A Study of Revelation 20 and Other Related Passages
He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist
Jerome
In Revelation 20:4 John sees the souls of those beheaded martyrs who did not take the mark of the beast or his image. We have been studying Daniel 7:1-28 and Revelation 13:1-10 thus far to identify the beast. Now, what of his image and his mark? These brief references in Revelation 20:4 find their antecedent in Revelation 13:11-18. This passage shows the relationship between the two chief persecutors of the early church, Rome and Jerusalem, the sources of their tribulation.
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
Revelation 13:11
The first beast is a satanically empowered state, Rome. This sea beast’s persecution of the saints was led by Rome’s titular leader, Caesar. There is another beast, a second beast. It is not originating from the Sea, from the Gentiles. It comes from the earth, the land, from the Jews. This term is often used in Revelation and the Olivet Discourse to refer to the land of Israel, not the planet we live on (i.e. Revelation 1:7; 7:2, 3; 10:8; 11:4, 6, 10; Matthew 24:30). This beast emerging from the land is also led by Jerusalem’s titular head, the High Priest (more on this later). As the heads and horns of the sea beast identify it as Rome, so the head and horns of the land beast identify it as Jerusalem. The sea beast had the appearance of imperial animals. The land beast has the appearance of a sacrificial animal. Although covered in sheep’s clothing, it was all dragon inside (Matthew 7:15; 12:33-35; John 8:44; Revelation 2:9; 3:9).
Truly he had stolen the livery of heaven to serve the devil in. How innocent and harmless in appearance; yet he spake as a dragon.
Henry Cowels
This “lamb” was not “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) This was a false lamb, full of dragon speech, stealing, killing, destroying, seeking whom among the saints he may devour. The land beast speaks as a dragon and so lies, slanders and blasphemes. Who repeatedly accused Christ and the Christians so as to have them killed? All those Jews led by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin proved their pattern (Luke 22:71-23:2; 23:10; Acts 6:9-15; 13:10; 14:2-5; 17:5-8; 18:6, 12-13; 19:9; 21:27-36; 24:1-9; 25:2-3, 7).
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Revelation 13:12
This land beast, personified by the High Priest, derives his continued authority from the sea beast. Whereas the High Priest was supposed to serve in the presence of God, he actually served before the face of Caesar. In addition to several proofs in the New Testament (John 11:48-50; 18:13-14, 28, 31; Acts 22:22-23:35), we have the testimony of Josephus that the High Priest and Sanhedrin were controlled by Rome. [1] [2] In fact Rome chose the High Priest from the cohort of Sadducees and held the High Priestly vestments under lock and key, only to be used by permission. The political expediency of supporting Caesar took on idolatrous fervor during the trial of Jesus (John 19:15). The High Priest and Sanhedrin kept their power by promoting Roman loyalty among those who lived in the land of Israel. The Jews did not participate directly in the imperial cult, but the High Priest did offer up a temple sacrifice for the Roman Emperor. This, and their loyalty, served as their exemption from direct worship of the Emperor. But a wink is as good as a nod, and they are not exempt in God’s eyes from idolatry.
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
Revelation 13:13-14
The sign of the fire coming down from heaven is a reference to Temple worship. God had lit the fire from Heaven, and no other fire was appropriate (Leviticus 9:24-10:2). The High Priest has this claim over the Jews. They must adhere to him and his admonition to support Rome. After all, Herod the Great (Augustus’ lapdog) had given them this splendid temple of white marble and gold overlay*, built in exquisite Roman architectural style. Romans were known to donate to the continued beautification of the temple, a point of pride in their empire. The inflammatory claim that the High Priest was leading the Jews to create an idol (the temple) to the glory of Rome is the kind of thing that will get you killed (Acts 7:37-60).
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Revelation 13:15
The High Priest and the Sanhedrin who controlled the temple were the sycophants of Rome and the chief persecutors of the Christians. Their continual efforts to eradicate the followers of Jesus paid off through their ability to finally demonstrate what set them apart. Whereas it was difficult for the Roman magistrate to distinguish between Jews and Christians (all of them quoting Moses and eschewing pagan idols) the Sanhedrin eventually was able to show that they were loyalists and the Christians were not.** Christians did not have the exemption that Jews did. This made the division all about the temple. Christians were not temple worshipers. Jews were. Christians would not worship the image set up by the Land Beast (the temple). Christians would not take the mark of Imperial worship to prove they were as loyal as the Jews were. This put them into grave danger. More on that next time.
*Herod began construction in 20 BC. The temple was not completed until AD 63. Josephus recorded that Herod saw this as a task great enough “to assure his eternal remembrance” (Antiquities 15.380). Josephus, described his own sight of this temple, “The exterior of the building lacked nothing that could astound either mind or eye. . . . To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not over laid with gold was of purest white” (Jewish War 5.222–23).
**This proved both useless and ironic as relations devolved into the civil war of AD 66-70.
