Revelation 13:1 - Exposition

And I stood upon the sand of the sea. The Revised Version, agreeing with א , A, C, Vulgate, Syriac, AE thiopic, Armenian, Victorinus, reads ἐστάθη , "he stood." The Authorized Version follows the reading ἐστάθην , "I stood," which is found in B, P, Coptic, Andreas, Arethas. Fortunately, the point is not important. Whether St. John or the dragon stood on the edge of the sea is not material, since we are distinctly told that the ten-horned beast rose from the sea. Wordsworth aptly contrasts this station on the unstable sand in proximity to the sea, the clement of commotion, with the vision of the Lamb on Mount Zion ( Revelation 14:1-5 ). The imagery which follows is founded upon the vision of Daniel 7:1-28 . The phrase should probably be joined on to the preceding passage, as in the Revised Version. The new vision then opens in the customary manner with εἷδον , "I saw," as in Revelation 4:1-11 ., 5., 6., 7., etc. And saw a beast rise up out of the sea . Supply "I," and make this the beginning of the fresh paragraph (see above). The one beast here takes the place of the four beasts of Daniel 7:1-28 ., and is distinguished by the characteristics of the first three (see on Daniel 7:2 ). This beast arises from the sea, the second beast from the earth (see Daniel 7:11 ). They are the instruments of the woe which is denounced against the earth and the sea in Revelation 12:12 . The sea, again, is the type of instability, confusion, and commotion, frequently signifying the ungovernable nations of the earth in opposition to the Church of God (cf. Revelation 17:15 ; Revelation 21:1 ). Probably this is the beast referred to in Revelation 11:7 , and (more fully) in Revelation 17:1-18 . It is the power of the world which is directed towards the persecution of Christians. Having seven heads and ten horns. Nearly every manuscript has, having ten horns and seven heads. The order is reversed in Revelation 12:3 and Revelation 17:3 ; possibly the horns are mentioned first in this passage, because they are first seen as the beast rises from the sea. The essential identity of this beast with the dragon of Revelation 12:3 is plainly shown. There Satan is described in his personal character; here he is described under the aspect of the persecuting power of the world. The symbolism is analogous to that found in Daniel 7:1-28 ., where we may find the key to the interpretation. First, the heads signify dominion. The head is naturally looked upon as the chief, the controlling and guiding part of the body; that part to which all the members of the body are subject. This is the idea conveyed in Daniel 7:6 . The third beast there is distinguished by the possession of four heads, and (we are immediately told) "dominion was given to it." Seven, as we have repeatedly seen, is the number typical of universality (cf. Revelation 1:4 ; Revelation 5:1 , etc.). The seven, heads, therefore, are symbolical of universal dominion. In the second place, horns are the type of power. Thus, in Daniel 7:7 , the beast which is distinguished by the possession of the horns is described as being "diverse from all the beasts that were before it." It was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it" (cf. Deuteronomy 33:17 ; Psalms 132:17 ; Jeremiah 48:25 , etc.). The number ten is the sign of completeness; not of universality or totality, but of sufficiency and abundancy for the purpose in view (cf. Genesis 18:32 , the ten righteous wanting at Sodom; Exodus 27:12 , the ten pillars of the tabernacle; the ten commandments; the tithe; Psalms 33:2 , etc.). The ten horns , therefore, denote plenitude of power. The words of this passage thus signify that the beast should possess worldwide dominion and ample power. These are the qualities ascribed to the power which Satan now directs against the "seed of the woman." At the time of the writing of the Apocalypse, this power was evidently heathen Rome; but the meaning may be extended to embrace all the forms which this world opposition has assumed, whether Roman, Mohammedan, or Gothic, etc. It is consequently unnecessary, as it certainly seems fruitless, to attempt to interpret the heads and horns of individual nations and kings. In endeavouring to do so, many writers have imported into the description here given other details from Daniel, or deduced by themselves, for which there is no warrant in the narrative here supplied. For the same reason, it is useless to inquire into the disposition of the ten horns and seven heads; since the whole is a figure intended to convey certain ideas, and is not a description of an actual bodily form. And upon his horns ten crowns. "Ten crowns;" διαδήματα , crowns denoting sovereignty; not στέφανος , the victor's wreath. The crowns upon the horns denote the sovereign nature of the power with which the beast is invested. The nations of the world who have persecuted the Church of God have the chief rule in this world. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy. The plural ὀνόματα , "names," adopted by the Revised Version, is found in A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, Andreas, Primasius. Alford reads the singular ὄνομα , with א , C, P, Coptic, Andreas, Primasius. There is no article. Possibly each head bore a name, which was the same in each ease, and which might therefore with equal propriety be described as name or names. "Upon his heads" ( ἐπὶ κεφαλάς ); the accusative being used (as Afford suggests) because the action of inscription carries with it a tinge of motion. In the preceding clause we have the genitive Or; ἐπὶ κεράτων , where the preposition denotes rest. We have no hint given as to what the name was; the nature only is indicated. St. John very possibly had in his mind the mitre of the high priest, upon the plate of which was inscribed, "Holiness to the Lord" ( Exodus 28:36 ). It is a "name of blasphemy;" that is, the worldly power, typified by this beast, denies the Divinity and might of the true God, and exalts itself above him. Bede, Hengstenberg, etc., see the fulfilment in the assumption by the Roman emperors of titles which belong rightly only to Christ—King of kings, Divus, etc. But the application is wider. As partial fulfilments of that which will never be completely fulfilled until the end of the world, we may mention Pharaoh, when he said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" ( Exodus 5:2 ); Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 18:1-37 .); Herod Agrippa ( Acts 12:22 ); as well as those since St. John's time who have blasphemed by denying the existence or omnipotence of Christ.