Revelation 13 (Land Beast)

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Introduction

The First Beast

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

10  If anyone is to be taken captive,

to captivity he goes;

if anyone is to be slain with the sword,

with the sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Summary

Today, we’re picking up where we left off in chapter 13, with John’s description of a second beast rising out of the land. The context here is that, at the first coming of Christ, the Dragon (who is Satan) was thrown out of heaven and down onto the earth. And knowing that his time was short, he made war on the saints, he made war on the early church of the first century. And to do so he enlisted two beasts to destroy the church, one beast that John described as rising out of the sea, and another beast that he described as rising out of the land.
In our last time, we established that this first beast signified the Roman Empire and her Emperor, Nero. That this was the fourth beast that Daniel had described in his visions when he foresaw the rise of four pagan empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and eventually Rome. And we’ll see the identity of this beast reinforced again at the end of this chapter when John uses the number 666 to identify the emperor who was reigning at that time, Nero Caesar.
However, today, our attention turns, primarily, to the second beast that John saw rising out of the land. When the dragon was thrown down onto the earth and made war on the saints he enlisted two beasts against the first century church. The first was the Roman Empire and her Emperor, Nero, and the other was the priesthood of apostate Israel, or the Jewish religious system, embodied by the Jewish High Priest and the Jewish Sanhedrin, who had delivered Jesus over to Rome to be crucified, and who was the church’s primary enemy in the years that followed Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Now, the second beast’s identity is admittedly more difficult to discern than the first’s. While the first beast is one of the clearest images in John’s Apocalypse to identify, the identity of the second beast is less clear. In fact, not all preterists even agree at this point. Some take this beast to represent the Roman imperial cult, some take it to represent the Roman governor of Judea, and others believe this beast represents Israel and it’s Jewish religious system, as I’ll argue for today.
One of the reasons expository preaching is so important to the church, is that it should model for the church, and teach the members of the church how to read and interpret the Bible properly. The preacher should demonstrate to the rest of the congregation how to rightly divide the word of truth, so that the members can learn to do so on their own. And it’s particularly challenging texts, like this one, that this can be most clearly seen.
For instance, in order to rightly identify this beast that rose out of the land, we need to 1) gather all of the context clues within John’s Apocalypse that describe this beast, 2) consider the context of the book, the original audience and their circumstances, 3) let what’s already clear guide us, to let clear scripture help us interpret less clear scripture, 4) consider the broader context of the Bible that might inform our understanding of a particular book, and finally, 5) recognize that we all have traditions, and that we must be willing to lay them aside if they’re found to be out of step with Scripture, we must not pretend as though we don’t hold to various traditions, we all assume doctrines that may or may not hold up when scrutinized, therefore interpreting Scripture necessitates humility. So, keep these things in mind as we attempt to identify this second beast, that rises out of the land.

Enemies of the church, the Jews

‌Now, while the identity of the second beast is certainly less clear than the identity of the first, it’s not altogether unclear. John has clearly indicated already that these events were soon to take place in his own day, therefore we should look for two beasts, or enemies, of the church in the first century. And if there were two notable enemies of the first century church it was Rome and the Jews. The Book of Acts testifies especially to this, the church was persecuted almost exclusively by the Jews in the Book of Acts. Other historical sources testify that, later, it may have even been the Jews who instigated Nero to persecute the Christians after much of Rome had been burned to the ground. Whether by persecution or corruption both the Roman Empire and the Jews sought to destroy the church in the first century.

Rises out of the Land

‌John also tells us that the second beast rose out of the land, he says there in verse 11,

11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.

which is likely a reference to the land of Israel, just as the first beast that rose out of the sea is likely a reference to its rising out of gentile nations. The land and the sea are familiar images from the OT, especially in poetry and apocalyptic literature. Therefore, since John uses these images here, in one of the most symbolic books of the Bible, it’s fitting to expect that these images are meant to convey certain meanings to the reader, to convey the origins of these two beasts, one out of the sea and the other out of the land.

