REVELATION CHAPTER THIRTEEN COMMENTARY

Our purpose is to render a commentary on Revelation chapter thirteen. We begin the commentary with the last verse of Revelation chapter twelve; this verse appears as the introductory sentence to verse one of chapter thirteen (following the NASB).

A note of clarification concerning our terminology: When we speak of the “Sea Beast” below (particularly verses 1-10), it is understood that this Beast is comprised of seven constituent beasts represented by the seven heads of this Beast, and that the seventh head is the revived Roman Empire from which Antichrist, an eighth and final head emerges. Thus the Sea Beast is the world dominion of Antichrist with him as its head.

Aside, some of our verses reference passages in Daniel chapter eight, which, by force of Dan 8:16-19 we believe concern the last days of human history, and/or Antichrist, as appropriate, and not the days or person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 BC).

II. Revelation Chapter Thirteen Commentary Verses

12:18 Perched for a Kill

NLT TEXT: “Then the dragon took his stand* on the shore beside the sea” [1].

COMMENTARY: This verse introduces our commentary. In consideration of the curious reader, the NASB (our mouseover translation), following some manuscripts, has it as the introductory sentence to Rev 13:1, but the Greek of 13:1 does not reflect this text seeing it came before at the end of chapter twelve [2].

At this time in biblical history Satan is still free to roam (consider Job 1:7, 1Pe 5:8, Rev 20:10-he will not be free to roam forever). We think that is why John saw him standing on the seashore [3]. What is his posture there, and why? Probably, in keeping with 1Pe 5:8 and Rev 12:12, he stands there like a wolf eying a flock, watching; he watches. Satan watches for an opportune temptation scenario by which to seize and devour a vulnerable one. With the “sea” typically representative of the great mass of humanity in Scripture (Rev 17:15), we see him through the eyes of John standing on the seashore perched for a kill. Satan is a murderer (Jhn 8:44); he seeks to kill human beings, physically, spiritually (deceit is his big gun—smoke and mirror tactics, half-truths, outright lies, etc.). But why; why target humanity? No doubt he is thus motivated because he is intensely jealous of humanity owing to our exalted position (unmerited though it be) around the throne of Jehovah God thanks first to Creation (lovingly created by God in His image—Notice: not so for Satan; he is simply a creature) and thanks finally to Redemption-Salvation. Yea, thanks to our great savior God Jesus Christ, the Agent of Creation and Redemption-Salvation, whom it follows Satan hates preeminently (Satan=”hater”). Importantly, our unmerited exaltation contested, indeed, contests this former so-called morning star's place of eminence, and put/s him beneath “lowly” humankind positionally (so did Adam and Eve at Creation; so do all saints going forward into eternity future). Exaltation-lust motivated Satan's fall (Isa 14:12-14)—a price (irredeemable fall) he was obviously, remarkably, willing to pay—here is exaltation-lust defined. There can be little doubt that our (unmerited) exaltation around the throne of God, in the face of his own unfathomable missed opportunity, motivates this vicious and ruthless killer of humankind (see his treachery in the Garden of Eden—Gen 3:1ff—he did to humankind in the Garden what he tried to do to our Lord in the wilderness Temptation [Mat 4:1ff], but failed). Satan's post-Genesis unrelenting assault on the Messianic lineage (and thus Israel) down through the ages (specifically, post-Gen 3:15; the Messianic lineage, came under attack the instant Gen 3:15 was uttered; cf. Rev 12:1-6, 13-17; notice that Jesus is a Jew, and that Israel also gave birth to the Christian Church), and finally his assault on our great savior God (“A Threefold Test”, “Holy Week: Part Two”), shows his resolve to thwart the plans of God for humankind. Plans that were themselves “put back on track” after Satan's Genesis assault, precisely through Redemption-Salvation. We think that these plans, these plans of God for the jewel of His Creation, that is, for humankind—to some extent plans that Adam and Eve enjoyed—are “beyond our wildest dreams” in their glory (1Cr 2:9, 2Cr 12:3-4), to the extent that Satan rebelled and broke off with God seeing that he coveted them for himself (note again Isa 14:12-14, consider Rev 12:7-9; no surprise here that Satan straightaway assaulted Adam and Eve—this proud creature does not want to be subservient in any capacity to, or stoop to “lowly” humankind; his attitude toward God is the same of course, but he has no choice but to do God's bidding in that sphere). The unfolding of Scripture shows that he cannot “out muscle” or “out think” Jehovah God, try as he may—notice what Redemption-Salvation secured for God, for believers: the reborn believer is in fact like the Most High God seeing that by definition such a one bears the likeness of Jesus Christ by way of the Spirit of God Most High that literally indwells them—here is the image of God restored in humankind (“John Chapter Three Commentary”)—compare Satan's goal: “...I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High...” (Isa 14:14). Satan said: '...I will...', but God said: '...nay, thou shalt not...' [4]. And He resolved, that is, God resolved to give humankind, rather, to give to as many as would accept, His best—Himself, and all that entails—the very (substantial, to say the least) thing that Satan coveted, but ended up losing, to “lowly” humankind [5]; nay, ended up losing to God's exalted saints, relative to whom he finds himself positionally beneath, and to some extent by whom he finds himself judged (1Cr 6:2-3, 2Pe 2:4, Jud 1:6)—here in the aggregate is his motivation for hating, and the attendant killing of, humankind (“Have You Considered My Servant Job?: Spiritual Perturbation”) [6]. Thus he stands on the seashore and watches, like a wolf eying a flock (that is, everybody—not least to prevent Salvation); watching especially the Flock (that is, the Flock of God—not least to impoverish the rewards of Salvation-Mat 7:21-27, 25:14-30, 1Cr 3:8-15, 2Cr 5:10, etc.). And how he hates the latter, and its Shepherd all the more.

