 Known to unknown  Summary of what is know about the 7 churches  The beast of Revelation is a relative known

 The narrative of Rev 12  The identity of the woman – the opposite of the prostitute who rides on the beast  The child  The dragon

Birth, Resurrection, Ascension of Jesus After the ascension of Jesus Cosmic View Rev 12:7-12 Rev 12:13-17 Earthly View Rev 12:1-6

 Narrative Transition from 12 to 13

 The narrative of Revelation 13  The beast from the sea: 10 horns, 7 heads, 10 crowns  Conquer God’s people for 42 months  The beast from the land  The mark of the beast

 The woman who sits on the beast of 7 heads and 10 horns , 9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.”

 Rome “the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits” The identification with the 7 hills of Rome is incidental but deliberate. The sustained image of the beast and the 7 heads is that they are 7 kings

 The creatures of Rev 13:1-2 and Daniel 7:3-7 › Diachronic vs Synchronic  The power, throne and authority

3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

 Fatal wound  Indirect worship of the dragon  Coercive power

 Proud words and blasphemies  The rule of the beast for 42 months is helpful.  The time is not literal.  Conquest of the saints  Two groups of people are contrasted  Patient endurance

 Meaning of beast was from the earth  The second beast enforced the worship of the first beast › Aristo? Representative figure?  The two signs the local authority performed to induce worship of the beast were: (1) fire come down from heaven, and (2) making the image of the beast talk.  The number of the beast  Mark of the beast

 The prostitute is the counter narrative of True Israel  The wealth of Rome  The moral corruption and perversity of Rome  The persecution  Babylon. 1 Peter 5 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark  John clearly prophesied the fall of Babylon. (Rev 14:8; 16:19; 18:1,2,4,9,10,21; 19:1).

 Another possible view: a prophecy awaiting fulfillment.  The entire pericope, the discourse retains the theme of judgment on the prostitute through 19:21. The empirical application of the Rome in John’s day does not fit well into the content of Revelation At the same time, there are compelling indicators that it is Rome.  The prostitute rides the beast.  John describes the fall of Babylon with the same concept of the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel ).

Mockery of the beast

DatesPeopleCount 31BC –AD14 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba- 69 Otho- 69 Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian8

 The ten horns are kings who are in the future  The ten horns will wage war against the Lamb  The city that rules over the kings of the world

 Dragon  Beast – imperial rule of the Roman Empire and beyond  Prostitute – the economic system in the Roman Empire and beyond