Revelation 13 is an amplification of the scene in the 12^th chapter. In chapter 12, we see a dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns pursue a women who gave birth to a “man-child”, who was caught up into Heaven to rule the nations. This drama in the 12^th chapter is the background of the spiritual events that happen in the 2^nd half, (1260 days, 42 months) of the 7-year tribulation period. John defines Satan as the dragon (Revelation 12:9) and the woman as Israel. Israel gave birth to the Messiah, who is caught up to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11), Satan, the Dragon, then pursues the Woman who is protected for 1260 days or 3.5 years. The identification of the participants is vital to understanding what is actually taking place in both the physical and spiritual realms.

The events taking place in the 2^nd half are a result of what takes place in Heaven at the midpoint of the 7-year period. Chapter 12 reveals the Heavenly view of these events and the battle of the ages between God’s plan of redemption, and Satan attempts to stop it. Satan’s final method of assault on the woman, and her offspring are revealed to us in the 13^th chapter.

Satan on Earth will incarnate the leader of a “revived Roman Empire”; this leader will have died, and resurrected, to the wonder of the world. His resurrected body indwelt with Satan, will assume control of the kingdom of the Beast. Satan, portrayed as a 7-headed dragon in chapter 12, is now the source of power and authority of the 7-headed beast arising from the sea, which John writes about. Satan will assume the controls of this kingdom pictured as the “Beast”. This future kingdom will focus on the glorification and exaltation of this “Satan-Man” and the persecution and destruction of those who refuse to accept his deity. This period will last for 42 months or 3.5 years, and will end with the return of Jesus Christ when surviving Israel, finally recognizes Him as Messiah and calls out in prayer and supplication for his return (Zechariah 12:9-10, Matthew 23:39 24:30 and Revelation 19)

Going before the beast will be a false prophet who will perform great signs and wonders in the name of this world leader. This false prophet will instruct the world to worship the beast. An image of the Beast, constructed by the false prophet will be the focus of worldwide worship. All who refuse to worship the Beast or his image will be killed. The False prophet is pictured as a lamb with two horns, which speaks as a dragon. He is probably the leader of the world wide religion in the first half of the tribulation which persecutes the believers, the saints. Later, this worldwide religion is destroyed (Revelation 17:15-17) as the Beast and Satan, become the focus of worship in the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week.

In order to enforce this worldwide religion of the beast an economic system will be established demanding total submission to this world leader. Those who refuse will be killed and cutoff from society. They will be unable to buy or sell without total submission.

In Chapter 12 we see the dragon (Satan) who pursues the women (Israel) standing on the “sand of the sea”. Out of the sea rises a Beast (kingdom of Antichrist) which becomes the vehicle used by Satan to subdue the whole world under his direct power. This kingdom of the Beast will use four realms of influence to subdue man; politics, military, religious and economic. The Beast or the “Little horn” of Daniel 7:8 focuses on the military and political realms. While the second beast, the False Prophet will focus on the religious and economic means of submission.

In the 13^th chapter, John sheds light on the methods used by this final world government to cement his universal power. The religious aspect of his kingdom takes a turn at the midpoint of the tribulation. The first 3.5 years of the 7-year tribulation the Antichrist and the False Prophet unite the world under a universal religious system (Revelation 17:1-6). In the 2^nd half, the focus of this religious system becomes the Beast inhabited by Satan. The False Prophet performs satanic wonders including the “calling down of fire from heaven” to awe humanity into worshipping the Beast. He points to the resurrected Beast, the leader of the kingdom also called the Beast, urges Earth’s inhabitants to worship him. He instructs the world to create and worship an image of the first Beast. The image through satanic power appears to come to life and speak. Those refusing to worship the image are subjected to death. If the military, political and spiritual power did not convince inhabitants of the Earth, the False Prophet applies economic tools to move the Earth’s inhabitants to submit