REVELATIO 13 COMMETARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

HERE IS AN EXCELLENT MESSAGE AS AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS AND THE NEXT CHAPTER.

It’s Your Choice: Beast or Lamb? Revelation 13-14 - Dr. Charles Revis - 7 Nov 1999 When you go to a restaurant do you have trouble deciding what to order? I do! There are times when it drives my family crazy. My problem is that I like all kinds of food. When I read the menu I just can’t decide between the chicken fajitas or the enchiladas rancheros; between the sweet and sour chicken or the shrimp and broccoli. I think the reason I have such difficulty is that saying yes to one item is saying no to several really good ones, and I want them all. So, it’s not uncommon for me to spend ten minutes deciding what to order. Revelation 13 and 14 contain a tremendous amount of material, and most of it is an interpretational challenge. We simply don’t have time to cover all the possibilities. But, there is one thing I want you to walk away with today: Life offers you a menu. There are two main courses: Beast or Lamb. I’m not talking cuisine, now. I’m talking which master will you follow, the Beast or the Lamb. This is the critical decision that you must make in your brief life. In fact, at this very moment you are already making that choice whether you realize it or not. You are presently living for the Beast, or, you are living for the Lamb. You might be thinking to yourself: Heck. I don’t have to make a choice between those two! I’m living for myself. Forget the Beast or the Lamb! I wish to point out that to make no choice is the same as choosing the Beast. You might think that you’re choosing to live for yourself, but that’s just part of the Beast’s strategy. For in choosing your self over the Lamb, you have chosen the Beast without realizing it. So, let me say it again, choosing to live for yourself is the same thing as choosing to follow the beast. Even if you don’t recognize it as such. The Bible makes this clear. Jesus, the Lamb, said, “He who is not with me is against me.” (Matt. 12:30) Each day you are growing stronger in the Lamb, or you growing stronger in the Beast, whether you realize it or not. Well, by now, you may wondering, “Who is this beast you keep talking about? And, who is this Lamb? They are the two central figures in these two chapters. Let’s take a panoramic flight over this text, and we’ll discover who they are. Chapter 12 closes with the dragon (Satan) making war on the church. V. 17, “Those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” And then, Chapter 13 opens with the dragon standing on the shore of the sea. John tells us that he watches a “beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” This beast resembled “a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.” Once again we are confronted with difficult problems of interpretation. Serious Revelation scholars end up with wildly different understandings of this chapter as a result of two basic decisions: 1. Are the beast and his associate real people, or do they stand for another entity, like a country, or the realm of darkness in general? 2. What about the time of the beast's rule-is it past, continuous, or still future? Many people are familiar with the futurist view (popularized in pop theology and novels). The first beast is a revived Roman Empire; sometimes identified with the European Common Market Nations. It will be led by a strong and charismatic leader who will rise to great popularity and power. He will have influence over many nations. He will be assassinated, and then he’ll rise from the grave (mimicking the resurrection). This will only add to his fame. This first beast is the Anti-Christ. He will have a sidekick, the prophet. He is the second beast of chapter 13. This prophet-sidekick will astound people with his miraculous powers. Together, the world ruler and the prophet, will set up a worldwide government and a revived world-economy. He will make war against all Christians. People will be required to receive a mark on their forehead or their right hand (the mark of the beast) by pledging full allegiance to the beast. Without the mark a person can’t engage in business. Christians in this time period will be greatly persecuted because they will refuse to worship the world leader. They won’t be able to buy food without the mark of the beast. It will be a terrible time for the world. In scholarly terms this is the futurist view and contains much speculation that’s difficult to substantiate. Another possibility is the preterist view. The first beast

would be the Roman Empire. The seven heads correspond to the seven major rulers from Augustus through Domitian. The ten crowns can be explained in the fact that between Nero and Vespasian there were three short time rulers (who ruled about 6 months each). So seven big-time rulers and three small-time rulers equals ten (for ten crowns). The blasphemous names are the titles that the Caesars took to themselves. Every emperor was called “divine.” Sometimes the name God or Son of God was given to the emperor-a blasphemous insult to the true God. Furthermore, the later emperors went by the title dominus or kurios, which means Lord. This is thespecial title for God in the OT and for Jesus in the NT. The preterist view understands the beast from the sea to be the Roman Empire with its Satanic power. Look at v. 3. The head, which seemed to have a healed fatal wound would be Nero, who ruled Rome from AD 54-68. He ruled with inhuman brutality. Nero murdered many people around him. He torched Rome and then blamed the Christians. The Christians in Rome were rounded up, tortured and killed. Some were sewed up in animal skins. Then Nero fed them to his savage hunting dogs. He tied others up in sacks weighted with stones and threw them in the Tiber to drown. Others were coated with pitch, set on fire, and used as torches to illuminate Nero’s gardens. Nero died in AD 68. Immediately after his death it was rumored he had risen from the grave. Many people believed the rumor, and were terrified by it. Supposedly Nero was assembling a great force in Parthia in the far east. He was about to descend on Rome and assume his rule again. Nero’s wickedness seemed immortal; it just wouldn’t go away. As late as AD 80 a pretender rose to power in Parthia pretending to be Nero. He almost persuaded the Parthians to invade the Roman Empire. In this sense the early Christians thought of Nero as the antichrist. There are many important facts that we’ve forgotten about Rome. Many countries willingly opened their doors to Roman domination because of the benefits it gave them. With Rome arrived justice, political stability, security from invading armies, safe roads, and steady commerce. This was called the Pax Romana, the Roman peace. Before long an organized movement arose to express gratitude to Rome for these improvements. The Spirit of Rome, or the Divinity of Rome was symbolized in the office of the ruler, or Caesar. The first temple in honor of the ruler was constructed in Pergamum in 29 BC. This was the beginning of Caesar worship. This movement spread like wild fire, and soon covered the entire empire. Before long Caesar worship became compulsory for every Roman citizen. This eventually culminated during Domitian’s reign (AD 81-96). Domitian was the most systematically brutal persecutor of the Jews and Christians. He demanded that people everywhere address him as “Lord and God.” Once a year every Roman citizen had to declare his allegiance to Caesar by saying, “Caesar is Lord.” Every province was divided into sections with official priests overseeing and organizing Caesar worship. These priests gave out the annual certificate that proved that a person had made the required public commitment to Caesar. Caesar worship became mandatory in all the empire. This was a political act of worship. You were a patriot, a supporter, of the Roman Pax if you had your certificate. To refuse to give your allegiance to Rome made you a traitor, a subversive to the order of the day. The certificate of annual loyalty was necessary for daily living. That certificate protected a person from persecution. It gave him the right to engage in commerce. Without it he couldn’t buy or sell. The mark of the beast could well be this certificate of allegiance (or, other symbols of the Roman Empire). The only way you could receive the certificate was to pledge your loyalty to Caesar, and thus deny that only Jesus Christ is Lord. So, let’s summarize this preterist view which has compelling historical evidence behind it. Revelation is a coded message to the churches in Asia. If a Roman official would read it, it would make little sense, on the surface containing nothing that would concern the Roman Empire. The Christians, on the other hand, upon hearing the letter would recognize the various entities in the symbolism. They would recognize that the beast was the Roman Empire. People were worshipping Satan by participating in the false religion of Caesar. But such worship was blasphemous, and offended God. True followers of the Lamb endured persecution and refused to worship Caesar. The first beast stands for the Roman government requiring allegiance that only God should require. The second beast is the whole system of Caesar worship with its temples and priests. Images of Caesar were placed in all kinds of places. Every trick in the trade was used to produce great signs and wonders. This power was misleading and seductive. So, the second beast is false religion masquerading as true religion. We can see how people were easily convinced to give their loyalty to Rome. The priests could easily say, “Look what Rome has done for you; look at the peace and the prosperity you enjoy. Have you ever known a better benefactor than the Emperor? Surely in simple gratitude you can offer Caesar this formal act of worship? It’s good for the whole order! Don’t be disloyal!” (from Barclay) It would sound so convincing wouldn’t it? “All you have to say is,

‘Caesar is Lord’. It’s no big deal. You know, and I know he’s not, but for the good of the nation, just go along with it! Show your loyalty to the Roman Empire.” v. 15 tells us that the second beast had the power to kill anyone who refused to worship the image. This was the law in that day. Technically, if a person refused to pledge loyalty to Caesar he could be killed although the death penalty wasn’t always carried out. It’s certainly true, that a person lost their job when he refused to bow to Caesar. He no longer had money to buy and sell. Even if his life was spared, he could be economically ruined. These were days when the choice was simple: Declare Caesar is Lord and enjoy material prosperity. Or, refuse to say “Caesar is Lord,” and lose your job, go without food and adequate housing, possibly die. That’s why the Book of Revelation was such an important book to the seven churches facing increased persecution. It encouraged them to hang tough. Following Christ would be costly, but it was worth it. But, there is yet another way to interpret chapter 13 without totally canceling out the futurist view, or the preterist view. I believe that we can see a PATTERN (or, template) in the descriptions of the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast, that continues throughout human history. This pattern is found in a noticeable correspondence between God and Satan. First, the Dragon is the counterpart to God the Father. The dragon gives power to the first beast (v. 2). This beast has a fatal wound like the Lamb, that is, Jesus. This beast leads the world to worship the dragon just as the Lamb leads people to worship the Father. The beast seeks to rule over the world like the Lamb. So, the first beast corresponds to Jesus, and is His counterpart. The second beast is like the Holy Spirit. Later in Revelation John will refer to it as the false prophet. He receives his authority from the first beast and the dragon, like the Holy Spirit who receives his authority from the Father and the Son. The false prophet speaks for the dragon, and even sounds like him. The Holy Spirit teaches and communicates on behalf of God. The second beast leads people to believe in the first beast. He performs miracles and calls down fire from heaven. The Holy Spirit works miracles among the church and caused tongues of fire to appear on the day of Pentecost. The two horns like a lamb connect him back to the false Lamb. His dragon-like voice connects him with Satan. So, here we have a kind of Satanic trinity - the dragon corresponding to the Father, the first beast corresponding to the Son, and the false prophet playing the role of the Holy Spirit. It is Satan's imitation of the true God. This seems to be confirmed in Revelation 16:13-14 where the three appear together and work in harmony for the same purpose, Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world. Implication So, what do we learn from this? At any given time or place Satan strives to mimic God, and in so doing he hopes that people will follow him rather than God. He will use human systems like the Roman government. He will use false religions. He will seduce, deceive, impress and oppress, if necessary. He will cause people to feel powerless before his influence. He does this over and over again in every age and in every place. Satan wants to come off so attractive, so powerful, so all encompassing that you will feel that his way is the only choice. That’s why the vision shows the beast looking so powerful. In v. 2 the dragon gives the beast his throne and his great authority. In v. 3 the whole world is astonished by the beast’s healing and follows him. In v. 4 men worship the dragon and ask, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” That is, who can resist him! He’s the only way to go! I think chapter 13 shows us that Satan works through human governments and cultures (Rome and her daughters) and false religions (political, spiritual or secular) to do this. Entire governments can be so opposed to the Christian faith that it appears that Christians have no choice but to give in. There are numerous examples of this in history: Nazi Germany, Stalin’s communist regime, India’s anti-Christian Hinduism and Pakistan’s anti-Christian measures inspired by Islamic leaders. Karl Barth refusing to pledge allegiance to Hitler while teaching at the University in Bonn, Germany. He would only give his allegiance to Jesus Christ. His colleagues said to him, “Why don’t you just go along with it. Make the pledge to Adolph Hitler.” You see, they had knuckled under to the dragon’s program. First, he was told he could not preach or teach. He disobeyed both orders. Then, his teaching position was taken from him. He was booted out of the country and he was fined about a third of his annual salary. That’s why v. 10 exhorts the believer, “This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” In the face of both temptation and persecution, believers must hang tough . . . that is, be faithful and endure difficulties with patience. They must remain loyal to Christ alone, even if such loyalty results in extreme persecution. Satan employs a wide variety of means to enroll people in his ranks. All he has to do is blind people to the light of Jesus Christ. If he can simply keep them from choosing Jesus he has them, even if

they are oblivious to it. He desires to put his mark on every human being. The mark is a sign of ownership just as a slave received a mark on his forehead or right hand to indicate who was his master. “In this way the ‘mark of the beast’ is the God-opposing, Christ-rejecting, church-persecuting spirit of antichrist, wherever and whenever it manifests itself” (Hendricksen). The mark is the opposite of the seal that identifies the true followers of the Lamb. So, here we’ve returned to the beginning. How good are you at making choices? Pretty good? Pretty lousy? Have you made a choice between the Beast or the Lamb? Are you still thinking about it? Weighing it out? It’s the most important choice of all. You must decide. Your choice will determine your eternal destiny. To choose the Lamb is to join in with the great throng described in the beginning of chapter 14. John gives us a glorious picture of a huge choir singing a new song at the top of their lungs with the Lamb. The sound they make is like the roar of a great waterfall and loud peals of thunder all blended into one ear-splitting, chest-vibrating, awesome praise song! Each one has the name of the Father on their foreheads. These people belong to God. They “had been redeemed from the earth” according to v. 3. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes (v. 4-true discipleship). They didn’t worship other gods (“did not defile themselves with women”). They spoke only the truth. They made the right choice while they were on earth! Even if that choice cost them their job or their life, it was worth it. The rest of chapter 14 (vv. 8-12) shows what will happen to Satan and his followers. First, the hour of judgment will come. Then, Babylon will fall. That is, the world system will crumble and implode from it’s own sin and debauchery. Then the fury of God and His wrath will burn through all who followed the beast. There will be no rest for all who made the wrong choice in this life. Again this is why John encourages all believers (v. 12), This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” Conclusion So now you know. You must make a choice: Beast or Lamb.For believers we must renew that choice every day. Sometimes every hour. For spiritual seekers this is the most critical decision of your life. I encourage you to make the right choice. Eternity weighs in the balance. Choose the Lamb. You’ll never be sorry. Unless otherwise stated, all bible quotes are from the New International Version.

The Beast out of the Sea

1 The dragon[a] 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.

1.BARNES, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea - The sand upon the shore of the sea. That is, he seemed to stand there, and then had a vision of a beast rising out of the waters. The reason of this representation may, perhaps, have been that among the ancients the sea was regarded as the appropriate place for the origin of huge and terrible monsters (Prof. Stuart, in loco). This vision strongly resembles that in Dan_7:2 ff, where the prophet saw four beasts coming up in succession from the sea. See the notes on that place. In Daniel, the four winds of heaven are described as striving upon the great sea Dan_13:2, and the agitated ocean represents the nations in commotion, or in a state of disorder and anarchy, and the four beasts represent four successive kingdoms that would spring up. See the notes on Dan_7:2. In the passage before us, John indeed describes no storm or tempest; but the sea itself, as compared with the land (see the notes on Rev_13:11), represents an agitated or unsettled state of things, and we should naturally. look for that in the rise of the power here referred to. If the reference be to the civil or secular Roman power that has always appeared in connection with the papacy, and that has always followed its designs, then it is true that it rose amidst the agitations of the world, and from a state of commotion that might well be represented by the restless ocean. The sea in either case naturally describes a nation or people, for this image is frequently so employed in the Scriptures. Compare,

as above, Dan_7:2, and Psa_65:7; Jer_51:42; Isa_60:5; Rev_10:2. The natural idea, therefore, in this passage, would be that the power that was represented by the “beast” would spring up among the nations, when restless or unsettled, like the waves of the ocean.And saw a beast - Daniel saw four in succession Dan_7:3-7, all different, yet succeeding each other; John saw two in succession, yet strongly resembling each other, Rev_13:1, Rev_13:11. On the general meaning of the word “beast” - ????´?? the‾rion - see the notes on Rev_11:7. The beast here is evidently a symbol of some power or kingdom that would arise in future times. See the notes on Dan_7:3.Having seven heads - So also the dragon is represented in Rev_12:3. See the notes on that passage. The representation there is of Satan, as the source of all the power lodged in the two beasts that John subsequently saw. In Rev_17:9, referring substantially to the same vision, it is said that “the seven heads are seven mountains”; and there can be no difficulty, therefore, in referring this to the seven hills on which the city of Rome was built (compare the notes on Rev_12:3), and consequently this must be regarded as designed, in some way, to be a representation of Rome.And ten horns - See this also explained in the notes on Rev_12:3; compare also the more extended illustration in the notes on Dan_7:25, following The reference here is to Rome, or the one Roman power, contemplated as made up of ten subordinate kingdoms, and therefore subsequently to the invasion of the Northern hordes, and to the time when the papacy was about to rise. Compare Rev_17:12; “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings (marg. “kingdoms”), which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings with the beast.” For a full illustration of this, see the copious notes at the close of the seventh chapter of Daniel.And upon his horns ten crowns - Greek, “ten diadems.” See the notes on Rev_12:3. These indicated dominion or authority. In Rev_12:3, the “dragon is represented as having seven diadems on his head”; here, the beast is represented as having ten. The dragon there represents the Roman domination, as such, the seven-hilled, or seven-headed power, and, therefore, properly described as having seven diadems; the beast here represents the Roman power, as now broken up into the ten dominations which sprung up (see the notes on Daniel as above) from the one original Roman power, and that became henceforward the supporters of the papacy, and, therefore, properly represented here as having ten diadems.And upon his heads the name of blasphemy - That is, the whole power was blasphemous in its claims and pretensions. The word “blasphemy” here seems to be used in the sense that titles and attributes were claimed by it which belonged only to God. On the meaning of the word “blasphemy,” see the notes on Mat_9:3; Mat_26:65. The meaning here is, that each one of these heads appeared to have a frontlet, with an inscription that was blasphemous, or that ascribed some attribute to this power that properly belonged to God; and that the whole power thus assumed was in derogation of the attributes and claims of God. In regard to the propriety of this description considered as applicable to the papacy, see the notes on 2Th_2:4.

2. CLARKE, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea - Before we can proceed in the interpretation of this chapter, it will be highly necessary to ascertain the meaning of the prophetic symbol beast, as the want of a proper understanding of this term has probably been one reason why so many discordant hypotheses have been published to the world. In this investigation it is impossible to resort to a higher authority than Scripture, for the Holy Ghost is his own interpreter. What is therefore meant by the term beast in any one prophetic vision, the same species of thing must be represented by the term whenever it is used in a similar manner in any other part of the sacred oracles. Having therefore laid this foundation, the angel’s interpretation of the last of Daniel’s four beasts need only be produced, an account of which is given in the seventh chapter of this prophet. Daniel being very desirous to “know the truth of the fourth beast which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, and of the ten horns that were on his head,” the angel thus interprets the vision: “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise,” etc. In this scripture it is plainly declared that the fourth beast should be the fourth kingdom upon earth; consequently, the four beasts seen by Daniel are four kingdoms: hence the term beast is the prophetic symbol for a kingdom.As to the nature of the kingdom which is represented by the term beast, we shall obtain no

inconsiderable light in examining the most proper meaning of the original word ??? chaiyah. This Hebrew word is translated in the Septuagint by the Greek word ??????, and both words signify what we term a wild beast; and the latter is the one used by St. John in the Apocalypse. Taking up the Greek word ?????? in this sense, it is fully evident, if a power be represented in the prophetical writings under the notion of a wild beast, that the power so represented must partake of the nature of a wild beast. Hence an earthly belligerent power is evidently designed. And the comparison is peculiarly appropriate; for as several species of wild beasts carry on perpetual warfare with the animal world, so most governments, influenced by ambition, promote discord and depopulation. And, also, as the carnivorous wild beast acquires its strength and magnitude by preying upon the feebler animals; so most earthly monarchies are raised up by the sword, and derive their political consequence from the unsuccessful resistance to the contending nations. The kingdom of God, on the other hand, is represented as “a stone cut out of the mountain without hands;” and is never likened to a beast, because it is not raised up by the sword as all other secular powers are, but sanctifies the persons under its subjection; in which last particular it essentially differs from all other dominations.This beast is said to rise up out of the sea, in which particular it corresponds with the four beasts of Daniel; the sea is therefore the symbol of a great multitude of nations, as has already been proved; and the meaning is, that every mighty empire is raised upon the ruins of a great number of nations, which it has successfully contended against and incorporated with its dominions. The sea, here, is doubtless the same against the inhabiters of which a wo was denounced, Rev_12:12; for St. John was standing upon the sand of the sea when the vision changed from the woman and the dragon to that recorded in this chapter. It therefore follows that the kingdom or empire here represented by the beast, is that which sprung up out of the ruins of the Western Roman empire.Having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns - The beast here described is the Latin empire, which supported the Romish or Latin Church; for it has upon his horns ten crowns, i.e., is an empire composed of ten distinct monarchies in the interest of the Latin Church. See the heads and horns fully explained in the notes on Rev_17:10 (note), Rev_17:12 (note), and Rev_17:16 (note).As the phrases Latin Church, Latin empire, etc., are not very generally understood at present, and will occur frequently in the course of the notes on this and the 17th chapter, it will not be improper here to explain them. During the period from the division of the Roman empire into those of the east and west, till the final dissolution of the western empire, the subjects of both empires were equally known by the name of Romans. Soon after this event the people of the west lost almost entirely the name of Romans, and were denominated after their respective kingdoms which were established upon the ruins of the western empire. But as the eastern empire escaped the ruin which fell upon the western, the subjects of the former still retained the name of Romans, and called their dominion ?? ???µa???? ßas??e?a, the Roman empire; by which name this monarchy was known among them till its final dissolution in 1453, by Mohammed II., the Turkish sultan. But the subjects of the eastern emperor, ever since the time of Charlemagne or before, (and more particularly in the time of the crusades and subsequently), called the western people, or those under the influence of the Romish Church, Latins, and their Church the Latin Church. And the western people, in return, denominated the eastern Church the Greek Church, and the members of it Greeks. Hence the division of the Christian Church into those of the Greek and Latin. For a confirmation of what has just been said the reader may consult the Byzantine writers, where he will find the appellations ???µa??? and ?at????, Romans and Latins, used in the sense here mentioned in very numerous instances. The members of the Romish Church have not been named Latins by the Greeks alone; this term is also used in the public instruments drawn up by the general popish councils, as may be instanced in the following words, which form a part of a decree of the council of Basil, dated Sept. 26, 1437: Copiosissimam subventionem pro unione Graecorum cums Latinis, “A very great convention for the union of the Greeks with the Latins.” Even in the very papal bulls this appellation has been acknowledged, as may be seen in the edict of Pope Eugenius IV., dated Sept. 17, 1437, where in one place mention is made of Ecclesiae Latinorum quaesita unio, “the desired union of the Church of the Latins;” and in another place we read, Nec superesse modum alium prosequendi operis tam pii, et servandi latinae Ecclesiae honoris, “that no means might be left untried of prosecuting so pious a work, and of preserving the honor of the Latin Church.” See Corps Diplomatique, tom. iii., pp. 32, 35. In a bull of the same pontiff, dated Sept., 1439, we have Sanctissima Latinorum et Graecorum unio, “the most holy

union of the Greeks with the Latins.” See Bail’s Summa Conciliorum, in loc. By the Latin empire is meant the whole of the powers which support the Latin Church.And upon his heads the name of blasphemy - ????a ß?asf?µ?a?? A name of blasphemy. This has been variously understood. Jerome and Prosper give it as their opinion that the name of blasphemy consists in the appellation urbs aeterna, eternal city, applied to Rome; and modern commentators refer it to the idolatrous worship of the Romans and papists. Before we attempt to ascertain the meaning of this passage, it must be first defined what the Holy Spirit means by a name of blasphemy. Blasphemy, in Scripture, signifies impious speaking when applied to God, and injurious speaking when directed against our neighbor. A name of blasphemy is the prostitution of a sacred name to an unholy purpose. This is evident from the 9th verse of the second chapter of the Apocalypse, where God says, “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” These wicked men, by calling themselves Jews, blasphemed the name, i.e., used it in an injurious sense; for he Only is a Jew who is one inwardly. Hence the term Jews applied to the synagogue of Satan is a name of blasphemy, i.e. a sacred name blasphemed. A name of blasphemy, or a blasphemous appellation, is said to be upon all the seven heads of the beast. To determine what this name is, the meaning of the seven heads in this place must be ascertained. If the reader refer to the notes on Rev_17:9-11, he will find that the heads are explained to have a double meaning, viz., that they signify the seven electorates of the German empire, and also seven forms of Latin government. As this is the first place in which the heads of the beast are mentioned with any description, it is reasonable to expect that that signification of the heads which is first in order in the angel’s interpretation, Rev_17:9, must be what is here intended. This is, “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth;” the name of blasphemy will consequently be found upon the seven electorates of Germany. This, therefore, can be no other than that which was common, not only to the electorates but also to the whole empire of Germany, or that well known one of Sacrum Imperium Romanum, “The Sacred (or Holy) Roman Empire.” Here is a sacred appellation blasphemed by its application to the principal power of the beast. No kingdom can properly be called holy but that of Jesus; therefore it would be blasphemy to unite this epithet with any other power. But it must be horridly blasphemous to apply it to the German empire, the grand supporter of antichrist from his very rise to temporal authority. Can that empire be holy which has killed the saints, which has professed and supported with all its might an idolatrous system of worship? It is impossible. Therefore its assumption of sacred or holy (which appellation was originally given to the empire from its being the main support of what is termed the holy catholic Church, the emperor being styled, on this account, Christ’s temporal vicar upon earth: see Caesarini Furstenerii Tractatus De Suprematu Principum Germaniae, cc. 31, 32) is, in the highest sense the word can be taken, a name of blasphemy. The name of blasphemy is very properly said to be upon the seven heads of the beast, or seven electorates of the German empire, because the electors are styled Sacri Imperii Principes Electores, Princes, Electors of the Holy Empire; Sacri Romani Imperii Electores, Electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

3. GILL, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea,.... The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, "and he stood", &c. and so the Alexandrian copy; meaning the dragon, said to be wroth with the woman, and to go forth to make war with her seed, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, where some versions place this clause; and the Arabic version reads expressly, "and the serpent stood", &c. And this is thought by some to be the better reading, because of the connection with what goes before, and because there is no mention of the name of John, nor of his being called or removed from heaven, where he was beholding sights, and continuing the account of them, Rev_4:1, as there is when he is shown sights elsewhere; see Rev_17:3. And besides, as the dragon was contriving a new way of persecuting the saints, and about to raise up a beast out of the sea, by which he might do it, to whom he would give his power, seat, and authority, he is represented as standing in a proper place for this purpose; it was upon the sand, which may signify a multitude of people employed by him, and also may denote the weakness and failure of his efforts in the issue; yet the Greek copies in general agree in the common reading, and refer it to John, who stood on the shore of the isle of Patmos, and in a fit place, in a visionary way, to behold the following sight: for that the next clause belongs to him is without doubt,

and saw a beast rise up out of the sea: by which is meant, not the devil, because it is in Rev_13:2,

distinguished from the dragon, who is the devil and Satan, as also elsewhere, Rev_16:13, nor the old Roman empire, though there are many things which seem to agree; the Roman monarchy is called a beast it is one of the four beasts in Dan_7:2; which rose up out of the sea, from a multitude of people and nations, which were gathered to it and composed it. Rome Pagan had, as this beast has, seven heads and ten horns, Rev_12:3; and had power over all nations, and is therefore sometimes called the whole world, and exercised great cruelty upon the Christians; but then this is signified by the red dragon itself, in the preceding chapter, and, besides, had risen up before the times of John, whereas this is one of the things shown him, which should be hereafter: this beast then was not, but was to come, Rev_4:1; and was not to arise, nor did it arise till after the downfall of Rome Pagan, and after the Arian persecution, after the woman's flight into the wilderness, and after, and upon the inundation of the barbarous nations into the empire, as appears from the preceding chapter; nor will the time of this beast's duration agree with the old Roman empire, for this beast is to continue forty two months, Rev_13:5; which is the whole time of the holy city being trodden under foot, and of the church's being in the wilderness, and of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth; whereas the Roman monarchy, governed by emperors, did not last four hundred years. Moreover, as this beast is distinguished from the dragon, so it is said to have its power from him; whereas the Roman empire was of God, and obedience and subjection to it are always recommended to the saints in the Scriptures, Rom_13:1, much less can the empire, as become truly Christian, be intended; nor are either the eastern or the Turkish empires designed, for neither of these had their seat at Rome, which the dragon save to this beast, but at Constantinople: it remains then, that by it meant the Roman empire, when divided into ten kingdoms, and united in the Papacy; or it designs Christ in his secular power, with the ten kings, that receive power with him as such one hour, and give their kingdom to him: now this beast is said to "rise up out of the sea"; either out of the abyss, the bottomless pit of hell, see Rev_11:7; or out of the sea of this world, and the wicked in it, who are like a troubled sea that cannot rest; or out of the floods of errors and heresies, by which this man of sin was conceived and cherished, and a way was paved for his open rising and appearance in the world; or rather, since waters design, in this book, nations, people, and tongues, see Rev_17:15; and the four beasts in Daniel are said to rise out of the sea, Rev_7:2; and a multitude of people are compared to the waves of the sea, Eze_26:3; see also Isa_17:12, where the Jewish writers say (b), the nations are compared to the sea, as Israel to the sand, the inundation of the barbarous nations, the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, into the empire, seem to be intended, which made great commotions and changes in it: these set up ten kingdoms in it, upon which antichrist arose, and placed himself at the head of them; these gave their kingdoms to the beast; and so may be said to give rise unto him, especially as to his secular power.

Having seven heads: which some understand the seat of knowledge, and seven a number of perfection; and so may refer to those boasted treasures of wisdom and knowledge which antichrist pretends to have, as being the judge of controversies, and the infallible interpreter of the Scriptures; or else the seven fold form of government among the Romans is intended, as in Rev_12:3; or rather as it is interpreted in Rev_17:9; the seven mountains on which Rome was built, and so design the city itself built on them, that being the metropolis of the empire; or the seven capital cities of the empire, as Mr. Daubuz thinks; the whole is meant, for it is the same Roman monarchy as before, only in a different form:

and ten horns; the ten kingdoms, into which the empire was divide it upon its being wasted and vanquished by the Goths, and the ten kings of them, which reigned with the beast, and gave their kingdoms to him; so horns signify kingdoms in Zec_1:18.

And upon his horns ten crowns; which distinguishes Rome Papal from Rome Pagan; the crowns in Rome Pagan were upon the heads, or the emperors, that resided at Rome; and though it had ten horns, as here, and was divided into so many provinces, which were governed by deputies, proconsuls, &c. yet they were not kings, they had no crowns; but here the horns have crowns on them because the governors of these ten kingdoms are crowned kings:

and upon his heads the name of blasphemy; which refers not to Rome Pagan being called the eternal city, and Rome the goddess, and the like; but to Rome Papal, or antichrist, who elsewhere is said to have the name "Mystery" written upon the forehead, and to have blasphemy on his

heads; and is called blasphemy in the abstract, as being a most blasphemous creature against God, Christ, and his people, and so his name is suitable to his character, mouth, and language, Rev_13:5; assuming that to himself which only belongs to God and Christ, as power over the conscience, to forgive sin, &c. and even deity itself; see 2Th_1:4. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read, "names of blasphemy".

4. HENRY, “We have here an account of the rise, figure, and progress of the first beast; and observe, 1. From what situation the apostle saw this monster. He seemed to himself to stand upon the sea-shore, though it is probable he was still in a rapture; but he took himself to be in the island Patmos, but whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell. 2. Whence this beast came - out of the sea; and yet, by the description of it, it would seem more likely to be a land-monster; but the more monstrous every thing about it was the more proper an emblem it would be to set forth the mystery of iniquity and tyranny. 3. What was the form and shape of this beast. It was for the most part like a leopard, but its feet were like the feet of a bear and its mouth as the mouth of a lion; it had seven heads, and ten horns, and upon its heads the name of blasphemy: the most horrid and hideous monster! In some part of this description here seems to be an allusion to Daniel's vision of the four beasts, which represented the four monarchies, Dan_7:1-3, etc. One of these beasts was like a lion, another like a bear, and another like a leopard; this beast was a sort of composition of those three, with the fierceness, strength, and swiftness, of them all; the seven heads and the ten horns seem to design its several powers; the ten crowns, its tributary princes; the word blasphemy on its forehead proclaims its direct enmity and opposition to the glory of God, by promoting idolatry.5. JAMISON, “Rev_13:1-18. Vision of the beast that came out of the sea: The second beast, out of the earth, exercising the power of the first beast, and causing the earth to worship him.I stood — So B, Aleph, and Coptic read. But A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac, “He stood.” Standing on the sand of the sea, HE gave his power to the beast that rose out of the sea.upon the sand of the sea — where the four winds were to be seen striving upon the great sea (Dan_7:2).beast — Greek, “wild beast.” Man becomes “brutish” when he severs himself from God, the archetype and true ideal, in whose image he was first made, which ideal is realized by the man Christ Jesus. Hence, the world powers seeking their own glory, and not God’s, are represented as beasts; and Nebuchadnezzar, when in self-deification he forgot that “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,” was driven among the beasts. In Dan_7:4-7 there are four beasts: here the one beast expresses the sum-total of the God-opposed world power viewed in its universal development, not restricted to one manifestation alone, as Rome. This first beast expresses the world power attacking the Church more from without; the second, which is a revival of, and minister to, the first, is the world power as the false prophet corrupting and destroying the Church from within.out of the sea — (Dan_7:3; compare Note, see on Rev_8:8); out of the troubled waves of peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. The earth (Rev_13:11), on the other hand, means the consolidated, ordered world of nations, with its culture and learning.seven heads and ten horns — A, B, and C transpose, “ten horns and seven heads.” The ten horns are now put first (contrast the order, Rev_12:3) because they are crowned. They shall not be so till the last stage of the fourth kingdom (the Roman), which shall continue until the fifth kingdom, Christ’s, shall supplant it and destroy it utterly; this last stage is marked by the ten toes of the two feet of the image in Dan_2:33, Dan_2:41, Dan_2:42. The seven implies the world power setting up itself as God, and caricaturing the seven Spirits of God; yet its true character as God-opposed is detected by the number ten accompanying the seven. Dragon and beast both wear crowns, but the former on the heads, the latter on the horns (Rev_12:3; Rev_13:1). Therefore, both heads and horns refer to kingdoms; compare Rev_17:7, Rev_17:10, Rev_17:12, “kings” representing the kingdoms whose heads they are. The seven kings, as peculiarly powerful - the great powers of the world - are distinguished from the ten, represented by the horns (simply called “kings,” Rev_17:12). In Daniel, the ten mean the last phase of the world power, the fourth kingdom divided into ten parts. They are connected with the seventh head (Rev_17:12), and are as yet future [Auberlen]. The mistake of those who interpret the beast to be Rome exclusively, and the ten horns to mean kingdoms which have taken the place of Rome in Europe already, is, the fourth kingdom in the image has TWO legs, representing the eastern as well as the western

empire; the ten toes are not upon the one foot (the west), as these interpretations require, but on the two (east and west) together, so that any theory which makes the ten kingdoms belong to the west alone must err. If the ten kingdoms meant were those which sprung up on the overthrow of Rome, the ten would be accurately known, whereas twenty-eight different lists are given by so many interpreters, making in all sixty-five kingdoms! [Tyso in De Burgh]. The seven heads are the seven world monarchies, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Germanic empire, under the last of which we live [Auberlen], and which devolved for a time on Napoleon, after Francis, emperor of Germany and king of Rome, had resigned the title in 1806. Faber explains the healing of the deadly wound to be the revival of the Napoleonic dynasty after its overthrow at Waterloo. That secular dynasty, in alliance with the ecclesiastical power, the Papacy (Rev_13:11, etc.), being “the eighth head,” and yet “of the seven” (Rev_17:11), will temporarily triumph over the saints, until destroyed in Armageddon (Rev_19:17-21). A Napoleon, in this view, will be the Antichrist, restoring the Jews to Palestine, and accepted as their Messiah at first, and afterwards fearfully oppressing them. Antichrist, the summing up and concentration of all the world evil that preceded, is the eighth, but yet one of the seven (Rev_17:11).crowns — Greek, “diadems.”name of blasphemy — So C, Coptic, and Andreas. A, B, and Vulgate read, “names of blasphemy,” namely, a name on each of the heads; blasphemously arrogating attributes belonging to God alone (compare Note, see on Rev_17:3). A characteristic of the little horn in Dan_7:8, Dan_7:20, Dan_7:21; 2Th_2:4.

5B. MY COLLECTED NOTES, “The Beast we are told is: • Paganism • The Roman Empire • The Roman Catholic Church • The Protestant Church • The British Empire • The United States of America • The United Nations Organization • Nazism • Atheistic Communism • The European Economic Community • The New World Order etc. etc.

Hendriksen says of this beast, "indicates the persecuting power of Satan embodied in all the nations and governments of the world throughout all history."

