The Beast With Seven Heads and
Ten Horns is the Antichrist
Revelation Chapter 13 - Part 1
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Revelation chapter 13 is a wonderful place to learn more about the Antichrist. Even though the chapter is brief, it gives us more insight into what the Antichrist will do and what will happen to the Antichrist that will make the world believe that he is a god. Some of what you will learn in this chapter is that the beast with seven heads and ten horns is the Antichrist and his system.
The Book of Revelation, basically, describes two types of beasts in the book. One type of beast John describes is a natural beast such as a bull or wild beast that is an animal. The second type of beast John describes are two men whom he calls beasts.
The first beast, mentioned in Revelation chapter 13 is the Antichrist and his system. The second beast he speaks about, in the same chapter, is the false prophet. Keep these two beast definitions in mind as you read the chapter because it can get confusing when John changes from speaking of the first beast and then speaks immediately about the second beast. Again, these two beasts are simply describing two men, the Antichrist and his partner the false prophet.
Let's look at the first beast John describes in this chapter.
Revelation 13:1: NKJ
1. Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
John saw in his vision a beast "rising up out of the sea..." I believe the basic meaning here is that the Antichrist will rise from the "sea" of humanity to be more dominant than any other individual. Secondly, it could easily be a reference to the mythological character of Aphrodite, in which the pre-Antichrist organization puts at their head and do worship in the form of men. Strange, but true.
So, the Antichrist, the first beast, rises from the sea, of humanity "having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name."
The Antichrist described in Daniel chapter 7, which I have a lesson on specifically on this web site, describes the Antichrist as being a beast with ten horns, of which the Antichrist is literally an eleventh horn that rises among the ten horns.
In the 13th chapter of Revelation, John adds more characteristics to the same description of the same Antichrist that Daniel described... the Antichrist, the beast, has seven heads. Revelation 13 also adds that the ten horns have ten crowns and that on his (seven) heads a blasphemous name.
In verse 1 of Revelation chapter 13, John gives us insight as to the symbol that will reveal who the Antichrist's organization is. It also gives us a small introduction into the harlot system described in Revelation 17 as well. These symbols will be explained further in my study of Revelation chapter 17.
Here is more of the text from Revelation chapter 13.
Revelation 13:2-10: NKJ
2. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like
the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the
dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
3. I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his
deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the
beast.
4. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and
they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to
make war with him?''
5. And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and
he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
6. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His
name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7. And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome
them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
8. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not
been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world.
9. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills
with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints.
These verses describe the Antichrist as a beast. This beast was like a leopard, his feet like a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. What this describes are the attributes of the Antichrist. He will be swift like a leopard. He will conquer the world in 42 months. He will be like a bear, in that he will crush the world with his power, just like a bear can crush any person with it's great strength.
The beast has the mouth of a lion to devour his prey, the whole world.
The next thing spoken of is a dragon. The dragon is Satan, which is told to us in Revelation chapter 12. Another viewpoint on this that the dragon could be the nation of China/Japan that have national emblems as dragons. If this is the case, China and/or Japan will give their military might to the Antichrist and their approval for his leadership (throne).
But, there is no doubt that Satan will be the one being worshipped during the reign of the Antichrist. Satan will give the Antichrist his throne, power and authority.
The great news is that God's power will be greater than both Satan and the Antichrist! The Antichrist will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns forever at the end of his seven-year reign (Revelation chapter 19) and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire 1000 years later (Revelation chapter 20).
Revelation 13:3 tells us that one of the beast's heads was "fatally wounded." I want to clarify something of a misinterpretation of this verse. Many people believe that the Antichrist will be mortally wounded in the head. This is not the correct interpretation.
The "head" in this verse is a king. The king will be mortally wounded. That's it. How he is mortally wounded is not stated. He could be shot in the head. He could be poisoned. He could be knifed in the back. The verses only describes that the head (the Antichrist) will be mortally wounded.
The interesting part is that the Antichrist will be healed from his mortal wound. In other words, he will rise from the dead or at least will convince the world that he rose from the dead. This is why the world will believe he is a god and will follow him. The world will believe this miracle of the Antichrist coming back from the dead, whether real or falsified, and will worship the beast or Antichrist as a god.
The world not only worships the beast, but they will also worship Satan who gives him his power.
The phrase, "who is able to make war with him?" gives us insight into the attribute of the Antichrist that he will be a military leader who will conquer all nations. No one will be able to stand against the Antichrist's military power.
The Antichrist will conquer the world in 42 months. He will take an earlier 42 months to prepare for his reign of terror. He will reign for a total of 7 years.
The Antichrist, in verse 7, describes that he will war against the saints of God. This will be the main focus of the Antichrist's mission. He will overcome them, which means he will find all Christians and kill them. Also in verse 7 is stated that he will conquer the whole world and will have authority over every nation.
In verse 8, we read that everyone will worship the Antichrist except for those who become or are true Christians. This comes by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. There is no other way to heaven except by Jesus Christ. No other religion or religious leader can save you. Jesus Christ alone can save you from your sins and make you a child of God.
Many countless number of people will become a Christian during the reign of the Antichrist. They are described in Revelation chapter 7.
Revelation 7:9-14: NKJ
9. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which
no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10. and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our
God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!''
11. And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the
four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and
worshiped God,
12. saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor
and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.''
13. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these
arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?''
14. And I said to him, "Sir, you know.'' So he said to me, "These are
the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
An innumerable multitude will come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior during the Great Tribulation period (the 7-year reign of the Antichrist). They will stand against the Antichrist and will NOT worship him! That is such great news. There is hope for whoever will come to Christ. No matter who you are, or what you've done in the past, Jesus can forgive you and make you a new person; changed to be in His image.
The Antichrist will be president or head over an organization that has ten kings who rule with him, although many more has already been added to his system than the original ten who began it.
So, what is the Antichrist's system? I reveal the Antichrist's system in the study of Revelation chapter 17 you can link to from my End Times Topics web page.
The Antichrist's system is marked with ten different kings (political leaders) who became the founders of his ten nation organization. These ten kings were not kings until they became leaders in this ten nation organization. Now, the organization has become larger, but it still only has ten founding members. The newer members are not founding members which keeps the founding kings to be ten in number still.
Which organization is it? Check out my web page on Revelation chapter 17 and find out. It may surprise you.
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