Revelation 13

Some old manuscripts add this first phrase, “I stood on the sand in the sea,” at the end of Revelation 12:17. Some copies say John is the one standing on the sand. Others say it’s the dragon.

Some students of the Bible identify this beast from the sea as the Antichrist. John never uses the word “Antichrist.” The word shows up only briefly in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; and 2 John 1:7. The writer of those short letters said there were already antichrists all over the place. Christians who say there will be an end-time Antichrist pull from Paul, Daniel, Revelation, and other references to create a composite nasty guy. An apocalyptic Frankenstein. Jews of John’s day may have considered the sea this beast rises from as the mysterious abyss. To many of them John’s beast is one that may have associated with the scary Leviathan, a female creature that Jewish legend says God created on day five of creation. It lived in the sea. Its counterpart, the Behemoth, lived on land. Monsters like these could represent invaders, like the Roman Empire, which occupied most of the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

Seven heads represent seven hills (Revelation 17:9). Settlers built the city of Rome around seven hills that in earlier times, according to tradition, had been separate settlements.

“Horns” symbolized military strength, the power to win wars.

These insults were probably the names of Romans, who had been oppressing the Jewish homeland for over a century. Many Bible experts speculate that part of the book of Revelation included a kind of code that let John talk about the oppressive Roman Empire. Because the Romans often traveled by sea, the Jews thought of them as invaders from the sea. Added to that, some Roman emperors said they were gods. People, worshiping what became known as the imperial cult of Rome, sometimes described the emperor by using words that Christians reserved for deity: god, savior, son of god, living god, and divus (a human who became a god).

The dragon is revealed as Satan in Revelation 12:9.

See Revelation 13:14.

It’s a mystery who John meant this creature to represent. Perhaps the most persistent guess is Emperor Nero, who launched the persecution of Christians. He killed himself on June 9, AD 68. That was one day after the Senate fired him. Nero reportedly drove a sword into his throat. Legends soon emerged about Nero’s comeback. The stories declared he hadn’t died, in shades of Elvis. The myth got a boost, possibly, when some of his supporters publicly posted threats—under his byline—vowing to punish his enemies. Roman historians wrote about two Nero imposters who raised armies: an unidentified imposter (AD 69), followed by a Nero lookalike named Terentius Maximus (AD 80s). Both managed to get themselves caught and executed.

This seems to link with something the prophet Daniel reported seeing in a vision several centuries earlier: a leader would “speak against the Most High” but would last for just “a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25, New American Standard Bible). The strange time given here may simply represent any stretch of time appointed by God. (A bit like “40 days” can mean something like a few weeks or months.) Which isn’t much time, apparently. John expresses this stretch of time with a couple of other phrases, too, including “three and a half years” (Revelation 13:5) and “a time, times, and half a time” (a literal translation of Revelation 12:14).

Some scholars have pointed out that popes have sometimes committed this kind of blasphemy against God. Pope Nicholas (1455) once said, “The Roman Pontiff [the pope] judges all men, but is judged by no one. . . . No one should be surprised that it is in my power to change and do away with laws and to get rid of anything, and even the laws of Christ” (Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap., Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary). Holy moly.

Some Christians say that this suggests an Antichrist will rule the world for three and a half years. But, again, the time given is probably not meant to be taken literally. Furthermore, John never uses the word “Antichrist.” The word shows up only briefly in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; and 2 John 1:7. The writer of those short letters said there were already antichrists all over the place. Christians who say there will be an end-time Antichrist pull from Paul, Daniel, Revelation, and other references to create a composite nasty guy. An apocalyptic Frankenstein.

The question is who gave him authority to rule the world. The passive phrase in question is literally “was given.” Some scholars say this go-ahead was from the intentional inaction of God. The phrase shows up four times in Revelation 13:5-7, and each time John may have intended readers to presume the “was given” came from God. Another contender might be Satan, recognized by some in this vision as the power behind the beast (Revelation 13:4).

Most Bible experts seem to agree that the Book of Life isn’t a celestial book. It’s a metaphor, a way of identifying people devoted to God. This word picture may have begun centuries earlier, when palace scribes kept records of the king’s enemies and his loyal servants. Kings generally rewarded the loyal souls with life and other perks. People who betrayed the king weren’t so lucky.

It’s hard to know where to put the phrase “since before the world’s creation.” Does it refer to the destiny of the Lamb, as some scholars suggest? Or does it refer to the people whose names were excluded from the Book of Life? That would provide support for the teaching that God selects who will be saved and not saved, a teaching called predestination. Many Christians, if not most, say they believe God allows us to make the choice about our own destiny. There are Bible passages that seem to support each argument. Two examples: (1) God wants to save everyone (2 Peter 3:9). (2) God chose who will be saved (Ephesians 1:4). Still other scholars believe that the land beast represents the emperor himself, beginning with Nero (the first emperor to persecute the Christians), while the sea beast was the Roman Empire. These two beasts together with Satan, they contend, form the Evil Trinity, a counterpoint to the divine Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Daniel 7:3 describes a vision of four beasts coming out of the sea. Like the creature from the sea, they, too, had 10 horns and seven heads.

The beast apparently came from a cave, a hole in the ground, or a bunker—if the description should be taken literally, which might not be a good bet. Also, see the footnote for Revelation 13:1 about Leviathan and Behemoth, mythical monsters on sea and land. It’s unclear who or what this beast represents. One of the most popular guesses is that this dragon-voiced critter represents an end-time false prophet, whom some early Christian writers tagged as the Antichrist. Another popular guess: priests who led Romans in worshiping the emperor.

This land beast has only two horns, compared to 10 on the sea beast. Some scholars say that suggests the land beast doesn’t pack the punch or carry as much authority as the sea beast.

Talking statues was a trick of magicians. A Syrian writer named Lucian, who lived in the AD 100s, wrote about a Greek mystic, Alexander of Abonoteichus, who rigged the image of a snake god with a moving jaw and a hidden speaking tube.

Some call this the mark of the beast. Some ancient copies put the number at 616. Letters had number values. The name of Nero works with both numbers, 616 and 666. He ruled AD 37 to 68 and was the first emperor on record to persecute Christians. His name engraved onto coins in Latin, the official language of the Romans, is “Nero Caesar.” The six letters Jews used to translate that into their language of Hebrew add up to 616. But that same name and title in Greek, the international language of the day, is “Neron Caesar.” Jews used seven letters to translate that version of the name. Those seven letters add up to 666. Another contender is Emperor Domitian (ruled AD 81 to 96), another aggressive persecutor of Christians. His name and title occasionally show up abbreviated on Roman coins with Greek letters that add up to 666.