the false prophet will have the people make. He will demand that everyone worship this image or face death. He will cause that image to speak and seem to have life. This reminds us of the image King Nebuchadnezzar made, no doubt of himself. He then ordered everyone to bow down and worship his image or be thrown into a burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3). The same death penalty, although by a sword instead of fire, will be given to those who will not worship the image of the anti-Christ.
This false prophet will also cause everyone on earth to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead. No one will be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark or the name of the anti-Christ, or the number of his name. This is probably an attempt to duplicate the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God which we read about in chapters 7 and 14. That group had God’s name written in their foreheads, showing that they belonged to Him. So now the anti-Christ demands all people have his name or his mark written in their right hand or forehead to show allegiance to him. A few years ago, we could not understand just how this could be implemented to include everyone in the world. However, with the invention of the computer, it is easy to see how this could be accomplished. Even the image that will be made to speak will no doubt be a computerized robot that will look and seem to be alive. Every day there seems to be new technology that helps us understand more of these details of prophecy. An angel told Daniel that in the time of the end, “Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.” Surely we are getting closer and closer to the time of the coming of the Lord.
However, chapter 14:9-11 tells us of the terrible results of those who are willing to worship this image and take his mark in their hands or foreheads. The people will be faced with a decision to either avoid suffering and death for a short while by acquiescing to the demands of the anti-Christ, which will result in eternity in the lake of fire; or if they decide not to obey him, they will face the immediate death of their body, but will spend eternity in the presence of the Lord. There will be believers on the earth during this time, but no believer will worship the anti-Christ or take his mark. God will give them the strength needed to choose martyrdom instead.
The number of the anti-Christ is 666, which is the number of a man. Much has been theorized as to the meaning of 666. Many have attempted to identify the anti-Christ by equating this number with the names of different men, from Adolf Hitler to Ronald Reagan, among many others! However, I believe the real meaning of this number is yet to be understood. Suffice it to say, “6” is the number of man, and this number is applied to the counterfeit of the perfect Trinity. The number “7” stands for perfection. In God’s time, we will understand the full meaning of 666.
It will be right at the middle of the Tribulation that Satan will empower these two men, the anti-Christ and false prophet, to do his bidding; and thus will begin the greatest time of trouble this world has ever known. In verse 4 of this chapter, we see the great military power the anti-Christ will have. In verse 7, his great political power is seen. Verse 8 shows the religious power that is his, and verses 16-17 show the great economic power he will have. However, all of this will come to a definite end after the exact number of 1260 days that God has allotted to him. At God’s appointed time, He will cast both the anti-Christ and the false prophet into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20). Then the true Christ, the Lamb of God, will set up His throne and reign forever and ever. What a glorious hope for every believer!
Remember, these seven years are referred to in Daniel 9:27 as the last week of his vision of 70 weeks which were decreed for the nation Israel.
This beast reminds us of the four beasts which Daniel saw rise out of the sea, as recorded in Daniel 7. There, the four beasts represented four mighty kingdoms, with the anti-Christ corning from the last of these kingdoms, and seen as the “little horn.” In our present chapter of Revelation, the beast described is the kingdom of the anti-Christ and his rule over it. This same beast is seen in Revelation 17.
In Isaiah 57:20, we read, “The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” The description of the “waters” of Revelation 17:15 is “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” So this beast rising up out of the sea is a picture of the anti-Christ rising up from the wicked political powers of the world. The 7 heads are a league of 7 nations that will be in power during the first half of the Tribulation, and the 10 horns are 10 powerful leaders who will have great authority even though they do not rule as kings. The horns speak of power, and the name of blasphemy upon the heads denotes the very worst kind of slander against the name of the Lord. The beastly characteristics of the ruling nations at the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles will be manifest in these political powers at the end of the Times of the Gentiles.
These beastly characteristics are seen in the further description of this beast, which is said to be like a leopard. This no doubt has reference to the leopard-like kingdom of Daniel’s vision which represented the nation of Greece with its swiftness in conquering the world at that time. Even so, the anti-Christ will conquer swiftly when he begins his conquests. The feet of the beast were as the feet of a bear. Just as the bear of Daniel’s vision represented Medo-Persia, which was well known for its cruelty, the anti-Christ and his kingdom will trample everything and everyone in their pathway. The mouth as the mouth of a lion shows the terror and devouring policies that will come from this beast, even as Babylon was represented by a lion in Daniel 7. Babylon had supreme control over all the world and brought fear and destruction to many. This will also be true of the anti-Christ and his kingdom throughout the 7 years of tribulation, but most especially during the last half of this time.
How could one man have such power, be so cruel, and yet have the whole world follow after him? Because it is the dragon (or Satan) who will give him his power and his throne and great authority. Remember Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him if He would bow down and worship Satan that he would give to Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus did not in any manner give place to Satan’s taunts; but the anti-Christ, the man of sin, will become a puppet in Satan’s hands, to do his bidding and bring destruction to the world. Jesus prophesied of this when He said, “The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy … “(John 10:10)
“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.” (Revelation 13:3) “One of his heads” speaks of the anti-Christ. During the first half of the tribulation, the anti-Christ will be one of the 7 political leaders. However, in comparing this chapter with Revelation 17, it appears there will be a war around the middle of the Tribulation. It is probably during this war that the anti-Christ will receive a deadly wound. At this time, evil spirits from the bottomless pit will enter into him and bring him back to life, controlling him completely. (Revelation 17:8) His corning back to life (a counterfeit of Jesus’ resurrection) will cause the entire world to wonder after him and worship him. They will also worship Satan, who has given the anti-Christ his authority. So Satan will finally have what he has sought after ever since he rebelled against God—the worship that belongs only to God! Never before has God allowed Satan to give life to anyone. However, He will at this time allow him to do this. I believe the reason for this is found in the fact that the people “received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) However, the anti-Christ’s time is limited to exactly 42 months, or 3 1/2 years. God is still in control!
In verse 6 of our chapter, the anti-Christ is said to blaspheme God, His name, His dwelling place, and His people. He is truly a wicked man, ruled by Satan, and yet the world is deceived into believing that he is God, just as Jesus warned against in Matthew 24. During this time, many believers will be slain because of their refusal to bow down and worship the anti-Christ.
Verse 8 tells us that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain from the foundation of the world. This is wonderful assurance that none of these events of the Tribulation is a surprise to God. He knew from before the world was created exactly what would occur, and He had everything planned out in order for His will to come to pass. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and a God of love. Therefore, we can leave all things in His hands, knowing that His way is perfect! And when the exact time the Lord has allotted to the anti-Christ comes to an end, he who has taken people into captivity shall go into captivity, and he that has killed with the sword must be killed with the sword. This is the encouragement to God’s people who are still on the earth during this terrible time.
Verse 11 introduces us to another beast, this one coming up out of the earth. This beast represents the third person of Satan’s counterfeit trinity. Just as there is a Trinity in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the counterfeit trinity is Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet. The fact that this beast comes out of the earth shows he will come from the people of the earth—that is, non-political mankind, in contrast to the first beast that will come from the political nations. Satan is the god of the earth, and he empowers this man just as he does the anti-Christ. This beast is described as, “like a lamb.” A lamb is a tame animal. He appears meek and harmless, and yet his words are those of a dragon (Satan). He has two horns, showing that he and the anti-Christ are the only prominent leaders at this time.
This second beast represents the false prophet, a religious man who will exalt the anti-Christ, even as the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself, but exalts Jesus Christ (John 16:13, 14). Satan will empower the false prophet to do great miracles and thus deceive the world. Jesus spoke of an “abomination of desolation” that will stand in the holy place (Matthew 24:15). I believe this refers to the image of the anti-Christ that the false prophet will have the people make. He will demand that everyone worship this image or face death. He will cause that image to speak and seem to have life. This reminds us of the image King Nebuchadnezzar made, no doubt of himself. He then ordered everyone to bow down and worship his image or be thrown into a burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3). The same death penalty, although by a sword instead of fire, will be given to those who will not worship the image of the anti-Christ.
This false prophet will also cause everyone on earth to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead. No one will be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark or the name of the anti-Christ, or the number of his name. This is probably an attempt to duplicate the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God which we read about in chapters 7 and 14. That group had God’s name written in their foreheads, showing that they belonged to Him. So now the anti-Christ demands all people have his name or his mark written in their right hand or forehead to show allegiance to him. A few years ago, we could not understand just how this could be implemented to include everyone in the world. However, with the invention of the computer, it is easy to see how this could be accomplished. Even the image that will be made to speak will no doubt be a computerized robot that will look and seem to be alive. Every day there seems to be new technology that helps us understand more of these details of prophecy. An angel told Daniel that in the time of the end, “Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.” Surely we are getting closer and closer to the time of the coming of the Lord.
However, chapter 14:9-11 tells us of the terrible results of those who are willing to worship this image and take his mark in their hands or foreheads. The people will be faced with a decision to either avoid suffering and death for a short while by acquiescing to the demands of the anti-Christ, which will result in eternity in the lake of fire; or if they decide not to obey him, they will face the immediate death of their body, but will spend eternity in the presence of the Lord. There will be believers on the earth during this time, but no believer will worship the anti-Christ or take his mark. God will give them the strength needed to choose martyrdom instead.
The number of the anti-Christ is 666, which is the number of a man. Much has been theorized as to the meaning of 666. Many have attempted to identify the anti-Christ by equating this number with the names of different men, from Adolf Hitler to Ronald Reagan, among many others! However, I believe the real meaning of this number is yet to be understood. Suffice it to say, “6” is the number of man, and this number is applied to the counterfeit of the perfect Trinity. The number “7” stands for perfection. In God’s time, we will understand the full meaning of 666.
It will be right at the middle of the Tribulation that Satan will empower these two men, the anti-Christ and false prophet, to do his bidding; and thus will begin the greatest time of trouble this world has ever known. In verse 4 of this chapter, we see the great military power the anti-Christ will have. In verse 7, his great political power is seen. Verse 8 shows the religious power that is his, and verses 16-17 show the great economic power he will have. However, all of this will come to a definite end after the exact number of 1260 days that God has allotted to him. At God’s appointed time, He will cast both the anti-Christ and the false prophet into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20). Then the true Christ, the Lamb of God, will set up His throne and reign forever and ever. What a glorious hope for every believer!
Remember, these seven years are referred to in Daniel 9:27 as the last week of his vision of 70 weeks which were decreed for the nation Israel.