Chapter Thirteen

A vision of two beasts. A description of the beast from the sea with seven heads and ten horns; a mortally wounded and healed head; the worship of it by people and its blasphemy (1–6). Its struggle with the holy and worship by people not belonging to the Kingdom of God (7–9). A call to patience (10). A beast on the earth with two horns (11); its miracles and deceptive activity (12–16). The imposition of a mark on people in the form of the number 666.

Revelation 13:1. And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw coming out of the sea a beast with seven heads and ten horns: on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. Revelation 13:2. The beast, which I saw, was like a leopard; his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. The first verse should be accepted as an indication of a new scene of vision, a new manifestation before the eyes of the seer, in a completely new setting. John sees a beast coming out of the sea, not out of the abyss, as in Rev 11:7. Obviously, here it is a different being. The beast of chapter 13 is a completely independent symbolic image (cf. Dan 7:3-7). The very term “beast” is used here in the sense of such an animal in which the properties of cruelty and bloodthirstiness are especially prominent. It comes out of the sea, which in the language of Scripture is very often used in the sense of a multitude of peoples, moreover peoples who are restless, turbulent, and hostile toward the Kingdom of God, toward the people of God (Ps 93:3; Isa 8:7-8; Jer 46:7). On this basis, the symbol of the beast coming out of the sea should be understood as depicting a being that emerges from the midst of the sinful, godless human world. Thus, the beast of chapter 13 is the antichrist, who, according to the belief of the Orthodox Church, will be the final representative and embodiment of the godless devilish power, the king of the antichristian kingdom. The further characteristics of the described beast symbolically show us how and through whom the devil acted in former times, and how and through whom he will act in the last times.—A beast in Scripture serves usually as a symbol of a kingdom, and the head of a beast—as an indication of a king standing at the head of a kingdom. Therefore, and in accordance with Rev 17:10, the image of a beast with seven heads is only a method of apocalyptic revelation of the truth, and by the heads one must understand kings and kingdoms in their sequence. The kingdoms represented by the seven heads of the beast are, obviously, those kingdoms and nations that were hostile to the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth and dangerous to the people of God. The seer himself does not give any solution to the question of these kingdoms. Obviously, both for him and essentially, it is important not what specific kingdoms manifested the godless power of the devil. More important is that this devilish power, the power of the prince of this world, will manifest itself as such even in the last times, and moreover, so that its previous manifestations would as it were enter into the general composition; and all the evil that was partially manifested in the world in the person of those or other kingdoms and rulers who warred against God’s Kingdom on earth will manifest itself in all its fullness in the person of the king of the final kingdom, in the person of antichrist, the beast with seven heads. —In speaking of the ten horns of the beast, St. John does not indicate how they were arranged. He wishes to show that the beast’s horns belonged not to any one head, but to the whole beast, to all the heads together and to each separately. A horn is a well-known symbol in Scripture of power and might, and ten horns, as a number of fullness, thus speaks of the highest strength and might of the antichrist beast. And if at any time these ten horns mean something definite, that is, ten kings with their kingdoms, then only in the last time, in the days of antichrist. The diadems above the beast’s horns, as royal head ornaments, likewise speak of the royal power of the antichrist beast, of his right to rule the world, which right he will receive from the dragon-devil (verse 2). Such an origin of the beast’s power will naturally be reflected in its relationship to God: we see on the beast’s heads blasphemous names, of which there were obviously several. The meaning is that the beast, as an instrument of the devil’s activity, becomes so permeated with godless aspirations that it will be, as it were, marked on its forehead with that internal essence which will be self-exaltation and blasphemy 66. This was also predicted by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thess 2:4; cf. Dan 7:8). To indicate the destructiveness and harmfulness of the beast’s activity, it is ascribed the properties not of one, but of three beasts: a leopard (cunning), a bear (persistence), and a lion (arrogance and greedy love of power); all this together speaks of treachery and cruelty. The dragon, that is, the devil, gives this beast his power, his throne, and great authority. The power of the devil is those natural forces and abilities that belong to him as a black and higher divine creature. The throne of the devil is the whole world, which Scripture calls him the prince of. The Lord permits the devil to use power over the world, though only insofar as the world itself, as lying in evil, permits the devil to rule over it (1 John 5:19).

