Revelation 13:1-8

Revelation 13 - Quick Links

• Beast out of the sea
  Revelation 13:1-4


• The beast's authority
  Revelation 13:5-8


• Call to hear
  Revelation 13:9-10


• Beast out of the earth
  Revelation 13:11-15


• Mark of the beast
  Revelation 13:16-18

Introduction to Revelation 13

Recall from Revelation 10:8-11, the Lord commanded John to eat a little book that contains prophecies that cover events in the last half of the Tribulation in two interludes. As discussed in the "Revelation Introduction," an interlude gives us more information or a different perspective to the narrative. In other words, an interlude is a background story to the narrative, with clear indications that each interlude reaches back or forward in time, and generally returns to where the primary narrative left off.

There are four interludes in Revelation that give us details about events not covered in the main storyline, as shown below:

The two interludes covered in chapters 11-14 focus on events in the last half of the Tribulation, before we return to the narrative of the Tribulation judgments in Revelation 15, as shown below:

Revelation 13:1-4

Revelation 13:1 - Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Recall that the scene in Revelation 12 shifts from Heaven to the earth after Michael and his angels cast the dragon and his angels out of Heaven. John's vision continues with an earthly view in this chapter, as he stands on a sandy beach and watches a beast rise out of the sea. "Sand of the sea" is a phrase that indicates an innumerable number of something:

Genesis 32:12 - "For You said, 'I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

Genesis 41:49 - Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

2 Samuel 17:11 - Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.

1 Kings 4:20 - Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Source: Wikipedia

Jeremiah 33:22 - As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.

Hosea 1:10 - "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'"

As discussed in Revelation 7:3, the sea represents Gentiles, which shows that the beast will come out of the Gentile nations. Therefore, the symbols of the "sea" and the "sand of the sea" show that the beast will come out of the Gentile nations whose population is too large to number. Only in the last few hundred years has the human population swelled to a number too large to count with certainty. With the estimated global population near 7 billion people, there will certainly be billions of people still on the earth when the beast rises out of the sea in the Tribulation, even if billions perish in the Seal judgments in the first half of the Tribulation.

The beast that rises from the sea has seven heads and ten horns like the dragon in Revelation 12:3. Recall, that the heads and horns on the dragon represent Satan's authority over Gentile kingdoms. In Revelation 13:2 we see that it is the dragon that gives the beast his authority. Therefore, the beast has seven heads and ten horns like the dragon because the dragon gives the beast his power and authority over the kingdoms of the world.

The ten horns on both the dragon and the beast are ten kings who will rule over the seventh and last Gentile kingdom (Revelation 17:12). One difference between the beast and the dragon is that the beast that rises out of the sea has ten crowns, but the dragon has seven diadems or crowns:

Revelation 12:3 - And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

Revelation 13:1-2 - Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

Recall from Revelation 12:3, that crowns signify kingship and the heads and horns represent kingdoms. The seven crowns on the seven heads of the dragon represent seven specific kings in each successive Gentile kingdom who oppressed Israel. In contrast, there are ten crowns on the ten horns of the beast which shows ten kings who rule over ten kingdoms.

As discussed in Revelation 12:3, these ten horns are on the seventh head, which shows that the ten kings will rule over the last head, or Gentile kingdom, but not the previous kingdoms. In other words, the seventh head of the dragon and the beast from the sea is a future empire divided into ten kingdoms initially ruled by ten kings, but they later give their kingdom to the beast (Revelation 17:12-13).

The beast clearly represents earthly dominion, but as we will see in in later verses the beast also represents a king. Similarly, Daniel equated the king of Babylon with his kingdom - the head of gold in the statue represented both Nebuchadnezzar's kingship and his kingdom:

Daniel 2:37-40 - You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all - you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

Nebuchadnezzar and six other kings have ruled over earthly kingdoms that oppressed Israel and represent six of the seven heads on both the dragon and the beast. The seventh head on the beast shows that one last king will rule as "the beast" over a global empire. This king has the following names and titles in Scripture:

• The Assyrian (Isaiah 10:5-12)
• King of Babylon (Isaiah 14, Jeremiah 50:43)
• The Spoiler (Isaiah 16:4)
• Little Horn (Daniel 7:8)
• Stern faced king (Daniel 8:23)
• Prince who will come (Daniel 9:26)
• King of the North (Daniel 11:40-45)
• The Willful King (Daniel 11:36)
• The Worthless Shepherd (Zechariah 11:16-17)
• The Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
• The Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
• The Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
• The Antichrist (1 John 2:18)

