The Beast

THE BEAST

Rev. 13

666…the “Mark of the Beast”…what does it mean?

Is it an evil omen like some believe it is today?
If you have 666 on our license plate should you have it changed?
If you find 666 on a dollar bill…does that indicate that it is evil?
What about this number 666?

Well, here in chapter 13 we are going to find out what this number 666 means.

But before we do that…we must explain the beast that is found in verse 1.
So, look at verse 1:

Now, remember, what John speaks of here is a vision.

Because it is, it is hard to determine specifically what he is talking about.
However, we can determine the overall lesson that he wants us to learn.

Also, we need to remember that this is a book of prophecy…that means it is dealing with the problems of the time.

And we need to also remember that the things “written in this book must shortly take place.”
So, look at verse 1:

Rev 13:1 And he…

This “he” here could very well be the dragon.
In the previous chapter the dragon…or serpent…or the devil…has been beaten at every turn.
And in verse 17 in chapter 12 we are told that the dragon “went off to make war with those who keep the commandments of God.”
So what this seems to be here is the “dragon standing on the sands of the seashore…calling for help…or assistance in his war against the saints.”

And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

Now, who or what is this beast.

If we understand this, it will help us to understand not only the number 666…but it will help us to understand this whole book.
So who is this beast.

Well, to help us answer this we need to look at chapter 17 starting in verse 7.

7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Now, here again is the beast “that has 7 heads and 10 horns.”

What is this talking about?

Well, we are not left to wonder…look at verse 9:

“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 “These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Notice first of all in verse 10 that the seven heads are “seven kings.”

And notice also that we are told that “5 have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
And then we are told that the “beast which was and is not, is himself also an eight, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.”

Now, there is no doubt that the 7 heads here represent 7 kings.

With that in mind look at this list. This is a list of the Emperors of Rome. This is historical fact.

Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
Galba (7 months0
Otho (3 months)
Vitelius (9 months)
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian

Now, the first thing that you might notice is, Julius Caesar is not listed here.

Well, there is a reason for that.
Julius was a self appointed dictator and he died 17 years before the Roman Republic became an empire.
Therefore, he was never an Emperor of the Roman Empire (Seutonius).

Second thing you probably noticed is there are 11 kings or Emperors listed here, not 7.

Well, notice numbers 6, 7 and 8.
These 3 were victims of a horrible civil war…and their rule was so short that they made virtually no contribution to the Empire.
So, when you remove them due to their lack of influence this is what you have:

Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian

Now, remember what John said: “5 have fallen.”

That means that Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero have all died when John sees this vision.

In verse 10 he says: “One is”…that would be Vespasian.

Vespasian was Emperor from 69-79 A.D.
This gives us an indication when the book of Revelation was written.

Then John says, “…the other has not come.”

This would be Titus.
And notice John says that “when he comes he must remain a little while.”
Titus only ruled for 2 years, 2 months, and 20 days.

And then John says, “…and the beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.”

This would be Domitian.

The reason John says that “he is the beast which was, and is not” is because after Nero died the persecution of the saints was not as severe until Domitian came back on the scene.

And when Domitian did come onto the scene Nero’s campaign of hostility started all over again…perhaps even worse.
And Domitian then was considered to be Nero Redividus…or Nero Revived.
And this persecution that began with Domitian lasted until about 311 A.D.

And that may be another thing significant about Domitian being the “eighth.”

8 is the number of the resurrection or a “new beginning.”
And with Domitian, the 8^th king, a new era of severe persecution begins.

And notice, John says he “is of the seven.”

If you will look back at the 7 you will find him.
This could mean that policy wise…or morality wise…or ideology wise…or persecution wise, he is like some of the others…especially Nero.
Or this could have reference to the fact that Domitian is the son of Vespasian.

So these are the 7 kings and the 8^th: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian.

Then John says in verse 12: “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

These are client kings…the kings from Trajan to Diocletian.
These are kings who have submitted themselves to Rome and therefore have Rome’s approval to rule.
Notice in this verse that these kings have no independent authority…they are sub-rulers.