Stedman, “John saw this beast rising out of the sea, which, as we have seen several times in Revelation, is a symbol of the Gentile nations of the ancient world. This appearance is another manifestation of Satan as a worldwide evil power on the earth. In Chapter 12 the beast represented the Roman Empire of the 1st century and was the instrument of the devil to try to destroy the man-child that was born to the woman who symbolized Israel, i.e., Jesus himself. . The strange fourth beast is identifiable in history as the Roman Empire, with its capital in Rome. All of this is found combined into one beast which has, as it were, the lion-like ferocity of Babylon, the crushing bear-like power of Medo-Persia, and the swiftness of the Grecian leopard, but now appearing in the last days as a restored form of the Roman Empire, as we shall see.

The beast out of the seaJesus said "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Mat 22:21). Now when the State demands that which belongs to God, namely worship, then it becomes a beast. As an example think of the Roman empire that demanded emperor worship. Think of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar when he claimed glory for himself rather than giving glory to God - he became like a wild animal (Dan 4:30-32). This beast of Rev 13 is a composite beast and is based on the beasts in Daniel 7. Daniel sees four beasts: lion, bear, leopard with four heads, a forth beast with iron teeth and ten horns. These represent kingdoms - 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms

that will rise from the earth' (Dan 7:17 NIV). These are combined into one beast in Revelation. In Revelation the emperor and the empire are interchangeable - thus when we think of Nero we think of the Roman empire in its opposition to Christianity. It is possible to interpret the beast as the Roman empire, the empire of the Antichrist or all anti-Christian empires culminating in the last great empire of the Antichrist

Most see the beast as the Roman Empire whose navy assailed the coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and demanded the people worship ;the emperor. The state demanded the worship that belongs to God and so we have the age old conflict of church and state.

Peterson writes, "Leviathan and Behemoth were awesome, but there is also an unmistakable touch of the ludicrous in St John's description. The sea beast is a patchwork job, assembled from left-over parts of leopard, bear and lion. The land beast is a fake lamb, a clumsy counterfeit of the magnificent true lamb. St John allows for their capacity to strike terror still, but he also shows them as considerably shop warn. The old beasts have been around too long and are starting to lose their stuffing."

Greek, "wild beast." Man becomes "brutish" when he severs himself from God, the archetype and true ideal, in whose image he was first made, which ideal is realized by the man Christ Jesus. Hence, the world powers seeking their own glory, and not God's, are represented as beasts; and Nebuchadnezzar, when in self-deification he forgot that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men," was driven among the beasts. In Da 7:4-7 there are four beasts: here the one beast expresses the sum-total of the God-opposed world power viewed in its universal development, not restricted to one manifestation alone, as Rome. This first beast expresses the world power attacking the Church more from without; the second, which is a revival of, and minister to, the first,is the world power as the false prophet corrupting and destroying the Church from within. out of the sea-- (Da 7:3; compare Note, see on Re 8:8); out of the troubled waves of peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. The earth (Re 13:11), on the other hand, means the consolidated, ordered world of nations, with its culture and learning.

As the monster with seven heads and ten horns is introduced three times in Revelation, in 12:3, in 13:1, and in 17:3, one explanation of the meaning of these symbols will suffice for all. Though the form varies somewhat, the ten-horned monster of Dan. chapter 7 is without doubt the same. Comparing the accounts we learn that "the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth" (the harlot of chapter 17), and they are also seven kings or kingdoms. In 12:3, these heads have upon them diadems, the crown that always signifies royalty, but in 13:1 there are no diadems upon the heads. This may imply that the heads that had once worn the crowns were uncrowned in the period which is now pointed out. The ten horns, however, have diadems. In 17:12 they are said to be ten kings or kingdoms which had not yet, when John wrote, received power, but shall receive it in the period pointed forward to in the symbols. Still another fact is pointed out in 17:10. Of the seven kings five were fallen when John wrote; that is, had passed away; one of them then existed; one was yet to come; the beast himself was composed of all the seven and yet assumed such a form that he became an eighth.

These facts will enable us to point out what is signified. It is some power that fights against God, that is a deadly enemy of the Church, that oppresses the Israel of God, that is used as Satan's instrument, that overcomes the Church for 1260 years, that is blasphemous; that has existed as seven kings, or kingdoms, for such may be the meaning of the word, and that shall reappear again to be ten kingdoms. It will be seen that the form of this beast varies at different times, and we must expect the power meant to assume various forms. Let us note the great world powers which have arrayed themselves against God in oppressing his people during their history. I. Egypt enslaved the Israel of God, those whom he called "My People," with a grievous bondage. At that period Egypt was the greatest of the world powers. II. Next Assyria, many hundred years later, carries the Ten Tribes into captivity, from whence they never returned. Assyria was the destroyer of the kingdom of Israel and the oppressor of the kingdom of Judah. III. Babylon, the great Empire of Nebuchadnezzar, erected on the ruins of Assyria, conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and carried the people into captivity. IV. Persia overthrew Babylon, and succeeded to the sway over the remnant of Israel and Palestine. V. Greece, or rather the [468] Macedonian

Empire of Alexander, overthrew Persia, and the fifth of the great world powers became the ruler and the oppressor of God's people. Under the successors of Alexander their sufferings were terrible. Here, then, we have Five Kingdoms, or great world monarchies, which had been used by the dragon for oppression, and which had passed away before John wrote. VI. One now is. Rome had overthrown all before her and occupied their dominion. The Roman monarchy existed when John was on Patmos, and he was seen there by the edict of a Roman Emperor. VII. One was yet to come. There was to be still another of these world powers, which should appear after John's time. It is to be an anti-Christian world power. My opinion is that it refers to the Eastern or Greek Empire, the Roman Empire in the East, continuing to exist as an Oriental despotism after the fall of Rome. This Empire was a persecutor also. No Emperor persecuted more cruelly than Justinian. In 17:11 we are also told that there is an "eighth head who is of the seven." This is the beast. This means that the spirit and power of the whole beast, embracing all the seven heads, passes to an eighth kingdom or rule. Wherever we find this rule we find the beast fully manifested. This signifies the temporal dominion of the Papal power, a sway that derived its power from the kingdoms of the earth.The beast with seven heads and ten horns is, then, the great world power in its opposition to God's people, manifesting itself in the various great worldly states which have fought against the saints. Of the heads of the beast Rome was the greatest and the most terrible of persecutors. Hence, while all the opposing world powers are generally signified, Rome, Pagan and Papal, is specially pointed out. There can be no doubt about the allusion of John to the heads signifying also seven mountains on which the harlot sitteth (17:9). No phrase was oftener applied to Rome by Pagan poets and writers, as well as Christian Fathers than "the seven hilled city." The eighth head (17:11) is stated also to be an embodiment of the whole beast. Hence, I believe we are justified in declaring that Rome is the seat of the beast. B. W. JOHNSON

“Earlier in Rev 12:7 we saw that the dragon was 'enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea'. Now we see how he wages war against the saints through the beast that comes out of the sea as the devil looks on. This beast was earlier revealed in Rev 11:7 as the beast out of the Abyss who makes war against the two witnesses and kills them when they have finished their testimony. We now find out more about this beast. He is introduced here as the Devil's henchman, he even resembles the devil with ten horns and seven heads, the devil delegates his power to the beast, his throne and authority. He is the incarnation of the Devil on earth through whom the devil makes war on the saints and overcomes them, the weapons used are imprisonment and death. All who pledge allegiance to thebeast are giving their allegiance to the devil. He is the consummation of the four beasts that Daniel saw and therefore he represents an ungodly, bestial, world political empire. Later on in Revelation he rides the whore and represents an emperor, so empire and emperor are interchangeable. He has authority for the same time that the Gentiles trample on the outer court, the same time as the two witnesses prophecy and the same time that the church is cared for in the desert. The beasts exerts authority over all the world and represents political power, the second beast represents religious and economic power. Hendriksen comments that the first beast is Satan's hand and the second beast is Satan's mind. 'The first represents the persecuting power of Satan operating in and through the nations of this world and their governments. The second symbolises the false religions and philosophies of this world'. He sums up the beast, false prophet and Babylon as the three agents of Satan's attack upon the earth namely 'antichristian persecution, antichristian religion, and antichristian seduction'.The beast can be interpreted as the Roman empire of John's time and subsequent ungodly empires since then culminating supremely in the empire of the antichrist.

RAY SUMMERS, Chap. 13. 666. The first beast is frequently called "Antichrist" because he appears as a rival deity to Christ. The term is not used in the book of Revelation. The futurist expect to find him in some exceedingly wicked ruler at the end of the age just before the second coming of Christ. Such a system calls for a restoration of the Jewish nation, the rebuilding of the Temple, the restoration of sacrificial worship, and then the breaking of the Antichrist's covenant with the Jews. Space cannot be given here to refutation of this bizarre system which is at

opposites to the New Testament teaching. Such a presentation would have been meaningless and, hence, comfortless to John's readers.

The beast who came from the sea and the beast who came out of the earth (Rev. chs. 13-14). The majority of the Holy Fathers understand "the beast from the sea" to be the antichrist and "the beast from the earth" to be the false prophet. The sea symbolizes the unbelieving mass of humanity, which is always restless and turbulent with passions. From further narrative about the beast and from a parallel narrative of the prophet Daniel (Dan. chs. 7-8), it follows that the beast is the whole godless empire of the antichrist. In their outer appearance the dragon-devil and the beast coming from the sea, to whom the dragon passed on its rule, resemble each other. Their external attributes denote their slyness, cruelty, and moral indecency. The heads and the horns of the beast symbolize the godless states that comprise the empire of antichrist, as well as their rulers (kings). The revelation of the mortal wounding of one of the heads of the beast and of its healing is enigmatic. In their time the events themselves will shed light on the meaning of these words. The historical basis for this allegory might be provided by the conviction of many contemporaries of St. John that the slain Nero came back to life and that he would soon return with the Parthian forces which were to be found beyond the Euphrates River (Rev. 9:14 and 16:12) in order to take revenge upon his enemies. It could be that here is an indication of the partial defeat of godless paganism by the Christian faith and an indication of the rebirth of paganism during the period of general apostasy from Christianity. (Refer to details about this in our booklet "End of the World and Eternal Life"). Note: there are common traits between the beast of the Apocalypse and the four beasts of the prophet Daniel that personified the four ancient pagan empires (Daniel ch. 7). The fourth beast referred to the Roman Empire, and the tenth horn of the last beast symbolized the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes - as a prototype of the forthcoming antichrist, whom the Archangel Gabriel called the "contemptible one" (Dan. 11:21). The characteristics and the deeds of the apocalyptic beast have much in common with the prophet Daniel's tenth horn (Dan. 7:8-12, 20-25, 8:10-26, 11:21-45). The first two books of the Maccabees serve as a vivid illustration of the times before the end of the world.Subsequently, the Seer describes the beast that had come from the earth and that he later calls the false prophet. Here, the earth symbolizes the total absence of spirituality in the teachings of the false prophet, which are completely permeated with materialism and the gratification of pleasure-loving flesh. The false prophet seduces people with false miracles and forces them to bow down to the first beast. "He had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon," (Rev. 13:11); that is, he appeared to be meek and peaceful but his speeches were filled with flattery and lies. As in the eleventh chapter, the two witnesses symbolize all the servants of Christ. It is evident that the two beasts in the thirteenth chapter symbolize the union of all who hated Christianity. The beast from the sea symbolizes the civilian godless authorities and the beast from the earth means the union of the false prophets and all the deviant Church authorities. As during the time of the Savior's life on earth, both of these powers - the civil and the religious, in the persons of Pilate and the Jewish high priests - united in sentencing Christ to be crucified, so throughout all of the history of mankind, these two powers often unite in their fight against faith and in the persecution of believers. Examples are the prophet Balaam and the Moabite king, Queen Jezebel and her priests, the false prophets and princes before the destruction of Israel and later Judea, "apostates of the Holy Covenant," king Antiochus Epiphanes (Dan. 8:23, 1 Macc. and 2 Macc. ch. 9), and finally the followers of the law of Moses and the Roman administrators during the time of the Apostles. During the early centuries of Christianity, heretics and false teachers undermined the Church with their schisms and thus aided in the successful conquests by the Arabs and Turks who flooded and ruined the Orthodox Christian East. Russian free-thinkers and populists paved the way for the revolution, and contemporary pseudo-prophets corrupt unsteady Christians into various sects and cults. They all manifest themselves as false prophets collaborating for the success of the powers fighting against God. The Apocalypse vividly discloses the mutual support between the dragon-devil and both beasts. Each one here is full of his own selfish plans: the devil thirsts for obeisance to him; the antichrist seeks power; and the false-prophet seeks his material gain. As the Church calls on people to have faith in God and to fortify their virtues, the Church becomes an obstacle to them and they fight together against her.

A minute parallel exists between t he description of the beast in Revelation and the character of Nero as depicted in secular history. Says Dr. Farrar (Early Days of' Christianity, 5.28.5) Beyond all shadow of doubt or uncertainty, the Wild Beast from the sea is meant as a symbol Of the emperor Nero. Here, at any rate, St. John has neglected no single means by which he could make his meaning clear without deadly peril to himself and the Christian Church. He describes this Wild Beast by no less than sixteen distinctive marks, and then all but tells us in so many words the name of the person whom it is intended to symbolize." Among the most striking proofs of the. identification are (1) Nero's world-wide power and dominion, (2) his assumptions of the prerogatives of deity, (3) his cruel persecution of the Christians for 42 months (from the end of 64 A.D. to the middle of 68 A.D.), and (4) his own violent, death followed by the belief that widely prevailed that he was not, really dead, but, would ere long emerge from some secret, hiding place. It, is also well-known that in the absence of arithmetical figures the Jews attach a numerical value to the. letters of the alphabet. Hence it is a fact, full of interest and significance that 666, the number of the wild beast, is the value when added together of the Hebrew letters which go to express the emperor's name. For Nero to have been more plainly spoken of. would have been needlessly to compromise the Christian Church.

Michael Wilcox - When we are shown a beast whose power is not that of wealth or of influence, but that of government ("diadems" and a "throne"), who combines all the powers of Daniel 7, we see in him the principles of power politics: in a word, the state.

John Newport - This wound can also be seen as the symbol of God's wrath, which has struck a death blow to the authority of the beast (and the dragon). This death blow has been deceptively covered up. We can also see this as referring to the fact that the beast has been dealt a fatal blow by the cross of Christ and yet still has time and the ability to wage war against the saints. He appears to be alive and in full command of the scene; his blasphemies increase. What the sea beast cannot accomplish, he commissions the earth beast to do (vs. 11ff). All three - the dragon, the sea beast, and the earth beast - are in collusion to effect the deception that leads the world to worship the dragon and the sea beast and destroy all who oppose them.

The beast comes from the sea, which is sometimes a figure for evil and chaos in the Bible and ancient thought (Psalm 74:13; 89:9; Isaiah 57:20; Matthew 8:26)i. The ancient Jews were not a sea-going people; they regarded the ocean as a place of terror and dangerThe idea behind having many heads is a picture of vitality (as in a Medusa-like creature); horns (as always in the Bible) represent power and mightExample: "The beast has always been, and will always be, in a final intensified manifestation, the deification of secular authority" (Mounce)

i. The Antichrist is a prominent figure in the Bible; he gets this familiar title because he is the ultimate personification of the spirit of the Antichrist spoken of in 1 John 4:2-3ii. But the person commonly known as the Antichrist goes by many names in the Bible. Some of his many titles: little horn (Daniel 7:8); king of fierce countenance (Daniel 8:23); the Prince that shall come (Daniel 9:26); the willful king (Daniel 11:36-45); the one who comes in his own name (John 5:43); the son of perdition, the man of sin, the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:3)6. PULPIT, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea. The Revised Version, agreeing with à , A, C, Vulgate, Syriac, AEthiopic, Armenian, Victorinus, reads e?sta´?? , "he stood." The Authorized Version follows the reading e?sta´??? , "I stood," which is found in B, P, Coptic, Andreas, Arethas. Fortunately, the point is not important. Whether St. John or the dragon stood on the edge of the sea is not material, since we are distinctly told that the ten-horned beast rose from the sea. Wordsworth aptly contrasts this station on the unstable sand in proximity to the sea, the clement of commotion, with the vision of the Lamb on Mount Zion (Rev_14:1-5). The imagery which follows is founded upon the vision ofDan_7:1-28. The phrase should probably be joined on to the preceding passage, as in the Revised Version. The new vision then opens in the customary manner with e???d?? , "I saw," as in Rev_4:1-11., 5., 6., 7., etc. And saw a beast rise up out of the sea. Supply "I," and make this the beginning of the fresh paragraph (see above). The one beast here takes the place of the four beasts of Dan_7:1-28., and is distinguished by the

characteristics of the first three (see on Dan_7:2). This beast arises from the sea, the second beast from the earth (see Dan_7:11). They are the instruments of the woe which is denounced against the earth and the sea in Rev_12:12. The sea, again, is the type of instability, confusion, and commotion, frequently signifying the ungovernable nations of the earth in opposition to the Church of God (cf. Rev_17:15; Rev_21:1). Probably this is the beast referred to in Rev_11:7, and (more fully) inRev_17:1-18. It is the power of the world which is directed towards the persecution of Christians. Having seven heads and ten horns. Nearly every manuscript has, having ten horns and seven heads. The order is reversed inRev_12:3 and Rev_17:3; possibly the horns are mentioned first in this passage, because they are first seen as the beast rises from the sea. The essential identity of this beast with the dragon of Rev_12:3 is plainly shown. There Satan is described in his personal character; here he is described under the aspect of the persecuting power of the world. The symbolism is analogous to that found in Dan_7:1-28., where we may find the key to the interpretation. First, the heads signify dominion. The head is naturally looked upon as the chief, the controlling and guiding part of the body; that part to which all the members of the body are subject. This is the idea conveyed in Dan_7:6. The third beast there is distinguished by the possession of four heads, and (we are immediately told) "dominion was given to it." Seven, as we have repeatedly seen, is the number typical of universality (cf. Rev_1:4; Rev_5:1, etc.). The seven, heads, therefore, are symbolical of universal dominion. In the second place, horns are the type of power. Thus, in Dan_7:7, the beast which is distinguished by the possession of the horns is described as being "diverse from all the beasts that were before it." It was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it" (cf. Deu_33:17; Psa_132:17; Jer_48:25, etc.). The number ten is the sign of completeness; not of universality or totality, but of sufficiency and abundancy for the purpose in view (cf. Gen_18:32, the ten righteous wanting at Sodom; Exo_27:12, the ten pillars of the tabernacle; the ten commandments; the tithe; Psa_33:2, etc.). The ten horns, therefore, denote plenitude of power. The words of this passage thus signify that the beast should possess worldwide dominion and ample power. These are the qualities ascribed to the power which Satan now directs against the "seed of the woman." At the time of the writing of the Apocalypse, this power was evidently heathen Rome; but the meaning may be extended to embrace all the forms which this world opposition has assumed, whether Roman, Mohammedan, or Gothic, etc. It is consequently unnecessary, as it certainly seems fruitless, to attempt to interpret the heads and horns of individual nations and kings. In endeavouring to do so, many writers have imported into the description here given other details from Daniel, or deduced by themselves, for which there is no warrant in the narrative here supplied. For the same reason, it is useless to inquire into the disposition of the ten horns and seven heads; since the whole is a figure intended to convey certain ideas, and is not a description of an actual bodily form. And upon his horns ten crowns. "Ten crowns;" d?ad?´µata ,crowns denoting sovereignty; not ste´fa??? , the victor's wreath. The crowns upon the horns denote the sovereign nature of the power with which the beast is invested. The nations of the world who have persecuted the Church of God have the chief rule in this world. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy. The plural ????´µata , "names," adopted by the Revised Version, is found in A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, Andreas, Primasius. Alford reads the singular ??´??µa , withà , C, P, Coptic, Andreas, Primasius. There is no article. Possibly each head bore a name, which was the same in each ease, and which might therefore with equal propriety be described as name or names. "Upon his heads" ( e?p?` ?efa?a´? ); the accusative being used (as Afford suggests) because the action of inscription carries with it a tinge of motion. In the preceding clause we have the genitive Or; e?p?` ?e?a´t?? , where the preposition denotes rest. We have no hint given as to what the name was; the nature only is indicated. St. John very possibly had in his mind the mitre of the high priest, upon the plate of which was inscribed, "Holiness to the Lord" (Exo_28:36). It is a "name of blasphemy;" that is, the worldly power, typified by this beast, denies the Divinity and might of the true God, and exalts itself above him. Bede, Hengstenberg, etc., see the fulfilment in the assumption by the Roman emperors of titles which belong rightly only to Christ—King of kings, Divus, etc. But the application is wider. As partial fulfilments of that which will never be completely fulfilled until the end of the world, we may mention Pharaoh, when he said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" (Exo_5:2); Sennacherib (2Ki_18:1-37.); Herod Agrippa (Act_12:22); as well as those since St. John's time who have blasphemed by denying the existence or omnipotence of Christ.

7. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. The place where St. John had the vision related in this chapter; he

apprehends himself to stand on the sea-shore, a place fit for the sight he was to see, namely, a beast rising out of the sea.

Where note, That it is usual in the prophets, Daniel especially, to set out temporal monarchies oppressing the church, by great beasts.

Where we learn, what a base and vile, what a low and mean, esteem God has of the mightiest enemies of his church and people; let the world admire them as gods, if they abuse their power God calls them beasts; and as such, in his own time, they shall be destroyed; I saw a beast rise up out of the sea.

Observe, 2. The monstrous description of that beast which St. John saw, it had seven heads, denoting, some say, the seven hills upon which Rome stands; or the seven sorts of government successively in the Roman state, say others; and ten horns, that is, ten kings under Rome, and confederate with her.

Where note, That all such kings, be they ever so mighty or many, which persecute sincere Christianity, are vile in the esteem of God, accounted no better than the horns of a bloody beast, which Almighty God will either blunt or break.And upon the horns ten crowns, which crowns they hold of God, who is the King of kings. Sovereignty is from heaven, however men come by it, or however they abuse it, which shows the horrid ingratitude of those princes, who having received their power from God, do improve it against him, and turn it upon him by whom they reign. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy; those that apply this description of the beast to Rome Pagan, understand hereby their paganish idol-worship in general; and their deifying of the Roman emperors in particular.

Others, as most Protestants, who apply it to Rome Papal, by this name of blasphemy, understand those blasphemous titles which are given to the Pope, as "Lord God, the universal Head, the Husband of the church, the Light which came into the world," &c. which are the incommunicable attributes of Christ; and by flatterers and admirers frequently given to the Papal Antichrist, upon whose head is the name of blasphemy.

8. PULPIT, “The foes of God and of his Church: the two beasts.The evil one is responsible for much of the mischief in the world, but his responsibility for it is not an unshared one. Two other enemies are here portrayed as the emissaries and agents of the first (Rev_13:2). The thought underlying the chapter is that of the predominance of brute force over moral power; or, in other words, of might over right. Here are two beasts. The first, described in Rev_13:1-10, is seen "coming up from the sea," as if it were the product of the surging restlessness of the troubled sea of godless strife; "having seven heads"—these are so many phases of a corrupt, ungodly world power. The expression cannot refer to any one distinctive power as such, for none has ever yet been seen, nor can be, having power over "all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." As the dragon has seven heads and ten horns, so likewise has this first beast; whatever power the devil wields, he wields through it. And as wide as is the devil's sway, so wide is the sway of this hostile force. Thus, in this symbolic form we get precisely the same truth which meets us elsewhere—that Satan is "the prince of the power of the air," "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Again, this beast has "upon his heads the names of blasphemy" (Rev_13:1). A supremacy is assumed which belongs to God alone. "The beast was like unto a leopard," etc. (Rev_13:2). All three figures denote the terribly savage and devouring energy put forth by the powers of evil. "The dragon gave him," etc. (Rev_13:2). The ungodly power of earth is backed up by the evil one. "One of his heads [ wounded," etc. (Rev_13:3). This worldly power was smitten, and yet rose again in all its dominance and pride, so that "all the world wondered after the beast" (Rev_13:4). "Authority was given to him to continue forty-two months" £ (Rev_13:5).1 This is the fourth time this mysterious period is named, it is the time during which the witnesses are to prophesy, the time during which the woman is to be hidden in the wilderness, the time for the serpent to rage and wound, and the time for the beast to continue. His sway is to be so great that all, save the very elect, shall go after him. "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints" (Rev_13:10). The second beast is also from the earth (Rev_13:11). It is a low, carnal, worldly power. "It has horns like a lamb," etc. (Rev_13:11). It puts on a pretence of meekness,

and seems lamb like in its gentleness, albeit it speaks like a dragon, and is fiendish in its ferocity, he panders, too, to the first beast (Rev_13:12-15). He doeth great signs, deceiving men by prodigies of various kinds (Rev_13:13; cf. Mat_24:24; 2Th_2:9). On all he causes a mark to be affixed (Rev_13:16), and no one who had not that mark might buy or sell or have any social standing. Evidently, here is described some power or other, meek and sleek in appearance, yet fierce in spirit, prompted by the dragon, and doing his work, yet pretending to have a commission from Heaven, doing such wonders as to carry multitudes away, and withal so intolerant that none except its followers should be allowed to take their proper place in the social ranks, while it appeals to the love of thaumaturgy, yet cares not about the true or the right so long as men pay homage to the first beast to whom he yields obedience. Can we mistake the meaning of all this? It is certainly some mighty antichristian force, putting on the pretence of being in communion with Heaven, while it is a sycophant and abject minion of earthly power. Lamb like in its mien, it is intolerant in its speech. This power is not dead yet, any more than the former. On the perplexing verse which concludes the chapter, we have no opinion to offer. The various attempts at explanations may be seen in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' in loc. £ We only quote from thence the opinion of Bellarmine, "Verissima igitur sententia est eorum qui ignorantiam suam confitentur." £ If, however, we set in order the points of similarity and of difference between the two beasts, and their relation to one another, the meaning of the description may be more clearly seen. Seven points of difference: The first beast has his power from the dragon; the second beast has his power from the first. The first daringly blasphemes; the second deceives. The first makes war; the second practises thaumaturgy. The first succeeds by force; the second, by persuasion. The first rules through fear; the second, by craft. The first teaches his followers to worship the dragon; the second persuades his to worship the first. The first openly slays; the second puts men under a social ban. Six points of similarity:They are both opposed, in spirit, to God, to his Church, and to heaven. They are both arrogant, haughty, and imperious. They both involve in much suffering those who will not yield to them. They both try the patience and faith of the saints. They both have a power equally wide. They are both deplorably successful. Six points of relation between them and their workings: The second causes all the earth to worship the first; causes an image of the first to be made; commands men to worship the image of the beast; pretends to make the image speak; causes that as many as would not worship the image should be killed; will allow no one any social status, nor even a stand in the market unless they acknowledge and worship the first. Now, when we thus carefully set in order the two descriptions, who can help seeing symbolic sketches of precisely the two great adverse forces which have been the plague of the world and of the Church—even an ungodly world power, and a false religious teaching in alliance with it, supporting it and supported by it? And who that knows the general history of the world but must be aware that these two forces, leagued together, have been the foes of the Church of God? Not any one power only, nor any one form of false religion only, is indicated here; the description is broad enough to embrace them all, and indeed demands that all be embraced, for their sway is alike over all nations and tongues. Well do we know how exactly the state of things corresponded, at the time of the founding of the Christian faith, to the descriptions in this chapter. Religion had long been regarded as a piece of statecraft. "The rulers took counsel together," etc. (Psa_2:1-12.; Act_4:25, et seq.). During the early struggles of the Christians the force of a false religion in alliance with a heathen state strove to compel men to act in subservience to a heathen emperor, in spite of conscience and of God. Then, disorders, droughts, famines, pestilences, were ascribed to the Christians; men were debarred the ordinary rights of citizens except they acknowledged the supremacy of the state in religious affairs. Far later, in our own land, when the temporal sovereignty of this realm was in alliance with popery, what pains and penalties were endured for conscience' sake! And in many countries, what harrowing tales of worry, persecution, and suffering are left on record; and even at this day there is often furnished a new contingent of those who wilt not worship the beast nor his image, and who will risk their all for the truth and for God! For even now these two beasts are living; the first beast gets wounded now and then, but still survives, having wondrous tenacity of life. At divers times and places, with oft recurring onsets, do these two foes of the Church seek to ravage, to spoil, and to devour. And although at this moment, in our peaceful land, the wild savagery of their coalition is toned down, yet every one knows that the stigma of a social inferiority is still set on many who will not acknowledge state authority in religion. By the social ban referred to in Rev_13:17 Dean Alford understands "the commercial and spiritual interdicts which have, both by pagan and by papal persecutors, been laid on Nonconformity [ down to the last remaining civil disabilities imposed on Nonconformity in

modern papal or Protestant countries." £ "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." This chapter may serve two purposes.

I. IT SHOULD YIELD US UNSPEAKABLE COMFORT. In four respects:

1. Here we find sketched for us beforehand the checkered course of truth and right in the world; sketched, too, in precise accordance with the facts of history. The great Lord has foreseen the struggle.

2. He who foresees, and has thus sketched for us the forms of evil, has also assigned a limit to their duration.

3. In the worst of times, a faithful few shall be preserved.

4. The people of God will overcome at last by the two weapons of faith and patience.

II. IT SUGGESTS MANY A LESSON FOR THE PRACTICAL RULING OF LIFE. It says to us: 1, Do not be caught by appearances. There may be more show in might than in right. God approves only the latter.

2. Do not expect the immediate triumph of God's work. The end is not yet. The twelve hundred and sixty days are not yet closed; perchance they are not even near to their end.

3. Do not let us be in a state of agitation and of perpetual fear, as if something might happen to undo God's work. Never!

4. Do not let us mistake our own proper work. Never let us swerve a hair's breadth from right to gain a momentary end. All the right is essentially—success. All the wrong is essentially—failure.

5. Let us rest in the knowledge that one eye discerns all, and one hand infallibly overrules all, to bring about the right end at the right time.

6. However long the time may be ere the salvation is brought in, it cannot be very long that any of us will have to maintain an attitude of vigilance and of war. A few short years at most, and the struggle between us and this coalition of evil will be over. We are nearing the river. We shall soon cease to hear the clang of arms and the rush of the troops; and shall exchange the noise of a militant for the harmonies of the triumphant Church. Then, brothers, on—even unto death!

9. NISBET, “The Seven-Headed Beast of Blasphemy and the Two-Horned Beast of Deceit.

The description of the first beast:

v. 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

v. 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority.

v. 3. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.

v. 4. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

Luther writes of this whole chapter: "There comes, then, in the thirteenth chapter, after the trumpeting of the last of the seven angels, who sounds his trumpet at the beginning of the twelfth

chapter, the business of that seventh angel, the third woe, namely, papal imperialism and imperial popery. Here the papacy gains the power also of the worldly sword, and now rules not only with the booklet in the second woe, but also with the sword in the third woe. Just as they boast that the Pope has both the spiritual and also the temporal sword in his power. Here, then, are the two beasts; the one is imperial power and dignity; the other, with the two horns, is the papacy, which has now also become a worldly kingdom, though with a bold show of the name of Christ."

The explanation is certainly plausible, as a closer examination of the text shows: And I stood on the shore of the sea, and saw ascending out of the sea a beast having ten horns and seven heads, and on the horns ten diadems, and on his heads names of blasphemy; and the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet resembled those of a bear, and his mouth resembled the mouth of a lion. If we compare this picture with those found in the prophecies of Daniel, there can be little doubt that this beast is the Roman Empire. It arose out of the ocean of nations, gradually, but surely, until it had power over practically the entire world. Seven heads the beast had; for the city of Rome, the capital of this great empire, is built on seven hills; and ten horns were seen by John, which refers to the ten provinces of the old empire. Names of blasphemy the beast had on his heads; for blasphemous idolatry and heathenism was practiced in the city and empire, and enmity against Christ and the Christian religion has always been rampant in its capital. That the entire appearance of the beast, finally, was like a leopard, but with the feet of a bear and with the mouth of a lion, indicates that the Roman Empire combined in itself all the qualities of the former world empires as they are described in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel.

We are told still more concerning this beast: And to him the dragon gave his own power and his throne and great authority. This shows that Satan would rule and exert his power on earth especially through the Roman Empire, and that its emperors, princes, and governors would act as his representatives in carrying out his designs against the Church of Christ. The result was all that the devil might have desired: And one of his heads appeared to have been wounded to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and all the earth marveled after the beast and worshiped the dragon, because he gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like to the beast, and who can battle with him? The great empire and power which the beast represents received a temporary setback, a wound which looked like a deadly wound. This may refer to the end of the Roman Empire as such, which came to an end in the year 476. But Rome retained its power in spite of all that, for the worldly authority of the Pope dates from about that time. Satan is still wielding his power through Anti-Christ, and it is a sad fact, but a fact nevertheless, that practically all the world, both civil and ecclesiastical authorities, have been giving honor to the Pope, many of them stating openly that the power of the papacy is such as to make this attitude the best policy.

10. WILLIAM KELLY, “Revelation Chapter 13

The next chapter unfolds the plans that Satan adopts to accomplish his long-cherished design of supplanting (not only gospel and church as now, but) all testimony on earth to the coming kingdom of God. It is the apostasy: Old and New Testaments are alike denied. Of two especial methods he will avail himself, suited to catch a twofold class of men never wanting in this world. Many natural men like power, others like religion. It is clear that man's heart runs either after intellect and power, or, if conscience be active, into religious form to quiet it. The devil will therefore put forward two main instruments as leaders of systems that express human nature on either side, exactly suiting what man's heart seeks and will have.

Satan has designed from the beginning to set up himself in man as God. For he too will work by man, as God Himself is pleased to develop all His wondrous ways and counsels in man. As the Lord Jesus is not only a divine person, but the expression of the divine glory no less than of His grace in man; and as the church is the object of Christ's love in heavenly blessedness, and Israel for the earth; so the enemy (who cannot originate but only corrupt the truth, and lie by a sort of profane imitation of the counsels of God) will have his Beasts no less certainly than God has His Lamb. In Revelation 13 this is made plain. There are to be two Beasts or imperial powers; the first distinctively political, the second religious, both of them apostate and allies.

"And I* stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like a leopardess, and his feet as of a bear, and his mouth as a lion's mouth. And the dragon gave to him his power and his throne and great authority. And one of his heads [I saw] as slain unto death, and his death-stroke was healed, and the whole earth wondered after the beast. And they did homage to the dragon because he gave the authority to the beast, and they did homage to the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? and who can make war with him? And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and authority was given him to act forty-two months. And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, [and] those that tabernacle in the heaven. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all that dwell on the earth shall do homage to him, whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain. If any one hath an ear, let him hear. If any is for [or, leadeth into] captivity, into captivity he goeth. If any one shall kill by sword, by sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."

* The true reading is uncertain, as it turns on a letter easily added or dropped. The three best uncials, two cursives, and most of the ancient versions support the third person; BP, the mass of cursives, the Memph., etc., the first person. Here Tisch. even in his last edition yields to the weight of the internal grounds in deciding for the latter.

The Beast that was beheld emerging from the then revolutionary state of the world is just adapted for the dragon to energise in opposition to God's purpose and will. In Rev. 12 the dragon was seen similarly characterised as the beast. Both have the forms of power peculiar to the Roman empire. But there is a difference also: "And upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy." The dragon has the diadems on his heads; the Beast shows us more the final fact - the horns diademed. The dragon represents the enemy of Christ in his political employment of the Roman empire generally. It is the principle; and the heads or successive forms of power are crowned. The horns as a fact are only developed a little before its history closes in perdition. On the other hand, in the first Beast we see, not merely the hidden spirit of evil making use of the power of Rome in its various changes, but the empire in its final state when the deadly wound done to the imperial head is to be healed, and Satan shall have given to it thus revived his power, his throne, and great authority. Now this is the very time when the ten horns receive authority as kings; they are to reign simultaneously and continuously with the Beast, as Rev. 17 informs us. Hence the horns of the Beast are seen diademed (not the heads, as in the dragon's case originally).

Further the Beast is described afterwards, though with remarkable points of difference if we examine the Beasts, as at first made known to Daniel (7). "And the beast which I saw was like a leopard (or, panther), and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as a lion's." Here we have, not the territories, but certain qualities that resemble all the three first-named Beasts of the prophet Daniel. Satan does not originate, but adopts whatever will suit of that which has been. Hence he endeavours by this most singular amalgamation to bring out in its final phase the Beast or fourth empire (for there is none to succeed), so as to show pretension to everything known of old, as well as evil without parallel.

What is meant by "the Beast"? The imperial system of Rome revived. All the empires refused to recognise God above. Man was made to own Him, and he alone does as taught of God. Man alone of all beings in the earth was made to look up to One above, and is responsible to do the will of God. A beast does not look up but down; it has no sense of an unseen superior, no conscience toward God. "The fool hath said in his heart that there is no God." In principle this is true of every unrenewed man; but here it is the more tremendous, because an empire ought to be the reflection of the authority that God in His providence conferred on it. No empire has avoided the moral sentence implied in the symbols: expediency has ever guided, not God; but this Beast will go beyond all that have gone before in lawless contempt of God and in blasphemies (vers. 5, 6).

