Revelation 13 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Around AD 95, during the reign of the emperor Domitian, a generation after Nero's persecution of Christians in Rome
Location
A beast rising from the sea, which for the province of Asia meant from the direction of Rome, and a second beast rising from the land
Audience
The seven congregations of Roman Asia, in cities that competed for the honor of hosting temples to the emperor
Situation
A beast with seven heads comes out of the sea, receives its authority from the dragon, and is worshipped by the whole world after surviving a fatal wound. A second beast from the land enforces that worship with signs, an image that speaks, and an economic boycott enforced by a mark, whose number is six hundred sixty-six.
Key Background
Roman officials arrived by ship from the west, so a monster from the sea had an obvious address, and the four beasts of Daniel chapter seven are combined here into one composite creature representing empire as such. Cities in Asia competed fiercely for the title of temple warden, the right to build and staff a temple to the emperor, and local elites ran that cult, which is what the land beast does when it makes people worship the first beast. In both Hebrew and Greek letters doubled as numbers, a practice called gematria, and the spelling Neron Caesar written in Hebrew letters adds up to six hundred sixty-six, which fits the widespread belief that Nero would return, though the number also simply falls short of seven three times over.
And I saw a rising out of the It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten royal crowns on its horns, and on each head was a name that
The beast I saw looked like a but had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. The gave the beast his own power, his own throne, and enormous authority.
One of the beast's heads looked like it had been given a but the deadly had been healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast.
People the dragon because he had given authority to the And they the saying, "Who is the Who could possibly fight against it?"
The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant words and to and it was given authority to act for
It opened its mouth to hurl insults at God — attacking name, and everyone who lives in heaven.
It was allowed to wage war against and to defeat them. And it was given authority over every and
Everyone living on earth will worship it — everyone whose name has not been written since the creation of the world in the of belonging to the who was
If has them this:
If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed by the sword, by the sword they will be killed. This is where the and of will be tested.
Then I saw another beast rising out of the It had two horns a but it spoke a dragon.
It all the of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and everyone living on it worship the first beast — the one whose fatal wound had been healed.
It performs even making fire come down from the sky to the earth while people watch.
It deceives everyone living on earth through the signs it was allowed to perform on behalf of the beast. It told the people of the earth to make an in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet survived.
It was given the power to give to the image of the beast, so that the image could actually speak, and to have anyone killed who refused to worship the image of the beast.
It also forced everyone — unimportant and powerful, rich and poor, free and enslaved — to receive a on their or on their
so that no one could or unless they had the mark — the beast's name or the number of its name.
This calls for Let the person who has insight figure out the of the beast, because it is the of a being. That is