While the beast has many titles, most scholars call him the antichrist. The word "antichrist" is only in John's epistles, and describes a person or a spirit who is against Christ and deceives others to draw them away from Christ:

1 John 2:22 - Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:2-3 - By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

2 John 1:7 - For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

But John is clear that a specific person is coming, known as "the antichrist":

1 John 2:18 - Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

Many believe Jesus alluded to the antichrist in this passage, where He said those who reject Him as Messiah will follow someone else who tries to fill that role:

John 5:43 - I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

In fact, the following passage shows that the antichrist, or the last conquering king will come in his own name and exalt himself above all gods, including the one true God:

Daniel 11:36-37 - "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he 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. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all."

This king exalts himself and speaks blasphemies against God. Blasphemy verbally expresses scorn in the form of curses against God. It is also blasphemous to falsely exalt oneself above God, or equate oneself with God. The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy because He said He was the Son of God, but Jesus did not blaspheme because He truly is part of the Godhead:

Matthew 26:63-65 - But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

Mark 2:5-7 - When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Not only does the antichrist, or beast blaspheme God verbally, each head on the beast has a blasphemous name:

Revelation 13:1 - Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Revelation 17:3 - So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Recall that each head on the beast having a blasphemous name represents a specific king from each of seven kingdoms who oppressed Israel, so each king had a blasphemous name. Having a name shows fame, honor, or notoriety, as discussed in Revelation 3:1. Therefore, a blasphemous name shows that each king exalted himself above God. In fact, history shows that each kingdom of the seven heads of the dragon and beast had a king that blasphemed God by exalting themselves above God:

In summary, the beast will rise out of the vastly populated Gentile nations symbolized by the "sea" and the "sand of the sea." The beast is both a person and a kingdom, and has seven heads and ten horns like the dragon because the dragon gives him power and authority over the earthly kingdoms. Each head of the beast has a blasphemous name, which shows a king from each kingdom who exalted themselves above God. The last head represents the last king known as "the antichrist," who will rule over the last Gentile kingdom, and both the king and the kingdom are interchangeably known as "the beast" in Revelation. The ten crowns on the seventh head show that the last kingdom is divided into ten smaller kingdoms. As we will see in the next section, Satan gives the beast his power and authority, but first he gives it to ten kings over the ten kingdoms who later give it to the beast:

Revelation 17:12-13 - "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they 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."

Revelation 13:2 - Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

In the last section, John described a beast with multiple heads, horns, and crowns that will arise from the sea. The beast's seven heads represent the seven global empires directed by Satan and ruled by seven kings who oppressed Israel. In this section, John gives further description of the beast - his body is like a leopard, his feet are like bear's paws, and he has a mouth of a lion. In addition to the imagery of the heads, horns, and crowns on the beast, the different features of the beast's body help describe characteristics of the beast. We find similar imagery in Daniel's dream of four separate beasts who also emerged out of the sea of Gentile nations like the beast in Revelation:

Daniel 7:2-4 - Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Daniel 7:5-7 - "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!' "After this I looked, and there was another, 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 saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns."

Daniel sees four kingdoms as separate beasts in his dream, while John sees one beast with different body parts from the same beasts Daniel saw. As discussed in Revelation 12:3, these four beasts are four kingdoms which are of the seven kingdoms represented by the heads of the dragon and beast in Revelation as shown below:

Daniel saw Babylon as a lion, which is the king of the wild beasts (Revelation 4:7). The mouth of a lion on the beast in Revelation points to its roar which exhibits authority (Revelation 10:3). Daniel saw the Medo-Persian empire as a bear. A bear devours its prey (Daniel 7:5) using their paws to capture and kill their prey (1 Samuel 17:37), which shows that the beast in John's vision has the crushing power of a bear. Daniel saw the Greek empire as a leopard. A leopard moves swiftly to attack their prey (Habakkuk 1:8), so the beast in Revelation that has a body like a leopard shows that the beast will swiftly move to defeat his enemies.

In short, the beast in Revelation has characteristics of three of the beasts in Daniel's dream, which shows that the beast and its king will exercise authority over all the other kingdoms of the world like a lion, it will crush the enemy like a bear, and it will swiftly move to take out the enemy like a leopard. The passage below about the antichrist's conquests shows these same characteristics of the beast - a conquering king that crushes and devours his enemies with swiftness like a whirlwind:

Daniel 11:40-44 - "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many."

