The Revelation · New Testament

Revelation 13

Revelation 13: a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth

General context

John stands on the sand of the sea and sees a beast rise out of it with seven heads, ten horns, ten crowns on the horns and the name of blasphemy on the heads; it is like a leopard, with a bear's feet and a lion's mouth, and the dragon gives it power, a seat and great authority. One head appears wounded to death and the wound is healed, and the world wonders after it and worships both dragon and beast, asking who is able to make war with it. The beast is given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power to continue forty and two months, and it is given power to make war with the saints and to overcome them. All that dwell on the earth are said to worship it except those written in the book of life. A call to hear is followed by a saying about captivity and the sword. A second beast then comes up out of the earth with two horns like a lamb and a dragon's speech; it works wonders, tells people to make an image of the first beast, gives the image speech, and has those who will not worship it killed. It marks all in the right hand or forehead, so that no one may buy or sell without the mark, the name or the number, which the chapter gives.

Cited passages: Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:3, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 13:5, Revelation 13:6, Revelation 13:7, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 13:9, Revelation 13:10, Revelation 13:11, Revelation 13:12, Revelation 13:13, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 13:15, Revelation 13:16, Revelation 13:17, Revelation 13:18

Revelation 13 (KJV)

¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

²And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

³And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

⁴And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

⁵And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

⁶And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

⁷And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

⁸And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹If any man have an ear, let him hear.

¹⁰He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

¹²And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

¹³And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

¹⁴And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

¹⁶And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Neither beast is named or identified anywhere in the chapter. What the text supplies is where each comes from, one "out of the sea" and one "out of the earth", what each looks like, and who gives the first its authority, since "the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority". The second beast is given no title here. The number is stated and characterised only as far as the text goes: "it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six", introduced by an instruction, "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast". The text attaches no person, name, city or nation to it, and this guide adds none. The mark is described by where it is worn and by what it permits, buying and selling. The span "forty and two months" repeats the figure given at 11:2. The killing at 13:15 is stated plainly and without qualification.

Cited passages: Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:11, Revelation 13:15, Revelation 13:16, Revelation 13:17, Revelation 13:18, Revelation 11:2

Literary context

The two beasts are built as a pair. Each is introduced by John seeing it, each rises from a different element, and the second exists to point at the first, since it "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast". Imitation runs through the chapter: horns "like a lamb" on a creature that "spake as a dragon", a deadly wound that is healed, an image that is given life and speech. Grants are repeatedly passive, "there was given unto him", "power was given unto him", "it was given unto him", so authority keeps arriving from somewhere the sentence does not name. Twice the narrative stops and turns to the reader, first with "If any man have an ear, let him hear", a shortened form of the ear formula used in the seven messages, and then with "Here is wisdom". The phrase "Here is the patience" appears at the end of the first beast's account and again at 14:12.

Cited passages: Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:5, Revelation 13:7, Revelation 13:9, Revelation 13:10, Revelation 13:11, Revelation 13:12, Revelation 13:15, Revelation 13:18, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 14:12

Key moments

A beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). John sees a beast with seven heads and ten horns rise from the sea.
The healed wound (Revelation 13:3). One head appears wounded to death and is healed, and the world wonders after the beast.
War with the saints (Revelation 13:7). The beast is given power to make war with the saints and to overcome them.
A beast out of the earth (Revelation 13:11). A second beast appears with two horns like a lamb and the speech of a dragon.
The image given life (Revelation 13:15). The image is made to speak and those who will not worship it are killed.
The mark required (Revelation 13:16). All are made to receive a mark in the right hand or the forehead.
The number stated (Revelation 13:18). The text calls it the number of a man and gives it as six hundred threescore and six.

For reflection

The chapter hands the reader an instruction to count a number and then supplies nothing else to count with. What is it like to be given a task by a text that withholds what the task would need?