01.13. CHAPTER 13.
CHAPTER 13.
Revelation 13:1. “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [wild beast] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns [diadems], and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” In this chapter we have the New Testament aspect of that which is the subject of prophecy in Daniel 7:1-28 : To Daniel, when that vision was given, the scenes were future, with the exception of that part which refers to the Babylonian empire; but to us, the first, second, third, and fourth empires have become matters of history, up to the development of the last form of the fourth or Roman empire, which is the subject of Revelation 13:1-18 : Daniel beholds, in vision, the four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea (the Mediterranean Sea), and he saw four great beasts coming up from the sea.
John stood upon the sand of the sea, and beheld a beast rise up out of the sea. Daniel records the commencement of these empires when they first arose as the results of the conflict between the various nations of the earth, and John the scenes connected with the close. The Greek word therion, rendered beast here, is a different word to that used in Revelation 4:7, which is zoon, signifying a living being; therion means a beast of the desert, a wild, ravenous beast. This is the fourth beast of Daniel’s vision, and it here appears in its last form. The first was the Babylonian, the second the Medeo-Persian, the third the Grecian, and the fourth the Roman empire, which has been in existence for upwards of 2000 years.
“Having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns” (or diadems). The seven heads may be regarded as representing seven different forms of government, and the ten horns, with the ten crowns or diadems, the tenfold division of the Roman empire in its final form, with the reigning sovereigns, a confederacy of kingdoms, composing the empire of the beast or Antichrist.
“And upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” The seven heads represent government in its various forms, not exercised for the glory of God and the maintenance of righteousness, peace, and order upon the earth, but in blasphemous rejection of Divine sovereignty, in contrast to Romans 13:1-5, where all authority for the repression of evil and the encouragement of good is attributed to God.
Revelation 13:2. “And the beast [wild beast] which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [throne], and great authority.”
“Like unto a leopard, and his feet were the feet of a bear.” This wild beast or kingdom of Antichrist will have the outward refinement, cultivation, and taste of the Grecian empire, combined with the rapacity and encroachment of the Medeo-Persian. “His mouth as the mouth of a lion:” that is, speaking with the imperial authority of the Babylonian empire, thus uniting the characteristics of the first universal kingdoms.
“And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [throne], and great authority.” Kingly power among the Gentiles, as it was first given by God to Nebuchadnezzar, the head of the Babylonish empire, is thus described in Daniel 2:37-38 : “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” Corresponding with Romans 13:2 : “The powers that be are ordained of God.” Kingly authority in its first and purest form is represented by the head of gold (Daniel 2:32; Daniel 2:38). It is that which is exercised in the presence and fear of God, as maintaining His authority in the earth, for the punishment of evildoers and the reward of them that do well. “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (2 Samuel 23:3). The laws of the Medes and Persians restrained the power of the sovereign, even when he would act for God (Daniel 6:1-28). This form of government is represented by the breast and arms of silver (Daniel 2:32; Daniel 2:39). Military power is represented by the belly and thighs of brass (Daniel 2:32; Daniel 2:39). In the feet and toes of the image iron is mingled with the miry clay (Daniel 2:33; Daniel 2:41-43). This is the lowest form of kingly rule, and is based on the theory that authority originates with the people. When this principle is universally recognised then is the opportunity for Satan to come in and to seize the reins of government, for he is the god of this world— “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). This leads to the inversion of the entire order; instead of authority coming down from the God of heaven, for righteousness and good, it is authority, from the bottomless pit and from Satan, for iniquity and evil (Revelation 11:7; Revelation 13:2). For the first three years and a half of his reign, Antichrist is the people’s king—the people give him his authority and his crown (Revelation 6:2); for the last three years and a half he is Satan’s representative —the dragon gives him his throne.
Revelation 13:3. “And I saw one of the heads as it were wounded to [unto] death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
He that is at the head of one of these forms of government, the beast or Antichrist, receives a deadly wound by a sword (see Revelation 13:14) —a wound which, under ordinary circumstances, would be certainly mortal or unto death, and yet by some extraordinary means he recovers. This is Satan’s counterfeit of the death and resurrection of Christ! For as the Lord Jesus Christ was God manifest in flesh, so Antichrist will be Satan manifested in the flesh. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ had comparatively little effect upon the nations of the earth; but when Antichrist is mortally wounded and healed there will be great wonder—it will be a miracle of Satan, known far and wide.
Revelation 13:4. “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?’” The worship of the world will be transferred from God, who raised up Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory (1 Peter 1:21), and offered to the dragon, who gives his power unto the beast, and also to the beast or Antichrist, who exercises this power.
Revelation 13:5-8. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue [to act] forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world [whose names are not written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain].” As the Lord Jesus spake not His own words, but the words which were given Him of His Father, whom He glorified (John 7:16; Revelation 1:1), so, on the other hand, the words spoken by Antichrist are inspired by Satanic subtilty of wondrous depth but of blasphemous tendency, and this continues during the forty and two months, or three years and a half, during which time he persecutes and puts to death all who will not worship him. His authority is world-wide, and so is his worship, except by those whose names were written from the foundation of the world in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The tabernacle or citizenship of these saints is in heaven, in contrast with those who are styled dwellers upon the earth.
Compare these verses with Daniel 7:8 : “And, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Daniel 7:20-22 : “Even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” Daniel 7:25 : “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 11:36 : “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.” See also 2 Thessalonians 2:4 : “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
Revelation 13:9-10. “If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” This is the word for the spiritually minded.
During this period of the kingdom of the beast, open resistance is in vain. Steadfast refusal to worship the beast or to receive his mark, faith in God, and patient endurance, is that which alone remains to God’s servants until the coming of the Son of Man and the execution of judgment, and the time when the saints possess the kingdom.
If the sword is taken, and resistance is attempted, it will prove in vain; nothing is left to the saints but faithful testimony and faithful endurance.
Revelation 13:11. “And I beheld another [wild] beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” The first beast ariseth out of the sea, for his kingdom is the result of the tumultuous agitation of the masses; the second beast comes up out of the earth—it is the outcome of earthly wisdom, earthly science, and human progress; and, just as the lawlessness which began to work in the apostle’s times will be headed up in the lawless one, even so, scepticism, infidelity, science falsely so called, and the wisdom of the human mind which has cast off the fear of God, will be fully developed in the second beast. Professedly its strength consists in the lowliness of its pretension and the gentleness of its persuasion, but in reality it is loud, dogmatic, and overbearing—its horns are the horns of a lamb, but it speaks as a dragon.
Revelation 13:12-17. “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast [wild beast] before him [in his presence], and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders [signs], so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and [to] cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The lawless one opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, and is worshipped; thus he may be styled the Antigod. At the same time he will counterfeit the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and oppose Him; he is thus the Antichrist. And is the Holy Ghost by His miracles, wonders, and signs glorifies the Father and the Son, and maintains their authority, so the false prophet will perform his mighty acts for the establishment of the kingdom of the lawless one, who opposes both the Father and the Son. This second beast is the false prophet (Revelation 19:20) whose lying wonders are performed in the interests of the first beast, causing the inhabitants of the earth to worship him whose deadly wound was healed.
He also imitates the miracles performed by Elijah, in causing fire to come down from heaven in the sight of men—probably as the outcome of scientific discovery connected with electricity—deceiving the people of the earth by his signs and lying wonders (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). He persuades men to make an image to the beast that had the wound by a sword, and did live, thus inducing them to return to idolatry in its grossest form; he also has power by some means, either supernatural or in appearance, to give life to the image of the beast, and to cause it to speak. He, moreover, enforces the worship of the beast, and the receiving of his mark, by the severest penalties, so that those who resist will be subjected either to death, or to the suffering of hunger, thirst, nakedness, imprisonment, banishment, and prevented from either buying or selling. Hence the words of the Lord Jesus to those who have befriended these persecuted ones, in Matthew 25:34-40. For those whom the Lord there acknowledges as His brethren are those who by reason of these persecutions will be scattered amongst the various nations of the earth.
Revelation 13:15. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”
Six is the number of earthly and human perfectness, but short of Divine perfection, which is symbolised by the number seven. The earth was made in six days; and on the sixth day man was created, the most perfect of earthly beings. The Lawless One, or Antichrist, will probably be an example of humanity in its fullest earthly perfection, at the same time denying the God who made him. In body, like Absalom, “from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head” without blemish; and, like Saul, pre-eminent among his fellows, but it is fallen humanity—man without God. [6.] In soul he will probably be a philanthropist of the first order. By his human affection, sympathy, and large-heartedness attracting universal admiration, but without the love of God. [60.] In spirit, of gigantic intellect, stupendous genius, and intelligence, having the appearance of spirituality, but destitute of the Spirit of God. [600.] There is deep wisdom here. The above is given as a suggestion; let those who have understanding examine into its truth.