See how Satan is the consummate loser (see how he has fallen)? And once his roaming freedom is stripped from him he, as also his cronies, servants, followers, indeed, all who mock and disdain God, must bear that stigma for eternity, in misery ('misery loves company,' as the saying goes, and it will have plenty of it here), while humankind, nay, while the Flock of God, those tethered to the Shepherd, the Savior, Christ the great savior God, precisely those whom Satan cannot devour, will exult in God our Savior forever in unimaginable glory. The irony here is O so thick. It is a fool's game to fight against God; notwithstanding, as we move into chapter thirteen now, Satan will show himself to be that very fool. Praised be omniscient, omnipotent Jehovah God; praised be your Name great savior God, how good it is we have you.

13:1-10 Antichrist and the Sea Beast

YLT TEXT: And I saw out of the sea a beast [7] coming up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads a name of evil speaking, and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed, and all the earth did wonder after the beast, and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast, saying, `Who [is] like to the beast? who is able to war with it?' And there was given to it a mouth speaking great things, and evil-speakings, and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months, and it did open its mouth for evil-speaking toward God, to speak evil of His name, and of His tabernacle, and of those who in the heaven tabernacle, and there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and there was given to it authority over every tribe, and tongue, and nation. And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; if any one hath an ear -- let him hear: if any one a captivity doth gather, into captivity he doth go away; if any one by sword doth kill, it behoveth him by sword to be killed; here is the endurance and the faith of the saints. Rev 13:1-10

COMMENTARY: With the term “beast” typically representative of a kingdom or empire in Scripture, and “sea” representative of humanity per se, the beast rising up out of the sea in these verses bespeaks of a kingdom or empire rising up out of the midst of humanity: “...And I saw out of the sea a beast coming up...” Nothing new here, for over the course of human history to John's day, to our day, there have arisen many “beasts” in the midst of humankind; nothing new except for the depiction of this beast: “...having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads a name of evil speaking...” What of these seven heads here related, what is meant by that? The answer is probably found in Revelation chapter seventeen, particularly Rev 17:9-13. With Revelation chapter seventeen as a guide, the heads must be representative of kingdoms or empires (thus beasts in their own right) that characterize this rising beast, for they are heads nonetheless, and the head guides thought, which guides expression, and expression in turn betrays/reveals the character of thought. John wrote Revelation sometime near the end of the last decade of the first-century AD, and according to Rev 17:10, five of these “heads” (kingdoms) had fallen by then, and one, the sixth, was in place in John's day, and the seventh was yet to emerge. As attested by biblical and secular history, the five fallen kingdoms, shown in red font, and the one in place contemporaneously with John, shown in green font, and the one yet to come, shown as note 8, in the order of their appearance on the stage of history are:

Egypt-->Assyria-->Babylonia-->Medo-Persia->Greece-->Rome-->[note 8]-->[note 9].

Babylonia through Rome are the four kingdoms of Dan 2:31-44, and the four beasts of Dan 7:2-7 (notice that Daniel prophesied in the sixth century BC [10]). The common thread that ties these heads to Scripture is their various persecutions of Israel. With the Sea of Marmara as the fiducial, an apparent shift in world power from East to West attended the appearance of Greece as a world power [11].

Just above we show eight heads (red, green, and the notes), but our verses speak of seven—why the disparity? An eighth head (world kingdom, thus beast) is the one that John here sees rising out of the sea, which we suppose must emerge out of “the western sea of humanity,” out of the revived Roman Empire (of Dan 2:41). This eighth head cannot arise until after the appearance of the other seven heads in historical sequence. Antichrist is this eighth head, and 'is of [as in from-EK] the seven,' (Rev 17:10-11) —with him at its head this Sea Beast comprises another “great” world kingdom—the world kingdom of Antichrist (see also note 9). Thus with the fall of the Roman Empire time was rife for the appearance of the seventh head and great world kingdom in human history, the revived Roman Empire, which we understand as a thoroughly “Westernish” empire, out of which Antichrist must emerge (Dan 7:7-8; Dan 7:8 shows Antichrist, the “little horn,” emerging from the Roman Empire of Dan 7:7 and the revived Roman Empire of Dan 2:41, cf. Dan 7:23-25). Though Rome declined over a period of centuries, her fall may be dated to AD 12/04/476, “when Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman empire, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain” (“Fall of the Western Roman Empire”). John also tells us that this Sea Beast has ten horns with ten diadems upon its horns: “.... And I saw out of the sea a beast coming up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems...” There seems to be a connection here by way of the ten horns to Daniel seven verse seven (Dan 7:7) and the Roman Empire proper (the fourth beast with iron teeth). Revelation seventeen verse twelve (Rev 17:12) may explain this connection: '...ten kings that have not yet received a kingdom...', that is, both prophets saw this latter stage of Rome's history. There is a further connection, to Satan, by way of Revelation chapter twelve verse three (Rev 12:3), thus both Rome proper and the revived Roman Empire as presented here must be understood to be satanic. A “horn” in Scripture is representative of strength or power, oftentimes vested in a human being. Here the symbolism of the ten horns is that of ten kings, as inferred from the diadems upon these horns (cf. Rev 17:12). With guidance from the prophecy of Daniel, we learn that these kings are the “ten toes” of iron and clay that reign in the revived Roman empire (Fig. 1), and in unanimity give their power to the Antichrist-led Sea Beast (Rev 17:12-13; clarification; “Revelation Chapter Seventeen Commentary”).

