The Revelation of the anti-Christ (Revelation 13a)

In a previous chapter, we have seen the first beast in Revelation 11:7, who is the dragon/Satan. Here, in chapter 13, the second and third beasts of the book of Revelation are presented (13:1-4 and 13:11). Satan was the star that fell out of heaven in Revelation 9:1, who opened the bottomless pit/abyss in 9:2, who is the king of the 200 million demons/locusts in Revelation 9:11. The second beast appears, at least from the perspective of John standing on the shore of the Mediterranean, to come up out of the sea. This “beast” is a human being, with a number of a man, but receiving power, kingdom and authority from Satan. The third beast comes from the earth or the land.

 

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.

 

Whether John, in his vision, is on Patmos or on the shore of Israel, it is not clear, but a beast appears to arise from out of the sea. This could mean that the beast will be Roman (see Revelation 17:9) or European, which is implied in Daniel 9:26 when it says he will be of the people who destroy Jerusalem. He even could be American, of European descent, with the appearance of arising out of the sea. The “beast” of the anti-Christ will be alive and likely an adult during the period just before the Rapture, and possibly already a political leader, known to those in the church. However, he will not be revealed until after the Rapture (2 Thess. 2:3), and even then, he will sign a covenant with many nations (Daniel 9:27).  He will be great in speech and appearance (Daniel 7:20), cunningly deceitful and outwardly peaceable (Daniel 11:21), a world leader, controlling its economy (Revelation 13:7, 16-17).

What are the seven heads? The seven heads are seven earthly kingdoms, six are in the past and the seventh (that of the anti-Christ) is coming during the Tribulation. The seven heads and ten horns are identical to the dragon in Revelation 12:3 (“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads”), and are also identical to the scarlet beast (the false prophet/“the beast out of the earth”) ridden by a woman in Revelation 17:3 (“So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns”).

In Revelation 17:9-10, the seven heads are identified as seven mountains on which the woman sits. “⁹Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.” Notice the angel said that the seven heads are seven mountains and in addition, there are also seven kings; therefore, the seven heads/mountains are related to but distinct and separate from the seven kings. In Revelation 12:3, the seven heads are also related to but distinct and separate from the seven diadems/crowns. It can be safely assumed that the heads/mountains are not literal mountains and are not individuals, but rather are seven kingdoms of the seven kings.

Revelation 17:10 says that five of the kings and their kingdoms had already fallen in John’s day. One king or kingdom was in existence in John’s day, and another had not come. Those five fallen kingdoms were enemies and oppressors of Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medes/Persia and Greece. The sixth “head” in existence in John’s day was Rome.  Revelation 17:10 says the seventh head (the revived Roman empire) will only remain a short time.

In Revelation 13:3, one of the heads appeared as though it had been mortally wounded. Many have said that the anti-Christ will appear to have been raised from the dead. However, a consistent reading of “heads” as “kingdoms” will show that the kingdom (one of the heads of the beast) of the anti-Christ will appear to be healed from its mortal wound. A word-for-word translation of the Greek is “as having been slain to death and the wound of its death was healed.” Read Revelation 13:3 along with Revelation 17:11 which says, “¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” In other words, out of the slain kingdom (“head”) will miraculously come an eighth king, the anti-Christ, who will be as bad as all of the seven previous enemies of Israel combined. Thus the “eighth” will not be a head at all, but the beast itself. He is the “little horn” that arises out of Daniel’s fourth beast with ten horns (Daniel 7:8).

What are the ten horns? The ten horns are ten national leaders in the Tribulation, led by the anti-Christ. They are the same as the ten crowns. In chapter 17, the seven kings (five of which had already fallen) are not the same as the ten horns (kings), which the angel says in 17:12 are “ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.” In the same way, the seven crowns/diadems in Revelation 12:3 are different than the ten crowns in chapters 13:1 and 17:3. Only Satan, the dragon, is described with having the seven diadems/crowns.

In other words, John’s description of the anti-Christ is a culmination of Daniel’s four beasts all rolled up into one.  Recall what Daniel wrote in Daniel 7:

³ And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. ⁴ The first was like a lion (Babylon), and had eagle’s wings... ⁵ And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear (Medo Persia)... ⁶ After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard (Greece), which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast (Rome), dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

The beast of Revelation is described as a combination of all four beasts or kingdoms of Daniel. This future beast will “like a leopard,” that is, having the form and organization of noble and cultural Greece (symbolized by Daniel as a leopard), the powerful and awful claws and feet of the Medes and Persia (bear), and the devouring mouth of Babylon (lion), and the power of Satan himself (Daniel’s powerful fourth beast). All of these are arch-enemies of Israel, and the anti-Christ will be worse than any enemy before.

What are the seven diadems in Revelation 12:3? The ten crowns mentioned in Revelation 13 and 17 are ten end-times leaders who follow the anti-Christ and the false prophet in the future. However, the seven diadems in chapter 12 are unique to the dragon.

During the lead up to the Tribulation and even during the first half, there will be world-wide kingdom power that oppresses Israel. The kingdom power will be comprised of ten kings or nations, which give their allegiance to the beast, the anti-Christ. But this man will then attempt to assume the place of Christ and of God and seek worship, the worship which ultimately go back to Satan, the dragon.

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.

The calamities described in the first nine chapters will give rise to a world leader, to whom the unbelievers will give utmost allegiance to and even ascribe worship to. The world may even be deceived to believe that the beast is truly Jesus Christ, and the dragon is truly Jehovah God. The beast will not contradict them and will continue to rise in power for 42 months, or the first three-and-a-half years. At that time, he will cease all sacrifices, go into the temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4).

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.

While the remnant of Israel was shown as the woman in Chapter 12 as to escape from the wrath of the dragon, many will be overcome or killed. Everyone who is not a believer in Christ will worship the anti-Christ. Verse 10 is an encouragement to those who are captured or killed, that they will be redeemed. Such an encouragement will produce patience and faith of the believers.