And in verse 13 we are told that these 10 kings: “… have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

So, this seems to be who the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is.

But we don’t have to totally rely on Rev. 17 to make this conclusion.
We can get some more information from Daniel 7 starting in 7.

Now, keep in mind that Daniel was written about 535 B.C…or nearly 600 years before Revelation.

And Daniel’s vision here is looking to the future.
Look what he says:

“After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts.

Now, if you look at verse 23 you will find that there is no doubt that this beast is a fourth kingdom. (“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth…)

And in verse 24 we are told that the 10 horns are 10 kings.
Here in Daniel, Daniel refers to the kings as horns where John refers to them as heads.

So here is how it looks as presented by Daniel.

1. Augustus
2. Tiberius
3. Caligula
4. Claudius
5. Nero
6. Galba *
7. Otho *
8. Vitellius *
9. Vespasian
10. Titus

But then Daniel says that “while he was contemplating the horns…behold another horn, a little one, came up among them.”

That would be Domitian.

Then Daniel says: “…and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it.”

That would be Galba, Otho, and Vitellus, the three kings that John ignored.

So, from Daniel 7 and Rev. 17 we get a pretty good indication of who the beast is with its 7 heads and 10 horns.

But there is more evidence as to who the beast is. Go back to Rev. 17 and look at verse 9. In verse 9 John says that “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.”

Look at this map. Notice the Roman numerals…these are the 7 hills of Rome.

And just in case that is not enough evidence John tells us more…look at verse 18 of chapter 17.

18 “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

There is no need to speculate about who the beast of Rev. 13 is.

When you allow scripture to tell you, you find that the beast that comes up out of the sea is Rome.

But there is more…go back to Rev. 13 and look at verse 2:

2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and 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 only other place in all the Bible you find this type of beast is back in Daniel 7 again. Here is what it says starting in verse 3: “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. 4 “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. 5 “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ 6 “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

Notice the lion, bear, and leopard are in reverse order to what Rev. 13: 2 says.

Again, the reason is Daniel is looking forward, John is looking back.

Now, once again, Dan. 7: 23 tells us that these beasts are kingdoms.

And Dan. 7:14 and 27 tells us that out of this fourth kingdom will come a “kingdom that God sets up.”

And that fact parallels this vision with Daniel 2 where Daniel tells us who the nations are.

In verse 36 and 37 Daniel says that the first kingdom is Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylons.
In verse 39 and chapter 5:30 we know that the second kingdom is the Medo-Persians.
Then in verse 39 and chapter 8:21 we know that the third kingdoms is Greece.
And then verse 40-44, along with history, and the fact that Christ came and established his kingdom during the days of the Roman Empire tells us that the 4 the beast which John saw is the Roman Empire.

And now back to Rev. 13: 2 if you will look at the verse…you will see who it is that is working through these kings of Rome…and that is the dragon.

With all of this combined, we can know when the book of Revelation was written (during the days of Vespasian 79A.D), and we can know who the beast is, and what the situation is.

Now, let’s go back to Rev. 13 and let’s read the chapter and we will see what the number 666 means.

Rev 13 And he stood on the sand of the seashore.

And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and 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. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed.

Here is your Nero Redividus.
In Domitian the persecution stared all over again…just like it was under Nero.

And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”

Here is Rome and its followers mocking God. “Your God cannot defeat the beast.”

5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

Now, you would think after this build up that he would last forever.

6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given to him(his authority is great but it is only given to him.) to make war with the saints and to overcome them;(satan’s goal is to gain souls.) and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes(If this is what you want…if you choose to follow the beast, this is what you will get); if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. (He gives the appearance of being a god.) 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, (Satan seals those who are his also.) 17 and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

The beast would want you to think he is a god…but the truth of the matter is…he is human to the core.

When Domitian came to the throne he made every effort to deify himself.
He even tried to name every month of the calendar after himself.
He required people to worship him or die.

But God wants all to know, that Domitian is not just a six…he is not just a 66…he is 666…

He is human…so do not fear him.
Instead be devoted to the one who will bring this man to judgment.
Remain faithful to God.