God allowed the former heads or kings of the beast to conquer their enemies to judge the nations. In fact, God described Himself having characteristics of a lion, a leopard, and a bear when He judged Israel, which concurs with the fact that He would punish Israel through the beast kingdoms described with the same characteristics:

Hosea 13:4-10 - "Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior besides Me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me. "So I will be to them like a lion; like a leopard by the road I will lurk; I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage, and there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them. "O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is from Me. I will be your King; where is any other, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'?

The different body parts of the beast also show that the former kingdoms influenced future kingdoms, with the last kingdom having attributes of them all. This continuing influence is evident when God destroys the last kingdom, because the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream shows that the different body parts that represent different kingdoms stay intact until a stone destroys the last kingdom which crushes the entire statue consuming all influences of all the kingdoms:

Daniel 2:31-35 - "You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."

Daniel 2:44-45 - And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold - the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."

As an aside, Daniel sees the beasts in the reverse order that John sees the corresponding parts of the same wild animals on the beast in Revelation, because Daniel's dream looked forward in time and John's vision looks back in time.

Incidentally, Nebuchadnezzar saw these same kingdoms in the form of a beautiful statue in a dream (Daniel 2), in contrast to God's prophets who saw the kingdoms as beasts shown to the right.

Humans tend to magnify and put hope in human governments to fix the world's problems, but God sees human authority for what it truly is - a beastly rule. Human governments rarely seek to serve like a domesticated servant animal unless God in His sovereignty requires it. Instead, world governments are generally self-serving establishments like wild animals, which makes sense since Satan directs these kingdoms and he seeks to destroy men like a roaring lion - the king of the beasts!

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

On that note, John tells us that the dragon gives the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. This is a counterfeit of God, as God the Father also gives all authority, power, and His throne to Jesus (Matthew 28:18, Revelation 5:11-13, Acts 2:30).

Though God is still sovereign, Jesus said that Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) and he directs global affairs through human agents who rule over earthly kingdoms (Ephesians 2:2). The antichrist is Satan's final human agent whom he will give power and authority to rule over the whole world from his throne (click here for more on Satan's throne). In other words, the antichrist will take Satan's offer that Jesus rejected in the wilderness, and sell his soul to the devil to gain global dominion by worshipping Satan instead of God:

Luke 4:6-8 - And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Daniel 11:36-39- "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he 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. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain."

So, we see that the antichrist will rule with the authority and power of Satan over the last Gentile kingdom on the earth. John's description of this beastly kingdom shows that it has attributes influenced by former Gentile kingdoms who ruled the world and oppressed Israel. And since the antichrist is the beast, its different body parts which represent previous kingdoms may also point to the origin of the antichrist, as discussed in the study: "Nationality of the Antichrist."

Revelation 13:3 - And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

In the last few sections, John described different parts of a beast that rises from the sea, which show that the beast represents Gentile kingdoms, but this beast also represents the last king over the last earthly kingdom. In this section, John shows that the beast suffers a mortal wound. Since the beast represents both a ruling king and a kingdom, it is unclear from our passage of discussion if the mortal wound is the destruction of the kingdom, or if someone assassinates the king. However, the following passage clarifies that it is the king that will fall:

Revelation 17:8-11 - The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition."

Clearly the focus of this passage is on the last king over the beastly kingdom. But the seven mountains, which are the seven heads of the beast indicate that the kingdoms of the beast are in view too. Mountains in Scripture show dominion, but they also represent kingdoms, as discussed in Zechariah 6:1. Also, the kings represented by the seven heads of the beast were not consecutive kings, but seven specific kings who ruled over each kingdom. These kings oppressed the Jews and blasphemed God, as discussed in the last section.

Therefore, the mountains are five consecutive kingdoms that had fallen, one kingdom was still ruling when John penned the Revelation, and another kingdom will rule in the future. Rome is the kingdom that was in power during John's life. No other kingdom conquered Rome - it gradually declined over time. This empire will revive from its apparent death as the seventh global kingdom that has not yet come, represented in the seventh head of the dragon:

Revelation 12:3 - And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

But John also personifies the beast, showing that the king over the seventh kingdom is also in view. This king, represented by the diadem or crown on dragon's seventh head goes to the bottomless pit, but returns as an eighth king. This eighth king is the resurrected seventh king who will rule over the seventh head of the beast:

Revelation 17:8, 11 - The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.... "The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition."

The fact that the beast goes to the bottomless pit and returns with his mortal wound healed means he resurrects from the dead. In other words, the seventh king dies ("was, and is not") and in his destruction ("perdition") he goes to the bottomless pit, but he returns to life, healed from the wound of death.