We are told that each of the heads of the Sea Beast is at odds with Jehovah God, for they blaspheme His Name: “... and upon its heads a name of evil speaking...” The Greek text has it: KAI EPI TAS KEFALAS AUTOU ONAMA[TA] BLASFHMIAS (character map, Aland). Humankind is characteristically antiGod (specifically, anti-Jehovah God, for other gods it will espouse; when we use the term antiGod below we have in mind anti Jehovah God); it is so looking back into history (the six heads—there is ignorance of the true God Jehovah [Jer 10:10] to consider here though) and going forward (the seventh head—much less ignorance of the true God here). And the Beast, the Sea Beast and its heads, are the embodiment of this mindset that is antiGod [12].

We are given next the specific animal-like qualities of this Beast rising out of the sea of humanity: “...and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion...” Here is a killing machine. It is like a leopard, that is, agile, swift, a nocturnal, opportunistic, cunning hunter, ingeniously selective of its victim. A leopard is inclined to “stash” its victim out of sight and reach with much expenditure of its own energy if necessary. Its feet are like those of a bear, which uses its exceedingly strong legs and feet to beat and pound down its victim and then rip it open, and its mouth is like that of a lion, which uses its mouth to strangle its victim and then devour it—lions, particularly the lionesses, kill largely by strangulation. Here is the portrait of a consummate killer. Notice that this Beast is the embodiment of all that antiGod-humankind has achieved in its various interests down the centuries represented by the heads of the Beast, particularly in religion and government, in the application of its scientific learning, and God depicts the end of these things here as a Beast, indeed, a killing Beast. This is a sad report from the highest court—not at all how humankind assesses the end of its labors here. Yea, antiGod humankind is content with the status quo, that is, the labors and realized progress by way of these labors that define its history, and hopes to build on the same for a better tomorrow, notwithstanding, independent, still, of Jehovah God. We are not suggesting here that it is wrong for humankind to be busy about, or preoccupied with, the things of progress, which is self-evidently the case for humankind down the centuries as represented by the civilizations that comprise the heads of this Beast; in righteous moderation that is good, in fact, required ('...be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth...', Gen 1:28—create, design, explore, think, progress...)-—what is wrong is that humankind endeavors to progress independent of Jehovah God (here is cause for tribulation), whom it thus blasphemed by its preference for polytheism in the eras of the six heads, and whom it thus blasphemes by its preference for atheism, self-deification, and demonic infatuations (through Antichrist) in the era of the seventh through the eighth heads going forward [13]. No surprise then that Satan firmly plants and empowers this Beast (clarification), and vastly so, for it is the deceptive means by which he intends to sorely oppress a largely receptive humankind that after all built/builds this thoroughly human monstrosity and thus cannot in any sober sort of way see it for what it is; it is the illusory means by which he intends to sorely oppress a people that determinedly see only good, and the possibility for more good, in this antiGod, pro-man, Beast—here is blasphemy in search of (nay, begging for) an effectual, coordinating head, and Antichrist is that head. With Antichrist as its head, this Beast becomes the means by which Satan intends to lay waste the jewel of Creation—humankind (see above “Perched for a Kill”), with some of the expenditure of effort in that regard coming from the victim no less. But for the sake of the saints, and repentance, why should God stop Satan here? We are told that all that this Antichrist-led Beast requires to effect its end in the world is supplied by Satan (cf. Dan 8:24)—its power, throne (that is, governmental, individual, institutional, etc., clout), its authority, he Satan underwrites so as to empower and sustain this Beast, this Antichrist-led windfall darling of his, this thoroughly human monstrosity: “...and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority...” The Greek text has it: KAI EDWKEN AUTW hO DRAKWN THN DUNAMIN AUTOU KAI TON QRONON AUTOU KAI EXOUSIAN MEGALHN (character map, Aland). What this means is, this Antichrist-led Beast that rises up out of the sea of humanity will be so mighty (Dan 8:24), and have such great momentum as it sweeps back and forth across the earth, yea, thoroughly choking and enveloping it to the very costly exclusion of any alternatives to its imposed oppression, that only Jehovah God will be able to stop it (Dan 7:11, 13-14). Life will become grievous for antiGod humankind (we expect the saints of God to be raptured [the removal of the Church from earth-1Th 4:13-18, Rev 3:10] before this hell on earth breaks loose, which rapture will open the door for the public appearance of Antichrist-[Dan 11:21, esp. 2Th 2:3-8]), and life will be grievous even for those (few, we reckon) that come to faith in Jesus Christ during the Tribulation. Revelation chapters six through nineteen (Rev 6-19) are the specific chapters that describe this unprecedented misery on earth (consider the words of Jesus toward that end-Mat 24:21-22). Indeed, life will become unprecedentedly grievous for antiGod humankind in its worship of its beloved Antichrist-led Beast, in its determined building upon it, and its faith in it for a better tomorrow, its hoping in it—because not only will that Beast disappoint humankind here, it will comprehensively turn on him with the agility and swiftness and cunning of a leopard, and will beat and pound him down with its unbearable measures, and will ultimately strangle and devour him with its rapacious tyranny. The Book of Revelation tells us that such a sore, grievous time is precisely what Jehovah God will allow to visit antiGod humankind—for an eternal record. And why? Notice: God is no Beast, quite the opposite—in Him alone can all the aspirations of humankind be fully realized in a manner consistent with God's Holiness, which is antiBeast (compare a better eternal record-Isa 11:9, 55:12-13, 56:7, 65:25, et al., “Be Holy”). Moreover, God, that is, Omniscience, Omnipotence; that is, sovereign Jehovah God, even Him—He is never mocked, not even a little bit (Gal 6:7).

