Revelation 13:1

That we have here in Rev. Rev. 13:1+, Rev. 13:2+ a composite kingdom is clear from the ‘seven heads.’ Now note that in Dan. Dan. 7:1 the first, second and fourth kingdoms are not said to have more than one head, but the third has ‘four heads’ (Dan. Dan. 7:6). Thus the beasts of Dan. Dan. 7:1 have, three of them one head each, and the third four heads, or seven in all; which tallies perfectly with Rev. Rev. 13:1+. . . . the four kingdoms of Dan. Dan. 7:1 are to be restored, and play their final parts immediately before the Millennium. If the reader will turn to Dan. Dan. 2:1, which is parallel with Dan. Dan. 7:1 - the ‘image in its four parts’ (the head, the breast and arms, the belly and thighs, the legs and feet) corresponding with the four beasts - it will be found that when we come to Dan. Dan. 2:45, which speaks of Christ (under the figure of ‘the Stone cut out of the mount without hands’ returning to earth to destroy the forces of evil, and then set up His kingdom, we discover that the Stone ‘brake in pieces the iron (Rome), the brass (Greece), the clay (apostate Israel), the silver (Medo-Persia), and the gold (Babylon).’ What we desire the reader to note particularly is that the Stone strikes not only the iron, but the brass, clay, silver, and gold; in fact, Dan. Dan. 2:35 tells us, expressly, they shall be ‘broken to pieces together!’ If, then, they are destroyed together, they must all be on the scene at the time of Christ’s return to earth to inaugurate His millennial reign, and if so, each of them must have been revived and restored!!¹⁶

ten horns
Like the dragon (Rev. Rev. 12:3+), the beast has ten horns. The ten horns are identified for us: “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they will receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.” (Rev. Rev. 17:12-13+). These are the ten horns which Daniel saw upon the fourth terrible beast in his night vision (Dan. Dan. 7:7, Dan. 7:20) which are also said to be ten kings (Dan. Dan. 7:24). The Beast ridden by the Harlot also has ten horns (Rev. Rev. 17:3+). “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose” (Rev. Rev. 17:16+-Rev. 17:17+a) Initially, the beast supports the Harlot and she rides upon, or controls, him. Eventually the ten kings who are allied with the Beast will turn on the Harlot, throw her off and destroy her. See #22 - Ten Horns/Kings. See The Great Harlot. See commentary on Revelation 17:16.

on his horns, ten crowns
Unlike the dragon which wears crowns on its heads (Rev. Rev. 12:3+), the beast’s crowns are on its horns. The dragon’s crowns are associated with historical kingdoms of which this beast is one. The beast has crowns on each of his ten horns, indicating the rule of the ten contemporaneous kings associated with the last head or kingdom. These ten horns are the same as those of the last (terrible beast) of Daniel’s four beasts (Dan. Dan. 7:7). See #22 - Ten Horns/Kings. See Crowns.

a blasphemous name
Ὀνόμα βλασφημίας [Onoma blasphēmias] , a name blasphemous. The MT and NU texts have, ὀνόματα βλασφημίας [onomata blasphēmias] , names blasphemous. The blasphemous name or names are an indication of his character. Daniel described this individual who “shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done” (Dan. Dan. 11:36).¹⁷ He is also noted for his mouth speaking great things against God. See commentary on Revelation 13:5.

Notes

¹ Some infer from the placement of the material of chapter 13 following upon the plight of the woman in chapter 12 that “the rest of her offspring” (Rev. Rev. 12:17+) must be those who are subsequently persecuted within chapter Rev. 13:1+. If so, then her offspring would include all who refuse to take the mark, both Jew and Gentile. [Alan F. Johnson, Revelation: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), Rev. 13:1] Yet there are valid reasons to understand her offspring as physical Jews. See commentary on Revelation 12:1.

² We note that the term Antichrist is not used by John in the book of Revelation. But neither is the little horn or many of the other names which apply throughout Scripture to this individual, here designated as the first beast. See Man of Many Names.

³ “Though the Holy Spirit ‘[will be] taken out of the way’ (2Th. 2Th. 2:7) in the Tribulation, this has to do with His work of restraining sin and not with His indwelling and empowering believers.”—Russell L. Penney, “Pneumatology in the Book of Revelation,” in Mal Couch, ed., A Bible Handbook to Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2001), 119.

⁴ John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1966), s.v. “Some manuscripts read, "he stood," the change being effected by the dropping of one letter .”

⁵ Walter Scott, Exposition of The Revelation (London, England: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), Rev. 13:1.

⁶ Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971), Rev. 13:1.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 322.

⁹ Arthur Walkington Pink, The Antichrist (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1999, 1923), s.v. “Antichrist in the Apocalypse.”

¹⁰ Daniel K. Wong, “The Beast From The Sea in Revelation 13,” in Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 160 no. 639 (Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, July-September 2003), 337.

¹¹ Randall Price, “Antichrist,” in Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 46.

¹² Barnhouse, Revelation, 103.

¹³ Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 676.

¹⁴ “To say that the sea stands for the abyss carries on the OT concept of the sea, that is the source of the satanic sea monster (cf. Job Job 26:12-13; Ps. Ps. 74:13-14; Ps. 87:4; Ps. 89:9-10; Isa. Isa. 27:1; Isa. 51:9-10) (Johnson). Also, Paul equates the sea with the abyss in his Rom. Rom. 10:7 citation of Deu. Deu. 30:13.”—Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995), Rev. 13:1.

¹⁵ Concerning inaccuracies in the KJV and NKJV, see commentary on Revelation 17:10.

¹⁶ Pink, The Antichrist, s.v. “Babylon and the Antichrist.”

¹⁷ “Beginning with verse 36, a sharp break in the prophecy may be observed, introduced by the expression the time of the end in verse 35. Up to this point, the prophecy dealing with the Persian and Grecian Empires has been fulfilled minutely and with amazing precision. Beginning with verse 36, however, an entirely different situation obtains. No commentator claims to find precise fulfillment in the remainder of this chapter. Although Zöckler and others attempt to relate Daniel Dan. 11:36-45 to Antiochus, many students of Scripture have recognized from antiquity that another king must be in view. Ibn-Ezra, for example, identified this king with Constantine the Great; Rashi and Calvin referred him to the Roman Empire as a whole; and Jerome, Theodoret, and Luther, among others, identified him with the New Testament Antichrist.”—John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 1971), Dan. 11:36.