Incidentally, the bottomless pit is the "great deep" which often alludes to the sea (Revelation 9:5). Recall that the sea can represent the Gentile nations (Revelation 7:3). The beast rises from the sea in Revelation 13:1, so while the beast metaphorically arises out of the Gentile nations, he will literally arise out of the "great deep" from the bottomless pit after rising from the dead. Daniel also shows that the beast dies and goes to the burning flame:

Daniel 7:11 - "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

This is not the beast's final destination, because after the Tribulation he is thrown alive into the lake of fire:

Revelation 19:20 - Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Interestingly, the Greek rendering of the mortal wound is literally "slain to death," and is how Jesus appears as the sacrificial lamb:

Revelation 5:6 - And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Like the beast, Jesus also rose from the dead after being slain. However, Jesus, who is God, said He would raise Himself and those who believe on Him:

John 2:19-21 - Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days" But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

Acts 2:30-23 - Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Acts 13:33-34 - God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You.' And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: 'I will give you the sure mercies of David.'

1 Corinthian 6:14 - And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

God also raised the dead through people:

1 Kings 17:21-22 - And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him." Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

2 Kings 4:32-35 - When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

Acts 9:36-37, 40-41 - At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.... But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

Acts 20:9-12 - And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, "Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him." Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

This raises the question whether God directly resurrects the beast, or if God gives power to Satan to resurrect the beast. Isaiah gives us an interesting perspective on the matter. The following passage describes both a future king of Babylon, who is the beast, and Satan, who is also known as Lucifer. The king of Babylon works through the power of Satan, so we see that some of this passage pertains to both the king and Lucifer, but some verses are clearly speaking of either a man or a supernatural entity:

Isaiah 14:4-6 - ...take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: "How the oppressor has ceased, the golden city ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers; he who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders."

Isaiah 14:9-11 - "Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.'"

Isaiah 14:12-16 - "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit. "Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms...."

Isaiah 14:19-20 - But you are cast out of your grave like an abominable branch, like the garment of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a corpse trodden underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named.

Note that Satan, or Lucifer will go to the bottomless pit like the beast after the Tribulation (Revelation 20:1-3). Clearly, it is the power of God that brings the king and Lucifer down to the pit and casts them out again. But in the end it doesn't matter who performs the beast's resurrection, as the power and source to give life belongs to God (Job 12:9-10, Acts 17:24-25) and He gives that power to whom He chooses. That said, God does not get the glory for the beast's resurrection, as the world marvels and follows the beast, giving him the glory and worship. However, this might play into God's "strong delusion":

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 - And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

In fact, because of the beast's resurrection, the world will follow the beast and the deceptive signs and wonders attributed to him (Revelation 13:12-14). Then God will condemn the world for following the beast instead of God (Revelation 14:9-11), which is the purpose of God's strong delusion - to condemn those who do not believe the truth. In any event, God is sending a strong delusion to harden the hearts of those who reject Christ in the form of something that will be hard to deny by the physical senses. Resurrecting the beast and allowing the lying signs and wonders that follow could certainly qualify as a strong delusion for the masses. Only those who walk by faith and not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) will escape from deception of the beast and his agents working through the power of Satan:

2 Corinthians 11:13-14 - For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

The Lord will expose the beast's deception when He raises His two witnesses from the dead after the beast kills them, as discussed in Revelation 11:11. This resurrection will prove that God has more power than the beast who killed the two witnesses, and the beast and Satan will suffer defeat and God will get the glory:

Revelation 11:7, 11-13 - When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.... Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

As an interesting aside, the wounded beast is the "worthless shepherd" in the following passage:

Zechariah 11:16-17 - For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces. "Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded."

The "worthless shepherd" carelessly rules over the land of Israel, and his ruthlessness over God's people - His flock - is in stark contrast to the "good shepherd," who is the Lord:

John 10:11-16 - "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

The beast is also the king of the north in Daniel. As shown in the passage below, the king of the north will overthrow Israel (the Glorious land) and destroy many, which agrees with Zechariah's description of the worthless shepherd who massacres the Jewish flock, except the remnant (Zechariah 13:8-9, Revelation 12:14), and leaves Israel to continue his conquest and destroy many:

Daniel 11:41, 44-45 - He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown... But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Zechariah 11:16 - ... But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces. "Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock...."

