Revelation 13

In Short

Revelation 13 shows us the USA as 'the beast out of the sea', with its seven heads of strategic intelligence of the seven former phases of the world-empire and with outward appearances of Babylon (harsh communication - the mouth of a lion), Persia (destructive power, the legs of a bear) and Greece (the swiftness of movement, the body of a leopard). Its ten horns represent the nations of Europe that have become US-vassals after WWII. The crowns show the dictatorial power of the vassals over their own citizens in the last stage of the empire. The dragon gave the USA power to gain control over the most important part of the continent and over the Western hemisphere (Monroe doctrine - 1823). The deadly wound points to the civil war that almost tore the USA in two (1861-1865). When the unity was kept, the US grew into a uncontested world power that was admired all over the globe. Scientific, technical and economic development of the 20th century came predominantly from the USA. All of this drove the West away from God and in the arms of the dragon.

 

The rise of competitive nations like Russia and China and the decline of the dollar as world reserve currency leaves the USA no choice but to speak and act on behalf of its position of supremacy. For 42 months the USA will speaking great words and act to retake and consolidate hegemony. These 42 months will start with blasphemy against God, in one or both of the Mosques on the Temple mount. This will result in a short worldwide war, giving it control over the Middle East and thereby over the world. Through total digital control over every aspect of life, the USA will enforce a worldwide dictatorship under which its laws and decrees have to be obeyed by everyone. 'And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him'. Those written in the book of life will however obey the Lamb and become outcasts. In order to persevere, those opposing the system have to remind that in the end - that is at the end of the 42 months, justice will be done.

 

A second 'beast' is instrumental in the gaining of total control by the USA, worldwide admiration of the USA and unquestioning obedience to the USA: the beast out of the earth, which is Zionism, incorporated in the state of Israel. Through their control of film and media, Jews have managed to create an idealized picture of the USA in most of the world, especially in the West. Though the USA commits the worst of war crimes, killing millions worldwide in order to gain and retain hegemony, it uses Israel to do the absolute dirty work of genocide against Palestinians, necessary to control the Middle East. So Israel gets the blame and the image of the USA remains generally in tact. Finally the land of an obliterated Israel will become the underground command center of 'the image of the beast'. This will be a digital real-time copy of the complete empire, with all of its subjects and assets, that will be constantly updated through the 'mark of the beast', a digital (QR?) code, which has to be (invisibly?) imprinted on the forehead or right hand.

 

Intermediate Summary

Revelation 13 shows us the arrival of 'the beast' on the world stage, the rise of the USA since 1776. The USA is 'the beast out of the sea' of Daniel 7, Revelation 13 and Revelation 17. For a long time the beast has fooled the world and especially Christianity into believing that it was not in Bible prophecy. But history does not lie. History shows a very clear match between the history of the USA and the beast in Bible prophecy. The parallel between the USA and the beast of Revelation 13, 17 and Daniel 7 is so very apparent that it is strange how it could have been overlooked for so long.

 

The place of the USA in the long history of empires is pictured in Daniel 7. From 600 BC the Babylonian empire (seen as lion) was followed by the Persian empire (seen as bear) and by the Greek empire (seen as leopard). Then came the Roman empire, pictured as an enormous dreadful beast with ten horns. Like the ten toes of the Daniel-2-statue, the ten horns are the ten nations of Europe that emerged after centuries of struggle from the Roman empire. Among these ten horns arose an eleventh horn, starting as 'little horn' but becoming bigger than all of them and casting down 3 of the first ten horns. This 11th horn is the USA, starting from among the ten, as 13 European colonies, growing into a continental power and finally grasping world power by destroying the power of the three mightiest European nations - Spain (1898) - Germany (1918) - GB (1944).

 

Revelation 17 shows the development of the USA since the Middle Ages, when the Roman Catholic Church was the predominant power on earth - seen as a prostitute. The Roman empire had gone down in Europe's peoples and the church ruled 'the beast', collaborating with kings and governments. Shortly after the foundation of the USA, the European nations would free themselves from church domination, which started in 1789 with the French revolution. As seen in Daniel 2 the ten European nations could not unify themselves but fought wars for supremacy - France - GB - Germany. The one profiting from the political European disparity was 'the beast', the USA. After two world wars it took over total control, over Europe and thereby over the world. This is the story of the first verses of Revelation 13.

 

As does Daniel 7, Revelation 13 paints the beast from the beginning in the final form it would have. In Daniel 7, the beast started as a little horn coming from the Roman empire but it grew into a terrifying world encompassing empire that devastated each and every country that didn't bow to its authority. In Revelation 13, when still rising from the sea, the beast is already seen (1) with 7 heads (2) with 10 horns and (3) with crowns on its horns (4) with the outward appearance of a lion, a bear and a leopard. During the first years of its existence however, it contained only the 13 colonies at the east coast of North America, having the form of a 'horn'. In the decennia that followed it grew into 'the seventh head', expanding all over the continent. In this endeavor, millions of Indians were lied to in deceptive agreements and killed. It was the technique of the devil with which the continent was conquered. 'The dragon gave him his power and throne and great authority'.

 

The civil war (1861-1865) almost tore the young country in two, a sword went through the seventh head. 'And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death'. The USA was however capable of preserving the unity and in the decennia that followed it grew more powerful than any other nation on earth. 'And his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast'. It took the Spanish war (1898) and two world wars (1914 - 1945) for this power to expand outside, encompassing all continents. With its expansion, an unprecedented technological development took place, much of which originated in US-territory. The rest of the world was overwhelmed with wonder and many people migrated to the land of promises, the country that nobody could wage war against. Unfortunately this was also the century of secularization, in which people massively exchanged their faith in Christ for faith in human science and technology. 'And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?'

 

At the start of the nineties of past century, the beast reached the pinnacle of its power. It encompassed the world. It was guided by seven heads, the intelligence of seven former empires that it had come from, starting with the Babylonian empire, heads which were tainted with blasphemy. With its mouth, it roared at the world like a lion. With its legs it trampled on many nations with devastating violence. It operated with the swiftness of a leopard because its armies were everywhere. Since the two disastrous wars, the proud nations of Europe had become ten horns of the beast, obedient vassals of the US-empire, to be used as battering rams toward the disobedient Russian bear.

 

This is the situation at the end of Revelation 13:4. Verse 5 seems to mark the turning point that the world now experiences. With its 7 heads - the combined intelligence of all former empires - the USA knows that any rising rival was a threat to its hegemony. From recent history the US had itself experienced how World war I had brought the British empire on its knees, leaving the fading hegemon no alternative but to transfer all world power to its former colony. In order to prevent such an outcome for itself, it devised a scala of plans and instruments with which it would prevent any rival from becoming a regional power. The USA was determined to remain the dominant power in every space on the planet, especially in the Middle East. That is why Israel is of vital importance, as bridge head to consolidate control in that most strategic region.

 

Essential to the strategy of lasting hegemony was the central position of the dollar as a world reserve currency. And it is exactly that position that came under severe attack. The dollar became fragile, not only because of rising economic powers and economic alliances but also because of aggravating US-sanctions upon dollar holdings and dollar trade. The US is no longer the world power that is admired. It has become the wold power that is detested. But empires will never voluntarily give up their power. The US-empire starting shouting at it friend and foe alike. It claims Greenland and the Panama Canal. It orders Europe to more than double its spending on 'defense' in order to take on Russia. It chastises all countries of the world with tariffs. It bombs boats in the Caribbean and it threatens news-outlets, judges and leaders it doesn't like with sanctions. As verse 5 states: 'And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies'.

 

The 'blasphemies' are presently still wanting. They will be heard at the start of the '42 months' which is 3.5 years - 'and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months'. These will be the last 42 months of history as we know it. It will be a 42 months in which the USA will be the decisive power, steering world affairs according to its will. The blasphemies that are mentioned will be the start of the 42 darkest months ever experienced. 'And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.' We presume that these blasphemies are 'the abomination of desolation' the Lord speaks about in his prophetic discourse, uttered by the US-spokesperson, probably the president himself, while 'standing in 'the holy place'. We assume this holy place to be one or both of the Mosques in Jerusalem on the Haram Al Sharif. This could be a very bloody incident whereby the ceremonies of Islam are brutally stopped in order for the place to become dedicated to a future Jewish temple.

 

This 'abomination' would of course provoke outrage throughout the Muslim world. Moreover it would finally provoke Iran into attacking Israel with all of its missiles and to invade it with its army (the devastation) in order to once and for all take out the terror-state that has changed the Middle East into a quagmire for decades. The USA will of course pretend to do everything to defend its proxy but it won't be able to. In secret it will be happy to free itself from the state that through a more than 2 year long genocide has turned from an asset into a liability. But outwardly it will fume with anger and the US will turn against Iran, once it has weakened itself. With the Middle East on fire World War III has become a fact.

 

This is the red horse of Revelation 6. 'And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.' The Ukraine conflict will flare up. Japan and China will battle over Taiwan. In the background, the USA will turn up the fire here and there, while taking control of the Middle East. Once the USA dominates the Middle East, it will choke all trade routes of Russia and China. After a few months, the war will grind to a halt. The first thing the US will do is to round up and kill all dissidents, that no grass-routs movement will ever be able to come up to defy its power. 'And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all peoples, and tongues, and nations.' This also coincided with the last phase of the Red horse: 'and there was given unto him a great sword', which could very well be the guillotine becoming operative again.

 

The production capacity of the world will be greatly demolished by the short but intense war and famine and sicknesses will start to arise and wild animals will have free reign. These are the black and the pale horse, together with the fifth seal of martyrs in Revelation 6 which correspond to the period that the USA will consolidate world power after winning the short World War. Then the most High will show his power in an enormous worldwide earthquake (seal 6), warning the world not to obey the beast but instead to follow the Lamb, that will prevail. Therefore, in Revelation 13 follows with: 'And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.' - So, large groups of people will worship the beast, those 'that dwell upon the earth', meaning those in positions of power, those not plagued by famine or sicknesses, having no fear from tyrannical government. What their worship consists of is detailed in the second part of the chapter. It has everything to do with obeying orders without questioning. On the other hand, large groups of people won't be able to go along with the totally lawless behavior of the beast and they will have their names written in the book of life.

