Revelation chapter 13 starts out with these words: -
(Revelation 13:1) And it stood still upon the sand of the sea…
Who or what is this ‘it’ that is referred to here?
To understand we must consider what was previously revealed in Revelation 12: -
(Revelation 12:7-9) And war broke out in heaven: Miʹcha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.
After the devil was cast out of heaven and confined to the earth ‘it’ or he stood still upon the sand of the sea.
What ‘it’ or he found was spoken of next: -
(Revelation 13:1, 2) …And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names. Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to [the beast] its power and its throne and great authority.
This very strange wild beast seems to be an amalgamation of all the beasts that Daniel previously saw coming out of the sea in Daniel chapter 7: -
(Daniel 7:2-7) Daniel was speaking up and saying: “I happened to be beholding in my visions during the night, and, see there! the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the vast sea. And four huge beasts were coming up out of the sea, each one being different from the others. “The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I kept on beholding until its wings were plucked out, and it was lifted up from the earth and was made to stand up on two feet just like a man, and there was given to it the heart of a man. “And, see there! another beast, a second one, it being like a bear. And on one side it was raised up, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and this is what they were saying to it, ‘Get up, eat much flesh.’ “After this I kept on beholding, and, see there! another [beast], one like a leopard, but it had four wings of a flying creature on its back. And the beast had four heads, and there was given to it rulership indeed. “After this I kept on beholding in the visions of the night, and, see there! a fourth beast, fearsome and terrible and unusually strong. And it had teeth of iron, big ones. It was devouring and crushing, and what was left it was treading down with its feet. And it was something different from all the [other] beasts that were prior to it, and it had ten horns.
Daniel was told that these beasts that ascended out of the sea, one after the other, represented Kings or Kingdoms that would stand up from the earth in succession: -
(Daniel 7:17) “‘As for these huge beasts, because they are four, there are four kings that will stand up from the earth.
So when the devil was thrown out of heaven, before him stood ‘his’ entire, complete, prebuilt governmental system.
(Matthew 4:8, 9) Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.”
Revelation 17 helps us understand the symbolism of the 7 heads: -
(Revelation 17:9, 10) “Here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while.
The writer of the Book of Revelation was the Apostle John, in his day Rome was the established ruling Kingdom.
Prior to Rome was Greece, prior to Greece was Persia, prior to Persia was Babylon, prior to Babylon was Assyria and prior to Assyria was Egypt, these five had fallen.
When Rome finally broke down history testifies that Great Britain emerged as this final head.
These additional details are spoken of in Daniel 7: -
(Daniel 7:7, 8) “After this I kept watching in the visions of the night, and I saw a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and unusually strong, and it had large iron teeth. It was devouring and crushing, and what was left it trampled down with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts that were prior to it, and it had ten horns. While I considered the horns, look! another horn, a small one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were plucked up from before it. And look! there were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and there was a mouth speaking arrogantly.
Rome – the terrifying fourth beast – was never conquered, as it slowly broke down and fell apart over the years; four main contenders appeared on the world scene.
Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
Britain humiliated or defeated these other main contenders and emerged as the sole world controller – a big mouthed little horn.
But the prophecy indicates further developments regarding rulership that would take place after this, after Satan is cast out of heaven and confined to the earth: -
(Revelation 13:3-5) And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration. And they worshiped the dragon because it gave the authority to the wild beast, and they worshiped the wild beast with the words: “Who is like the wild beast, and who can do battle with it?” And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given it, and authority to act forty-two months was given it.
One of these heads seems to have suffered almost to the point of death, yet it was not replaced by another maybe 8th head, but rather it speaks of it as recovering.
It also speaks of it being given authority to act for 42 months; again we need to remember that these developments are seen around the time of Satan's expulsion from heaven..
WW1 broke out on the 28th July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Great Britain officially entered the ring on August 4th and declared war on Germany.
The war lasted around three and a half years or 42 months and towards its end, Great Britain was suffering great losses.
It almost got to the point where the war was lost.
Just like a head, appearing as if it had being slaughtered to death.
The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, more than two and a half years after World War I started. To a large extent, this backup from the United States helped turn the war around.
This total turn around by back up form the west was also foretold in Daniel chapter 11: -
(Daniel 11:29, 30) “At the time appointed he will go back, and he will actually come against the south; but it will not prove to be at the last the same as at the first. And there will certainly come against him the ships of Kitʹtim, and he will have to become dejected…
Notice how other translations render this term, ships of Kit’tim: -
New International Version
Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
New Living Translation
For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.
History testifies that the United States became this foretold backup from the west.
After WW1 finished Britain and American emerged ‘together’ as victors.
This development is also seen in Revelation 13: -
(Revelation 13:11, 12) And I saw another wild beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began speaking as a dragon. And it exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death-stroke got healed.
Over the years, the British monarchy has been pushed further into the background with powers being transferred to that of its prime ministers.
These rule in the sight of the monarchy and exercise all authority before it.
What was the plan of action after WW1, what other developments does Revelation 13 predict?
(Revelation 13:14) And it misleads those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs that were granted it to perform in the sight of the wild beast, while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived.
After the War ended, Britain and America fabricated a new entity, the League of Nations. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. The American President, Woodrow Wilson, put forth great efforts to establish and promote the League of Nations, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1919.
However, the United States never joined. Senate Republicans led by Henry Cabot Lodge wanted a League with the reservation that only Congress could take the U.S. into war. Lodge gained a majority of Senators. Wilson refused to allow a compromise and the needed 2/3 majority was lacking.
Did this League of Nations prevent wars and prove to be a place where international disputes were solved through negotiation?
Well, not many years later WW2 erupted, the League of Nations had failed.
Note what is said next: -
(Revelation 13:15) And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.
After WW2, Britain and American again emerged as victors.
The same idea of the League of Nations was proposed, but this time the United States would join and support it, in effect giving breath or life to the idea, it was reborn as the United Nations.
This setup is further alluded to in Revelation 17: -
(Revelation 17:11) And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.
The United Nations today uses sanctions to restrict the buying or selling of any nation that does not play ball and accept its leadership and authority.
This tactic of the UN was also clearly foretold in the following verses: -
(Revelation 13:16, 17) And it puts under compulsion all persons, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they should give these a mark in their right hand or upon their forehead, and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name.
Finally in Revelation 13 we are reminded that this is an expression of ‘imperfect human’ rulership
It is not Gods promised Kingdom nor is its rulership authorized by Him.
It is a counterfeit attempt of misleading people into trusting, not in Jehovah and His promises, but in ourselves.
(Revelation 13:18) Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
(Psalm 146:3) Do not put YOUR trust in nobles, Nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.
(Ecclesiastes 8:9) All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury.
From a close consideration of Revelation 13 we see that Satan was evicted from heaven after the manifestation of the 7th head but before the creation of the image of the beast, around the time of WW1, before the League of Nations and United Nations came into existence.
Kind Regards
Kerry Huish