But note that the king of the north will "come to his end," and shows he will die which corresponds to the mortal wound of the beast. Zechariah shows that someone strikes the right eye and arm of the king with a sword. The striking of the worthless shepherd's right eye will literally fulfill the mortal head wound of the beast:

Zechariah 11:17 - "Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded."

Revelation 13:3 - And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

Apparently, when the king comes back to life, he will still have the scars of his death wounds, with a withered arm and a blind right eye like a pirate.

Interestingly, a one-eyed ruler who exalts himself as a god predates Zechariah's prophecy of the worthless shepherd and Daniel's prophecy of the ruler who will exalt himself as God, and goes back to the first kingdom of Satan - Egypt. One of Egypt's earliest deities was Horus, the sky god, who lost his right eye in a fight with another god. In the myth, Horus' eye was restored and came to represent healing, restoration, and protection (source).

The "eye of Horus" is also known as the "all-seeing eye" (source), which is really a counterfeit, since God is the only one omniscient. The "eye of Horus" was and still is widely used in the occult, including Satanic worship, and is often displayed within an Egyptian pyramid (source) or in mysticism on the forehead as the "third eye" pointing to the pineal gland in the brain, which remarkably looks like the "eye of Horus" (source). Some believe the pineal gland is the "seat of the soul" and the link to the spiritual realm (source). If this is true, then the pineal gland might be the "holy of holies" of the bodily temple where the Holy Spirit dwells in believers like He did in the physical temple, making the pineal gland a prime target for Satan to desecrate:

1 Corinthians 6:19 - Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

It is curious how a symbol that predates God's written word, handed down through the generations through the occult and found across the cultures, seems to point to both the head wound of the beast and the global domination and usurping of God shown in the "all seeing eye." It is as if Satan, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), uses this symbol among other symbols to defy God and proudly display them around the world to mark what he has claimed as his, including the beast who requires people to get a mark on their right hand or forehead:

Revelation 13:16-17 - He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

It is interesting that placement of the mark is on the same parts of the body of the beast's wounds, the head, and the arm, including the hand, which shows allegiance to the beast and Satan. In other words, the wounds of the beast are like the mark God placed on Cain (Genesis 4:15). The beast's wounds act as a mark that identifies who he is and people who take the mark identify with the beast placing them on the same body parts where the beast gets wounded. Those who take the mark will literally sell their soul to the devil and share the same fate in eternal torment:

Revelation 14:11 - "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

In summary, the last head of the beast, who represents the antichrist, will die from a head wound and rise again. Though the beast returns to life, Zechariah 11:17 shows that he will bear the scars of his wounds, having a withered arm and hand and a blind eye. Some see a parallel between Christ who still had His wounds from the cross, which He used to identify Himself to others. The fact that the world marvels after the beast and worships him after he rises from the dead may suggest that his scars will authenticate him like Christ.

Those who follow the beast take a mark on the right hand or forehead to show allegiance to the beast whose wounds are in the same regions of the body. In other words, the world believes the beast really died, because his wounds are fatal which will prove that his resurrection is a miracle, so they worship him as a god, as we will see in the next section.

Revelation 13:4 - So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

After the beast rises from the dead, the world worships the beast because they believe he is invincible like a god - if death does not stop him, who will? But the world also worships the dragon who gives authority to the beast to rule over the earthly kingdoms. It is not clear if the world openly embraces Satanism, or if the world worships Satan through the beast.

Some believe the dragon enters the beast in the same way Satan entered Judas Iscariot, controlling his every move like a demon possession (Luke 22:3). Isaiah 14 shows the king, or beast working in tandem with Satan, which may show a possession like that of Judas. And since the beast will exalt himself above every god, this suggests that the world worships Satan through the beast and not separately from the beast, which also lends credence to Satan possessing the beast, but the beast himself will honor a "god of fortresses":

Daniel 11:36-39 - "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he 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. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain."

The Hebrew word for "fortresses" can mean forces, strongholds, or places of refuge, and is in several verses that describe the Lord's strength and protection, but can also describe a temple of a false god:

Judges 9:46 - Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.

The meaning of this word can extend beyond a physical stronghold, as the following passage shows that there are strongholds in the spiritual realm too:

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God....