 

The short sentence ' If any man have an ear, let him hear.' reminds one of the advise given to the seven churches in Revelation 2,3: 'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.' What however misses are 'churches' and 'Spirit', which is proof of the church being taken to heaven in the rapture during 'the hour of temptation', as the Lord promises in Revelation 3;10. However bleak and lawless the Endtime will be, righteousness will prevail:  ^'He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.' Those that hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, as the Lord promised in Mathews 5:6.

 

The second half of Revelation 13 is dedicated to another worldwide power, which has been consistently assisting the USA in gaining and retaining world control, while profiting from it. This second 'beast' is the beast out of the earth, which is Zionism, incorporated in the state of Israel. Zionism is the political endeavor to claim the complete 'holy land' for itself and to exterminate the original inhabitants of it in order to gain total control of the Middle East, through 'greater Israel'. The power that controls the Middle east, controls the world. Therefore it is called 'the beast out of the earth' - its political ambitions being 'the earth' of old Israel. It is seen with two horns, because its proponents are distributed between the land of Israel and the USA.

 

Zionism came up once the USA had overcome the problems of its first century, the civil war, the 'deadly wound of the 7th head'. Zionism is used by the USA to forward its plans for the Middle East. In the description of the beast out of the earth - Israel - we find 6 references to the beast out of the sea - the USA. '(1) And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and (2) causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed (verse 12) - 'And deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do (3) in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they (4) should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live' (verse 14) - 'And he had power to give life unto (5a) the image of the beast, that (5b) the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship (5c) the image of the beast should be killed. (Verse 15) 'And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or (6)  the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

 

What can we learn from these almost 2000 year old texts about the relationship between the USA (the beast out of the sea) and Israel (the beast out of the earth)?

(1) The beast out of the sea is boss

Zionism has zero power in itself. Neither has the state of Israel. All power of Zionist Israel is based on the enormous wealth and possibilities of the US-empire, financially, diplomatically and militarily. This has been the case, since the Balfour declaration was given by the British government (1917). For it was America that would enter WWI once the declaration was signed. And it was the US-empire that took over financial world control ever since it entered WWI. The sentence 'before him' or 'in his presence' means that Zionist Israel cannot act independently. Everything that the state of Israel does is approved by the USA and therefore is in accordance with its global strategy. Therefore Zionist Israel can be considered a proxy of the empire. As proxy it does the dirty work of the empire for which the empire does not want to be accountable. The empire's world influence is at its greatest when it is esteemed as moral by the nations of the world. Therefore a political theater is set up in which it seems that Zionist Israel is acting on its own and sometimes does things against the will of the empire. Even many political commentators are deceived by the political stage, claiming that the empire is being manipulated by Zionist Israel, using the 'Israel lobby' as an argument. Revelation however reveals the plain truth: It is the empire that plans, decides, coordinates and gives the orders and it is Zionist Israel that follows and fulfills its duty as an obedient proxy. As beast out of the sea, the USA is the supreme power. Therefore the beast out of the earth is not mentioned once in the description of the beast out of the sea while the beast out of the sea is mentioned 7 times while the beat out of the earth is described.

 

(2) Admiration for the beast out of the sea is evoked

In the decades after the civil war an unprecedented technological development brought radio, film and television to the world. Thousands of films and movies were produced. For 30 years the film industry was the sole domain of Jews that had come from Eastern Europe and they remained . Throughout the 20th century the film industry was directed at the greatness of the new superpower in America, the USA. The default setting was that Americans were the 'good guys' whereas everyone they fought against were presented as the 'bad guys'. This picture remained printed in the heads of Western society even though the USA was waging the most brutal and violent wars since WWII in order to consolidate its control of the world. It seems as if everything that America does is good, however horrible it might look, a form of worship of the empire that was enhanced by Zionist film makers. The effect of Zionist brainwashing of the Western world on the image of the US is seen in the Revelation-13-description of the beast out of the sea: 'And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?' (Rev.13:4).

 

(3) Deception by signs in the presence of the beast

The word 'sēmeion' is mostly translated as 'signs'. One sign, performed by the beast out of the earth, is mentioned in Revelation 13: making 'fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men'. This is another set of techniques that has been developed, while Zionism rose worldwide. It was aviation, combined with throwing bombs (WWI) and the use of missiles. Both can be seen as 'making fire come down form heaven on earth'. Behind the scenes the zionist endeavor for a state in the Middle East has been an important factor in the start or the continuation of both world wars. Since the foundation of zionist Israel in 1948, the Middle East has been characterized by volatility and violence. This aggravated since the US was drawn into a war on terror in the Middle East by 9/11, which has the fingerprints of the Mossad all over it. But maybe the expression 'dragged into it' is not appropriate. For, instead of what is often commented and believed, this serves the US-empire - control of the Middle East, which is vital for world hegemony. Since October 7, 2023 fire has been raining down by the military power of Israel on Palestine (Gaza and the West-Bank), Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran, killing tens of thousands of people. And while many citizens protest against Israeli atrocities, the people in power, in governments and corporations, are fully on board with Israel's actions of aggression, which in one way or another points to some sort of deception (blackmail, bribery).

 

(4) The endgame: the image of the beast

The final goal of Zionism is not the state of Israel. That was the intermediate goal. It is all about the worship of the first beast, the US-empire, through the making of an image of the beast. Those in power not only go along with the genocide on Palestinians by 'fire coming down from heaven on earth' but they are also follow the 'beast out of the earth' in its commands to make an image of the first beast. The 20th century was full of attempts at 'an image', in the film industry, on television and by Internet. The image is not a statue. It is a total real time representation of 'the beast', the complete empire, with all its vassals and proxies. The Internet seems to become the structure on which the image will be superimposed. The image will be an AI-driven digital real time copy of everything and everyone within the empire. The big tech corporations have very strong ties to the zionist state of Israel. Most CEO's are Jews. The image will be set up in the country of Israel, once its cities will have been erased by Iranian missiles. It will be set up at the 'center of the world'  from an underground basis. That is why Revelation 9 speaks of 'the pit of the abyss' out of which 'smoke as the smoke of a furnace' will rise up, out of which locusts come forth with a sting that will cause 'hurt'. The smoke from the furnace could reflect the devastation of Israel, as it did the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.19:28).

 

(5) The giving of life to the image in order for it to speak. Almost all verbs in the description of the beast out of the earth are in the present. That means that the description concerns the usual behavior of this beast. Only the 'and he had power to give life to the image of the beast' is stated in the past tense. The 'giving of life to the image' is no usual behavior but it is a specific point in time at which the technical capabilities of this beast have reached a level at which it is possible to make 'an image' speak and act on its own. We might have reached that level already with AI, or AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) or even ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). The digital real time copy of the entire empire that is constantly being updated from all over the world, monitoring all actions and transactions and words and maybe even thoughts of all individuals partaking in it, will start to act on its own, based on all accumulated information. Based on that information it will take many decisions on human positions, human tasks, human performance and human rewards - the image speaks. Moreover, the image will generate lists of names of people which are known to the system but have declined to become part of it. These people are ordered to be killed. These people refused to 'worship the image of the beast'. In the verses that follow, it becomes clear how the 'image of the beast' will be able to determine who is to be killed for not subjecting to the system. The 'mark of the beast' will become mandatory. We expect this to be some digital (QR) code, imprinted invisibly on the forehead or right hand.  Those not having 'the mark of the beast' will be determined as dissidents at each checkpoint, each point of entrance or point of exit. Everything in society will be connected in real time to the 'image of the beast'. Therefore their access to society will be completely denied and they will endanger their lives while trying to participate.

 

(6) The last reference to 'the beast out of the sea' is in the calculation of its number, being the number of a man. This means that both the name of the beast and the name of the man representing the beast have the same number, which is 666. We know that the USA is the little horn of Daniel 7. The number of the letters forming the Hebrew word 'Little Horn' add up to 616. The 'little horn' is the primitive beginning of the USA as 13 colonies. It evolved into a world power counting 50 states. Adding 50 to 616 gives 666. But the number of the beast is also the number of a man. The US president that will preside over the USA in the Endtime must have a name that also counts up to 666. When taking 'Trump, the President' in Hebrew, one gets a letter value of 666. With Trump in his second term, igniting and aggravating wars all over the world, we expect him to be the 'antichrist', the one that will represent the beast in the last phase of history before the return of Jesus Christ.

 

We now turn to a verse by verse explanation of the first part of Revelation 13, the verses 1-10, about the beast out of the sea.

 

Verse 1

The Beast

'And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.'

 

1. When does the beast rise up out of the sea?

2. What is the beast out of the sea?

3. What are the seven heads of the beast?

4. What is the name of blasphemy?

5. What are the seven crowned horns of the beast?

 

1. When does the beast rise up out of the sea?

Revelation 13 continues with John's eyewitness account: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rising up out of the sea.” John returns here to a narrative style he had not employed since chapter 10. This reveals a discontinuity in the narrative. Revelation 12 ended with the start of the great tribulation of 3.5 years: 'And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed' (Rev.12:17). This war is also mentioned in Revelation 13:7: 'And it was given unto him (the beast out of the sea) to make war with the saints.' The dragon acts through his empire on earth. The verses in between (Rev.13:1-6) show how the beast emanates from the sea.  John places the reader back in time from the start of the great tribulation at the end of Chapter 12 to somewhere back in history-the start of the beast's rise. But which moment in history was that?

 

Revelation 13 is part of a very long 'intermezzo' within the main story of the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets and the 7 vials. This main story completely covers the 3.5 year period of the Endtime. The intermezzo's however show the background of the main story and often show centuries if not millennia of historical development. That is the case with chapter 12, which started around 600 BC. That is also the case with chapter 13.

 

Rev. 13:1-5 outlines the historical development of “the beast” of the Endtime, which will be defeated by the Lord. The beast of Revelation 13 is the final stage of the little horn that is described In the book of Daniel as coming from the old Roman empire. This little horn would evolve into the seventh head of the beast (Revelation 17).  Eventually this Endtime entity would transform into the totality of the beast, including all seven heads and ten horns, incorporating all of it in a structure of extreme complexity - as we shall show here-below.