When John wrote, the fourth Beast was in power; but the prophet was given to see that out of a state of political convulsion, just before the last three years and a half, and connected with Satan's expulsion from heaven by the power of God, a Beast rises up out of the sea answering to the old Roman empire. That is, there will be a state of total confusion in the west, and an imperial power will rise up. "And I saw one of its heads as wounded to death; and its deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." There are sufficient grounds for gathering that the wounded head was the imperial form of power. After having been long extinct, it reappears in the latter day. But there is a great deal more than simply the revival of imperialism, which draws out the astonishment of the world. They had thought it all over with the Roman empire. They could easily understand a new empire; a French, or a Teutonic kingdom, or any other of large space and population; but the revival of the Roman empire will take the world by surprise. The grounds of this assertion, however, depend on Rev. 17, which will appear in its place. Vers. 5, 6 define its character and duration.

It is not simply that the empire had the distinctive heads and horns of the Roman empire, with qualities by-and-by that belonged to the previous empires; it was marked by the revival of imperialism at the close under Satan's authority. For "they did homage to the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast: and they did homage to the beast, saying, Who [is] like the beast, and who is able to war with him?" It is evident from the context that an apostate and idolatrous state appears in the world. The dragon and the Beast are alike set up against God. This first Beast represents the western empire. The religious chief will not be in the west but in Jerusalem, and becomes, as we learn elsewhere, a special object of worship in the temple of God there at the close, as 2 Thessalonians 2 indicates, as well as Dan_11:36-38. He is the second Beast of our chapter.

This is a difficulty to some, because it is distinctly said that the man of sin will not tolerate any other object of worship. But these wicked personages work together, and are allies. To worship the one is pretty much to worship the other; just as, in regard to the true God, there is no worship of one person in the Godhead without the same homage due to the others. It is in vain for any to pretend to honour the Father without the Son, and he that worships the Father and the Son can only pay it in the power of the Holy Ghost. When we worship God as such, when we say "God," not Father only is meant, but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So precisely is this awful counterpart, the fruit of the energy of satanic craft and power at the close. The worshipping of the dragon and of the Beast seems, therefore, consistent with divine worship paid to the man of sin, the contrast to "Jesus Christ the Righteous." They are, as has often been said with justice, the great counter-trinity, the trinity of evil creatures as opposed to the Trinity of the Godhead. The devil is clearly the source of it all; but the public leader of his power politically is the first Beast; and the grand religious agent, who works out crafty plans and even miracles in its support, is the second Beast of this chapter, or the man of sin in the great prophetic Epistle.

This appears to be the true and mutual bearing of all, if we bow to these scriptures. Differences of thought exist here as in almost everything else. But in a world of doubt objection to it has no force. The only question is, What best satisfies the word of God? what most faithfully answers not merely to its letter but its grand principles? So far from any real obstacle in the fact of these three different objects being alike honoured in worship, the force and awful nature of the case cannot well be understood unless this is seen as the revealed truth.

At this time it is evident that there is a people in heaven removed from exposure to the power either of Satan or of the public instruments of his malice in the world. There are also saints here below fully exposed to his hatred. The tabernacle above may be blasphemed, and those that dwell there Satan may revile, but cannot even accuse them longer before God. He turns therefore to deadly persecution on the earth. "And it was given him to make war with the saints" (clearly these are not in heaven), "and to overcome them; and authority was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell upon the earth shall do him homage." There is an invariable distinction between the Gentiles at large in the world, and "those that dwell on the earth." The difference is that the former class is a broader term, embracing the world generally; whereas by the latter is meant the narrower sphere, whose character of earthliness is the more

decided, because they had heard and hated the heavenly testimony of Christ and the church. Names and forms might be still held; but apostate hearts deliberately preferred earth to heaven, and would surely have their portion in neither, but in the lake of fire.

It is solemn to see that this is what Christendom hastens to become: infidelity and superstition are rapidly working toward it now. The stream flows forward to this earthly and godless issue. Never since the gospel was preached were men more thoroughly settling down in the endeavour to make earth their paradise. They consequently forget heaven day by day, only thinking of it as a necessity when they die, and cannot avoid leaving the world. But as for habitually turning to heaven, as a hope full of joy or glory, still less as in faith a present home for the affections, whenever was it less livingly kept in the minds and hearts of men? One lack accounts for it all: Christ is not all, but the heart is divided between the first man and the Second. Such unbelief prepares for the designation given to the people that did hear of heaven, but deliberately at last give up all its hopes to settle down on the earth. They dwell on the earth. The others are "every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation," who have heard comparatively little about the gospel. The Beast will endeavour to deal with both. Alas! "all that dwell upon the earth shall do homage to him, whose name is not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain."

Carefully bear in mind that "from the foundation of the world" belongs not to "slain," but to the writing of the name. The Lamb was not slain from the foundation of the world, though there was the eternal purpose; but the name was written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain. Compare Rev_17:8, where the omission of the slain Lamb makes the true connection plain and certain.

"If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that is for captivity, into Captivity he goeth." It is a statement to guard the saints from taking power into their own hands. They might cry to God, they might ask Him to arise and judge the earth; but they were not to resist evil. As the Beast would take power, so should he suffer the consequence. He might; lead into captivity, but into captivity he goes. He might kill with the sword, but so he must be killed himself: indeed his would be a far more awful doom. Patience, with this retributive sanction annexed, is put as a general principle, and stated in such a form as to apply to any one. It was surely and particularly meant to guard the saints from mistake only too natural. "Here is the patience and faith of the saints" This gives the application.

In the latter part of the chapter we have a second Beast. "And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and it had two lamb-like horns, and it spoke as a dragon. And it exerciseth all the authority of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and those that dwell in it to do homage to the first beast, whose death-wound was healed. And he worketh great signs, that he should cause even fire to come down out of the heaven unto the earth in the sight of men. And he deceiveth those that dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to work before the beast, saying to those that dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and lived. And it was given him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not do homage to the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bondmen, that they should have a mark given them on their right hand or upon their forehead, and that no one should be able to buy or sell, save he that hath the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is a man's number, and his number [is] six hundred [and] sixty-six."

This calls for more attention, because there is danger of some confusion and difficulty on this subject. Let it be observed that the second Beast more particularly resembles in wickedness what the Lord Jesus is in goodness. It is indeed a "Beast"; that is, he affects to be a composite system of power, though outwardly on a far smaller scale than the first Beast. Still it is a Beast, and not merely a horn; he has two, indeed, of peculiar character. "He had two horns like a lamb." There was the pretence of resembling the Messiah, and it would appear, not in priestly but in prophetic and kingly power. But "he spoke as a dragon." There was really the expression of Satan. - "And

he exercises all the authority of the first brass in his presence." Thus the second Beast is the more energetic of the two, and the active instrument of the darkest evil, the man of sin who denies the Man of righteousness, Christ Jesus.

So it has been when enormous wickedness has been forged for this world. Its promoters, the persons that exercise the influence (sometimes unseen, sometimes publicly), put religion forward as the rule. The religion of the earth is the prolific source of all the worst evil done under the sun. How different the wisdom that cometh down from above to form in Christ the service and the worship of the saints! The devil could not accomplish his plans if there was not such a thing as earthly religion. Is not this an awful and solemn fact for those that have the smallest connection with it?

The second Beast or Antichrist does not come out of the sea, or the turbulent state of the nations, but out of the earth. It is a more settled state of things when this Beast appears. Then he exercises all the authority of the first Beast before him, that is, in his presence, and with his full sanction. And he makes the earth and those that dwell in it to do homage to the first Beast. For there is a full understanding between them. In 2 Thessalonians 2 we do not hear of this, but that he claims worship, and is himself worshipped as God. No priest as such affects any claim of the sort. He arrogates no less to himself, sitting down in the temple of God and showing himself that he is God.

It makes the whole matter plain, if we remember that the first Beast leads the Roman empire, but as revived with a seat restricted to the west. On the other hand, the second Beast, though in league with the first Beast he may mislead men far and wide, claims for himself the land of Palestine with a Jewish form of glory. If one look into 2 Thessalonians 2 it is clear that we are in view of what will be in the land of Judea, and not in Rome. It is "the temple of God" that is particularly seen, where the man of sin sets himself up as an object of worship. Only we must take care to read scripture with scripture. If one treat 2 Thessalonians 2 as giving all that the Bible tells about the man of sin, scripture is foreclosed, and one must have an imperfect account. On the other hand, if we take only Revelation 13, we shall want certain elements necessary for completing the sketch. All this is arranged with consummate wisdom by God, because He does not wish us to read only one part of His word, but that we should thoroughly search into every other. He does not give a proper understanding of holy writ, unless we confide therein and value all that He has given us. Consequently it is only by putting together these scriptures, as to which there is ample light for our guidance, that we can in our measure enter into His mind.

As the first part of the chapter brings before us a mighty external power identifiable with the Roman empire, equally certain is it that 2 Thessalonians 2 describes not a merely civil system so much as a religious power. An utterly lawless personage is the man of sin, but still essentially a religious power with the highest claim. It arrogates to itself Christ's place and the reverence that belongs to God. Now this is precisely what characterises the second Beast. It had two horns. Their character is connected with the whole testimony of John. For any one who has looked into his Gospel will see that, even as to our blessed Lord Himself, its general bent is to trace what He was on earth, rather than what He is in heaven, where is His proper and unquestionable priesthood for the heavenly saints, in contrast with Aaron's on earth for the earthly people. There are exceptional passages, no doubt; but while Paul's object directs us to Christ in heaven as the special character of his witness, John on the contrary draws particular attention to what He was onearth.

This is not without importance for the meaning of these two horns. The Lord Jesus was the great prophet on earth; and assuredly He will reign as king over all the earth. But what lies between? He is priest; but He is priest in heaven (Heb_8:4). Accordingly it is not the place of John but of Paul to bring out the heavenly priesthood of Christ. John never directly treats of Christ above as Priest or as Head. He dwells on His advocacy there (which has an aim quite distinct from His priesthood) in Rev. 13, and again on His coming to take us above in Rev. 14, as parts of Rev. 17 and 20 too are exceptions. But the general teaching of John is on Christ manifesting God here below; as no less clearly Paul's doctrine is man in Him glorified above.

But when the Antichrist appears, he does not take the place of priest; far higher will be his assumption. He sets up to be the Prophet that should come, and the great King, imitating what Messiah was expected to be for Israel. He has two horns, not seven. It is a lame imitation; he has not at all the full power of Christ. In the Lord we saw perfection of power and fulness of wisdom for government. In the Antichrist there is the pretension to what belonged to Christ connected with the earth, with the most marked absence of what pertains to Him in heaven.

This is no mean evidence, by the way, that the idea of finding in the papacy its full meaning is a mistake; for the essential feature of the papacy lies in its assumption to be a living earthly representative of Christ's priesthood. It is the corruption of what is heavenly, not Messianic. Popery is much more the antichurch than the Antichrist. But when Revelation 13 is fulfilled, no question can be of the church here any longer. The Christian body will be no more seen on earth; the saints of the high places who had been here will then be on high.

Accordingly it is not a mere sham clothing with the priestly power of Christ which the Antichrist puts on, but a false assumption of His prophetical place which was on the earth, and of His kingly sphere which will also be thereon. This personage with two horns like a lamb is active in the performance of great signs and wonders. He has a double activity. First of all, he borrows the controlling influence of the Roman empire, exercising all the authority of the first Beast in his sight. Besides this, he does a vast deal on his own account which the Roman emperor could not do. He imitates the power not only of Christ but of God. He claims to be the Jehovah God of Israel. Just as Jesus is Jehovah as well as Messiah, so this vessel of Satan's power in Jerusalem will emulate what God did by Elijah to disprove the claims of Baal. Fire then came down and consumed the sacrifice of old, God demonstrating as clearly that Baal was not God as that Jehovah is so. So the second Beast will do wonders, if not really, "before men." Thus he deceives them that dwell on the earth by reason of those signs which it was given him to work before the Beast. The signs were in their sight.

All this marks the Antichrist. The first Beast works no miracles whatever; he astonishes the world by reviving the long dead western empire: but this is a different thing, and cannot properly be called a sign. It may and will amaze men, but is no proper miracle. The Beast out of the earth, who is incomparably more subtle than the first, works great signs; no doubt it is by Satan's energy, but still he works them. The consequence is that he deceives those that dwell on the earth, saying to them especially "to make an image to the beast, which hath the stroke of the sword, and lived." More than this, we read that "it was given him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." Whatever shame be the boast of liberty, as at the first French Revolution, the real future will be the most ruthless and despotic oppression to death over all who do not bow down, not only to the Beast, but to his image that is made by diabolical power or trickery to pronounce sentence like a judge.

The various guesses made respecting the number of the Beast are inadequate. It may be one of those secrets that cannot be unravelled until the person appears, when at least "the wise" shall understand. That we are to understand it now is more than we ought to assume. What moral profit could it serve? Assuredly everything that can edify and refresh the soul, all that can be used by the Holy Ghost for real blessing in separating us from the world and attaching us to heaven, and above all to Christ, we may gather now from the Revelation rightly understood. Indeed we ought thus to gather more than those who are to be in the circumstances can reap in their day. But there may be points of minute application kept back by the wise reserve of God, who does not indulge mere curiosity, as this would be. Such knowledge will be of practical importance only when the time comes; and therefore this may be just one of those points in which the Lord does not now gratify men's minds. Many explanations which have been offered entirely and obviously fail; for instance, "apostasy" and such like. "Apostasy" is not the number of a man; nor for similar reasons can "apostate" stand, nor perhaps "the Latin man."

11. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “The domain of antichristI. It has a manifold development. In the commerce of the world, in the government of the world, in the campaigns of the world, in the literature of the world, in the religions of the world, antichrist

appears in aspects as hideous, and in a spirit as savage and blasphemous as the monsters depicted in this vision.II. It has one master-spirit.1. He is endowed with tremendous power.2. His grand pursuit is moral mischief. He promotes—(1) Blasphemy;(2) Deception;(3) Destruction. He has no fight with fiends, but with saints.3. His sphere is co-extensive with the world. Wherever falsehood, dishonesty, impurity, revenge are, there he is. And where are they not?4. However great his influence, he is under a restraining law.5. His mission will ultimately prove self-ruinous. In every act the devil performs, he is forming a link in that adamantine chain that shall bind him, not merely for a thousand years, but for ever. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The two wild beasts; or, the world and its wisdomI. The antichristian world answers to the first of the wild beasts of which we here read. See the resemblance. Rome and Nero’s were not more exact.1. It has assumed successive forms. “Seven heads” we read of, and they denote the multiplication and succession of hostile powers arrayed against the Church of God.2. And it has ever had immense strength. “Ten horns,” and these encircled with diadems, telling how the world spirit has ever made use of the princes and potentates of earth to work his will.3. And it has ever raged against the Church as a wild beast. Under all its forms it has hated the people of God. From Pharaoh even to the last of the persecutors it has been the Same.4. And its deadly wounds heal (Rev_13:3). If its dominion be overthrown in a given locality, or in your heart, do we not know how the evil spirit, who has left for a while, comes back?5. It is popular. “All the world wondered after,” and “worshipped.”6. And it blasphemes still, It claims Divine power.7. And it wages war and wins (Rev_13:7). Let families, Churches, congregations, tell how this war has been waged in their midst, and how some, often many, of their most hopeful members have fallen.8. And none but those who are really Christ’s withstand (Rev_13:6). Yes, we are sent forth as sheep amid wolves.II. The wisdom of this world answers to the second “beast.” St. James tells us that “this wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” This monster (verse 11) is seen to ascend from “the earth,” as St. James tells. In Rev_19:20 it is called the “false prophet.”1. It is said to have “deceived.” It deceives—(1) By its innocent appearance, its lamb-like look. True, it had ten horns, but they meant nothing, so small, so slight, so incapable of injury. So this wisdom. No one would ever suspect it of being a fierce beast. It is known as modern thought, science, philosophy, liberal culture—lamb-like words whom none would suspect to harbour ill.(2) By its words, so subtle and serpentine. “He spake as a dragon,” that is, as a serpent, as did the “old serpent.” So this wisdom of the world is plausible, popular, prevalent. But it further deceives—(3) By its “lying wonders” (Rev_19:14). The juggleries and tricks of heathenism, its magic and sorcery, explain St. John’s words. Have not most eminent names, most wonderful discoveries, most famous reputations, been amongst the rewards it has given?2. Its falsity may be detected. See, then—(1) It is an alliance with the God-defying world (cf. verses 12-15). Mere brute force could not get on without the tricks and frauds which this lamb-like, lying thing concocts and displays. The first beast would be powerless without the cunning of the second. And here is a test for us. Do we find that any set of opinions, any new beliefs and maxims we may have adopted, are such as the godless and antichristian world choose and cherish as of great advantage to them? Can they claim them as on their side? If so, that is a very suspicious fact.(2) It transforms you into the world’s likeness (see verse 16). On the forehead or on the right hand the mark of this beast was to be. (S. Conway, B. A.)

His deadly wound was healed.—His deadly wound was healedWho would have suspected this inference from these premises? But is not this the lively emblem of my natural corruption? Sometimes I conceive that, by God’s grace, I have conquered and killed, subdued and slain, maimed and mortified the deeds of the flesh: never more shall I be molested or buffeted with such a bosom sin: when, alas! by the next return the news is, it is revived and recovered. Thus tenches, though grievously gashed, presently plaster themselves whole by that slimy and unctuous humour they have in them; and thus the inherent balsam of badness quickly cures my corruption—not a scar to be seen. I perceive I shall never finally kill it, till first I be dead myself. (Thomas Fuller, D. D.)

All the world wondered after the beast.—Admiration of the beastCan you not hear the words coming across all these centuries from the lips of two Roman youths, talking with each other, as they lounge together in the Forum? They had noble thoughts once; they had heard of the deeds of their fathers; they had dreamed that there might be some possible good for their age. But they had become sottish, licentious, gamblers. And one more gigantically sottish, licentious, gambling than themselves has become their ideal of what is desirable and possible. Who is like to him? Who can make war with him? These two youths fairly represent the age on which they have fallen. There is no originality in them. They think what every one else thinks., Their private opinion is the public opinion of the city and of the world. (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)

12. MEYER, “THE BEAST AND HIS WORSHIPERS

Rev_13:1-18

The horns symbolize power; the heads, intelligence; and the beast, an earthly kingdom. The dragon must stand for Satan, who has wrought his greatest achievements through earthly potentates and systems. It is through the world-power that the spleen and hatred of hell have been vented on the saints. What a comfort to know that the duration of such power is limited to 42 symbolic months, that is, 1,260 days (or years). If you are enduring hatred and persecution, be of good cheer, for your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, Rev_13:8. This may well compensate us amid the most violent opposition.The beast arising from the earth, Rev_13:11-18, may represent the persecutions of papal Rome as contrasted with those of pagan Rome in the previous verses. Or this symbol may represent some of those modern devices by which men’s hearts are turned from God, such as the new semi-religious schools of thought that strive for the empire of men’s minds, or the customs of modern trade, Rev_13:17. Be these as they may, the one outstanding lesson for us all is that the child of God is always in collision with the spirit of His age.

2 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 and his

throne and great authority.

1.BARNES, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard - For a description of the leopard, see the notes on Dan_7:6. It is distinguished for bloodthirstiness and cruelty, and thus becomes an emblem of a fierce, tyrannical power. In its general character it resembles a lion and the lion and the leopard are often referred to together. In this description, it is observable that John has combined in one animal or monster, all those which Daniel brought successively on the scene of action as representing different empires. Thus in Dan_7:2-7 the lion is introduced as the symbol of the Babylonian power; the bear, as the symbol of the Medo-Persian; the leopard, as the symbol of the Macedonian; and a nondescript animal, fierce, cruel, and mighty, with two horns as the symbol of the Roman. See the notes on that passage. In John there is one animal representing the Roman power, as if it were made up of all these: a leopard with the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion, with two horns, and with the general description of a fierce monster. There was an obvious propriety in this, in speaking of the Roman power, for it was, in fact, made up of the empires represented by the other symbols in Daniel, and “combined in itself all the elements of the terrible and the oppressive, which had existed in the aggregate in the other great empires that preceded it.” At the same time there was an obvious propriety in the symbol itself; for the bloodthirstiness and cruelty of the leopard would well represent the ferocity and cruelty of the Roman power, especially as John saw it here as the great antagonistic power of the true church, sustaining the papal claim, and thirsting for blood.And his feet were as the feet of a bear - See the notes on Dan_7:5. The idea here seems to be that of strength, as the strength of the bear resides much in its feet and claws. At the same time, there is the idea of a combination of fierce qualities - as if the bloodthirstiness, the cruelty, and the agility of the leopard were united with the strength of the bear.And his mouth as the mouth of a lion - See the notes on Dan_7:4. The month of the lion is made to seize and hold its prey, and is indicative of the character of the animal as a beast of prey. John has thus brought together the qualities of activity, bloodthirstiness, strength, ferocity, all as symbolical of the power that was intended to be represented. It is hardly necessary to say that this description is one that would apply well, in all respects, to Rome; nor is it necessary to say, that if it be supposed that he meant to refer to Rome, this is such a description as he would have adopted.And the dragon - See the notes on Rev_12:3.Gave him his power - Satan claimed, in the time of the Saviour, all power over the kingdoms of the world, and asserted that he could give them to whomsoever he pleased. See the notes on Mat_4:8-9. How far the power of Satan in this respect may extend, it may not be possible to determine; but it cannot be doubted that the Roman power seemed to have such an origin, and that in the main it was such as, on that supposition, it would be. In its arrogance and haughtiness - in its thirst for dominion - in its persecutions - it had such characteristics as we may suppose Satan would originate. If, therefore, as the whole connection leads us to suppose, this refers to the Roman secular power, considered as the support of the papacy, there is the most evident propriety in the representation.And his seat - ???´??? thronon. Hence, our word “throne.” The word properly means a seat; then a high seat; then a throne, as that on which a king sits. Here it refers to this power as exercising dominion on the earth.And great authority - The authority was great. It extended over a large part of the earth, and, alike in its extent and character, it was such as we may suppose Satan would set up in the world.

2. CLARKE, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard - This similitude of the beast to a leopard appears to be an allusion to the third beast of Daniel, which is well known to represent the empire of the Greeks. The Latin empire greatly resembled the modern empire of the Greeks; for that the power of the Greeks was still said to be like a leopard, even after its subjugation by the Romans, is evident from Dan_7:12 : “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.” The Latin empire was, in the first place, like to its contemporary, because both adhered to an idolatrous system of worship, professedly Christian, but really antichristian; and it is well known that the Greek and Latin Churches abound in monstrous absurdities. Secondly, Both empires were similar in their opposition to the spread of pure Christianity; though it must be allowed that the Latins far

outstripped the Greeks in this particular. Thirdly, Both empires were similar in respect to the civil authority being powerfully depressed by the ecclesiastical; though it must be granted the authority of the Latin Church was more strongly marked, and of much longer continuance. The excommunication of the Greek emperor by the Patriarch Arsenius, and the consequences of that excommunication, afford a remarkable example of the great power of the Greek clergy. But the beast of St. John, though in its general appearance it resembles a leopard, yet differs from it in having feet like those of a bear. The second beast of Daniel was likened to a bear, and there can be no doubt that the kingdom of the Medes and Persians was intended; and it is very properly likened to this animal, because it was one of the most inhuman governments that ever existed, and a bear is the well known Scripture emblem of cruelty. See 2Sa_17:8, and Hos_13:8. Is not cruelty a striking characteristic of the papal Latin empire? Have not the subjects of this empire literally trampled to death all those in their power who would not obey their idolatrous requisitions? In Fox’s Book of Martyrs, and other works which treat upon this subject, will be found a melancholy catalogue of the horrid tortures and most lingering deaths which they have obliged great numbers of Christians to suffer. In this sense the feet of the beast were as the feet of a bear. Another particular in which the beast differed from a leopard was, in having a mouth like a lion. “It is,” says Dr. More, “like the Babylonish kingdom (the first beast of Daniel, which is likened to a lion) in its cruel decrees against such as will not obey their idolatrous edicts, nor worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Their stubbornness must be punished by a hot fiery furnace; fire and fagot must be prepared for them that will not submit to this new Roman idolatry.”And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority - It was said of the dragon, in Rev_12:8, that his place was found no more in heaven; the dragon here cannot therefore be the heathen Roman empire, as this was abolished previously to the rising up of the beast. It must then allude to the restoration of one of the Draconic heads of the beast, as will be seen in the explanation of the following verse, and more fully in the notes on Revelation 17:1-18.

3. GILL, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,.... To which the Grecian kingdom is compared in Dan_7:6; because of that rapidity and swiftness with which Alexander overran the world, and set up this monarchy; and to which the Roman Papal monarchy bears some resemblance; for as the Grecian monarchy was divided into several parts, which the leopard's spots may also point out, so the Roman empire was divided into ten parts, and united under the pope, as the head of them; and may be, in this form, compared to a leopard for its swiftness, Hab_1:8; because this beast, as soon as he arose and got power, quickly, and in a very short time, extended it over all emperors, kings, princes, bishops, and over all kingdoms and churches; and for its spots, Jer_13:23, which may be expressive both of the spots of sin and immorality of every kind, and of errors and heresies, superstition and idolatry, with which antichrist and his followers abound; and for its insidiousness and cruelty, Jer_5:6. It lies in wait for its prey, and suddenly falls upon it, and devours it; and is a lively picture of the cunning sleight of the antichristian party, who lie in wait to deceive, and of their blood thirstiness and barbarity. It is reported (c) of the leopard, that it is of a sweet smell, and by its odour it draws the fawns, does, &c. near it, and then makes a prey of them; so antichrist, by outward riches and preferments, by the external pomp and splendour of his religion, by his living wonders and miracles, and by his great pretensions to holiness and the like, allures multitudes unto him, and destroys them.

And his feet were as the feet of a bear; to which the Persian monarchy is compared, Dan_7:5. And this, as some think, may denote the strength and stability of the kingdom of antichrist, it having already endured a great while, and will be thought to be very firm and stable when its ruin is near; or rather the wars and fightings of antichrist against the saints, the fore feet of the bear being what that creature lights with, and tears and destroys such as oppose it, or fall a prey to it; and may also, as before, express the voraciousness and cruelty of antichrist, with respect to the bodies and souls of men:

and his mouth, as the mouth of a lion: to which creature the Babylonian monarchy is compared, Dan_7:4, uttering out blasphemies against God, threatening ruin and destruction to men, and injecting fear into them, as the roaring of a lion does, and seizing upon, and devouring their estates and possessions, as well as butchering their persons. This beast has all the properties of

the several beasts in Daniel's prophecy, wherefore all the figures there made use of to describe them are put together, to point unto us this monster of iniquity.

And the dragon gave him his power: for the coming of antichrist is after the working of Satan, 2Th_1:9; he gave him his cunning and subtlety, as the old serpent, and taught him his arts and tricks to deceive mankind; and gave him a power to do signs and lying wonders, as well as communicated his malice and cruelty to persecute and oppress the saints; or an "army" of ecclesiastics to fight under him, and for him:

and his seat; at Rome, for there Satan's seat was, Rev_2:13, in the time of the Pagan Roman empire, which was quitted by Dioclesian and Maximian, when they resigned the government of it, the one being at Nicomedia, and the other at Milan; and when Constantine came to the throne, he removed to Byzantium, and rebuilt it, and called it after his name Constantinople, and had his residence there, as had all the eastern emperors afterwards; and as for the western emperors, they chiefly resided either at Milan or Ravenna, to which last place Odoacer, Theodoric, and other Gothic kings retired, when the government was in their hands; so that hereby this seat was empty, and way was made for antichrist to take it, as he did.

And great authority; over the Roman empire, and the kings and kingdoms in it; he gave him his authority as the god of this world; what Christ refused at the hands of Satan, that his pretended vicar took, even the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; yea, assumed to himself all power in heaven, earth, and hell, signified by his triple crown, at the instigation of the devil; so that it appears that he is not the vicar of Christ, but the vicar of the devil; and not the successor of Peter, but the successor of Satan; and that he holds his possessions, not by the donation of Constantine, but by the gift of the dragon.

4. IVP, “John's use of I saw (vv. 1, 2) marks a return to the first-person narrative style that dominated chapters 4-10. In chapters 11-12 John could say something "appeared" in the sky or in heaven (11:19; 12:1, 3) without specifying that it appeared to him personally. In the account of the dragon and the woman, the expression "I heard" in 12:10 was the only reminder that John himself was still in the picture. But now he abruptly becomes an eyewitness to the events he describes:And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his 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 and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. (13:1-3)Several points in the scene are worth noticing. First, a family resemblance between the dragon and the beast is evident. The dragon in chapter 12 had "seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads" (12:3), while the beast from the sea in chapter 13 has ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns. Only the number and placement of the crowns vary. Second, although it is not stated in so many words that the beast is the dragon's "offspring," this is suggested by a setting in which the dragon seems to call the beast out of the sea and gives it his power and his throne and great authority (v. 2). Finally, the beast's fatally wounded head (v. 3; compare vv. 12, 14) recalls a significant detail in the ancient prophecy from Genesis about the serpent and the woman: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen 3:15, italics mine).Clearly the beast from the sea bears the battle scars of the combat prophesied in that ancient text. The statement that one of the beast's heads seemed to have had a fatal wound could be literally translated "was as if slaughtered to death," reminding us that when the Lamb first appeared in John's visions he too was "standing as if . . . slaughtered" (5:6 NRSV; the same Greek word). Something more is presupposed here than the "war in heaven" and the conflict between the dragon and the woman described in chapter 12. The beast's wounded head suggests a previous encounter between the Lamb and the beast, probably centered in Christ's death on the cross. Both the Lamb and the beast were "slaughtered" or "slain" in that encounter, yet both are "alive" (1:18; 13:14), and each in his own way is a "victor" or "conqueror" or "overcomer" (for the Lamb, see 3:20; 5:5; 17:14; for the beast, 6:2; 11:7; 13:7).No other figure in the book of Revelation has captured readers' imaginations quite like the beast of chapter 13. Above all, the challenge at the chapter's end to "calculate the number of the beast,

for it is man's number . . . 666" (v. 18) has drawn a chorus of responses from John's time down to the present, many forged in the heat of later but now long-forgotten controversies, and none very convincing. The general public (and often the church too) tends to view John's description of the beast either as the stuff of which science fiction is made or as a club to wield against personal or national enemies. Academic biblical scholars, by contrast, are more than willing to leave both the imagery and what it represents back in the distant past, on the grounds that John was making a veiled political statement about the Roman Empire in his own time. On this view, the beast is the empire, its many heads are a series of emperors, the wounded head is Nero, the first persecutor of Christians, who had died and, according to some versions of a popular legend, was expected to return to power with an army of the hated Parthians (for a summary, see Keener 1993:796, who concludes that "Rome would have taken serious offense at the implications of this exiled prophet John had the authorities read and grasped the symbolism of his book").Widely held as this interpretation is among scholars, it is not without difficulties. For example, did John himself actually believe the so-called Nero redivivus, or reborn Nero, myth? If he did, are Christians today obliged to believe it? If he did not, was he guilty of deceiving his readers by playing on their superstitions and fears? If Nero is the mortally wounded head, how could he have been wounded by Christ, the woman's offspring, in keeping with Genesis 3:15? What could the death of Christ possibly have to do with Nero's death? To a large degree the interpretation of the beast as Nero is derived not from chapter 13 itself, but from chapter 17. As the vision of chapter 13 unfolds, neither John himself nor someone reading his prophecy for the first time has the benefit of the detailed explanation that is supplied four chapters later (17:7-18). The latter interprets in explicitly political terms the things John sees in 17:1-6, but it is by no means evident that the explanation there is also meant as a key to the visions of chapter 13.The principle of reading John's visions (1) in the order in which he claimed to have seen them and (2) as if reading them for the first time should be respected and maintained. Then the reader is not in such a hurry to move from vision to historical reality, and a door is opened to a rather more universal, less political reading of the text. On such a reading, the question to be asked is not, Where will we see this beast again later in the book? but, Where have we seen this beast before? The answer is clear: in 11:7, where John was told that "when [the two witnesses] have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them." The description matches that of the beast in chapter 13. He too "comes up," in this case out of the sea (v. 1); he too "attacks" (that is, "makes war") against the people of God: he too "overpowers" or "conquers" them (v. 7) and "kills" many of them (vv. 10, 15). The vocabulary is similar, and there is good reason to conclude that "the beast from the Abyss" (11:7) and "the beast from the sea" (13:1) are one and the same. After the passing mention in chapter 11 (and possibly even earlier under the name "Apollyon" in 9:11) John now provides the beast with a more formal introduction.The most conspicuous biblical reference point for John's beast from the sea is Daniel's dream of four great beasts from the sea, the first like a lion with eagle's wings, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard, and the fourth, different and more terrible than the others, with ten horns (Dan 7:1-7). In John's vision the order of the first three is reversed (leopard-bear-lion), and Daniel's four beasts have been rolled into one. Or, to put it another way, Daniel's terrible, unidentified fourth beast seems to have "swallowed" its three predecessors and to have taken on the distinguishing characteristics of each. This should further caution us against identifying John's beast too quickly or too exclusively with one specific empire or political system, whether past or future. We should first appreciate John's vision as a vision and should try to put ourselves inside the fascinating (though frightening) world it creates for us.The beast's agenda corresponds to that of the dragon: the dragon was the deceiver of "the whole world" (12:9), and the beast throughout chapter 13 carries out that deception. John implies that the healing of the beast's mortal wound is itself a deception, producing amazement over the whole world (v. 3) and leading people on earth to worship both the dragon and the beast (v. 4). The beast's authority prevails on earth for forty-two montes (v. 5; compare 11:2), and by the end of that time all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it (v. 8).The dragon's further goal of persecuting Christians (12:17) is also evident, though rather less conspicuous in the beast's career. The beast is given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies (v. 5), and he opens itto blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who dwell in heaven (v. 6). The last phrase probably refers to angels, viewed as heavenly counterparts to Christian believers on earth. The actual persecution of Christians is

mentioned explicitly only in verse 7, yet persecution is clearly implied by the prophetic appeal to John's readers in verse 10: If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. The appeal is based on Jeremiah 15:2: "Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity" (compare the four horsemen of Rev 6:1-8).The significance of the brief prophetic oracle in verse 10 can scarcely be overestimated. Time and again, from the ill-fated Muenster kingdom of the sixteenth-century Anabaptists to David Koresh at Waco in the 1990s, the book of Revelation has been linked in the public mind to violence, war and armed rebellion. The book has been blamed for everything from social revolutions in Latin America to the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. John's oracle here gives the lie to all such interpretations, whether offered by those who would justify violence or those who would consign Revelation to the scrap heap because of the violent world it evokes. The book is most emphatically not a call to arms, but a call for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints (v. 10).The burning question in the minds of John's readers must have been, If all these terrible things are going to happen in the world, what should be our response? The answer of this text--and of the whole book of Revelation--is that the response of Christians must be one of nonresistance and nonretaliation: first, because armed resistance will be futile in any case and second (and more importantly), because God and the Lamb have already guaranteed them victory. Those who "overcome" do so not with the sword, but with "the blood of the Lamb" and "the word of their testimony" (see 12:11). For the present, John is saying, until the beast's forty-two montes are up (v. 5), those destined for imprisonment will go to prison and those destined for death will be killed. The sole responsibility of Christians is to be faithful and to wait out the storm. God and the Lamb will intervene in due time. John's point is not unlike that of Paul in Romans 12:19-21:Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Compare Prov 25:21-22 LXX)Where John differs from Paul is that Paul still had confidence that the state "does not bear the sword for nothing," but is "God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Rom 13:4). Because of developments in the Roman Empire since Paul's time, John has lost confidence in the state. Instead of the state's executing God's wrath on wrongdoers, it will now be a case of God's executing wrath on the state. This will come in the next six chapters, which have given the book of Revelation its reputation as the most violent book in the New Testament. Without question, the reputation is deserved. Yet it does not follow that the book fosters violence among its readers. The very opposite is true. The call to patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints (v. 10) is a call to peace, a call to leave the judgment of our enemies in the hands of God and the Lamb. In our day it is mostly those who have abandoned the belief that God will destroy evildoers with fire from heaven who take it upon themselves to do exactly that.

5. JAMISON, “leopard ... bear ... lion — This beast unites in itself the God-opposed characteristics of the three preceding kingdoms, resembling respectively the leopard, bear, and lion. It rises up out of the sea, as Daniel’s four beasts, and has ten horns, as Daniel’s fourth beast, and seven heads, as Daniel’s four beasts had in all, namely, one on the first, one on the second, four on the third, and one on the fourth. Thus it represents comprehensively in one figure the world power (which in Daniel is represented by four) of all times and places, not merely of one period and one locality, viewed as opposed to God; just as the woman is the Church of all ages. This view is favored also by the fact, that the beast is the vicarious representative of Satan, who similarly has seven heads and ten horns: a general description of his universal power in all ages and places of the world. Satan appears as a serpent, as being the archetype of the beast nature (Rev_12:9). “If the seven heads meant merely seven Roman emperors, one cannot understand why they alone should be mentioned in the original image of Satan, whereas it is perfectly intelligible if we suppose them to represent Satan’s power on earth viewed collectively” [Auberlen].

