Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information
Re 13:1-18. VISION OF THE BEAST THAT CAME OUT OF THE SEA: THE SECOND BEAST, OUT OF THE EARTH, EXERCISING THE POWER OF THE FIRST BEAST, AND CAUSING THE EARTH TO WORSHIP HIM.
1. I stood--So B, Aleph, and Coptic read. But A,
C, Vulgate, and Syriac, "He stood." Standing on
the sand of the sea, HE gave his power to the beast that
rose out of the sea.
upon the sand of the sea--where the four winds were to be
seen striving upon the great sea
(Da 7:2).
beast--Greek, "wild beast." Man becomes "brutish" when he
severs himself from God, the archetype and true ideal, in whose image
he was first made, which ideal is realized by the man Christ Jesus.
Hence, the world powers seeking their own glory, and not God's, are
represented as beasts; and Nebuchadnezzar, when in
self-deification he forgot that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of
men," was driven among the beasts. In
Da 7:4-7
there are four beasts: here the one beast expresses the
sum-total of the God-opposed world power viewed in its universal
development, not restricted to one manifestation alone, as Rome. This
first beast expresses the world power attacking the Church more from
without; the second, which is a revival of, and minister to, the first,
is the world power as the false prophet corrupting and
destroying the Church from within.
out of the sea--
(Da 7:3;
compare Note, see on
Re 8:8);
out of the troubled waves of peoples, multitudes, nations, and
tongues. The earth
(Re 13:11),
on the other hand, means the consolidated, ordered world of nations,
with its culture and learning.
seven heads and ten horns--A, B, and C transpose, "ten horns and
seven heads." The ten horns are now put first (contrast the order,
Re 12:3)
because they are crowned. They shall not be so till the last stage of
the fourth kingdom (the Roman), which shall continue until the fifth
kingdom, Christ's, shall supplant it and destroy it utterly; this last
stage is marked by the ten toes of the two feet of the image in
Da 2:33, 41, 42.
The seven implies the world power setting up itself as God, and
caricaturing the seven Spirits of God; yet its true character as
God-opposed is detected by the number ten accompanying the
seven. Dragon and beast both wear crowns, but the former on the heads,
the latter on the horns
(Re 12:3; 13:1).
Therefore, both heads and horns refer to kingdoms; compare
Re 17:7, 10, 12,
"kings" representing the kingdoms whose heads they are. The
seven kings, as peculiarly powerful--the great powers of the
world--are distinguished from the ten, represented by the horns
(simply called "kings,"
Re 17:12).
In Daniel, the ten mean the last phase of the world power, the
fourth kingdom divided into ten parts. They are connected with
the seventh head
(Re 17:12),
and are as yet future [AUBERLEN]. The mistake of
those who interpret the beast to be Rome exclusively, and the ten
horns to mean kingdoms which have taken the place of Rome in Europe
already, is, the fourth kingdom in the image has TWO legs, representing the eastern as well as the
western empire; the ten toes are not upon the one foot (the west), as
these interpretations require, but on the two (east and west) together,
so that any theory which makes the ten kingdoms belong to the west
alone must err. If the ten kingdoms meant were those which sprung up on
the overthrow of Rome, the ten would be accurately known, whereas
twenty-eight different lists are given by so many interpreters, making
in all sixty-five kingdoms! [TYSO in DE BURGH]. The seven heads are the
seven world monarchies, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome,
the Germanic empire, under the last of which we live [AUBERLEN], and which devolved for a time on Napoleon,
after Francis, emperor of Germany and king of Rome, had resigned the
title in 1806. FABER explains the healing of
the deadly wound to be the revival of the Napoleonic dynasty after
its overthrow at Waterloo. That secular dynasty, in alliance with the
ecclesiastical power, the Papacy
(Re 13:11,
&c.), being "the eighth head," and yet "of the seven"
(Re 17:11),
will temporarily triumph over the saints, until destroyed in Armageddon
(Re 19:17-21).
A Napoleon, in this view, will be the Antichrist, restoring the Jews to
Palestine, and accepted as their Messiah at first, and afterwards
fearfully oppressing them. Antichrist, the summing up and concentration
of all the world evil that preceded, is the eighth, but yet one of the
seven
(Re 17:11).
crowns--Greek, "diadems."
name of blasphemy--So C, Coptic, and
ANDREAS. A, B, and Vulgate read, "names of
blasphemy," namely, a name on each of the heads; blasphemously
arrogating attributes belonging to God alone (compare Note, see
on
Re 17:3).
A characteristic of the little horn in
Da 7:8, 20, 21;
2Th 2:4.
JFB.
The Book of Revelation
Revelation 1:9-11 - I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Revelation 19:11-16 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 22:18-20 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation in The New Testament - A Brief Overview
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620
Introduction to The Book of Revelation
Brief Summary. John describes the seven churches in Asia, he records the visions that he received, and in the prophecy Jesus returns as the kinsman redeemer to claim this world as His inheritance. The final battle unfolds in a 7 year period through a series of seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements, He casts the antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire and sets up the New Jerusalem, the new heaven and new earth for the redeemed. The book of Revelation is in harmony with the prophecies in the Old Testament especially the ones written by Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah.
Summary of The Book of Revelation
Author. John the apostle names himself as the one who wrote down what the Lord said through the angel. The earliest writers in the church like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria and the Muritorian all credit John the apostle as author of the book of Revelation.
Date. John indicates that he was on the Island of Patmos when he received the prophecy (Revelation 1:9). According to tradition John wrote during the reign of the Emperor Domitian which would have been around 95 AD. Tradition also states that John was released the next year and was allowed to return to Ephesus. Domitian was perhaps the cruelest Emperor toward the Christians, demanding that he was to worshipped as deity, or be put to death.
Audience. John said that the prophecy was directed to the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:4).
Outline of the Book of Revelation
Description and Fate of False Teachers - 1:1-16
Encouragement to Believers in Christ - 1:17-25
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus"
would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or
consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A).
Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means
"The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".
The Book of Revelation Resources
Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus, in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary Journey's. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he returned to the cities he had first visited on his first missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19). (Color Map)
Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the "Nations" within the ancient world during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities within Greece in the ancient world during the first century A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like: Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia and Achaia. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within
Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New
Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia
including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like
Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)