 

With the 'I saw a beast coming up out of the sea', John starts his description with the moment the horrific Endtime creature would start to arise, the very beginning of it. But while it slowly rises from the waters, his description moves towards the Endtime stage of it. All of the Endtime beast of Revelation is based upon the book of Daniel. In Daniel we see a sequence of 4 beasts, being four kings or empires, that would emerge, one after the other, since about 600 BC. The fourth would be the Roman empire. Out of this fourth beast would come up ten horns. They would be the European nations that each took a part of the empire once it had lost its unifying power. An intermediate period of almost 1.5 millennia followed in which the Roman Catholic church dominated the nations that had sprung from old Rome - the subject of Revelation 17, in which te beast is seen under 'the woman', the church. She is depicted as a whore because of her total alignment with all worldly affairs one can think of, using her church power to acquire worldly status and wealth.

 

The moment the beast started resurfacing, was the moment that the woman went down, her power being broken. The destruction of church power is foretold in Revelation 17:16: ^'And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.' When did this happen? When was church power broken? It happened as a result of the enlightenment, the French Revolution and what followed thereafter in Europe. The 1789-French Revolution was ‘a watershed for Catholicism not just in France but in Europe more generally'. The concordat of 1801 brought the RC Church under the authority of the French state. Napoleon even imprisoned the pope two times.

 

The attack on the Roman Catholic church fully happened on the European continent. It were the ten horns that hated the whore. But the dethronement of the Catholic church was not all. In verse 17 Revelation 17 continues with:

'For God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.'

So when did European countries relinquish their power to another entity, called 'the beast'? It happened throughout the 19th century, after church power was done with.But then the ten horns, the nations of Europe were greatly surpassed by a new power, which they even became dependent upon. This would remain the case until complete fulfillment of prophecy in the return of Jesus Christ.

 

We now have an answer to our first question. When does the beast rise up out of the sea? It happened in the wake of the French Revolution, when 'the whore', Roman Catholicism was defeated and Europe submitted to a new power. The beast rose from the sea during the century of the eighteen-hundreds.  But what is this new power, that Europe started to obey? What is 'the beast'?

 

2. What is the beast out of the sea?

To which dominant new world power did the European nations relinquish their authority after the destruction of Roman Catholic rule? There is only one answer: The United States of America. The USA is the beast out of the sea. Willingly or unknowingly the USA has been hiding her Endtime status as beast out of the sea, by usurping Bible prophecy and its teachers. But however clever these false teachers try to convince the world that the beast is the Roman Catholic church or Turkey or Iran, nothing can blot out the basics of history and the clarity of actuality. The status quo that the world has been in for the past 200 years simply leaves no other honest conclusion than that the USA is the beast of the Endtime.

Here, at the beginning of chapter 13, we find a very brief description of the 250 years of history of the United States. The roots of the United States can be summarized as follows:

(1) Daniel 7 depicts the Roman empire as the fourth empire, that arose after Babylon, Persia and Greece. These empires arose after God gave up his throne in Jerusalem around 600 BC and replaced the ark from the earthly temple to heaven - Rev.11:19.

(2) After the fall of the Roman empire and its submission to the Roman Catholic church, it split into about ten separate nations, the nations of Europe.

(3) Out of the nations of Europe arose an totally new nation on the American continent, the United States. It started as 'a little horn' of 13 colonies, rising among the European peoples. It grew into 'the 7th head of the beast' as we will explain here-below.

(4) The eleventh horn that sprung from Rome among ten ten nations that already existed, subdued all ten nations of Europe by conquering 3 of its most powerful nations: Spain (1898), Germany (1918) and Great Britain (1945).

(5) Since 1945, the 7th head has transformed into 'the eighth'. The USA became the beast that incorporated the 7 heads and the ten horns from the past - the seven heads (empires from the past) became its driving powers, the ten horns became its European vassals.

 

Revelation 13 follows chronologically after Revelation 17. Herein above we  explained Revelation 17 as medieval Europe, with the Roman Catholic Church at the center of power, depicted as a prostitute. The beast she sits upon is the world empire that went under in the many nations of Europe and that was dominated by the Roman Catholic church. The sea from which the beast rises In Revelation 13 is the vast mass of European nations from which the United States emerged (Revelation 17:15). But is is also symbolic of the USA as the great the maritime power of the Endtime.

 

3. What are the seven heads of the beast?

In order to understand the 7 heads of the beast, we first have to go back to Revelation 17. There we also find the beast with seven heads. But there are two major differences with Revelation 13: (1) In Revelation 17 the beast is dominated by 'the whore', which is Roman Catholicism or in case of Protestantism, the State Church. (2) In Revelation 17 the beast is one with 'the waters' which are 'peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues on which the woman sits - while she also sits on the beast' (Rev.17:15). (3) In Revelation 17 the ten horns of the beast have no crowns and in Revelation 13 they have. All of this means that the world empire has been hidden under the nations of Europe, while Europe was ruled by Roman Catholicism and the Protestant state churches - its kings not having real power - no crowns.

The beast of Revelation 17, like that of Revelation 13, has also seven heads. It is the same beast, the one world empire that evolved through history. Looking back, the apostle John could see the four animals of Daniel 7 as one. Revelation combines both dreams of Daniel, of the statue (Daniel 2) and of the four animals (Daniel 7), into one picture. The statue of four consequent body parts is replaced by a beast with seven consequent heads. Why seven heads and not four? Because from the perspective of Gods people in Jerusalem three of the four empires were characterized by two sub-empires. The Persian empire was shared with the Medes. The Greek empire consisted of two striving factions, the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic dynasty. The Roman empire has two phases, the old Rome and the US-Endtime beast. We then get 7 heads: 1.Babylon - 2.Mede - 3.Persia - 4.Ptolemaic - 5.Seleucid - 6.Rome - 7.The USA.

 

This is what Revelation 17 has to say about the 7 heads of the beast:

'And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.'

 

The seven heads represent two different things. (1) The 7 heads point to the central location from where the Medieval church ruled over Europe, which once was the domain of the Roman empire. The seven mountains are the seven hills of the city of Rome. Rome was the central city of the Roman empire and it became the central city of Roman Catholicism, which inherited the empire. From Rome, the pope ruled the kingdoms of Europe until things changed in the 18th century with the French Revolution and the Napoleontic wars. (2) Secondly, the 7 heads point to the historic development of the world empire, which for the time being had gone down in Europe's nations. As we have seen, the seven heads are seven 'kings', successive world empires. Five were fallen at the time Revelation was written: Babylon - Mede - Persia - Seleucid - Ptolemy. One existed at the time: Rome. One, the seventh was yet to come, the empire that rose from the nations of Europe, the USA.

 

There even seems to be a connection between the seven hills of Rome and the seven empires. Based on their locations, this is the way how the hills could correspond to the empires.

• Aventine Hill - Babylonian Empire - Most Southern hill - Home to fire breathing giant resembling Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)
• Caelian Hill - Persia - Southern part of most Eastern empire
• Capitoline Hill - USA - Most North-Western hill - Formerly dedicated to the god Saturn (Satan) who gave the beast its power - USA with the Capitol
• Esquiline Hill - Mede - Northern part of most eastern empire
• Palatine Hill - Rome - the most central hill, one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman empire.
• Quirinal Hill - Seleucid kingdom - Hill with First Hellenistic gardens
• Viminal Hill - Ptolemaic kingdom

 

The seventh head would come after the 1,500 years of the reign of Roman Catholicism would have ended. Indeed, in the century after the dethronement of the church, the USA rose to power as the seventh head. When it  would have come, it would remain for a short time. This short time was the first phase in the existence of the USA, that lasted until shortly after the civil war (1861-1865) as we will see below.

 

An important question is whether the 7 heads of the beast out of the sea of Revelation 13 only represent all 7 historical phases of the world empire for the past 2,600 years or whether they also represent something contemporaneous. Revelation 17 is explained by an angel. But no such explanation is given of Revelation 13. Revelation 17 however gives an important clue. The verse that links Revelation 17 to Revelation 13 is 'And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.' (Rev.17:11). The verses 9 and 10 of Revelation 17 depict the beast als the historical development of the world empire. But verse 11 pictures the beast as a latent force that will resurface again and which will then be characterized by all traits of its previous stages. The 'and is of the seven' is often wrongly translated and interpreted. The 'of' does not mean 'one of' but means 'out of'. The 'eighth' would come forth out of all seven of its heads. The future and last phase of the world empire would embody all its earlier appearances. This denotes the transition that the USA made since the civil war. It was a miraculous metamorphosis that was never before seen in world history. It was a transformation that was accompanied by enormous technological developments, which mostly rooted in the Anglo-Saxon world.

 

'And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth'. This sentence from Revelation 17:11 means that 'the beast', complete with all seven heads is the entity that was latent in Medieval times but would be active on the world stage in the Endtime. How then are we to interpret these 7 heads, being historical stages as well as contemporaneous controlling forces of the beast of the Endtime? For that is what heads are - controlling forces. A head steers the body in certain directions and orders it to act in a certain way based on information that is gathered by organs of the head (eyes and ears). Somehow the USA has developed 7 heads by which it guides itself into the desired direction. This might be the reason why USA-policy is often so very difficult to understand and so incoherent. Yet, it can be very effective because it often surprises all players on the international stage. It also seems as if the USA has much more information to its disposal than all other international powers. This information comes from 'the seven heads' with enormous perceptive capabilities. In order to get a more specific idea of these 7 heads that steer the USA, we have to look at 'the names of blasphemy' that are on the 7 heads.

 

4. What is the name of blasphemy?

In Revelation 17 names of blasphemy are seen on the body of the beast:

'I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns' (Rev.17:3).

In Revelation 13 a names of blasphemy is on the 7 heads. That means that the blasphemy has become more specific and more visible. The head is where is mostly looked at. It went from a hidden variety to a visible uniformity of blasphemy. However the last stage of outspoken blasphemy is not yet reached. That will not happen before the last 42 months of history will start. The outspoken blasphemy is mentioned in Revelation 13:5

'And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.' (Revelation 13:5)

 

What does the name of blasphemy teach us about the seven heads, together with them being rudiments of historic phases of the Endtime beast? This is not the place to take a deep dive in the diversity of powerful organizations that in secret try to steer world history in a desired direction. We suffice to mention that such organizations exist and that they have their roots far back in history, even in the empires of old. These secret organizations also tried to surface in the Middle Ages, from 1,100 until about 1,300 under the name of 'Knights of Malta' and 'Knights Templar'. But they were suppressed by the French king and the Roman Catholic church. The woman was riding the beast. Since the early 1300's they had gone underground for centuries in order to resurface in the 1700's as 'secret societies' like the Freemasons. These secret organizations represent the ties between the old empires, the first 6 heads of the beast and the rising seventh head, the USA. They adorn themselves with Judeo-Christian values. They almost all have a cross in their logo's. However, they distort the truth of God and they combine it with paganism, seen in much of its symbolism, like the Obelisk and the eye in the triangle. That is where the "name of blasphemy" come from, which is written on the seven heads. It is not just the variety of pagan distortions of God but it is the mutilated truth of Christianity, in which Lucifer is served and honored instead of Jesus Christ.

