Nearly 2,000 years ago the apostle John, who prior to meeting Jesus had been a fisherman by trade and had been called an “uneducated and untrained” man (Acts 4:13), predicted that a global economic system will one day be instituted in which everyone will be forced to receive a number, without which they will not be able to buy or sell. Only in this era of computers and electronic commerce could this prophecy be fulfilled.
Revelation chapter 13 begins with a beast (the Antichrist), raising up out of the “sea”, which represents the nations of the world. The beast is the Antichrist or the false messiah. He will be the final world ruler, also known as the little horn (in the book of Daniel. He is both a person and an empire. The description of the Beast connects it closely both to the “dragon” and to the fourth beast of Daniel chapter 7 (the Roman Empire; Dan. 7:7, 23).
The end times will be a time of confusion and uncertainty, which will cause the people to desperately look for a strong leader that could bring hope and security in a time of fear and apprehension. People will desperately seek a strong, charismatic, authoritative leader who can pull the world back from the very brink of disaster.
The unbelievers of the world will be deceived into believing that the Beast is a god (compare 2 Thess. 2:4, 11). Only those whose “names” are “written in the book of life” will refuse to “worship” the Beast. This book of life of the Lamb contains the names of all those who have called on the Lamb of God for salvation. The Beast will persecute the “saints” of God, and exercise power throughout the world. Satan's "authority" will be all but unlimited, and almost everyone on earth will worship him. This is the very thing Satan has sought from the beginning, worship from angels and men.
Revelation 13:9 "If any man have an ear, let him hear."
This again is a warning not to let this go in one ear and out the other, but to take heed to this warning. This is emphasizing a very important truth.
The scene shifts to describe a beast who also has seven heads and ten horns, who is closely identified with the dragon. He and another beast institute a series of satanically-empowered deceptions which bring the whole world under the sway of the beast with seven heads and ten horns, and ultimately Satan. This is the rise of the Antichrist, 2 whose activities are key to The 70th Week of Daniel.
1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Unlike the dragon which wears crowns on its heads (Rev. 12:3), the beast’s crowns are on its horns. The dragon’s crowns are associated with historical kingdoms of which this beast is one. The beast has crowns on each of his ten horns, indicating the rule of the ten contemporaneous kings associated with the last head or kingdom. These ten horns are the same as those of the last (terrible beast) of Daniel’s four beasts (Dan.7:7).
2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.
Zechariah relates the payment of thirty pieces of silver for the value of Messiah at His First Coming when he was betrayed by Judas (Mtt. Mat. 26:15; Mat. 27:3). The passage then describes a “foolish . . . worthless shepherd” who will specialize in consuming the sheep. He is said to exhibit wounds affecting his arm and right eye.
4 They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months. And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven. (Raptured Saints)
7 Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
(The dragon, cast out of Heaven after his final defeat at the hands of Michael and his forces, comes to the earth looking for an instrument through whom he can carry on his warfare against his hated Creator and God.)
...And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear...
10 “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; (Some saints will be imprisoned) if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” (Saints are not to defend themselves by killing, but accept the method of their impending deaths (as did the early saints).
Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints. (The great tribulation saints must endure until their deaths)
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. (False prophet)
12 And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
He is the false prophet who speaks for the first beast. He represents world ecumenical religion. He looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. He looks like the Lord Jesus (John 1:29; Rev 5:6) but speaks like the devil. He pawns himself off as the Lamb, the Messiah.
It is by the signs that the False Prophet deceives the earth dwellers to receive the mark of the Beast and worship his image. Rev.19:20
13 And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people.
14 Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
15 The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.
16 And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.
God warns us not to worship the beast and his image, and not to receive his mark on our forehead and on our hand (Revelation 14:9). If we do, we will ‘drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation’ (Revelation 14:10).
We have read of the sealing of the servants of God in their forehead (Rev 7:3) we shall hear of it again (Rev 22:4); the power of evil also has its mark or stamp. The Lord will finally allow Satan the use of this mark to force the issue with all the inhabitants of the world.
17 So that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
Those who refuse the mark are automatically cut off from the global economy. They are driven underground to rely either upon supernatural provision (as the woman in the wilderness of (Revelation 12:6) or the black market.
18 Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.