So, the "god of fortress" is a stronghold in the spiritual realm who rules over other strongholds and gives the beast his power and authority. Satan not only has power and authority over the earthly kingdoms (Luke 4:6), he is the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and has power over the fallen angels and demonic forces (Revelation 12:9, Matthew 25:41, Luke 11:18). This shows that Satan is the "god of fortresses" who gives power to the beast and the beast worships him. Even so, the beast will exalt himself above all gods:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 - Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

When the beast, or "the man of sin" sits in God's temple and exalts himself above God, Jesus calls it the "abomination of desolation," which includes desecration of the temple and ceasing of the sacrifices and offerings. This will occur in the middle of "Daniel's 70th Week," which is the midpoint of the 7-year Tribulation:

Daniel 9:24, 27 - "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.... Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."

A similar prophecy in Daniel fulfilled in history further describes the "abomination of desolation":

Daniel 11:30-31 - ...So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.

The ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled this prophecy in the second century B.C. The "abomination of desolation" was that Antiochus defiled the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. He also set up a statue of a Greek god in the place of the Most Holy. The "abomination of desolation" has not happened again since Christ reiterated Daniel's prophecy in His "Olivet Discourse":

Matthew 24:15 - 'Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)..."

As discussed in Revelation 11:1-2, a Jewish temple will stand in the last days and sacrifices will begin again. The antichrist will fulfill this future prophecy by defiling the temple and stopping the sacrifices in the middle of the Tribulation like Antiochus Epiphanes. As we will see later in Revelation 13:14, people will worship an idol made in the image of the beast. Many believe the beast will set up this idol in the temple as part of the "abomination of desolation," just Antiochus Epiphanes set up an idol when he desecrated the temple.

The "abomination of desolation" will mark the point in the Tribulation when the antichrist begins to take full reign. The world will ask: "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" Who can defeat someone who appears invincible? How do you kill an enemy who overcame death? On the surface, these questions make sense in light of the miracle of the beast's resurrection. However, the way the world phrases the questions show they are not merely asking questions, but mocking God as they exalt the beast in the same way the following passages exalt God:

Exodus 15:11 - "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"

Psalms 35:10 - All my bones shall say, "LORD, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?"

Psalms 71:19 - Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?

Psalms 113:4-5 - The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high....

God will respond with a retort to the world's questions when He returns to destroy Babylon and its king who is the "worthless shepherd" mentioned in the last section:

Jeremiah 50:43-44, 46 - "The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, and his hands grow feeble; anguish has taken hold of him, pangs as of a woman in childbirth. "Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan against the dwelling place of the strong; but I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd who will withstand Me...?" At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.

Incidentally, we find that the beast, or the "worthless shepherd" will arrive on the scene after God judges Edom near the beginning of the Tribulation, as discussed in the "Great Middle East War" study, which fits with the antichrist appearing at the beginning of the Tribulation in the first Seal judgment (Revelation 6:2):

Jeremiah 49:17-19 - "Edom also shall be an astonishment; everyone who goes by it will be astonished and will hiss at all its plagues. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," says the LORD, "No one shall remain there, nor shall a son of man dwell in it. "Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan against the dwelling place of the strong; but I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?"

Ultimately, only God Almighty can make war against the beast and those who gave him power, and the Lord will overcome them:

Revelation 17:12-14 - "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they 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. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."

After the Lord defeats the beast and the dragon, He will assemble the nations and declare that there are no other gods to worship but Him, because only He can save them, and everyone will worship the Lord:

Isaiah 45:20-25 - "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me. "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, 'Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.'"

Philippians 2:9-11 - Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 13:5-8

Revelation 13:5 - And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.

As we saw in the last section, the dragon gives authority to the beast to rule over the world. The dragon also gives him the ability to speak as a great orator expressing great things and blasphemies. Giving the beast a mouth is like Moses giving Aaron God's words to speak - Aaron was the mouth, or spokesman for Moses, and the beast is the mouth, or spokesman for the dragon:

Exodus 4:10-16 - Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.

The great things the beast or king speaks are boastful words that serve to exalt himself above God:

Daniel 11:36 - "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he 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.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 - Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

The beast also blasphemes against God. As discussed in Revelation 13:1, blasphemous words verbally express scorn in the form of curses against God. It is also blasphemous to falsely exalt oneself above God or equate oneself with God, which the beast does. Daniel also sees the beast in another vision as a little horn characterized by his mouth that speaks pompous words, which are great boasts:

Daniel 7:7-8, 11 - "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.... I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame."

The beast not only boasts and blasphemes God, but he also speaks with authority. Recall from Revelation 13:2, the beast has a mouth of a lion. The roar of a lion represents authority, which the dragon gives to the beast. The fact that the world will marvel and follow the beast (Revelation 13:3) shows that he will have great sway over the people like Adolf Hitler's hypnotic oratory.

