The Villain-Revelation 13:1-10

Most great adventure novels/movies have a compelling villain. In fact, sometimes the more sinister the villain, the more the reader/viewer appreciates the plot and victory over him/her. Of all the great stories/films, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best villains: Darth Vader from Star Wars, that loathsome general in the British army in the movie The Patriot, Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, Jezebel, the Joker from Dark Knight, Scar from Lion King, Norman Bates from Psycho, etc. However, there is another villain that I want to introduce you to today from the book of Revelation—the beast from the sea in Revelation 13:1-10. The emergence of this villain is organized into five components in this passage and serves as a sobering reminder of what the world will one day be up against in the end, and, in large part, what the world is up against even now.

1. His Emergence-13:1-2

In a transition from chapter 12’s depiction of the war in heaven to a lengthy introduction of those powers at work on the earth, John sets the scene by placing the dragon in a position of anticipation. Unable to reach the woman (see 12:7-17), he stands prepared to call his wicked colleagues into action. “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore” (13:1a). What is to come in chapter 13 is loosely based, in part, on Job 40-41—the only Old Testament description of two satanic beasts opposing God. In Job there is a beast from land (40:15-24) that is slain with a sword and the other is a sea dragon that wages war by his mouth (Job 40:25; 32). While the Job text alludes to an early defeat of the dragon by God (cf. 40:32), it also implies a future battle in which this sea beast’s stubborn defiance is dealt with once and for all. The idea here is that though the dragon was defeated, he continues to exist in a subdued condition (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 682). Applied to Revelation and in view of the dragon (Satan) situated on the seashore, the idea is that while Satan has been humiliated in the war in heaven (12:7-17), evil will become incarnate in what comes out of the sea and enact terrifying destruction on the earth.

The frightening emergence of this beast is recorded next—“then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea” (13:1b). Not only does the location of the beast (from the sea) connect it to Job 40-41, it also serves as a textual and cultural indication that what is emerging is evil, villainous, and frightening. Contextually “sea” and “abyss” (see 11:7 and 9:1) are nearly synonymous. In other words, this beast is, as far as the context of Revelation is concerned, emerging from the same place as the demonic horde described earlier (Osborne, Revelation, 490). Culturally, in the ancient world, the sea was a place of danger, mystery, confusion, chaos, and uncertainty. As travel by sea was precarious and monsters were believed to inhabit the depths, the sea is nearly always imbued with negative and ominous connotations. It is from the depths of these dark waters that the beast emerges slowly (almost as if to add more drama)—slow enough in fact for John to take his time describing the creature beginning with the top of his head—the first parts of this creature to surface.

John’s description is as follows, “having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names” (13:1c). Again, remember how the number 10 has typically been used in the apocalypse (and in Daniel 7). When/if you see 10, excess and wickedness is nearly always in view. Like the dragon with ten horns and seven heads, this beast possesses the same features (almost like Satan-incarnate). Added to the horns and heads are ten diadems indicating great power and influence on the world’s stage. However, this power and influence is soiled by the blasphemous names that also grace the beast’s brow.

The identity of the beast is helped along by the remainder of his description in 13:2a—“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.” This is certainly an allusion to Daniel 7:1ff.

Daniel 7:1-8-“ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions [a]in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the [b]following summary of it. Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely 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. While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”

In this vision, many scholars agree that Daniel’s dream serves as a timeline of great and idolatrous empires that would grace the world’s stage. First, you have the lion (the Babylonian empire). Babylon was known in the ancient world by the symbol of the lion—a symbol the was stamped onto the capital city gates. The wings on the lion are peculiar but their being plucked along with the presence of the human stature and mind probably refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s (the greatest Babylonian emperor) humiliating bought of insanity and then restoration following his conversion. Second, you have a lopsided bear—the Medo-Persian empire that took over Babylon swiftly in the days of Nabonidas. The Persians were far more powerful that the Medes (hence the lop-sidedness of the bear) and the three ribs in the mouth probably refer to three kingdoms the Medes and Persians destroyed (Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt). The four-headed leopard with the four wings most likely describes the Greek empire that swiftly took over much of the known world under the leadership of Alexander the Great. Following his early death, the empire was split into four jurisdictions each led by their own general (i.e. four-headed leopard). The indescribable juggernaut to follow the leopard with iron teeth is probably both the Roman empire and a precursor to this beast here in Revelation. Inasmuch as the beast witnessed by John in this vision is a combination of these four historical empires, it is clear that the empire this future beast will control will be similar to but far greater and more wicked than any global empire preceding it. All previous regimes in their own way foreshadow this coming global regime under this beast from the sea.

That the beast is imbued with power is mentioned in 13:2b—“and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority” (13:2b). It is here that the reader can almost sense the parody or imitation being attempted by the forces of evil in the Apocalypse. While the dragon attempts to usurp the role of God, the beast from the sea will attempt to usurp the role of Christ. As God sent the Son to the world to save it (imbued with all authority and power to do so), so too will the dragon conjure up the beast to destroy the world (and empowers him to that end). This beast is that long-anticipated Antichrist that embodies the spirit of antichrist that has been loosed on the planet ever since the days 

of Jesus. He will emerge as a powerful world leader to deceive those left on the earth.