Revelation 13:3. And I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded, but his mortal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast, and they bowed down to the dragon, who had given power to the beast. In describing the beast as it came out of the sea, John further draws attention to a change that occurred in its image.—The beast’s head was mortally wounded already as it came out of the sea. Now John observes only the fact that this wound is healing before his eyes.—This symbol of the slain and then healed head must be interpreted not with respect to one particular head of the beast, but with respect to the whole beast. Therefore, the mortal wound of the head must be identified with the non-existence of the beast Rev 17:11, and the healing—with its appearance again. The heads of the beast are the capacity of the beast and its inspirer—the devil—to tempt and deceive the world; therefore, the mortal wound of the head signifies a temporary loss of this capacity or its weakening. But the head was only mortally wounded, not separated and destroyed, and consequently, the capacity of the beast to destroy was not wholly taken from it, but only deprived of the ability to manifest itself in its former strength. Thus, the wounded head will signify that during the preceding time the devil was deprived of some of his freedom in godless activity. But by God’s permission, this freedom will return to him. In the person of antichrist, this beast with all seven heads, he will begin to act with special might and energy. The wound was inflicted on the devil by Christianity, which protected Christians from the devil’s deception and gave them the strength to resist his schemes in the name of Jesus Christ and through the power of the life-giving cross. But when apostasy from the divine truth occurs in the Christian world, then the devil will regain his former freedom. His head will heal and he will manifest his activity to the same degree as it manifested itself in idolatry and persecution of Christians. Such a return of the former devilish strength and influence, and of the former forms of this influence, will truly be amazing (Rev 13:4-8). And this amazement will lead the earth, that is, those living on it, to direct worship of the dragon, who gave power to the beast. It is not indicated here that people of that time will distinguish between the beast, that is, antichrist, and the dragon, that is, the devil, and the expression of worship of the dragon speaks only of that objective fact, that the veneration of the beast will in reality be the veneration of the dragon; for the antichrist beast will have strength and significance only insofar as he receives them from the devil-dragon.

Revelation 13:4. and they bowed down to the beast, saying: who is like the beast? and who is able to make war with it? Revelation 13:5. And there was given to it a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and authority was given to it to act for forty-two months. People will worship the beast not merely as one bows before people worthy of respect and wonder, but will worship him as a god. They will place him above all doubt, and incomparableness and complete perfection is an attribute of the divine (cf. 2 Thess 2:4). The further characteristics of the beast’s description even more bring him close to that antichrist of whom the Apostle Paul speaks (2 Thess 2:4) and the prophet Daniel (Dan 7:7) and who will be an obedient instrument in the hands of the devil, the spirit of pride and malice. The arrogance of antichrist, according to the word of the Savior, will be expressed in the fact that he will not acknowledge himself as anyone’s messenger, but will come on his own (John 5:43). The activity of the antichrist-beast will be only by God’s permission and even by God’s direct action (“to him were given...”). Therefore, this reign of blasphemy and godlessness in the world will last for 42 months. This period must be identified with the forty-two months of the trampling of Jerusalem by the nations (Rev 11:2) and with the 3.5 years of the woman’s concealment from the dragon in the wilderness (Rev 12:6). Both the holy fathers and teachers of the Church (St. Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, the blessed Jerome and others) definitely affirmed that antichrist will reign for three and a half years. But even in this brief period, antichrist, with the help of the devil, will accomplish his work, and the world will sufficiently show its readiness for judgment, as it will reach the extreme development of its impiety by that time and will itself receive the antichrist as the embodiment and representative of its impiety.