As discussed in the last section, the beast will begin to take full reign at the "abomination of desolation," after he desecrates the Jewish temple and exalts himself above God, speaking great things and blasphemies. Recall, the "abomination of desolation" marks the midpoint of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27). Before this point, the ten kings give their authority to rule over the earthly kingdoms to the beast who was mortally wounded and rose again to life (Revelation 17:11-13). This shows that the beast had already begun to reign before the midpoint of the Tribulation and now John says that "he is given authority to continue" his conquest and reign through the end of the Tribulation, which is 42 months, or "time, times and half a time":

Daniel 7:25 - He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.

On an endnote, the 42 months the beast wields his authority over the earthly kingdoms coincides with the trampling of Jerusalem, the ministry of the two witnesses, and the time God protects the Jewish remnant in the wilderness, which are the events described in the interludes that cover the last half of the Tribulation, as shown in Revelation 13:1, described in the passages below:

Revelation 11:2-3 - But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

Daniel 12:7 - Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

Revelation 12:14 - But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

Revelation 13:6 - Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

As discussed in the last section, the dragon gives the beast a mouth to speak great things and blasphemies, which are boastful words that serve to exalt himself above God and to scorn God. In this section, we see that the beast also blasphemes the name of God, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in Heaven.

As discussed in Revelation 11:18, the Lord's name describes His character and who He is. Blaspheming God's name is to reproach or discredit God:

Psalms 74:10, 18 - O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever...? Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.

The king of Assyria blasphemed the name of God through his servant Rabshakeh by trying to discredit God and by taunting the people of Jerusalem:

2 Kings 18:28-30 - Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, "The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."'

2 Kings 18:33-35 - Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?'"

2 Kings 19:3-6 - And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' " So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: "Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

The beast will also blaspheme the Lord's tabernacle. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was where God met with men:

Exodus 33:7-9 - Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

This earthly tabernacle looks forward to eternity when God will dwell with men:

Revelation 21:3 - And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

Until then, God dwells in a heavenly tabernacle. The beast will defile the earthly sanctuary that the Jews will rebuild before the middle of the Tribulation (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14), but since he can't touch the heavenly sanctuary he will speak blasphemies against it. The beast will also speak blasphemies against those who dwell with God in His heavenly tabernacle where His throne is. Those who dwell in Heaven with God include angels, the living creatures, and the elders:

Revelation 5:11 - Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands....

As discussed in Revelation 4:4-6, the living creatures and the elders represent the Old Testament saints and the Church saints, therefore, angels and saints are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). So, when the beast blasphemes the saints, he is really blaspheming against the name of Christ because the saints belong to Him:

1 Peter 4:14 - If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

In short, the beast will blaspheme God by exalting himself above God, but he will also blaspheme God's name by trying to discredit Him. The beast will also blaspheme the tabernacle in Heaven after he defiles the earthly temple and blasphemes the citizens in Heaven, which might be a reprisal for the celebration by the inhabitants of Heaven after the dragon is cast to the earth:

Revelation 12:12 - "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

But ultimately, the dragon knows that his time is short, and with great wrath he is going to unleash, through the beast, in a rage against those who dwell on the earth and those who are going to take away his dominion - God and the saints, both in the heavenly court and those on the earth. In other words, the beast will blaspheme the citizens of Heaven that he cannot touch and persecute and kill God's people on the earth:

Daniel 7:23-27 - "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. 'But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'

Revelation 13:7 - It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

In the last section, we saw that the beast will blaspheme against God, his name, his tabernacle, and those who dwell in Heaven. Satan knows his time is short after he is cast out of Heaven, so he will wreak as much havoc as possible on the earth through the beast in the time he has left. In his wrath, Satan gives the beast words of blasphemy against those he cannot touch in Heaven and he will make war with the saints on the earth. We saw in Revelation 12:14 that the dragon first tries to destroy the Jewish remnant after he is cast out of Heaven, but God provides a place of refuge for them in the wilderness away from the dragon, so the dragon goes after the woman's offspring who are the Gentile saints that become believers in the Tribulation:

Revelation 12:17 - And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

The dragon will make war with the saints through the beast during his 42-month reign, which is a "time, times and half a time," as discussed in the last section:

Daniel 7:19-21, 25 - "Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them... He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time."