Apparently to consummate an unholy resurrection, in imitation of the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ by Father God Jehovah (Isa 14:14), and to display his power publicly, seducing, Satan allows Antichrist, the charismatic (Dan 7:20) world leader (Rev 13:7, 17:12-13) that comes to power through the revived Roman empire (Fig. 1), to sustain a mortal blow, and then revives him to mortal life: ”...And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed ...” [14]. Scripture seems to indicate that the public display of this so-called wonder convinces the world that Antichrist is deity (for thus he claims to be-2Th 2:4)—here is insult added to injury—devilish, mundane Antichrist yes, but Jehovah, irrespective of the testimony of Scripture—particularly the miracles of Christ—no way: “...and all the earth did wonder after the beast...” And Satan, indwelling Antichrist, receives by way of this adulation directed toward the Antichrist-led Beast (clarification) the worship he sought since eternity past: “...and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast...”

Antichrist, when he appears, will have much to say, and it will resonate with the antiGod, pro-man times (which will be well represented as the world's population continues to burgeon exponentially) in that it will be antiGod, pro-largely anything else speak: “...And there was given to it a mouth speaking great things, and evil-speakings, and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months, and it did open its mouth for evil-speaking toward God, to speak evil of His name, and of His tabernacle, and of those who in the heaven tabernacle...”, and he will be a smooth talker in this ( Dan 7:20); his talk will be convincing: “...Who [is] like to the beast? who is able to war with it?...” (cf. Dan 8:25). No doubt he will be verbose and loud, insofar as he is boastful (Dan 7:8, 20), but convincingly so. Probably by leveraging his perceived invincibility, his greatest boasts will concern his claim to deity ( 2Th 2:4), and his capacity to broker peace in the world, particularly Middle Eastern peace centered on Israel (Dan 9:26-27). As the head of a beloved, and thoroughly pro-man System (Beast), and asserting himself as deity, and promising unprecedented world peace that then seems to be coming to fruition (he appears in a time of tranquility [Dan 11:21], which suggests that he will claim credit for the same; moreover, said tranquility will at first likely buffer the vacuum set up by the removal of the Church upon which his appearance is contingent), he will win the acceptance and support of millions. Notice that his antiGod speak will turn into antiGod-sourced bloodletting: “... and there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them...” This means that some (probably the majority) that are converted after the Rapture, in the seven year Tribulation [15], must perish for the cause of Jehovah God: “... and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months...”, and others will perish for the cause of Jehovah God before the Rapture owing to the spirit of Antichrist at work in the world (1Jo 4:3).The spirit of Antichrist is antiGod/heaven, and pro-Satan/world; it is a spirit of lawlessness (Mat 24:10-13) in that Jehovah God's laws are trampled underfoot as though they were of naught seeing that they conflict with the pro-Satan/man goals of the Antichrist-led Beast: “...And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; if any one hath an ear -- let him hear: if any one a captivity doth gather, into captivity he doth go away; if any one by sword doth kill, it behoveth him by sword to be killed; here is the endurance and the faith of the saints....” (red font added)—there have been many martyrs for God since this prophecy was written owing to the spirit of Antichrist at work in the world, and there will be more leading up to the Rapture-Tribulation, and even more in the Tribulation (see above : “Perched for a Kill”).