Revelation 13:6. And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme His name and His dwelling place and those who dwell in heaven. Revelation 13:7. And it was given to him to make war on the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. Revelation 13:8. And all who dwell on the earth will bow down to him, those whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:9. He who has an ear, let him hear. Revelation 13:10. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints Since the antichrist will strive to present himself as god, it will, by the force of circumstances, even be necessary for him to disparage and blaspheme all that people previously held to be God, the divine and holy. He will blaspheme God, Jesus Christ, and His work of redemption; he will blaspheme heaven, God’s dwelling, the place of God’s throne; he will blaspheme those dwelling in heaven—the holy angels and the glorified saints. The antichrist will use all devilish schemes to deceive believers and all means of violence. His power will be so great that it will extend to all living on earth, both the pious and the impious. And all will worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb. This Book of the Lamb is the same as Rev 21:27. The addition of the definition of the Lamb indicates that the salvation of the pious from the machinations of the devil and antichrist depends entirely on faith in Jesus Christ and on hope in God’s mercy. After a detailed description of the antichrist beast and those terrible and sad consequences caused by his reign, the revelation turns to a call for attentiveness. For the pious, this call contains comfort and encouragement and at the same time a call to patience, to the intensification of the labors of watchfulness and piety; for the impious, this call contains a threat of divine retribution, which, sooner or later, but always surely, takes its place. The antichrist beast will go into captivity, will be deprived of freedom and cast into the fiery lake (Rev 20:15); as he killed with the sword, destroyed and laid waste, so he himself will be destroyed by the sword coming forth from the mouth of God, will be destroyed by the breath of the Lord’s mouth (2 Thess 2:8). From this believers can draw comfort and encouragement for themselves. The word “here” indicates that it is precisely now, in the days of antichristian violence, that special endurance is needed, and also that in all that has been said are in mind the endurance and faith of only true Christians 67. To explain the fact of the particular success of the antichrist’s activity among human society, before the seer’s vision is opened a picture of a new manifestation—the second beast.—This beast comes out of the earth, while the first came out of the sea. Consequently, it, as coming out of the earth, will be a representative of all that comprises the property of the earth and all earthly culture, as it is worked out by a long history of human society and that materialism which reduces everything to the action of natural forces, leaving no place for spirit and God. In accordance with the indication of the Apocalypse itself (Rev 16:13), interpreters regard this beast as a false prophet acting simultaneously with the first beast—antichrist (cf. Matt 24:23-26). As the first beast from the sea is the person of antichrist—the man of sin, the king of the final time—so too the second beast from the earth is also a person, though different from antichrist, but closely connected with him both in time and in the purpose of their activity. The second beast will be a false prophet in the broad sense of this word, namely, as a proclaimer to people of the will of antichrist, who came by the action and will of the devil.

Revelation 13:11. And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. Revelation 13:12. It exercises all the authority of the first beast before him and makes the whole earth and those who dwell in it bow down to the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed; The resemblance of the second beast to the Lamb must be limited only to the appearance of the horns 68. The force of the characterization lies in the fact that the beast by its horns is not altogether like the Lamb, but only resembles it. The beast from the earth has only two horns (the Lamb has seven horns), which, signifying its lesser might, distinguishes it both from the Lamb and from the dragon and the beast. It can only be a servile force in relation to the dragon and the beast; but in relation to the Lamb, it can only be a deceiver, covering itself with an outward appearance. Its inner nature and the purpose of its appearance, as completely opposite to the nature of the Lamb and His relationship to the world, are clearly indicated in the final words of the verse: “it spoke like a dragon.” Its words are words of cunning and seduction, and their purpose will be the seduction and destruction of people (Matt 7:15). And in this it will be an executor of another’s will and desire, which is clearly shown by the expression “on its behalf.” Acting as a servant of the antichrist beast, the false prophet will make all the earth and all people bow before this latter. In Rev 13:8 it was said that the antichrist will be worshiped by all living on earth whose names are not written in the book of life, that is, all people except the chosen and perfected Christians. Here (verse 12) the same thing is said, only the agent accomplishing this deed is shown to be a new person—the false prophet.

Revelation 13:13. and it performs great signs, so that it even brings down fire from heaven to the earth before people. Thus, all the activity of the false prophet will be directed toward increasing the power and influence of antichrist over the world. For this purpose, he will perform great signs, which will in any case be natural and actual facts, actual, not seeming miracles, though performed by devilish power 69. And if these miracles can be called false for some reason, it is only because they will be performed for the purpose of deception, fraud, and lawless suggestions. Such, for example, will be the miracle of bringing fire down from heaven, which he will perform in opposition to the miracle of the two witnesses (Rev 11:5), who brought fire from their mouths, and which will be “before people,” that is, with the character of being shown, public, and with the purpose of making an impression on people (cf. 1 Sam 18:38; 2 Sam 1:10).

