This examination of the mysteries within the visions God revealed to John in Revelation 13 continues directly from my earlier writings. If you are new to this website devoted to God’s Word, I encourage you to begin with the previous sections—especially the discussion of the mysteries unveiled in John’s vision in Revelation 12. Without that foundation, what follows may be difficult to understand. These are not ordinary dreams of any human being; they are divine prophecies concerning God’s warfare against Satan—prophecies that encompass humanity and the entire universe.
Some of these prophecies have already unfolded, while others are still awaiting fulfillment before the second coming of Jesus. I continue to emphasize this because many people treat the return of Christ lightly, as though it were a science‑fiction tale or a dramatic story crafted by filmmakers. You are not compelled to read any of this. However, your eternal destiny is tied to the truth of God’s prophecy.
God has given every person absolute freedom—freedom of choice. Yet that freedom does not exempt anyone from the consequences that will come when God brings the story of this universe to its final close. A holy war is taking place between God and the devil, and whether you acknowledge it or not, you are part of it. Every human being, without exception, is involved in this spiritual conflict.
Because of the depth and magnitude of these visions, they are inherently difficult to comprehend. They describe events far beyond ordinary human experience. All who have died—from Adam and Eve to the person who passed away only moments ago—will be awakened by God when Jesus returns for the second time. The life each person lived, and whether they repented before death, will determine their eternal destiny.
This is why Jesus warned, “Pray without ceasing.” If you are a Christian believer, do not assume that because God forgave you last night, the sins you entertained only minutes ago are automatically dismissed. In truth, any sin left unrepented, no matter how recent, remains a charge against your soul and can lead to eternal separation from God. Therefore, pray before you continue reading. These prophecies and the visions revealed to John are holy, for God the Most High is holy.
I, too, continue to seek understanding, and it is only through God’s guidance that these mysteries are gradually being made clear.
Today, we are living in the end times. All of God’s prophecies must be fulfilled before the second coming of Jesus, and these events are unfolding swiftly. As we enter a new year, God confronts each of us with a sobering question: What have you done? Have you turned away from your former ways—profanity, lewdness, dishonesty, deceit, adultery, greed, hatred, and every other behavior that God declares detestable?
I myself once spoke profanities easily, especially when angered. But I sought God’s forgiveness and asked Him to help me overcome the habit of uttering such words. Peter, too, was known for speaking quickly. He was the first to boldly declare Jesus as the Messiah, yet on the very night of Jesus’ arrest—just as Jesus had foretold—Peter denied Him repeatedly, even resorting to strong language to distance himself from Christ.
I often reflect on how swiftly Peter fulfilled that prophecy. John, who did not flee after Jesus was arrested, personally witnessed Peter’s denial and recorded it. After seeing John follow Jesus into the courtyard, Peter attempted to follow at a distance, disguising himself among the crowd. John recounts the scene:
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. That disciple was known to the high priest and entered with Jesus into the courtyard, while Peter remained outside. The other disciple spoke to the servant girl at the door and brought Peter in. She said to him, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He replied, “I am not.”
The servants and officers stood warming themselves by a fire, and Peter stood with them. They asked again, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
Then a servant of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter denied once more, and immediately a rooster crowed. (John 18:15–27) However, according to Matthew, one of the 12 disciples, wrote that Peter began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” (Matthew 26:74)
If Peter fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy concerning his denial so precisely, then surely the behaviors and choices of people living in these last days are also known and foreseen by God. Nothing escapes His sight, and nothing will fall outside the fulfillment of His Word.
Now, after you read the Revelation 12 foundation that I wrote here, you can move on to John’s vision in Revelation 13. These are holy revelations from God, not casual reading material, so approach them with prayer and reverence. This is not a newspaper article or a book written for profit. I write only because God has instructed me to do so. I do not possess this knowledge on my own; God has given me insight to reveal the right truth and the mysteries of the prophecy He delivered through John, the youngest of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
Many ministers, preachers, and priests have written about these visions, yet much of what they teach is mistaken. Some offer partial truths, but not the full truth. I am simply God’s humble messenger, chosen to unravel the mysteries He revealed to John. The visions John saw were not displayed on screens or devices like we have today; they were vivid, God-given images shown directly to him. As I have mentioned before, some aspects of the prophecy were not even understood by John himself—only God knows their full meaning, and He reveals them to His chosen messenger in His time.
I thank God for choosing me to write these things. I am not worthy, yet He has entrusted me with revealing the truth, for every prophecy must be fulfilled before the second coming of Jesus. None of God’s words will remain misunderstood or hidden. He will unveil all things as He brings His final victory over the great enemy—Satan, the ancient serpent and deceiver.
The Byzantine Empire ultimately collapsed with the rise of the Ottoman Empire. In my earlier writing, I explained the vision recorded in Revelation 13, where John wrote: “The dragon stood on the shore of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.”
As I previously explained, the dragon in this vision represents Satan. The image of the dragon standing beside the sea symbolizes Satan watching over the masses of humanity, waiting for a pivotal moment to unfold. The beast rising from the sea signifies the emergence of powerful historical forces—human empires and events—symbolically portrayed through the characteristics of three animals.
Through the insight God granted me, I came to understand something deeper: Satan continually attempts to reshape his image into something appealing rather than the hideous reality Scripture reveals. I realized this after noticing how modern films often portray dragons as friendly, noble, or heroic creatures. This is not harmless entertainment; it is a subtle distortion meant to influence minds—especially children—into viewing the dragon as something good. Satan’s deceptions frequently target the young, for they are innocent and easily shaped.