6. PULPIT, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. The similarity to the vision of Dan_7:1-28. is very evident; the resemblance extending even to the language, which is here very like the LXX. version of Daniel. Cf. especially the form a?´???? (found in all the best manuscripts) with that of the LXX. of Dan_7:5. In the vision of Daniel four beasts are seen rising from the sea. The first was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard, the fourth was distinguished by the ten horns. Here the four are combined in the one appearance of the beast. The qualities which are indicated by the animals named are very generally agreed upon. The lion denotes lordly dominion and rule; the bear suggests crushing force and tenacity of purpose; the leopard is distinguished for its swiftness and cruel blood thirstiness. These characteristics marked the Roman empire at the time of this vision, and this probably was the first fulfilment of the vision. The same qualities have, however, been exhibited at all times by the persecutors of the Church of God, and thus the application may be extended, and the vision represents (as Alford says) "not the Roman empire merely, but the aggregate of the empires of this world as opposed to Christ and his kingdom." And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority; and his throne. The dragon and this beast are essentially one, since the latter wields all the influence of the former. The devil lost his throne in heaven; through the power of the world he temporarily regains a throne as the "prince of this world." Christ, by his incarnation, destroyed much of the personal nature of the devil's influence over men. By that the devil was completely bound as regards the righteous (cf. the interpretation of Rev_20:2); but his power to work mischief he transfers to the nations of the world, who become his instrument for that purpose

7. BURKITT, “St. John here proceeds in giving a farther description of this monstrous beast; it was in appearance like a leopard, spotted with divers kinds of idolatry, with variety of idol gods; with feet like a bear, denoting its strength and fierceness; its mouth like a lion, that is, cruel and ravenous.

Next an account is given from whom this beast receives its power and authority; the dragon, that is, the devil, by God's permission, gave unto this beast power and great authority, to deceive by strong delusions, and hurt the soul, as also to kill and destroy the body.

Note here, That when the dragon is said to give the beast his throne and power, his seat and great authority, we must not understand it as by right, for all power is from God, but as by usurpation, belonging to him. That authority, which is claimed to depose kings, to dispose of kingdoms, to dispense with the laws of God, all this is from the dragon, and in no wise from God. The dragon gave the beast his power, his seat, and great authority.

3 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.

1.BARNES, “And I saw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death - The phrase “wounded to death” means properly that it received a mortal wound, that is, the wound would have been mortal if it had not been healed. A blow was struck that would be naturally fatal, but there was something that prevented the fatal result. John does not say, however, by whom the wound was inflicted, nor

does he describe further the nature of the wound. He says that “one of the heads” - that is, one of the seven heads - was thus wounded. In Rev_17:9, he says that “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.” In Rev_17:10, he says, “there are seven kings.” And this would lead us to suppose that there were “seven” administrations, or forms of dominion, or dynasties, that were presented to the eye of John; and that while the number “seven,” as applied to the “heads,” so far identified the power as to fix its location on the seven “hills” Rev_17:9, in another respect also the number “seven” suggested forms of administration of dynasties, Rev_17:10. What is meant by saying that one of these heads was wounded to death has been among the most perplexing of all the inquiries pertaining to the Book of Revelation. The use of the word “seven,” and the explanation in Rev_17:9, make it morally certain that Rome, in some form of its administration, is referred to. Of this there can be no doubt, and in this all are agreed. It is not, however, the papal power as such that is here referred to; for:(a) The papal power is designated under the image of the second beast;(b) The descriptions pertaining to the first beast are all applicable to a secular power and,(c) There was no form of the papal spiritual dominion which would properly correspond with what is said in Rev_17:10.The reference in this place is, therefore, to Rome considered as a civil or secular power, yet Rome regarded as giving support to the second beast - the papal power. The general idea here is, that a state of things would exist in regard to that power, at the time referred to, as if one of the seven heads of the monster should receive a wound which would be fatal, if it were not healed in some way. That is, its power would be weakened; its dominion would be curtailed, and that portion of its power would have come to an end, if there had not been something which would, as it were, restore it, and save it from the wrath that was impending. The great point of difficulty relates to the particular application of this; to the facts in history that would correspond with the symbol.On this there have been almost as many opinions as there have been interpreters of the Apocalypse, and there is no impropriety in saying that none of the solutions are wholly free from objection. The main difficulty, so far as the interpretation proposed above is concerned, is, in the fact that “one” of the seven heads is referred to as wounded unto death; as if one-seventh part of the power was endangered. I confess I am not able wholly to solve this difficulty; but, after all, is it certain that the meaning is that just one-seventh part of the power was in peril; that the blow affected just such a portion that it might be described as the one-seventh part? Is not the number seven so used in the Scriptures as to denote a considerable portion - a portion quite material and important? And may not all that is intended here be, that John saw a wound inflicted on that mighty power which would have been fatal if it had not been marvelously healed? And was it not true that the Roman civil and secular power was so waning and decaying, that it might properly be represented as if one of the seven heads of the monster had received a fatal wound, until its power was restored by the influence of the spiritual domination of the church of Rome? If this be the correct exposition, then what is implied here may be thus stated:(a) The general subject of the representation is the Roman power, as seen at first in its vigor and strength;(b) Then that power is said to be greatly weakened, as if one of its heads were smitten with a deadly wound;(c) Then the wound was healed - this power was restored - by being brought into alliance withthe papacy; that is, the whole Roman power over the world would have died away, if it had not been restored and perpetuated by means of this new and mighty influence, Rev_13:12.Under this new form, Rome had all the power which it had ever had, and was guilty of all the atrocities of which it had ever been guilty: it was Rome still. Every wound that was inflicted on that power by the incursion of barbarians, and by the dividing off of parts of the empire, was healed by the papacy, and under this form its dominion became as wide and as formidable as under its ancient mode of administration. If a more particular application of this is sought for, I see no reason to doubt that it may be found in the quite common interpretation of the passage given by Protestants, that the reference is to the forms of administration under which this power appeared in the world. The number of distinct forms of government which the Roman power assumed from first to last was the following: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, emperors. These seven forms of administration were, at least, sufficiently prominent and marked to be represented by this symbol, or to attract the attention of one contemplating this formidable power - for it was under these forms that its conquests had been achieved, and its dominion set up over the earth. In the time of John, and the time contemplated in this vision, all these had passed away

but the imperial. That, too, was soon to be smitten with a deadly wound by the invasion of the Northern hordes; and that would have wholly and forever ceased if it had not been restored - the deadly wound being healed - by the influence of the papal power, giving Rome its former ascendency. See the notes at the close of Rev_13:15.And his deadly wound was healed - That is, as explained above, the waning Roman secular power was restored by its connection with the spiritual power - the papacy. This was:(a) A simple matter of fact, that the waning secular power of Rome was thus restored by connecting itself with the spiritual or ecclesiastical power, thus prolonging what might properly be called the Roman domination far beyond what it would otherwise have been; and,(b) This would be properly represented by just the symbol employed here - the fatal wound inflicted on the head, and the healing of that wound, or preventing what would naturally be the effects. On the fulfillment of this, see the notes on Rev_13:15, at the close.And all the world wondered after the beast - The word used here - ?a?µa?? thaumazo‾ - means, properly, to be astonished; to be amazed; then to wonder at; then to admire and follow (Robinson, Lexicon). In Rev_13:4, it is said that the world “worshipped” the beast; and the general idea is, that the beast received such universal reverence, or inspired such universal awe, as to be properly called worship or adoration. There can be no doubt of the propriety of this, considered as applicable to that secular Roman power which sustained the papacy. The homage was as wide as the limits of the Roman empire had ever been, and might be said to embrace “all the world.”

2. CLARKE, “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death - This is the second and last place where the heads of the beast are mentioned with any description; and therefore the meaning here must be forms of government, as these were noticed last in the angel’s double explanation. The head that was wounded to death can be no other than the seventh draconic head, which was the sixth head of the beast, viz., the imperial power; for “this head,” as Bishop Newton observes, “was, as it were, wounded to death when the Roman empire was overturned by the northern nations, and an end was put to the very name of emperor in Momyllus Augustulus.” It was so wounded that it was wholly improbable that it could ever rise again to considerable power, for the western empire came into the possession of several barbarous nations of independent interests.And his deadly wound was healed - This was effected by Charlemagne, who with his successors assumed all the marks of the ancient emperors of the west, with the titles of Semper Augustus, Sacred Majesty, First Prince of the Christian World, Temporal Chief of the Christian People, and Rector or Temporal Chief of the Faithful in Germany; Mod. Universal History, vol. xxxii., p. 79. But it is said in Rev_13:2 that the dragon gave the beast his power, d??aµ??, his armies or military strength; i.e., he employed all his imperial power in defense of the Latin empire, which supported the Latin Church. He also gave his seat, ??????, literally his throne, to him: that is, his whole empire formed an integral part of the Latin empire, by its conversion to the Roman Catholic faith. He also gave him great authority. This is literally true of the Roman empire of Germany, which, by its great power and influence in the politics of Europe, extended the religion of the empire over the various states and monarchies of Europe, thus incorporating them as it were in one vast empire, by uniting them in one common faith.And all the world wondered after the beast - ???? ?? ??? All the earth. As the original word signifies earth, and not world as in our translation, the Latin world, which is the earth of the beast, is here intended; and the meaning of the passage consequently is, that the whole body of the Roman Catholics were affected with great astonishment at the mighty sway of the Latin empire, considering it as a great and holy power.

3. GILL, “And I saw one of his heads,.... Not the Capitoline mountain, or the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter, built on that hill, which was burnt by lightning in the times of Titus, and magnificently rebuilt by Domitian, which was a thing past, and of no such moment as to be taken notice of here; nor anyone of the Roman emperors particularly, as Julius Caesar, at whose death the empire received a wound, upon its first erection in him, but was healed by the settlement of Augustus in it; nor Nero, at whose death the family of the Caesars ceased, when the empire was threatened with ruin in the following reigns, but was restored and reestablished in Vespasian, for these were before the times of John: but this is to be understood of the sixth head, or form of government,

which obtained in the empire; namely, that of emperors, and of the destruction of Rome itself, the head of the empire, and which was built on seven mountains, designed by the seven heads of this beast: and this head was

as it were wounded to death; when the Roman empire was like a burning mountain cast into the sea; when Rome itself was taken, sacked, and burnt, more than once, particularly by Totilas; when Augustulus, the last of the emperors, was obliged to abdicate the throne; when Odoacer called himself, not emperor of Rome, but king of Italy, and retired from Rome to Ravenna; and when Adolphus, another Gothic king, thought to have changed the name of Rome, and given it that of Gothia: this seemed to be a deadly wound to Rome, to the empire and emperors.

And his deadly wound was healed; by the setting up of ten kingdoms in it, the kings of which gave them to the beast, to antichrist, the pope of Rome, and so the empire came to have an head again, a governor, though of another kind: some choose to understand this of the wound which antichrist received at the Reformation, by Luther, Calvin, and others, which has since been healing, Popery recovering itself again in some countries where it was driven out, and which, it is thought, will be entirely healed before his destruction:

and all the world wondered after the beast; which expresses the large extent of antichrist's dominion, which reached to all the Roman empire, Luk_2:1; yea, to all kindreds, tongues, and nations, Rev_13:7; so that the universality the Papists boast of, as a note of the true church, is manifestly a mark of the beast, or of antichrist; and also the great esteem he is had in by his followers, who admire his power and authority, his grandeur, pomp, and riches, his signs and lying wonders, his pretended infallibility and holiness, his stock of merits and unwritten traditions, his skill to interpret Scripture, and his power to forgive sins, and the like: they went after him, obeyed him, embraced his doctrines, attended his religion and worship with wonder and amazement.

4. HENRY, “The source and spring of his authority - the dragon; he gave him his power, and seat, and great authority. He was set up by the devil, and supported by him to do his work and promote his interest; and the devil lent him all the assistance he could. 5. A dangerous wound given him, and yet unexpectedly healed, Rev_13:3. Some think that by this wounded head we are to understand the abolishing of pagan idolatry; and by the healing of the wound the introducing of the popish idolatry, the same in substance with the former, only in a new dress, and which as effectually answers the devil's design as that did. 6. The honour and worship paid to this infernal monster: All the world wondered after the beast; they all admired his power, and policy, and success, and they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast, and they worshipped the beast; they paid honour and subjection to the devil and his instruments, and thought there was no power able to withstand them: so great were the darkness, degeneracy, and madness of the world! 7. How he exercised his infernal power and policy: He had a mouth, speaking great things, and blasphemies; he blasphemed God, the name of God, the tabernacle of God, and all those that dwell in heaven; and he made war with the saints, and overcame them, and gained a sort of universal empire in the world. His malice was principally levelled at the God of heaven, and his heavenly attendants - at God, in making images of him that is invisible, and in worshipping them; - at the tabernacle of God, that is, say some, at the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which God dwells as in a tabernacle; this is dishonoured by their doctrine of transubstantiation, which will not suffer his body to be a true body, and will put it into the power of every priest to prepare a body for Christ; - and against those that dwell in heaven, the glorified saints, by putting them into the place of the pagan demons, and praying to them, which they are so far from being pleased with that they truly judge themselves wronged and dishonoured by it. Thus the malice of the devil shows itself against heaven and the blessed inhabitants of heaven. These are above the reach of his power. All he can do is to blaspheme them; but the saints on earth are more exposed to his cruelty, and he sometimes is permitted to triumph over them and trample upon them.5. JAMISON, “One of — literally, “from among.”wounded ... healed — twice again repeated emphatically (Rev_13:12, Rev_13:14); compare Rev_17:8, Rev_17:11, “the beast that was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” (compare Rev_13:11); the Germanic empire, the seventh head (revived in the eighth), as yet future in John’s time (Rev_17:10). Contrast the change whereby Nebuchadnezzar, being humbled from his self-deifying pride, was converted from his beast-like form and character to MAN’S form

and true position towards God; symbolized by his eagle wings being plucked, and himself made to stand upon his feet as a man (Dan_7:4). Here, on the contrary, the beast’s head is not changed into a human head, but receives a deadly wound, that is, the world kingdom which this head represents does not truly turn to God, but for a time its God-opposed character remains paralyzed (“as it were slain”; the very words marking the beast’s outward resemblance to the Lamb, “as it were slain,” see on Rev_5:6. Compare also the second beast’s resemblance to the Lamb, Rev_13:11). Though seemingly slain (Greek for “wounded”), it remains the beast still, to rise again in another form (Rev_13:11). The first six heads were heathenish, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome; the new seventh world power (the pagan German hordes pouring down on Christianized Rome), whereby Satan had hoped to stifle Christianity (Rev_11:15, Rev_11:16), became itself Christianized (answering to the beast’s, as it were, deadly wound: it was slain, and it is not, Rev_17:11). Its ascent out of the bottomless pit answers to the healing of its deadly wound (Rev_17:8). No essential change is noticed in Daniel as effected by Christianity upon the fourth kingdom; it remains essentially God-opposed to the last. The beast, healed of its temporary and external wound, now returns, not only from the sea, but from the bottomless pit, whence it draws new Antichristian strength of hell (Rev_13:3, Rev_13:11, Rev_13:12, Rev_13:14; Rev_11:7; Rev_17:8). Compare the seven evil spirits taken into the temporarily dispossessed, and the last state worse than the first, Mat_12:43-45. A new and worse heathenism breaks in upon the Christianized world, more devilish than the old one of the first heads of the beast. The latter was an apostasy only from the general revelation of God in nature and conscience; but this new one is from God’s revelation of love in His Son. It culminates in Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition (compare Rev_17:11); 2Th_2:3; compare 2Ti_3:1-4, the very characteristics of old heathenism (Rom_1:29-32) [Auberlen]. More than one wound seems to me to be meant, for example, that under Constantine (when the pagan worship of the emperor’s image gave way to Christianity), followed by the healing, when image worship and the other papal errors were introduced into the Church; again, that at the Reformation, followed by the lethargic form of godliness without the power, and about to end in the last great apostasy, which I identify with the second beast (Rev_13:11), Antichrist, the same seventh world power in another form.wondered after — followed with wondering gaze.

5B. MY COLLECTED NOTES, The copy cat continues and the beast is, like Christ, wounded but amazingly restored from his fatal wound. It is Satan's fake death and resurrection. Many different interpretations are here given for this fake Christ. Some say it will be an actual death and resurrection of the antichrist at the end of history. Others say it is Nero raised from the dead. Whatever he is, he is a clever, but fake, Christ.

- One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed - The fatal wound that had been healed is a parody of the 'Lamb, looking as if it had been slain' see Rev 5:6. In verse 14 we find that the wound was caused by the sword. This wound speaks of death and resurrection, i.e. a civilisation falls and in its place another arises. It could also refer to the judgement of Satan on the cross, the fulfilment of Gen 3:15 in which 'he (Jesus) will crush your head', Satan was dealt a death blow at the cross, (John 12:31, 16:11, Col 2:15) the coup de grâce will be finally dealt when Christ comes again, see Rev 20:10. The beast has a similar appearance to Satan, compare 12:3 with 13:1. Remember that Satan had already been thrown out of heaven and hurled to the earth (12:7-9) presumably as a result of Christ's victory at the cross. There is no need to apply the healed fatal wound to the Nero redivivus (resurrected) myth, although this may well have applied in John's day. This myth is an example of the fatal wound that had been healed: Nero died by suicide but Domitian rose later sharing similar characteristics to Nero. Nero was so evil that many could not believe that death was the end of him. The expectation arose that he would reappear in a resurrected form (Morris). It can also refer to the rise and fall of tyrannical dictators, as one falls another one rises to take its place.

The beast and his wounda. As if it had been mortally wounded: this wound is not superficial (is it from God's sword of judgment?); the recovery gives glory to the beast (13:12,14)b. If the beast is seen as a system, some see this as the revival of the comatose Roman Empire,

fulfilling Daniel 7c. Here is a genuine "Antichrist," a Satanic counterpart or imitation of Jesus Christ, who "rises again" from a "death wound"

wounded . . . healed--twice again repeated emphatically (Re 13:12, 14); compare Re 17:8, 11, "the beast that was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit" (compare Re 13:11); the Germanic empire, the seventh head (revived in the eighth), as yet future in John's time (Re 17:10). Contrast the change whereby Nebuchadnezzar, being humbled from his self-deifying pride, was converted from his beast-like form and character to MAN'S form and true position towards God; symbolized by his eagle wings being plucked, and himself made to stand upon his feet as a man (Da 7:4). Here, on the contrary, the beast's head is not changed into a human head, but receives a deadly wound, that is, the world kingdom which this head represents does not truly turn to God, but for a time its God-opposed character remains paralyzed ("as it were slain"; the very words marking the beast's outward resemblance to the Lamb, "as it were slain," see on Re 5:6. Compare also the second beast's resemblance to the Lamb, Re 13:11). Though seemingly slain (Greek for "wounded"), it remains the beast still, to rise again in another form (Re 13:11). The first six heads were heathenish, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome; the new seventh world power (the pagan German hordes pouring down on Christianized Rome), whereby Satan had hoped to stifle Christianity (Re 11:15, 16), became itself Christianized (answering to the beast's, as it were, deadly wound: it was slain, and it is not, Re 17:11). Its ascent out of the bottomless pit answers to the healing of its deadly wound (Re 17:8). No essential change is noticed in Daniel as effected by Christianity upon the fourth kingdom; it remains essentially God-opposed to the last. The beast, healed of its temporary and external wound, now returns, not only from the sea, but from the bottomless pit, whence it draws new Antichristian strength of hell (Re 13:3, 11, 12, 14; Re 11:7; 17:8). Compare the seven evil spirits taken into the temporarily dispossessed, and the last state worse than the first, Mt 12:43-45. A new and worse heathenism breaks in upon the Christianized world, more devilish than the old one of the first heads of the beast. The latter was an apostasy only from the general revelation of God in nature and conscience; but this new one is from God's revelation of love in His Son. It culminates in Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition (compare Re 17:11); 2Th 2:3; compare 2Ti 3:1-4, the very characteristics of old heathenism (Ro 1:29-32) [AUBERLEN]. More than one wound seems to me to be meant, for example, that under Constantine (when the pagan worship of the emperor's image gave way to Christianity), followed by the healing, when image worship and the other papal errors were introduced into the Church; again, that at the Reformation, followed by the lethargic form of godliness without the power, and about to end in the last great apostasy, which I identify with the second beast (Re 13:11), Antichrist, the same seventh world power in another form.

Stedman, “The Roman historian, Livy, wrote that there had been five forms of Roman government up to his time. Rome originally began as a loosely-connected series of regional city-states, each one governed by a king. This soon fell apart and instead of kings they elected consuls. As the consuls fell upon difficult times they were succeeded by dictators, leaders from the people who would rise up and take over the government. These in turn were overthrown and replaced by what the Romans called decemvirs, a term that means a council of ten rulers. Eventually that form, too, failed and tribunes were elected by the people to rule the land. Those were the five forms of government that had fallen.

B. W. JOHNSON, “It is shown, however, that the beast received a wound on one of its heads that was mortal. One of the kingdoms was overcome by the sword. This blow would, in the ordinary nature of things, destroy it and the beast. In some remarkable way this wound was healed. This was wonderfully fulfilled. In A. D. 476, the last of the Roman Emperors of the West was hurled from his throne, and Italy became the prey of contending barbarian hordes. It seem seem as though the fate of Rome was forever sealed. Nineveh fell, but it was to rise no more. Babylon fell before the armies of Cyrus, and after a few generations it became the abode of "doleful creatures." Tyre fell, and on the bare rock, which was once the seat of a mighty city, "the

fisherman spreads his nets." Other cities have fallen and lost their glory, their dominion, their existence, and have been converted into heaps of ruins, where wild beasts have lurked, serpents hidden, and desert winds howled; but in the case of Rome, the deadly wound was healed. Mysteriously, wonderfully, the captive city, by the development of a new power, binds her conquerors in the chains of superstition, and by establishing a spiritual dominion over the souls of men, she yet succeeds in holding the secular authority over a vast portion of the world. The sway of Rome under the Popes became, in spite of her conquest, mightier than her sway under the Cæsars.

Let's reinforce this point by looking ahead to Revelation 17, verses 7-13:And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beastthat thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive! power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.This passage appears in the context of the beast giving a ride to the symbolic woman representing apostate religions. We'll explain the woman in a later lesson. The key thing to note here is the timing: • In verse 8, "The beast that thou sawest was..." It enjoyed a period of kingdom authority before John's day. • "...and is not..." It was not energizing an empire in John's day. • "...and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit..." At a future time, it will be released from its prison in the bottomless pit to be the head demon (of the seven) behind the last-days dictator. • In verse 10, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen..." The seven heads represent seven demonic creatures, of which five have already enjoyed kingdom rule and been imprisoned by John's day. The five (as stated earlier) energized kingdoms/empires in Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. • "...and one is..." The sixth "king" was energizing the kingdom of Rome at the time the angel was speaking. • "...the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." The seventh "king" will energize a short-lived kingdom or confederacy just before the last-days dictator arises to power. The seventh "king" might have been the energizing power behind Nazi Germany, or the Soviet Union, or it might still be in prison, awaiting the opportunity to energize a future kingdom. At this point in our study, we can only speculate. But remember this guy for later. • In verse 11, "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven..." Strange as it seems, one of the five "fallen" kings will emerge from the bottomless pit and be the head guy once again. His kingdom or confederacy will create the appearance of an eighth kingdom, distinct from the previous seven. The angel persistently calls this guy "the beast that was and is not" -- so the last-days dictator cannot be primarily energized by the Roman beast, although the Roman beast (and part of his geographic territory) will participate in the last-days confederacy. Therefore the key beast must be one of the five fallen kings.

6. PULPIT, “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and one of his heads as though it had been slain unto death; and his death stroke was healed. The writer wishes to express the coexistence of two mutually antagonistic qualities. The head had received a fatal wound, and yet the beast continued to exist and exert his power. There may be a contrast and a comparison intended between the Lamb, as it had been slain, worshipped by his adoring followers, and the beast, usurping the honour due to Christ, imitating him even in the respect of having been slain, and exacting homage from those who "wondered after the beast." But the "head smitten unto death" must still possess some special significance of

its own. What that is we are not plainly told; but it seems reasonable to refer it to the blow dealt to the power of Satan by the death and resurrection of Christ. It almost seemed at first as though the power of the world must succumb to the influence of the life and death of our Lord, and for a time great progress was made in the increase of the number of believers (cf. Act_2:41, Act_2:47). But the power of the world was not yet destroyed; it continued to exist in spite of the seemingly fatal wound. Some see in this account a reference to the destruction of the Roman pagan empire, and the establishment of the Christian empire. Others believe the blow to be that administered by Michael, when Satan was ejected from heaven. Others refer the wounded head to different individuals; e.g. Nero. That one head is wounded out of the seven probably denotes the partial nature of the wound as visible to an observer. And all the world wondered after the beast; the whole earth wondered after the beast. The pregnant construction. That earth, for which the advent of the dragon meant woe(Rev_12:12), wondered at, and followed after the beast. The sense of earth must here be restricted to the followers of the world, as opposed to the followers of God.

7. BURKITT, “Here St. John farther declares what he saw concerning this beast; namely, 1. That one of its heads was wounded; by which head many understand the fall of the ancient imperial power, the decay of its wonted glory, and that ample jurisdiction which Rome heretofore had under the Pagan emperors: and by the wounding of this head, they understand the abolishing of Paganism and idolatry, and putting a stop to persecution, by the Christian emperors.

2. It is asserted, That his deadly wound was healed; namely, when idolatry, the same for substance with the Pagan and old Heathenish idolatry, but in a new dress, was gradually restored by the Papal powers.

3. Here is the effect of this healing, all the earth wondered after the beast, that followed him in blind devotion.

Where, 1. Observe, Who the admirers of the beast are, the earth, the men of the world: no wonder to see them seduced!

2. This admiration is general, the whole earth wondered after the beast; how false is it then, that multitude is a note of the true church! Behold the several instances of the world's wondering after the beast at Rome; they receive their doctrine and worship from him, they make all their appeals to him, all church officers receive their ordination from him, and are installed by him.

4 People worshiped the dragon because he had

given authority to the beast, and they also

worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the

beast? Who can wage war against it?”

1.BARNES, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast - See the notes at Rev_12:3; Rev_13:2. That is, they in fact worshipped him. The word “worship” - p??s???e´? proskuneo‾ - is not always, however, used in a religious sense. It means, properly, “to kiss”; to kiss toward anyone; that is, to kiss his own hand and to extend it toward a person, in token of respect and homage (Robinson, Lexicon). Compare Job_31:27. Then it means to show respect to one who is our superior; to kings and princes; to parents; and pre-eminently to God. See the notes on Mat_2:2. The word may be used here to mean that homage or reverence, as to a higher power, was rendered to the “dragon”; not strictly that he was openly worshipped in a religious

sense as God. Can anyone doubt that this was the case under papal Rome; that the power which was set up under that entire domination, civil and ecclesiastical, was such as Satan approved, and such as he sought to have established on the earth? And can anyone doubt that the homage thus rendered, so contrary to the law of God, and so much in derogation of his claims, was in fact homage rendered to this presiding spirit of evil?And they worshipped the beast - That is, they did it, as is immediately specified, by saying that he was “incomparable” and “invincible”; in other words, that he was superior to all others, and that he was almighty. For the fulfillment of this, see the notes on 2Th_2:4.Who is like unto the beast? - That is, he is to be regarded as unequalled and as supreme. This was, in fact, ascribing honors to him which belonged only to God; and this was the manner in which that civil and secular power was regarded in the period here supposed to be referred to. It was the policy of rulers and princes in those times to augment in every way possible the respect in which they were held; to maintain that they were the vicegerents of heaven; to claim for themselves sacredness of character and of person; and to secure from the people a degree of reverence which was in fact idolatrous. Never was this more marked than in the times when the papacy had the ascendency, for it was its policy to promote reverence for the power that sustained itself, and to secure for itself the idolatrous veneration of the people.Who is able to make war with him? - That is, he is invincible. They thus attributed to him omnipotence - an attribute belonging only to God. This found a fulfillment in the honor shown to the civil authority which sustained the papacy; for the policy was to impress the public mind with the belief that that power was invincible. In fact, it was so regarded. Nothing was able to resist that absolute despotism; and the authority of princes and rulers that were allied with the papal rule was of the most absolute kind, and the subjugation of the world was complete. There was no civil, as there was no religious liberty; and the whole arrangement was so ordered as to subdue the world to an absolute and uncontrollable power.

2. CLARKE, “And they worshipped the dragon - Worshipping the dragon here evidently means the voluntary religious subjection of the members of the Latin Church to the revived western empire, because of the eminent part it has taken in the support of their faith.And they worshipped the beast - Not only the dragon or revived western empire was worshipped; the beast, the whole Latin empire, is a partaker in the adoration. The manner in which it is worshipped consists in the subjects of it: - Saying, Who is like unto the beast? - Is it not the only holy power in the universe? Is it possible for any person not a subject of it to be saved?Who is able to make war with him? - Can any nation successfully fight with it? Is not the Roman empire, which is its principal bulwark, invictissimum, most invincible? Invictissimus, most invincible, was the peculiar attribute of the emperors of Germany. See modern Universal History, vol. xxxii., p. 197.

3. GILL, “And they worshipped the dragon,.... The devil, in the idols, images, angels, and saints departed, to whom they give adoration, as did the Gentiles, whose successors they are, and whose name they bear; see 1Co_10:20;

which gave power unto the beast, as in Rev_13:2;

and they worshipped the beast; not only in a civil way, being subject to him as their temporal lord, to whom they give homage; obedience, and tribute, but in a religious way; for antichrist sits in the temple to be worshipped as God, showing himself that he is God, and receives adorations from his creatures, the cardinals, and others; but woe to them that worship this beast; see Rev_14:9.

Saying, who is like unto the beast? using such expressions as are used of God himself, implying that there is none like him, Exo_15:11, yea, they ascribe deity to him, calling him our Lord God the pope, God, and a God on earth; See Gill on 2Th_2:4.

Who is able to make war with him? And indeed, such was his power and strength once, that he was more than a match for emperors and kings; and those were badly off that engaged in a war

with him, when his power was such, that he could depose one, and set up other, kick the crowns of kings, tread upon the necks of emperors, oblige them to hold his stirrup, while mounted his horse, and keep them barefoot at his gate for days together, waiting for admittance; of all which there are instances.

4. JAMISON, “which gave — A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas read, “because he gave.”power — Greek, “the authority” which it had; its authority.Who is like unto the beast? — The very language appropriated to God, Exo_15:11 (whence, in the Hebrew, the Maccabees took their name; the opponents of the Old Testament Antichrist, Antiochus); Psa_35:10; Psa_71:19; Psa_113:5; Mic_7:18; blasphemously (Rev_13:1, Rev_13:5) assigned to the beast. It is a parody of the name “Michael” (compare Rev_12:7), meaning, “Who is like unto God?”

5. PULPIT, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; because be gave his authority (Revised Version) is found in all the best manuscripts. The devil had sought to beguile Christ by offering to him all the kingdoms of the world. His efforts with men are more successful. They worship him on account of the worldly wealth and influence which he bestows. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? Insert "and" with Revised Version: and who is able, etc.? The beast usurps the homage due to God alone (cf. the song of those who had triumphed in Rev_15:4, "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name?" cf. alsoExo_15:11; Mic_7:18, etc.). The adherents of the beast thus intimate their belief in his superior prowess and his ability to succeed in his war against those who "keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus."

6. BURKITT, “From admiration in the former verse, they proceed to adoration in this, they worship both the dragon and the best, that is, they did worship idols, which are often in scripture called devils; like the Gentiles of old, who are said by St. Paul to sacrifice to devils, and not unto God, 1Co_10:20.

Behold here a vast difference between God's judgment and the opinion of the seduced world. They think the worship they give to a creature is given to God; but God accounts it as given to the devil, who is the author of all idolatry.

Note next, That as the seduced world worshipped the beast, so do they extol his earthly grandeur and surpassing power, saying, Who is like unto the beast! who is able to make war with him? Who can resist his power and greatness? The greatest princes are not able to withstand him. See how pomp and worldly grandeur dazzles the eyes of its admirers.

Note farther, That a mouth was given this beast to speak, that is, a power by the devil's instigation and God's permission to utter blasphemies against the Most High.

1. The blasphemous mouth of the beast is opened against the name of God, that is, against the word of God, by which God makes himself known, as a man is known by his name. Now the word of God is blasphemed by the beastand his worshippers, when it is charged with obscurity, with imperfection, called a dead letter, and a nose of wax, &c. The Spirit of God is blasphemed, when his divinely inspired writings are thus vilified and undervalued.

2. This blasphemous mouth is opened not only against God's name, but against his tabernacle, the place of his instituted worship; meaning by his tabernacle, the true church, wherein God is worshipped according to his word. God accounts himself blasphemed when his true worshippers are called Heretics, Schismatics, and in a way of scorn Hugonots, and the Synagogue of Satan.

3. They blaspheme them that dwell in heaven, by which some understand the holy martyrs now in heaven, whom they frequently called damned heretics, blackening their names, and blasting their reputations; others understand it of some saints in heaven, whom they pretend to honour, as the Virgin Mary, &c. They blaspheme them, namely, by speaking of them, and praying to them blasphemeously, as when they bid the Holy Virgin, "in the right of a mother, command her Son."

Hence observe, That when we give that honour and worship to saints and angels, which is only due to God, it is an idolatrous and impious blaspheming of them that dwell in heaven; were the Virgin Mary sensible in heaven of that idolatrous adoration which is given her here on earth, with what indignation and disdain would she look down upon this sacrilegious violence offered to her only Son, in robbing him of that divine honour which is peculiarly due to his divine nature! for religious adoration is peculiar to a deity.

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud

words and blasphemies and to exercise its

authority for forty-two months.

1.BARNES, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things - John does not say by whom this was given; but we may suppose that it was by the “dragon,” who is said Rev_13:2 to have given him his power, and seat, and authority. The fulfillment of this is found in the claims set up by the princes and rulers here referred to - that mighty secular power that sustained the papacy, and that was, in some sort, a part of the papacy itself. These arrogant claims consisted in the assertion of a divine right; in the power assumed over the liberty, the property, and the consciences of the people; in the arbitrary commands that were issued; and in the right asserted of giving absolute law. The language used here is the same as what is found in Dan_7:8 when speaking of the “little horn:” “In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” For an illustration of the meaning of this, see the notes on that passage. Compare notes on Dan_7:25.And blasphemies - That is, the whole power represented by the “beast” will be blasphemous. See the notes on Rev_13:1. Compare the notes on Dan_7:25.And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months - Three years and a half, reckoned as months; or twelve hundred and sixty days, reckoning thirty days for a month; or twelve hundred and sixty years, regarding the days as prophetic days. For the evidence that this is to be so regarded, see the notes on Dan_7:25. This is the same period that we meet with in chap. Rev_11:2, and in chap. Rev_12:6. See the notes on those places. This fact proves that the same power is referred to in these places and in Daniel; and this fact may be regarded as a confirmation of the views here taken, that the power here referred to is designed to have a connection in some form with the papacy. The duration of the existence of this power is the same as what is everywhere ascribed to the papacy, in the passages which refer to it; and all the circumstances, as before remarked, show that the same general power is referred to by the two “beasts” which are described in this chapter. If so, the continuance or duration may be supposed to be the same; and this is indicated in the passage before us, where it is said that it would be twelve hundred and sixty years. In regard to the application of this to the papal power, and the manner in which the calculation is to be made of the duration of that power, see the notes on Dan_7:25, and the remarks at the end of that chapter. The meaning in the passage before us I take to be, that the papal power, considered as a civil or secular institution, will have, from the time when that properly commenced, a duration of twelve hundred and sixty years. In the Scriptures there is nothing more definite in regard to any future event than this.

2. CLARKE, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things - That is, There was given to the rulers of the Latin empire, who are the mouth of the beast, (and particularly the

Roman emperors of Germany), power to assume great and pompous titles, indicative of their mighty sway over many subjugated countries, (see the imperial instruments of the middle centuries in the Corps Diplomatique), and also to utter against their opponents the most terrible edicts.And blasphemies - The system of worship supported by the beast is a system of blasphemy, as there will be occasion to show presently.And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months - As these forty-two months are prophetic, they must mean so many years as there are days contained in them; viz., 1260, each month containing 30 days. The beast, therefore, will continue in existence at least 1260 years; but when the termination of this period will take place is difficult to say, as the beginning cannot be at present indubitably ascertained.