 

Very little is spoken of these secret organizations. Many institutions that govern the USA are openly discussed, such as the CFR, the CIA, the NSA, the Trilateral Commission, AIPAC and the FED, the Pentagon. But all these publicly known organizations are 'tightly knit' through the secret societies nobody ever mentions. That makes the USA very hard if not impossible to understand. The lack of understanding is often attributed to 'the deep state'. But why is a 'deep state' always mentioned as problem of the USA. Why is it almost never seen as a problem of any other nation in the world? It is because the USA is the beast out of the sea, with seven heads, tied to empires from a distant past and steering it in incomprehensible directions.

 

The influence of secret societies on the USA is not something that gradually came about. This influence was present from the very start. '...And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads ...' The seven heads were in place at the moment the beast started to rise from the sea. The USA was founded by 33rd degree Freemasons. The foundation of the USA is masonic. Freemasonry is 'the synagogue of satan'. Therefore, in secret, the USA is a satanic nation. Its outward Christianity therefore is a mockery, just like its so called democratic principles. Its population has almost no influence on its course. The outward appearance of democracy might be one of the seven heads. The other six have of course much more influence. All of the US-public officials are members of or have ties with secret societies and listen only to orders from above and never to the wishes of the public. On the contrary, what the public wishes for has to be manipulated by the media, which are in the hands of the initiated few.

 

The influence of Masonry on the direction into which the USA is heading was visible from the very start. When asked about a state church, Thomas Jefferson categorically rejected the idea with the words: 'for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.' Here 'the mind of man' is elevated above everything else. It is 'the god of this age' that still wants man to believe that he can become 'as god' (Gen.3:15) More important: It shows that the power of the church over society was about to come down. The USA was founded in 1776 and was an example of the enlightenment of society without church dominance. From then on, freemasonry started to thrive in France and after 13 years, the French Revolution - ignited from the background by Freemasons - forever dethroned Roman Catholicism. It was accompanied by the most brutal form of ridding society from so called oppressors: decapitation.

 

The true face of the USA is seen in its behavior as an imperialistic colonial power, for whom human life has zero value and human rights don't count. This behavior was seen in the acquiring of all the territory upon the North American continent, the behavior toward the peoples of South America, the bombing of Germany and Japan at the end of WWII, the brutal wars in Korea and Vietnam and more recently in the (proxy) wars that are fought in the Middle East and in Ukraine. In all these cases, the USA makes itself known as the 'fourth empire of Daniel', which is described as 'exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet' (Daniel 7:19). It is the empire that is steered by its seven heads in all directions of the globe in order to conquer every continent and to establish the satanic last stage of history: the 3.5 year Endtime characterized by lawlessness, blasphemy, hideous war and ending with totalitarian tyranny.

 

5. What are the seven crowned horns of the beast?

In Daniel 7 ten horns are seen on the fourth beast. After the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire and the Greek empire arose the Roman empire as the fourth empire. After the fall of the Roman empire more than a thousand years of almost constant strife and battle followed. Out of this age-long contest emerged ten rather coherent entities at the end of the 19th century, the ten horns of Daniel 7 and of Revelation 13 and 17:

 

1. Great Britain

2. France

3. Spain - Portugal

4. Germany

5. Austria - Hungary

6. Italy

7. Holland - Belgium

8. Greece

9. The Slavic nations

10. The Scandinavian nations

 

This was the European status quo during the time that an eleventh horn arose among these ten peoples, which for a part were moving West to explore the newly discovered continent, America. Directly after its discovery the 'little horn' of Daniel 7 started to grow on the vast landmass of North America. It started as a number of colonies at the East coast - indeed, in the form of a 'horn'. After gaining independence from its European mother nations, it grew Westward until it stretcht out over the whole continent - it became 'a head'. At the moment the ten rather coherent entities of Europe were formed, the young USA started to defeat the three most powerful of them: Spain (1898), Germany (1918) and Great Britain (1945). It all happened as was shown to Daniel in a dream around 600 BC: 'I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots'. The most powerful European nations were stripped of their colonies on which their power greatly depended. In their place the newly risen horn, 'whose look was more stout than his fellows' (Dan.7:20) took over control of many parts of the world. It did so not through openly colonizing them, as the 'ten horns' had done, but through secret manipulation of governments and even public opinion, with its force in the background in the form of more than 700 military bases all over the world.

 

This is where Daniel's prophecy on the ten horns stops and where Revelation 17 takes over. After having seen the enormous power of 'the eleventh horn', the ten former horns willingly submitted to its governance over them - again, not openly but in secrecy. They all started to behave as vassals of the new world-power, as stated in Revelation 17: 'These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.' (Rev.17:13). This verse has been accomplished at the end of WWII, when the institutions like the UN, the IMF and the World Bank were founded. The central position of the dollar as the world reserve currency gave the USA enormous leverage over all other countries. Of all countries of the world, the European countries have been the most subservient to the United States.

 

Before the USA started to play the central role on the world scene, there was another power that European monarchs and politicians had to listen to: the pope. That is the situation that is painted in Revelation 17. Fittingly, the ten horns wear no crowns in Revelation 17 because they had no independent power. But as we already saw here-above, church power was broken once the USA started to rise. It were the ten horns, the political powers in Europe, that brought down 'the whore' of Revelation 17: ' And the ten horns which thou saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.'

 

When the pope-power was finally done with, the European politicians started to obey the USA as the new heir of the Roman empire. For that's why obedience is demanded. Pope and States are both to be seen as heirs of Rome, the fourth empire of Daniel's prophecy. The pope had Roman power underneath and the States have Roman power in the back. As Revelation 17 clarifies: '...and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is' (Rev.17:8). The founders of the USA and those who followed in their footsteps new full well that they experienced the revival of the Roman empire. The USA is filled with Roman symbolism. In a very early stage it could already be seen that European politicians came under the influence of the United States, the reborn Roman Empire. One of the founders of the young nations, Thomas Jefferson. had a role in drafting the new constitution for the new French Republic that had freed itself from the power of pope and monarch.

 

But why are the ten horns seen as crowned in Revelation 13? '...And upon his horns ten crowns' (Rev.13:1) The answer to that question is also to be found in Revelation 17, where the angel explains:

^'And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.' (Rev.17:12)

Revelation 17 shows us a very strange sequence of events. For about 1000 years, European kings and politicians have no independent power for they owe allegiance to the pope. Once the pope is dethroned, obedience is demanded by a totally new world power: the USA. But there will be a short window in time, 'one hour' during which 'the ten horns' will wear crowns and will have a co-regency with 'the beast'. Looking at actual developments, we could be very close to this 'one hour' in history when European nations will reign together with the beast. From the moment DJ Trump took office, he has been playing the European politicians into accepting the Ukraine conflict as a problem of their own. And however much Europe already suffered economically from the Ukraine crises, which was of American origin, European politicians have nonetheless agreed to more than double their defense spending in order to keep the war in Ukraine going. All of this is done without consent of their populations. This shows us that democracy is fading into dictatorship, the politicians acting like absolute monarchs.

 

The question then becomes whether we have already entered 'the hour' in which the ten horns will receive power as kings with the beast. What is meant with this 'one hour'. The Greek word for 'one' point to a very specific hour. The 'one hour' is also mentioned three times in Revelation 18 but there it is about the judgment upon Babylon the Great, which is the economic side of the USA. This of course is not the hour of 'reigning as kings with the beast'. The only definite 'hour' mentioned in Revelation, that could be corresponding to the hour of co-regency with the beast is 'the hour of temptation', which the Lord mentions in Revelation 3:10 and which - in the context of all of the book - can only be the 3.5 year Endtime.

 

The crowns on the horns speaks of authoritarian power exerted by Europe's leadership. But they derive it from the beast. They hold their power together with the beast, which is the source of power. An even higher authority is the one that has been controlling the empires through history, satan, in Revelation 12 seen as the seven-headed dragon, with a crown on each of its heads. Ultimately all authority springs from God. Therefore Daniel could say to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar: 

"You, O king, King of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a kingdom, power, might, and glory" (Daniel 2:37)

In the history of Nebuchadnezzar we see how the devil operates on the minds of those in power and how God steers them back to Himself time and again. There however comes a moment that God gives the nations with their rulers over to their low instincts and that is where the devil got his crowns. Those crowns of absolute power that corrupts absolutely are seen on the ten horns. That is why the 3.5 last years of history will be such a horrible period, that cannot but end in utter destruction of Western 'civilization'.

 

That the power of the beast and its horns will originate in dark forces of evil is also seen in Revelation 17, together with Revelation 11. Both chapters mention it as coming out of 'the bottomless pit' or 'abyss'.  Combining this with Revelation 9, we estimate this to be the start of the last 1.5 years of the beast's reign, when his global tyrannical control tool will be fully in place and operating.

 

Conclusion

Revelation 13:1 places us back to 1776 when the USA was founded and started to rise from 'the sea of European peoples' that had migrated to the newly discovered continent. It is however directly seen in its final stage as 'the eighth' although it went first through the stages of 'little horn' and 'seventh head'. From the beginning - however small - the seven heads were already in place as secret societies that have run the USA from the beginning and formed ties with all previous stages of the world empire. The pseudo Christian values of these societies that are combined with pagan symbols like the Obelisk, make the USA a blasphemous spectacle. In its final stage as 'eighth' it would have subdued three of Europe's most formidable nations (3 horns) and thereby would have brought the whole of Western Europe (10 horns) under its control. Its dominance would in turn give European leaders the pretext for authoritarian leadership, seen the crowns on the horns.

