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Revelation 13:4  (King James Version)
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<< Revelation 13:3   Revelation 13:5 >>


Revelation 13:1-18

Chapter 13 begins with a very colorful, almost overpowering, vision showing an overview of the political system that Satan works through.

There is just enough given here to connect this with the Daniel 2 and 7. What arises in Revelation 13 actually has its beginnings long before Jesus Christ, all the way back to Nimrod, showing a definite time progression. This is the system that rears its head at the end time, but the vision is given so that we will understand that this is the system that Satan has always worked through.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean Church



Revelation 13:1-10

For many years, we have maintained that a great power, which the Bible calls "the Beast," will rise out of Europe as the last reincarnation of the Roman Empire (Revelation 13:1-10; 17:1-13). As described in Daniel 2:40-43, it has ten "toes," composed of iron and clay and divided on two "feet" - Eastern and Western Europe, we have interpreted - as the Roman Empire was similarly divided. This Beast power would dominate the world politically and militarily (Daniel 11:36-39), bringing on the "time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time" (Daniel 12:1).

Present-day Europe, however, appears particularly unqualified for such a role, which opens up a few possibilities:

1. The Beast is not European. Our long-held understanding is hard to toss aside because the biblical clues seem to fit the Europe-based Roman and Holy Roman Empires so squarely. If Europe or the EU is not the Beast power, then it must surely have a European component.

2. Christ's return is farther off than we think. Europe is so weak - militarily, in particular - that it could take years for its war machine to grow to world domination. In particular, Europe is in no shape to defeat the U.S., a present necessity for world hegemony.

3. Something other than Europe will destroy the U.S., and the Beast will fill the power vacuum. A few nuclear bombs or other weapons of mass destruction - possibly terrorist-related - might cut America down to size (Ezekiel 7:1-9). Europe could then appropriate NATO assets abroad and become a superpower overnight.

4. The U.S., originally colonized and founded by Europeans, will become a part of the Beast power, supplying its military might. Many have wondered if any Israelite country would join with the Beast, especially since the prophecies seem to suggest it is a Gentile empire, like Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. However, the nations of Israel today believe they are Gentiles and function as Gentiles in many respects, meaning it is not beyond the realm of possibility biblically (see Romans 9-11).

Other possibilities surely exist, and in this time of uncertainty, there is no way to determine whether any of these are real. Such is the character of prophecy. We are assured, however, that, "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
A Growing Divide



Revelation 13:4

The dragon, a biblical symbol of Satan, will give the same power and authority to the ruler of this future empire as he promised Jesus Christ in the temptation described in Luke 4:5-7. Satan finally gets his wish to have someone worship him!

Earl L. Henn
The Great Conspiracy



Revelation 13:4

This is a system that puts people in fear. It manipulates and controls to its own advantage—not to the good of the governed, but its own. It has an attitude that hates people and likes destruction. It is adversarial.

Now contrast that with sheep, and especially with a lamb. They must be the most docile of all animals. Biblically, a lamb symbolizes gentleness, innocence, sometimes a childlike vulnerability. It is not aggressive. It is easily led and controlled by a shepherd.

Christ symbolically is the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36). "Lamb" is used in reference to Jesus Christ twenty-seven times in the book of Revelation. The Beast is an adversary of Christ, and exudes not gentleness, not goodness, not kindness, not innocence, but all of the opposites of those traits.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Spiritual Mark of the Beast

Related Topics: Beast, The | Lamb | Lamb | Lamb of God | Lamb Symbolism



Revelation 13:4

The similarity between Revelation 13:1 and Revelation 12:3, 9, show a direct relationship between the dragon, viewed in heaven in Revelation 12, and the beast rising on earth. This relationship between these two is further confirmed in Revelation 13:4: "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast," showing that the beast on earth receives its power from the dragon.

There is another commonality: both the dragon in heaven and the beast on earth have seven heads and ten horns. But there are two differences. One is in the number of crowns—seven on the dragon, ten on the beast. The second is that the crowns on the dragon are on the heads, while the crowns on the beast are on the horns.

It is unclear what these differences mean, but they may reveal a relationship between the beast of Revelation 13 and the beast of Daniel 7. The beast in Revelation 13 is a further illustration of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, with its ten horns—the ten horns representing ten kings who will be part of the Beast and present at Christ's return.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part One)



Revelation 13:4-7

Revelation 13 covers similar ground to what appears in Daniel 11. The Beast is not given this authority carte blanche, but will earn a great deal of it with his own abilities and the force of his personality, as well as with the energy and aid that the Dragon, Satan (Revelation 12:9), gives him. Of course, God makes all of this possible to bring about the end—so that all will work out according to His plan (see Revelation 17:17).

Nevertheless, the Beast is so formidable in battle that the whole world is convinced that he is invincible—"Who is able to make war with him?" Humanly, they are correct: No country or confederation can match him, and he ends up dominating "every tribe, tongue, and nation." What power! He will be able to hold that power only by military means.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Beast's Militarism




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Revelation 13:4:

Revelation 13:1-10
Revelation 17:1-13

 

<< Revelation 13:3   Revelation 13:5 >>



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