13:11-17 The False Prophet and the Earth Beast

YLT TEXT: And I saw another beast coming up out of the land [16], and it had two horns, like a lamb, and it was speaking as a dragon, and all the authority of the first beast doth it do before it, and it maketh the land and those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast, whose deadly stroke was healed, and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men, and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live, and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and that it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed. And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Rev 13:11-17

COMMENTARY: We are here told of another Beast, an Earth Beast, which rises up out of the earth: “...and I saw another beast coming up out of the land...” It has two horns we are told, like that of a lamb: “...and it had two horns, like a lamb...” The horns bespeak of strength—times two here, thus significant, while the comparison to a lamb bespeaks of a docile, meek character. Yet, this Beast speaks altogether differently than its lamb-like outward appearance suggests—it speaks (and thus is characteristically motivated) in a manner consistent with a dragon: “...and it was speaking as a dragon...”, which is the devil in Scripture. The picture of this Beast is that of significant strength housed in apparent benignity, but its out-of-the-photo-album reality is the foul language of deceit motivated by an explosive intent to kill—here is the signature of the devil (Jhn 8:44, “Perched for a Kill”). This (Earth) Beast is strong and at the same time appears to be docile; it is in fact the mouthpiece of Antichrist, and it promotes his interests: “...and all the authority of the first beast doth it do before it...”, which are aligned with the interests of Satan: “...and it maketh the land and those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast ...” (Isa 14:12-14), with a vigor that is animated by the strength of Satan: “...and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men...” (“Holography,” “Internet,” “Laser,” “World Wide Web”). Only since the dawning of the age of computing and its characteristic technology have the things spoken of here become plausible, and thus the Earth Beast, and by association the Sea Beast, necessarily could not appear before then (Christian friend, think of all the saints past that did not see unfolding what you and I are blessed and privileged to see unfolding before our very eyes in this twenty-first century, and yet they maintained an unshakable faith that what God spoke through the beloved John in these verses was, just like the rest of Scripture, as sure to come to pass as the sun rising day after day, esoteric though these verses must have seemed to many a believer for millennia—we are reminded of the message of Hebrews chapter eleven [Hbr 11]). So we have two metrics (at least, but these two are certainly not arbitrary or insignificant), both realized, that indicate that humankind has moved into the final stage of its history, as outlined and predicted thousands of years ago by Scripture: The fall of the Roman empire, itself the sixth head of the Sea Beast (Fig. 1), and the onset of the computing age—the age of knowledge, and the unprecedented application of knowledge and sharing of knowledge (for example, Wikis), the age of information (Dan 12:4), central to which is the world wide web and the internet and the characteristic technology of this age, a technology arising from the keen utilization of the elements of the earth (Fig. 2).

For all the apparent benignity, indeed, apparent constructive utility of this second Beast, this Earth Beast, one can imagine that once ingrained in business, and commerce, and national defense systems, etc., it is but a short step for that benignity to turn into a bleeding malignancy, for we are, after all, describing here a Beast; a thoroughly antiGod, pro-man-motivated System that is openly hostile toward Jehovah God, and belittles and discounts and disdains the holiness that characterizes Him; that characterizes His Name. Yes, we are describing here a means to an end, another “windfall darling” that undergirds and promotes the former “windfall darling” (Antichrist-led Sea Beast), “darlings” Satan intends to fuse and then leverage in a manner that serves his interest to thwart the plans of Jehovah God for humankind (“Perched for a Kill”): “...and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live, and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and that it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed. And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name...”

13:18-The Mark of the Beast

YLT TEXT: Here is the wisdom! He who is having the understanding, let him count [17] the number of the beast, for the number of a man [18] it is, and its number is 666. Rev 13:18

COMMENTARY: As said in note 16, we believe this mark is somehow related to the Greek Digamma alliteration WWW, and thus possibly to the World Wide Web.

This mark, this number, 666, is a bloody number. It is the number of antiGod mankind and his world, his mindset, and Antichrist is the embodiment of that, thus it is his number, for he is a bloody, antiGod man. Yes, a bloody lot antiGod mankind is; it is fitting, but very sad, that the bloodiest setting the world will ever know—the Tribulation, has mankind's number as the key to much of the bloodletting.

Without this mark upon one's right hand or forehead, as prescribed and coordinated by the false prophet by way of the Earth Beast, in his service and obedience to Antichrist, and his promotion of Antichrist and Antichrist's satanic agenda (Fig. 3), one simply will not be able to survive in the era of Antichrist, the eighth head of the Sea Beast (no medical, food, shelter, protection, etc., to be had for such): “...And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name...” The technology of the modern computing age, or better said, the Earth Beast, makes this possible (“Microchip Implant”).

The mark, the name, or the number of the Beast—without it on one's person one will perish fast in the era of Antichrist, the eighth head of this Beast. Consider the options one will be faced with in that day: one may choose to receive the mark and thus survive somewhat the hard times, but perish at the hand of God (Rev 14:11, 16:2), which is eternal Death on the heels of physical death, or one may choose to reject the mark and confess allegiance to Jesus Christ instead, and certainly perish at the hand of the Beast, but taste the Salvation of God, which is eternal Life in God's presence on the heels of physical death. What are we to think about this “tight spot?” The latter choice, to reject the mark and confess allegiance to Jesus Christ, is the right one of course, but it will be a tough one to make in that day (we expect it will be very much the norm to receive the mark—at first probably it will be “faddish,” then seen as a convenience for use with various sorts of scanning mechanisms, etc., then forced upon employees for identification purposes, and so on, and then once well-entrenched, it will have to be received for survival). But consider friend, today you are not in that “tight spot,” and what is more, today is your day of Salvation—Jehovah God has given you this day to come to Jesus Christ, and to become a part of His blessed in-gathering, His Rapture, should you be alive when He returns for His Church when those hard times break loose, or to be joined to Him before the Rapture should He call you home before (2Cr 5:6-8). Be wise dear friend, and accept His grace today, and join the blessed fellowship of the saints of Jehovah God, all alike penitent sinners saved by His marvelous, His excellent and surpassing grace, and you will never find yourself in that “tight spot” (“A Letter of Invitation”).