 

Verse 2

The Dragon

'And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.'

1. What is the meaning of the outward appearance of the beast?

2. Who is 'the dragon?

3. When did the dragon give 'his power' to the beast?

4. What is the meaning of 'his power, his seat and great authority'?

 

1. What is the meaning of the outward appearance of the beast?

The beast's outward appearance indicates its historic origins, just like the seven heads. It has the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. It originates from the Babylonian (Lion), the Persian (Bear), and the Greek (Leopard) world empires. Elements of these empires have persisted throughout history, even until the rise of the United States.

 

The body-parts that characterized former empires show the invincibility of the last empire. The leopard-body means that the USA can act with the speed and the intelligence of a leopard, suddenly attacking its prey, which is caught by total surprise. That makes the USA the most untrustworthy political entity on earth but its enormous power gives it a status of impunity. The political, diplomatic, military and economic power is seen in the feet of a bear. The mouth of the lion (not the head of the lion - it has 7 heads) refers to the attention it draws when it speaks. Like a roaring Lion its utterances are noticed from a far distance. By dominating the media-apparatus of the world, it makes itself heard above all other voices. The president is its figure head, which plays an important role in drawing the attention on the world stage.

 

Daniel 7:25 states three actions of the last empire: 'And he shall speak great words against the most High (1), and shall wear out the saints of the most High (2), and think to change times and laws (3).' All three of these were characterizations of the former empires. The words against the most High we especially see in the Greek empire of Antioch Epiphanes, who for three years ordered the temple service to be dedicated to Zeus. The wearing out of the saints we see in Nebuchadnezzar throwing Daniel's three friends in the fiery furnace. The changing of time and laws we see in new laws written in the Persian empire in order to attack Daniel and later the Jews as a whole. All of this will also be characteristic of the last empire, during the last phase of its existence in the 3.5 year Endtime.

 

2. Who is 'the dragon?

The dragon is one of the main characters of Revelation 12, about the woman, the Child that was born out of her and the dragon's attack. There the identity of the dragon is given: 'And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world'. As the old serpent, the dragon knew that 'the seed of the woman' would come to 'crush his head'. Therefore he tries to prevent his coming and later he persecutes the woman. The outward appearance of the dragon is much like that of the beast, having 7 heads but further it is fiery red. The 7 heads are crowned for the dragon is the real power behind the throne of the 7-fold empire.

 

3. When did the dragon give his power to the beast?

The United States owes its world power to the dragon. It is astonishing how thirteen former colonies of England could grow into a world power that would overshadow and subordinate the combined nations of Europe. This isn't just due to the vast landmass and its riches, or the fighting spirit of European immigrants. It's primarily the clever, occult, and unscrupulous methods that have given the US such enormous power. US history is replete with false flag incidents, strangulation contracts and organizations that serve its interests. But it goes even deeper. "Satan gave the beast his throne and power and great authority." More than any former empire, the USA arose from a direct manifestation of satan. The ancient world empires received their power primarily from God. To Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Daniel could say:

"You, O king, King of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a kingdom, power, might, and glory" (Daniel 2:37).

 

Only to Jesus and the beast did satan directly offer power over his world empire. Jesus refused. The beast accepted it. The USA was founded in 1776 by Freemasons who secretly serve "Lucifer," Satan. Much symbolism in Washington is connected to this service to Satan. For instance: the 'Washington monument' has the form of an Obelisk and is an occult pagan symbol. Its length at ground level is 55.5 feet = 666 inches. The Washington street plan clearly outlines a pentagram, a hexagram, an owl (with the Capitol in the center), a square and compass and a Knights Templar cross. The painting on the dome of the capitol visualizes the apotheosis of George Washington - man making himself god. Besides Washington DC, dollar bills also display occult symbolism. The god of "in God we trust" is not the God of the Bible, but the god of this age, the god who can be served simultaneously with money. That is not possible with the God of the Bible (Mathew 6:24). So the promise of power was directly involved in 1776. But history is a chain of slow processes and hence the power was not directly to be seen. Bit by bit it was bestowed upon the new nation, through the conquering of the largest part of the continent and thereafter through the military, diplomatic and/or economic defeat of the most prominent European nations.

 

4. What is the meaning of 'his power, his seat and great authority'?

It is strange that 'the dragon' gave his seat or throne to the beast. Judicially, the USA is ruling over the kingdom of satan, which is the world empire. It is as satan said to Jesus during the 40 days of temptation, when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (Greek: oikoumenē - empire) in a moment of time: 'All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it'. In our day and age, the empire is given to the USA. That is why the USA cannot be defeated until Jesus comes to break all of his power and to establish the kingdom of God. The USA took over where the Roman empire once left. The Roman empire was the unifying principle of the world until the fifth century. Then it fell and went down in Europe's nations and came under control of the church (Revelation 17). Once the church was defeated by the ten horns, power could return to the empire, which was given by the dragon to the young USA. The Capitol, where both houses of representatives meet, is shaped like "Satan's throne," the Temple of Zeus in Pergamon. 'And the dragon gave him his power, and his throne...' 

 

"Power" can refer to military might. The military capabilities of the USA have been steadily growing and today US defense spending is equal to that of the next nine countries in the top 40 in military spending. The USA has more than 700 military bases worldwide. "Power" can also mean financial power, which also came to rest with the USA, through the central position of the dollar as world reserve currency, combined with the international institutions of the IMF and the World Bank. These powerful organizations have their headquarters on US-soil and greatly serve the interests of the USA. Mind that is spoken of 'his power'. It is something that resided with the dragon and which has been granted to the USA. This is not the case with the last item: "Great authority". The dragon has no authority over the peoples of the earth but through much propaganda, the USA could portray itself as the moral high ground, the guardian of democracy and human rights - even while only seeking power and wealth. That is why christian churches are allowed to flourish in the USA and why the UN-headquarters are on US-soil. The image of moral authority would more easily further the goals of becoming and remaining the world's only superpower.

 

Stating that the USA is the most influential, the most powerful and the most determining nation in the world is stating the obvious. However, very few Bible teachers come to the conclusion that the Endtime empire, the beast out of the sea, is the USA. The USA is the elephant is the room that almost nobody dears to mention because somehow everyone is dependent on 'the elephant'. That only few mention the USA as 'the beast' while its power is so very obvious, is an extra indication that it indeed is 'the beast out of the sea'.

 

Verse 3,4

The wound

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

 

1. Which of the seven heads is wounded to death? 

2. What is meant with the deadly wound?

3. Wat is meant by the worship of the dragon and the beast?

 

1. Which of the seven heads is wounded to death? 

Revelation 17 states of the 7 heads: 'And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.'In light of this explanation of the 7 heads, given in Revelation 17, being the sequence of empires through time, only one head can be wounded, the seventh one, the phase of  the world empire before it would form into the Endtime conglomerate of 'the eighth', consisting of all 7 heads and ten horns. The seventh head is the appearance the USA had in the first age of its existence, from 1776 until about the end of the 1800's. This estimation is based upon the indication, given in Revelation 17 about the seventh head: '...and when he comes, he must continue a short space...'.The lifetime of empires often being multiple century, one century might be considered a short time. 

It must however be stated that even in those early days of the US-empire, it had already laid firm connections with the preceding 'heads' or empires, so that it would once be able to combine them all into one great invincible new world empire, which would materialize in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

 

2. What is meant with the deadly wound?

The wound on one of the heads, called "the wound of the sword" in verse 14, was the four-year American Civil War (1861-1865), which almost split the nation in two and nearly ended the powerful unity that was so crucial to achieving the long-term goals. How important the 'healing of the wound' was, can be seen in the Lincoln Memorial, another blasphemous deification of a mortal, which states: 'In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.'

Instead of being split in two mediocre parts that would never have been able to gain world power, the civil war was ended in the preserving of the unity, more than ever before. From then it was clear for all states that secession from the federal unity in Washington was an impossibility. As one said: '...the case can be made that no result of the [American Civil] war was more important than the destruction, once and for all...of the idea of secession'. 

 

The Republic had become a unified nation instead of a joining together of sovereign states. This was laid out in the fourteenth amendment, that was installed shortly after the civil war in 1868, which made every US-citizen first and foremost a citizen of 'the Federation'. The unbreakable unity of such an enormous land mass gave the USA enormous advantages compared to the hopelessly divided countries of Europe. Even after the forming of the European union the divisions and differences in Europe continued. They remained the 'ten toes' of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The totally divided Europe gave the USA the possibility of a policy of divide and conquer. It exploited both world wars and surpassed Europe by becoming the world's hegemon. After the Civil War, US power was unstoppable. In 1890, the US surpassed China as the nation with the highest Gross Domestic Product.

 

3. Wat is meant by the worship of the dragon and the beast?

In the century that followed the American Civil War "the wound of the beast was healed" and the earth "went in amazement after the beast." The beast arose from 'the seven' (the six heads or empires that preceded and its firs phase) to become 'the eighth' (Rev.17:11). It somehow combined elements of the former six empires with its identity as seventh head, a republic, and became the greatest superpower, the world had ever seen. The USA received worldwide recognition as the dominant world power. While the public only saw a brave new world arising, those in charge knew full well that this was the achievement of arising the old empire, that had gone under in Europe's nations for centuries: 'and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is...' But while not fully understanding the historic depth of the arising superpower, the general public was also struck by the enormous potential of the new nation that had arisen from a devastating civil war. The US was "the new world" with unprecedented opportunities. Many people in Europe felt attracted to the new nation,  the "land of the brave and home of the free," the "land of unlimited possibilities" and emigrated to the US to build a new life. 

 

The text even says: "They worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast." Devil worship is never done openly, but always in secret. The hidden symbolism of the devil is woven throughout Western culture, which, over the past 250 years, has become completely alienated from the God of the Bible. The rise of the US coincided with the decline of Christianity. Through modern means of communication, which originated and evolved in the USA - radio - film (in 1910 the US surpassed all European countries) - television - computer Western culture was reshaped into a godless society. That the US dresses itself as a  'Christian nation under God', is a facade for the true intentions: the dragon that wants to exert absolute power through the beast-empire and to eradicate all worship to the most High. The outward appearance of Christianity and human values, while being rotten to the core on the inside, makes the USA a deceptive empire, called 'Babylon the Great', that will be totally destroyed at the return of Jesus Christ.