2. His Deception-13:3-4

Chief among his deceptive attributes is the beast’s near-death experience recorded in verses 3-4—“ I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain and his fatal wound was healed,…” (13:3a). The verb used for “had been slain” indicates that the beast will incur a wound that will appear to take his life. The fact that the wound was applied to one of the heads indicates something of the severity of the injury. However, he “was healed” (or, “recovered”). The recovery of the beast from the severe injury will appear unexpected and/or miraculous to many. The fact that the text describes this ordeal as a slaying and a subsequent healing draws parallels between the beast and the Lamb who, as introduced in 5:6 was shown standing, though slain. This is all part of the dragon’s attempt to counterfeit the death and resurrection of Christ, apply it to his Antichrist, and deceive many (Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 157).

This program of deception will be effect as the text reveals “the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 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?’” (13:3b-4). Notice again here how opposite/backwards the world will be in this future period. While Jesus did actually die and rise from the dead, many rejected him and did not worship God nor Christ. Here, in this future age of darkness and tribulation, the Antichrist will appear to die and be healed and many will follow him and worship Satan and Him. Yikes!

3. His Blasphemy-13:5-6

The next component of the emergence of the Aantichrist that John presents is the beast’s blasphemy-“there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him” (13:5). Coinciding with the “blasphemies on his heads” (see 13:1), this description runs parallel to Daniel 7:25 which speaks of a little horn that will emerge out of the head of the fourth beast, that will “speak against the Most High.” Similar to the little horn of Daniel 7:25, the beast of Revelation 13’s blasphemous claims to deity and his demands to be worshiped in the place of God and Christ will form the core of the his evil work (Osborne, Revelation, 491). This obvious and over-the-top campaign for self-glory and idol worship will be yet another characteristic of the second 3.5 years of the tribulation period (the final 42months).

It is during this time where the beast’s program of deception will be rampant: “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and his tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven” (13:6). The word “blaspheme” means “to speak against someone so as to injure his/her reputation—i.e. to defile/defame. In this case, the beast of the sea and all who follow him will speak against the things of God so as to injure (in ways never before experienced) the public image of Christ and his people. This is one of the many characteristics of this terrifying period at the end of the tribulation.

Review: Let’s review what will transpire midway through the tribulation period:

1. The trumpet (Rev. 8-) and bowl judgments (Rev. 16) will be poured out on the earth

2. Persecution and pressure against God’s people will grow (Rev. 8-18)

3. This will come, in part, as Satan will be forcibly expelled from ever accessing the heavenly realm again (Rev. 12:7-17)

4. Made to work on the earth exclusively, Satan will embolden and empower the Antichrist whose true colors and program of blasphemous influence will be revealed (Rev. 13)

5. A remnant of God’s people (newly-converted Jews and gentiles) will be supernaturally protected. (Rev. 12:1-6)

4. His Power-13:7-8

In addition to his program of blasphemy “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” (13:7). Total global geo-political control will be handed to the beast form the sea and with all of this power amassed, these forces will seek to exterminate those recently converted to Christ left on the earth.

Helping these efforts along will be the masses of the lost who become followers of the Beast—“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” (13:8). A cursory reading of this text might suggest that every single person on the earth will be deceived—“all who dwell on the earth will worship him.” However, what of those God is protecting? What of the recent converts in the tribulation period? Often, where someone dwells is indicative of their spiritual state. When Israel dwelt in the Promised Land, they were living as the distinct people of God obedient to the Lord’s commands. However, their estrangement from God in idolatry was in view when they were exiled or scattered. To be an earth-dweller in this context, doesn’t just indicate geography, but something about the spiritual nature of those envisioned.  In other words, everyone belonging to the world’s system will worship the beast and prove that their name is not written in the book of life of the lamb that has been slain. Notice, that the same distinguishing event/activity in the life of the Lamb and the beast is in view in this passage—“has been slain” (13:3, 8). This reveals that ultimately there will be two kinds of people in the world—those who because of the slain and risen Lamb overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony and those who are deceived by the beast who appears to have been slain but then recovers thereafter.

5. His Warning-13:9-10

The emergence of this beast elicits a warning from John for believers —“if anyone has an ear, let him hear. 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” (13:9-10).  This warning/call speaks to both those unfortunate converts that might be made to endure the tribulation period to come and any saints that endure all kinds of tribulation around them at present. In the face of tribulation brought on by beast or other foes, God’s people are not called to actively capture the wicked and/or take it upon themselves to kill them. Those who do these things will themselves be captured and killed. Instead, God’s people are to persevere in a pattern of non-violent resistance, the likes of which was exemplified most in the life of Jesus as he endured the cross (remember the words he had for Peter when the apostle sliced the ear off the guard sent to arrest Jesus). In other words, it is faith, not force, that will ultimately glorify God in the midst of tribulation both now and in the future.

So What?

While this passage anticipates the emergence of a villain to come, hopefully, this prophecy will also illuminate the nature of the enemy that we face today. As I mentioned earlier, while the Antichrist may not yet be present, the spirit of antichrist certainly is—“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). While deception is not yet global, people are being deceived in growing numbers today. This ought to encourage believers everywhere to hold fast to the truths of Scriptures. We must be people who know where to find the truth, know how to apprehend the truth, know how to understand the truth, and know how to apply the truth of Jesus Christ so that we might not fall prey to the program of Satan and the spirit of antichrist that is alive and well today will and ultimately lead to what we read about in this passage. We must also be vigilant to share this truth with those around us so that they too may not be deceived by imposters and counterfeits as the world continues down its dark path toward destruction.