Revelation 13
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 68 – AD 96 · Late apostolic age · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
18 verses · 507 words · ~3 min read · ~3 min listen
The Beast from the Sea
1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
5The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months. 6And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.
7Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
9He who has an ear, let him hear:
Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. 12And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
13And the second beast performed great signs, even causing fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. 14Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. 15The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.
The Mark of the Beast
16And the second beast required all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
Footnotes (4)
- a v8 Or written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
- b v10 NE, WH, and BYZ if anyone kills
- c v10 See Jeremiah 15:2.
- d v18 Some manuscripts 616
Study notes on this chapter · 4
Four beasts from the sea
Daniel sees four beasts rise from the sea: a lion with eagle's wings, a bear, a leopard with four wings, and a terrifying beast with iron teeth and ten horns, from which a little horn arises and speaks boasts. Then thrones are set, the Ancient of Days judges, and one like a son of man receives the kingdom. The four beasts are identified in different ways, and Revelation borrows their imagery for its beast.
When: Daniel, set c. 553 BC; proposed fulfillments from the 6th century BC to the end of the age.
Ways people read this (4)
- Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece, with the little horn as Antiochus IV (the usual critical reading).
- Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, with the little horn as a future ruler or series of rulers (traditional Christian and many premillennial readings).
- The fourth beast is Rome, and the little horn is the papacy (a historicist Protestant reading).
- The beasts stand for empires generally, and the point is God's judgment on all tyrannical powers.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
A time, times and half a time
Daniel says the holy ones will be handed over to the little horn for 'a time, times and half a time', and Daniel 12 repeats the period. Revelation gives the same span as 1,260 days and 42 months. Interpreters disagree on whether it is three and a half literal years, a symbolic period, or a period of years.
When: Daniel; Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (4)
- Three and a half literal years, as in Antiochus IV's persecution (167–164 BC) or a future tribulation.
- A symbolic period for a limited time of persecution, symbolizing half of seven (incomplete, cut short).
- 1,260 years in some historicist readings, using the day-year principle.
- The period of the church's witness between Christ's first and second comings (some amillennial readings).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The king who exalts himself above every god
From Daniel 11:36 the king 'does as he pleases', exalts himself above every god, and meets his end between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Since the chapter's earlier verses match the Seleucid kings closely, readers disagree on whether verse 36 still describes Antiochus IV or turns to a figure at the end of time.
When: Daniel, c. 530–164 BC; proposed fulfillments run to a future end time.
Ways people read this (4)
- Still Antiochus IV Epiphanes, described in increasingly exaggerated terms, whose actual death did not match the details.
- A future end-time ruler, sometimes identified with the antichrist (many Christian commentators since the early church).
- Rome or another historical power, read in historicist interpretation.
- A type: Antiochus is a pattern for later persecuting powers.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The beast and the number 666
Revelation 13 describes a beast from the sea with ten horns and seven heads, given authority by the dragon, and a second beast that makes people worship the first and mark their hands or foreheads. John says the number of the beast is 666, 'a human number'. Some manuscripts read 616. Interpreters have offered many solutions.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s (or c. AD 68–70, in some readings).
Ways people read this (5)
- Nero Caesar: his name in Hebrew letters adds to 666 (and to 616 in the Latin spelling), so the first readers would have known him (preterist and many scholars).
- Domitian or the Roman imperial cult as a whole, which demanded worship.
- A future individual, the antichrist, with a future system of control (futurist).
- A symbol: 666 falls one short of 777 seven times over, standing for humanity's pretense to divinity.
- A religious-political system throughout history (historicist and idealist).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.