Eleazar is the priest who joined in starting the war with Rome. He had “two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Rev. 13:11). Two powers (horns) of Eleazar that commanded the Zealots in the sanctuary were himself and Simeon, the son of Arinus (Wars, V, vi, 1). He had the look of a lamb but he was a dragon and spoke as a dragon. He was clothed as Jehovah’s priest but he was an agent of Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14,15).
As an example, Josephus tells how he defeated Metilius, a Roman general. He asked Eleazar that the life of he and his soldiers be spared and they would deliver up their arms and all they had to him. He agreed but as soon as the Romans laid down their swords and shields, Eleazar’s men surrounded them and killed them. Later, when inside the walls of Jerusalem under Roman siege, Eleazar seized the temple as their stronghold to protect them from the people. Josephus comments that the sanctuary had “now become a refuge and a shop of tyranny” (Wars, IV, iii, 7).
Eleazar had the authority of the first beast and made the people to “worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed” (Rev. 13:12). The union of two forces of Eleazar and John. When Eleazar opened the gates on the Feast of Unleavened Bread to those desirous to worship, John came with an armed party, most of whom were not purified and came in with concealed weapons and captured it (see Wars, V, iii,1). Realizing defeat, Eleazar’s followers fled into the caverns below the temple, while the people who came to worship were brutalized. Josephus comments that this divided the sedition from three factions into two (Wars, V, iii,1). In fact, it is likely that John’s vision that sees Eleazar coming up out of the earth is a reference to Eleazar coming from the subterranean caverns to join forces with John.
The reference to fire coming down from heaven in the sight of men is a special effect of Eleazar’s use of the caverns. It seems John delegated this work to Eleazar because he was well acquainted with the temple compound and the passageways into the caverns (Wars, II, xvii, 2; V, iii, 1). This was an impressive trick for one who had access to the catapults (Wars, V, iii, 1; Rev. 16:21). An image was made to the beast. Other rulers were known for this and John was no exception. The image had the appearance to speak and the power of death to those who refused to worship him. The idols were the works of man’s hands who had the appearance of physical senses and capabilities but they were deaf, dumb, and blind (cf. Ps. 115:4-8). By this time, some improvements could make idols appear to speak and breathe. Engineers had their machines to create artificial lungs and vocal cords. Eleazar’s plan was to use the caverns to create a sense of the idols being alive through a hollow idol entered from the subcutaneous caverns.
The mark of the beast placed on the right hand or forehead was an effort to identify their loyalties and was probably a tattoo. These body markings were forbidden by the law of Moses (Lev. 19:28). Once enrolled, the mark helped recognize them as loyal members. Civilian soldiers without uniforms would have made it difficult to identify allies or foes. The mark was also used as a means of rationing food. Verse 17 reveals that no one could buy or sell unless they had the mark, which was the name of the beast or the number of his name. The number of the beast is 666. There is no reference to gematria in the Bible. This is a popular view among commentators that interchange letters for numerical values. Acronyms, however, have served as shortcuts for centuries. Ultimately, it makes little difference but whatever it was, it had to fit on one’s forehead or hand. The instruments used to tattoo were probably the same used to mark the animals to be sacrificed. These instruments had Romans numerals.
Provisions were held for those who are of the sedition (Wars, V, x, 3). People were forced to choose between worshipping John or starving to death. All the food was confiscated by the sedition so as to gain leverage over the city. But, eventually, even they had nothing to eat. Josephus notes that chewed everything from girdles, shoes, and leather from their shields (Wars, VI, iii, 3). One starving woman was so hungry, she chose to eat her own child (Wars, VI, iii, 4; cf. Deut. 28:53-57).