False Prophet & Harlot

And what’s probably most helpful in our efforts to identify the beast is how this beast is described throughout the remainder of John’s Apocalypse. The identity of this beast is connected later with the false prophet in chapter 16 and then the harlot in chapter 17, all of which are identified with Jerusalem, “that great city, which is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt” elsewhere. It isn’t that John is describing three different characters, but the same character in three different ways. The beast that rises out of the land is not only a beast, but a false prophet, and a harlot. Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system had become a false prophet and a harlot. The beast that rises out of the land of Israel is a false and unfaithful religious figure that threatens the church.

False prophets

This is why Jesus had told his disciples that Jerusalem would be characterized by many false prophets and false Christs before the great tribulation, writing in Matthew 24:5, “see that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray,” then again in 24:11, “and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” The obvious assumption was that the source of these false Christs and false prophets would be Jerusalem, not Rome. In fact, throughout the Bible, false prophecy typically only appears within the context of covenant Israel. Therefore, the beast is not only a religious figure, but a religious figure within the context of covenant Israel. This beast is religious and claims to be a prophet of Yahweh.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing

John also describes this beast as having two horns like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon there in verse 11. The idea here is that the beast appears as innocent as a lamb, but is as dangerous as a dragon. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or a dragon clothed in a lamb’s fleece, this beast appears docile but it’s as murderous as a dragon. Jesus told his disciples to “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matt. 7:15) This lamb is not harmless, but dangerous, Jerusalem has become a false prophet and a dangerous beast.
The dragon who was unashamedly the demonic power behind the Roman Empire, was also secretly animating the Jewish priesthood of apostate Israel, which is also why John wrote that this beast spoke like a dragon. And this is why Jesus had described the unbelieving Jews in his letters to the seven churches as a synagogue of Satan. These were not children of Abraham, but as Jesus described them, “children of [their] father the devil.” (John 8:44)

Harlot

It’s also fitting that Jerusalem and her religious system is described later in chapter 17 as a harlot, or a prostitute. That she’s an unfaithful bride, and will be condemned for her harlotries in chapter 19. All of which is reminiscent of the prophet Hosea when he was instructed to marry a “wife of whoredom” to illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness and prostitution. The harlot of John’s Apocalypse is meant to stand in contrast to the bride adorned for her husband in chapter 21, who is the church. As the unfaithful prostitute is put away, the bride of Christ emerges out of heaven adorned for her husband.
So, this second beast that rises out of the land of Israel, is described not only as a threat to the church, or a beast, but as a false prophet and a harlot. This beast isn’t merely a formidable enemy of the church like Rome was, but a false prophet and a harlot. Therefore, the biblical evidence drives us to conclude that John is describing a beast that was like the Jewish religious system of the first century, the same beast that handed Jesus over to be crucified.

Derived authority

H‌owever, there’s more, look at verse 12,

12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

John describes here in verse 12 that this beast exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, in other words, Jerusalem’s authority was derived from Rome’s authority. The authority of this beast was a delegated authority, and therefore inherently subject to the authority of the first beast. For example, when the Jewish Council sought to crucify Jesus, they couldn’t do so without Rome’s consent. Their authority to persecute Christ and his church was limited by Rome, therefore John describes their authority as being exercised in the presence of the first beast. Jerusalem had become an agent of Rome, or as one commentator put it, a “satellite” beast caught in the orbit of the first beast. This is one of the ways the dragon controlled the priesthood of Jerusalem, and would leverage them against Christ and his church.

No king but Caesar

‌In verse 12 John also wrote that this beast made the land and its inhabitants worship the first beast. And while the Jews offered liturgical worship to God, seeming as though they had a deep allegiance to Yahweh, when they were faced the choice between Caesar and Jesus, their Messiah, the Jews chose Caesar. As I’ve pointed out repeatedly before, Israel had clearly sided with Caesar and the Empire against Christ, declaring to Pontius Pilate after handing Jesus over to be crucified, “We have no king but Caesar!”
Again, don’t forget, in Jesus’ letters to Smyrna and Philadelphia he described the unbelieving Jews in their cities as a synagogue of Satan. Their worship was pure hypocrisy and demonic. So, it wasn’t that the Jews literally bowed down to graven images, or participated explicitly in cult worship, but the point is that they were serving the beast, that their service to God was a farce, that they were a prostitute, that while they were committed to pious outward appearances toward God, that they had prostituted themselves to Rome, that though they honored God with their lips, their hearts were far from him. Therefore, in doing so, they had lead Israel to serve the beast as well.

