13:3And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been SLAIN, and his fatal wound was HEALED.
It is most important to understand that this is a DECEPTION pulled off by the Dragon (verse 2) to make it look like this Sea Beast is the Messiah. Consider that if the believers have been taken up (pre/mid tribulation), that those persons remaining will want to have (wish for) a second chance. So here is my chance, they rationalize.
There are several candidates for this "as if slain" head:
- It is one of the leaders of a revived Roman Empire which was in power at the time of the Revelations' original writing. (This view has difficulty inasmuch the "whole earth" was not involved at that time. See the rest of this verse.)
-
It is one of the leaders of the Moslem coalition. Babylon was a great country/city and has since disappeared (fatal wound). It could be rebuilt (healed) (Revelation 18:1-10 would be possible literally).
-
It is a "revived" Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot, from being in the presence of Jesus, knew that the Messiah would rise in three days after death (Matthew 20:17-19). Also Judas and Antichrist are the only two referred to as son of perdition/destruction. (John 17:6-12-19; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3-12).
-
It is one of the nations undergoing a "plague" -- the original Greek word here translated as wound, is usually translated as "plague" (a divinely inflicted judgment). This country recovers and comes back very powerful (verse 14; Revelation 17:7-18)
-
It is a spiritual kingdom here on earth, cult like with wealth and a mercenary force (verse 7).
And the whole earth was amazed and FOLLOWED after the (Sea) BEAST;
The deception worked! Compare this verse to Revelation 5:6. This is the best the Dragon can do.