BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: REV 13

(Rev 12:15 NASB) "And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

"15-16 The serpent spews a floodlike river of water out of his mouth to engulf and drown the woman. The water imagery seems clear enough. It symbolizes destruction by an enemy (Pss 32:6; 69:1-2; 124:2-5; Nah 1:8) or calamity (Ps 18:4). As the desert earth absorbs the torrent, so the covenant people will be helped by God and preserved from utter destruction (Isa 26:20; 42:15; 43:2; 50:2). The dragon-inspired Egyptians of old were swallowed by the earth: "You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them" (Exod 15:12). In similar fashion, the messianic community will be delivered by God's power. Whatever specific events were happening to Christians in Asia in John's day would not exhaust the continuing significance of the passage."

(Rev 12:17) "So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

"17 This attack of Satan against "the rest" of the woman's offspring seems to involve the final attempt to destroy the messianic people of God. Having failed in previous attempts to eliminate them as a whole, the dragon now strikes at individuals who "obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." To "make war" (poiesai polemon) is the identical expression used of the beast's attack on the two witnesses in 11:7 and on the saints in 13:7. Could this possibly correlate the three groups and indicate their common identity under different figures?

(Rev 12:16 NASB) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.

"12:15-17. Pursuing the woman, the devil as the serpent originated a flood to sweep her away with the torrent, but the earth swallowed up the water. Some have taken this as a literal flood, but since Israel could flee in every direction the contour of the Holy Land does not lend itself to such a flood. Probably the flood represents Satan's effort to exterminate Israel. This is thwarted by the rough terrain which provides hiding places. In some way God assists the Israelites so that they are not completely destroyed, though Zechariah 13:8 indicates that "two-thirds will be struck down and perish."

Though only one-third of Israel in the land is thus preserved (of which the 144,000 of Rev. 7 are a portion), Satan the dragon continues to war against the rest.

Much of the fulfillment of John's revelation in the Book of the Revelation has evidently NOT occurred in history - all or in part - since John wrote the words of Rev 13 and other chapters 2000 years ago - looking thousands of years into the future when so many changes have occurred and will occur - from electricity, paved roads, electronic devices including TV, cell phones, artificial intelligence, to a vast array of war weapons, automobiles, trucks, skyscrapers, all kinds of clothing / fashion, etc., etc.. Every indication points to a yet future fulfillment even perhaps after the year 2025. Often the predictions are interconnected to the extent that there is a suggested sequence of events that limit the passage of time and are not ongoing or successive repetitions of like events. Thus eliminating repetition of fulfillments throughout a long period of time such as centuries. For example, consider the names and descriptions in chapter 13 such as "the dragon which stood on the sand of the seashore," and consider the names which are associated with events / actions such as "a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names." Such things have not evidenced themselves so far in history as having come true - whole or in part or in a repetitious pattern - even after so many years and after innumerable books were written year after year after year from the first century and for centuries afterward about the meaning of John's words - none of which have borne credible witness of what John wrote. Books authored which only made a lot of money for no good reason except to make money. Relative to what John wrote about which addressed the beast in chapter 13 so far in history has not literally evidenced itself as being like a leopard with his feet like those of a bear, his mouth like that of a lion wherein the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority." So there has been no evidence of this in history taken literally or figuratively without speculating beyond ones reasonable imagination so far since the first century - whole or in part in order to fit the time in history that these things might be compatible and identified with. All of the commentaries throughout the years on these predictions have not provided any credible evidence of fulfillment - whole or in part. There has been no evidence of a so described "beast" having even one of his ten horns or seven heads showing satisfactory actual historical evidence of what these horns and heads actually are in any commentary writing on John's prophecies. Throughout 2,000 years of history with so many changes - electricity, electronics, space travel, satellites, drones, gas, automobiles, trains, buses, trucks, high rise buildings, elevators, paved roads, television, advancement in military weapons, etc.

(Rev 13:1 NASB) "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

(Rev 13:2 NASB) And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

(Rev 13:3 NASB) I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;

(Rev 13:4 NASB) they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"

(Rev 13:5 NASB) There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

(Rev 13:6 NASB) And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

(Rev 13:7 NASB) It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

(Rev 13:8 NASB) All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

(Rev 13:10 NASB) If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

(Rev 13:11 NASB) Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

(Rev 13:12 NASB) He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

(Rev 13:13 NASB) He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

(Rev 13:14 NASB) And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life.

(Rev 13:15 NASB) And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

(Rev 13:16 NASB) And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

(Rev 13:17 NASB) and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

(Rev 13:18 NASB) Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."

This chapter forms part of the theme of the persecution of God's people John began to develop in chapter 12. Turning from the inner dynamics of the struggle, chapter 13 shifts to the actual earthly instruments of this assault—viz., the two dragon-energized beasts. In accord with the discussion in chapter 12, we may assume that the beast-related activities constitute the way the dragon carries out his final attempts to wage war on the seed of the woman (12:17). A contest is going on to seduce the whole world—even the followers of Jesus—to worship the beast. As Minear shows (I Saw a New Earth, p. 118), John seeks to emphasize three things about the first beast: he shows (1) the conspiracy of the dragon with the beast (vv. 3-4); (2) the universal success of this partnership in deceiving the whole world to worship them (vv. 3-4, 8); and (3) that the partnership will succeed in a temporary defeat of the saints of God, thus accomplishing the greatest blasphemy of God (vv. 6-7a).

Finally, not being able to seduce all the earth alone, the conspirators summon yet a third figure to their aids—the beast from the earth. He must remain loyal to his associates and at the same time be sufficiently similar to the Lamb to entice even the followers of Jesus. He must be able to perform miraculous signs (semeia) much as the two witnesses did (vv. 11ff.; cf. 13:13 with 11:5). As the battle progresses, the dragon's deception becomes more and more subtle. Thus the readers are called to discern the criteria that will enable them to separate the lamblike beast from the Lamb himself (13:11 with 14:1).

Two basic interpretative problems confront the reader. These have led students of the book to different understandings of this chapter: (1) The identification of the beast and his associate are they personal or some other entity'? (2) The time of the beast's rule—is it past, continuous, or still future? In seeking some satisfactory answers to these questions, it may be helpful to first set forth the facts about the beast. He (1) rises from the sea (v. 1); (2) resembles the dragon (v. 1), (3) has composite animal features (v. 2); (4) is dragon empowered (v. 2); (5) has one head wounded to death but healed (vv. 3-4, 7b-8); (6) blasphemes God and God's people for forty-two months (vv. 5-6); (7) makes war against the saints and kills them (vv. 7a, 15); and (8) gives to those who follow him his "mark,' which is either his name or his number, 666 (vv. 16-18).

In addition, there are no fewer than a dozen further references in Revelation to the beast (11:7, 14:9, 11; 15:2, 16:2, 10, 13; 19:19-20, 20:4, 10), excluding the nine references to the scarlet-colored beast in chapter 17, which should probably be included. These further references contain no new information, but 11:7 indicates that the beast rises from the Abyss. Also, 19:19 refers to a coalition of the beast with the "kings of the earth," and 19:20 describes his final end in the lake of fire.66667777

The history of the interpretation of chapter 13 is far too extensive for this commentary to cover. As early as the second century, two different understandings of the Antichrist appeared. Some early interpreters take the position that the Antichrist will be a person, a world deceiver who will reign for the last half of Daniel's seventieth week (Dan 7:25). The Epistle of Barnabas (A.D. 70-100?) warns believers to be alert to the imminent appearing of "the final stumbling-block," who is identified with the "little horn" of Daniel 7:24 (4.3-6, 9-10, ANF 1:138-39). The Didache (early second century?) refers to a "world deceiver [who] will appear in the guise of God's Son. He will work `signs and wonders' and the earth will fall into his hands and he will commit outrages such as have never occurred before" (16.4, in Cyril C. Richardson, ed., Library of Christian Classics, vol. 1, Early Christian Fathers, [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953], p. 178). Justin Martyr (d.165) likewise looked for the appearance in his lifetime of the Antichrist prophesied by Daniel, who would reign for three and one-half years according to Daniel 7:25 (Dialogue 32; ANF, 1:210).

Irenaeus (d.202) gives the first extensive discussion of the Antichrist. He is to be an unrighteous king from the tribe of Dan, the little horn of Daniel 7:8, who will reign over the earth during the last three and one-half years of Daniel's seventieth "week" (Dan 9:27). Irenaeus identifies the Antichrist with the first beast of Revelation 13 and the "man of sin" ("lawlessness," NIV) of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, who will exalt himself in the Jerusalem temple (rebuilt) (Contra Haereses 5.25.1-5; 5.28.2; 5.30.2; ANF, 1:553, 556-59). This view, with modifications, is followed by Irenaeus's student Hippolytus (d.235), also by Tertullian (d.220) and Victorinus (d.304), and in recent times by many commentators, including Barnhouse, Bruce, Gaebelein, Ladd, Morris, Mounce, Scofield, and Walvoord. In its favor is the more literal reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10 and the natural understanding of the Antichrist as being the personal counterpart to the personal Christ.

On the other hand, from the earliest times some interpreters have understood the Antichrist as a present threat of heresy, depending more on the concept found in the Johannine Epistles (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). Thus Polycarp (d.155), said to be a disciple of the apostle John, understands the Antichrist to be revealed in the docetic heresies of his time (Philippians 7.1; ANF, 1:34). Likewise, Tertullian identifies the many false prophets of docetism with the Antichrist but sees these teachers as the forerunners of the future Antichrist, who as the Arch Deceiver will come "in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders" to mislead those who "have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 Thess 2:9-12) (Against Marcion 5.16; ANF, 3:463-64).

