Wednesday, December 17, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Revelation 13

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

The Beast from the Sea

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ² Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³ And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴ So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰ He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 

(Revelation 13:1–10, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• The dragon, Satan, has just pursued the woman who gave birth to the Child of Promise, and then a beast rises up from the sea. This is the account of this new development in the revelation.
• This beast is a conglomeration of images, having seven heads and ten horns, and there is a blasphemous name on each head. This beast (monster) is a conglomeration of the political powers represented in Daniel’s vision of the kingdoms to follow his day: the bear, the leopard, the lion. This beast was given his power and authority by the dragon, and was, in some ways, a mirror image of him. The crowns were on the horns, representing political power, and not on the heads themselves. This beast wields great political and social power for evil. He mimics the wound of the Lamb, in a deep plot to appear messianic and to win over those living on the earth. The power of the beast was given by the dragon, as said earlier, and his ability to heal from and overcome the wound on his head brought him great influence and fame among those who chose to then worship him on earth.
• The beast was given a mouth to speak blasphemies and bombastic ideas, and was allowed and authorized to do so for forty-two months (three and one-half years). He was given authority over all the earth, every tribe, tongue, and nation. He became the ruler of a one-world government, and he began to attack and overcome all the saints on the earth. These tribulation saints come under fire for the faith they exhibit in spite of the fact that they are one their own, without the help of the church and the express presence of the Holy Spirit. All the rest of the earth will worship the beast, seeing him as the savior of all humanity. Their names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is the One slain from the foundation of the earth.
• Just as Jesus called the churches in Revelation 2 & 3 to hear, the revelator also is called to hear and, by extension, all readers are called along with him. The Lord then offers this warning to the readers: if anyone follows Christ during this time and season, they challenge the power of the beast, and they will be hunted and killed. Therefore, they must be resolved to stand for Christ at the cost of their lives.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. ¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or 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 it is the number of a man: His number is 666. 

(Revelation 13:11–18, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• After the description of the beast from the sea, John then observes another beast coming from the earth.
• This second beast is a partner of the first beast. He is the religious spokesperson of the first beast, the antichrist, exercising authority in his name. He appears like a lamb with two horns, but speaks like a dragon. This is the false prophet, who will lead many to worship the beast and take his mark. His sorcery and magic cause multitudes to follow his commands. He even calls down fire from heaven, reminiscent of Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal. He was granted the ability to deceive, erecting an image of the beast, even causing it to speak as if it had come alive. All along the way, he reminds them that the first beast had been wounded in his head with a sword, and lived, giving him even more awe in the eyes of the people. Those who would not worship the beast would be killed, like those who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel. The final, ominous requirement of the false prophet was that every person, old and young, male and female, rich and poor, free and slave, would receive a mark on their right hand or their foreheads, or they would not be allowed to buy or sell. This mark would be either his name or the number of his name.
• This mark, that has been associated with evil and the curse of the tribulation for years, as long as people have had the book of revelation readily available. Here, John refers to wisdom or knowledge that points to the number of the beast’s name. Each letter of the Hebrew or Greek alphabet is assigned a number. The sum of the numbers of the beast’s name add up to 666 according to this mathematical representation called “gematria.” While several possible names add up to 666, one of the more well-known theories says that the name “Nero Caesar,’ translated into Hebrew, has a value of 666.
• A more complex solution has been proposed by Stauffer (“666,” 237–41), who argues that the Greek name of Domitian, ΔΟΜΙΤΙΑΝΟΣ (= 755), complete with his official titles, was ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΔΟΜΕΤΙΑΝΟΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΟΣ, occasionally found abbreviated on coins as Α ΚΑΙ ΔΟΜΕΤ ΣΕΒ ΓΕ (= 666):
  Αυτοκρατωρ = 1
  1
  ΚΑΙσαρ = 20 + 1 + 10
  31
  ΔΟΜΕΤιανος = 4 + 70 + 40 + 5 + 300
  419
  ΣΕΒαστος = 200 + 5 + 2
  207
  ΓΕρμανικος = 3 + 5
  8
  Total
  666
  Excursus 13C 666 and Gematria
  
• David E. Aune, Revelation 6–16, vol. 52B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 771.
• Either way, both of those ancient rulers are now deceased. However, it may be that a ruler similar to them, or else another ruler whose name adds up to 666 using gematria, may be the actual beast or antichrist to which this passage refers here. The most important things about this story, though, is the requirement to receive the mark of the beast in order to to business. Otherwise, those who refuse to worship the image and take the mark will be killed. This is the plight of those who recognize the evil ruler for who he is and then refuse to worship him. I do not wish to be alive during this time, but everyone does need to know the truth and the situation in case they are not raptured at the beginning of the tribulation. The antichrist will be charismatic and moving. One cannot be duped by his actions and words. Although it will require one’s death, this stand will be necessary to live through the Great Tribulation.

__________________________________________________________________________

All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.