The beast overcomes or prevails against the saints, which means that the beast will kill most of the saints on the earth. But the saints are the true overcomers spiritually, even though they will lose their lives. As discussed in Revelation 2, all those who believe Jesus is the Son of God will overcome the world:

1 John 5:4-5 - For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

In other words, Satan may win the battle by killing most of the saints on the earth, but the Lord already won the war at the cross and will defeat Satan in the end. Every "tribe, tongue, and nation" will pay homage to the beast or they will die like the saints who refuse to worship the beast (Revelation 13:15). We see a similar division of people groups in the following passage:

Revelation 5:8-10 - Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."

The saints in Heaven, represented by the elders and living creatures come from "every tribe and tongue and people and nation." The divisions of family, language, race, and country, show that the Lord's redemption price is for all humans. Note that the groups given over to the beast include every tribe, tongue, and nation, but not "people," because God protects a small remnant of people - the Jews - from the beast:

Revelation 13:7 - It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

In other words, the beast has authority to rule over all people groups and nations, except the Jewish remnant in the wilderness. Other than this one exception, the beast will have total global domination and seek to destroy all those who resist his authority:

Daniel 7:23 - "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.'"

Revelation 13:8 - All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

As we saw in the last section, the beast will receive authority to rule over the world. The beast does not seem to have much resistance to his global domination, as the passages below show that after he rises from the dead the world will marvel after the beast and worship him:

Revelation 13:3-4 - And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

Revelation 17:8 - The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

John specifies that those who worship the beast are the earth dwellers, whose names are not in the "Lamb's Book of Life," which are those who go to eternal torment for rejecting the Lamb and worshipping the beast:

Revelation 20:15 - And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 14:9-11 - Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

On the other hand, those who refuse to worship the beast and worship Christ instead will likely lose their physical life, but they will have eternal life and reign with the Lord in His earthly kingdom:

Revelation 13:15 - He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Revelation 20:4 - And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The saints who refuse to worship the beast are like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion's den for refusing to worship the king but continued to serve the Lord instead (Daniel 6). However, in the Tribulation God will not spare the lives of the saints, but instead He allows the beast to prevail over them and kill them:

Daniel 7:25 - " He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time."

The Tribulation saints' names are in the "Book of Life," along with the names of the saints from all dispensations, both Jew and Gentile:

Daniel 12:1 - "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book."

Philippians 4:1, 3 - Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.... And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

Revelation 21:2, 24, 27 - Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God... And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.... But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

And all the saints' names were in the "Book of Life" before creation, from the foundation of the world:

Revelation 17:8 - The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The Lord wrote the names of the overcomers in the "Book of Life" from the foundation of the world, because He foreknew, being omniscient, who would choose Him.

Romans 8:29-30 - For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:3-6 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

God used His foreknowledge to choose who He would adopt as sons to partake in redemption and predestined them to receive an inheritance in Heaven – putting their names in the "Book of Life" before the foundation of the world to "register" them as citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 12:23):

Ephesians 1:7-12 - In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Predestination working in tandem with free will is a paradox to many, but it is important to recognize that while God uses His foreknowledge to make arrangements for our eternal future, and goes through the process of drawing us to Him through the Spirit to a salvation decision, it does not negate our free will to choose the path of our eternal future, or the fact that He desires all men to come to salvation (1 Timothy 2:3-6, 2 Peter 3:9). In other words, God's foreknowledge does not equal predetermination of whether one is saved or not. Just because the Lord knows the future and has determined our pre-appointed times and boundaries, He still desires that we seek Him of our own free will:

Acts 17:26-27 - And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us....

Free will and the ability to choose is necessary to have true love. If people are elected, or chosen by God and do not have a choice to freely accept or reject Him, then they cannot love and serve God of their own free will. There are numerous examples in Scripture where God tests our free will to see if we will follow Him or not. The Lord first tested Adam and Eve, and their failure led to the fall of man. Unfortunately, free will can lead to sin which has consequences, and God being just has to deal with sin, but He was willing to send His Son, the Lamb of God (John 1:36), to pay the price for our sin so that we might have eternal life because He loved us so much (John 3:16-17):

1 Peter 1:18-20 - Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

When the Lord wrote the overcomers names in the "Lamb's Book of Life" before the foundation of the world, it was forever – His promise is that He will never blot out anyone's name written in the "Book of Life," as discussed in Revelation 3:5:

Revelation 3:5 - He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 

So, we see that everyone who worships the beast is not in the "Book of Life," and since they reject the redemption paid for by the Lamb who was slain, they will not inherit eternal life, but go to eternal torment instead. But those who accept the Lamb who was slain will receive an inheritance in eternal life as an adopted son of God.

Revelation Flow Chart: