Beast from the Sea

[1]  The Beast from the Sea
Revelation 13:1–10

[Rev 13:1-10 LSB]  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]  And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast. [4]  And 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]  And there was given to him a mouth speaking great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. [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]  And 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]  And 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. [9]  If anyone has an ear, let him hear. [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.

[1]  And the dragon [Satan] stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I [John] saw a beast [empire] coming up out of the sea [chaos and disorder, abyss], having ten horns [kings] and seven heads [past kingdoms], and on his horns [kings] were ten diadems [authority], and on his heads were blasphemous names. 

[1a]  And the dragon [Satan] stood on the sand of the seashore.

In chapter 12 the dragon had been in pursuit of the woman.

[Rev 12:3 LSB]  Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.

This great "red" dragon has seven heads and ten horns.  Notice that when John sees him, the crowns are on his heads.  These are the seven empires, throughout history, who have prevailed under his rule.  The ten horns [kings] have no crowns at this point, but they are a part of the dragon.

[Rev 12:17 LSB]  So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the witness of Jesus.

Satan fails in his attempts against the woman so he sets his sights upon her seed.  It's here where we see him next... standing "on the sand of the seashore".

Note that there is a textual argument to be made that it is actually John who is standing on the sand of the seashore.  I'm not so curious about that right now as my main focus for these studies are on the beast.

[1b] Then I [John] saw a beast [empire] coming up out of the sea [chaos and disorder, abyss],

The beast comes up out of the sea as do the four beasts of Dan 7.  Some will say that "the sea" represents humanity.  This finds support in:

[Rev 17:15 LSB]  And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.

Could be the Mediterranean Sea - a literal sea:

[Dan 7:2-3 LSB]  Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. [3]  “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

To say the beast ascended out of the actual sea, however, would contradict 11:7 and 17:8 which say he ascended from the abyss. Rev. 11:7 has him ascending from the abyss, the source of demonic powers opposed to God.

[Rev 11:7 LSB]  And when they have finished their witness, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them.

So, in pointing this out - does this make "sea" and "abyss" equivalent?

To say that the sea stands for the abyss carries on the OT concept of the sea, that it is the source of satanic sea monsters (cf. Job 26:12-13; Pss. 74:13-14; 87:4; 89:9-10; Isa. 27:1; 51:9-10). Also, Paul equates the sea with the abyss in his Rom. 10:7 citation of Deut. 30:13.  One hesitates to attach such a figurative meaning to the sea, but related texts in the Apocalypse furnish grounds for doing so. In his prophetic state of being "in the spirit", what met John’s spiritual eyes was the sea, but this was a representation to him of what he calls the abyss in 11:7 and 17:8.

This final world empire will embody a satanically empowered individual who will present himself as a counterfeit Christ in order to deceive the earth-dwellers.

[1c] having ten horns [kings] and seven heads [past kingdoms],

This beast resembles the dragon [Satan].  Notice that this time, the horns are mentioned before the heads.  Speaking of the dragon:

[Rev 12:3 LSB]  Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.

Also notice (below in [1d]), that now the crowns are on the horns versus the heads.  These are ten kings that will comprise the final empire.

There are also now ten crowns (versus seven of the dragon)... the focus has shifted from the dragon to the beast.

This beast (revived eighth empire) is the Ottoman Empire and it's leader will have dominion over these ten kings and use them to suit his purposes.

This is the fourth beast of Daniel:

[Dan 7:7 LSB]  “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

[Dan 7:24 LSB]  ‘As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings.

It's important to note that these ten kings/kingdoms are not directly representative of the seven, successive, historical heads.

[1] Egypt [2] Assyria [3] Babylon [4] Medo-Persia [5] Greece/Turkey [6] Rome [7] Ottoman Empire. 

These ten are the simultaneous kings/kingdoms that compose the regime of the revived eighth empire... the Ottoman Empire.  These ten horns rise up out of the empire symbolized by the creature from which the horns belong.

The beast can only have one "living" head at a time (17:10).  So they are  historically successive heads.  In contrast, the ten horns exist simultaneously.  They live and rule at the same time.

[1d] and on his horns [kings] were ten diadems [authority], 

The diadems (crowns) represent the regal state of the subordinate kings.

[Rev 17:12 LSB]  “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

[1e] and on his heads were blasphemous names.

Specifically, these seven heads, involved the assumption of deity by the beast which is tantamount to arrogant blasphemy.

[Rev 13:5-6 LSB]  And there was given to him a mouth speaking great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. [6]  And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

The blasphemy against Yahweh will be evident of this final beast and the horns that his carries.

[2]  And the beast [Antichrist] 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 [Satan] gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

[2a] And the beast [Antichrist] 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.

The likening of the beast to a leopard, bear, and lion recalls the fourth beast of Dan. 7:3-7, because he is a composite of the first three and their characteristics.

The combined strength and brutality of historical Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece/Turkey is what will comprise the total character of this beast.  This beast is the fourth beast of Daniel:

[Dan 7:7 LSB]  “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

[2b] And the dragon [Satan] gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

Satan is the source of the beast's power and authority.

