Revelation 13: The Rise of the Beast and the Call to Endurance

Revelation 13 stands out because of God’s prophecy regarding the two beasts that rise from the sea and the earth, and they are given immense power and influence in the world. John tells us about the vision he received from Christ in Revelation 13:1-2 (NLT): “Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.”  The beasts represent two figures, the antichrist and the false prophet, who will be empowered by satan to deceive and lead humanity away from God during the end times.

The Beast from the Sea: The Antichrist

The terrifying vision of the beast rising out of the sea is the antichrist being raised up from the depths of hell by satan. The seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on each horn, reflects the authority that the antichrist will gain over the nations and the evil systems of the world, which are in direct opposition to God’s sovereignty and Will. The rule of the antichrist will be marked by blasphemy and arrogance, as he seeks to exalt himself above God. 

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God." After the church, the body of Christ, is raptured by our powerful Savior, the Great Tribulation will begin, and the chaos and confusion in the world during this time will be beyond what any of us can imagine. Even now, we are witnessing the labor pains that Jesus Christ warns about in Matthew 24:4-8 (NLT): “4 Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”

The unbelieving world is blinded by satan, and when the Rapture occurs, they will probably hardly notice that believers have vanished from the earth. They will, however, be very aware of the world’s decline and the corruption and calamity it finds itself in. They have denied Christ and turned their backs on our Heavenly Father. Because of this, they will be easily deceived by the antichrist, believing him to the one that will save them. How wrong they will be. 

Revelation 13:2 describes the beast as having characteristics of various animals; a leopard, bear, and lion. This hearkens back to the prophecy given to Daniel in Daniel 7 in the Old Testament. These animals signify the combined power of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek empires, respectively. Those empires were notoriously ruthless. They were diabolical and swift in their takeovers, and in expanding their territory and military might. This points to the future worldly and oppressive nature of the antichrist’s rule, a rule that will be anti-God and anti-Christ. However, it's important to remember that despite the antichrist's reign over the unbelieving world, he will be limited by God’s sovereign control, and his power will only operate within the boundaries of God’s Will. 

The antichrist’s rise to power will be a time of tremendous deception and idolatry, as people will marvel at the beast’s power. Most will satan for giving the antichrist power, and they will worship the antichrist as well. In Revelation 13:4, it says, “They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. ‘Who is like the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” The people of the world will be blinded by their allegiance to evil, and they will see the antichrist as invincible. They will not know that his reign is temporary and will come to an end when Christ returns in glory.

The False Prophet and the Mark of the Beast

In Revelation 13:11, John sees another beast, this one coming up from the earth. This second beast is the false prophet who will work with the first beast, the antichrist, to achieve satan’s dastardly wicked objective to deceive the world. Revelation 13:12 (NLT) says, “He exercised all the authority of the first beast, and he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” The false prophet’s role is to promote the worship of the antichrist.

At some point during the Great Tribulation period, the antichrist will be wounded, which many will believe to be a fatal wound, but he will recover. The false prophet will no doubt point to this event as he leads people to believe in the antichrist’s power and authority, causing most of the unbelieving world to worship him even more.

Jesus Christ said about satan in John 8:44 (NLT): “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” A counterfeiter and deceiver, satan is the father of lies, and this will be dominant in his two chief operatives, the antichrist and the false prophet, during the Great Tribulation. 

The false prophet will deceive many through miracles and signs that seem to authenticate the antichrist’s power. Revelation 13:13-14 (NLT) states, “He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belonged to this world.” God calls on us, as believers, to know the truth of His Word so we can discern the devil’s lies. There are no words to express how astoundingly important this discernment is.

The lies of the enemy are subtle, but Jesus Christ teaches in John 16:13 that one of the Holy Spirit’s occupations is to guide us into all truth. Believers living today, and especially those living during the Great Tribulation in the future, desperately need the Spirit’s help. But sadly, most of the unbelieving world living during that time will deny Christ and therefore deny the Spirit of God. They will instead believe the lies of the antichrist and the false prophet. 

The Statue and the Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13:15-16 (NLT) reveals more about the darkness and evil that the false prophet will orchestrate: “15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. 16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.” The statue is a symbol of the beast. It will look like the antichrist, and it will demand reverence and loyalty. So, in these verses, we see the culmination of the false prophet's power. He demands obedience to the antichrist and performs signs and wonders that deceive the world into worshiping the beast by bowing to this statue.  

A statue that is seemingly alive and speaks is fantastical, to say the least. While the Apostle John could not have perceived this as a reality during the time in which he lived, over two-thousand years ago, we certainly can. The advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies have made this very conceivable in our modern era. It’s not too much of a stretch for us to envision a highly sophisticated robotic statue with the ability to speak, move, and even influence people’s actions. Modern technology has developed machines that can imitate human life, and most of us have seen things like this on social media. During the Great Tribulation, however, this will be a deeply wicked and eerie fusion of technology and idolatry. It all reinforces the deception and control that the false prophet will have. 

The ultimate tool of submission will be the mark of the beast, as people will be forced to publicly declare allegiance to the antichrist and his idolatrous system. If a person refuses to comply, they will face execution. Full of corruption, confusion, chaos, and idolatry, with the oppressive and totalitarian nature of the beast’s rule, it will be an extremely difficult and perilous time to live on earth. Many that accept the Lord Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation will be martyred for refusing to accept the mark of the beast. However, death does not defeat them. These are those that Revelation 12:11 (NLT) declares, “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” They defeat the beast by refusing to worship him. Instead, unto death they stand fiercely committed to Christ, the Rock of our Salvation.

Books, the internet, and all forms of media are overflowing with people who have speculated about exactly what the mark will be or how it will look. However, we don’t need to know those details in order to understand that it’s a symbol of allegiance to the antichrist and a rejection of God’s love, sovereignty, and power. The mark will be a defining characteristic of those who follow the beast and a test of faith for believers that were not raptured but will be saved and are alive for a time during the Great Tribulation. 

The Call for Patient Endurance

Revelation 13:10 (NLT), says, “Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.” This verse calls upon Christians to endure in the face of this extreme tribulation. While most of the world will fall under the evil sway of the antichrist and the false prophet, the persecution will intensify. Believers living then are called to remain faithful, trusting that God’s victory is imminent. The message to them, and to us, is to patiently endure and remember that our victory is already secured in Christ. Just as Jesus himself endured the cross, we too must endure, being fully confident that Christ has already triumphed over evil. ■

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Revelation 13: The Rise of the Beast and the Call to Endurance”, written by Vince Mack. Blessing Beads and More© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.