13:3 as it were wounded to death. This “beast” (who is actually a Satan-possessed man) is said to have ascended “out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7). Satan had enabled him to counterfeit a resurrection from death, as it were, the two parallel “resurrections” creating such great admiration in the world as to elicit global submission and worship. For reasons noted later (see notes on Revelation 17), this revived kingdom may well be ancient Babel, restored as the great world capital of the beast. Both the beast and the head of the beast (both the man and the ancient kingdom) will appear to have been mortally wounded, but both will seemingly be miraculously restored.

13:4 worshipped the dragon. By this time, the ungodly men and women still living on the earth will have become fully aware of the cosmic dimensions of the imminent conflict and will have deliberately chosen to cast their lot with Satan and the beast rather than with God. They will all become Satanists, worshipping Satan (or Lucifer, as they may prefer to call him) as god. The current meteoric rise in occultism and even Satanism, as well as the great increase in bitter opposition to Christianity, is an ominous prelude to what is coming. It may well be that the amazing mania for dinosaurs, especially among young people, is an indicator of an innate tendency to dragon-worship.