"His power" refers to that of the dragon as granted to his viceregent Antichrist. It includes power over freedom and life (13:10) and the entire business of mankind (13:17), summed up in the occupancy of a throne that grants to the beast a βασιλεία (basileia, "kingdom") (cf. 16:10). As Jesus is one with the Father and shares His throne (cf. 3:21), so this beast shares the throne of the dragon (cf. 2:13).  "Great authority" (ξoυσίαν μεγάλην [exousian megalēn]) is widely extended control that covers the whole world, because Satan is the god of this world (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

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

[3a]  And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally

The beast is identified with one of its heads (13:3a = 13:6) who is a travesty of the slain Lamb.  Ever longing to be a reflection of the True Christ.  Other parallels between the beast and Christ include both wielding swords, both having followers on whose foreheads were inscribed their names (cf. 13:16-17; 14:1), both having horns (5:6; 13:1), both being slain (σϕάςω [sphazō], 13:3, 8), both rising to new life and authority, and both having power over the whole world (cf. 1:5; 7:9; 13:7; 17:12).

This is all part of the dragon’s attempt to counterfeit the death and resurrection of Christ.

The big question for me is:  Is this the death of an empire or of a specific human?

The use of πληγή (plēgē, "wound") and σϕαγμένην (esphagmenēn, "slain") in 13:3, suggest a violent death.

The big weakness of the "empire" proposal is its failure to recognize that the pronoun ατo (autou, "his") in the expression τo θανάτoυ ατo (tou thanatou autou, "of his death") limits the wounding and healing to one of the heads, a king, and cannot apply to the whole kingdom.

However, the healing of the head is the healing of the beast, and the healing of the beast is the healing of the head. The healing is a future, not a past, happening.

There is further information on this in:

[Rev 17:8 LSB]  “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

This suggests a future sequence that will be a close counterfeiting of Christ’s death and resurrection.  I can't help but think of the prophet Muhammed being resurrected.  One issue with that is that he didn't die a violent death.  He was severely ill but died at home in the arms of his wife.  However, the resurrection of Muhammad would certainly be something to behold and bring worldwide wonder.

Also, the use of language concerning the false prophet (different post) suggests that a violent death need not be warranted.  It could actually be a resurrection of someone like Muhammad.  See note on Rev. 13:12 in which his “healing” is not called a healing but a “return to life”.  The aorist tense ζησεν (ezēsen, “came to life”) looks at the time when the beast first began to live again.  This is the verb and form used to speak of Christ’s resurrection earlier in Rev 2:8.

To me, this is a much more fascinating idea and imagine the implications of Mohammad resurrecting to life to lead the revived Ottoman Caliphate.  The location of burial is well known and considered an Islamic holy site in Saudi Arabia… the mosque of the prophet.  Imagine the world’s amazement if his mosque were opened and Mohammad emerged as resurrected from the dead.  The worldwide headlines, and television coverage would be insane!

Revelation 2:8 is my second witness for an “epiphany type” thought I’ve been chewing on for a while now.

Could it actually be that the world will be shocked and amazed when Mohammad walks out of his tomb, resurrected back to life, and ready to lead an Islamic Caliphate again?  Sounds absolutely nuts… but doesn’t all of this sound insane on some level?  Exciting times ahead of us.

Once again, much like my thoughts on Trump signaling the first seal, I’ve never heard anyone say this.  Could this be a result of my unceasing prayers for understanding?  If not, no big deal… we’ll find out for sure soon enough.

[3b]  And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast. 

Whatever the case, his feat in overcoming the fatal wound will win for him worldwide admiration.  This will be the final embodiment of the false Christ.

[4]  And 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?” 

They will worship Satan:

[4a]  And they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast,

And they worshipped the beast.  To worship one is to worship the other...

[4b] and they worshiped the beast,

The incomparability of the beast is what provokes people to worship him.  He seems to be immortal and can't be killed - he has seemingly power over the grave.

[4c] saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 

Verses 5-8 speak to the activities of the beast.

The beast is a persuasive speaker and has authority to continue in operation for forty-two months (3.5 years... second half of Daniel's 70th week, the Great Tribulation period):

[5]  And there was given to him a mouth speaking great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 

Verse 6 is an amplification of verse 5a, the blasphemous speech of the beast - an elaboration of the “names of blasphemy” on the heads of the beast

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

[6b] those who dwell in heaven.

There is especially animosity of the beast against heaven’s inhabitants. They are 

members of the angelic army who joined their leader Michael in expelling the dragon from heaven.

[7]  And 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. 

Anyone not escaping the conflict the rest of the woman’s seed into the wilderness (12:17), will be overcome (killed) by the beast.  He has been given, by Yahweh, authority over all. 

[Dan 7:21 LSB]  “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overcoming them

It's interesting that John's perspective changes from past to future in verse 8.  The prophecy anticipates the almost universal success the beast will have in attracting worshipers. The only limiting factor will be the refusal of the elect to comply.

His worshippers will be those not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb which has been written from the foundation of the world.

[8]  And 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. 

[9]  If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 

The call in verse 9 addresses a different group of the faithful, telling them what their response should be to the awful treatment at the hands of the beast. The call is to endure in their faith and not give in to the oppressor.

[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.

Yeshua has mentioned this to us before... we're to allow Him to use us during this time as He wills.  We're not to conjure plans for self defense.

[Mat 26:52 LSB]  Then Jesus *said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."

[Luk 21:12-15 LSB]  “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. [13]  It will result in an opportunity for your testimony. [14] So set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; [15] for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute."

It's not a new concept... Yahweh is in control and His will shall be accomplished no matter what.

[Jer 15:2 LSB]  “And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’

[Jer 43:11 LSB]  “He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.

We are encouraged to accept any outcome as the Sovereign Will of Yahweh.  The suggestion of inevitability implies the supremacy of God’s will which always promotes the ultimate good and blessing of the redeemed community, though it may include times of temporary hardship here in this life.

Remembrance that God is sovereign over all that happens and that the dragon and the beast have only a short time, will provide fuel to sustain these spiritual qualities.