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Revelation 13:7

in Revelation 13

Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

KJV

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

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This verse in Revelation 13

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
And it was given unto him - By the same power that taught him to blaspheme God and his church. See the notes on Rev 13:2, Rev 13:5. To make war with the saints - See this fully illustrated in the notes on the parallel passage in Dan 7:21, and at the end of that chapter, (f). And to overcome them - In those wars. This was abundantly fulfilled in the wars with the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and the other sincere followers of the Saviour in the time of the papal persecutions.

This site's exposition

to wage war against the saints

The verb for conquer is nikao, the word used of the saints' own overcoming in 2:7 and 12:11. Authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation belongs to the Lamb in Daniel 7:14 and 5:9, so the beast's grant counterfeits his.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13:7 · Written before 560.

proposed

By saying that he opened his mouth, it shows that he spoke with that damnable bravado that while before he blasphemed secretly, he will at that time do so publicly. For he will have dared to attribute to himself that honor that especially belongs to …

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. As I said earlier that he has taken the authority from the men who willingly bend themselves to his destructive power. Rightly did …

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And it was granted to him to make war with the saints, etc. By the part, he means the whole. Those who can be conquered, with the violence of the time, if possible, even the elect will be shaken. That the Jews may be condemned, …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

power--Greek, "authority." all kindreds . . . tongues . . . nations--Greek, "every tribe . . . tongue . . . nation." A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, ANDREAS, and PRIMASIUS add "and people," after "tribe" or "kindred."

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them - “Who can make any computation,” says Bishop Newton, “or even frame any conception, of the numbers of pious Christians who have fallen a sacrifice to the bigotry and cruelty of Rome? Mede upon the place hath observed, from good authorities, that in the war with the Albigenses and Waldenses there perished of these poor creatures in France alone a million. From the first institution of the Jesuits to the year 1580, that is, in little more than thirty years, nine hundred thousand orthodox Christians were slain, and these all by the common executioner. In the space of scarce thirty years the inquisition destroyed, by various kinds of torture, a hundred and fifty thousand Christians. Sanders himself confesses that an innumerable multitude of Lollards and Sacramentarians were burnt throughout all Europe, who yet, he says, were not put to death by the pope and bishops, but by the civil magistrates.” The dragon in a new shape, or Roman empire of Germany, acted a very conspicuous part in this nefarious warfare against the remnant of the woman’s seed, who kept the commandments of God, and had the testimony of Jesus Christ. See the imperial edict of Frederic II. against heretics, in Limborch’s History of the Inquisition. And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations - As the book of the Revelation is a prophecy of all that should come upon the Christian world till the end of time, all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, must imply the whole Christian world. That the Latin empire in the course of its reign has had the extensive power here spoken of, is evident from history. It is well known that the profession of Christianity was chiefly confined within the limits of the Greek and Latin empires, till the period of the Reformation. […]

The words behind it

24 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Daniel 7:21As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,12 worksRevelation 11:7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.11 worksRevelation 12:17And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.8 worksDaniel 7:25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.8 worksRevelation 2:10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.7 worksGenesis 3:15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”7 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Daniel 8:24–25His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.6 worksDaniel 12:1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.6 worksRevelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.5 worksLuke 4:6“I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.5 worksRevelation 12:7Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.5 worksRevelation 11:18The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”4 worksJohn 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”4 worksRevelation 14:6Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.4 worksRevelation 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.3 worksDaniel 11:36–39Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.3 worksRevelation 10:11And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”3 worksDaniel 8:12And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Daniel 7:25

    He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…

    it leads to

    • Daniel 12:7

      And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 12:14

      But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…

    • 2 Thessalonians 2:4

      He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

    • Revelation 13:5–11

      The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.

    • Revelation 12:6

      And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.

  • Through

    Revelation 12:17

    And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the…

    it leads to

    • Revelation 14:12

      Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

    • Genesis 3:15

      And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

    • Revelation 19:10

      So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 13 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13:7.

Read on in Revelation 13 →