Whom do we serve?

Now, it’s important that we understand this, that what we serve is what we worship. Listen to the third commandment from Exodus 20 as it relates to worship and service.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The point here is that we serve what we worship. We might not bow down to idolatrous objects or make a graven image, but make no mistake we worship what we serve. The Jews had all of the external trappings of religion, they looked faithful, but they served Rome. Their worship was pure hypocrisy, and Jesus exposed it. When faced with a choice between serving God or Rome, they chose Rome. John famously recorded in John 11:47-50,

the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

In other words, they feared Rome rather than God, their allegiance (coerced or not) was, in the final analysis, to Rome.
Application: And as Christians we should take heed and examine our own lives, to be careful that our worship doesn’t become a mere outward and hypocritical expression of worship and devotion to God, that we remember that mere attendance and participation in worship on the Lord’s Day, or lip service is not enough. Our lives, day in and day out, must reflect our worship and devotion to our Lord by our service to him, otherwise we become hypocrites and idolators, deceiving ourselves.
We should ask ourselves frequently, whom do I serve? Not, merely who do I claim to serve, but whom do I serve. What does my life look like? When I examine my life who do I appear to be serving? Am I serving only myself? Ask yourself, what do you do with your money? Do you give generously to the church and to others, or do you spend it only on yourself? What do you do with your time? What is your time spent doing? Am I serving myself under the guise of serving God or others? What activities do I prioritize? Am I as diligent to gather with the saints for worship on the Lord’s Day than I am to show up at work? What do you prioritize?
And it’s essential that we ask these questions honestly of ourselves, because we are masters of justification (we have reasons for everything we do, and good reasons at that), and we shield our motivations from others, knowing they can’t see our hearts, but let me tell you, God can, and he does. For while man can only look on the outward appearances, God can see the heart. He know why you treat your parents the way you do, he knows why you treat your spouse the way you do, and he knows why you treat your children the way you do. Therefore, it’s your duty to take stock of your life on a regular basis. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5,

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.

and in Galatians 6:4,

4 But let each one test his own work,

May we strive to serve God, not ourselves or another, but God, may we have no king but Christ.

Lying signs

‌Then John goes on in verse 13 saying that,

13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

The point here is that this false prophet, this beast that rose out of the land, would also perform false signs, or lying signs, just as the magicians in Pharaoh's court had challenged Moses and Aaron with their lying signs in Exodus 7, so the false prophets of Israel challenged Jesus and his apostles.
Again, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 when he spoke of false prophets in their generation,
Matthew 24:24 ESV
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
We see several examples of this in the Book of Acts, including Simon the Magician,
Acts 8:9–11 ESV
But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
And again in Acts 13 when the disciples came upon a man named Bar-Jesus, Acts 13:6-8
Acts 13:6–8 ESV
When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And then again in Acts 19 when we’re told that “God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul” that there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who started invoking the name of Jesus over those who had evil spirits, treating Jesus’ name as if it were a magical charm that could be used to cast out demons. However, we’re told that the demons were not impressed, and that they leaped on the Jewish exorcists, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. Luke tells us that this caused fear to fall upon the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and that Jesus’ name was praised by everyone. That many of those who were believers came, confessing and divulging their practices, and that a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
The point, is that there were many Jews in Israel and throughout the Roman Empire who were false prophets, performing false, or lying signs to deceive the people, of whom Jesus had warned his disciples about in his Olivet Discourse, and that John is describing here in Revelation 13 using apocalyptic imagery. And all of these lying signs were leading the people astray, leading them to serve the beast rather than God.

