Students of the Bible have become aware that chapter divisions can be misplaced and thus cause confusion in the understanding of a passage. One of the better known examples is Matthew 16 and 17. If there were no chapter division after 16:28, it would be much easier to discern that the transfiguration was the fulfillment of the statement of 16:28.

The 13th chapter of Revelation suffers from the same malady. It begins (in the KJV) ‘And I stood’ but the old MSS. do not read that way. The 12th chapter should end with the statement: “And he [not I] stood upon the sand of the sea.” It is the dragon standing on the sand which ends the 12th chapter. A little thought on this yields excellent dividends.

Chapter 13, then, begins: “And I saw a beast rise up… ” It is John (the MSS. add “I”) which sees the beast.

Chapter 13 is also ended in the wrong place – a fact which obscures the meaning of the 14th chapter. The true end of Chapter 13 is the end of the 5th verse of chapter 14. Thus chapter 13 continues to the completion of the church. Chapter 14 begins with the harvest period.

Particularly beneficial in this is the contrast which now exists at the close of chapter 13. We not only have those who carry the improper mark (verses 16-18) in hand or head, but we also have those who carry the proper mark (14:1) which, in contrast, must be only in the head – the hand will not do! The MSS. also indicate that it is not merely the Father’s name in their foreheads, but rather “His name and His Father’s name.”

Revelation chapters 12, 13, and 14 reconsidered with these new beginnings and endings in mind each reveal truths more clearly.

– David Doran

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