Revelation 13:1-2

Revelation 13:1: “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.”

In Revelation the beast is the antichrist, so that’s what we’re looking at here. The beast has ten crowns, which is probably a reference to the fact that at this point in history the whole world is under a unified government that is divided into 10 kingdoms, or jurisdictions. The antichrist reigns over the entire group, so the 10 crowns probably stand for the 10 kingdoms (or jurisdictions) that he has managed to gain control over. (Remember, earlier in Revelation we saw that he declared war on the nations. By this point in history he has conquered them and rules over them.)

He has on his head the name of blasphemy. He is, of course, the anti-Christ: he is against everything that Christ stands for and does not hesitate to blaspheme the name of God. He stands in direct opposition to God Himself.

Revelation 13:2: “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.”

The part I want to focus on is this last part: the antichrist gets his power from the devil. In the Bible dragons are symbolic of the devil, and this is no exception. The antichrist has gained power over the whole world because he has the support of Satan. In fact, the relationship goes far beyond that: this verse actually says that Satan will give this man his power and authority. That is a remarkable thing. Because of this, the antichrist will have tremendous power and authority. He will be able to dominate the entire planet in a way that no one else has ever been able to do before – and yet when Jesus returns He will slay the antichrist single-handedly with just the breath of His mouth.