3. GILL, “And there was given unto him a mouth,.... The beast is said to have a mouth before, like the mouth of a lion, Rev_13:2; but now he was moved and stirred up by the dragon, the devil, to open it, not only in a cruel and voracious way, but in a haughty, lying, and blasphemous manner: and this was given him, it was at the instigation of Satan, and by divine permission; his coming, speaking, and acting, were after the working of Satan, but not without the will of God; who, as he gave up many to a judicial blindness, to believe his lies and blasphemies, gave up him to speak them, as follows:

speaking great things, and blasphemies; great swelling words of vanity; calling himself by high and lofty titles, as Christ's vicar, Peter's successor, head of the church, universal bishop, &c. promising great things to his followers, riches, honours, pleasures, pardons, and heaven itself; and uttering things of a blasphemous kind, or great blasphemies, the particulars of which are mentioned in Rev_13:6; so the little horn, who is the same with the Romish antichrist, is said to have a mouth speaking great things, very great things, and his look more stout than his fellows, Dan_7:8.

And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months; to continue in being, or to continue blaspheming and speaking great things; and indeed, as long as he continues, he will continue blaspheming; as soon as he arose he had a name of blasphemy on his heads, and his mouth was immediately opened in blasphemy, and so it continues, and will to the end of this date. The Ethiopic version reads it, "and power was given to him to do signs, whatsoever he would"; miracles, lying signs and wonders; see Rev_13:13. Some copies read, and so the Arabic version, "and power was given him to make war"; but he did not make war as soon as he arose, and so not all the time that is here allotted him; and the word "war" seems to be transcribed from Rev_13:7. The phrase rather intends his being, and the continuance and duration of it; which is the same period of time in which the holy city is trodden under foot by this beast, and the same with the 1260 days or years, in which the witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, and the woman, the church, is in the wilderness, Rev_11:2; for forty two months, reckoning thirty days to a month, as the eastern people did, make just 1260 days, for these things are all contemporary: hence it appears, that 1260 prophetic days, that is, years, contain the whole period of antichrist's reign and continuance; so that could we tell where they began, it might be exactly known when his reign will end; but for want of knowing the former, the best of calculators have failed in the latter: but seeing the time when he was made universal bishop by Phocas bids fair for the time of his open appearance, and the beginning of his reign, and of his blasphemy, which was in the year 859, to which, if we add 1260, the expiration of his reign will fall in the year 1866; so that he may have upwards of an hundred and twenty years yet to continue; but of this we cannot be certain; however, the conjecture is not improbable.

4. HENRY, “The limitation of the devil's power and success, and that both as to time and persons. He is limited in point of time; his reign is to continue forty-and-two months (Rev_13:5), suitable to the other prophetical characters of the reign of antichrist. He is also limited as to the persons and people that he shall entirely subject his will and power; it will be only those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life. Christ had a chosen remnant, redeemed by his blood, recorded in his book, sealed by his Spirit; and though the devil and antichrist might overcome their bodily strength, and take away their natural life, they could never conquer their souls, nor prevail with

them to forsake their Saviour and revolt to his enemies. 9. Here is a demand of attention to what is here discovered of the great sufferings and troubles of the church, and an assurance given that when God has accomplished his work on mount Zion, his refining work, then he will turn his hand against the enemies of his people, and those who have killed with the sword shall themselves fall by the sword (Rev_13:10), and those who led the people of God into captivity shall themselves be made captives. Here now is that which will be proper exercise for the patience and faith of the saints - patience under the prospect of such great sufferings, and faith in the prospect of so glorious a deliverance.

5. JAMISON, “blasphemies — So Andreas reads. B reads “blasphemy.” A, “blasphemous things” (compare Dan_7:8; Dan_11:25).power — “authority”; legitimate power (Greek, “exousia”).to continue — Greek, “poiesai,” “to act,” or “work.” B reads, “to make war” (compare Rev_13:4). But A, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas omit “war.”forty ... two month — (See on Rev_11:2, Rev_11:3; see on Rev_12:6).

5B. NOTES, “Stedman, “Blasphemy is not cursing. When you hear someone rip off a round oath that is not blasphemy. It is cursing. Blasphemy is to claim godlike powers, to claim to be God, or to identify God with lesser persons or objects. Idolatry, for instance, is blasphemy. That is what this individual becomes guilty of. He blasphemes God by claiming to have the powers of God, as we have seen. It would also involve an attack upon those who do not accept his claims. He ridicules and slanders those who do believe in God and in heaven (the unseen spiritual realm that exists), and whose thinking is centered upon and guided by the teaching of the Word of God.

What's blasphemy?Blasphemy is to say something bad (or just plain lie) about God, His character, His power or His authority. Some examples: • It would be blasphemy to call myself a god. • It is blasphemy to blame God for stuff that Satan does. • It is blasphemy to credit Satan for what God does. • It is blasphemy to say that God is impersonal and doesn't really care about you and me. This is especially offensive to God, considering how high a price God paid to allow His Son Jesus to suffer and die for you and me. • It is blasphemy to say that God must approve of our morality and lifestyle choices because we are experiencing material prosperity. • It is tapdancing at the edge of blasphemy to say that God must be judging this or that person for severe sin because that person is experiencing severe health or financial setbacks (even if we have personal knowledge of that severe sin). • It is blasphemy to stand and say, "Thus sayeth the Lord..." when the Lord didn't really say that. • Most sentences that begin with the words "How could a good God..." are blasphemous, so please be careful what you say.Blasphemy is a very common sin these days. My friends, we are surrounded by "nice" people who babble blasphemy -- concepts they've heard on TV or in public school classrooms or in godless support (whine and blame) groups. These "nice" people would be horrified if they knew how their words sound to God. Pray, deeply and sincerely, for your "nice" relatives and friends. God loves them as much as He loves you, and can give them a new heart and eternal life if they ask for it. Without a heart for God, "nice" people will be deceived by the blasphemous beast. Jesus made a very peculiar statement about blasphemy in Matthew 12 verses 31-32: Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.Bible expositors call this "the unpardonable sin," and lots of folks have complicated-sounding theories about what Jesus meant. I prefer a simple explanation: God can understand and forgive people who look at Jesus but don't get it at first, because He came in a visible (and probably

ordinary-looking) body. But when Jesus worked the will of God, demonstrating the mighty POWER of God through the Holy Spirit, it was (and still is) blasphemy to say that the devil empowered Jesus. We'll talk more about this later, when we see the last-days dictator and his buddy indulging in the practice.6. PULPIT, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. So the horn which sprang from the fourth beast of Dan_7:8 had given to it "a mouth speaking great things." The power of the beast is, after all, only held by the consent of God, who for his own good purpose permits him to exercise it for a time. The "great things" are the promises of superior power and good, with which the devil seeks to allure men, as he did Adam and Eve at the first. All attempts to decry God's omnipotence and the power of Christ are blasphemies. And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months; or, to work forty and two months. Again note the power is given to him; that is, he holds it only subject to the will of God. The "forty and two months," or three years and a half, signify the period of the world's existence. (For a full discussion of the subject, see on Rev_11:2.) It is the "little time" of Rev_6:10,Rev_6:11, during which will be fulfilled the number of the saints. It is the "little season" of Rev_20:3, during which Satan is "loosed," that is, during which he has this power to work given to him (cf. Rev_11:2, Rev_11:3; Rev_12:14). The different readings in this passage, though resting on insufficient authority, serve to amplify the meaning. à reads p?????sa? ??´ ?e´?e? , "to do what he willeth." ?????sa? with p?´?eµ?? , "to wage war," is found in 13 and others, and is the marginal reading of the Authorized Version, but is rightly omitted in the Revised Version.\

7.NISBET, “ The power of the first beast:

v. 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

v. 6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

v. 7. 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.

v. 8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

v. 9. If any man have an ear, let him hear.

v. 10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

From these words it is plain that the old heathen Roman Empire is continuing in the form of the papacy, for the description is so clear and unmistakable: And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and there was given to him power to do so forty-two months; and he opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name and His dwelling, those that dwell in heaven; and there was given to him to wage war with the saints and to conquer them, and there was given to him power over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. Here the rise of Anti-Christ's kingdom is depicted in a few masterful strokes. For it is characteristic of him that he speaks great and vaunting blasphemies, not only with regard to his own position in the Church, but also in the doctrines which place him in the temple of God as a god, and give him power over the Godhead Himself, as in the Mass, where the priest is said to have power to create the person of Christ by his blessing of the bread. By God's permission, Anti-Christ had only a limited time for the unrestricted indulgence in this behavior, but he made the most of this time. The blasphemies which are contained in the official declarations of the Roman Church, especially as to the power of the Pope, are such as to make a Bible Christian shudder. There can incidentally be no greater folly than to underestimate the power which Anti-Christ possessed in the past and which he wields today. Not only does he wage war against the saints, the believers, but he also had overcome untold thousands, getting them into his power and poisoning their souls with his idolatrous poison. Not only over a single city, state, or nation does

his authority extend, but his officials are found in all tribes and peoples and tongues and nations. The power of Anti-Christ is a scourge of God visited upon the nations, and many a person that did not want to accept the simple doctrine of the atonement of Christ, of the justification of a poor sinner without the deeds of the Law, by grace alone, has been enmeshed in the net of Rome and in the blasphemous doctrine of salvation by works.

For that reason St. John continues: And there will worship him all those that dwell upon the earth, every one whose name is not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. The power of Anti-Christ is not confined to those that actually are members of His Church. There are thousands and millions outside of his kingdom that secretly or openly worship him, because they admire the wonderful perfection of the system which he has built up in the last fifteen centuries, or because they fear his power. But by the grace of God such worshipers are only those whose names are not written in God's Book of Life, that is, in that of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose death for all sinners was a fact established by the counsel of God from the foundation of the world. In the very first prophecies and types Christ was revealed as the Savior of the world, Gen_3:15-21; Exo_12:6; 1Co_5:7. This is such an important thought and it must be kept in mind so continually by all Christians that the seer calls out: If anyone has ears, let him hear. And he adds the warning: If anyone leads into captivity (or: is destined for captivity), he leads into captivity (or: into captivity he goes); if anyone kills with the sword, by the sword he must be killed; here is the patience and the faith of the saints. These words contain a warning for the enemies and a consolation for the believers. The latter must expect martyrdom: that is inevitable where enemies of Christ come into power. But the wrath of God will find these and will give them the punishment which their transgression merits. But he who loses liberty and life for the sake of Christ will at the same time gain eternal liberty and life. It is here that the patience and the faith of the saints, of the true believers, come into their own; for they will inherit the promise through the grace of God, Heb_6:12.

6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to

slander his name and his dwelling place and those

who live in heaven.

1.BARNES, “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name - By his own arrogant claims; by his assumed authority in matters of conscience; by setting aside the divine authority; and by impious declarations in derogation of the divine claims. See the notes on Rev_13:1.And his tabernacle - Literally, his “tent” - s????`? ske‾ne‾n. This is the word which is commonly applied to the sacred tent or tabernacle among the Hebrews, in which the ark was kept, and which was the seat of the Jewish worship before the building of the temple. It is thus used to denote a place of worship, considered as the dwelling-place of God, and is in this sense applied to heaven, Heb_8:2; Heb_9:11; Rev_15:5. It seems to be used here in a general sense to denote the place where God was worshipped; and the meaning is, that there would be a course of conduct in regard to the true church - the dwelling-place of God on the earth - which could properly be regarded as blasphemy. Let anyone remember the anathemas and excommunications uttered against the Waldenses and Albigenses, and those of kindred spirit that appeared in the long period of the papal rule, and he will find no difficulty in perceiving a complete fulfillment of all that is here said.And them that dwell in heaven - The true worshippers; the members of the true church, represented as dwelling in this holy tabernacle. No one acquainted with the reproaches cast on

the devoted and sincere followers of the Saviour during the dark periods of the papal rule can fail to see that there was in that a complete fulfillment of all that is here predicted.

2. CLARKE, “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name - The Latin empire is here represented as a blasphemous power in three respects. First, he blasphemes the name of God. This has been most notoriously the case with the different popish princes, who continually blaspheme the sacred names of God by using them in their idolatrous worship. The mouth of blasphemy against God cannot be more evident than in the following impious words which form a part of the Golden Bull published by Charles IV. in January, 1356: “But thou, envy, how often hast thou attempted to ruin by division the Christian empire, which God hath founded upon the three cardinal virtues, faith, hope, and charity, as upon a holy and indivisible Trinity, vomiting the old venom of discord among the seven electors, who are the pillars and seven principal members of the holy empire; by the brightness of whom the holy empire ought to be illuminated as by seven torches, the light of which is reinforced by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit!”And his tabernacle - Tabernacle is any kind of dwelling place, and in an eminent sense among the Jews was a kind of tent to take up and down as occasion required, which was as it were the palace of the Most High, the dwelling of the God of Israel. It was divided into two partitions, one called the holy place, and the other the most holy place, in the latter of which, before the building of the temple, the ark of the covenant was kept, which was a symbol of God’s gracious presence with the Jewish Church. All this the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in the eighth and ninth chapters, explains to prefigure the human nature of Christ. The beast’s blasphemy of the tabernacle of God is, therefore, as Dr. More and others properly observe, his impious doctrine of transubstantiation, in which it is most blasphemously asserted that the substance of the bread and wine in the sacrament is literally converted by the consecration of the priest, into the very body and blood of Jesus Christ! This doctrine was first advanced among the Latins in the tenth century; and in 1215, fully received as an article of the Roman Catholic faith. It is for the pages of ecclesiastical history to record the incredible numbers which have been martyred by the papists for their non-reception of this most unscriptural and antichristian doctrine.And them that dwell in heaven - By heaven is here meant the throne of God, and not the throne of the beast, because it is against God the beast blasphemes. This must therefore allude to his impious adoration of the saints and angels, whose residence is in heaven. He blasphemes againstGod by paying that adoration to the celestial inhabitants which belongs to God alone. That this sort of worship has been and still is kept up among the Roman Catholics, their mass book is a sufficient evidence.

3. GILL, “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,.... By sitting as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God; by suffering himself to be called by the name of God, God on earth, Lord God the pope, and to be worshipped as God; and by assuming infallibility, giving out that he cannot err, which only belongs to the God of truth; and by his idolatrous practices commanded by him, as the worshipping of idols of gold, silver, wood, and stone, which is in Scripture called blaspheming God, Isa_65:7; see Dan_11:36.

To blaspheme his name; his authority, by arrogating to himself all power in heaven, earth, and hell; by taking upon him to bind and loose the consciences of men, and to dispense with the laws of God, and make them void by his own traditions; and to dispose of the kingdoms of this world, by removing kings, and setting up kings at pleasure, which is the prerogative of the King of kings; and by pretending; to forgive sin, which none but God can do; and by granting indulgences, pardons, &c. Moreover, by the name of God may be meant the Scriptures, which are the means by which God reveals and makes known himself; and these the man of sin blasphemes, by making them a nose of wax, by imposing on them what senses he pleases; by assuming a right of being the sole interpreter of them, and the judge of all controversies; and by setting up his own unwritten traditions upon an equal foot with them, and above them, and by denying the common people the use of them, in their own language; and particularly the Gospel, which is sometimes called the name of the Lord, Act_9:15, may be intended, which is sadly blasphemed, and evil spoken of by antichrist; as the doctrines of justification by Christ's righteousness, of peace and

pardon by his blood, and atonement by his sacrifice, through the antichristian notions of merit, works of supererogation, pardons, penance, purgatory, and the like:

and his tabernacle; meaning either the human nature of Christ, which God pitched, and not man, the temple of his body, in which the Godhead dwells bodily, and where the eternal Word dwelt, or tabernacled among men; this is blasphemed by pretending to transubstantiate, the bread and wine in the supper of the Lord into the very body and blood of Christ, and to offer him up again in the sacrifice of the Mass, every time that blasphemous piece of service is performed: or else the church of God, which is the temple of the living God, where he chooses, desires, and delights to dwell; this is blasphemed by antichrist, by sitting in it as if he was God; asserting himself to be the head of the church which solely belongs to Christ; taking upon him to coin new doctrines, and make new laws and orders, and impose them on it, and to change and alter the ordinances and discipline of it as he pleases; and by persecuting and destroying all such who will not submit to his decrees and prescripts: or else heaven itself, the habitation of God, and where his throne is, may be designed, which the pope blasphemously affirms to have the keys of; and that he can open and shut it, let persons into it, or exclude front it, at pleasure; and that he can dispose of it, and sell it for money, and make and canonize new saints in it, as often as he thinks fit.

And them that dwell in heaven; either saints below, members of a Gospel church, who are born from above, are partakers of the heavenly calling, and whose conversation is in heaven, who are by antichrist stigmatized and persecuted as schismatics and heretics; or rather angels and saints departed, who are in heaven, and dwell there, and who are worshipped and prayed to as Mediators and intercessors, whose names are used in a very ridiculous and blasphemous manner, to their great dishonour and reproach, as well as to the injury of Christ, the only Mediator between God and men.

4. JAMISON, “opened ... mouth — The usual formula in the case of a set speech, or series of speeches. Rev_13:6, Rev_13:7 expand Rev_13:5.blasphemy — So B and Andreas. A and C read “blasphemies.”and them — So Vulgate, Coptic, Andreas, and Primasius read. A and C omit “and”: “them that dwell (literally, ‘tabernacle’) in heaven,” mean not only angels and the departed souls of the righteous, but believers on earth who have their citizenship in heaven, and whose true life is hidden from the Antichristian persecutor in the secret of God’s tabernacle. See on Rev_12:12; see on Joh_3:7.

5. PULPIT, “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his Name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven; for blasphemies against God. The balance of authority is in favour of omitting "and" (before "them"), thus making (as in the Revised Version) the last clause in apposition with the preceding: his Name and his tabernacle, those tabernacled in heaven. The punishment for this sin among the Jews was death by stoning (see Le 24:16). God's servants fear his Name (Rev_11:18). God's tabernacle, or temple, is the Church, in the midst of which he dwells (cf. Rev_11:2), and which exists in the wilderness of the world for the forty and two months, and which yet exists also in heaven, honored of God (cf. Php_3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven," Revised Version).

7 It was given power to wage war against God’s

holy people and to conquer them. And it was

given authority over every tribe, people, language

and nation.

1.BARNES, “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. The language used here is the same as what is found in Dan_7:21; “The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.” See the notes on that passage.And power was given him - See the notes on Rev_13:2.Over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations - For the meaning of these words see the notes on Rev_7:9. The meaning here is, that this dominion was set up over the world. Compare Dan_7:25. The fact that so large a portion of the kingdoms of the earth was under the influence of the papacy, and sustained it, and the claim which it set up to universal dominion, and to the right of deposing kings and giving away kingdoms, corresponds entirely with the language used here.

2. CLARKE, “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. By means of the crusades the Latins extended their empire over several provinces of the Greeks. In 1097 Baldwin extended his conquests over the hills of Armenia and the plain of Mesopotamia, and founded the first principality of the Franks or Latins, which subsisted fifty-four years, beyond the Euphrates. In 1204 the Greeks were expelled from Constantinople by the Latins, who set up an empire there which continued about fifty-seven years. The total overthrow of the Latin states in the east soon followed the recovery of Constantinople by the Greeks; and in 1291 the Latin empire in the east was entirely dissolved. Thus the Latins have had power over the whole world professedly Christian: but it is not said that the whole world was in utter subjection to him, for we read in the following verse: -

3. GILL, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,.... The remnant of the woman's seed, Rev_12:17, whom God has set apart for himself, Christ has cleansed from sin by his blood, and the Holy Spirit has sanctified by his grace; and who under the influence of it live holy lives and conversations; against such Satan always bore an enmity; and it is an aggravation of the wickedness of the Romish antichrist, that he makes war with such, which he is stirred up to by Satan, with a malicious intent, and is permitted by God for the trial of the faith and patience of his people: this war of antichrist, with the saints, may be understood not merely spiritually, of his

anathemas, excommunications, bulls, and the like, but literally, of his drawing the temporal sword against them; see Rev_13:10; and bringing of armies against them, and fighting pitched battles; and it is thought there may be a special regard had to his war with the Waldenses and Albigenses, in which war it is said that a million were slain; and may take in all his ways and methods of destroying the saints, by the bloody Inquisition, murders, massacres, and punishments of all sorts; and also his last war with the two witnesses, in which they will be slain, which is yet to come, Rev_11:7;

and to overcome them: not so as to submit to him, and to forsake the doctrines and ordinances of Christ, but by killing them; and who, by dying in the faith and cause of Christ, overcome Satan, get the victory over the world, and antichrist, and are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.

And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations; in the Roman empire, which wondered after him, and worshipped him, and over whom he has reigned, and has exercised both a temporal and spiritual jurisdiction; see Rev_17:15.

4. JAMISON, “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.”

5. PULPIT, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. This clause is omitted in A, C, P, and some others. So in Dan_7:21, "The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." And in Rev_11:7, "The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them [the two witnesses], and shall overcome them, and kill them." Overcome; that is, apparently; so far as is seen by the world. In the same way the world overcame Christ; but by his death came victory. So in Rev_2:10 the Church at Smyrna is encouraged by the words, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer [ be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations; over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. ?a?´?"people," is inserted in every manuscript except a few cursives. The fourfold enumeration, applied to the earth, denotes the universal character of the description (cf. the four living beings, Rev_4:6. Also Rev_5:9; Rev_7:9; Rev_11:9;Rev_14:6). The same classification is adopted in the song of the redeemed (Rev_5:9), which may be contrasted with this passage. Although the power of Satan extends to every section of the nations of the earth, yet men are not irrevocably delivered into his hand. From every part of mankind men are also redeemed.

6. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. A war proclaimed; the beast makes war upon the saints, by bloodshed and persecution, and by the force of those weapons overcomes them; that is, to outward appearance, and in the opinion of the world, they seem to be totally overcome, because visibly slain: but really do the saints overcome him, by their patience and constancy under sufferings; and by rejecting his cursed idolatry, and adhering to the truth.

Observe, 2. The large extent of the beast's power that was given him, namely, over all kindreds, tongues, and nations. This must not be understood of individual persons, nor universally of all nations, but of the nations belonging to the Roman empire: whole nations were carried away with his idolatry, though not all of every nation. Christ's flock is a little flock, compared with antichrist's herd: how wrong a note then is multitude of the right church!

Observe, 3. That as the power of the beast is universal, so is the worship also: All that dwell on the earth shall worship him, that is, the generality of the Roman empire shall obey and honour him, and comply with him in his idolatry; few comparatively refusing it.

Yet, 4. We have a number excepted, whose names are written in the book of life. Blessed by God for this comfortable restriction: all are not worshippers of the beast. Christ has his number of faithful ones, who are not defiled by antichrist's pollutions; a number whose conversations are in

heaven, and whose names are written there, in the book of life, called the book of the Lamb; because it is by him, and by the merit of his blood, that we obtain eternal life.

Observe lastly, The title here given to our Lord Jesus Christ, he is styled the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and that in several respects:

1. In the purpose and decree of God.

2. In the promise of God made from the beginning, Gen_3:15.

3. In respect of the types, shadows, and sacrifices, whereby his death was prefigured and represented; Christ was slain typically in those sacrifices which Adam and Abel offered up unto God daily.

4. In respect of the virtue and efficacy of his death, which was effectual to all that truly believe in him, from the first promise made of him. The merits of Christ's death have saved all that have been saved from the foundation of the world.

Behold here, The tender care of God in providing for our salvation before we were, yea, before the world was; and observe also, that the saints of God, in all ages, have been saved the same way, and by the same mean, namely, by faith in the death of Christ, which has extended itself to all true believers from the beginning of the world; and the efficacy of it will reach to all such, even to the end of the world; the virtue of the sacrifice is as fresh as the first moment it was slain, the death of Christ is of eternal efficacy.

8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the

beast—all whose names have not been written in

the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain

from the creation of the world.

1.BARNES, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him - That is, as immediately stated, all whose names are not in the book of life. On the word “worship,” see the notes on Rev_13:4.Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb - That is, of the Lord Jesus - the Lamb of God. See the notes on Phi_4:3. Compare the notes on Joh_1:29. The representation here is, that the Lord Jesus keeps a book or register, in which are recorded the names of all who shall obtain everlasting life.Slain from the foundation of the world - See the notes on Rev_5:6. Compare the notes on Rev_3:5. The meaning here is, not that he was actually put to death “from the foundation of the world,” but that the intention to give him for a sacrifice was formed then, and that it was so certain that it might be spoken of as actually then occurring. See Rom_4:17. The purpose was so certain, it was so constantly represented by bloody sacrifices from the earliest ages, all typifying the future Saviour, that it might be said that he was “slain from the foundation of the world.” Prof. Stuart, however (Com. in loco), supposes that this phrase should be connected with the former member of the sentence, “whose names are not written, from the foundation of the world, in the life-book of the Lamb, which was slain.” Either construction makes good sense; but it seems to me that what is found in our common version is the most simple and natural.

2. CLARKE, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb - The earth here is the Latin world, as has been observed before in similar cases. The meaning therefore is, that all the corrupt part of mankind who are inhabitants of the Latin world shall submit to the religion of the empire, except, as Bishop Newton expresses it, “those faithful few whose names, as citizens of heaven, were enrolled in the registers of life.”Slain from the foundation of the world - That is, of the Christian world; for this has been shown to be the meaning of all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. The year of the crucifixion is properly the commencement of Christianity, as the apostles then first began to promulgate the religion of Christ with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. But as Jesus Christ was in the Divine purpose appointed from the foundation of the world to redeem man by his blood, he therefore is, in a very eminent sense, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, i.e., from the creation.

3. GILL, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,.... The inhabitants of the Roman empire, the idolatrous part of it, the men of the world, earthly minded men; who are as they came into the world, and are of the earth, earthly, and seek only after earthly honours, pleasures, and profits; these are the admirers and adorers of the beast:

whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; by which book is meant God's predestination of men to eternal life, or his decree of election; why this is called the "book of life"; see Gill on Rev_3:5; and their "names being written therein from the foundation of the world", Rev_17:8, for such a construction the words will bear, denotes that election is eternal, and is not an act of time, nor dependent upon anything done in time; and that it is of particular persons, and not of bodies of men, of nations and churches, and still less of propositions, or of persons so and so qualified, or under such conditions and circumstances; and that it is perfectly well known to God, and is sure and certain in its effects, and is unchangeable and irrevocable; for what is written in it, is written, and will always stand, not upon the foot of works, but of the sovereign grace of God; and this is called the Lamb's book; that is, Christ, who is compared to a Lamb for its harmlessness, meekness, and patience, and was typified by the lambs in the legal sacrifices; and this book is called his, because he was present at the making of it, and was concerned in putting down the names in it, Joh_13:18, and he himself stands first in it as the elect of God, and the head of all the elect, who, as members, were chosen in him: the act of election was made in him, and stands sure in him; and he is the author and giver of that life, which men are chosen unto both here and hereafter: and he may be said to be "slain from the foundation of the world"; in the decree and purpose of God, by which he was set forth, or foreappointed to be the propitiation for sin, and was foreordained, before the foundation of the world, to redeem his people by his blood, and in the promise of God immediately after the fall of man, that the seed of the woman should have his heel bruised, and he himself should bruise the serpent's head, which made it as sure as if it was then done; and in the sacrifices, which were immediately upon this offered up, and were types of the death and sacrifice of Christ; and in the faith of the saints, which brings distant things near, and considers them as if present; and also in his members, in Abel, and others, in whom he suffered, as he still does in his people; to which may be added, that such is the efficacy of the bloodshed and death of Christ, that it reached to all the saints from the beginning of the world, for the justification of their persons, the atonement of their sins, and cleansing from them; for the remission of sins, that are past, and for the redemption of transgressions under the first testament; for Old Testament saints from the beginning are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, as New Testament ones are. Something like this the Jews say (e) of the Messiah upon Gen_49:11,

"he washed ????? ?????? ????, "from the day that the world was created"; who is he? this is the King Messiah.--It is written Gen_1:2; "and the Spirit of God", &c. This is the Spirit of the King Messiah; and from the day that the world was created; he washed his garments in wine;''

which the Jewish writers (f) understand of blood, which for its redness is like to wine; though they interpret it of the blood of the slain, with which the garments of the Messiah will be stained. Now such whose names are not written in this book of the Lamb, who have no interest in electing grace, nor in redemption by Christ, the slain Lamb of God, nor any right unto eternal life, who are

reprobate persons, vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, who are foreordained to condemnation, and are given up to believe a lie, that they might be damned, these are the followers and worshippers of antichrist.

4. JAMISON, “all that dwell upon the earth — being of earth earthy; in contrast to “them that dwell in heaven.”whose names are not written — A, B, C, Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas read singular, “(every one) whose (Greek, ‘hou’; but B, Greek, ‘hon,’ plural) name is not written.”Lamb slain from the foundation of the world — The Greek order of words favors this translation. He was slain in the Father’s eternal counsels: compare 1Pe_1:19, 1Pe_1:20, virtually parallel. The other way of connecting the words is, “Written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb slain.” So in Rev_17:8. The elect. The former is in the Greek more obvious and simple. “Whatsoever virtue was in the sacrifices, did operate through Messiah’s death alone. As He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” so all atonements ever made were only effectual by His blood” [Bishop Pearson, Exposition of the Creed].

5, Stedman,"the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world." That confirms again how time is not a factor in eternity. The death of the Lamb actually took place in time, on earth, at a specific date on the calendar, but here it is reckoned as an eternal event which has meaning for peoples from the very beginning of time, the creation of the world itself. The Lamb was slain, and the cross has impact upon all creation. Thus the Old Testament saints could be born again by faith because they were saved by the cross even though it had not yet occurred in history. John now picks up on the phrase that Jesus used frequently and gives a word of encouragement to the saints of that day.

6. PULPIT, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb; [every one] whose name hath not been written, as in the Revised Version. "Him," a??t?´? , masculine, although referring to the neuter, ????´?? , because the personality of Satan under the figure of the beast is borne in mind. "Whose name," singular, referring to the individuals of whom the pa´?te? , "all," are composed. This verse states in another form what has been related in the latter part of the preceding verse. Those over whom the beast has authority are those who worship him, and whose names have not "been written in the book of life." The expression, "book of life," is found only in this book and Php_4:3. In all the places where it occurs it seems to refer primarily to Christians (cf. Php_4:3; Rev_3:5; Rev_20:12, Rev_20:15; Rev_21:27; Rev_22:19). At baptism the Christian's name is written in the "book of life," from which there is always a possibility of it being blotted out (Rev_3:5). Those who are not Christians have not their name in the "book of life," but worship the beast, that is, pay allegiance to him. It is "the book of life of the Lamb," because it is through "the Lamb" that there exists a "book of life" for men. Slain from the foundation of the world; or, that hath been slain. It is natural to connect the words, "from the foundation of the world," with "slain," and not with "written." The latter course has been followed by Bengel, Dusterdieck, De Wette, Ewald, Hengstenberg, and others, and in the margin of the Revised Version, and is in accordance with Rev_17:8, "Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world" (see also Mat_25:34; Eph_1:4). "The Lamb hath been slain from the foundation of the world," because from "the foundation of the world" (cf. Heb_9:26) his death has been efficacious for the salvation of men; and because his death "was foreordained before the foundation of the world," although manifest only in the last times (1Pe_1:20). What was foreknown to and ordained by God is spoken of as having taken place. This latter sense must be the meaning if we adopt the alternative reading.

7. CHARLES SIMEON. “THE LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLDRev_13:8. Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

THE persons here spoken of are the saints, who have withstood, and are still withstanding, the corruptions of Popery, even unto martyrdom itself. There can be no doubt but that the Papal power is that which is here portrayed as exercising the most relentless tyranny over the Christian

world, during the space of twelve hundred and sixty years. The multitudes that have been slain by that blaspheming and persecuting power are innumerable. For hundreds of years, that idolatrous Church, aided by the secular arm of its advocates and dependants, compelled all to “worship her;” those only excepted, “whose names had been written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world.” Over these she could not prevail, because “they loved not their lives unto the death:” but over all others she exercised the most despotic sway; and reduced them to a state of vassalage, more cruel and debasing than could ever have been contemplated, or even credited, if the voice of inspiration had not declared it, and the history of ages borne witness to it.

It is not however of Popery that I am about to speak, nor of those who are delivered from it; but rather of that electing and redeeming love by which they have been delivered, “their names having been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Let us consider these remarkable expressions: and let us mark,

I. The designation here given to our blessed Lord—

He is called “a Lamb,” because he was destined to be a sacrifice for sin, like the lambs that were offered under the Mosaic law. And though he did not come into the world till the world had existed four thousand years, yet is he said to have been “slain from the foundation of the world.” And justly may he be spoken of under these terms: because, though not slain, in fact, till about thirty-four years after his incarnation, he was offered in sacrifice to God from the very beginning,

1. In purpose—

[From all eternity was he devoted to God; and set apart for an offering, just as the Paschal Lamb was four days before it was actually slain. In all the prophecies, this was clearly shewn. The very first promise that was given to man declared, that, in his conflicts with the powers of darkness, he himself should suffer, having “his heel bruised, whilst he bruised the serpent’s head;” and “dying himself, whilst he overcame him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” In the Psalms of David, all the circumstances of his death were predicted with a minuteness that bore the resemblance of historic record, rather than of a prophecy of what was afterwards to be accomplished. The Prophet Isaiah also, eight hundred years before the Saviour’s advent, was equally particular in his predictions respecting him; so that it is not possible to read his prophecies with candour, and retain a doubt of whom he spake, or whose sufferings he foretold. At last the forerunner of our Lord pointed him out, as the very person so characterized and so predicted; saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world!”

The types, also, bear the same testimony to Him from the beginning. There can be no doubt but that sacrifices were of divine appointment: for when Abel took of the firstlings of his flock to offer to the Lord, he did it “by faith.” “Nowfaith must, of necessity, have respect to a divine ordinance. If God had not previously ordained the offering of sacrifices, it would have been an act of presumption, and not of faith, in Abel so to approach the Deity. We are not, indeed, told when God instituted the use of sacrifices; but we conceive it to have been immediately after the fall, when he clothed our first parents with the skins of beasts, which, I think there can be no doubt, had been offered in sacrifice to him, by his own express appointment. In every successive age, the same sacrifices were offered by Noah and the Patriarchs, till the time of Moses, when they were made the constant means of shadowing forth the Saviour, and of making known unto men the only way in which a sinner could find acceptance with God. They all shadowed forth the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Sacrifice that was in due time to be offered for the sins of the whole world.]

2. In effect—

[As God had ordained from all eternity the sacrifice of his dear Son, so he regarded it as if it had been actually offered; and imputed the merit of it to all who approached him in humility and faith. Doubtless our first parents, and Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and the Patriarchs, and all the saints that were saved during the first four thousand years, were “accepted in the Beloved,”just as we are since his advent and crucifixion. “They all died in the faith” of Him whowas to come, as we die

in the faith of Him who is already come [Note: Heb_11:13.]. There has been but one way of salvation from the beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ ever was, and ever will be, “the way unto the Father; and no man ever did, or ever will, come unto the Father but by Him [Note: Joh_14:6.].” It is in consequence of the reflex efficacy of his sacrifice, so to speak, that God’s righteousness appears in the remission of sins before his advent, no less than in the forgiveness of them since his advent. “God having from the beginning set forth his Son to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, his righteousness in the remission of sins was, as St. Paul tells us, fully declared from the beginning, precisely as it is at this very hour [Note: Rom_3:25-26.].”]

Whilst we look thus to the death of Christ as the meritorious ground of our acceptance with God, we must trace altogether to the electing love of God,

II. The security of those who believe in him—

There is “a book,” in which the names of all God’s people are registered, and have been registered “from the foundation of the world [Note: The last clause of the text may, with equal propriety, be connected with “The Book Written,” or “The Lamb Slain.”].” This book is called “The Lamb’s book of life [Note: Rev_21:27.]”—

[“There is, and ever has been, a remnant according to the election of grace [Note: Rom_11:5.].” These were given by the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ [Note: This is again, and again, and again mentioned in Christ’s intercessory prayer: John 17.], that they might be a peculiar people to him, and that in them “he might see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.” They were “chosen by the Father,” and “predestinated” unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, that they might be to the praise of the glory of his grace, who has made them accepted in the Beloved [Note: Eph_1:4-6.].” In due time “they are called by God with an holy calling; but still, not according to their works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given them in Christ Jesus before the world began [Note: 2Ti_1:9.].”]

All who are inscribed in this book shall surely attain eternal life—

[This is clearly intimated in my text, as the source of steadfastness to those who had not worshipped the beast: but in many other places it is directly affirmed; yea, and the veracity of God is pledged for the performance of the promise which such an inscription implies. Remarkable is that expression of St. Paul to Titus, when, speaking of himself, he says, “In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began [Note: Tit_1:2.].” Here he not only traces up the promise of life altogether to the sovereign grace of God, but represents the veracity of God as pledged for the accomplishment of it. In another place he sets forth the promise of God as “confirmed by an oath, in order to shew to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, and to give the stronger consolation to those who have fled for refuge to the hope set before them [Note: Heb_6:17-18.]. In fact, there is a golden chain of Divine purposes, reaching from eternity to eternity: “for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son: and whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified [Note: Rom_8:29-30.].” In fact, God upholdsall his people in his arms, and “suffers none to pluck them out of his hands [Note: Joh_10:28-29.],” and “keeps them, by his own power, through faith unto salvation [Note: 1Pe_1:5.].” “The same hand that has laid the foundation of grace in their souls, will also finish the structure [Note: Zec_4:9.];” and “He who has been the author of good to them, will also be the finisher [Note: Heb_12:2.].”]