Illustrations and Tables

Figure 1. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream-Statue (Dan 2:31-44, 7:7-8, Rev 13:1).

Figure 2. Elements of the Earth.

Figure 3. The Mark of the Beast.

Works Cited and References

(this work was a great help in finding relative Scripture references and in general, and we thank the authors).

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Notes

1. Nestle-Aland 27 has for this verse: KAI ESTAQH EPI THN AMMON THS QALASSHS (character map). ESTAQH is an aorist, passive, indicative, 3^rd person, singular verb. We would translate this into English so: “And he stood upon the sand of the sea.” Given the context of chapter twelve, it is near sure that the “he” here referenced is the dragon spoken of in that chapter; thus “he” is the devil, Satan, the serpent of old (Gen 3:1ff, 2Cr 11:3, Rev 20:2)—“he” is the consummate enemy of Jehovah God, and therefore he is the consummate enemy of the saints of God—who are in the water here; who are in the mix that makes up the great sea of humanity.

2. The Greek of 13:1 reads so: “KAI EIDON EK THS QALASSHS QHRION ANABAINON...” (Aland ). We would translate this so: '...and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea...'

3. Satan was ousted from heaven (Rev 12:7-9). The earth is presently his domain (Luk 4:5-8); he stands on the seashore like a roaring lion—watching; watching his domain (Mat 12:43-45).

4. We think it inappropriate to say here that Satan miscalculated—better, more apt, to say that he was just flat “bottled up” by God. Bottom line: Satan challenged God (as do all sinners; here is Sin defined), no doubt thinking he could pull off a coup d'etat to secure his exaltation, but he lost. For him to think he could pull it off, as we think he thought he really could, means that the power he had was unimaginably, was incredibly vast, but not enough so. He still wields great power today, but again, not enough to alter Redemption-Salvation once it is settled for a soul. It is the unbeliever that is at great risk here and none other (“A Letter of Invitation”).

5. In a sense he lost it to humankind twice—once at Creation when humankind was created in the image of God and all the glory that entailed for humankind at that time, and then again as a consequence of Redemption-Salvation on into eternity future. Jehovah God has put this vicious killer under the feet of humankind—well, to those that cast their lot with God and hope and believe in Him and His plans (“A Letter of Invitation”).

6. To secure his exaltation Satan sought a coup d'etat, but our God, at Calvary, administered the would be usurper a coup de grace; the Cross was his coup de grace (hence his unrelenting assault on the Messianic lineage after his Genesis assault per Gen 3:15). And the much-coveted exaltation he sought became as a crown of dung for him. What a turnaround. And the object of his jealousy, his hatred, humankind, specifically, the saints of God, find themselves exalted around the throne of God owing to that same Cross. It is a fool's game to fight against God. He always gets the last laugh (Psa 2:4), even if it takes centuries, millennia, for His flawless, yea, perfect will to unfold. He is absolutely sovereign, in the extreme. Scripture, and biblical and secular history all alike prove this to be true.

7. Beast-QHRION is an accusative, neuter, singular noun. An animal, typically ravening, sometimes used in place of a brutal, insensitive, savage human, or system. “Beast” typically stands in place of “kingdom” or “empire” in Scripture (“kingdom,” “empire,” “dynasty”). We reckon that these various forms of state may be said to be bestial with respect to their ultimate oppression of humankind—Scripture is right on target with this descriptor: “Daniel himself had a dream [Dan 7:1-28], which was a vision of future world kingdoms. In chapter 2 [Dan 2:1ff], man's view of kingdoms and government is that of a beautiful image that people can worship in place of Jehovah. In this chapter [Dan 7:1ff] we see God's view of those same kingdoms as a series of rapacious beasts ready to devour humankind. History proves God's view is the right one.” (LaHaye 907). Revelation chapter twelve verse three (Rev 12:3) describes the dragon, Satan, in the same way as it does this beast (Rev 13:1), thus this beast must be understood to be satanic.

8. The seventh world kingdom to appear is the revived Roman empire (the “toes” of Fig. 1).

9. John C. Whitcomb explains the eighth world kingdom so: “Rev 17:8 says that this Beast with seven heads suddenly “is not” (cf. Rev. 17:11). Then the Beast reappears as “an eighth” kingdom, though it is actually “of the seven.” Evidently, the angel assumes that John remembered that the Beast-King will somehow be killed in the midst of his demonic career, descend into “the bottomless pit,” ascend out of the pit (Rev 11:7), and return to mortal life (Rev 13:3, 12, 14) to begin his global dominion of forty-two months. This kingdom of the Beast is the last and greatest oppressor of Israel” (LaHaye 898).

10. The antiquity of the Book of Daniel is attested by Jesus (Mat 24:15, cf. Dan 11:31, 12:11), Daniel's own outline of his captivity (in the days of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [605-562 BC; Dan 1:1-6]), his release (in the days of Cyrus of Persia [559-530 BC; Dan 10:1]), and the Dead Sea Scrolls (eight fragmentary copies); (Ecc 4:12!).

11. If world power did shift to the West as supposed, then Antichrist must arise from there. It is true that a significant eastern power or perhaps an affiliation of eastern powers will assail Israel as human history comes to a close (Rev 16:12), but the prophecy of Daniel (Fig. 1) suggests that Antichrist will emerge in the West, which would be in keeping with what appears to be a shift of world power to the West after Alexander's conquests. At the time of this writing (early twenty-first century), two players dominate the western-power landscape, namely, the United States of America (USA-from AD 1776 minus AD 476=1300 years, where AD 476 represents the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire—the Eastern Roman Empire continued until the fifteenth-century AD), and the European Union (EU-from AD 1993 minus AD 476=1517 years; the Maastricht Treaty of 1993 established the EU under its current name). Interestingly, the USA does not appear to be mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Why would this be, given the USA's significant power, prominence, and influence in the world currently? The skeptic would argue that it is because the seer John could not “see” that far into the future and rather based his revelation on history (thus the seven heads of the Sea Beast for example; the sixth head, Rome, was certainly prominent in John's day). The skeptic has a plausible argument except for the testimony of Daniel's prophecy (sixth-century BC), which aligns with John's, and can be shown to be forward-looking by force of the Dead Sea Scrolls et al. [10]; we would not expect new information from John here concerning the USA seeing that would call into question the wholeness and unity of the prophecy of Daniel. We suppose the reason the USA is not mentioned is twofold: (1) the USA does not meld easily into a revived Roman empire setting, and (2) by the time the events related by the Book of Revelation unfold, the USA may have declined to the extent that it no longer exists as a major world power. By this thinking, diminution of the USA as a world power (a difficult, relative assessment, vis a vis previous eras in her history, that presupposes no significant, sustained reversals of trend), correlates somewhat to the proximity of Antichrist's emergence. The picture for the EU here is altogether different. Given the EU's thoroughgoing Roman character (“European Union: Member States”, cf. “The Roman Empire” of antiquity”), and her potential to be a surpassing world power, the EU would at the time of this writing appear to be the primary candidate out of which the seventh head could emerge (and thus ultimately Antichrist). It is noteworthy that Dan 2:43 (see “iron/clay “toes” Fig. 1) may depict some of the difficulties that beset the EU's maturation, namely, unanimity of spirit throttled along member-state (old national) lines and interests.

12. Polytheism was the specific blasphemy that pervaded humankind before (the first six heads [ Fig. 1] were polytheists [Rom 1:19-25], while the seventh head will be [is] atheists and worshipers of self and of course Satan [this is the current trajectory]). And this is what Satan is after, and has been after from the beginning (to deflect worship away from God and unto himself): '...nay, ye shall not die said the serpent, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God...' (Gen 3:1-5, Isa 14:12-14). So the trend in religion will likely shift from polytheism, to atheism, self-deification, and demonic infatuations (through Antichrist) as human history transitions from the era of the first six heads to the era of the seventh through the eighth and final head.

13. Jehovah God proves that He is able and willing to energize human progress. For example, the secular sciences are built upon a foundation of discovery and labor by God-enlightened, God-dependent men and women; a small sampling if you will: W. Abney, F. Bacon, M. Blagg, R. Boyle, G. Carver, N. Copernicus, J. Dalton, L. daVinci, J. Edwards, M. Faraday, G. Galilei, R. Hooke, C. Huygens, J. Joule, J. Kepler, W. Leibnitz, J. Maxwell, S. Morse, I. Newton, B. Pascal, L. Pasteur, P. Roget, B. Riemann, G. Stokes, J. Strutt-[Rayleigh], W. Thompson-[Kelvin], P. Tait, W. von Braun, J. Woodward, and many others (Morris, passim). God is, after all, the master Creator, Designer, Engineer, Mathematician, Scientist (and Theologian!). It is wise to prayerfully seek His counsel in these areas of endeavor (notice that what God intends for good, and blessing, as here, may be hijacked and used for evil). And He holds no good thing back from those who seek Him first; from those who ask Him how?, what?, when?, where?, why? He holds no good thing back from those who prayerfully follow His laws, precepts, and statutes—and resolve to let these preeminently guide their endeavors—here is manifest inclusion of God in the pursuit of progress. Jehovah God is the best Guide and Teacher one could ever have.

14. This must be the seventh head, representative of the revived Roman Empire, out of which Antichrist emerges, that receives this mortal wound (Rev 17:11). Aside, is not Jehovah God alone able to accomplish such wonders as resurrection from the dead? We see here the extent of the power that Satan has been allowed and can wield (cf. the witch of Endor 1Sa 28:11).

15. The Tribulation in Scripture: (Deut 4:30, Jer 30:7, Dan 12:1, Mat 24:21-22, 1Th 5:2, Rev 15:1, 7, 16:1), itself broken into two three-and-one-half year periods by Scripture, or two forty-two month periods, with the latter forty-two months being the severest owing to the escalation of evil attending the absence of the Church and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit.