Revelation 13:14. And by the wonders which it is given to perform before the beast, it deceives those who dwell on the earth, saying to those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast, which has a wound from a sword and lives. The false prophet, as a certain person, by means of his preaching and miracles will incline people not only to honor the antichrist beast itself, but even to make his images and to bow before them. This feature of the false prophet’s activity indicates that the antichrist kingdom of the final time will be characterized by religiousness and will have as its goal the proclamation of a new religion. The new religion will be the opposite of Christianity—antichristianity; then people will believe in the antichrist himself, who will declare himself to be God. He will demand divine honors for himself, will demand special worship and veneration of his images (cf. Dan 3).

Revelation 13:15. And it was given to him to give spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause those to be killed who would not bow down to the image of the beast. In the final time of the world, there will be something special for the testing of Christian faith. The statue of the antichrist beast will speak and will give the order to kill everyone who does not worship before it and before other images of the beast. This means that then a complete and universal persecution will be declared against every other religion except the religion of antichristianity. Then, by the action of Satan, a miracle with the statue will be possible, as it will be possible for the false prophet to bring fire down from heaven.

Revelation 13:16. And he will cause all, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, The mark of the beast may remind one of the custom of the ancient Romans, who sometimes burned the names of their commanders on the hands and foreheads of their soldiers, and slaves (voluntarily or by force)—the names of their masters. The mark of the antichristian name will be violence and absolute constraint only for the saints, for those who refuse to worship the beast and his statues. Anyone who decides to refuse to receive the mark will thereby subject themselves to complete social isolation and helplessness. In this, there is undoubtedly a powerful means to incline all the faint-hearted and weak to recognize the power of antichrist and to achieve the goal of the deception of people. The mark was twofold. But since according to the Hebrew and Greek custom of that time letters of the alphabet very often served as numerals, so that a certain combination of letters gave one or another name or the corresponding number, and vice versa, the number and the name with respect to the beast are one and the same and serves as a definition of his person, by which he will be known among the people of that time. The seer did not name this very name directly; he indicated only the corresponding number, leaving it to human wisdom to uncover the true name of antichrist.—“Here,” that is, in the revealing of this mysterious name and its meaning, wisdom is needed, special concentration of the mind.

Revelation 13:17. and that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:18. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. This is both difficult and easy. It is difficult because it requires moral perfection; but it is easy because, on the one hand, the very circumstances of that time 70 will help this, and on the other hand, the number of the beast, which must be counted, is the number of a human, that is, the number 71 that makes up a human name, in the usual meaning and significance of the human name. One must find such a human name that by the sum of its letters, converted to numerals, gives the sum of 666.—It was by no means through anything other than all kinds of strains that opinions were held which thought they saw in the antichrist, for example, Muhammad, Patriarch Nikon, Napoleon, and other historical persons. History in its past has not yet given us the antichrist beast, and therefore the past cannot indicate his name or the number of his name. But one cannot give the number 666 exclusively symbolic significance either. In resolving the question of the number of the beast, one must pay special attention to the fact that in the text the number of the beast is deliberately repeated as equivalent to the number of his name. And if so, there is no basis for paying exclusive attention only to the number and not to both the number and the name. It is necessary, identifying the name of the beast and the number of his name, to relate them to the antichrist as his personal name. In any case, that true name of antichrist, which gives the sum of 666, together with other signs will belong to his historical person, as she is depicted according to the prophecy of St. John, the Apostle Paul, and the prophet Daniel. John did not name this name now, but not because he wanted to create a riddle through it, but because knowledge of this name now is unnecessary, for it is useless. It will be necessary and useful only in the final time, when that person appears who will bear this name. In accordance with the words of Jesus Christ: “someone else will come in his own name” (John 5:43), the antichrist will be a known human person and, like him, will bear his own personal name 72. The personal name of antichrist is intentionally hidden by the will of God with special wise purposes, and only the future times will reveal the name of this extraordinary opponent of Jesus Christ and the Holy Church. In the fulfillment of the desire to know the name of the antichrist, one must begin not with his name, but with his other signs indicated in Scripture, and the name of the antichrist, which gives the number 666, must be attributed only to that (antichrist) person to whom all the other signs will be applicable. * * * Notes Kliefoth. Zhdanov, Lutardt, Hengstenberg, Kliefoth, Ewald. Ebrard, Suller. St. Justin the Philosopher, Kliefoth, Suller, Lutardt. Ebrard, Hoffman. Hengstenberg. St. Hippolytus, Andrew of Caesarea, St. Irenaeus.