Learn then, from hence,

How greatly we are indebted to our God—

[If we are saints indeed, “our names are written in the book of life [Note: Php_4:3.],” and have been “written in it from the foundation of the world [Note: Rev_17:8.].” What ground, then, is there to any one for self-applause? We acknowledge that there is a difference between you and others; and you are not serving the world, and the flesh, and the devil, as millions of your fellow-creatures

are. But who made you to differ? What had you done, to deserve the distinction of having your names written in the book of life? The change that has taken place in you was not the source, but the fruit and consequence of that mercy which God, of his own sovereign grace, conferred upon you. Rejoice, then, in that inestimable benefit, and in that God who so freely bestowed it on you. There is nothing under heaven that calls for so much gratitude at your hands [Note: Luk_10:20.]: and therefore I call upon you to bless and magnify your God with your whole hearts.]

2. What reason we all have for humiliation and contrition—

[I will not speak of any gross sin as committed by us: I will notice only our ingratitude to God for his electing and redeeming love. Think of the Saviour setting himself apart from all eternity to be slain for you. Think of God the Father setting his love upon you from all eternity, and writing your unworthy name in the book of life. And then think what provocation you have given him “to blot it out again [Note: Rev_3:5.]:” and yet he has borne with you to the present moment, in order that you might not come short of the glory reserved for you. Say, whether, in the review of these things, you ought not to stand amazed; yea, and to blush and be confounded in the presence of your God? Verily, it is not possible for us ever to lie too low before our God: and to all eternity must we fall on our faces before the throne, whilst, with all the glorified saints and angels, we unite in singing praises to God and to the Lamb.]

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

1.BARNES, “If any man have an ear, let him hear - See the notes on Rev_2:7. The idea here is, that what was here said respecting the “beast” was worthy of special attention, as it pertained to most important events in the history of the church.

2. CLARKE, “If any man have an ear, let him hear - These words are evidently introduced to impress the reader with the awfulness of what has just been spoken - all shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life, as well as to fix his attention upon the following words: -

3. GILL, “If any man have an ear, let him hear. And diligently attend to this mystical description of antichrist, as being matter of some difficulty to understand, as well as of great moment and importance, and seriously consider it, that he may know him, and his followers, and avoid them;

R. JAMISON, “A general exhortation. Christ’s own words of monition calling solemn attention.

5. PULPIT, “If any man have an ear, let him hear. This verse draws attention to the solemn declaration which follows in the succeeding verse (cf. Rev_2:7; Rev_3:6; also Mat_11:15, etc.).

6. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. That this acclamation, If any man have an ear, let him hear, is added in scripture when something went before, which required a very diligent attention and close application of mind: If any man have an ear, that is, a spiritual understanding to discern the meaning of what has been foretold, let him ponder and consider what is here revealed concerning this beast, and take heed that he be not found amongst the number of the worshippers of it.

Observe, 2. The consolation here given to the saints, from the consideration of God's just retribution to his and their enemies, He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity; that is, the beast, who has brought many of the saints into captivity, shall himself at length be taken captive, and thrown into that lake of fire and brimstone, spoken of Rev_19:20. With what measure antichrist metes to others, it shall be measured to him again: God has as many ways to hurt his church's enemies, as they have to hurt his people; if they lead into captivity, so can he; if they kill with the sword, so will he.

Observe, 3. The end and design of God in suffering antichrist's rage to break forth against the church: it is for the trial of his church's faith and patience, Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

Where note, 1. That none can stand under, or bear up under, sufferings like saints.

2. That under great sufferings, saints themselves will have great occasion for the exercise of faith and patience.

3. That the faith and patience of the saints will be made very conspicuous by great and sharp sufferings.

4. That faith and patience must accompany each other in suffering times. Patience is the soul's shoulder, to bear what is afflictive at present; faith is the Christian's eye, to discover a glorious deliverance to come: where no patience is, it is a token of no faith; and where no faith is, there will appear great impatience. Behold then the faith and patience of the saints.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,

into captivity they will go.

If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword,

with the sword they will be killed.”[d]

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness

on the part of God’s people.

1.BARNES, “He that leadeth into captivity - This is clearly intended to refer to the power or government which is denoted by the beast. The form of expression here in the Greek is special - “If anyone leadeth into captivity,” etc. - ???´ t?? a???µa??s?´a? s??a´?e? Ei tis aichmalo‾sian sunagei. The statement is general, and is intended to make use of a general or prevalent truth with reference to this particular case. The general truth is, that people will, in the course of things, be dealt with according to their character and their treatment of others; that nations characterized by war and conquests will be subject to the evils of war and conquest - or that they may expect to share the same lot which they have brought on others. This general statement accords with what the Saviour says in Mat_26:52; “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” This has been abundantly illustrated in the world; and it is a very important admonition to nations not to indulge in the purposes of conquest and to individuals not to engage in strife and litigation. The particular idea here is, that it would be a characteristic of the power here referred to that it would “lead others into captivity.” This would be fulfilled if it was the characteristic of this power to invade

other countries and to make their inhabitants prisoners of war; if it made slaves of other people; if it set up an unjust dominion over other people; or if it was distinguished for persecuting and imprisoning the innocent, or for depriving the nations of liberty. It is unnecessary to say that this is strikingly descriptive of Rome, considered in any and every point of view, whether under the republic or the empire, whether secular or ecclesiastical, whether pagan or papal. In the following forms there has been a complete fulfillment under that mighty power of what is here said:(a) In the desire of conquest or of extending its dominion, and, of course, leading others captive as prisoners of war or subjecting them to slavery.(b) In its persecutions of true Christians, alike pursued under the pagan and the papal form of the administration.(c) Especially in the imprisonments practiced under the Inquisition, where tens of thousands have been reduced to the worst kind of captivity. In every way this description is applicable to Rome, as seeking to lead the world captive or to subject it to its own absolute sway.Shall go into captivity - As a just recompense for subjecting others to bondage, and as an illustration of a general principle of the divine administration. This is yet, in a great measure, to be fulfilled; and, as I understand it, it discloses the manner in which the papal secular power will come to an end. It will be by being subdued, so that it might seem to be made captive and led off by some victorious host. Rome now is practically held in subjection by foreign arms, and has no true independence; perhaps this will be more and more so as its ultimate fall approaches.He that killeth with the sword - See the notes as above, on Mat_26:52. There can be no doubt that this is applicable to Rome in all the forms of its administration considered as a pagan power; or considered as a nominally Christian power, either with reference to its secular or its spiritual dominion. Compute the numbers of human beings that have been put to death by that Roman power, and no better language could have been chosen to characterize it than what is used here - “killed with the sword.” Compare the notes on Dan_7:24-28, II. (3), (g).Must be killed with the sword - This domination must be brought to an end by war and slaughter. Nothing is more probable than this in itself; nothing could be more in accordance with the principles of the divine dealings in the world. Such a power as that of Rome will not be likely to be overcome but by the force of arms; and the probability is that it will ultimately be overthrown in a bloody revolution, or by foreign conquest. Indeed, there are not a few intimations now that this result is hastening on. Italy is becoming impatient of the secular power swayed in connection with the papacy, and sighs for freedom; and it is every way probable that that land would have been free, and that the secular power of the papacy, if not every form of the papacy itself, would have come to an end in the late convulsion (1848), if it had not been for the intervention of France and Austria. The period designated by prophecy for the final overthrow of that power had not arrived; but nothing can secure its continuance for any very considerable period longer.Here is the patience and the faith of the saints - That is, the trial of their patience and of their faith. Nowhere on earth have the patience and the faith of the saints been put to a severer test than under the Roman persecutions. The same idea occurs in Rev_14:12.

2. CLARKE, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity - The Latin empire here spoken of must go into captivity, because it has led into captivity, by not only propagating among the various nations its abominable antichristian system, but also in compelling them to embrace it under the penalty of forfeiting the protection of the empire.He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword - The Latin empire must be also broken to pieces by the sword, because it has killed the saints of God. This prophecy will not receive its full accomplishment till the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.Here is the patience and the faith of the saints - By these words, as Dr. Mitchell observes, “God calls upon his saints to keep in view, under all their persecutions, his retributive justice; there is no violence that has been exercised upon them but what shall be retaliated upon the cruel and persecuting government and governors of the Latin empire.”

3. GILL, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity,.... As the devil, by whom men are led captive at his will, and the Romish antichrist, who leads multitudes of souls to hell; these shall be taken and cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. The Jews (g) have a saying, that

"captivity comes into the world for idolatry, uncleanness, and murder;''

which three things are notorious in the Romish antichrist: and in the same treatise they say (h), that the sword, the next judgment mentioned, comes into the world for delay of justice, and the perversion of it.

He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword; the design of the phrase is to show, that there will be a just retaliation made to the antichristian beast, for all his cruelty to the saints, and the murders of them; and that because he has shed much blood of the saints, blood shall be given him to drink, and he shall be used in like manner he has used others; see Gen_9:6 Mat_26:52.

Here is the patience and the faith of the saints; meaning either that hereby, through the cruelties and barbarities of the Romish antichrist, the patience and faith of the saints are tried; and that they have great need of them, and of the exercise of them, under such usages; and that these being tried, and continue, will receive much commendation, honour, and praise; or else the sense is, that it requires both faith and patience in the saints, to believe that antichrist will be thus destroyed, and to wait quietly till the time comes. The Arabic version reads, "here is the patience and prayers of the saints": who cry, how long will it be ere our blood is avenged? and have need of patience to rest a while, till their prayers are answered.

4. HENRY, “Here is a demand of attention to what is here discovered of the great sufferings and troubles of the church, and an assurance given that when God has accomplished his work on mount Zion, his refining work, then he will turn his hand against the enemies of his people, and those who have killed with the sword shall themselves fall by the sword (Rev_13:10), and those who led the people of God into captivity shall themselves be made captives. Here now is that which will be proper exercise for the patience and faith of the saints - patience under the prospect of such great sufferings, and faith in the prospect of so glorious a deliverance.

5. JAMISON, “He that leadeth into captivity — A, B, C, and Vulgate read, “if any one (be) for captivity.”shall go into captivity — Greek present, “goeth into captivity.” Compare Jer_15:2, which is alluded to here. Aleph, B, and C read simply, “he goeth away,” and omit “into captivity.” But A and Vulgate support the words.he that killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword — So B and C read. But A reads, “if any (is for) being (literally, ‘to be’) killed with the sword.” As of old, so now, those to be persecuted by the beast in various ways, have their trials severally appointed them by God’s fixed counsel. English Version is quite a different sense, namely, a warning to the persecutors that they shall be punished with retribution in kind.Here — “Herein”: in bearing their appointed sufferings lies the patient endurance ... of the saints. This is to be the motto and watchword of the elect during the period of the world kingdom. As the first beast is to be met by patience and faith (Rev_13:10), the second beast must be opposed by true wisdom (Rev_13:18).

5B. Stedman, “I am sorry to have to do this, but every now and then I must correct the translation of the New International Version. It is excellent in the Old Testament, but not as accurate in the New. But, since everybody uses it, I must too. If you have an NIV, cross out the words "to go." "If anyone is to go into captivity"; and in the next line, "If anyone is to be killed with the sword," read it, "If anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he will be killed." The verse means that if anyone takes others captive, he will himself become a captive (hostage). If anyone kills with the sword, he must himself be killed with the sword. It is a word of encouragement to the saints of that day. All over the earth people are being taken captive and are being killed. God is simply saying to the others, "Don't be discouraged, hang in there. Don't let this slaughter throw you." The law of consequences cannot be endlessly evaded. God has not forgotten. It may look like evil has triumphed, everything has gone wrong, but hang in there. "God cannot be mocked," {Gal 6:7b

NIV}. The law of consequences cannot be canceled. Sooner or later he who kills with the sword must himself be killed. He who takes hostages must himself be taken hostage. Wait for it! I have often quoted the splendid words of James Russell Lowell: Though the cause of evil prosper, Yet 'tis truth alone that's strong. Truth, forever on the scaffold, Wrong, forever on the throne. Yet that scaffold sways the future, And behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadowsKeeping watch above His own! If any man is for captivity, into captivity he goeth. The meaning is "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." "With what measure a man metes, it shall be measured to him again." If the beast and his adherents lead the saints captive, they shall finally be made captive; if they slay with the sword, so shall they be slain. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. The assurance that God will, in the end, right all their wrongs gives them faith and patience.

Hard facts need to be faced. Evil powers often succeed in killing God's people. More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than any other. Another hard fact is that we have saints here and they are the church, even though many say the church is not in this book after the end of the 3rd chapter.6. PULPIT, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. There is a twofold difficulty in this verse: first, as to the correct text; secondly, as to the meaning. There are two chief readings. Codex: A has ???´ t?? e??? a???µa??s?´a? e??? a???µa??s?´?? ??pa´?e? ; literally, if any one late captivity, into captivity he goeth; which probably means, "If any one is ordained unto captivity, into captivity he goeth." The reading of the Textus Receptus looks like an attempt to amplify and make clear the above reading: ???´ t?? a???µa??s?´a? s??a´?e? e??? a???µa??s?´a? ??pa´?e? . Rev, B, C, have the reading of A, omitting the repetition of a???µa??s?´a? . This omission is easily explained by homoeoteleuton, and accordingly the majority of critical editors follow Codex A. There are two passages in Jeremiah which are suggested by these words. Jer_15:2reads, "Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity;" Jer_43:11, "And deliver such as are for death, to death; and such as are for captivity, to captivity; and such as are for the sword, to the sword." Mat_26:52 may also be referred to: "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." The verse in the text appears to contain both the meanings of the passages referred to. The first half seems to point out that there are woes foreordained for Christians which they must undergo: "He for whom captivity is appointed must be content to suffer captivity." The next part extends the meaning, adding a warning: "You Christians must suffer these things; not only not relinquishing your faith, but also not meeting three with force; remembering always your Master's saying, 'They that take the sword shall perish with the sword.'" Then the verse concludes, "Here is [the proof of] the patience and the faith of the saints." St. John has just described to his hearers the extensive nature of the power of the world (verses 3, 7, 8); the obvious conclusion was that captivity, etc., was the lot appointed for some of them. He has also told them of the war waged by the world against Christians, and now he adds the necessary caution against any attempt to defend themselves by the use of the sword. And thus not only their patience but their faith was to be tested. They were not only to bear patiently evils which they could not avoid, but they must have sufficient faith to enable them voluntarily to forego any opportunities which might occur to prevent their sufferings by force of arms

7. NISBET, “The second beast:

v. 11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

v. 12. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

v. 13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men

v. 14. and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live.

That there is a close connection between the two beasts of this chapter is here again evident: And I saw another beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon, and the full authority of the first beast he exerts before him; and he causes the earth and those that dwell on it that they worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. It would be foolish to attempt an interpretation of all the details of this picture, but the general trend seems to be clear. This beast is also a great kingdom or power exerted like that of a king or emperor, although with a lamblike aspect. This beast is the successor of the first beast and takes his place in every respect, differing from him only in form. He succeeds above all in making men worship the first beast, to overlook the wound which had really struck a vital spot, which had laid open the real nature of the first beast.

To this end the second beast shows great activity: And he performs great signs, so that he also causes fire to come down from heaven to the earth before men; and he seduces those that dwell upon the earth through the signs which were granted to him to perform before the beast, saying to them that dwell upon the earth to make images to the beast which has the wound from the sword and still lived. In this beast is fulfilled what St. Paul had prophesied, namely, that his coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, 2Th_2:9-10. It would be foolish to ascribe all the so-called miracles that are performed by antichristian prophets to superstition; for the devil knows how to use the forces of nature to his ends if God gives him permission. So great was the influence of this beast that he even succeeded in making men set up the first beast as an idol, as a god in the midst of God's true temple, and to give him divine worship.

The Beast out of the Earth

11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the

earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke

like a dragon.

1.BARNES, “And I beheld another beast - Compare the notes on Rev_13:1. This was so distinct from the first that its characteristics could be described, though, as shown in the Analysis of the Chapter, there was in many points a strong resemblance between them. The relations between the two will be more fully indicated in the notes.Coming up out of the earth - Prof. Stuart renders this, “ascending from the land.” The former was represented as rising up out of the sea Rev_13:1; indicating that the power was to rise from a perturbed or unsettled state of affairs - like the ocean. This, from what was more settled and stable - as the land is more firm than the waters. It may not be necessary to carry out this image; but the natural idea, as applied to the two forths of the Roman power supposed to be here referred to, would be that the former - the secular power that sustained the papacy - rose out of the agitated state of the nations in the invasions of the northern hordes, and the convulsions and revolutions of the falling empire of Rome; and that the latter, the spiritual power itself - represented by the beast coming up from the land - grew up under the more settled and stable order of things. It was comparatively calm in its origin, and had less the appearance of a frightful

monster rising up from the agitated ocean. Compare the notes on Rev_13:1.And he had two horns like a lamb - In some respects he resembled a lamb; that is, he seemed to be a mild, gentle, inoffensive animal. It is hardly necessary to say that this is a most striking representation of the actual manner in which the power of the papacy has always been put forth - putting on the apparent gentleness of the lamb; or laying claim to great meekness and humility, even when deposing kings, and giving away crowns, and driving thousands to the stake, or throwing them into the dungeons of the Inquisition.And he spake as a dragon - See the notes on Rev_12:3. The meaning here is, that he spoke in a harsh, haughty, proud, arrogant tone - as we should suppose a dragon would if he had the power of utterance. The general sense is, that while this “beast” had, in one respect in its resemblance to a lamb - the appearance of great gentleness, meekness, and kindness, it had, in another respect, a haughty, imperious, and arrogant spirit. How appropriate this is, as a symbol, to represent the papacy, considered as a spiritual power, it is unnecessary to say. It will be admitted, whatever may be thought of the design of this symbol, that if it was in fact intended to refer to the papacy, a more appropriate one could not have been chosen.

2. CLARKE, “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth - As a beast has already been shown to be the symbol of a kingdom or empire, the rising up of this second beast must consequently represent the rising up of another empire. This beast comes up out of the earth; therefore it is totally different from the preceding, which rose up out of the sea. Earth here means the Latin world, for this word has been shown to import this already in several instances; the rising up of the beast out of this earth must, consequently, represent the springing up of some power out of a state of subjection to the Latin empire: therefore the beast, here called another beast, is another Latin empire. This beast is the spiritual Latin empire, or, in other words, the Romish hierarchy; for with no other power can the prophetic description yet to be examined be shown to accord. In the time of Charlemagne the ecclesiastical power was in subjection to the civil, and it continued to be so for a long time after his death; therefore the beast, whose deadly wound was healed, ruled over the whole Latin world, both clergy and laity; these, consequently, constituted but one beast or empire. But the Latin clergy kept continually gaining more and more influence in the civil affairs of the empire, and in the tenth century their authority was greatly increased. In the subsequent centuries the power of the Romish hierarchy ascended even above that of the emperors, and led into captivity the kings of the whole Latin world, as there will be occasion to show in commenting upon the following verses. Thus the Romish hierarchy was at length entirely exempted from the civil power, and constituted another beast, as it became entirely independent of the secular Latin empire. And this beast came up out of the earth; that is, the Latin clergy, which composed a part of the earth or Latin world, raised their authority against that of the secular powers, and in process of time wrested the superintendence of ecclesiastical affairs from the secular princes.And he had two horns - As the seven-headed beast is represented as having ten horns, which signify so many kingdoms leagued together to support the Latin Church, so the beast which rises out of the earth has also two horns, which must consequently represent two kingdoms; for if horns of a beast mean kingdoms in one part of the Apocalypse, kingdoms must be intended by this symbol whenever it is used in a similar way in any other part of this book. As the second beast is the spiritual Latin empire, the two horns of this beast denote that the empire thus represented is composed of two distinct spiritual powers. These, therefore, can be no other, as Bishop Newton and Faber properly observe, than the two grand independent branches of the Romish hierarchy, viz., the Latin clergy, Regular and Secular. “The first of these comprehends all the various monastic orders, the second comprehends the whole body of parochial clergy.” These two grand branches of the hierarchy originally constituted but one dominion, as the monks as well as the other clergy were in subjection to the bishops: but the subjection of the monks to their diocesans became by degrees less apparent; and in process of time, through the influence and authority of the Roman pontiffs, they were entirely exempted from all episcopal jurisdiction, and thus became a spiritual power, entirely independent of that of the secular clergy.Like a lamb - As lamb, in other parts of the Apocalypse, evidently means Christ, who is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, it must have a similar import in this passage; therefore the meaning here is evidently that the two horns of the beast, or the regular and secular clergy, profess to be the ministers of Christ, to be like him in meekness and humility, and to teach

nothing that is contrary to godliness. The two-horned beast, or spiritual Latin empire, has in reality the name, and in the eyes of the Latin world the appearance, of a Christian power. But he is only so in appearance, and that alone among his deluded votaries; for when he spake: - He spake as a dragon - The doctrines of the Romish hierarchy are very similar to those contained in the old heathen worship; for he has introduced “a new species of idolatry, nominally different, but essentially the same, the worship of angels and saints instead of the gods and demi-gods of antiquity.”

3. GILL, “And I beheld another beast,.... The same with the first, only in another form; the same for being and person, but under a different consideration; the same antichrist, but appearing in another light and view: the first beast is the pope of Rome, at the head of the ten kingdoms, of which the Roman empire consisted; this other beast is the same pope of Rome, with his clergy, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, &c. before he is described as a temporal monarch, now as a spiritual lord; there he is represented in his secular character, as having the seat, power, and authority of the dragon, of Rome Pagan, engaging the attention and wonder of the whole world, and striking terror into them, and as making war with the saints, and ruling over all nations and tongues; here in his ecclesiastic character, pretending great humility and holiness, showing signs and lying wonders, obliging to idolatry, and exercising tyranny and cruelty on all that will not profess his religion: that this is the same beast with the first in substance, though not in show, appears from his exercising the same power, causing all to worship the first beast, or himself as a temporal lord, by which he is supported in his spiritual dignity; and by mention being made only of one beast, at the close of this account, and of his mark, name, and number being but one; nor is there any other but one hereafter spoken, of in this book, either as ruling, or as conquered, and as taken, and as going into perdition, and as cast into the lake: this beast is described by his original,

coming up out of the earth; either from under it, out of the bottomless pit, from hell; or out of, a low condition, a poor crawling earthworm; the extracts of many of the popes, cardinals, and religious orders, have been very mean: or this may represent the secret and private manner, and slow degrees by which this monster of iniquity rose; as things gradually rise up out of the earth unobserved; this man of sin was springing up in the apostles' time, and by degrees rose up to the power and authority he is here said to have: or rather, as this beast, in his other form, rose up out of the sea, out of the commotions raised in the empire by the barbarous nations, by whom he was lifted up to his imperial dignity; so he is described in this form, and is represented as rising up out of the earth, out of the earthly part of the church, or out of the apostasy which the visible church was sunk into, through the outward riches and honours bestowed on it by the Christian emperors, which made way for the rising of this beast; and this shows the nature of his kingdom, which is worldly and earthly, and so truly antichristian, being diametrically opposite to the kingdom of Christ, which is not of this world:

and he had two horns like a lamb; or "like to the Lamb"; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God; though he has seven horns, denoting fulness of power, this but two; he stands on Mount Zion, with the 144,000, having his Father's name on their foreheads, this upon the earth, with his followers, having his own mark and name upon them. The Ethiopic version renders it, "and he had two horns, and he seemed as a lamb"; he affected a lamb like disposition, pretended to great humility and meekness, calling himself "servus servorum", the servant of servants, to cover his pride, ambition, and tyranny; and would be thought to be a lamb without spot and blemish, ascribing to himself infallibility, and suffering himself to be called his Holiness, when he is the man of sin, and mystery of iniquity: by his "two horns" some understand his two fold power, secular and ecclesiastic; but as these are separately represented by two beasts, rather these two horns intend the two parts of the empire, eastern and western, into which it was divided, when this beast arose, and by which the Papacy was raised to its power, had supported in it; and the two supreme pontiffs, the bishop of Rome, and the bishop of Constantinople; or else the beast's power of binding and loosing, of dispensing with the laws of God, and of imposing his own laws on the consciences of men.

And he spake as a dragon; like the devil himself, affirming as he did, Luk_4:6; that the power of disposing of the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them, was delivered to him, and he could

give it to whom he would: he spake arrogantly, as if he was above all that is called God, and as if he was God himself; and he spake like a dragon cruelly, like the great red dragon, like the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning, breathing out slaughter, and threatenings against the saints, as Rome Pagan; and he spake lies in hypocrisy, blasphemies, idolatries, and doctrines of devils.

4. HENRY, “Those who think the first beast signifies Rome pagan by this second beast would understand Rome papal, which promotes idolatry and tyranny, but in a more soft and lamb-like manner: those that understand the first beast of the secular power of the papacy take the second to intend its spiritual and ecclesiastical powers, which act under the disguise of religion and charity to the souls of men. Here observe,I. The form and shape of this second beast: He had two horns like a lamb, but a mouth that spoke like the dragon. All agree that this must be some great impostor, who, under a pretence of religion, shall deceive the souls of men. The papists would have it to be Apollonius Tyranaeus; but Dr. More has rejected that opinion, and fixes it upon the ecclesiastical powers of the papacy. The pope shows the horns of a lamb, pretends to be the vicar of Christ upon earth, and so to be vested with his power and authority; but his speech betrays him, for he gives forth those false doctrines and cruel decrees which show him to belong to the dragon, and not to the Lamb.5. JAMISON, “another beast — “the false prophet.”out of the earth — out of society civilized, consolidated, and ordered, but still, with all its culture, of earth earthy: as distinguished from “the sea,” the troubled agitations of various peoples out of which the world power and its several kingdoms have emerged. “The sacerdotal persecuting power, pagan and Christian; the pagan priesthood making an image of the emperors which they compelled Christians to worship, and working wonders by magic and omens; the Romish priesthood, the inheritors of pagan rites, images, and superstitions, lamb-like in Christian professions, dragon-like in word and act” [Alford, and so the Spanish Jesuit, Lacunza, writing under the name Ben Ezra]. As the first beast was like the Lamb in being, as it were, wounded to death, so the second is like the Lamb in having two lamb-like horns (its essential difference from the Lamb is marked by its having TWO, but the Lamb SEVEN horns, Rev_5:6). The former paganism of the world power, seeming to be wounded to death by Christianity, revives. In its second beast-form it is Christianized heathendom ministering to the former, and having earthly culture and learning to recommend it. The second beast’s, or false prophet’s rise, coincides in time with the healing of the beast’s deadly wound and its revival (Rev_13:12-14). Its manifold character is marked by the Lord (Mat_24:11, Mat_24:24), “Many false prophets shall rise,” where He is speaking of the last days. As the former beast corresponds to the first four beasts of Daniel, so the second beast, or the false prophet, to the little horn starting up among the ten horns of the fourth beast. This Antichristian horn has not only the mouth of blasphemy (Rev_13:5), but also “the eyes of man” (Dan_7:8): the former is also in the first beast (Rev_13:1, Rev_13:5), but the latter not so. “The eyes of man” symbolize cunning and intellectual culture, the very characteristic of “the false prophet” (Rev_13:13-15; Rev_16:14). The first beast is physical and political; the second a spiritual power, the power of knowledge, ideas (the favorite term in the French school of politics), and scientific cultivation. Both alike are beasts, from below, not from above; faithful allies, worldly Antichristian wisdom standing in the service of the worldly Antichristian power: the dragon is both lion and serpent: might and cunning are his armory. The dragon gives his external power to the first beast (Rev_13:2), his spirit to the second, so that it speaks as a dragon (Rev_13:11). The second, arising out of the earth, is in Rev_11:7; Rev_17:8, said to ascend out of the bottomless pit: its very culture and world wisdom only intensify its infernal character, the pretense to superior knowledge and rationalistic philosophy (as in the primeval temptation, Gen_3:5, Gen_3:7, “their EYES [as here] were opened”) veiling the deification of nature, self, and man. Hence spring Idealism, Materialism, Deism, Pantheism, Atheism. Antichrist shall be the culmination. The Papacy’s claim to the double power, secular and spiritual, is a sample and type of the twofold beast, that out of the sea, and that out of the earth, or bottomless pit. Antichrist will be the climax, and final form. Primasius of Adrumentum, in the sixth century, says, “He feigns to be a lamb that he may assail the Lamb - the body of Christ.”

5B. COLLECTED NOTES, “The beast out of the earth(Rev 13:11 NIV) Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb,

but he spoke like a dragon. He looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon (dragon is Satan). When Satan speaks he speaks lies. He looks like a lamb but he is a false Christ. Later he is called a false prophet (Rev 16:13, 19:20). He has two horns and he should be contrasted with the two witnesses who are the true prophets of God. He even causes fire to come down from heaven to earth just like Elijah. The two witnesses cause a drought just like Elijah. The power of the false prophet is derived from the beast and he uses brute force and deceit. The power of the two witnesses comes from the Holy Spirit and from prayer like Elijah who prayed for the drought (cf. Elijah James 5:17).False prophet Two witnessesRev 13:13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. (Rev 13:14 NIV) Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (Rev 11:5-6 NIV) If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. {6} These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

RAY SUMMERS, The second beast; Committee to enforce emperor worship, 13"11-17). In league with the dragon 9 (devil) and the first beast (emperor) to destroy the Christians is the second beast. The same word for beast is used in his case as that of the first beast. He, too, is an unusual beast. He has two horns like a lamb, tu when he speaks it is the dragon's voice which is heard. He exercises the power of the first beast which he, the first beat, received from the dragon. The office work of this second beast was to enforce the worship of the first beast, even making the image set up for people to worship appear to talk. He places a mark, the name of the first beast or the number of his name, on every person who worships the beast. All who refuse to worship the beast and receive the mark of identification are forbidden the right to buy or sell in the markets. Such is the symbolism of this third member of the forces of evil. There are four characteristics which help to identify this second beast: Two horns like a lamb indicate an outward religious appearance; the lamb was a religious symbol. His having only two horns may symbolize his limited power as over against the seven horns of the Lamb of God (5:5). The voice of a dragon indicates that he spoke with the diabolical authority of Satan. He exercised the power of the first beast; his power was derived from the Roman State or the emperor. His work was to enforce emperor worship. All these characteristics seem to identify the second beast as the "Commune" or "Concilia" set up in Asia Minor to enforce the state religion. This was an official body which had charge of the state religion and had as its duty to force all to do homage to the image of the emperor. Christ had his prophets to carry on his religion; Antichrist, too, had prophets, pseudo prophets, to carry on his work. Christ's prophets used miracles; Antichrist's pseudo prophets used pseudo miracles. David Smith says concerning this second beast that it was an image of the priesthood which administered the impious cult of the emperor, a blasphemous counterpart of the Lamb which was slain, our Great High Priest.

Rev. 13:11-18 - Sixth Figure - The Earth Beast (False Religion--Later Called the False Prophet, 16:13; 19:20; 20:10) John sees another beast coming up out of the earth. The next force that the devil uses is false religion which is paganism and emperor worship. False religion in that day was backed by the government. The beast out of the earth had two horns like unto a lamb (appearance harmless) and he spoke as a dragon (like the devil himself--his lies appear as the truth). What could appear more harmless than a religion? The devil in the same manner uses his religions to war against the saints today. The earth-beast exercised all the authority of the first and caused all the earth-dwellers to worship the first. In other words, this beast, backed by the power of the government, insisted that all worship the state symbolized in the emperor. This was emphasized under Domitian, in whom the deadly wound was healed. Regarding the "deadly wound healed" (vs. 12b) and "the wound by a sword, and did live" (vs. 14b), see 13:3 and the comments on that verse. Those of the earth

followed this beast as they did the first one (vss. 8, 14). They followed him because of the great wonders ("signs" ASV) which he performed. The true witnesses had power over fire by which to devour their enemies (11:5); thus, the false prophet imitates this power with pseudo-wonders and signs in order to deceive the world. Verse 14 establishes that these signs were not genuine but were deceptions. There is a lesson here for those of today who like to rely on their so-called miracles (see also 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Matt. 7:22-23). The earth-beast causes the people to worship the first beast and to make an image to him (vss. 12, 14). He had power to give life (footnote: "Gr. breath") unto the image of the beast. Paganism which had control over it subjects caused people to worship the image. Also, he caused those who would not worship the image to be killed (he introduced martyrdom of the saints on a large scale). The power of death for those who refused to pay homage to the emperor rested in the religious hierarchy which in turn was backed by the power of the empire. Through the hierarchy, Christians were put in the position where they had to either confess Christ or Caesar as Lord; therefore, choosing Christ meant choosing death. Also, the beast sought to cause all (no exceptions--from the highest official to the lowest slave) to receive the mark of the beast (again, he imitates God's action, 7:3; 9:4; 14:1). As God's seal placed on the foreheads of the saints was not literal but figurative of His recognition of His own, so the mark of the beast is symbolic of those officially belonging to Satan. Later, those with the mark of the beast receive the wrath of God (14:9-10; 16:2; 19:20). Those who did not receive the mark of the beast were refused the privileges of buying and selling (vss. 16-17). This is a well-known fact in Roman history in the time of Domitian. Images were set up to make worship of the emperor easier and those who refused to worship the image were refused the privileges of buying and selling in the market places. Thus, those with the mark of the beast were those who yielded to the idolatrous edicts of the Roman emperor. John shows in verse 17 that the mark of the beast (the first one), the name of the beast and the number of his name are all the same. In verse 18, he shows that the number of the beast (666) is the number of a man. In other words, he is identifying the first beast for us; it represents a man (the emperor of the Roman Empire). Thus, the forces of evil are engaged in battle with the forces of righteousness. The dragon, identified as the devil, uses the force of the Empire embodied in the emperor, and the forces of false religion, embodied in paganism and emperor worship. These appeared in that day as the conquering power over Christianity. DAVID RIGGS6. PULPIT, “And I beheld another beast. Compare the wording of this introduction with that of Rev_13:1. We shall find reason to interpret this beast as self deceit—that form of plausibility by which men persuaded themselves into a belief that they might without harm worship the former beast. (see on following verses). It has been remarked that mention is often made of the first beast without the second (cf. Rev_11:7; Rev_13:1; Rev_17:3, etc.), but never of the second without the first. This fact supports the interpretation given above. Coming up out of the earth. Perhaps in contrast with the former beast, which arose from the sea (Rev_13:1). In the vision of Dan_7:1-28. the four beasts, which rise from the sea (Dan_7:3), are declared in Dan_7:17 to typify four kings which arise from the earth. It is doubtful, therefore, whether we are justified in attaching special significance to this phrase. Some writers understand thereby, "rising up from amongst settled, ordered society of men." More likely, the writer wishes to show the universal character of the temptations with which Christians are assailed; and thus one beast seems to pertain to the sea, and the other to the earth, thus dividing the whole world between them. And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. That is, while simulating an appearance of Christ, his words betrayed his devilish nature. The aim of this beast throughout is to assume a plausible exterior, that men may be beguiled by him (cf. Dan_7:13-17). Such is the nature of that self deceit which we believe this beast to typify. Many men, who were not to be tempted into a renunciation of Christ by the bitter persecution of the first beast, because coming in such a form they recognized easily its true nature, were nevertheless beguiled into such acts by specious reasoning and the deceit of their own hearts. Christians at all times are only too ready to be deceived by those who "by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Rom_16:18). Whether as in ancient times it he merely to throw a few grains of incense upon the altar of some heathen deity, or as in modern times to conform to some common but unworthy requirement of society, men are apt to be led astray by arguments which look fair, but which as surely accomplish the devil's object as if it had been attained by direct persecution. (On the form of the word "lamb," a????´?? , see on Rev_5:6.)

7. BURKITT, “Here St. John enters upon the description of a second beast, very different from the former, yet not succeeding the former, but appearing during his continuance; and this beast (whoever he is) we find sundry ways here described, namely,

1. By his original he ascended out of the earth, Rev_13:11. which denotes his rise from a small beginning to a mighty height, as those things which from small seeds grow out of the earth to be tall trees. Thus has one arisen from being Episcopus urbis, to be Episcopus orbis.

2. He is said to have two horns, whereas the former beast had ten, Rev_13:1. which signifies ten kingdoms, into which the Roman empire, after its dissolution, should be divided. Accordingly, by the two horns here, in all reason may be understood two of those kingdoms of which this beast (whoever he be) shall be possessed.

3. He is said to look like a lamb, but to speak like a dragon; that is, to pretend to great meekness, and make a show of much lenity and mildness in his proceedings, but should really be very cruel: pretending to do all without violence, but doing indeed all by force, assisted by his armed dragons, and booted apostles, with javelins in their hands.

4. It is affirmed, Rev_13:12 that he shall arise during the continuance of the first beast, and engage in his cause assuming to himself as great, or a greater, power than any emperors did before him, causing the earth, that is, all earthly-minded men who are subject to him, to worship the first beast, that is, to yield as great reverence nad obedience to his decrees for establishing idolatry, as ever the people did under the Pagan emperors.

5. He is remarkable for working wonders, and particularly for causing fire to come down from heaven in the sight of men; that is, he seemeth to the deluded multitude to do as great miracles as Elias did, who brought down fire from heaven to confirm the religion he professed: in like manner the beast here works wonders seemingly great, lying wonders, false miracles, such as false prophets may work, and have wrought for confirming their false doctrines: accordingly we find this beast here called the false prophet elsewhere, Rev_16:8-9. He requires the inhabitants of the earth to make an image to the beast, that is, he persuades them, now professing Christianity, to introduce and bring in such a kind of idolatry, that the old heathenish idolatry may seem to revive again.

Here note, That the idolatry of the Church of Rome is a living image of the old heathenish idolatry; this is but the image of that, that was performed to heathen deities, this to departed saints. Popery, says the learned Dr. More, is such a Christianity, as in all points answers the model of the old execrable heathenism, with which the Gentiles were enamoured then, as are the Papists now: thus the wounded and dead image of Pagan idolatry revived, and lives again in Papal idolatry. Good God! that any persons professing to know and worship the blessed Jesus should thus dishonour him, by intermixing the old heathenish superstitions, or something worse, with his holy institutions.

12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast

on its behalf, and made the earth and its

inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal

wound had been healed.

1.BARNES, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him - The same amount of power; the same kind of power. This shows a remarkable relationship between these two beasts; and proves that it was intended to refer to the same power substantially, though manifested in a different form. In the fulfillment of this, we should naturally look for some government whose authority extended far, and which was absolute and arrogant in its character, for this is the power attributed to the first beast. See the notes on Rev_13:2-4, Rev_13:7-8. This description had a remarkable fulfillment in the papacy, considered as a spiritual dominion. The relation to the secular power is the same as would be indicated by these two beasts; the dominion was as widespread; the authority was as absolute and arrogant. In fact, on these points they have been identical. The one has sustained the other; either one would long since have fallen if it had not been upheld by the other. The papacy, considered as a spiritual domination, was in fact a new power starting up in the same place as the old Roman dominion, to give life to that as it was tending to decay, and to continue its ascendency over the world. These two things, the secular and the spiritual power, constituting the papacy in the proper sense of the term, are in fact but the continuance or the prolongation of the old Roman dominion - the fourth kingdom of Daniel - united so as to constitute in reality but one kingdom, and yet so distinct in their origin, and in their manifestations, as to be capable of separate contemplation and description, and thus properly represented by the two “beasts” that were shown in vision to John.And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast - That is, to respect, to reverence, to honor. The word “worship” here refers to civil respect, and not to religious adoration. See the notes on Rev_13:4. The meaning here, according to the interpretation proposed all along in this chapter, is, that the papacy, considered in its religious influence, or as a spiritual power - represented by the second beast - secured for the civil or secular power - represented by the first beast - the homage of the world. It was the means of keeping up that dominion, and of giving it its ascendency among the nations of the earth. The truth of this, as an historical fact, is well known. The Roman civil power would have long ago lost all its influence and been unknown, if it had not been for the papacy; and, in fact, all the influence which it has had since the irruption of the northern barbarians, and the changes which their invasion produced, can be traced to that new power which arose in the form of the papacy - represented in Daniel Dan_7:8 by the “little horn.” That new power gave life and energy to the declining influence of Rome, and brought the world again to respect and honor its authority.Whose deadly wound was healed - See the notes on Rev_13:3. That is, was healed by the influence of this new power represented by the second beast. A state of things occurred, on the rise of that new power, as if a wound in the head, otherwise fatal, was healed. The striking applicability of this to the decaying Roman power - smitten as with a deadly wound by the blows inflicted by the northern hordes, and by internal dissensions - will occur to every one. It was as if a healing process had been imparted by some life-giving power, and, as a consequence, the Roman dominion - the prolongation of Daniel’s fourth kingdom - has continued to the present time. Other kingdoms passed away - the Assyrian, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian; Rome alone, of all the ancient empires, has prolonged its power over men. In all changes elsewhere, an influence has gone forth from the seven-hilled city as wide and as fearful as it was in the brightest days of the republic, the triumvirate, or the empire, and a large part of the world still listens reverently to the mandates which issue from the seat which so long gave law to mankind. The fact that it is so is to be traced solely to the influence of that power represented here by the second beast that appeared in vision to John - the papacy.

2. CLARKE, “And he exercised all the power of the first beast before him - In the preceding verse the two-horned beast was represented as rising out of the earth, that is, obtaining gradually more and more influence in the civil affairs of the Latin world. Here he it represented as having obtained the direction and management of all the power of the first beast or secular Latin empire before him, e??p??? a?t??, in his presence. That the Romish hierarchy has had the extensive power here spoken of, is evident from history; for the civil power was in subjection to the ecclesiastical. The parochial clergy, one of the horns of the second beast, have had great secular jurisdiction over the whole Latin world. Two-thirds of the estates of Germany were given by the three Othos, who succeeded each other, to ecclesiastics; and in the other Latin monarchies the parochial clergy possessed great temporal power. Yet extraordinary as the power of the secular clergy was in all parts of the Latin world, it was but feeble when compared with that of the monastic orders

which constituted another horn of the beast. The mendicant friars, the most considerable of the regular clergy, first made their appearance in the early part of the thirteenth century. These friars were divided by Gregory X., in a general council which he assembled at Lyons in 1272, into the four following societies or denominations, viz., the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Hermits of St. Augustine. “As the pontiffs,” observes Mosheim, “allowed these four mendicant orders the liberty of travelling wherever they thought proper, of conversing with persons of all ranks, of instructing the youth and the multitude wherever they went; and as these monks exhibited, in their outward appearance and manner of life, more striking marks of gravity and holiness than were observable in the other monastic societies; they arose all at once to the very summit of fame, and were regarded with the utmost esteem and veneration throughout all the countries of Europe. The enthusiastic attachment to these sanctimonious beggars went so far that, as we learn from the most authentic records, several cities were divided, or cantoned out, into four parts, with a view to these four orders; the first part was assigned to the Dominicans, the second to the Franciscans, the third to the Carmelites, and the fourth to the Augustinians. The people were unwilling to receive the sacraments from any other hands than those of the mendicants, to whose churches they crowded to perform their devotions while living, and were extremely desirous to deposit there also their remains after death; all which occasioned grievous complaints among the ordinary priests, to whom the cure of souls was committed, and who considered themselves as the spiritual guides of the multitude. Nor did the influence and credit of the mendicants end here: for we find in the history of this (thirteenth century) and the succeeding ages, that they were employed, not only in spiritual matters, but also in temporal and political affairs of the greatest consequence; in composing the differences of princes, concluding treaties of peace, concerting alliances, presiding in cabinet councils, governing courts, levying taxes, and other occupations not only remote from, but absolutely inconsistent with, the monastic character and profession. We must not, however, imagine that all the mendicant friars attained to the same degree of reputation and authority; for the power of the Dominicans and Franciscans surpassed greatly that of the two other orders, and rendered them singularly conspicuous in the eyes of the world. During three centuries these two fraternities governed, with an almost universal and absolute sway, both state and Church, filled the most eminent posts, ecclesiastical and civil; taught in the universities and churches with an authority before which all opposition was silent; and maintained the pretended majesty and prerogatives of the Roman pontiffs against kings, princes, bishops, and heretics, with incredible ardour and equal success. The Dominicans and Franciscans were, before the Reformation, what the Jesuits have been since that happy and glorious period, the very soul of the hierarchy, the engines of state, the secret springs of all the motions of the one and the other, and the authors and directors of every great and important event in the religious and political world.” Thus the Romish hierarchy has exercised all the power of the first beast in his sight, both temporal and spiritual, and therefore, with such astonishing influence as this over secular princes, it was no difficult matter for him to cause: - The earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed - That is, he causes the whole Latin world to submit to the authority of the Latin empire, with the revived western empire at its head, persuading them that such submission is beneficial to their spiritual interests, and absolutely necessary for their salvation. Here it is observable that both beasts have dominion over the same earth; for it is expressly said that the second beast causeth The Earth and them that dwelt therein, to worship the first beast; therefore it is, as Bishop Newton and others have observed, imperium in imperio, “an empire within an empire.” We have, consequently, the fullest evidence that the two beasts consist in the division of the great Latin empire, by the usurpation of the Latin clergy, into two distinct empires, the one secular, the other spiritual, and both united in one antichristian design, viz., to diffuse their most abominable system of idolatry over the whole earth, and to extend the sphere of their domination. Here we have also an illustration of that remarkable passage in Rev_16:10, the kingdom of the beasts, i.e., the kingdom of the Latin kingdom; which is apparently a solecism, but in reality expressed with wonderful precision. The fifth vial is poured out upon the throne of the beast, and His Kingdom is darkened, i.e., the Latin kingdom in subjection to the Latin kingdom or the secular Latin empire.

3. GILL, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,.... Sitting in the same seat, having the same power and authority from the dragon, making war with the saints by preaching and writing against them, by anathemas, excommunications, and bulls, and so overcame and

silenced them, or delivered them over to the secular arm to be put to death, ruling over the consciences of men in a tyrannical way, in all nations, kindreds, and tongues, in the empire; and all this before, in the presence, and under the influence of the secular power, of the Papacy, signified by the first beast, and with his good liking, and for his credit and support:

and causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein; the Roman empire, and the inhabitants of it, especially the carnal and earthly part of them:

to worship the first beast; to be subject to the temporal power of the Papacy, or to submit to the pope as a temporal lord, to give homage and tribute to him, and the like, in order to support his worldly power and grandeur; and this was caused or brought about by his emissaries, his spiritual vassals, his legates, cardinals, priests, &c. by their exhortations, persuasions, and commands, delivered both in writing and preaching:

whose deadly wound was healed; which deadly wound was given the Roman empire under its sixth head, the emperors, when they ceased, and was healed by the pope, the seventh head, being set as a temporal monarch over the ten kingdoms in it.

4. HENRY, “The power which he exercises: All the power of the former beast (Rev_13:12); he promotes the same interest, pursues the same design in substance, which is, to draw men off from worshipping the true God to worshipping those who by nature are no gods, and subject the souls and consciences of men to the will and authority of men, in opposition to the will of God. This design is promoted by the popery as well as by paganism, and by the crafty arts of popery as well as by the secular arm, both serving the interests of the devil, though in a different manner.III. The methods by which this second beast carried on his interests and designs; they are of three sorts: - 1. Lying wonders, pretended miracles, by which they should be deceived, and prevailed with to worship the former beast in this new image or shape that was now made for him; they would pretend to bring down fire from heaven, as Elias did, and God sometimes permits his enemies, as he did the magicians of Egypt, to do things that seem very wonderful, and by which unwary persons may be deluded. It is well known that the papal kingdom has been long supported by pretended miracles. 2. Excommunications, anathemas, severe censures, by which they pretend to cut men off from Christ, and cast them into the power of the devil, but do indeed deliver them over to the secular power, that they may be put to death; and thus, notwithstanding their vile hypocrisy, they are justly charged with killing those whom they cannot corrupt. 3. By disfranchisement, allowing none to enjoy natural, civil, or municipal rights, who will not worship that papal beast, that is, the image of the pagan beast. It is made a qualification for buying and selling the rights of nature, as well as for places of profit and trust, that they have the mark of the beast in their forehead and in their right hand, and that they have the name of the beast and the number of his name. It is probable that the mark, the name, and the number of the beast, may all signify the same thing - that they make an open profession of their subjection and obedience to the papacy, which is receiving the mark in their forehead, and that they oblige themselves to use all their interest, power, and endeavour, to promote the papal authority, which is receiving the mark in their right hands. We are told that pope Martin V. in his bull, added to the council of Constance, prohibits Roman catholics from suffering any heretics to dwell in their countries, or to make any bargains, use any trades, or bear any civil offices, which is a very clear interpretation of this prophecy.IV. We have here the number of the beast, given in such a manner as shows the infinite wisdom of God, and will sufficiently exercise all the wisdom and accuracy of men: The number is the number of a man, computed after the usual manner among men, and it is 666. Whether this be the number of the errors and heresies that are contained in popery, or rather, as others, the number of the years from its rise to its fall, is not certain, much less what that period is which is described by these prophetic numbers. The most admired dissertation on this intricate subject is that of Dr. Potter, where the curious may find sufficient entertainment. It seems to me to be one of those seasons which God has reserved in his own power; only this we know, God has written Mene Tekel upon all his enemies; he has numbered their days, and they shall be finished, but his own kingdom shall endure for ever.

5. JAMISON, “power — Greek, “authority.”before him — “in his presence”; as ministering to, and upholding him. “The non-existence of the beast embraces the whole Germanic Christian period. The healing of the wound and return of the beast is represented [in regard to its final Antichristian manifestation though including also, meanwhile, its healing and return under Popery, which is baptized heathenism] in that principle which, since 1789, has manifested itself in beast-like outbreaks” [Auberlen].which dwell therein — the earthly-minded. The Church becomes the harlot: the world’s political power, the Antichristian beast; the world’s wisdom and civilization, the false prophet. Christ’s three offices are thus perverted: the first beast is the false kingship; the harlot, the false priesthood; the second beast, the false prophet. The beast is the bodily, the false prophet the intellectual, the harlot the spiritual power of Antichristianity [Auberlen]. The Old-Testament Church stood under the power of the beast, the heathen world power: the Middle-Ages Church under that of the harlot: in modern times the false prophet predominates. But in the last days all these God-opposed powers which have succeeded each other shall co-operate, and raise each other to the most terrible and intense power of their nature: the false prophet causes men to worship the beast, and the beast carries the harlot. These three forms of apostasy are reducible to two: the apostate Church and the apostate world, pseudo-Christianity and Antichristianity, the harlot and the beast; for the false prophet is also a beast; and the two beasts, as different manifestations of the same beast-like principle, stand in contradistinction to the harlot, and are finally judged together, whereas separate judgment falls on the harlot [Auberlen].deadly wound — Greek, “wound of death.”

5B. NOTES, “ The second beast had the job of getting people to worship the emperor and show their allegiance to Rome. He is the religious arm of the evil kingdom. Religion can be the worst enemy of the Christian.

The second beast's "job description"a. He is essentially a Satanic prophet, who leads the world to worship the beast and the dragonb. He has the "signs and wonders" to back up his false teaching (as Jesus warned in Mark 13:22 and Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:9)c. He uses a deceptive, animated image to be the focus point of the worship of the beasti. It may seem strange to us to have the whole world give this kind of worship to the image of a man, but the personality cults of totalitarian governments in the twentieth century are a good example of this kind of thing (like the omnipresent pictures of Stalin or Mao)ii. The image of the beast is animated in some way; it has breath and can speak; whether the image is animated supernaturally or technologically, the result will be impressiveiii. This is what Jesus, Daniel, and Paul spoke of as the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). It is an idolatrous image set up in the holy place of a rebuilt temple; it is an abomination in the sense of being supreme idolatry; it is desolation in the sense that it will bring the desolating judgments described by the seals, trumpets, and bowls iv. This is the summation of the power of the Antichrist, whose authority ends after forty-two months (13:5); this marks the half-way point of the final seven years of man's rule of this planet. The Antichrist's power ends as soon as it peaksv. This is not a recent understanding of this passage; the first commentary we have on the book of Revelation, written by Victorinus in the early church, says of this verse: "He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles"6. PULPIT, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him; all the authority.., in his sight (Revised Version). That is, his influence over men, though less directly asserted, is equal to that of the first beast. And he exercises this influence "in his sight," that is, by his permission and contemporaneously with the exercise of power by the first beast. So Christians both of St. John's and of our own time seek to escape direct persecution by justifying to themselves their unworthy compliance with the unrighteous requirements of the world. And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Here we have an explanation of the two preceding clauses. Though like a lamb in appearance, his words denote his deadly nature, which is shown by causing men to worship the first beast; and thus he exercises the authority of the first beast, and accomplishes his work. Those who dwell in the earth are the

worldly, not faithful Christians, but those "whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb" (see on verse 8). This beast causes men to worship the first beast by persuading them into a compliance with his will, and making them pay homage to him. For this reason he is called in Rev_16:13 the "false prophet.'' (For "whose deadly wound was healed," see on Rev_16:3.)

13 And it performed great signs,even causing fire

to come down from heaven to the earth in full

view of the people.

1.BARNES, “And he doeth great wonders - “Signs” - s?µe??a se‾meia - the word commonly employed to denote “miracles” (compare the notes on Act_2:19); and the representation here is, that the power referred to by the second beast would found its claim on pretended miracles, and would accomplish an effect on the world as if it actually did work miracles. The applicability of this to papal Rome no one can doubt. See the notes on 2Th_2:9. Compare Rev_13:14.That he maketh five come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men - That is, he pretends this; he accomplishes an effect as if he did it. It is not necessary to suppose that he actually did this, anymore than it is to suppose that he actually performed the other pretended miracles referred to in other places. John describes him as he saw him in the vision; and he saw him laying claim to this power, and actually producing an effect as if by a miracle he actually made fire to descend from heaven upon the earth. This is to be understood as included in what the apostle Paul (2Th_2:9) calls “signs and lying wonders,” as among the things by which the “man of sin and the son of perdition” would be characterized, and by which he would be sustained. See the notes on that passage. Why this particular pretended miracle is specified here is not certain. It may be because this would be among the most striking and impressive of the pretended miracles performed - as if lying beyond all human power - as Elijah made fire come down from heaven to consume the sacrifice 1Ki_18:37-38, and as the apostles proposed to do on the Samaritans Luk_9:54, as if fire were called down on them from heaven. The phrase “in the sight of men” implies that this would be done publicly, and is such language as would be used of pretended miracles designed for purposes of ostentation. Amidst the multitudes of pretended miracles of the papacy, it would probably not be difficult to find instances in which the very thing here described was attempted, in which various devices of pyrotechnics were shown off as miracles. For an illustration of the wonders produced in the dark ages in reference to fire, having all the appearance of miracles, and regarded as miracles by the masses of people, the reader is referred to Dr. Brewster’s Letters on Natural Magic, particularly Letter 12.

2. CLARKE, “And he doeth great wonders - That we may have the greatest assurance possible that the two-horned beast is the spiritual Latin empire, it is called in Rev_19:20, a passage illustrative of the one now under consideration, the false prophet, “than which,” as Bishop Newton observes, “there cannot be a stronger or plainer argument to prove that false doctors or teachers were particularly designed;” for prophet, in the Scripture style, is not unfrequently used for a preacher or expounder of God’s word. See 1Co_14:1-5. It hence follows that the two-horned beast is an empire of false doctors or teachers.In order to establish the Latin Church upon a foundation that can never fail, the false prophet doth great wonders - he attempts the most wonderful and prodigious exploits, and is crowned with incredible success. He has the art to persuade his followers that the clergy of the Church of Rome are the only true ministers of Christ; that they have such great influence in the court of heaven as to be able not only to forgive sins, but also to grant indulgences in sin, by paying certain stipulated sums. He persuades them too that they can do works of supererogation. He pretends that an incredible number of miracles have been wrought and are still working by the Almighty, as so many evidences of the great sanctity of the Latin Church; and the false prophet has such an astonishing influence over his flock, as to cause them to believe all his fabulous legends and lying wonders. He pretends also (and is believed!) that his power is not confined to this world; that he is

able by his prayers to deliver the souls of the deceased from what he calls purgatory, a place which he has fabled to exist for the purification of sinful souls after their departure from this world. His wonderful exploits, in being able to induce men possessed of reasoning faculties to believe his monstrous absurdities, do not end here; he even: - Maketh fire come down from heaven - in the sight of men - Fire, in Scripture, when it signifies wrath, represents that species of indignation which is attended with the destruction of whatever is the cause of it. Thus the wrath of God is likened to fire, Psa_18:7, Psa_18:8; Jer_4:4. Therefore the fire which the false prophet bringeth down from heaven upon the earth, is the fiery indignation which he causes to come down from the heaven or throne of the Latin empire upon all those of the earth or Latin world who rebel against his authority. All this has been fulfilled in the Romish hierarchy; the Latin clergy have denominated all those that oppose their authority heretics, they have instituted tribunals to try the cause of heresy, and all those that would not submit to their idolatry they have condemned to various kinds of tortures and deaths. It is said of the false prophet that he bringeth fire From Heaven upon the earth; that is to say, he will only try the cause of heresy, and pass the sentence of condemnation; he will not suffer an ecclesiastic to execute the sentence of the court; the destroying fire he causeth to come down from the heaven or throne of the Latin empire; secular princes and magistrates must execute the sentence of death upon all that are capitally condemned by the spiritual power. He Maketh fire come down from heaven; he compels secular princes to assist him against heretics; and if any rebel against his authority he immediately puts them under the ban of the anathema, so that they are deprived of their offices, and exposed to the insults and persecution of their brethren. Thus the false prophet deceives the Latin world by the means of those miracles which he had power try do in the sight of the beast. Under the appearance of great sanctity he persuades men to believe all his lying doctrines, and enforces his canons and decretals with the sword of the civil magistrate.

3. GILL, “And he doeth great wonders,.... Or miracles; not real, but pretended ones, lying wonders, which the Popish legends are full of the accounts of, as done by the priests, or by this or the other saint:

so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men; in imitation of Elijah, 2Ki_1:9; and this single instance is put instead of all others, it being usual with the Jews to express all wonderful and miraculous operations by this miracle of Elijah's: and this may be understood mystically, of the pretensions of the Papacy to confer the Holy Ghost, and his gifts upon men, by breathing on them, which on the day of Pentecost were represented by cloven tongues, as of fire, coming down from heaven; or of their anathemas, curses, and excommunications, at which time burning torches and candles are cast up, and fall down, as emblems of divine wrath, which is called cursing men with bell, book, and candle; or else of the fire of persecution: "from heaven"; the secular powers of the empire: "upon the earth"; the common people: or this may be understood literally; so they tell us, that Pope Zachary, once on a journey to Ravenna, had in the daytime a cloud to protect him from the heat, and in the night time armies of fire appeared in the clouds to go before him; and as Pope Innocent was at Mass, a golden crown was seen, and on it a dove, and under it a smoking censer, and hard by them two burning firebrands: and it is reported of Pope Hildebrand, that, whenever he pleased, he could shake his sleeves, and sparks of fire would come out; and by these miracles deluded the eyes of the simple with a show of holiness, which, with other instances, are taken notice of by Napier, Brightman, and other writers: and so here this is said to be done "in the sight of men"; to their apprehension, seemingly, in their view; they being cheated and deluded with an appearance and show of things which were not real.

4. JAMISON, “wonders — Greek, “signs.”so that — so great that.maketh fire — Greek, “maketh even fire.” This is the very miracle which the two witnesses perform, and which Elijah long ago had performed; this the beast from the bottomless pit, or the false prophet, mimics. Not merely tricks, but miracles of a demoniacal kind, and by demon aid, like those of the Egyptian magicians, shall be wrought, most calculated to deceive; wrought “after the working (Greek, ‘energy’) of Satan.”

5. NOTE, The whole sign business is very risky for evil forces can do signs too, and wonder that are in fact miracles. God warned his people that no matter how wondrous the signs of the prophets, if they promote idolatry, they are evil. Deut. 13:1-5. No sign is a valid reason for idolatry, but it is Satan's best tool for deception. People love miracles. No miracle means anything to the Christian that does not lead to the praise of Christ. We are to be the greatest skeptics in the world when it comes to signs and miracles for they are areas of great deception. When the world is getting all religious, it is time for the Christian to get anti-religious.6. PULPIT, “And he doeth great wonders. Men are apt to deceive themselves by attributing to other agencies the power to work wonders which belongs only to God himself. In St. John's time the arts of magic were used; in modern times the marvels of science often lead men to a disbelief in God. Archdeacon Lee, in his commentary, says, "We cannot doubt that there is also a reference to the wonderful power over nature which the spirit of man has attained to, and which has too often been abused to the deification of Nature and her laws, and to the disparagement of the Divine action which is ever present in creation." So that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men;that he should even make fire, etc.. as in the Revised Version. We are not to understand this literally. It is given as a kind of sample of the power possessed by the beast, being a form of miracle which would be well known to St. John's readers (cf. Elijah on Carmel, 1Ki_18:1-46.; Korah's company, Num_16:35, etc.; also the request of SS. James and John, Luk_9:54). The descent of fire is also frequently a sign of God's approval (cf. Gen_15:17; Le Gen_9:24;Jdg_13:19, Jdg_13:20; 2Ch_7:1). The two witnesses possessed the power of sending forth fire (see Rev_11:5). In this respect, therefore—in the very nature of his signs—the beast still seems to counterfeit the power of God.

14 Because of the signs it was given power to

perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived

the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set

up an image in honor of the beast who was

wounded by the sword and yet lived.

1.BARNES, “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles - Nothing could possibly be more descriptive of the papacy than this. It has been kept up by deception and delusion, and its pretended miracles have been, and are to this day, the means by which this is done. Anyone in the slightest degree acquainted with the pretended miracles practiced at Rome, will see the propriety of this description as applied to the papacy. The main fact here stated, that the papacy would endeavor to sustain itself by pretended miracles, is confirmed by an incidental remark of Mr. Gibbon, when speaking of the pontificate of Gregory the Great; he says: “The credulity or the prudence of Gregory was always disposed to confirm the truths of religion by the evidence of ghosts, miracles, and resurrections” (Decline and Fall, 3:210). Even within a month of the time that I am writing (October 5, 1850), intelligence has been received in this country of extraordinary privileges conferred on some city in Italy, because the eyes of a picture of the Virgin in that city have miraculously moved - greatly to the “confirmation of the faithful.”Such things are constantly occurring; and it is by these that the supremacy of the papacy has been and is sustained. The Breviary teems with examples of miracles performed by the saints. For instance: Francis Xavier turned a sufficient quantity of salt water into fresh to save the lives of five hundred travelers who were dying of thirst, enough being left to allow a large exportation to different parts of the world, where it performed astonishing cures. Raymond de Pennafort laid his

cloak on the sea, and sailed from Majorca to Barcelona, a distance of a hundred and sixty miles, in six hours. Juliana lay on her death-bed; her stomach rejected all solid food, and in consequence she was prevented from receiving the eucharist. In compliance with her earnest solicitations, the consecrated wafer was laid on her breast; the priest prayed; the wafer vanished, and Juliana expired. Many pages might be filled with accounts of modern miracles of the most ridiculous description, yet believed by Roman Catholics - the undoubted means by which papal Rome “deceives the world,” and keeps up its ascendency in this age. See Forsyth’s Italy, ii. pp. 154-157; Rome in the Nineteenth Century, i. p. 40, 86, ii. p. 356, 3, pp. 193-201; Lady Morgan’s Italy, ii. p. 306, iii. p. 189; Graham’s Three Months’ Residence, etc., p. 241.Saying to them that dwell on the earth - That is, as far as its influence would extend. This implies that there would be authority, and that this authority would be exercised to secure this object.That they should make an image to the beast - That is, something that would represent the beast, and that might be an object of worship. The word rendered “image” - e????´? eiko‾n - means properly:(a) An image, effigy, figure, as an idol, image, or figure;(b) A likeness, resemblance, similitude.Here the meaning would seem to be that, in order to secure the acknowledgment of the beast, and the homage to be rendered to him, there was something like a statue made, or that John saw in vision such a representation - that is, that a state of things existed as if such a statue were made, and people were constrained to acknowledge this. All that is stated here would be fulfilled if the old Roman civil power should become to a large extent dead, or cease to exert its influence over people, and if then the papal spiritual power should cause a form of domination to exist strongly resembling the former in its general character and extent, and if it should secure this result - that the world would acknowledge its sway or render it homage as it did to the old Roman government. This would receive its fulfillment if it be supposed that the first “beast” represented the ancient Roman civil power as such; that this died away - as if the head had received a fatal wound; that it was again revived under the influence of the papacy; and that, under that influence, a civil government, strongly resembling the old Roman dominion, was caused to exist, depending for its vital energy on the papacy, and, in its turn, lending its aid to support the papacy.All this in fact occurred in the decline of the Roman power after the time of Constantine, and its final apparent extinction, as if “wounded to death,” in the exile of the last of the emperors, the son of Orestes, who assumed the names of Romulus and Augustus, names which were corrupted, the former by the Greeks into Momyllus, and the latter by the Latins “into the contemptible diminutive Augustulus.” See Gibbon 2:381. Under him the empire ceased, until it was revived in the days of Charlemagne. In the empire which then sprung up, and which owed much of its influence to the sustaining aid of the papacy, we discern the “image” of the former Roman power; the prolongation of the Roman ascendency over the world. On the exile of the feeble son of Orestes (476 a.d.), the government passed into the hands of Odoacer, “the first barbarian who reigned in Italy” (Gibbon); and then the authority was divided among the sovereignties which sprang up after the conquests of the barbarians, until the “empire” was again restored in the time and the person of Charlemagne. See Gibbon, iii. 344ff.Which had the wound by a sword, and did live - Which had a wound that was naturally fatal. but whose fatal consequences were prevented by the intervention of another power. See the notes on Rev_13:3. That is, according to the explanation given above, the Roman imperial power was “wounded with a fatal wound” by the invasions of the northern hordes - the sword of the conquerors. Its power, however, was restored by the papacy, giving life to what resembled essentially the Roman civil jurisdiction - the “image” of the former beast; and that power, thus restored, asserted its dominion again, as the prolonged Roman dominion - the fourth kingdom of Daniel (see the notes on Dan_7:19 ff) - over the world.

2. CLARKE, “Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live - The image of the beast must designate a person who represents in himself the whole power of the Latin empire, therefore it cannot be the emperor; for though he was, according to his own account, supremum caput Christianitatis, the supreme head of Christendom, yet he was only the chief of the Germanic confederation, and consequently was only sovereign of the principal power of the Latin empire. The image of the beast must be the supreme ruler of the Latin empire, and as it is through the influence of the false

prophet that this image is made for the first beast, this great chief must be an ecclesiastic. Who this is has been ably shown by Bishop Newton in his comment on the following verse.

3. GILL, “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth,.... The Complutensian edition, and two of Stephens's copies, read "mine", instead of "them"; creatures of God, and professors of Christ, carnal and unregenerate men; not the elect of God, and true believers in Christ, these cannot be deceived by the signs and wonders of false Christs and false prophets; antichrist's deceivableness of unrighteousness only operates in them that perish:

by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; the secular power of the Papacy encouraging, confirming, and giving a sanction to those lying miracles, and obliging all to believe them, and come into the things, doctrines, or practices, they are designed to promote:

saying to them that dwell on the earth: the apostate church, or the carnal inhabitants of the empire: ordering and commanding them

that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live; meaning the Roman empire, which had received a deadly wound in its sixth head, the emperors, by the sword of the Goths, Huns, &c. but now revived in its seventh head, the pope of Rome, to whom the ten kings gave their kingdoms: the image made to this beast some understand of the translation of the empire to Charles the great, and his successors the emperors, by the pope of Rome, he ordaining so many electors to chose a king of the Romans, and elect an emperor when one was wanting; and this was an image to the first beast, a shadow, an appearance of the Roman empire, and but a shadow; for the power of inaugurating and crowning these emperors, and of setting up and deposing them when the pope pleased, lie reserved to himself: but rather this designs the image worship, or the worshipping of idols of gold and silver, of wood and stone, which he caused the inhabitants of the earth to make, and give adoration to; or else the whole Papal religion, and the Papacy itself, for the beast, and the image of the beast, are all along in this book afterwards mentioned together as being the same, Rev_14:9, which is an image of the Gentile religion, in their high priest, priests, temples, idols, offerings, garments, worshipping of angels, and saints departed, with a numerous train of rites and ceremonies, borrowed from the old Pagan religion; hence the Papists are called Gentiles, Rev_11:2, the Roman empire, represented by these two beasts, and this image, had now one head, the pope, as before an emperor, and a religion in it much resembling its ancient one; but, before that was set up, this image was in being.

4. JAMISON, “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth — the earthly-minded, but not the elect. Even a miracle is not enough to warrant belief in a professed revelation unless that revelation be in harmony with God’s already revealed will.by the means of those miracles — rather as Greek, “on account of (because of; in consequence of) those miracles.”which he had power to do — Greek, “which were given him to do.”in the sight of the beast — “before him” (Rev_13:12).which — A, B, and C read, “who”; marking, perhaps, a personal Antichrist.had — So B and Andreas read. But A, C, and Vulgate read, “hath.”

5. PULPIT, “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, he deceives by employing false signs, and he deceives by inducing men to believe that the worship of the first beast is allowable. Those "that dwell on the earth" are the worldly minded, as in Rev_13:12. "Which he had power to do" should rather be "which it was given him to do," as in the Revised Version. The power possessed by the beast does not originate with himself; he possesses it only subject to the will of God (cf. Rev_13:5 and Rev_13:7). Thus the second beast—self deceit—beguiles men. They accept exhibitions of power external to God as evidences of an independence and self sufficiency which do not exist apart from God, forgetful of the fact that this power is derived from God: it is given by him. (For "in the sight of the beast," see on Rev_13:12.) Saying to them that dwell on the earth. ?e´??? , "saying,"

masculine, agrees with the neuter ????´?? . The writer uses the masculine, as in Rev_13:8, because of the personified nature of the beast. It is not fair to press the word (as some writers do) into the signification that a man must be intended. "Them that dwell on the earth"—the worldly minded (vide supra). That they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live; who hath the stroke of a sword, and lived,as in the Revised Version. The masculine as before (vide supra). This beast suggested that men should set up an image of the first beast, not in order to pay greater honour to the first beast, but that an apparent alternative might be offered to men, so that those who hesitated to pay direct allegiance to the first beast might overcome their scruples and worship something which resembled him, while allowing them to, as it were, cheat their own consciences by persuading themselves that they were not worshipping the beast himself. These two classes of men are, of course, essentially one; they are, in reality, all followers of the beast; but still there is a difference in the manner in which they become worshippers of the beast. The distinction of the two classes seems to be kept in mind in Rev_19:20 and Rev_20:4, where, however, all are included in the same condemnation. Thus the apostle teaches us that those who, by specious and plausible reasoning, who, in short, by self deceit, allow themselves to east in their lot with the worldly—the avowed followers of the first beast—are equally guilty with those who openly proclaim themselves followers of the world. (On the last part of the verse, the nature of the sword stroke, see on Rev_20:3.)

15 The second beast was given power to give

breath to the image of the first beast, so that the

image could speak and cause all who refused to

worship the image to be killed.

