The big picture
Revelation 13 opens in verse 1 with “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 9 with “If any man have an ear, let him hear.”, and closes in verse 18 with “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is…” Repeated or prominent terms include beast, power, earth, dwell, image. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Revelation · King James Version · 18Revelation 13:1-6
1–6: I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the…
Revelation 13:1–6 opens with “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads…” and reaches “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The sea beast, earth beast, coercive worship, and economic mark, with particular weight carried by beast, mouth, heads.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“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…” The number seven makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“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…” The line’s distinctive content terms include feet, mouth, authority. Its relationship to verses 1 and 3 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 13:1-6
King James Version1And 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.
2And 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.
3And 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.
4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Revelation 13:7-12
7–12: It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them…
Revelation 13:7–12 opens with “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given…” and reaches “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The sea beast, earth beast, coercive worship, and economic mark, with particular weight carried by beast, earth, captivity.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all…” The line’s distinctive content terms include kindreds, nations, overcome. Its relationship to verses 8 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Revelation 13:7-12
King James Version7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8And 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.
9If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Revelation 13:13-18
13–18: He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on…
Revelation 13:13–18 opens with “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the…” and reaches “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The sea beast, earth beast, coercive worship, and economic mark, with particular weight carried by beast, image, number.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,” The line’s distinctive content terms include doeth, earth, fire. Its relationship to verses 14 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the…” The line’s distinctive content terms include beast, dwell, earth. Its relationship to verses 13 and 15 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 13:13-18
King James Version13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Revelation 13:1 begins with “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…”
Where the chapter turns
Revelation 13:4 forms a natural hinge: “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war…”
The final note
Revelation 13:18 leaves the reader with “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words beast, power, earth, dwell, image, mouth help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How does Abram pursue peace?
He names their kinship and offers a practical separation without insisting on first choice.
What can Lot see that Abram cannot yet possess?
Lot sees fertile land; Abram receives a promise of land and descendants still to come.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
- spake
- spoke
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.