Counterfeit resurrection

And more than that, because the Roman Empire had recovered after Nero’s death, and the ensuing civil wars, it was argued that Rome must be invincible, that the counterfeit resurrection of Rome served as a proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the beast should receive worship, not Christ. Which is why John writes there in verse 14 that,

14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

Just as the grounds of our faith is founded upon the resurrection of Christ, so the grounds for worshiping the beast, or the Roman Empire, was founded upon it’s counterfeit resurrection, and apparently this so-called resurrection was used as leverage to pressure the Christians into serving the beast. And for anyone who refused, this was reason enough to have them put to death. John writes there in verse 15,

15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

The Jewish synagogues, at that time, enforced submission to the Emperor, because they knew their very existence depended upon it. However, Christ had challenged their allegiance and submission to Rome, Christ was a rival to Caesar's authority. In John 19:12 after Jesus had been handed over to Pilate, and he found no fault in him, “Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore, if you were a Christian, you were automatically at odds with the Empire and odds with the Jews, because your allegiance was not to Caesar, but to Christ. Christ was Lord, not Caesar.

Mark of the beast

The Jewish synagogues were also known to organize economic boycotts against the Christians, “forbidding all dealings with the excommunicated.” (Austin Farrer, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, p. 157) Not only did the Christians face losing their jobs for not engaging in Emperor Cult worship with the trade guilds, but the Jewish Christians who had been excommunicated by their synagogues were barred from dealing with the Jews as well. This is why John goes on to write there in verses 16-17,

16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Popular eschatology today argues that this will be some kind of future computer chip that citizens will be required to have implanted under the skin in order to buy or sell anything. However, this theory completely overlooks the testimony of Scripture elsewhere and the context of this book. First, this theory misses the near term expectation of these events that place them in the first century, second this theory overlooks this kind of language used elsewhere in Scripture.
What John is referring to, and the imagery he uses would have been familiar to his readers, especially Jewish Christians who were particularly acquainted with the OT. This imagery of being marked on the right hand or the forehead was intended to portray who had dominion or control over a person, not that they necessarily possessed a literal mark on their hand or forehead, but signifying whom they served. The mark on their forehead signifying their mind, and the mark on their hand signifying their actions.
For instance, Aaron was instructed in Exodus 28 to make a plate of gold and engrave on it, ‘Holy to the Lord’ and fasten it to his turban across his forehead. This signified ownership, that he was consecrated to God. Later in Deuteronomy 6:8 when Moses gave the Israelites the law he said to them,

8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

In other words, the law of God was to direct both their mind and their actions. That God’s law would have dominion over the whole person to do his will.
Therefore, John’s intention in Revelation 13 isn’t for us to be on the lookout for some kind computer technology that the government could use to control us, but that the church must not serve the beast, or do his will, no matter the consequences, that those who belong to the beast are those who serve the beast, and that those who belong to God are those who serve Christ.
In fact, when we look at chapter 14, next time, we’ll see the 144,000 who were sealed back in chapter 7 described as those who have the Lamb’s name written on their foreheads, yet ironically I’m not aware of any modern interpretation that asserts that Christians will have the Lamb’s name literally written on their foreheads.
Again, the fundamental point here is that there were only two groups, those who served the beast, and those who served Christ, and it was clear that the Jews did not serve Christ, rather they bore the marks of the Roman Empire, their allegiance was to Rome, and it was their intention to snuff out those who challenged that allegiance, because it threatened their position with Rome.

What governs our minds?

All that being said, we should often consider what governs our minds and our actions. Is it worldly ideologies? Is it our flesh and our passions? Can you even tell the difference? Or is it the word or God? Do we know it well enough to be conformed to it? Do we possess a robust Christian worldview? Do we see the world through the lens of Scripture, or are we merely influenced by whatever’s on TV or what we read in books? Are our faculties of discernment being constantly trained by the Scriptures? Or do we just have some vague notion of what God says? Are we in the Scriptures regularly, at least 4 times a week? Because, if not, you will be tossed to an fro by every wind of doctrine.
So, let us not forget that the Apostle Paul admonishes us to,

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Reading and studying the Bible is all but absent in the lives of most Christians, yet without it we will suffer dearly.

