Revelation 13


Revelation 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. The author records visions of two beasts which he saw while "standing on the seashore", the beast from the sea and the beast from the land.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are, among others:

New Testament references

  • :

The beast from the sea (13:1–10)

The last verse of the previous chapter connects the appearance of the beast to the dragon who delegates to the beast what power it has.

Verse 1

Some manuscript texts read ἐστάθην, estathēn, I stood, while others read ἐστάθη, estathē, he stood, referring to the dragon of.

Verse 2

The dominant violent characteristic of the beast is modelled on the vision of four beasts in the Book of Daniel, representing four great world empires.

Verse 5

The language of [|verse 5] reflects,,. Although the beast's power is given by the dragon, it can only be exercised by God's permission.

The beast from the land (13:11–18)

This is the second beast, which also called the "false prophet", 'represents the priesthood of the imperial cult, which included prominent members of the elite of the cities'.

Verse 11

  • "Spoke like a dragon": speaking arrogantly like the devil himself 'as if he was above all' or even 'as if he was God himself'.

Verses 16–17

The mark of the beast seems to be 'a parody of God's seal of ownership on the foreheads of faithful Christians'. The reference to "buying and selling" may reflect the fact that 'it was particularly in order to participate in the business life of the cities that Christians were tempted to compromise with idolatry'.

Verse 18

The reference that "the number of the beast" is the same as "the number of a person" leads to many interpretations, because the Greek or Hebrew letters also functioned as numbers, so it was possible to "add up the numerical value of a word"—a practice known as gematria. The Greek word for "beast" or "Nero Caesar" when transliterated into Hebrew letters has the total value of 666, but the 'verbal link' to Revelation 17:9 indicates more significance of the number. The number 666 is unusual for being a triangular number, and also a doubly triangular number and the eighth such number. Nero is also revealed to be "the eighth" in power. At least one manuscript reads 616.