 

The beast itself was also worshiped: "Who is like the beast...?" The US was considered the pinnacle of Western civilization in large parts of the world. It was the largest, most advanced nation that humanity had ever produced. The US set the tone for the rest of the world. New inventions and trends all originated in the US and found their way to a global audience through huge American corporations with branches on every continent. The dollar became the world reserve currency, giving the US global financial dominance.

 

"...and who can make war with it?" In 1898, Spain was defeated in the Spanish War, and many Spanish colonies fell into US hands. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823, in which the US more or less considered the Western Hemisphere its property, was put into practice by presidents like Theodore Roosevelt with the construction of the Panama Canal, starting in 1904. Militarily, the US surpassed the rest of the world. Twice US intervention determined the course of a world war. Since the second world war, the USA in the long run has been the uncontested number one in military spending.The US outshines all potential adversaries with its global military apparatus of more than 700 bases around the world. This was the end result of the "power" which the US received from the dragon.

 

Verse 5,6 - Blasphemies

'And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.'

(1) Who gives the beast from the sea a mouth that speaks great things and blasphemies?

(2) What is meant by "great things and blasphemies"?

(3) When do the forty-two months occur?

(4) What is meant by "power to continue" and who gives him that power?

(5) What is meant by blaspheming God, his name, his tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven?

 

(1) Who gives the beast from the sea a mouth that speaks great things and blasphemies?

Like the beast of Revelation 13, the dragon of Revelation 12 had seven heads. The devil became controller of each empire in human history. The devil gave all of this intelligence and power to the United States of America. What started as 13 colonies that had freed themselves from British rule grew into a mighty federation of 50 states, covering much of North America. From there it started to gain influence round about, first the Western hemisphere, then Europe, ending with enormous global influence. It was because of power and intelligence that came from alle former empires and the satanic force that drove them. The situation of total US-dominance, which started after WWII, lasted for decades. It even intensified in 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. This caused a unipolair moment, to which the US has since been clinging with all vigor imaginable. It waged wars and orchestrated regime changes throughout the world, especially in in the Middle East. But many geopolitical analysts and commentators estimate that the power and authority of the US is slipping away. This is the situation in which we find ourselves in 2025.

In 2025, the USA for the second time is led by a president who says his first goal is 'to make America great again' (MAGA). That MAGA is the highest degree in the church of satan is no  coincidence. More than ever, the gullible public unknowingly follows the one from whom the nation received all of its power and authority - satan. That the USA is to be made 'great again' however shows that it does not consider itself as great anymore as it once was. In its aspiration to be the uncontested world empire, it is taking tremendous risks with the world's population. The red horse of Revelation 6 shows that this will lead to a third world war.

'And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.' (Rev.6:4)

The shift in status from the beast that is being worshiped to the beast that is shouting at the world in order to restore its old grandeur is seen in verse 5: 'And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things'

 

Satan was the one that gave the USA his power, his throne and great authority. Satan is also the one that gives the USA a mouth speaking great things. How? By manipulating it with the given power and authority. That would make the USA either reckless or nervous on the international scene, which would make it scream and yell toward other nations. This yelling and screaming especially concerns countries that it considers a threat to its hegemony, Russia, China and Iran. 

 

(2) What is meant by "great things and blasphemies"?

It is the uncertainty of future power and authority in light of newly upcoming powers like Russia, China and Iran that makes the US utter 'great things'. Each of these players on the world scene is attacked - diplomatically, economically or even militarily. After the fall of the Soviet Union it was the Clinton administration that started to encircle Russia with NATO in order to contain or even to disintegrate it. A year before 9/11/01 the 'Project for a New American Century' was launched. A series of regime changes in  the Middle East had to establish another century of US-hegemony. The last country to be attacked was Iran. Since the 'pivot to Asia' under Barak Obama, which was intensified by Trump I and Biden, the USA has been encircling China with military alliances, military installations and joint military exercises. Trump II seems to be the ideal administration for speaking 'great things'. Besides new threats toward Russia, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, the plans to own Greenland, the taking over of the Panama Canal, the renaming of the department of defense into the department of war, the announcement of executing lethal force toward any country that stands in the way of American hegemony, extrajudicial killings of people on boats in the Caribbean, threats to take out the government of Venezuela, plans to take over Gaza are all examples of 'great things' coming out of the mouth of the beast.

 

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the US has pursued a policy that aimed at global hegemony. NATO, has pushed up against Russia's borders. But the effort to add Ukraine to the list of NATO-members caused a war that has already lasted for 3.5 years, has cost more than a million lives. Despite all of this, the US is loosing badly. Massive wars have been waged in the Middle East on behalf of US-proxy Israel, which has served US interests since 1948. These interests are huge because of the oil, which is crucial for the value of the dollar. The wars in the Middle East have ruined the lives of millions and have not always led the the desired results. The new bloc of China-Russia-India-Brazil-South Africa is seen as a major threat and must be contained through conflicts (economic, diplomatic, or military). The US is increasingly vocal against all countries in the world (except Israel) and is carrying out increasingly ruthless actions to maintain its global dominance: tariffs, sanctions and threats of war.

 

But it won't end there. The patient attitude of the new powers vis-a-vis the USA makes it almost impossible for the USA to remain the uncontested number one on the world stage without a great war breaking out. The USA has already used everything on its sleeve in its effort to turn the tide of the global shift of power. Time is on the side of the newbies and not on the side of the USA. They are growing. They are coming together and they are gaining authority in the eyes of the world. The opposite is true for the USA, which is becoming more and more detested and isolated. The days of 'wandering after the beast' are long gone for the beast has torn down its mask during the past decades.

 

Most important is the declining position of the dollar. For a long time, the USA has been able to prevent this by kicking out leaders that wanted to detach from the dollar. The long run plan was ' strategic sequencing', to take on Russia, Iran and China one at the time in order to retain its total world dominance. But the all-out attack on Russia through the Ukraine-proxy has proven to be a total failure. With the Ukraine war in the quagmire and the dollar losing ground there remains only one possibility for the USA: a third world war. That is what is pictured in the red horse of the second seal of Revelation 6. But what does that have to do with blasphemies?

 

The position of the US-president is worsening together with that of his country and that makes both him and the powers in the background willing to take unprecedented measures in order to secure the outbreak of a large conflict. The mouth speaking great things will become the mouth speaking blasphemies, as foretold by Daniel, the Lord Himself and Paul. The lawless one, the son of perdition will set himself in the holy place on the pretense to be God - of course fully backed and supported by the US--colony in the Middle East, Israel. They would love to have a raid on the temple mount in order to desecrate the Mosques that are considered the third most holy places on earth by Muslims worldwide in order to provoke a total war with the Muslim countries in the Middle East. That would be an act with the potential to ignite a third world war. That is what is likely to happen at the opening of the second seal and at the release of the red horse.

 

Few expositors if any have linked the red horse to the abomination of desolation. But here the scripture teaches us with which actions the great tribulation of 42 months will start: '...blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.' That is why this blasphemous action is called 'the abomination of desolation'. It will bring utter destruction upon the land of Israel and large parts of the world, as is stated in relation to the red horse: 'and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another'.

 

(3) When do the forty-two months occur?

With the 42 months of acting by the beast, we enter the Endtime, the 3.5-year Great Tribulation. In the light of recent developments, described above, this Endtime period is extremely close. These 42 months of "acting" are sometimes interpreted as the duration of "the mark of the beast." However, that is not what the text says. There is no text that describes a 3.5 years duration of 'the mark'. On the contrary - there are texts that limit the duration of 'the mark' to 1.5 years. The "authority of acting" of "power to continue" for 42 months does not refer to 'the mark' but refers to numerous activities, by which the beast will ultimately get its way. We will dive into these activities of the beast here below.

The 42 months concern the second half of Daniel's 70th week in the prophecy of Daniel 9, which ends with the following description of the last, the 70th week:

'And he shall strengthen the covenant with/for many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.' (Daniel 9:27)

 

The 'mouth of blasphemies' refers to what happens at the center of the 70th week, the stopping of usual sacrifices and the start of 'abominations' which will cause 'desolation'. This is a focal point in bible prophecy which is referred to on multiple occasions and seen from multiple perspectives: The 70 weeks - Daniel 9:27; The authority in Jerusalem - Daniel 11:39; The evil world authority - Revelation 13:5; The outbreak of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:4); The treading under foot of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:2); the signal to flee (Mathew 24:15).

These 42 months will end in God's judgment upon the empire through the 7 vials, filled with his wrath. At the 7th and last vial, Jesus will return and destroy all military power of the empire and establish the everlasting kingdom of God.

 

(4) What is meant by "power to continue" and who gives him the power?

The one who gives power and authority to the beast was already mentioned in verse 2: '' and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.' However, nothing happens outside of God's throne. Far beyond the power of Satan, who gives his power to the beast, is the power of the Father, who gave all things into the hand of Jesus (John 13:3). He is the Lamb. He sits on the throne. 

 

With what kind of actions will 'the beast out of the sea' continue? We turn to Daniel for an answer. Daniel 7 describes the actions of the 'little horn' . This also is he USA, that came from among the ten horns, the European nations, started as a colony but grew into a world empire. Daniel 7 shows the last empire at the top of its power, during the same period of 42 months - calling it time, times and half a time. It recounts te following:

'And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.'

 

Three things are mentioned: (1) He will speak great words against the most High (2) he will wear out (harass constantly) the saints of the most High (3) He will intend to change time and laws.

The first activity (1) , that is stated by Daniel, of speaking great words against the most High, is repeated in Revelation 13. It precedes and directly follows the mentioning of 42 months:

'...blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy...' (Rev.13:6)

This identical blasphemous behavior confirms that the little horn of Daniel 7:25 is the same as the beast out of the sea in Revelation 13:5,6. The identity of it was argued above: It is the USA. We will now look at the three elements of the 42 months of 'acting' by the beast.

 

The second activity (2), wearing out of the saints is a continuation of his policy of the preceding 3.5 years. For the covenant would be 'made heavy for many' for 7 years, not for 3.5 years. But once the first half of the 'week' of 7 years will have passed 'in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate...' In the genocide on the Palestinians, which in fact started with the installation of the Netanyahu regime in December 2022, we witness the 'wearing out of the saints'. If this estimation is correct, then the midst of the week with its horrendous events will be reached in June 2026. This indeed coincides with signs in the stars of heaven.