As God continued to open my understanding, He made it clear that the imagery in John’s vision points to the rapid and formidable rise of the Ottoman Empire, which swept across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Its expansion was swift like a leopard, its power fierce like a bear, and its voice commanding like a lion. The Ottoman Empire appeared unstoppable in its brutal conquests and subjugation of nations. The atrocities committed during its campaigns were horrific beyond description. I will not recount those details here, but the nature of its rise reveals that this empire operated under the power and authority granted by the dragon.
Some may ask why God did not stop it. The answer lies in prophecy. God revealed these events beforehand and allowed them to unfold. John wrote that the beast bore horns and crowns marked with blasphemy. God permitted this as judgment against the corrupt Christian leaders and monarchies of that era, whose service to Him had become hypocritical and offensive. Their outward claims of faith masked inward rebellion, and God abhorred their false worship.
In this vision, God also allowed the conquest of Jerusalem, the holy city. Jesus Himself had prophesied this judgment after the people of His time rejected Him as their Messiah. With deep sorrow, He declared:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you… Look, your house is left to you desolate. For you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37–39)
Luke recorded a similar warning:
“The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you… They will dash you to the ground… because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:41–44)
Jesus repeated this prophecy to His disciples when they marveled at the beauty of the temple:
“Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2)
Before the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Romans fulfilled this prophecy. They besieged Jerusalem, cut off all supplies, and drove the people to starvation. In August of 70 CE, they breached the city’s final defenses, massacred nearly the entire population, and destroyed the Second Temple. Rome celebrated this victory by erecting the Arch of Titus. Thus, Jesus’ prophecy came to pass exactly as He had spoken.
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, many Jews who had embraced the teachings of the apostles continued to spread the gospel despite severe persecution. Christianity endured through torture, executions, and public humiliation. Because Satan could not stop the spread of the gospel, he countered it by raising a deceptive religious system through the Ottoman Empire. This aligns with John’s vision: the dragon, Satan, gave authority to the beast to resist the growth and influence of God’s Word.
Within this narrative, God permitted Satan to influence the emergence of a new belief system, Islam, as a challenge to the expanding Christian faith. In this understanding. Satan appeared to a man in the Middle East, a pagan, and exerts influence over him, leading him to establish a belief system fashioned to mirror and oppose the truth, and he moved upon him to raise a doctrine fashioned in likeness to the truth, yet set against the Gospel of Christ. His messages became the foundation of the Islam of the Ottoman Empire.
It is important to understand that God does not reveal His Word or His nature to those who refuse to acknowledge Him. God speaks to individuals who recognize Him as the Creator and Lord of all. Consider Samuel, whom God chose as Israel’s first prophet while he was still a young boy, dedicated by his mother Hannah to serve at the altar. Even in childhood, Samuel knew of God and was raised in His presence.
During that period, there was no one in Israel whom God could use as a faithful and upright leader or priest. Eli, the high priest, was no longer walking rightly before God, and his sons were openly corrupt. Therefore, God called Samuel, only about five years old at the time, to serve Him. Scripture says that “the boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli,” and that in those days “the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.”
God then revealed Himself to Samuel and declared His judgment:
“See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time, I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family, from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” (1 Samuel 3:11–14)
Thus, the man whom the Ottoman Empire regarded as their prophet was influenced by a pagan figure revealed to him by the devil. In the writings of Islam, the being who appeared to him is described as the brightest angel who had fallen from heaven. But who is the angel who fell from heaven? How could an angel fall unless he had rebelled against God? Scripture makes it clear that all who rebelled against God were cast out of heaven—Satan and the angels who followed him.
This understanding leads us back to Revelation 12, where John records:
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7–9)
This reveals the meaning behind the beast with its three distinct features: it represents Satan’s attempt to spread a counterfeit religion, since he cannot stop the advance of God’s holy Word.
John then describes another striking element of the vision:
“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. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and said, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’”
This aspect of the prophecy will be difficult for many who never embraced the truth, yet still claimed to belong under the umbrella of Christianity. The “wounded head” refers to the papacy. During the Byzantine Empire, the pope, though head of the clergy, held no real power. He remained under the authority of the Byzantine emperor.
As the Byzantine Empire declined, the Holy Roman Empire rose swiftly to take its place. Its claim to be a “Holy” empire rested on the fact that it was not governed primarily by political rulers, but by the authority and influence of the pope himself. Under the papacy, particularly during the time of Pope Leo III, the empire gained immense power and prestige.
The turning point came when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, proclaiming him “Augustus and Emperor.” In this act, the pope bowed before Charlemagne and honored him in the manner of the ancient emperors, effectively establishing the Holy Roman Empire. This coronation marked a dramatic shift: the transfer of imperial authority from the Greeks to the Germans. It also demonstrated that the pope possessed the power to bestow imperial titles and, by implication, the authority to transfer that power to whomever he chose.
This event greatly strengthened the papacy and solidified its expanding religious and secular authority. It revealed the pope’s rising influence, as he positioned himself not merely as a spiritual shepherd but as the one who could legitimize emperors. His ambition was to unify Christianity under a single religious and political structure, binding Christendom together through the authority of the Roman Church.
This development took deeper root during the transformation of Constantinople into a Christian capital. With the establishment of the new Roman Catholic Church, the belief emerged that the new capital deserved ecclesiastical preeminence alongside the historic seat of Peter. This claim rested on the conviction that Peter was the divinely appointed leader of the early Church, as affirmed by Jesus when He said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).
As the Holy Roman Empire expanded, it evolved into a formidable institution. Its growth coincided with the strengthening of the Roman Catholic Church, which became deeply intertwined with imperial governance. The merging of religious authority with political power produced an empire that was both profoundly influential and immensely powerful, shaping the course of European history for centuries.
How does this connect to the “wounded head” described in John’s vision? In what way was this head wounded, and who was responsible for inflicting that wound?
I’ll continue in the next section since this is getting a bit long.
