John said, “The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion” (v. 2). The leopard symbolizes the swift and cruel movement of Alexander the Great, the king of Greece; the feet of the bear symbolize the stamping and destroying feet of the monarchy of Medo-Persia; and the mouth of the lion symbolizes the devouring mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The beast that John saw has the characteristics of the three beasts in Daniel 7:4-7. Hence, he will be the totality of all the evil powers in human history and the ultimate issue of all the worldly powers.
Revelation 13:1 says that a beast will come up out of the sea. Geographically, this sea is the Mediterranean Sea and the “Great Sea” in Daniel 7:2. According to biblical figure, the land signifies the nation of Israel, and the sea signifies the Gentile nations (Rev. 17:15). The beast coming up out of the sea indicates that Antichrist will come out of the Gentile world.
In Revelation 9:11, 11:7, and 17:8 we are told that Antichrist will come up out of the abyss. However, verse 1 of chapter 13 and Daniel 7:3 say that he will come up out of the sea. This indicates that Antichrist will come from two sources. His spirit, which exists in the abyss before he is born, will come up out of the abyss. His body will come from one of the Gentile nations around the Mediterranean Sea. Daniel 8 says that he will come out of one of the four kingdoms of ancient Greece (vv. 8-9, 21-23).
The beast has “ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and on his heads names of blasphemy” (Rev. 13:1). According to this verse, the beast is the same as the dragon (12:3) because they both have seven heads and ten horns. This emphatically indicates that the coming Antichrist will be one with Satan. Satan will be embodied in Antichrist and expressed through him; hence, Satan’s seven heads and ten horns will be the seven heads and ten horns of Antichrist.
The ten horns are the ten kings (17:12), signified by the ten diadems on the ten horns. The ten horns are also ten kingdoms, symbolized by the ten toes of the great image in Daniel 2:42-44. The seven heads of the beast are seven Caesars of the Roman Empire (Rev. 17:10), signified by the seven diadems on the seven heads (12:3). The first five Caesars are Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The sixth Caesar is Domitian, who was alive when John wrote the book of Revelation. The seventh Caesar, who will eventually suffer a death blow and be resuscitated by the spirit of the fifth Caesar, Nero, will be Antichrist. These seven Caesars all claimed to be God, assumed deity, and forced their people to worship them as God. Hence, the seven heads of the beast bear names of blasphemy.
The dragon will make the beast one with him by giving him his power and his throne and great authority (13:2). When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was tempted by the devil. The Lord Jesus defeated him, saying, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve’” (Matt. 4:10). Since that day Satan has been looking for someone to whom he could give all his power, his authority, and the glory of his kingdom. He will find the one he has been seeking in the person of Antichrist. Because Satan will give his power and authority to Antichrist, Antichrist will become an extraordinary person.
Revelation 13:3 says, “One of his heads was as it were slain to death, and his death stroke was healed.” Verse 14 also says that the beast “had the stroke of the sword and revived.” This will cause the whole earth to marvel after him (v. 3). “Those who dwell on the earth, those whose names are not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life, will marvel when they see the beast” (17:8).
According to chapter 9, the angel of the abyss emerged shortly after Satan, as the star, fell from heaven to earth. About this time the seventh Caesar of the Roman Empire will be killed. The spirit of Caesar Nero will be released from the abyss and enter into the body of the slain seventh Caesar to resuscitate his corpse and to make him the eighth Caesar. This eighth Caesar will have the body of the seventh Caesar and the spirit of the fifth. This resuscitation will be a counterfeit to Christ’s resurrection. Anyone who does not have the faith of Christ will certainly be attracted by this miraculous occurrence.
During the first half of the last seven years, the seventh Caesar will appear. After he is slain and resuscitated, which will take place near the middle of the seven years, he will become the eighth Caesar. Hence, during the first three and a half years, he will be the seventh Caesar, and during the last three and a half years, he, as the resuscitated Antichrist, will be the eighth Caesar. The seventh Caesar will confirm a covenant with the Jews for seven years, and the eighth Caesar will persecute the Jews and exalt himself as God. Hence, Antichrist “is also the eighth and is out of the seven” (17:11).
This slain and resuscitated Antichrist will have the number of Caesar Nero. The false prophet will cooperate with Antichrist and cause “all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead” (13:16). No one will be able to buy or sell anything unless he has “the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of his name” (v. 17). Verse 18 says, “Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred sixty-six.” The number six hundred sixty-six denotes Caesar Nero. The unbelievers will bear the name of Nero on their forehead or on their hand, testifying that they belong to Nero. Anyone who does not have the mark of the beast upon him will not be able to buy or sell. This will make it impossible to live.