 

The third activity (3) is the intention to change time and laws. In light of recent geopolitical developments, this could be the effort to turn the tide on the shift in global power toward 'the global South', which gains momentum through partnerships like the BRICS. As we discussed here-above, this would necessitate a third world war, which would be ignited by acts of blasphemy in holy places of Jerusalem. The change of time and laws could also relate to the aspiration of a third term or even more. The 22nd amendment could be abolished in his favor if Trump would have succeeded in saving US-hegemony through a great war.

 

(5) What is meant by blaspheming God, his name, his tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven?

Three types of blasphemy are mentioned: (1) God and his name, (2) his tabernacle, and (3) those who dwell in heaven. The blasphemy here is done with the mouth. We have already seen names of blasphemy written all over the beast while it was still under control of the woman - Medieval Roman Catholicism (Revelation 17: 3). Later, at the founding of the USA, the names of blasphemy had crept toward the seven heads (Revelation 13:1). If a name is written on something, it requires action to see the blasphemy. You have to look at it and read it. But here the blasphemy goes even further. It is spoken openly. There is no escaping it. Everyone hears this blasphemy. It is aired daily through all audible media. Because that is how it goes in this world. Powerful politicians are given a platform on all media. The media compete with each other for speaking time from politicians. And here is a politician who has more power than anyone has ever had. That man's voice can be heard 24/7 on all radio stations—even more so than the voice of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. Now let's look at the three types of blasphemy.

(1) Blasphemy against God and His Name
To understand this blasphemy, let's look for the word "blaspheme" in the Bible:
Nehemiah 9:18 Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, "This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt," and had committed great blasphemies,
Psalm 10:3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart; ... he blasphemes the LORD... All his thoughts are, "There is no God!" (v. 13) Why does the wicked blaspheme? Why does he say in his heart, "You will not require an accounting?"
Matthew 9:2 Then Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves, “This man blasphemes.”

According to these verses, blaspheming God can involve three things:
(1) Attributing to God attributes that are foreign to Him, by misrepresenting Him, such as through the image of the golden calf. The beast from the sea does this by sitting in the temple as God.
(2) Appropriating things to someone of something that belong only to God, such as the scribes who reproached the Lord Jesus when He forgave the paralytic’s sins. Their mistake was that they did not recognize the Lord Jesus as God, who had come among His people. The beast from the sea does this by changing times and laws as if He were God.
(3) Withholding from God attributes that belong to Him – Denying that He exists and that He sees and knows everything and will judge the world as Judge. (There is no God...You will not require an accounting.)

 

The first instance in the Bible that one encounters this slander, combined with "great things," is when hearing the mouth of Satan in the Garden of Eden. After all, it is Satan who gives his mouth to the beast, who speaks great things and blasphemies. The cult of the last three and a half years before Jesus' return to earth is the culmination of Satan's temptation in the garden.
(1) "Surely God has said, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'" – God is presented as a narrow-minded God, who grants nothing to His creatures – a completely false representation of God.
(2) "You shall be like God, knowing good and evil" – The apportioning to yourself of things that belong only to God.
(3) "You shall not die" – The withholding from God His right to judge, according to what He has said.

We now come to an important point, that of "the great things" spoken by the beast. What are these things? Are they just the changing of names on the map (Gulf of Mexico renamed to Gulf of America) Or are they the claims on certain regions of the world with its resources (Greenland, Panama, Venezuela)? Or is this just the start the speaking of 'great things' and will it culminate in something unimaginable, something related to technological development?  Searching an online Bible for “great things” yields nine times out of ten results of things done by God, and only in a few cases of things done by a human being. The very first mention of “great things” comes from the mouth of Samuel, shortly after the anointing of Saul as the very first king of the people: 1 Samuel 12:24 “Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see what great things He has done for you.” Some more examples: Job 37:5 “God thunders marvelously with his voice; He does great things, and we cannot comprehend them.” Psalm 106:21 “They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt…” Isaiah 12:5 “Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done very great things.” These are miracles of creation and miracles of redemption for the people. The mouth of the beast, which speaks great things, refers to presumptuous language. These are things that belong only to God as Creator, which the beast declares applicable to itself. Essentially, it concerns one of the above blasphemies, mentioned under (2) – Attributing to oneself things that belong only to God.

The 'speaking great things' does not happen overnight. It is the result of a long historical development, the end of which we are practically witnessing in our own time. In 200 years, mankind has unraveled many secrets of creation in a technical sense. In a technical sense, because from a scientific-theoretical perspective, there are more questions than ever. There is no scientific theory that can explain the phenomena in THE UNIVERSE or the phenomena in the SMALLEST PARTICLES or the COMPLEXITY IN ALL LIFE FORMS. But in a technical sense, man has discovered how certain things ‘work’ and ‘fit together’ and through experiments he has discovered how he can manipulate things to his advantage. We are talking about, among other things, gene manipulation, the manipulation of the hereditary material of life forms, even applied to humans. The latter has been happening for some years now by means of AN INJECTION that is being introduced into billions worldwide under the guise of one of the BIGGEST LIES ever trumpeted on earth. Modern science and technology can be seen as the construction of a Tower of Babel, with which mankind is challenging the throne of God. The ultimate expression of this is the boastful talk of the beast.

 

This boastful talk will culminate the actions of the political agents of the beast, seen as the locusts of the fifth trumpet from REVELATION 9. They bring the “great things” of which the beast speaks down to the level of the individual. Their “woman’s hair” speaks of submission to the authority of the beast (they are merely agents). Their “crowns” speak of the authority of the beast that they radiate. Their “teeth like lions,” their “breastplate like iron” speak of their aggressive behavior. The “whirring of their wings” is an indication of the speed at which they work. The sting is in their “tails,” with which they can inflict a “scorpion sting” on people, which causes genetic changes. This is probably the reason why death flees from people, even though they want to die because of the great pain. It is in essence “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” that man feeds on. He determines for himself what is good and evil, down to the level of the human gene. He creates a “better man” himself, who climbs the ladder of evolution, that monstrosity of a theory that still dominates and leads all science astray. The man God formed is not good enough. We simply make ourselves a little better. There is no Potter. WE, THE CLAY, shape ourselves into the pots we want to be. What is professed and practiced worldwide in science and technology today is a consequence of the serpent’s language in the garden. It is of blasphemous proportions and paves the way to “the great things” that the beast will take into its mouth.

(2) Blasphemy against the tabernacle of God

The tabernacle is God’s dwelling place, both among his people, such as that erected during the wilderness journey, and in the invisible realm, of which the tabernacle on earth was a type: “the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, is not of this creation” (Hebrews 9:11). Ultimately, the time will come when “that greater and more perfect tabernacle” of God will come down, so that it will be said, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). In 2 Peter 2:10, 12 and Jude 1:8, 10, we read of people “who blaspheme dignities...and things they do not understand.” This also applies to the beast. With his blasphemy against the dwelling place of God, he does not know what he is talking about. However, the one who inspires him with his blasphemies, Satan, does know. Satan is denied access to God’s holy dwelling place forever (REVELATION 12), while the redeemed dwell there and God Himself will one day dwell with men. This stirs up an all-consuming jealousy in the dragon, and that jealousy seeks an outlet in the blasphemies against God’s dwelling place through the mouth of the beast. These are likely disparaging remarks about the glories of heaven, which are awe-inspiring but are belittled by the beast. As a Russian astronaut once said, according to the Russian PROPAGANDA MACHINE, about space, that he hadn't encountered God there. As if God had His dwelling place somewhere in our solar system.

 

The blasphemy of his temple might also be the desecration of one or both Mosques on the Haram Al Sharif in Jerusalem by the US-president together with the leader of Israel. The mosque is referred to as the "House of Allah," as an ascription of honor (idafat tashrif). This however is not as an affirmation of dwelling-for Allah Most High is the creator of time and space, and is exalted beyond both time and space. In the bible the Greek word for 'temple' is also applied to sacred places in general (Acts 19:27). If the desecration of a mosque is meant, then verse 6 coincides with 'the abomination of desolation', the Lord warns about, which is found in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11. It is a provocation of the Muslim world which will be met with total devastation of the cities of Israel by the military capacities of Iran. This is also found in Isaiah 28:14-19 and in Daniel 11:39-45. Israel will be set up for destruction by its great ally, the USA, so that the empire can take out Iran, once Iran has weakened itself by its vicious attack on Israel. Having conquered Iran, the empire controls the Middle East and thereby the world.

(3) Blasphemy against those that dwell in heaven.

Those who dwell in heaven are also slandered. This is, of course, related to the dragon's raging jealousy of the people who—unlike himself—are allowed to enter heaven, indeed, who have their dwelling place there. But possibly also against the angels who dwell there, while Satan has been cast out of heaven and is restricted in his movements to earth. Satan can no longer accuse the brothers of the Lord in heaven or speak evil of them before the throne. Instead, he stoops to slandering his brothers in heaven on earth and speaking evil of them on earth.

It may also refer to the military capabilities of the inhabitants of heaven. The blasphemy could imply that the beast challenges the might of God's heavenly armies. This aligns with what people say about the beast in verse 5: "Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?" It also aligns with the actions in verse 7: “And it was given to him to make war with the saints.” He cannot make war with the heavenly saints. Therefore, he mocks them instead. It could be the kind of mockery that Goliath used to say to David, “Come here, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Or like Sennacherib, king of Assyria, used to say to Hezekiah, “I will give you two thousand horses, if you can put riders on them. How could you possibly repel a single attack from a single governor, one of my least servants?” Thus, the beast could challenge the heavenly saints to fight him and prove their worth. However, that point hasn’t been reached yet. In Revelation 19, we read that when heaven will react, nothing will remain of the beast.

 

Verses 7-10
War Against the Saints
"And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given to him over every kindred, people, tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone leads into captivity, into captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints."

(1) Who are the saints against whom the beast from the sea wages war, and what kind of war is that?
(2) Who will worship the beast from the sea?

(3) What is the difference between the worship of verse 8 and the worship of verse 4.
(4) What is the meaning of "the endurance and the faith of the saints"?

