Revelation 13:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

NIV: It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.

NASB: He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

CSB: It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

NLT: He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.

KJV: And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

NKJV: And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

The two beasts of Revelation are partners in evil. They both receive their power from the dragon, the Devil, and they both endeavor to advance the Devil's work. These two figures are most often referred to as the Antichrist and the False Prophet, respectively. However, it's possible that this second beast might be more correctly given the label "antichrist." Revelation itself does not given them those titles, so either is a possibility.

The second beast is as powerful as the first beast. This person uses his power to make earth's inhabitants worship the first beast. In this role the second beast imitates Christ, who directs worship to the Father (Luke 11:1–4; John 1:18; 14:6). This verse's statement is part of the basis for believing that there will be a single, world-wide religion enforced during the end times.

Revelation 13:3 describes the first beast as having a mortal wound that was healed. Perhaps this is a reference to the Roman Empire as having a mortal wound. If so, the wound may refer to the fall of the Roman Empire, and the healing refers to the Empire's revival. The Roman Empire had six forms of government: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, tribunes, and emperors. The sixth form under the Caesars ended, but it will reappear in the tribulation and cover roughly the same territory as it previously held.

Revelation 13:11–18 focuses on the second beast of this chapter, the last of seven major figures described in this part of Revelation. This figure is most often labelled as the ''False Prophet.'' While the first beast came from the sea, this one comes from the land. The earth is often equated with Israel, leading many to believe the False Prophet will be ethnically Jewish. The second beast poses as a lamb but speaks like a dragon. It's possible to identify this beast, rather than the first, as the ''antichrist'' because every reference to antichrist or the spirit of antichrist in the New Testament has a religious context (1 John 4:1, 3, 6; 2 John 1:7). Whereas the first beast is a political ruler, the second beast is a religious figure who deceives many. This passage also introduces the controversial and ominous ''mark of the beast.''

This chapter exposes two evil men, ''beasts'' who serve the Devil. The first beast arises from the sea, presumably the Mediterranean. The second beast arises from the land, possibly Israel. The first beast dominates the final form of the Roman Empire and sets himself up as a god to be worshiped. This first figure is the one most often labelled as ''Antichrist.'' The second beast acts as prophet, priest, and king in Israel. As such, he imitates Christ, but he is a False Prophet. This corrupted religious leader sets up an image of the first beast in the temple and commands everyone to worship it. The false prophet executes those who refuse to worship the image. Further, he causes everyone to receive the name or the number of the first beast on the right hand or on the forehead. Without this identifying mark, no one can buy or sell. The number of the beast is 666.

Revelation 13 introduces the last two major figures described in this extended section. Two ''beasts,'' which are actually evil, powerful men, corrupt Israel by forcing idolatry on everyone. While not explicitly given these names in the Bible, the two men mentioned here are most often referred to as the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Later, The Lord sends the northern aggressor into Israel to punish their idolatry. This text also mentions two other infamous concepts: the mark of the beast, and the number 666, which are mentioned in later verses as identifying those who have rejected God in favor of Satan. Related Scriptures are Exodus 20:1–6; Daniel 2:31–43; 7:1–8; and Revelation chapters 9 and 12.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''