Revelation 13

Satan once had tried to give Jesus authority over all the nations of the world, but Jesus had refused his offer (Matthew 4:8-10). Now we see that Satan has given his authority to the beast instead.

8 Only believers in Christ will refuse to worship this beast; their names are written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5). John says here that this Lamb was slain from the creation of the world. This means that from before the creation of the world God had planned to save men through the sacrifice of Jesus’ body on the cross. From before the creation of the world, our names have been written in that book! (Ephesians 1:4). According to Revelation 3:5, however, we can understand that ifin this life we give up our faith, our names may be erased from that book.

9-10 Here John writes words of exhortation and encouragement to believers who are facing trouble and suffering. If any Christians have been appointed by God to be put into captivity, let them accept it. Let them not fight with the sword, or else they will be killed by the sword (see Matthew 26:50-52). Instead, let them love their enemies, and suffer all things with patient endurance and faithfulness (verse 10).

11 The second beast, which is described in this section, was another helper of Satan whose main work was to deceive men and lead them astray. He looked like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon (see Matthew 7:15). In Revelation 16:13, this second beast is called the false prophet.

12 The particular work of this second beast was to make men worship the first beast. Therefore, we can understand that this second beast is a symbol of false religion and false priesthood.

13-14 The second beast (the false prophet) led men astray by means of signs and miracles (see Deuteronomy 13:1-4; Mark 13:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). The second beast ordered men to set up an image of the first beast.³¹

15 In John’s time, many people believed that images could speak. Accordingto John’s vision, this second beast caused the image of the first beast to speak; and what the image spoke was to order the death sentence for all those who refused to worship it.

16-17 The second beast also forced all men to receive the mark of the first beast on their hand or forehead. This mark was the name of the first beast—or the number of his name³² (verse 17). Just as God’s faithful servants were sealed with God’s name (Revelation 7:2-3), so were the followers of the beast sealed with the beast’s name or number. Those who didn’t have the mark of the beast couldn’t buy or sell any goods; they had great difficulty in making a living. This same situation was true for Christians during the time of the Roman Empire.

18 The number of the first beast was 666. Many Bible scholars believe that this is the number of some man, but no one is sure who. Some think that 666 was the number of the Roman emperor Nero, who reigned from 54 to 68 A.D. (see Acts 18:14-16; 25:10-11 and comments).