16. Land-GHS is a genitive, feminine, singular noun. Earth, ground, land. This beast is fundamentally different than the Sea Beast. That which arises out of the sea, the Sea Beast, the world kingdom of Antichrist (clarification) with its eight heads including Antichrist, and its ten kings plus one (Antichrist) presiding over it, arises out of the “sea of humanity,” but here, that which arises out of the “earth,” the Earth Beast, must itself be earthy, comprised of the things of the earth—things like aluminum, and copper, and germanium, and silicon, etc. (Fig. 2), and the man-made things comprised of (arising from) these earthly elements, such as plastic, rubber, wiring, glass, computers, cars, airplanes, rockets, space stations, wireless and hard-wired telecommunication networks, missile launchers, nuclear weaponry, etc. We do not believe that the Earth Beast per se is human; it is made by human hands to be sure, and has the capacity to become animated, and to speak to the world, and to variously connect the world, but it is different than the Sea Beast. Scripture makes this distinction for us by relating the two beasts' different roots. If the Earth Beast were human, it should also arise out of the sea of humanity one would think (like Antichrist thus arises)—like so perhaps: '...I saw two beasts rising up out of the sea...', but nay—one beast is very specifically seen to rise up out of the “sea,” and then the other is very specifically seen to rise up out of the “earth”—the distinction stands out like a neon sign that flashes the significantly different makeup and origin of these beasts. We think that the Earth Beast is distinct from the false prophet, and that the false prophet is human, while the Earth Beast is not. This Earth Beast must be the means by which the false prophet will control and deceive the world and bring it into allegiance to Antichrist, whom he, the false prophet, serves (Mat 24:11, 24—there will be many false prophets, but apparently one will be prominent, for Scripture singles him out-Rev 20:10 for example). We suppose that the Earth Beast is alive and well and thriving and increasing its presence dramatically in the midst of humankind today (early twenty-first century) not least in the content of the world wide web in the spirit of Antichrist (the world wide web, WWW, or “web,” is the complexly interconnected maze of variously-contented hypertext mediums of information that are accessible via the internet, itself a diverse means of electronic communication). It is interesting that WWW is tantamount to DigammaDigammaDigamma, which is a Greek alliteration comparable to 666 in numeral form (seen clearly when studying the letter “F”), and may be, somehow, indicative of the significance of the mark of the (Antichrist-led Sea) Beast—one cannot be sure and one must not press this too much but be alert (Fig. 3). The Earth Beast as here proposed could not make its appearance until the age of computing and its characteristic technology (itself a much-worshiped postmodern god), thus much in the way of human scientific learning and technological achievement, represented by all seven heads of the Sea Beast, crowns the Earth Beast. Notice that the EU was conceived in the years 1951-1958, and finally emerged under its current name in 1993, thus in the age of modern computing—for example, the most important component in modern computing—the integrated circuit—conceived early in the twentieth-century, became functional in 1958. Note also that a prophet, by definition, conveys information, be that as it may, and we believe that the world wide web by way of the internet and “high-tech,” integral to and definitive of the Earth Beast, is how the false prophet will disseminate his deceit and implement his deadly Antichrist-sympathetic control measures. Thus it would appear that the stage is already set for the appearance of Antichrist and his false prophet crony; they may in fact be in our midst today, for all the pieces are in place for their appearing by this reasoning (this is just a very general observation—we are not trying to pin anything down here).

17. Count-YHFISATW is an aorist, active, imperative, 3^rd person, singular verb. We like compute by way of simple counting. The aorist tense suggests the computation is a “one and done” type computation, in other words, the computation is not cumbersome, nor should we expect it to be complex—it is simple and straightforward, and we should expect it to be very common to the human experience. The imperative mood suggests the urgency of the computation. Thus we like, simply, “One, Two, Three, ...Six,...” or, more aptly, “One-A/Alpha, Two-B/Beta, Three-C/Gamma,....Six-F/Digamma, ...” in this context.

18. Man-ANQRWPOU. Is a genitive, masculine, singular noun. We opt for the more general “mankind” here rather than the more specific “a man;” the lack of an article with ANQRWPOU legitimizes both possibilities (the Greek has it: ...ARIQMOS GAR ANQRWPOU... [character map, Aland]). It makes a big difference here which way to go—the more general route opens the possibility for this number connecting with “WWW” for example, which we like in this context. The more specific route seems to narrow against the backdrop of the Beast as a fusion of world kingdoms and their antiGod worldliness (clarification).

A->ALPHA	B->BETA	C->CHI	D->DELTA	E->EPSILON	F->PHI	G->GAMMA
H->ETA	I->IOTA	K->KAPPA	L->LAMBDA	M->MU	N->NU	O->OMICRON
P->PI	Q->THETA	R->RHO	S->SIGMA	T->TAU	U->UPSILON	W->OMEGA
X->XI	Y->PSI	Z->ZETA	; or :-> ^.(ano teleia)

REVELATION CHAPTER THIRTEEN COMMENTARY

Contents

I. Introduction

II. Revelation Chapter Thirteen Commentary Verses

12:18 Perched for a Kill

13:1-10 Antichrist and the Sea Beast

13:11-17 The False Prophet and the Earth Beast

13:18-The Mark of the Beast

Illustrations and Tables

Figure 1. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream-Statue (Dan 2:31-44, 7:7-8, Rev 13:1).

Figure 2. Elements of the Earth.

Figure 3. The Mark of the Beast.

Works Cited and References

Notes

English (transliteration)) to Greek Character Mapping

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