 

(1) Who are the saints against whom the beast from the sea wages war, and what kind of war is that?
Here we read for the third time that something is "given" to the beast. In verse 2, the dragon gives him his power, his throne, and great authority. Satan puts him at the helm of his kingdom, which he has built up over 6,000 years through deceit and deception, using all the beauty God has given as a deception (just like the tree in the garden, which was pleasing to the eye, good for food, desirable to make one wise). It is authority over the kingdom, which consists of all the kingdoms of the world "and their glory." It is "the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life" (1 John 1:2-16). Essentially, nothing has changed in Satan's strategy since the garden. It is an endless repetition with ever-larger crowds and ever-more complex techniques.

In verse 5, something is given to the beast for the second time: a mouth that spoke great things and blasphemies. With his great mouth, the beast takes on God Himself. He assumes God's attributes and authority for himself, by sitting in the holy place and declaring himself to be God and boasting of great things. It is through the arts of science and technology that man attempts to imitate God and attain immortality. "You shall not die... You shall be like God."
Verse 5 parallels the fifth trumpet of REVELATION 9. It concerns the key to the bottomless pit, which the fallen star (Satan) received. Power over the underworld, which had already corrupted human seed before the Flood (from which He would come who would crush Satan's head), was given to Satan. And Satan passes it on to the beast. That is why it is said that the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit. Therefore, the beast is called "the angel of the bottomless pit"—angel in the sense of messenger. With his mouth, he expresses all the demonic principles of the abyss, which contradict God's principles and corrupt the human gene. He is therefore "the lawless one" (his laws are diametrically opposed to God's laws) and "the son of destruction" (he corrupts creation as God created it). Therefore, when Jesus returns, the time will have come "to destroy those who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18). That's why his name in Hebrew is "Abaddon" (destruction) and in Greek, "Apollyon" (destroyer).

The alteration of the human gene does indeed yield a strange kind of immortality, an immortality that people apparently don't want at all. After the "damage" inflicted by the "scorpion's sting," "people will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them." Here, in verse 7, something is given to the beast for the third time, namely ‘to make war with the saints and to overcome them’. This passage parallels the sixth trumpet of REVELATION 9. There too, it is about warfare, namely against the citizens of the world. A third of humanity is killed. With the sixth trumpet, the beast is given enormous military power at its disposal. The four angels, who were bound to the Euphrates, those are the angels of the four world empires, who were defeated one by one by Christ, are loosed for a short time. This deploys an enormous military force, which may have been secretly prepared for a long time. Satan does everything in secret – the secret societies are an important instrument. But military means alone are not enough. The spirit over the troops must become powerful and for that the four angels are needed. As ‘leaders of the world empires’ they have already directed many a war. Undoubtedly, a magnificent militaristic pyramid structure has been set up. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be used, so that decisions about life and death are made by computer systems originating from the realm of darkness.

 

The people against whom the beast makes war are called 'saints'. It is the people who resist the beast with their personal lives by not submitting to his system. Please note: it does not say: 'brethren' (Revelation 12:10 - in Revelation these are the 'remnant of her generation', Jewish believers, mostly called Palestinians, who are most persecuted of all during the great tribulation). It also does not say 'who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ' (Revelation 12:17), those are the witnesses, specifically the 144,000, who received the seal of God. It's about 'saints'. The word “holy” literally means “separate.” In the great tribulation, everyone is 'holy' who does not submit to the system of the beast and thus 'separate' himself from it. Because that decision entails enormous costs: exclusion from society and ultimately death. It is a time when Jesus' word applies: "He who is not against us is for us" (Luke 9:50). When Jesus is blasphemed and called 'the prince of demons' by some - with still an enormous domain of 'grey', one cannot remain silent and the following applies: 'he who is not with Me is against Me' (Matthew 12:30). When the demons are in charge in the world, leaving no room for grey, only for either black or white, and people decide not to participate, then the following applies: 'he who is not against Me is with Me'.

The saints, who separated themselves from the system of the beast in the great tribulation, are also mentioned in Revelation 5 and in Revelation 8. In Revelation 5 it is about 'the prayers of the saints' which were administered by the elders in bowls of incense. These are probably the saints, the people who belong to God, from all times, but certainly also the saints on earth in the Endtime. In Revelation 8, just before the start of the war in heaven and the great tribulation of 3.5 years that follows, these prayers are in the hand of 'the angel', a representation of the Lord Jesus, the great high priest over the house of God. In heaven, the prayers of the saints are "given power" by "incense." Incenses in God's house speak of the sweet-smelling life of the Lord Jesus. The consequences of these prayers are twofold:

(1) The saints are given strength not to love their lives unto death but to remain faithful to their Creator God. That will cost many of them their lives On the one hand, that's terrible. On the other hand, it is a victory of the Lamb. Like the 'brethren' of Revelation 12, they 'loved not their lives unto death' (Revelation 12:11) and thereby conquered the beast and the dragon.

(2) They receive help in their flight from the power of the system. That help came, among other things, in the form of the worldwide earthquake under the sixth seal and the trumpet judgments, which largely destroyed the infrastructure that the rulers had built up in the centuries before, in just a few months. That gave the people that were trapped in the system the opportunity to escape. Think of Paul in Philippi, where an earthquake caused He and Silas to be released and the jailer to repent (Acts 16:26-34). Something similar will happen on a much larger scale from the sixth seal onward. But surviving in nature is not easy. The saints, who are faithful to the Creator, are given the means to survive through their prayers and the work of Christ. This is 'the countless great crowd' of Revelation 7, who enter the millennial kingdom of peace alive. 

 

(2) Who will worship the beast out of the sea?
This brings us to the second question, who will worship the beast out of the sea? The text states: 'And all who dwell on the earth will worship him...' But who are 'all who dwell on the earth'? The expression 'who dwell on the earth' is found in seven texts of the book of Revelation. It relates to people who made themselves comfortable in a world that has fallen away from God. They are the ones to be tested in the hour of temptation (Revelation 3:10). They will be warned by angels before the test comes (Revelation 14:6). They will all fail for the test according to our text and according to Revelation 13:12, 14. These are people who are enjoying the earth, while the world is subject to the beast and has Satan as its prince. They are at peace with tyranny. It's amazing how quickly people embrace dictatorships in times of uncertainty. They do not realize that the uncertainty and chaos were created by those in power to control the masses with a dictator (Ordo Ab Chao).

 

The buildup of a never before seen worldwide tyranny is seen in verse 5, which runs parallel to seals 2-5 in Revelation 6. However, through God's action, the matrix of power is broken and people can flee. But there are always people who do not want to flee and who slavishly submit, no matter how wrong the system is. Their view is that those in power determine the rules and that everyone must obey them. They thereby deny that there is a Supreme Lawgiver and Judge, who is above all government and authority and to whom governments must also obey. In their eyes, the ruler has absolute power and doesn't have to take God into account. "Those who dwell on the earth" are people who have also acquired a place in the system and derive their power, influence, and wealth from their position. For this reason, they want the system's status quo to be maintained and they contribute to it.

Expressions like "the whole earth" and "those who dwell on the earth" make it seem as if all people living during the great tribulation are lost. In Revelation 9:20, the parallel passage with the sixth trumpet, we read: "And the rest of the people who were not killed by these plagues did not repent, even of the works of their hands..." "The rest of the people" also refers to those who have submitted to the system. If you don't, you will be killed. It is warfare of the state against its own citizens, aimed at total subjugation. "That the rest of the people" did not repent suggests that there will be no people being faithful to God that will survive the great tribulation . You will either be killed or you will submit. In either case, there is no future. That's how it seems here.

However, before the beast's war against the world's population erupts, many have already fled after the enormous earthquake, described in Revelation 6. Immediately afterward, Revelation 7 mentions the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude who come out of the tribulation. That the great multitude consists of people who "come out of the great tribulation" means that they survive it and enter the kingdom of peace as living people. They are, of course, not among the "rest of the people" of Revelation 9:20 who did not repent, or among "those who dwell on the earth" of Revelation 13:8 for those won't enter Christ's millennial kingdom but will be sent to hell.

The ones coming out of the great tribulation, are those that will see through the evil of the system and will choose for God. That's why we see them in Revelation 7 with palm branches before the throne and the Lamb, crying out, "Salvation to our God..." (Revelation 7:10). So, not "Hail Hitler" or "Hail to the beast." They acknowledge God as the Most High and obey Him.

We also point out the change in verb tense. Suddenly, John switches to the future tense: "And all who dwell on the earth WILL worship him...". Here, too, there's a break in chronology. Essentially, verse 8 returns to the beginning of the last half of the year-week, the beginning of the beast's tyranny. This indicates that "the beast from the earth," whose description follows from verse 11, appears simultaneously with the beast from the sea. They ascend simultaneously and receive their power simultaneously.
Then there's the crucial question of whether or not they are written "in the book of life that was slain." The "book of life" is first mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3, where he names some believers whose names are written in that book. It is otherwise mentioned only in Revelation, usually only as the "book of life" (3:5, 17:8, 20:12, 15, 22:19), once as the "book of life of the Lamb" (21:27), and here, in Revelation 13:8, as the "book of life of the Lamb who was slain."

Literally, the Greek text of verse 9 is: "...whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world." The question then is what "from the foundation of the world" refers to: to the "names not being written" or to "the Lamb who was slain"? There is no reason to assume that the reference all the way back to the "names not being written" is true, and the most obvious reading is that it refers to "the Lamb who was slain." We read something similar in 1 Peter 1:18: "... knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and spotless. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake."

 

But what does that mean? Creation was already 4,000 years old when Christ was crucified. It means that Christ's work was completely certain from the outset, and that it makes no difference to redemption whether someone lived before or after the cross. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is valid from the very beginning of creation. Peter even writes: 'He was foreknown before the foundation of the world'.  Even before God called creation into being, it was already determined how everything would unfold and that the Son would come to earth as a Man to die as a Lamb on a cross. Immediately after the Fall, the first blood of the animal dripped, the skins of which God used to clothe Adam and Eve. Then came the sacrifices that Abel offered, and then countless animal sacrifices, all of which pointed forward to the One Sacrifice that would one day be offered. In type, therefore, Christ was "slain" as a Lamb from the foundation of the world.
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Already in verse 3, 4 the worship of the beast was mentioned: '...and the whole earth wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast…” It is “the whole earth.”