666

Now, let’s go ahead and finish chapter 13, picking up again there in verse 16,

16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Possibly, the most powerful evidence for identifying the first beast that rose out of the sea with with Nero and the Roman Empire is here in verse 18. In fact, John intends for his readers to understand who he’s referring to when he says, “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast.” In other words, if you can calculate the number of the beast, then do so. And more than that, John says that it refers to a man.
Now, to the modern reader what John says here is manifestly cryptic. Why would he do this and where do we even begin? Well, the answer to the first question, ‘Why would he do this?’ is likely because while he intends for the churches to understand who he’s talking about, he wants to ensure that outsiders do not. You can imagine that if John were to write plainly who this beast was, especially if he’s referring to the Roman Empire or its emperor, that his letter would never reach the churches, and likely get him trouble with the authorities.

Cryptogram

Therefore, John identifies this beast with a number rather than a name. Now, to most of us we don’t even know where to begin. Well, first, we need to recognize that in the Greek this isn’t six, six, six, but six hundred and sixty-six. Secondly, we have to understand that ancient alphabets often pulled double-duty, in other words, letters also served numbers, or numerical values. In fact, most of us are familiar with the Latin alphabet, or Roman numeral which also serve as numbers.
To this day I still have a clock that uses Roman numerals to express the time. If you watch the Super Bowl you’re also probably familiar with the use of Roman numerals, since the National Football League typically chronicles each Super Bowl using Roman numerals. I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, and so on. And if you combine those letters the numbers add up. For instance, II = 2, or VI = 6, or IV = 4, therefore since each letter also represents a number any word using the Latin alphabet inherently has a numerical value. This was also the case for Greek and Hebrew.
And these are called cryptograms, which were not uncommon in the ancient world. For instance, it was common for riddles to use number in order to conceal names. In fact, in the 6th and 7th centuries Jesus was referred to as 888 in certain ancient writings (Christian Sibylline Oracles). Jesus’ name spelled using the Greek alphabet adds up to 888.
Therefore, this is likely what John was doing here in his Apocalypse, intending to conceal the identity of a certain character in his writing in order to avoid detection by Roman authorities. Which, again, is probably why he wrote in verse 18, “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast.” That the reader is meant to calculate the number of the beast, but to do so calls for wisdom.
That being said, you’re probably wondering what Nero’s name adds up to in Greek, since John is writing in Greek. Well, unfortunately, the Greek spelling of Nero’s name has the value of 1,005. However, scholars have discovered that one of Nero’s names, Neron Kaisar, spells 666 in Hebrew. Now, some have criticized, that in order to spell Neron Kaiser, one has to use the Hebrew alphabet instead of the Greek alphabet, which was the language John’ used when writing his Apocalypse, and was used widely throughout the Roman Empire, however, this isn’t necessarily a problem. Instead, had John used the Greek alphabet his attempt to conceal Nero’s name would have been easily foiled by most Roman citizens, however, if he used the Hebrew alphabet, he would have known that only the Jewish Christians to whom he writing would be able to decipher the number of this man. Moreover, John’s native tongue was Hebrew so this wouldn’t have been a problem for him.
And if that’s not enough, further evidence seems to confirm this in a later Latin translation of the NT where the number 616 is purposefully used instead of 666. At first, one might assume that it’s a copyist error, but this seems odd since the numbers 1 and 6 don’t look anything alike. This seems to be confirmed when you realize that the number 616 also spells the name Neron Kaisar in Latin. This, therefore, gives us the impression that the copyist understood the meaning of 666, that John was concealing Nero’s name in Hebrew, and realized that in Latin this number did not added up to spell Nero Caesar, nor would the Christians in his day know Hebrew or have the ability to decipher the number, therefore the copyist may have intentionally modified the number to read 616.

Conclusion

As we reach a conclusion, the take away from chapter 13 is not merely the identity of the beasts. While those details are important, they serve to show us what the church was facing in the first century, two seemingly invincible beasts, empowered by a dragon. How could the church survive such an indomitable threat? How could the church overcome the Roman Empire and the Jews religious machine? Well, John was writing to the church that the saints might take heart, they the saints might see the spiritual realities through their dire circumstances, to provide them with the endurance through the great tribulation, to know that the dragon’s time would be short, and that the persecution and pressures they faced were the result of the dragon’s demise, not his inevitable victory.
Therefore, we can remember that it isn’t any earthly kingdom or beast that’s invincible, but on the kingdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Prayer

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