Luther, Calvin, and other Reformers adopting this general view identified the beast with the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. Only one recent interpreter, Henry Alford, seems to follow the Reformers in their view. However, other modern commentators adopt the theological heresy interpretation of the Antichrist (Berkouwer, Minear, Newman). In its favor are the references to the Antichrist in the Johannine Epistles and the advantage of seeing the beast as a present threat to the church and not merely as an eschatological figure of the last time. This view also argues that the 2 Thessalonians 2 passage need not be understood as referring to a single future individual (see G.C. Berkouwer, The Return of Christ [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], pp. 268-71). The issue is difficult to settle with any finality. However, I will develop chapter 13 more in accord with the theological heresy view, while recognizing at the same time that Tertullian's position as stated above is consistent with my position and that the personal future Antichrist view has strong support. (See also the comments at v.11.)

In modern interpretation, as Minear points out, there is almost complete agreement that the "wounded head" (v. 3) refers to the Nero redivivus legend. It will be helpful to have Minear's summary of the legend before us:

Let us look first, then, at the Neronic legend itself. Toward the end of his reign Nero's unpopularity among Roman citizens had assumed high proportions. In 67 and 68 open revolts had broken out against his authority in Gaul and Spain. At length he had been repudiated by the praetorian guard and by the Senate. Fleeing from the city, he had taken refuge in a friend's suburban villa, where he had received word that the Senate had proclaimed him a public enemy and had approved Galba as his successor. Having been warned that pursuing soldiers were approaching his hideout, he had cut his own throat with a sword (June 9, 68). After his death a rumor spread abroad that he had not actually died but had escaped to Parthia, whence he would soon return to regain his throne. This rumor circulated most quickly in the eastern provinces, and assumed strange forms. At one stage, popular expectation envisaged the return of Nero from Parthia, with a huge army subduing all opposition:

And to the west shall come the strife of gathering war and the exile from Rome, brandishing a mighty sword, crossing the Euphrates with many myriads.

On the basis of this rumor, impostors arose in the east who assumed the name of Nero in the effort to exploit the legend. There are records of at least two such claimants. There seems to have been a later stage in the legend in which Nero's figure has become invested with supernatural status. Now his return from the abyss with hordes of demons is anticipated as an omen of the "last days." Among the oracles of the Sibyl we find an extensive reference to this expectation:

There shall be at the last time about the waning of the moon, a world convulsing war, deceitful in guilefulness. And there shall come from the ends of the earth a matricide fleeing and devising sharp-edged plans. He shall ruin all the earth, and gain all power, and surpass all men in cunning. That for which he perished he shall seize at once. And he shall destroy many men and great tyrants, and shall burn all men as none other ever did (vv.361ff.) (I Saw a New Earth, pp. 248-49.).

This Neronic interpretation presupposes an identification in John's mind between the sea beast and the Roman Empire, a view espoused in our day by both preterist and not a few preterist-futurist interpreters of Revelation (most recently by Mounce, Revelation, pp. 250-51). This in turn usually assumes that Revelation 17 identifies the seven heads of the beast as the successive emperors of the Roman Empire. Yet a question concerning the reliability of this whole Neronic approach must be raised. Minear argues convincingly that the Nero redivivus view will fit neither the facts of history nor the text of Revelation 13 and 17 (I Saw a New Earth, pp. 228-60). (See comments at 17:8-9.)

Newman also impressively calls the Nero myth into question. He argues that Irenaeus, the best source for the Domitian dating of the book, never refers either to a Domitian persecution as the background for John's thought or to any Nero-myth interpretation, even though he is attempting to refute the identification of the number 666 with any Roman emperor. Newman concludes that Revelation could just as well be viewed as a theological polemic against some form of Gnosticism than, as popularly held, a political polemic. Newman also challenges the widely held assumption that all apocalyptic literature—and especially the Book of Revelation—must be understood as arising out of some contemporary political crisis for the saints. Little evidence can be cited for more than a selective and local persecution of Christians under Domitian's rule (E.T. Merrill, Essays in Early Christian History [London: Macmillan & Co., 1924], pp. 157-73; F. F. Bruce, New Testament History [New York: Doubleday, 1972], pp. 412-14; Barclay Newman, The Fallacy of the Domitian Hypothesis, NTS, 10 [1963], 139-49; G. Edmundson, The Church in Rome in the First Century [London: Longmans, Green, 1913]).

Likewise rejecting the beast-equals-Rome hypothesis is Foerster, who points out that rabbinic exegesis up to the first century A.D. identified the fourth beast of Daniel 7 as Edom-equals-Rome. Since the beast of Revelation 13 is a composite that unites all the features of the four beasts of Daniel 7, it therefore cannot be identified with Rome (TDNT, 3:134-35, esp. n.11). An attempt will be made in this exposition to demonstrate that the Rome hypothesis is untenable. This leaves the question open as to whether John sees the Antichrist (or beast) as a person or some more encompassing entity.

1a NIV and most other modern translations include v. 1a as the concluding verse of chapter 12 because a variant Greek reading changes the KJV text "I stood" to "he stood" (i.e., the dragon). The latter reading is favored by a majority of textual scholars, though the KJV text may be the original (see Notes). If "he stood" is the correct reading, the sense would be that the dragon, who has now turned his rage on the children of the woman (12:17), stands on the seashore to summon his next instrument, the beast from the sea. But if the text reads "I stood," the sense is that John receives a new vision (cf. 10:1) as he gazes out over the sea in the same manner as Daniel (7:2)."

(Rev 13:1b NASB) "[(1a) And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.] (1b) Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

"1b-2 The beast (therion, "wild beast") has already been described in 11:7 as rising from the "Abyss" (cf. 17:8). Thus the sea may symbolize the Abyss, the source of demonic powers that are opposed to God (cf. 9:1; 20:1-3), rather than "the agitated surface of unregenerate humanity (cf. Isa 57:20), and especially of the seething caldron of national and social life" (Swete, p. 158). This view agrees with the OT images of the sea as the origin of the satanic sea monsters—the dragon (Tannin), Leviathan ("Coiled One"), and Rahab ("Rager") (Job 26:12-13; Pss 74:13-14; 87:4; 89:10; Isa 27:1; 51:9; cf. also Ezek 32:6-8). The ancient Hebrews demythologized the sea-monster myths to depict the victory of the Lord of Israel over the demonic forces of evil that in various manifestations had sought to destroy the people of God. Thus John later foresees the final day of Christ's victory when there will "no longer [be] any sea" or source of demonic opposition to God and his people (21:1).

John describes the beast in words similar to those he used in 12:3 of the dragon: "He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns." There is a slight difference here in the matter of the crowns, which may represent some change in the dragon's authority. As previously indicated (cf comments on 12:3), any attempt to identify the heads or horns as separate kings, kingdoms, etc., should be resisted.

The image of the seven-headed monster is well attested in ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Egyptian texts. A cylinder seal coming from Tel Asmar (ancient Eshnunna some fifty miles northeast of modern Baghdad), dating back to about 2500 B. C., shows two divine figures killing a seven-headed monster with flames arising from its back. Four of its heads are drooping as if already dead. A spear is in the hand of a figure who is striking the fourth head (see Alexander Heidel, The Babylonian Genesis [Chicago: University of Chicago, 1942], pp. 107-14, and figs. 15, 16; E.A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians [New York: Dover Publications, 1969], 1:278-79).

Cylinder seal from Tell Asmar (in ancient Mesopotamia) dated c.2500 b.c., showing two gods spearing a four-legged, seven-headed hydra, four of whose heads hang dead and three still live and show projected fork tongues; six tongues of flame arise from the monster's back; two worshipers and a star in the field are also seen. See Revelation 12:3-4; 13:1, 3, 14; 17:3, 8-11."

It may be argued that John's beast from the sea is to be connected with Leviathan in the OT. See Psalm 74:14, where the "heads" of the monster are specifically mentioned: "It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan." The seven heads and ten horns, regardless of the imagery used in Daniel or elsewhere, are not to be separately identified. It is true that Leviathan, Rahab, and the dragon (serpent) in the cited OT texts have a reference to political powers, such as Egypt and Assyria, that were threatening Israel. In the minds of the OT writers, however, the national entities were inseparably identified with the archetypal reality of the satanic, idolatrous systems represented by the seven-headed monster (Leviathan, Rahab, and the dragon) so that the beast represented, not the political power, but the system of evil that found expression in the political entity (Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, 1:278). The reason this point is so important is that it helps us see that the beast itself is not to be identified in its description with any one historical form of its expression or with any one institutional aspect of its manifestation. In other words, the beast may appear now as Sodom, Egypt, Rome, or even Jerusalem and may manifest itself as a political power, an economic power, a religious power, or a heresy (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3).

In John's mind, the chief enemy is diabolical deception; his description therefore has theological overtones, not political ones. This interpretation does not exclude the possibility that there will be a final climactic appearance of the beast in history in a person; in a political, religious, or economic system; or in a final totalitarian culture combining all these. The point is that the beast cannot be limited to either the past or the future.

John further states that this beast had "on each head a blasphemous name." This prominent feature is repeated in 17:3 (cf. 13:5-6). Arrogance and blasphemy also characterize the "little horn" of Daniel's fourth beast (7:8, 11, 20, 25) and the willful king of Daniel 11:36. John alludes to the vision of Daniel but completely transforms it.

In keeping with the Rome hypothesis, many have tried to identify the blasphemous names with the titles of the emperor: "Augustus" ("reverend," "to be worshiped") divus ("deified"); "Savior"; dominus ("Lord"). But was this in John's mind? In 2:9 he refers to the blasphemy "of those who say they are Jews and are not, " a reference that seems to refer to the fact that some Jews at Smyrna had spoken against the lawful messianic claims of Jesus. They may also have charged the Christians with disloyalty to the empire and thus sided with the pagan officials in persecuting them. Could these Jews be part also of the blasphemous names? In 13:6 the blasphemies are directed against God and are further defined: "to blaspheme God, by blaspheming his name, his temple, those who dwell in heaven" (my translation). Thus the beast challenges the sovereignty and majesty of God by denying the first commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exod 20:3). Therefore, whatever person or system—whether political, social, economic, or religious—cooperates with Satan by exalting itself against God's sovereignty and by setting itself up to destroy the followers of Jesus, or entices them to become followers of Satan through deception, idolatry, blasphemy, and spiritual adultery, embodies the beast of Revelation 13.

13:1-2. Chapter 13 presents a most important personage of the end time—a beast coming out of the sea. His 10 horns and 7 heads, with 10 crowns on his horns, depict the revived Roman Empire, which was also represented by the fourth beast of Daniel, which also had 10 horns (Dan. 7:7-8; cf. Rev. 13:3; 17:3, 7). In Revelation 13 and 17 the beast is the world ruler, whereas in Daniel 7 the little horn on the beast was the world ruler.

The fact that the beast comes out from the sea indicates that he is a Gentile, for the sea of humanity is involved as his source (cf. Rev. 17:15).

Many have said that the beast refers to some character in past history, but the context clearly refers to the final three and one-half years before Christ's second coming. Under the control of this central ruler in the Middle East during the Great Tribulation will be 10 nations (cf. Dan. 7:24, "The 10 horns are 10 kings"). (For discussion of various alternative views, see Walvoord, Revelation, pp. 198-99.)

In Revelation 13:2 the beast was seen to gather in the symbolism of the three preceding empires—Greece (a leopard, cf. Dan. 7:6), Medo-Persia (a bear, cf. Dan. 7:5), and Babylon (a lion, cf. Dan. 7:4). The power of the beast was derived from Satan himself: the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. This accords with Paul (2 Thes. 2:9) who referred to "the lawless one" (i.e., the Antichrist, this first beast of Rev. 13) as working "all kinds of counterfeit miracles [dynamei], signs [sēmeiois], and wonders [terasin]."

"3 The beast has a fatal wound, but the wound is healed. This results in great, world-wide influence, acceptance, and worship for both the beast and the dragon. verse 3 is important and requires careful exegesis because of the widespread Nero redivivus viewpoint that is read into the wounded head (see introduction to this chapter). There are a number of features of John's description that are inconsistent with both the Nero redivivus and the Roman Empire interpretations. I am indebted for the following arguments to Newman ("Domitian Hypothesis," pp. 133-39) and to Minear (I Saw a New Earth, ch. 5).

1. It should be observed that the wounded "head" of v. 3 is elsewhere in the chapter a wound of the whole beast (vv. 12, 14). A wound inflicted in a former and rejected emperor is not a wound inflicted on the whole empire. If the reference is to Nero, it is difficult to see how his self-inflicted wound could have wounded the whole empire or how the legendary healing of his throat enhanced the authority of the beast or the dragon's war against the saints.

2. The "wound" unto death or fatal wound, must be carefully examined. In the Greek, the word for "wound" is plege, which everywhere in Revelation means "plague," in fact, a divinely inflicted judgment (9:18, 20; 11:6; 15:1ff.; 16:9, 21; 18:4, 8; 21:9; 22:18). Elsewhere in the NT the word is used of "beatings" or official "floggings" (Luke 10:30; 12:48; Acts 16:23, 33; 2Cor 6:5; 11:23). In 13:14 we find that the beast has the plague of the "sword" (machaira), which supposedly refers to Nero's dagger. Elsewhere in Revelation the "sword" (machaira, or rhomphaia) (1) symbolically refers to the divine judgment of the Messiah (1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21); (2) is the sword of the rider on the red horse and equals divine judgment (6:4, 8); and (3) is a sword used as a weapon against the saints of God (13:10). We are, then, nearer to John's mind if we see the sword, not as referring to an emperor's death, but as the symbol of God's wrath that in some event had struck a death blow to the authority of the beast (and the dragon), yet which had been deceptively covered up or restored (for a probable antecedent, see Isa 27:1).

3. The correct identification, therefore, of the beast's enemy will enable us to understand what event John had in mind in the death blow. Everywhere in the book the only sufficient conqueror of the beast and the dragon is the slain Lamb, together with his faithful saints (12:11; 19:19-21). Furthermore, it is the event of the life and especially the crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus that dealt this death blow to the dragon and the beast (1:5; 5:9; 12:11). This same thought is paralleled by other NT teaching (Luke 10:17-24; 11:14-22; John 12:31-33; Col 2:15). Irenaeus suggests that the wound, so central to the Apocalypse, must be understood as an appeal to Genesis 3:13ff. (Contra Haereses 5.25-34).

Yet the same paradox found in chapter 12 also appears here in chapter 13. While the dragon (ch. 12) is, on the one hand, defeated and cast out of heaven, on the other hand, he still has time and ability to wage a relentless war against the people of God. Likewise, the beast (ch. 13) has been dealt a fatal blow by the cross of Christ and yet still has time and ability to wage war against the saints. He appears to be alive and in full command of the scene; his blasphemies increase. What the sea beast cannot accomplish, he commissions the earth beast to do (vv. 11ff.). All three—the dragon, the sea beast, and the earth beast—though distinguishable, are nevertheless in collusion to effect the same end: the deception that led the world to worship the dragon and the sea beast and the destruction of all who oppose them.

It is this description that leads to the fourth reason why identifying the beast exclusively with any one historical personage or empire is probably incorrect. In John's description of the beast, there are numerous parallels with Jesus that should alert the reader to the fact that John is seeking to establish, not a historical identification, but a theological characterization (though in this there is no implication against the historicity of Jesus): Both wielded swords; both had followers on whose foreheads were inscribed their names (13:16-14:1); both had horns (5:6; 13:1); both were slain, the same Greek word being used to describe their deaths (sphagizo, vv. 3, 8); both had arisen to new life and authority; and both were given (by different authorities) power over every nation, tribe, people, and tongue as well as over the kings of the earth (1:5; 7:9; with 13:7; 17:12). The beast described here is the great theological counterpart to all that Christ represents and not the Roman Empire or any of its emperors. So it is easy to understand why many in the history of the church have identified the beast with a future, personal Antichrist.

It is curious that in her commentary on Revelation, Ford refers to Minear's "most challenging argument against this [Nero] theory" (p. 220) without offering any refutation. She then proceeds, contrary to Minear's whole thesis, to try her own hand at another historical identification that is even less convincing than the long succession of previous ones (see comments on v.11).

While the references in the Johannine literature may be taken as supporting the view that the Antichrist is manifested in multiple persons and was a reality present in John's day (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7), Paul's description in such personal terms of the coming "man of lawlessness" (2 Thess 2:3-4, 8-9) has led the majority of ancient and modern interpreters to adopt the viewpoint that it is a personal Antichrist. Bavinck believes that the solution to the conflict between Paul and John lies in seeing John as describing the forerunners (anti-Christian powers in history) while Paul talks about the day when these powers will be embodied in one king(dom) of the world, the epitome of apostasy (cited by Berkouwer, Return of Christ, p. 265). John, however, says that in the false teachers "the antichrist" was actually present (2 John 7). Berkouwer shows that it is not necessary to understand Paul's apocalyptic language as describing a personal Antichrist (ibid., p. 270).

13:3. The seven heads of the beast seem to represent important rulers, and one of them, probably the seventh, suffered a fatal wound caused by a sword (v. 14), which was subsequently healed, causing astonishment in the entire world.

Many have attempted to identify this beast as someone in the past or present who is to become the final world ruler. Among the suggestions have been Nero, Judas Iscariot, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Kissinger, and many others; but such men obviously do not fit the details of this yet-future ruler.

What is the meaning of the fatal wound that is healed? Two possibilities seem to fit this description. Alford, for instance, sees the deadly wound as the destruction of "the Roman pagan Empire" by "the Christian Roman Empire," thus making it a matter of history rather than prophecy (The Greek Testament, 4: 675). The revival of the Roman Empire would then be its miraculous healing. Another plausible explanation is that the final world ruler receives a wound which normally would be fatal but is miraculously healed by Satan. While the resurrection of a dead person seems to be beyond Satan's power, the healing of a wound would be possible for Satan, and this may be the explanation. The important point is that the final world ruler comes into power obviously supported by a supernatural and miraculous deliverance by Satan himself."

"4 The goal of the dragon and the beast in their conspiracy is to promote the idolatrous worship of themselves. This perversion is further enhanced by the earth beast (vv. 12, 15). The means of deception varies because not all mankind is deceived in the same way. People follow and worship the beast because he is apparently invincible: "Who can make war against him?" His only real enemy seems to be the saints of Jesus, whom he effectively destroys (2:10, 13; 12:11; 13:15). But little does he realize that in the death of the saints the triumph of God appears. As they die, they do so in identification with the slain Lamb who through the Cross has decisively conquered the dragon by inflicting on him a truly fatal wound. "Who is like the beast?" echoes in parody similar references to God himself (Exod 15:11; Mic 7:18)."

(Rev 13:5 NASB) "There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

"5-6 (See comments on v.1.) The period of the beast's authority is given as "forty-two months," the same period already referred to in 11:2-3; 12:6, 13 (see comments at 11:2).

(Rev 13:5 NASB) There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

13:4-6. The supernatural character of the beast makes him the object of worship along with Satan, the source of his power. It has always been Satan's purpose to receive the worship due to God alone, as stated in Isaiah 14:14: "I will make myself like the Most High." This is Satan's final form of counterfeit religion in which he assumes the place of God the Father, and the beast or the world ruler assumes the role of King of kings as a substitute for Christ. This situation is probably introduced at the beginning of the last three and one-half years when the Great Tribulation begins.

Recognizing the supernatural character of Satan and the ruler, the" question is raised, Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him? (Rev. 13:4) This apparently explains how the beast could become world ruler without a war. His blasphemous assumption of the role of God continues for 42 months, during which time he blasphemes God as well as heaven and those who live in heaven."

(Rev 13:7 NASB) "It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

"8 John further identifies the worshipers of the beast as "all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb" (for a discussion of the meaning of the "book of life," see comments at 3:5; also comments at 17:8; at 20:12, at 15; and at 21:27). This contrast further emphasizes the theological nature of the description of the beast. The beast from the earth represents the idolatrous system of worship instigated by the dragon to deceive mankind into breaking the first commandment.

(Rev 13:8 NASB) "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

(Rev 13:10 NASB) If any one is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints."

"9-10 These verses are both important and difficult. This is the only occurrence in Revelation of the words "he who has an ear, let him hear" apart from their use in each of the messages to the seven churches (chs. 2-3). Here they call special attention to the need for obedience to the exhortation in v. 10b. Kiddle feels that v. 10 is the focal point of the whole chapter, as it calls on the Christian to display faith and patience in the face of the divinely permitted predominance of evil (p. 248). Most agree that the language of v. 10 alludes to Jeremiah 15:2 and 43:11 (LXX 50:11), where the prophet describes the certainty of divine judgment that will come upon the rebels in Israel—they will suffer captivity, famine, disease, and death from the sword. Yet it is difficult to see how Jeremiah's words are appropriate here in this context of an exhortation for believers to be faithful. John's meaning must be different—viz., that as the rebels in Jeremiah's day would certainly encounter the divine judgment, so the faithful to Christ are assured that their captivity and martyrdom are in God's will. (For the textual problem in v. 10, see Notes.)

(Rev 13:8 NASB) "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

(Rev 13:10 NASB) If any one is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints."

13:9-10. In a format similar to the exhortation to the seven churches of Asia Minor (chaps. 2-3) this passage gave an invitation to individuals who would listen. The dream of many today, of a universal church and a universal religion, will be realized in the end time, but it will be satanic and blasphemous instead of involving worship of the true God. In such a situation, appeal can only be made to individuals who will turn from it to God. In every age God speaks to those who will hear, a concept mentioned frequently in the Gospels (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).

In contrast with the invitation addressed to the seven churches where each exhortation was addressed "to the church," the mention of churches is notably absent here. This is another indication that the church has been raptured before the time of these events. Revelation, instead of being interpreted as addressed only to first-generation Christians facing persecution, is better understood as an exhortation to believers in all generations but especially those who will be living in the end time. Those who are willing to listen are reminded that their obedience to the Word of God may result in their captivity or martyrdom (Rev. 13:10), so the exhortation closes, This calls for patient endurance (hypomonē, "steadfastness, perseverance"; cf. 14:12) and faithfulness on the part of the saints."

"11 John sees another (allo, "one of a similar kind") beast rising from the earth. This second beast completes the triumvirate of evil—the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast. The land beast is subservient to the beast from the sea and seems utterly dedicated to promoting not himself but the wounded beast from the sea. Elsewhere the land beast is called the "false prophet" (16:13; 19:20; 20:10). As with the first beast, identification is a problem. That this beast comes from the land rather than the sea may simply indicate his diversity from the first, while other references stress their collusion.

A survey of the history of interpretation reveals in general, as with the first beast, two main lines: the beast either represents a power or a movement, or describes a human being allied with the Antichrist at the close of the age (cf. Berkouwer, Return of Christ, pp. 260f.). Early Christian interpreters, such as Irenaeus (second century), who identify the first beast not with Rome but with a personal Antichrist, find in the second beast the "armour-bearer" of the first, who employs the demonic forces to work magic and deceive the inhabitants of the earth (Contra Haereses 5.28.2). Hippolytus (third century) identified the second beast as "the kingdom of the Antichrist" (Christ and Anti-Christ, ANF, 5:214, par. 48). Victorinus (late third century) speaks of this beast as the false prophet who will work magic before the Antichrist. Victorinus then blurs the identification of the second beast with the first in further remarks (Apocalypse 13.11-13). Andreas (sixth century) reports that in his day "some say this [second] beast is the Antichrist, but it seems to others that he is Satan, and his two horns are the Antichrist and the false prophet" (Swete, p. 166).

Calvin and Luther, as well as other Reformers, drawing on earlier traditions, were led to identify this beast with the papacy or specific popes. Berkouwer notes that while the Reformers may have been mistaken as to their actual identifications, they were right in seeing the beast as a present threat and not some entity awaiting a yet future manifestation (Return of Christ, pp. 262-63). Most modern commentators, following the Nero redivivus view of the first beast, identify this beast as the priesthood of the imperial cultus (Charles, Commentary on Revelation 1:357). Alford and others would extend the symbolism to all ages and see in the second beast "the sacerdotal persecuting power, pagan or Christian," and would call special attention to the Roman papacy, though by no means limiting it to this priesthood (Alf, 4:679). While recognizing that no view is without problems, the following discussion takes the position that the land beast is John's way of describing the false prophets of the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:24; Mark 13:22). This identification is consistent with the previously stated view of the sea beast as describing not just a specific political reality but the world-wide anti-God system of Satan and its manifestation in periodic, historical human antichrists. The land beast is the antithesis to the true prophets of Christ symbolized by the two witnesses in chapter 11 (cf. Berkouwer, Return of Christ, ch. 9, for a full and helpful discussion of the whole Antichrist issue). If the thought of a nonpersonal antichrist and false prophet seems to contradict the verse that describes them as being cast alive into the lake of fire (19:20), consider that "death" and "Hades" (nonpersons) are also thrown into the lake of fire (20:14).The reference to the "two horns like a lamb" can be understood as highlighting the beast's imitative role with respect to the true Lamb in the rest of the book (e.g., 5:6ff.; 13:8; 14:1). Could the two horns be in contrast to the two witnesses in chapter 11? Since one of the primary characteristics of this second beast is his deceptive activities (v. 14; 19:20), his appearance as a lamb would contribute to the confusion over the beast's true identity. If the land beast represents satanic false teaching and false prophets, their evil is intensified because of its deceptive similarity to the truth. Even though the beast is like the Lamb, in reality he is evil because "he [speaks] like a dragon," i.e., he teaches heresy. Jesus gave such a twofold description of false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matt 7:15). On the other hand, the lamblikeness may simply be a reference to the beast's gentle outward manner in contrast to his true identity as a fierce dragon.

(Rev 13:11 NASB) "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

13:11-12. In contrast with the first beast who came "out of the sea" (v. 1), the second beast came out of the earth. He was similar to the first beast (thērion, "a beast," was used of both personages). However, while the first beast was a Gentile, since he came from the entire human race as symbolized by "the sea" (v. 1), the second beast was a creature of the earth. Some have taken this as a specific reference to the Promised Land and have argued that he was therefore a Jew. There is no support for this in the context as the word for "earth" is the general word referring to the entire world (gē). Actually his nationality and geographic origin are not indicated, and he is apparently the one referred to as "the false prophet" in 19:20 and 20:10. (For a comprehensive discussion of the two beasts see Alford, The Greek New Testament, 4:678-79.)

The second beast had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon, that is, like Satan. From this it can be gathered that he was a religious character whose role was to support the political ruler, the first beast. He had great authority apparently derived from Satan and the political ruler, and he made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, the one whose fatal wound had been healed.

The false religious system, which was supported in this way imitated the divine Trinity. Satan seeks to take the place of God the Father; the first beast assumes the place of Jesus Christ, the Son, the King of kings; and the second beast, the false prophet, has a role similar to the Holy Spirit who causes Christians to worship God. This is Satan's final attempt to substitute a false religion for true faith in Christ."

(Rev 13:11 NASB) "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

(Rev 13:13 NASB) "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

"13 One of the strategies the land beast uses to deceive people into following the first beast is the performance of "miraculous signs" (semeion; see discussion at 12:1). The ability of the Satan-inspired prophets to perform deceiving miracles is attested elsewhere in Revelation and in other parts of the Bible (16:14; 19:20, Deut 13:1-5, Matt 7:22; 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thess 2:9). Distinguishing between the true and false prophets has always been difficult but not impossible. The followers of Jesus must be constantly alert to discern the spirits (1 John 4:1-3).

The reference to "fire... from heaven" deserves brief comment. It could refer to the fire that the prophet Elijah called down from heaven (1 Kings 18:38) or to the fire coming out of the mouths of the two witnesses (Rev 11:5). Either reference is preferable to the attempt to see here some indication of the imperial cult priests of Rome. John may intend a deliberate contrast between the true witnesses' use of fire and its use by the false prophets (11:5; cf. Luke 9:54).

A quite elaborate theory was worked out by E. Watson and B. Hamilton that connects the fire of God with the true word of God and the Holy Spirit's witness (such as at Pentecost [Acts 2:3]). The false fire would then be a reference to pseudo-charismatic gifts that create a counterfeit church community whose allegiance is to the Antichrist (cited by Minear, I Saw a New Earth, pp. 124-27). (In regard to "the fire... from heaven," remember the priests Nadab and Abihu, who offered "unauthorized fire" before the Lord, apparently by their own self-will, and received God's judgment in the form of "fire" that "consumed them" [Lev 10:1-2].) In any case, the reference to fire from heaven indicates that no mighty deed is too hard for these false prophets, because they derive their power from the Antichrist and the dragon. Christ's true servants are not to be deceived by even spectacular miracles the false prophets may perform. Such miracles in themselves are no evidence of the Holy Spirit.

14a Here more must be involved than the deceptions of the imperial priesthood. The quality of the miracles deceives those who follow the beast—viz., "the inhabitants of the earth." "Deceive" (planao) is John's term for the activity of false teachers who lead people to worship gods other than the true and living God (2:20; 12:9; 18:23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10; cf. 1 John 2:26; 3:7; 4:6; also Matt 24:11, 24).

14b-15 The second beast orders the setting up of an "image" (eikon) of the first beast. Elsewhere, the worship of the first beast, his "image," and his "mark" are inseparable (14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). The eikon of something is not a mere copy but partakes in its reality and in fact constitutes its reality (TDNT, 2:389). Most interpreters, following the Roman-emperor exegesis, readily identify the image with the statue of Caesar and refer the "breath" and speaking of the image to the magic and ventriloquism of the imperial priests. But as has been argued earlier (see comments on vv.1, and on 11), serious questions can be raised against such an exegesis of John's language, which is much more theologically descriptive than the Roman hypothesis allows. This is not to deny that the imperial worship could be included as one form of the beast worship. But the reality described is much larger and far more transhistorical than the mere worship of a bust of Caesar. John, however, would not deny that these realities have their historical manifestations, for in every age the beast kills those who will not worship his image. In terms reminiscent of the great golden image Nebuchadnezzar made and commanded every person to worship on the threat of death (Dan 3:1-11), John describes the world-wide system of idolatry represented by the first beast and the false prophet(s) who promotes it. John describes this reality as a blasphemous and idolatrous system that produces a breach of the first two commandments (Exod 20:3-5).

In speaking about giving "breath" (pneuma) to the image, John implies the activity of the false prophets in reviving idolatrous worship, giving it the appearance of vitality, reality, and power. Curiously, the two witnesses were also said to receive "breath" (pneuma) (11:11). The idolatrous satanic system has the power of death over those who worship the true God and the Lamb. The same "image" tried to kill Daniel and his friends, killed many of the prophets of God, crucified the Lord Jesus, put to death Stephen (Acts 7:60), James the apostle (Acts 12:1-2), and Antipas (Rev 2:13). Thus he demonstrated to his followers the apparent healing of his wounded head. To limit the image to the bust of Caesar or to some future statue or ventriloquistic device constricts John's deeper meaning and eliminates the present significance of his language.

(Rev 13:13 NASB) "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

13:13-15. To induce people to worship the first beast, the second beast performs great and miraculous signs (lit., "great signs," sēmeia megala; cf. "a great... sign" in 12:1), including fire... from heaven. People sometimes overlook the fact that, while God can do supernatural things, Satan within certain limitations can also perform miracles, and he used this power to the full in this situation to induce people to worship Satan's substitute for Christ. Accordingly the second beast deceived the inhabitants of the earth.

In addition to causing fire to come down from heaven, the second beast set up an image of the first beast. The image was probably set up in the first temple in Jerusalem which was taken over from the Jews. According to Paul (2 Thes. 2:4) the first beast actually sat in God's temple at times and received worship which properly belonged to God. Perhaps the beast's image was placed in the same temple to provide an object of worship when the beast himself was not there.

This image was mentioned frequently (Rev. 13:14-15; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). Whether the image was in the form of the world ruler, the first beast, or merely some object of worship is not clear, but it did seem to symbolize the power of the first beast.

The fact that the second beast could give breath to the image of the first beast, even making it speak, has created problems for expositors, for the Bible does not seem to indicate that Satan has the power to give life to an inanimate object. Only God is the Creator. So probably the beast's image is able to give an impression of breathing and speaking mechanically, like computerized talking robots today. There might be a combination of natural and supernatural powers to enable the beast out of the earth to accomplish his purpose. It apparently was quite convincing to people and induced them to worship the image.

(Rev 13:11 NASB) "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

(Rev 13:13 NASB) "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

"16 The immediate effect of the worship of the beast involves receiving a mark on the right hand or forehead. By comparing the other passages where the beast, image, mark, and name of the beast are mentioned, it seems clear that the "mark" (charagma) is an equivalent expression to the "name of the beast" (13:17; 14:11; also 14:9; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4), which is also the "number of his name" (13:17; 15:2).

In Greek charagma may refer to a work of art such as a carved image of a god (Acts 17:29), to any written inscription or document, to the "bite" of a snake, to a red "seal" (an impress) of the emperor and other official attestors of documents, or to a "brand" on camels indicating ownership (TDNT, 9:416; MM, p. 683; Deiss BS, pp. 240-47). No evidence, however, can be cited from the ancient world where a charagma is placed on a person, let alone on the "right hand" or on the "forehead," though a seal (sphragis) was customarily put on slaves and soldiers. This lack of concrete evidence has led Swete, who is committed to the Roman-emperor view, to reject any connection between the charagma and a literal mark of the emperor. He argues that as the servants of God receive on their foreheads the impress of the divine seal (7:3; 14:1), so the servants of the beast are marked with the stamp of the beast (p. 170). In other words, the charagma is not a literal impress seal, certificate, or similar mark of identification, but it is John's way of symbolically describing authentic ownership and loyalty. Those who worship the beast have his charagma or brand of ownership on them, as the followers of Jesus have the brand of God's possession on them. The fact that the Babylonian Talmud prohibits the Jew from wearing the tephillim (prayer scroll) on the forehead or on the hand may lie in the background as to why John uses these two places to describe the idolatrous mark (Megillah 24b)."

1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;

4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"

5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

55555555555555 THE FULFILLMENT OF JOHN'S REVELATION IN THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION 555555555555555

Much of the fulfillment of John's revelation in the Book of the Revelation has evidently NOT occurred in history - all or in part since John wrote the words of Rev 13 and other chapters 2000 years ago - looking thousands of years into the future when so many changes have occurred and will occur - from electricity, paved roads, electronic devices including TV, cell phones, artificial intelligence, a vast array of war weapons, automobiles, trucks, skyscrapers, all kinds of clothing / fashion, etc., etc.. Every indication points to a yet future fulfillment even perhaps after the year 2025. For example, consider the names and descriptions in chapter 13 such as "the dragon which stood on the sand of the seashore," and consider the names which are associated with events / actions such as "a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names;" such things have not evidenced themselves so far in history as having come true - whole or in part - even after so many years and after innumerable books which were written year after year after year from the first century and for centuries afterward about the meaning of John's words - none of which have borne credible witness of what John wrote. Books authored which only made a lot of money for no good reason except to make money. Relative to what John wrote about which addressed the beast in chapter 13 so far in history has not literally evidenced itself as being like a leopard with his feet like those of a bear, his mouth like that of a lion wherein the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority." So there has been no evidence of this in history taken literally or figuratively without speculating beyond ones reasonable imagination so far since the first century - whole or in part in order to fit the time in history that these things might be compatible and identified with. All of the commentaries throughout the years on these predictions have not provided any credible evidence of fulfillment - whole or in part. There has been no evidence of a so described "beast" having even one of his ten horns or seven heads showing satisfactory actual historical evidence of what these horns and heads actually are in any commentary writing on John's prophecies. Throughout 2,000 years of history with so many changes - electricity, electronics, space travel, satellites, drones, gas, automobiles, trains, buses, trucks, high rise buildings, elevators, paved roads, television, advancement in military weapons, etc.

6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

7 It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, ever yone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life.

15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

88888888888888888888888888888 EXPOSITOR’S BIBLE COMMENTARY 8888888888888888888888888

And to the west shall come the strife of gathering war and the exile from Rome, brandishing a mighty sword, crossing the Euphrates with many myriads.

1b-2 The beast (therion, "wild beast") has already been described in 11:7 as rising from the "Abyss" (cf. 17:8). Thus the sea may symbolize the Abyss, the source of demonic powers that are opposed to God (cf. 9:1; 20:1-3), rather than "the agitated surface of unregenerate humanity (cf. Isa 57:20), and especially of the seething caldron of national and social life" (Swete, p. 158). This view agrees with the OT images of the sea as the origin of the satanic sea monsters—the dragon (Tannin), Leviathan ("Coiled One"), and Rahab ("Rager") (Job 26:12-13; Pss 74:13-14; 87:4; 89:10; Isa 27:1; 51:9; cf. also Ezek 32:6-8). The ancient Hebrews demythologized the sea-monster myths to depict the victory of the Lord of Israel over the demonic forces of evil that in various manifestations had sought to destroy the people of God. Thus John later foresees the final day of Christ's victory when there will "no longer [be] any sea" or source of demonic opposition to God and his people (21:1).

The description John gives of the beast from the sea does not describe a mere human political entity such as Rome. Rather, it describes in archetypal language the hideous, Satan-backed system of deception and idolatry that may at any time express itself in human systems of various kinds, such as Rome. Yet at the same time John also seems to be saying that this blasphemous, blaspheming, and blasphemy-producing reality will have a final, intense, and, for the saints, utterly devastating manifestation.

3 The beast has a fatal wound, but the wound is healed. This results in great, world-wide influence, acceptance, and worship for both the beast and the dragon. verse 3 is important and requires careful exegesis because of the widespread Nero redivivus viewpoint that is read into the wounded head (see introduction to this chapter). There are a number of features of John's description that are inconsistent with both the Nero redivivus and the Roman Empire interpretations. I am indebted for the following arguments to Newman ("Domitian Hypothesis," pp. 133-39) and to Minear (I Saw a New Earth, ch. 5).

But the question must remain open as to whether John in the Apocalypse points to a single archenemy of the church—whether past or future or to a transhistorical reality with many human manifestations in history. Thus the imagery would function similarly with regard to the image of the woman of chapter 12 or the harlot of chapter 17. If such is the case, this does not mean that John would have denied the earthly historical manifestations of this satanic reality; but it would prevent us from limiting the imagery merely to the Roman Empire or to any other single future political entity.

4 The goal of the dragon and the beast in their conspiracy is to promote the idolatrous worship of themselves. This perversion is further enhanced by the earth beast (vv. 12, 15). The means of deception varies because not all mankind is deceived in the same way. People follow and worship the beast because he is apparently invincible: "Who can make war against him?" His only real enemy seems to be the saints of Jesus, whom he effectively destroys (2:10, 13; 12:11; 13:15). But little does he realize that in the death of the saints the triumph of God appears. As they die, they do so in identification with the slain Lamb who through the Cross has decisively conquered the dragon by inflicting on him a truly fatal wound. "Who is like the beast?" echoes in parody similar references to God himself (Exod 15:11; Mic 7:18).

5-6 (See comments on v.1.) The period of the beast's authority is given as "forty-two months," the same period already referred to in 11:2-3; 12:6, 13 (see comments at 11:2).

7 Here, to "make war," as elsewhere in the Apocalypse, does not mean to wage a military campaign but refers to hostility to and destruction of the people of God in whatever manner and through whatever means the beast may choose (study carefully 2:16; 11:7; 12:7, 17; 16:14; 17:14; 19:11, 19; 20:8; 2Cor 10:4). "To conquer" them refers not to the subversion of their faith but to the destruction of their physical lives (cf. Matt 10:28). As in T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1935), their apparent defeat by the beast and his victory turns out in reality to be the victory of the saints and the defeat of the beast (15:2). Messiahlike universal dominion was given the beast by the dragon (Luke 4:4-7; 1 John 5:19).

8 John further identifies the worshipers of the beast as "all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb" (for a discussion of the meaning of the "book of life," see comments at 3:5; also comments at 17:8; at 20:12, at 15; and at 21:27). This contrast further emphasizes the theological nature of the description of the beast. The beast from the earth represents the idolatrous system of worship instigated by the dragon to deceive mankind into breaking the first commandment.

It has been debated whether the words "from the creation of the world" (also 17:8) belong grammatically with "have not been written" or with "that was slain." In other words, is it the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world, or is it the names that were not recorded in the book of life from the creation of the world? In Greek, either interpretation is grammatically acceptable. But the reference in 17:8 implies that the word order in the Greek (not the grammar) favors the latter view and suggests that John is deliberately providing a complementary thought to 17:8. In the former instance, the emphasis would rest on the decree in eternity to elect the Son as the redeeming agent for mankind's salvation (13:8; 1 Peter 1:20); in the latter, stress lies on God's eternal foreknowledge of a company of people who would participate in the elect Son's redeeming work (17:8). In any event, the words "from the creation of the world" cannot be pressed to prove eternal individual election to salvation or damnation since 3:5 implies that failure of appropriate human response may remove one's name from the book of life. Therefore, we must allow John's understanding of predestination to qualify both earlier rabbinic and Qumran as well as later Christian views. This verse strikes a sharp note of distinction between the followers of the beast and those of the slain Lamb. It also calls for faithful commitment and clear discernment of error on the part of the Lamb's people.

9-10 These verses are both important and difficult. This is the only occurrence in Revelation of the words "he who has an ear, let him hear" apart from their use in each of the messages to the seven churches (chs. 2-3). Here they call special attention to the need for obedience to the exhortation in v. 10b. Kiddle feels that v. 10 is the focal point of the whole chapter, as it calls on the Christian to display faith and patience in the face of the divinely permitted predominance of evil (p. 248). Most agree that the language of v. 10 alludes to Jeremiah 15:2 and 43:11 (LXX 50:11), where the prophet describes the certainty of divine judgment that will come upon the rebels in Israel—they will suffer captivity, famine, disease, and death from the sword. Yet it is difficult to see how Jeremiah's words are appropriate here in this context of an exhortation for believers to be faithful. John's meaning must be different—viz., that as the rebels in Jeremiah's day would certainly encounter the divine judgment, so the faithful to Christ are assured that their captivity and martyrdom are in God's will. (For the textual problem in v. 10, see Notes.)

No completely satisfying resolution of the problems in v. 10 is available. Since the difficult part (10a) is both preceded by (v. 9) and followed by (v. 10b) appeals to obedience and loyalty, it seems best to stay with the sense of obedient faithfulness and follow the textual readings that support it. Charles puts it this way: "The day of persecution is at hand: the Christians must suffer captivity, exile or death: in calmly facing and undergoing this final tribulation they are to manifest their endurance and faithfulness' (Commentary on Revelation, 1:355). Paul's statement is similar: "Without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God" (Philippians 1:28). While the DSS reveal that the Essenes held to an active, violent participation in the final eschatological battle for the elect, and while the then current Zealot holy-war doctrine advocated violent revolution, John seems to call believers here to passive resistance against their enemies. Yet this resistance, which may result in captivity and even martyrdom, seems to contribute to the eventual defeat of evil (cf. Adela Yarbo Collins, "The Political Perspective of the Revelation to John," JBL, 96-2 [1977], 241-56).

11 John sees another (allo, "one of a similar kind") beast rising from the earth. This second beast completes the triumvirate of evil—the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast. The land beast is subservient to the beast from the sea and seems utterly dedicated to promoting not himself but the wounded beast from the sea. Elsewhere the land beast is called the "false prophet" (16:13; 19:20; 20:10). As with the first beast, identification is a problem. That this beast comes from the land rather than the sea may simply indicate his diversity from the first, while other references stress their collusion.

The reference to the "two horns like a lamb" can be understood as highlighting the beast's imitative role with respect to the true Lamb in the rest of the book (e.g., 5:6ff.; 13:8; 14:1). Could the two horns be in contrast to the two witnesses in chapter 11? Since one of the primary characteristics of this second beast is his deceptive activities (v. 14; 19:20), his appearance as a lamb would contribute to the confusion over the beast's true identity. If the land beast represents satanic false teaching and false prophets, their evil is intensified because of its deceptive similarity to the truth. Even though the beast is like the Lamb, in reality he is evil because "he [speaks] like a dragon," i.e., he teaches heresy. Jesus gave such a twofold description of false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matt 7:15). On the other hand, the lamblikeness may simply be a reference to the beast's gentle outward manner in contrast to his true identity as a fierce dragon.

12 The activity of the land beast is repeatedly described as that of promoting the first beast's worship (v. 14). Could this be the kind of activity referred to in the reference to the false prophets in Pergamum and Thyatira seducing the servants of God to idolatry (2:14-15, 20, 24)? NIV misses a nuance by rendering the Greek enopion ("in behalf of ") as if the second beast exercised all the authority of the first beast merely as the latter's representative. The preposition enopion occurs no fewer than thirty-four times in Revelation and in every instance means "in the presence of " or "before." The same word is used of the two witnesses in 11:4: "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before [enopion] the Lord of the earth." Kiddle points out how this word in such a context indicates "prophetic readiness to do the bidding of God, and with the authority' inalienable from divine communion" (p. 255). As the antitheses of the two witnesses, the false prophets derive their authority and ministry from the first beast.

13 One of the strategies the land beast uses to deceive people into following the first beast is the performance of "miraculous signs" (semeion; see discussion at 12:1). The ability of the Satan-inspired prophets to perform deceiving miracles is attested elsewhere in Revelation and in other parts of the Bible (16:14; 19:20, Deut 13:1-5, Matt 7:22; 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thess 2:9). Distinguishing between the true and false prophets has always been difficult but not impossible. The followers of Jesus must be constantly alert to discern the spirits (1 John 4:1-3).

The contemporary phenomenon of the Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon and his official interpreter and prophetess, Young Oon Kim, embody what seems to be a clear example of John's teaching about antichrists and false prophets (cf. Young Oon Kim, Divine Principle and Its Application [Washington, D. C.: The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, 1969]). Moon is being heralded as the "Lord of the Second Advent" by Kim and others. His whole stance clearly embodies heresy and blasphemy and many are being deceived into following him and his teaching (cf. Harry J. Jaeger, Jr., "By the Light of a Masterly Moon," CT [19 December 1975], 13-16). Moon's idolatrous image receives continual breath by worship from his followers.

16 The immediate effect of the worship of the beast involves receiving a mark on the right hand or forehead. By comparing the other passages where the beast, image, mark, and name of the beast are mentioned, it seems clear that the "mark" (charagma) is an equivalent expression to the "name of the beast" (13:17; 14:11; also 14:9; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4), which is also the "number of his name" (13:17; 15:2).

17 Those having the charagma ("mark") can "buy or sell," those without it cannot. This statement apparently refers to some sort of socio-economic sanctions that would, of course, affect the social and economic condition of Christians in the world. Earlier, John alluded to certain such conditions. Smyrna was a greatly persecuted church and was "poor" (2:9); Philadelphia was of "little strength" (3:8); those faithful to Christ in the Great Tribulation are seen in heaven as never again hungering (7:16), while the great harlot grows rich and wallows in luxury (18:3). Other NT writers also apparently refer to socio-economic sanctions practiced against Christians (Rom 15:26; Heb 10:34). Such a sanction was more social than political, imposed not by the government but by the communities. When governmental Rome took official notice of an illegal religion, it was always by criminal charges in the courts, not by economic sanctions (Caird, p. 173).

18 In v. 17, John indicates that the charagma ("mark") is the name of the beast or the number of his name. He now reveals the number of the beast: "His number is 666." The list of conjectures concerning the meaning of the number (or its alternates—see Notes) is almost as long as the list of commentators on the book. Taking their cue from the words "let him calculate the number of the beast," most of these interpreters have tried to play the ancient Hebrew game of gematria or, as it is called by the Greeks, isopsephia. Ancient languages, including Hebrew and Greek, use standard letters from their alphabets as numerical signs. For example, α (alpha) in Greek can represent the number one, β (beta) the number two, ιβ (iota beta) twelve, etc. A series of letters could form a word and at the same time indicate a number. Gematria took many forms and consisted in trying to guess the word from the number or trying to connect one word with another that had the same numerical value. On the walls of Pompeii, there are some graffiti, dated no later than A.D. 79, that illuminate the practice. One reads: "Amerimnus thought upon his lady Harmonia for good. The number of her honorable name is 45 (με [mu epsilon])." The key to the puzzle seems to be in the word "Harmonia," which was probably not the girl's actual name but refers to the nine Muses (the goddesses of song and poetry); and 45 is the sum of all the digits from 1 to 9 (E. M. Blaiklock, The Archaeology of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970], p. 131). Another runs: "I love her whose number is 545 (φμε [phi mu epsilon]) (Deiss LAE, p. 277). In these cases, the number conceals a name, and the mystery is perhaps known for certain only by the two lovers themselves.

Similarly, the Jews (esp. Hasidim) used Hebrew alphabetical numbers to indicate concealed names and mysterious connections with other words of the same numerical value. For example, the Hebrew word nahas ("serpent") has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word masi|ah ("Messiah") (358). From this it was argued that one of the names of the Messiah was "serpent." Some suggest that this may relate to Moses' lifting up the "serpent" in the wilderness (cf. Num 21; John 3:14). (For these and many other examples, see William Barclay, "Great Themes of the New Testament. Part V. Revelation xiii (continued), ExpT, 70, [1959], 292-96.)

Thus it is not difficult to understand why most commentators have understood John's words "Let him calculate the number.... His number is 666" to be an invitation to the reader to play gematria and discover the identity of the beast. This interpretation is not new. Irenaeus (second century) mentions that many names of contemporary persons and entities were being offered in his day as solutions to this number mystery. Yet he cautioned against the practice and believed that the name of the Antichrist was deliberately concealed because he did not exist in John's day. The name would be secret till the time of his future appearance in the world. Irenaeus expressly refutes the attempt of many to identify the name with any of the Roman emperors. He feels, however, that the gematria approach is John's intended meaning but warns the church against endless speculations (Contra Haereses 29.30).

Irenaeus's fear was not misplaced. Endless speculation is just what has happened in the history of the interpretation of v. 18, as Barclay has well documented it ("Great Themes," pp. 295-96). Barclay himself (following Charles, perhaps) is quite certain that the only possible solution is to use Hebrew letters, and so he comes up with "Neron Caesar," which equals 666. This identification is linked with the view that the Antichrist would be Nero redivivus (see introduction to 13:1). Yet this use of Hebrew letters requires a spelling for "caesar" that is not normal for the word (qsr). However, in a publication of an Aramaic document from the Dead Sea cave at Murabbaat, dated to the second year of the emperor Nero, the name is spelled nrwn qsr, as required by the theory (BASOR, 170 [April 1963], 65).

More recently the whole line of Nero redivivus interpretation has been seriously challenged by Minear and others (I Saw a New Earth, ch. 5; cf. commentary at introduction to 13:1). In the first place, none of the keywords of v. 18-name, number, man, 666-requires the effort to find an emperor (or future political dictator) with a name whose letters will add up to 666. The sheer disagreement and confusion created through the years by the gematria method should have long ago warned the church that it was on the wrong track. After surveying all the evidence, Ruhle says, "It may be said that all the solutions proposed are unsatisfactory" (TDNT, 1:464). If John was seeking to illumine believers so that they could penetrate the deception of the beast as well as to contrast the beast and his followers with the Lamb and his followers (14:1ff.), he has clearly failed—that is, if he intends for us to play the gematria game. How Nero could fit these requirements is, on closer examination, difficult to see. If some Christians of John's time did succumb to Caesar worship, it was due less to their being deceived than to their fear of death. Moreover, several exegetical factors argue strongly for another sense of John's words.

In the first place, nowhere does John use gematria as a method. Everywhere, however, he gives symbolic significance to numbers (e.g., seven churches, seals, trumpets, and bowls; twenty-four elders; 144,000 sealed; 144 cubits for the New Jerusalem, etc.). Furthermore, in 15:2 the victors have triumphed over three enemies: the beast, his image, and the number of his name, which suggests a symbolic significance connected with idolatry and blasphemy rather than victory over a mere puzzle solution of correctly identifying someone's name.

John seeks to give "wisdom" (sophia) and "insight" (nous) to believers as to the true identity of their enemy. Curiously, while Mounce favors the gematria explanation, citing that it is a commonly used device in apocalyptic literature and tended to protect the user against sedition (both assertions made without citing any evidence), he ends his discussion by conceding in the light of the confusion that "it seems best to conclude that John intended only his intimate associates to be able to decipher the number" (Revelation, pp. 264-65). A similar use of nous and sophia occurs in 17:9, where John calls attention to the identity of the beast ridden by the harlot. What John seems to be asking for in both cases is divine discernment and not mathematical ingenuity! Believers need to penetrate the deception of the beast. John's reference to his number will help them to recognize his true character and identity.

The statement "it is man's number" (arithmos... anthropou) further identifies the kind of number the beast represents. Does John mean that the beast is a man, that he has a human name? In 21:17 John uses similar words for the angel: "by man's measurement, which the angel was using." The statement is difficult. How can the measure be both "man's" and at the same time of an "angel"? Kiddle seems to sense the peculiarity of the statement in 21:17 and suggests that John is attempting to call attention to some inner meaning in the number of the size of the height of the wall in respect to the size of the city. The meaning perhaps is a mild polemic against first-century tendencies to venerate angels unduly by stating that both men and angels can understand and enter the future city (see comments at 21:15-21). In any case, the statement "it is man's number" alerts the reader to some hidden meaning in 666. From this it may be concluded that the number of the beast is linked to humanity. Why would it be necessary for John to emphasize this relationship unless he assumed that his readers might have understood the beast to be other worldly without any connection to humanity. Might it be, then, that the statement signifies that the satanic beast, which is the great enemy of the church, manifests itself in human form? Thus as the similar phrase in 21:17 linked the angelic and the human, so here it joins the satanic with the human.

Finally, how are we to understand 666? The best way is to follow Minear (I Saw a New Earth, ch. 5) and Newman ("Domitian Hypothesis," pp. 133ff.) and return to one of the most ancient interpretations, that of Irenaeus. Irenaeus proposed (while still holding to a personal Antichrist) that the number indicates that the beast is the sum of "all apostate power," a concentrate of six thousand years of unrighteousness, wickedness, deception, and false prophecy. He states that "the digit six, being adhered to throughout, indicates the recapitulations of that prophecy, taken in its full extent, which occurred at the beginning, during the intermediate periods, and which shall take place at the end." Irenaeus also held that the wound of the beast has reference to Genesis 3:13ff. The Messiah has freed men from this wound by wounding Satan and by giving them the power to inflict wounds on the beast by overcoming his blasphemy (Contra Haereses 5.29.30).

The significance of the name of the beast is abundantly clear in Revelation (12:3; 13:1-6, 14:11, 17:3ff.). Wherever there is blasphemy, there the beast's name is found. The number 666 is the heaping up of the number 6. Minear adds, "Because of its contrast with 7 we may be content with an interpretation which sees in 666 an allusion to incompleteness, to the demonic parody in the perfection of 7, to the deceptiveness of the almost-perfect, to the idolatrous blasphemy exemplified by false worshipers, or to the dramatic moment between the sixth and the seventh items in a vision cycle (cf. seals, trumpets, bowls, and kings 17:10)" (I Saw a New Earth, p. 258). This interpretation of 666 as a symbolic number referring to the unholy trinity of evil or to the human imperfect imitation of God rather than a cipher of a name is not restricted to Minear. It has been held by a long line of conservative commentators—A.C. Gaebelein (The Revelation [New York: Our Hope, 1915]), J.A. Seiss (The Apocalypse [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957]), J.F. Walvoord, T.F. Torrance (The Apocalypse Today [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959]), L. Morris, J. Ellul (The Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation [New York: Seabury, 1977]), and others.

1 In many critical editions of the Gr. text, the sentence "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea" is made v. 18 of ch. 12 rather than v. 1 of ch. 13 following the reading ἐστάθη (estathe, "he stood") instead of ἐστάθην (estathen, "I stood"). The third person reading is well supported and may be correct, though the first person yields good sense and the MS evidence is not such as to eliminate it from consideration. A single letter in the Gr. text makes the difference.

10 A major textual problem in the last half of this verse presents a difficulty to understanding its meaning. The problem involves whether the first reference to the verb ἀποκτείνω (apokteino, "kill") should be read with the majority as ἀποκτενεῖ (apoktenei, "will kill," a future indicative) or with A ἀποκτανθῆναι (apoktanthenai, "be killed," an aorist passive infinitive). KJV, RSV, Phillips, NASB all follow the first reading and render it "If any one kills with the sword." Combining this with the last phrase, the latter part of the verse yields either a warning directed toward Christians for them not to turn to violence and killing to vindicate themselves or a promise of requital to believers that their persecutors will be judged by God.

If, on the other hand, we follow the reading of A (preferred by Bruce M. Metzger [A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York: UBS, 1971), p. 750] and Charles [Commentary on Revelation], 1:355), the translation will be as in NIV (cf. NEB, TEV). This yields the sense that Christians who are destined by God for death must submit to his will and not resist the oppressor. It is an appeal to loyalty. In adopting this reading and sense, Charles points out that the construction in A is the same idiomatic Heb. as that in 12:7 (where see note) and yields this sense: "If anyone must be killed with the sword, with the sword he must be killed." Metzger argues that the majority-text reading reflects an altered text influenced by the retribution idea found in Matt 26:52: "For all who draw the sword will die by the sword." No entirely satisfactory solution is available.

11 A curious interpretation of the first and second beasts is offered by Ford (pp. 227-30). She holds that the first beast is the emperor Vespasian and peculiarly identifies the second beast tentatively with Flavius Josephus, the renegade Jew and historian. While Ford's attempt is not without interesting parallels, it founders chiefly on the fact that she should be the first to suggest it. On such a premise, how could we explain the fact that Josephus's writings were not preserved by Jews but by Christians if he were, in fact, recognized as one of their great enemies?

16 The apocalyptic Pss Sol refers to the "mark of God" on the righteous and the "mark of destruction" on the wicked (15.8).

17 When John says "the name of the beast or the number of his name," the "or" (ἢ [e]) may signify mere interchangeability so that the name and/or the mark are equivalent (BAG, p. 342).

18 Instead of 666, which is strongly supported, one good MS and a few lesser witnesses have 616, which is explained as either a scribal slip or a deliberate alteration to give the numbers necessary for the Gr. "Caesar god" (Deiss LAE, p. 278, n.3), or "Gaios Caesar" (Caligula) (Barclay, "Great Themes," p. 296), or the Latin form of Nero Caesar (Metzger, A Textual Commentary, p. 752). Irenaeus strongly deplored this 616 reading as heretical and deceptive (Contra Haereses 5.30).

A few MSS read 646 or 747 according to Hoskier (H.C. Hoskier, Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse, 2 vols. [London: Bernard Quaritch, 1929], 2:364).

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The fact that the beast comes out from the sea indicates that he is a Gentile, for the sea of humanity is involved as his source (cf. Rev. 17:15).

13) as working "all kinds of counterfeit miracles [dynamei], signs [sēmeiois], and wonders [terasin]."

Recognizing the supernatural character of Satan and the ruler, the question is raised, Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him? (Rev. 13:4) This apparently explains how the beast could become world ruler without a war. His blasphemous assumption of the role of God continues for 42 months, during which time he blasphemes God as well as heaven and those who live in heaven.

13:7-8. The beast becomes a worldwide ruler, for his authority extends over every tribe, people, language, and nation. As predicted in Daniel 7:23, he does "devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it."

In addition to achieving political domination over the entire world, he also abolishes all other religions and demands that everyone worship him (cf. 2 Thes. 2:4). All inhabitants of the earth worship the beast except for those whose names are recorded in the book of life. In the expression the Lamb that was slain from the Creation of the world, the words "from the Creation of the world" seem, as in the NIV margin, to relate to the time in eternity past when the names were written in the book of life, rather than to Christ's crucifixion, since He was not crucified when the world was created. As Paul wrote, those who were saved were foreordained to salvation before Creation (cf. Eph. 1:4).

Some hold that the book of life originally contained the names of every living person to be born in the world, and that the names of the unsaved get blotted out when they die. This interpretation stems from Revelation 3:5, where Christ promised the believers in Sardis that their names would not be erased from the book of life, and from 22:19, where a person who rejects the messages in the Book of Revelation is warned that "God will take away from him his share in the tree of life" (cf. "tree of life" in 2:7 and 22:2, 14 and "book of life" in 3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). However, 13:8 probably means simply that those who are saved had their names written in the book of life in eternity past in anticipation of the death of Christ on the cross for them and that they will never be erased.

Taken together, verses 7 and 8 indicate the universal extent of the beast's political government as well as the final form of satanic religion in the Great Tribulation. Only those who come to Christ will be delivered from the condemnation that is involved.

The command to worship the image as well as the first beast was enforced by killing those who refused to do so. But there was a difference between the decree to put them to death and its execution. The problem of ferreting out everyone in the entire earth who would not worship the beast would naturally take time. Hitler, in his attempt to exterminate the Jews, took many months and never completed his task. The multitude of martyrs is referred to in 7:9-17.

13:16-18. Enforcing his control over the human race and encouraging worship of the beast out of the sea, the second beast required everyone... to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, and without this evidence that he had worshiped the beast no one could buy or sell. The need to buy or sell such necessities as food and clothing would force each person in the entire world to decide whether to worship the beast or to bear the penalty. Apparently the great majority worshiped the beast.

There has been much speculation on the insignia or "mark" of the beast, but it could be any of several kinds of identification. Countless attempts have been made to interpret the number 666, usually using the numerical equivalents of letters in the Hebrew, Greek, or other alphabets. As there probably have been hundreds of explanations continuing down to the present day, it is obvious that if the number refers to an individual it is not clear to whom it refers.

Probably the best interpretation is that the number six is one less than the perfect number seven, and the threefold repetition of the six would indicate that for all their pretentions to deity, Satan and the two beasts were just creatures and not the Creator. That six is man's number is illustrated in many instances in the Bible, including the fact that man should work six days and rest the seventh. (For further discussion of the many views cf. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, pp. 263-65; Smith, A Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp. 206-7; and Walvoord, Revelation, pp. 209-12.)

The practice of gematria, the attempt to find hidden meanings in numbers in Scripture, was prominent in the ancient world. Maybe John had in mind a particular person whom his close associates would be able to identify. Literature from the early church fathers, however, reveals the same confusion and variety of meanings that exist today, so probably it is best to leave this puzzle unsolved. Probably the safest conclusion is that of Thomas F. Torrance, "This evil trinity 666 apes the Holy Trinity 777, but always falls short and fails" (The Apocalypse Today, p. 86).

Chapter 13 is important because it introduces two of the main characters of Revelation: the beast out of the sea, the world dictator; and the beast out of the earth, the false prophet and chief supporter of the political ruler. There is no evidence that either of them is a Jew though some have identified one or the other as an apostate Jew based on the expression "the God of his fathers" (Dan. 11:37, KJV). However, the Hebrew word ʾĕlōhm is a general word for god, quite different from Yahweh, and there is no proof that in Daniel it refers to the God of Israel. In recent translations it is "gods" (cf. ASV, NASB, NEB, NIV, and RSV). Thus while it has been popular to consider either the first or the second ruler of Revelation 13 as an apostate Jew, the supporting evidence is lacking. Both beasts are probably Gentiles inasmuch as this will be the final hour of the time of the Gentiles, when Gentiles will tramp underfoot the city of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24), and both rulers will persecute Jews as well as believing Gentiles.

Revelation 13, however, gives much insight into the character of the Great Tribulation. It will be a time of one world government and one world religion, with one world economic system. Those who will resist the ruler and refuse to worship him will be subject to execution, and the martyrs may outnumber the believers who survive. It will be Satan's final and ultimate attempt to cause the world to worship him and to turn them from the worship of the true God and Jesus Christ as their Savior.

This chapter also makes it clear that the postmillennial dream of a world getting better and better through Christian effort and gospel preaching is not supported in the Bible. Instead the final form of world religion will be apostate, satanic, and blasphemous. There are many indications today that the world is heading in this direction, with the corresponding conclusion that the coming of the Lord may be near.