· Translation: KJV

Revelation 13:1Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names.

The setting

Patmos Island, Greece, ~95 AD. John stands on the shoreline receiving a terrifying vision of ultimate evil emerging...

The emotion here: overwhelmed by visions of cosmic evil while isolated on a prison island

The original word

thērion (θηρίον) — wild beast, savage animal, something that devours without conscience

Why it matters

The ten crowns represent political power; blasphemous names represent religious rebellion

Read with care

What most readers miss in Revelation 13:1

John is physically standing on sand when this vision starts—he's not in a trance but fully awake

Common misconceptionPeople debate whether this beast is a specific future leader, but John's original readers would have seen Rome's persecution of Christians. Evil empires have always blasphemed God and devoured His people.

Bible Genome reading

Revelation 13:1 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerJohn
EraApostolic
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typevision
MarkProphecy

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability60%
Memorability90%
Crisis relevance70%
Standalone30%
Themes:end timesevil powerprophetic vision

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Revelation 13

Revelation 13:1 comes from the book of Revelation, written during the Apostolic period. These words are attributed to John. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the vision genre of biblical literature. Key themes include end times, evil power, prophetic vision. Notable phrases: beast coming up; ten horns; seven heads. This verse contains prophecy.

Your reflection

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