Revelation 13
Revelation 13, Verse by Verse
Two beasts, one dragon behind them, and one call to the holy ones: endurance and faith.
Home › Revelation 13
✓ Reviewed by Fr. John How this site is made
Revelation 13 continues the scene of chapter 12. The dragon, thrown down from heaven and unable to reach the woman, takes his stand on the sand of the sea (Revelation 12:18), and the beasts rise. Read the whole chapter first, in the New American Bible at bible.usccb.org, with its notes.
This site takes the chapter in four parts. Each part will have its own verse-by-verse page: the text, what it shows, its roots in the Old Testament, the Fathers, the Catechism, and the marks it holds.
| Verses | What they show | Marks | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:18–13:4 | The beast rises from the sea; the dragon gives it his power; its head is healed; the world worships | 1, 2, 3, 6 | Coming |
| 13:5–10 | A boasting mouth; forty-two months; war on the holy ones; authority over every nation; the call to endurance | 5, 7, 8, 12, 14 | Coming |
| 13:11–15 | The beast from the earth: horns like a lamb, signs, an image that speaks | 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 | Coming |
| 13:16–18 | The mark on hand or forehead; buying and selling; the number of a man | 11, 13 | Coming |
How the chapter is read here
- The literal sense first. What the text says, in its own setting, comes before any further reading (CCC 116).
- First fulfillment, then further fulfillment. For John's first readers the beast pointed to Rome and its emperors. The Church also reads in it the final trial before Christ's return (CCC 675–677).
- With the Church. Scripture is read with Tradition and the Magisterium, and every claim is labeled by its authority.
- No dates, and no names. No one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36; CCC 673), and this site does not ask who the beast is today.
The call at the center
In the middle of the chapter Revelation stops and speaks to the reader: "Whoever has ears ought to hear these words" (Revelation 13:9), and "Such is the faithful endurance of the holy ones" (Revelation 13:10). The whole chapter is written for that.