Revelation 13:1-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 13:1-10

We have here an account of the rise, figure, and progress of the first beast; and observe, 1. From what situation the apostle saw this monster. He seemed to himself to stand upon the sea-shore, though it is probable he was still in a rapture; but he took himself to be in the island Patmos, but whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell. 2. Whence this beast came?out of the sea; and yet, by the description of it, it would seem more likely to be a land-monster; but the more... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 13:1-18

13:1-18 I saw a beast coming up from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; and it had ten royal crowns on its horns; and on its heads I saw blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's feet; its mouth was like a lion's mouth; and to it the dragon delegated its power and its throne and its great authority. I saw that one of its heads looked as if it had been wounded to death; and its deadly wound had been healed. The... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:1

And I stood upon the sand of the sea ,.... The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, "and he stood", &c.; and so the Alexandrian copy; meaning the dragon, said to be wroth with the woman, and to go forth to make war with her seed, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, where some versions place this clause; and the Arabic version reads expressly, "and the serpent stood", &c.; And this is thought by some to be the better reading, because of the connection with what... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:2

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard ,.... To which the Grecian kingdom is compared in Daniel 7:6 ; because of that rapidity and swiftness with which Alexander overran the world, and set up this monarchy; and to which the Roman Papal monarchy bears some resemblance; for as the Grecian monarchy was divided into several parts, which the leopard's spots may also point out, so the Roman empire was divided into ten parts, and united under the pope, as the head of them; and may be,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:3

And I saw one of his heads ,.... Not the Capitoline mountain, or the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter, built on that hill, which was burnt by lightning in the times of Titus, and magnificently rebuilt by Domitian, which was a thing past, and of no such moment as to be taken notice of here; nor anyone of the Roman emperors particularly, as Julius Caesar, at whose death the empire received a wound, upon its first erection in him, but was healed by the settlement of Augustus in it; nor Nero, at... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:4

And they worshipped the dragon ,.... The devil, in the idols, images, angels, and saints departed, to whom they give adoration, as did the Gentiles, whose successors they are, and whose name they bear; see 1 Corinthians 10:20 ; which gave power unto the beast , as in Revelation 13:2 ; and they worshipped the beast ; not only in a civil way, being subject to him as their temporal lord, to whom they give homage; obedience, and tribute, but in a religious way; for antichrist sits in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:5

And there was given unto him a mouth ,.... The beast is said to have a mouth before, like the mouth of a lion, Revelation 13:2 ; but now he was moved and stirred up by the dragon, the devil, to open it, not only in a cruel and voracious way, but in a haughty, lying, and blasphemous manner: and this was given him, it was at the instigation of Satan, and by divine permission; his coming, speaking, and acting, were after the working of Satan, but not without the will of God; who, as he gave... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 13:1

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea - Before we can proceed in the interpretation of this chapter, it will be highly necessary to ascertain the meaning of the prophetic symbol beast, as the want of a proper understanding of this term has probably been one reason why so many discordant hypotheses have been published to the world. In this investigation it is impossible to resort to a higher authority than Scripture, for the Holy Ghost is his own... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 13:2

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard - This similitude of the beast to a leopard appears to be an allusion to the third beast of Daniel, which is well known to represent the empire of the Greeks. The Latin empire greatly resembled the modern empire of the Greeks; for that the power of the Greeks was still said to be like a leopard, even after its subjugation by the Romans, is evident from Daniel 7:12 ; : "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 13:3

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death - This is the second and last place where the heads of the beast are mentioned with any description; and therefore the meaning here must be forms of government, as these were noticed last in the angel's double explanation. The head that was wounded to death can be no other than the seventh draconic head, which was the sixth head of the beast, viz., the imperial power; for "this head," as Bishop Newton observes, "was, as it were, wounded... read more

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