1.BARNES, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast - That is, that image of the beast would be naturally powerless, or would have no life in itself. The second beast, however, had power to impart life to it, so that it would be invested with authority, and would exercise that authority in the manner specified. If this refers, as is supposed, to the Roman civil power - the power of the empire restored - it would find a fulfillment in some act of the papacy by which the empire that resembled in the extent of its jurisdiction, and in its general character, the former Roman empire, received some vivifying impulse, or was invested with new power. That is, it would have power conferred on it through the papacy which it would not have in itself, and which would confirm its jurisdiction. How far events actually occurred corresponding with this, will be considered in the notes at the close of this verse.That the image of the beast should both speak - Should give signs of life; should issue authoritative commands. The speaking here referred to pertains to what is immediately specified, in issuing a command that they who “would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast - Would not honor it, or acknowledge its authority. The “worship” here referred to is civil, not religious homage. See the notes on Rev_13:4. The meaning is, that what is here called the “image of the beast” had power given it, by its connection with the second “beast,” to set up its jurisdiction over people, and to secure their allegiance on pain of death. The power by which this was done was derived from the second beast; the obedience and homage demanded was of the most entire and submissive character; the nature of the government was in a high degree arbitrary; and the penalty enforced for refusing this homage was death. The facts that we are to look for in the fulfillment of this are:(1) That the Roman imperial power was about to expire - as if wounded to death by the sword;(2) That this was revived in the form of what is here called the “image of the beast” - that is, in a form closely resembling the former power;

(3) That this was done by the agency of the papal power, represented by the second beast;(4) That the effect of this was to set up over people a wide-extended secular jurisdiction, of a most arbitrary and absolute kind, where the penalty of disobedience to its laws was death, and where the infliction of this was, in fact, to be traced to the influence of the second beast - that is, the papal spiritual power.The question now is, whether facts occurred that corresponded with this emblematic representation. Now, as to the leading fact, the decline of the Roman imperial power - the fatal wound inflicted on that by the “sword” - there can be no doubt. In the time of “Augustulus,” as above stated, it had become practically extinct - “wounded as it were to death,” and so wounded that it would never have been revived again had it not been for some foreign influence. It is true also, that, when the papacy arose, the necessity was felt of allying itself with some wide extended civil or secular dominion, that might be under its own control, and that would maintain its spiritual authority. It is true, also, that the empire was revived - the very “image” or copy, so far as it could be, of the former Roman power, in the time of Charlemagne, and that the power which was wielded in what was called the “empire,” was what was, in a great measure, derived from the papacy, and was designed to sustain the papacy, and was actually employed for that purpose. These are the main facts, I suppose, which are here referred to, and a few extracts from Mr. Gibbon will show with what propriety and accuracy the symbols here employed were used, on the supposition that this was the designed reference:(a) The rise, or restoration of this imperial power in the time and the person of Charlemagne. Mr. Gibbon says (3:342), “It was after the Nicene synod, and under the reign of the pious Irene, that the popes consummated the separation of Rome and Italy (from the Eastern empire) by the translation of the empire to the less orthodox Charlemagne. They were compelled to choose between the rival nations; religion was not the sole motive of their choice; and while they dissembled the failings of their friends, they beheld with reluctance and suspicion the Catholic virtues of their foes. The difference of language and manners had perpetuated the enmity of the two capitals (Rome and Constantinople); and they were alienated from each other by the hostile opposition of seventy years. In that schism the Romans had tasted of freedom, and the popes of sovereignty; their submission would have exposed them to the revenge of a jealous tyrant, and the revolution of Italy had betrayed the impotence as well as the tyranny of the Byzantine court.”Mr. Gibbon then proceeds to state reasons why Charlemagne was selected as the one who was to be placed at the head of the revived imperial power, and then adds (p. 343), “The title of patrician was below the merit and greatness of Charlemagne; and it was only by reviving the “Western empire” that they could pay their obligations, or secure their establishment. By this decisive measure they would finally eradicate the claims of the Greeks; from the debasement of a provincial town the majesty of Rome would be restored; the Latin Christians would be united, under a supreme head, in their ancient metropolis; “and the conquerors of the West would receive their crown from the successors of Peter. The Roman church would acquire a zealous and respectable advocate”; and under the shadow of the Carlovingian power, the bishop might exercise, with honor and safety, the government of the city.” All this seems as if it were a designed commentary on such expressions as these: “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed,” “saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live; and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,” etc.(b) Its extent. It is said Rev_13:12, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” Compare Rev_13:14-15. That is, the extent of the jurisdiction of the revived power, or the restored empire, would be as great as it was before the wound was inflicted. Of the extent of the restored empire under Charlemagne, Mr. Gibbon has given a full account, iii. pp. 546-549. The passage is too long to be copied here in full, and a summary of it only can be given. He says, “The empire was not unworthy of its title; and some of the fairest kingdoms of Europe were the patrimony or conquest of a prince who reigned at the same time in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Hungary.I. The Roman province of Gaul had been transformed into the name and monarchy of France, etc.II. The Saracens had been expelled from France by the grandfather and father of Charlemagne, but they still possessed the greatest part of Spain, from the rock of Gibraltar to the Pyrenees. Amidst their civil divisions, an Arabian emir of Saragossa implored his protection in the diet of

Paderborn. Charlemagne undertook the expedition, restored the emir, and, without distinction of faith, impartially crushed the resistance of the Christians, and rewarded the obedience and service of the Muslims. In his absence he instituted the Spanish March, which extended from the Pyrenees to the river Ebro: Barcelona was the residence of the French governor; he possessed the counties of Rousillon and Catalonia; and the infant kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon were subject to his jurisdiction.III. As king of the Lombards, and patrician of Rome, he reigned over the greatest part of Italy, a tract of a thousand miles from the Alps to the borders of Calabria, etc.IV. Charlemagne was the first who united Germany under the same scepter, etc.V. He retaliated on the Avars, or Huns of Pannonia, the same calamities which they had inflicted on the nations: the royal residence of the Chagan was left desolate and unknown; and the treasures, the rapine of two hundred and fifty years, enriched the victorious troops, or decorated the churches of Italy and Gaul.” “If we retrace the outlines of the geographical picture,” continues Mr. Gibbon, “it will be seen that the empire of the Franks extended, between east and west, from the Ebro to the Elbe or Vistula; between the north and south, from the duchy of Beneventum to the river Eyder, the perpetual boundary of Germany and Denmark. Two-thirds of the Western empire of Rome were subject to Charlemagne, and the deficiency was amply supplied by his command of the inaccessible or invincible nations of Germany.”(c) The dependence of this civil or revived secular power on the papacy. “His deadly wound was healed.” “And caused the earth to worship the first beast.” “Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast.” “He had power to give life unto the image of the beast.” Thus Mr. Gibbon (3:343) says, “From the debasement of a provincial town, the majesty of Rome would be restored; the Latin Christians would be united, under a supreme head, in their ancient metropolis; and the conquerors of the West would receive their crown from the successors of Peter.” And again (3:344) he says, “On the festival of Christmas, the last year of the eighth century, Charlemagne appeared in the church of Peter; and, to gratify the vanity of Rome, he had exchanged the simple dress of his country for the habit of a patrician. After the celebration of the holy mysteries, Leo suddenly placed a precious crown on his head, and the dome resounded with the acclamations of the people, ‘Long life and victory to Charles, the most pious Augustus, crowned by God the great and pacific emperor of the Romans!’ The head and body of Charlemagne were consecrated by the royal unction; his coronation oath represents a promise to maintain the faith and privileges of the church; and the first-fruits are paid in rich offerings to the shrine of the apostle. In his familiar conversation the emperor protested his ignorance of the intentions of Leo, which he would have disappointed by his absence on that memorable day.But the preparations of the ceremony must have disclosed the secret; and the journey of Charlemagne reveals his knowledge and expectation; he had acknowledged that the imperial title was the object of his ambition, and a Roman senate had pronounced that it was the only adequate reward of his merit and services.” So again (3:350), Mr. Gibbon, speaking of the conquests of Otho (962 a.d.), and of his victorious march over the Alps, and his subjugation of Italy, says, “From that memorable era, two maxims of public jurisprudence were introduced by force and ratified by time:I. That the prince who was elected in the German diet, acquired from that instant the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome.II. But that he might not legally assume the titles of emperor and Augustus, until he had received the crown from the hands of the Roman Pontiff.” In connection with these quotations from Mr. Gibbon, we may add, from Sigonius, the oath which the emperor took on the occasion of his coronation: “I, the Emperor, do engage and promise, in the name of Christ, before God and the blessed apostle Peter, that I will be a protector and defender of this holy church of Rome, in all things wherein I can be useful to it, so far as divine assistance shall enable me, and so far as my knowledge and power can reach” (quoted by Prof. Bush, Hieroph. Nov. 1842, p. 141). We learn, also, from the biographers of Charlemagne that a commemorative coin was struck at Rome under his reign, bearing this inscription: “Renovatio Imperil Romani” - “Revival of the Roman Empire” (Ibid.). These quotations, whose authority will not be questioned, and whose authors will not be suspected of having had any design to illustrate these passages in the Apocalypse, will serve to confirm what is said in the notes of the decline and restoration of the Roman secular power; of its dependence on the papacy to give it life and vigor; and of the fact that it was designed to sustain the papacy, and to perpetuate the power of Rome. It needs only to be added, that down to the time of Charles the Fifth - the period of the Reformation-nothing was more remarkable in history

than the readiness of this restored secular power to sustain the papacy and to carry out its designs; or than the readiness of the papacy to sustain an absolute civil despotism, and to make the world subject to it by suppressing all attempts in favor of civil liberty.

2. CLARKE, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed - I would just observe that the Brahmins, by repeating incantations, profess to give eyes and a soul to an image recently made, before it is worshipped; afterwards, being supposed to be the residence of the god or goddess it represents, it has a legal right to worship. On this verse the learned bishop observes: “The influence of the two-horned beast, or corrupted clergy, is farther seen in persuading and inducing mankind to make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live. This image and representative of the beast is the pope. He is properly the idol of the Church. He represents in himself the whole power of the beast, and is the head of all authority, temporal as well as spiritual. He is nothing more than a private person, without power and without authority, till the two-horned beast or corrupted clergy, by choosing him pope, give life unto him, and enable him to speak and utter his decrees, and to persecute even to death as many as refuse to submit to him and to worship him. As soon as he is chosen pope he is clothed with the pontifical robes, and crowned and placed upon the altar, and the cardinals come and kiss his feet, which ceremony is called adoration. They first elect and then they worship him, as in the medals of Martin V., where two are represented crowning the pope, and two kneeling before him, with this inscription, Quem creant adorant; ‘Whom they create they adore.’ He is The Principle of Unity to the Ten Kingdoms of the Beast, and causeth, as far as he is able, all who will not acknowledge his supremacy to be put to death.” The great ascendency which the popes have obtained over the kings of the Latin world by means of the Romish hierarchy is sufficiently marked in the history of Europe. As long as the great body of the people were devoted to the Roman Catholic idolatry, it was in vain for the kings of the different Roman Catholic countries to oppose the increasing usurpations of the popes. They ascended, in spite of all opposition, to the highest pinnacle of human greatness; for even the authority of the emperors themselves was established or annulled at their pleasure. The high sounding tone of the popes commenced in Gregory VII., a.d. 1073, commonly known by the name of Hildebrand, who aimed at nothing less than universal empire. He published an anathema against all who received the investiture of a bishopric or abbacy from the hands of a layman, as also against those by whom the investiture should be performed. This measure being opposed by Henry IV., emperor of Germany, the pope deposed him from all power and dignity, regal or imperial. See Corps Diplomatique, tom. i. p. 53. Great numbers of German princes siding with the pope, the emperor found himself under the necessity of going, (in January, 1077), to the bishop of Rome to implore his forgiveness, which was not granted him till he had fasted three days, standing from morning to evening barefooted, and exposed to the inclemency of the weather! In the following century the power of the pope was still farther increased; for on the 23d of September, 1122, the Emperor Henry V. gave up all right of conferring the regalia by the ceremony of the ring and crosier, so that the chapters and communities should be at liberty to fill up their own vacancies. In this century the election of the Roman pontiffs was confined by Alexander III. to the college of cardinals. In the thirteenth century the popes (Dr. Mosheim observes) “inculcated that pernicious maxim, that the bishop of Rome is the supreme lord of the universe, and that neither princes nor bishops, civil governors nor ecclesiastical rulers, have any lawful power in Church or state but what they derive from him. To establish their authority both in civil and ecclesiastical matters upon the firmest foundation, they assumed to themselves the power of disposing of the various offices of the Church, whether of a higher or more subordinate nature, and of creating bishops, abbots, and canons, according to their fancy. The first of the pontiffs who usurped such an extravagant extent of authority was Innocent III., (a.d. 1198-1216), whose example was followed by Honorius III., (a.d. 1216), Gregory IX., (a.d. 1227), and several of their successors.” Thus the plenitude of the papal power (as it is termed) was not confined to what was spiritual; the Romish bishops “dethroned monarchs, disposed of crowns, absolved subjects from the obedience due to their sovereigns, and laid kingdoms under interdicts. There was not a state in Europe which had not been disquieted by their ambition. There was not a throne which they had not shaken, nor a prince who did not tremble at their presence.” The point of time in which the Romish bishops attained their highest elevation of authority was about the commencement of the fourteenth century. Boniface VIII., who

was pope at this time, outstripped all his predecessors in the high sounding tone of his public decrees. According to his famous bull Unam Sanctam, published Nov. 16, 1302, “the secular power is but a simple emanation from the ecclesiastical; and the double power of the pope, founded upon Holy Scripture, is even an article of faith. God,” said he, “has confided to Saint Peter, and to his successors, two swords, the one spiritual, the other temporal. The first ought to be exercised by the Church itself; and the other, by secular powers for the service of the Church, and according to the will of the pope. The latter, that is to say, the temporal sword, is in subjection to the former, and the temporal authority depends indispensably on the spiritual power which judges it, white God alone can judge the spiritual power. Finally,” he adds, “it is necessary to salvation for every human creature to be in subjection to the Roman pontiff.” The false prophet Said “to them that dwell upon the earth, that they should make an image to the beast that had the wound by a sword, and did live;” that is, the Romish priesthood Preached Up the pope’s supremacy over temporal princes; and, through their astonishing influence on the minds of the people, the bishop of Rome at last became the supreme sovereign of the secular Latin empire, and thus was at the head of all authority, temporal and spiritual.The papists have in their various superstitions professed to worship God. But they are said, in the unerring words of prophecy, to worship the dragon, beast, and image of the beast, and to blaspheme God; for they received as holy those commandments of men that stand in direct opposition to the sacred Scriptures, and which have been imposed on them by the Romish bishops, aided by the secular powers. “God is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth.”

3. GILL, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the

beast,.... Or "breath"; he breathed into it, and animated it; he gave this new religion a sanction, he confirmed and established it, and obliged all in his dominions to embrace and acknowledge it; and this he did by his decrees and canons, and those that refused were delivered over to the secular power, which he also exercised under another consideration:

that the image of the beast should both speak: so that it was not like Nebuchadnezzar's golden image that he set up, which required another to speak for it and demand adoration to it; and should seem to be preferable to the dumb idols of the Gentiles, which have mouths, but speak not; and may be understood either of the images of the virgin Mary, and other saints, which it is pretended, and the people are made to believe, that they do at times actually speak, and really weep and laugh, as it may serve their different purposes; or this image may be said to speak by the decrees, canons, anathemas, curses, threatenings, persuasions, doctrines, and blasphemies of the pope and his clergy; so that this image is like both the first and second beast; it has a mouth speaking blasphemies, as the first, and it speaks like a dragon, as the second;

and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed: which, according to the generality of copies, refers to the image itself, that that has a power from the beast as to speak, so to put to death those that refuse to worship it; but the Complutensian edition reads ?a? p??e?, "and causes": that is, the beast causes, or orders all those that will not worship the image, to be killed; that is, that as many as will not embrace and profess the Popish religion shall be put to death; and these are the known orders and decrees of the Papacy, which have been executed by the Inquisition, and other hands, in innumerable instances; the blood of all the saints and prophets is found in Rome Papal, and will be avenged; these are the martyrs of Jesus, with whose blood the whore on the scarlet coloured beast has been made drunk; and this sense is confirmed by the eastern versions.

4. JAMISON, “he had power — Greek, “it was given to him.”to give life — Greek, “breath,” or “spirit.”image — Nebuchadnezzar set up in Dura a golden image to be worshipped, probably of himself; for his dream had been interpreted, “Thou art this head of gold”; the three Hebrews who refused to worship the image were east into a burning furnace. All this typifies the last apostasy. Pliny, in his letter to Trajan, states that he consigned to punishment those Christians who would not worship the emperor’s image with incense and wine. So Julian, the apostate, set up his own

image with the idols of the heathen gods in the Forum, that the Christians in doing reverence to it, might seem to worship the idols. So Charlemagne’s image was set up for homage; and the Pope adored the new emperor [Dupin, vol. 6, p. 126]. Napoleon, the successor of Charlemagne, designed after he had first lowered the Pope by removing him to Fontainebleau, then to “make an idol of him” [Memorial de Sainte Helene]; keeping the Pope near him, he would, through the Pope’s influence, have directed the religious, as well as the political world. The revived Napoleonic dynasty may, in some one representative, realize the project, becoming the beast supported by the false prophet (perhaps some openly infidel supplanter of the papacy, under a spiritual guise, after the harlot, or apostate Church, who is distinct from the second beast, has been stripped and judged by the beast, Rev_17:16); he then might have an image set up in his honor as a test of secular and spiritual allegiance.speak — “False doctrine will give a spiritual, philosophical appearance to the foolish apotheosis of the creaturely personified by Antichrist” [Auberlen]. Jerome, on Dan_7:1-28, says, Antichrist shall be “one of the human race in whom the whole of Satan shall dwell bodily.” Rome’s speaking images and winking pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints are an earnest of the future demoniacal miracles of the false prophet in making the beast’s or Antichrist’s image to speak.

5. NOTES, “The talking image of the beast. It is difficult to understand the meaning of the words about the false prophet that "He was granted power to instill the spirit into it, to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would both speak and act so as to have killed each one not worshipping the image of the beast" (Rev. 13:15). A motive for this could have been Antiochus Epiphanes' demanding that the Jews bow to the statue of Jupiter that he had erected in the temple at Jerusalem. Later on, the Emperor Domitian demanded that all citizens of the Roman Empire bow down to his own image. Domitian was the first emperor who demanded for himself a godly reverence even during his lifetime and demanded that he be addressed as "our lord and god." Sometimes, for greater effect, priests would hide behind the statues of the emperor and prophesy in his name. It was decreed that all Christians who did not bow down to the image of Domitian were to be executed, while others who obeyed were to be rewarded. It may be that in the prophecy of the Apocalypse the discourse deals with some apparatus similar to a television set that would transmit the image of the antichrist and simultaneously watch how the people react to it. In any case, at the present time movies and television are widely used to propagate antichristian ideas in order to accustom people to cruelty and banality. Daily, indiscriminate watching of television kills the goodness and holiness in man. Is television not the forerunner of the speaking image of the beast?

Stedman, “In one of the exhibits in Disneyland you can find Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair! He looks very real and while you are standing there he will get up out of the chair and walk over and talk to you! I shall never forget how impressive it was to see and hear Abraham Lincoln when I visited that exhibit! The technology to make an image of a man that seems to live and speak and walk, is already here. The whole world will doubtless run tour buses to worship it. It is not necessary that they really think it is a living person, but they will worship it because it represents a living person, and they will honor that impressive symbol in that day. By means of that image this false prophet will claim godlike powers for himself and the first beast, and will command the loyalty and obedience of all on the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar set up in Dura a golden image to be worshipped, probably of himself; for his dream had been interpreted, "Thou art this head of gold"; the three Hebrews who refused to worship the image were east into a burning furnace. All this typifies the last apostasy. PLINY, in his letter to Trajan, states that he consigned to punishment those Christians who would not worship the emperor's image with incense and wine. So JULIAN, the apostate, set up his own image with the idols of the heathen gods in the Forum, that the Christians in doing reverence to it, might seem to worship the idols. So Charlemagne's image was set up for homage; and the Pope adored the new emperor [DUPIN, vol. 6, p. 126]. Napoleon, the successor of Charlemagne, designed after he had first lowered the Pope by removing him to Fontainebleau, then to "make an idol of him" [Memorial de Sainte Helene]; keeping the Pope near him, he would, through the Pope's influence, have directed the religious, as well as the political world. The revived Napoleonic dynasty may, in some one representative, realize the project, becoming the beast supported by

the false prophet (perhaps some openly infidel supplanter of the papacy, under a spiritual guise, after the harlot, or apostate Church, who is distinct from the second beast, has been stripped and judged by the beast, Re 17:16); he then might have an image set up in his honor as a test of secular and spiritual allegiance. speak--"False doctrine will give a spiritual, philosophical appearance to the foolish apotheosis of the creaturely personified by Antichrist" [AUBERLEN]. JEROME, on Daniel 7, says, Antichrist shall be "one of the human race in whom the whole of Satan shall dwell bodily." Rome's speaking images and winking pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints are an earnest of the future demoniacal miracles of the false prophet in making the beast's or Antichrist's image to speak.

6. PULPIT, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed; and it was given to him to give breath,etc. à and a number of cursives lead the indicative future, p???´se? , that is," he [the beast] shall cause," etc. The symbolism is most probably derived from the heathen oracles. This beast is permitted to give life, to impart spirit to theimage; that is, he gives it an appearance of reality which a mere image could not possess. This is the dangerous power of self deceit. If men would face the naked truth, stripped of plausible arguments and specious resemblances, they would see that there was no reality in the ideal which they place before their minds, and their worship of which is prompted by love of the world, and the denial of God's power. Together with the attempt to deceive men into worshipping the image, is offered the alternative of death, or, should we not say, apparent death? It is only self deceit which makes men imagine that the alternative to an acceptance of the sovereignty of Satan and the world; is death. No doubt many Christians in St. John's time were thus beguiled. They deceived themselves by imagining that they must either conform to the heathen practices required of them, or suffer death; those with clearer mental vision saw that the threatened death was in reality life.

7. BURKITT, “St. John proceeds here to give a farther character and description of the beast, which he had begun to describe, Rev_13:11.

And, 1. His bloody cruelty is set forth, Rev_13:15. He causeth them to be killed that would not worship the image of the beast.

Where mark, It is not said that he killed them himself, nor challenging directly the power of life and death to himself; but he causeth them to be killed, namely, by the secular power, by the kings and princes, who are the horns of the beast, and who give their power and strength to the beast, and war against the Lamb.

Again, 2. After his cruelty follows his compulsion; he causes all sorts of men, high and low, bond and free, to receive a mark in their right hand, and in their forehead, in allusion to an ancient custom, which was to mark servants and soldiers on the arm by which it was known what master or captain they belonged to; in like manner the beast here is said to have a mark for those that are his, which mark seems probably to have been an open owning of him, an active engagement for him, a professed subjection to him.

3. The beast here is said to interdict and forbid all trade and commerce with those that had not his mark, Rev_13:17. He causeth that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark of the beast. Several bulls and decrees have been sent forth from Rome, commanding that no traffic or commerce be had with any heretic in buying or selling, but only with those that profess themselves members of the Romish church.

4. It is added, that the Number of the beast is six hundred sixty-six, that is, that the numeral letters of a certain word or name, being computed, should amount to that number. I shall close this chapter with the words of a great man, Archbishop Tillotson, on Rev_14:13. "Unto whom all the fore-mentioned characters of the beast do agree, and especially the number of his name, I shall not presume to conjecture, much less positively to determine, because it is said to require a particular wisdom and understanding to find it out: Here is wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. However, the event will discover it."

And again, on Luk_9:55 he thus speaks; "It is believed by many and not without cause, that the Pope and his faction are the antichristian beast; I will say no more than I know in this matter: I am not certain that is is he that is particularly designed in scripture by the name; but however that be, I challenge antichrist himself, whoever he is, and whenever he comes, to do worse and wickeder things than he has done: verily it almost looks uncharitably barely to relate what these men have not blushed to act."

8, NISBET, “The mark of the second beast:

v. 15. and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

v. 16. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads,

v. 17. and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

v. 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.

There is a remarkable show of authority which is here described: And there was granted him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should die; and he obliges all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they impress upon them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. So far the power of the beast goes by God's permission, to this extent he is God's scourge upon those that will not accept the salvation through Christ. Even the image, the copy of the first beast, this second beast caused to have the ability to speak and to exert great might in the world. He does not confine himself to any special class of people: powerful or without influence, rich or poor, free or in slavery, the beast will try to get them all into his power and to control them according to both body and soul. To do this, he sees to it that his mark is impressed, either upon their right hands or upon their foreheads. The word here used by John originally designated the imperial stamp on documents and merchandise, a red seal with the emperor's name or effigy. The mark on the hand was to indicate that the wearer would faithfully conform all his acts to the will of his master; and that on the forehead indicated that the wearer openly proclaimed himself a servant of the beast. So far did the power of the beast go at certain times that the very commerce of states and nations was controlled by it, and men could buy and sell commodities only with his permission.

So far as the explanation of this picture is concerned, the seer writes: Here is wisdom: he that has understanding, let him compute the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his name is six hundred sixty-six. Here indeed the gift of interpretation is needed if one would make absolute assertions. A great many commentators have tried to make the characteristics here given fit some individual historical person, Nero, who probably served as a type, Napoleon, and others. But if we take the features of the picture as a whole, the most probable conclusion is the following. As the first beast pictured the Roman Empire, continued in the kingdom of Anti-Christ as he showed himself mainly before the Reformation, so the second beast represents him as he has appeared since that time. Before the Reformation he exerted his power in an open and unrestricted manner; since that time he has assumed a lamb-like aspect, which has deceived thousands of people. The image of the first beast is still there, the detailed hierarchical organization modeled after that of the Roman Empire, as it has been strengthened by the Jesuits. There is a Pope, there are cardinals, there are archbishops and bishops and priests and deacons and subdeacons and a great many other officials, all fitting in with the system. There is the matter of the Inquisition, which developed its greatest power since the Reformation. There are the signs and wonders, which make such a great impression upon men. There are the two swords, the

temporal and the spiritual, which the Pope still claims for himself. There are the many cases of interdict, or spiritual boycott, when congregations, cities, and states were suspended from the means of grace. There are the cases of indulgences, when the forgiveness of sins was made a matter of traffic and bargaining. There are the cases of special commercial privileges granted to individuals and to communities by papal dispensation or permission. There are many other features which apply with peculiar force to Anti-Christ and his kingdom.

Luther writes about this chapter and the preceding one: "What abominations, woe, and damage this imperial papacy has committed cannot be related now. For in the first place, the world through his book has been filled with idolatry, with monasteries, institutions, saints, pilgrimages, purgatory, indulgences, lack of marriage, and innumerable other specimens of human doctrine and works. In the second place, who is able to tell how much bloodshed, murder, war, and misery the Popes have been the cause of, both with their own wars and by provoking emperors, kings, and princes?"

Summary

In the pictures of two beasts the prophet pictures the kingdom of Anti-Christ in its two phases, before and after the Reformation, showing its great power both in gaining worshipers and in bringing misery and death upon those that refused to accept Anti-Christ's doctrines.

16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich

and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on

their right hands or on their foreheads,

1.BARNES, “And he caused all - He claims jurisdiction, in the matters here referred to, over all classes of persons, and compels them to do his will. This is the second beast, and, according to the interpretation given above, it relates to the papal power, and to its claim of universal jurisdiction.Both small and great - All these expressions are designed to denote universality - referring to various divisions into which the human family may be regarded as divided. One of those divisions is into “small and great”; that is, into young and old; those small in stature and those large in stature; those of humble, and those of elevated rank.Rich and poor - Another way of dividing the human race, and denoting here, as in the former case, all - for it is a common method, in speaking of mankind, to describe them as “the rich and poor.”Free and bond - Another method still of dividing the human race, embracing all - for all the dwellers upon the earth are either free or bond. These various forms of expression, therefore, are designed merely to denote, in an emphatic manner, universality. The idea is, that, in the matter referred to, none were exempt, either on account of their exalted rank, or on account of their humble condition; either because they were so mighty as to be beyond control, or so mean and humble as to be beneath notice. And if this refers to the papacy, every one will see the propriety of the description. The jurisdiction set up by that power has been as absolute over kings as over the feeble and the poor; over masters and their slaves; alike over those in the humblest and in the most elevated walks of life.

To receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads - The word here rendered “mark” - ?a´?a?µa charagma - occurs only in one place in the New Testament except in the Book of Revelation Act_17:29, where it is rendered “graven.” In all the other places where it is found Rev_13:16-17; Rev_14:9, Rev_14:11; Rev_15:2; Rev_16:2; Rev_19:20; Rev_20:4, it is rendered “mark,” and is applied to the same thing - the “mark of the beast.” The word properly means “something graven or sculptured”; hence:(a) A graving, sculpture, sculptured work, as images or idols;(b) A mark cut in or stamped - as the stamp on a coin.Applied to people, it was used to denote some stamp or mark on the hand or elsewhere - as in the case of a servant on whose hand or arm the name of the master was impressed; or of a soldier on whom some mark was impressed denoting the company or phalanx to which he belonged. It was no uncommon thing to mark slaves or soldiers in this way; and the design was either to denote their ownership or rank, or to prevent their escaping so as not to be detected. Most of us have seen such marks made on the hands or arms of sailors, in which, by a voluntary tattooing, their names, or the names of their vessels, were written, or the figure of an anchor, or some other device, was indelibly made by punctures in the skin, and by inserting some kind of coloring matter. The thing which it is here said was engraven on the hand or the forehead was the “name” of the beast, or the “number” of his name, Rev_13:17. That is, the “name” or the “number” was so indelibly inscribed either on the hand or the forehead, as to show that he who bare it pertained to the “beast,” and was subject to his authority - as a slave is to his master, or a soldier to his commander. Applied to the papacy, the meaning is, that there would be some mark of distinction; some indelible sign; something which would designate, with entire certainty, those persons who belonged to it, and who were subject to it. It is hardly necessary to say that, in point of fact, this has eminently characterized the papacy. All possible care has been taken to designate with accuracy those who belong to that communion, and, all over the world, it is easy to distinguish those who render allegiance to the papal power. Compare the notes on Rev_7:3.

2. CLARKE, “And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark - To ascertain the meaning of the mark which the two-horned beast causes all orders and degrees of men in the Latin world to receive, we need only refer to Rev_14:11, where the mark imposed by the two-horned beast is called the mark of his name. The name of the beast is the Latin empire: the mark of his name must therefore be his Latin worship: for this very reason, that it is the two-horned beast, or false prophet, who causes all descriptions of persons to receive it. Now it is well known that the continual employment of the Latin clergy is to enforce the Latin idolatry upon their flocks. The mass and offices of the Church, which are in Latin, and contain the sum and substance of their idolatrous worship, are of different kinds, and abound in impious prayers to the Virgin Mary, and the saints and angels. In a word, the Latin worship is the universal badge of distinction of the Latin Church, from all other Churches on the face of the earth; and is therefore the only infallible Mark by which a genuine papist can be distinguished from the rest of mankind. But the two-horned beast causes all to receive this mark: - In their right hand, or in their foreheads - Right hand in Scripture language, when used figuratively, represents the physical power of the person of whom it is spoken; and when applied to God designates a signal manifestation of Divine power against his enemies, and in behalf of his people. See Psa_17:7; Psa_20:6; Psa_21:8; Psa_45:3, Psa_45:4, etc. The reception of the mark in the right hand must therefore mean, that all so receiving it devote the whole powers of their mind and body to the propagation of the Latin worship, and to the eradication of all they denominate heresies out of their Church. But some receive the mark in their foreheads. By any thing being impressed upon the forehead, is meant the public profession of whatever is inscribed or marked upon it. See Rev_9:4; Rev_14:1; Rev_22:4, etc. The mark of the beast being received on the forehead, therefore, means that all those so marked make a public profession of the Latin worship; whereby it is evident to all that they form a part of the Latin Church. Many may be marked in the right hand who are also marked on their foreheads, but it does not follow that those marked on their foreheads are also marked in their right hand; that is to say, it is not every individual that complies with the Latin worship who, to the utmost of his power, endeavors to propagate his religious system. Hence the propriety of the words, “He causeth all - to receive a mark in their right hand, Or in their foreheads.”

3. GILL, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,

free and bond,.... Men of all ranks and degrees, states and conditions, within his jurisdiction; this refers to the beast, and not to the image:

to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; or "that they might give themselves marks", as the Complutensian edition reads; which is an allusion either to the custom among the Romans of imprinting marks upon their servants and soldiers, by which they might be known to whom they belonged; servants had them in their foreheads (i), and soldiers in their hands (k); or tothe usages of the Jews in binding their phylacteries upon their arms and foreheads, to put them in mind of the law of God, and their obedience to it; or to the practices of the Heathens, in putting the mark of the god they worshipped upon their bodies; Maimonides (l) says, it was a custom with the Gentiles to mark themselves with their idols, showing that they were their bought servants, and were marked for their service: the sense is, that some received the mark in one place, and some in another: those who were obliged to receive the mark in the right hand seem to be the clergy, such who entered into holy orders; who lifted up their right hand, and swore and vowed allegiance to the pope, and testified they were ready to defend and support his religion and interest; and who in their ordination are said to have an indelible character impressed on them: and those who received the mark in their foreheads are the common people in general, who one and all have the same impress upon them; which may intend either the sign of the cross in baptism, or rather their open confession of the Popish religion, which they as publicly avow and declare as if it had been written on their foreheads.

4. JAMISON, “to receive a mark — literally, “that they should give them a mark”; such a brand as masters stamp on their slaves, and monarchs on their subjects. Soldiers voluntarily punctured their arms with marks of the general under whom they served. Votaries of idols branded themselves with the idol’s cipher or symbol. Thus Antiochus Epiphanes branded the Jews with the ivy leaf, the symbol of Bacchus (2 Maccabees 6:7; 3 Maccabees 2:29). Contrast God’s seal and name in the foreheads of His servants, Rev_7:3; Rev_14:1; Rev_22:4; and Gal_6:17, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” that is, I am His soldier and servant. The mark in the right hand and forehead implies the prostration of bodily and intellectual powers to the beast’s domination. “In the forehead by way of profession; in the hand with respect to work and service” [Augustine].

5. NOTES, “to receive a mark--literally, "that they should give them a mark"; such a brand as masters stamp on their slaves, and monarchs on their subjects. Soldiers voluntarily punctured their arms with marks of the general under whom they served. Votaries of idols branded themselves with the idol's cipher or symbol. Thus Antiochus Epiphanes branded the Jews with the ivy leaf, the symbol of Bacchus (2 Maccabees 6:7; 3 Maccabees 2:29). Contrast God's seal and name in the foreheads of His servants, Re 7:3; 14:1; 22:4; and Ga 6:17, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus," that is, I am His soldier and servant. The mark in the right hand and forehead implies the prostration of bodily and intellectual powers to the beast's domination. "In the forehead by way of profession; in the hand with respect to work and service" [AUGUSTINE].

A 7th Day Adventist view is that the beast is the Catholic church and the mark is forcing everyone to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday.

After examining these verses about Yahweh's name, one cannot fail to see a similarity with those verses containing those two clues about the Beast's Mark or name. For here in this prophecy we are given a preview of two groups of people. 1. Those who accept the Father's Name or Seal in their foreheads. (Rev.7:2-4, Rev.14:1) 2. And those who accept the Beast's Name or Mark in their foreheads. (Rev.13:16) In other words, the Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God are both names and are both placed in the foreheads of the people who receive them. Here we can clearly see that the Beast is

attempting to duplicate or counterfeit the Almighty's programme by similarly inscribing his mark, his name in people's foreheads. This passion to counterfeit the Almighty is a typical Satanic trait: for he never tires of counterfeiting the handiwork of God: not just to be like Him - which would be admirable - but to replace God. Beware of spiritual counterfeits which are substitutes of the genuine article.

The seal of the beast (Rev. 13:16-17, 14:9-11, 15:2, 16:20, 20:4). In the language of Holy Scripture, to bear upon oneself a seal (or a mark) denotes belonging to or being subordinate to someone. We have already mentioned that the mark (or the name of God) on the forehead of the faithful denotes their being chosen by God and consequently having God's protection over them (Rev. 3:12; 7:2-3; 9:4; 14:1; 22:4). The activity of the false prophet, which was described in the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse, convinces us that the kingdom of the beast will be of a religious-political nature. In creating the union of various governments, it will simultaneously propagate a new religion instead of the Christian faith. Therefore, the submission of oneself to the antichrist (allegorically speaking, by taking upon one's forehead or right hand the mark of the beast) will be tantamount to renunciation of Christ, which will result in the forfeiture of the Kingdom of Heaven. (The symbol of the mark is drawn from ancient customs, according to which warriors burned upon their arms or their foreheads the name of their commander, and slaves, either voluntarily or by force, were branded with the seal of their master's name. Pagans devoted to some deity often bore upon themselves the tattoos of that particular divinity.) It is quite possible that during the time of the antichrist a perfected computerized registration system will be introduced which would be similar to modern bank credit cards. This state-of-the-art registration will have an invisible computerized code imprinted not on a plastic card as it is now, but directly on the body of the individuals. This code, read by an electronic or a magnetic "eye," will be transmitted to a central computer that will contain all pertinent personal and financial information regarding that person. Thus, the imprinting of personal codes directly on individuals will replace the need for money, passports, visas, tickets, checks, credit cards and other personal documents. Thanks to individual encoding, all monetary operations such as payment of salaries and payment of debts can be performed directly in the computer. In the absence of money, robbers will have nothing to take. It will be pre-eminently easier for the government to control crime because people's movements will be known thanks to the central computer. It appears that the positive aspects of this system of personal encoding will be used to introduce the system. In practice, however, it will also be used for religious-political control over people "when no one shall be able to buy or sell, except those who have such an imprint" (Rev. 13:17). Of course the idea of stamping codes on people is speculation. The essence is not in electromagnetic markings but in fidelity to Christ or our betrayal of him! Throughout the history of Christianity, pressure on believers from antichristian authorities has taken on the most varied of forms: the bringing of a formal sacrifice to an idol, the acceptance of Islam, the joining of a godless or an anti-Christian organization. In the language of the Apocalypse, this acceptance of "the seal of the beast," is the acquiring of temporary advantages at the price of the renunciation of Christ.

6. PULPIT, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead. ??´s?? , "he may give," found in the Textus Receptus, is unsupported by any uncial; d??s?? , "they may give," is read in à , A, B, C, P; and most cursives have either d??s?? or d?´s?s?? . Wordsworth translates, "give to themselves," and adds, "a remarkable sentence, intimating compulsion under the semblance of choice." But it does not seem fair to press the meaning so far. The third plural is often used in a perfectly general way in the Apocalypse, and the Revised Version is probably correct in translating by the passive (vide supra). Certainly the other passages in the Apocalypse, where the mark is mentioned, seem to show that men have absolute freedom of choice (see especially Rev_14:9 and Rev_20:4). Again the beast seeks to imitate God (cf. Rev_3:12, "I will write upon him my new name;" Rev_22:4, "His name shall be in their foreheads;" Rev_7:3; Rev_9:4; Rev_14:1). The idea is taken kern the Mosaic customs (cf. Deu_6:8, "Andthou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontiers between thine eyes") Some writers see also an allusion to the heathen custom of

branding slaves and others who were devoted to the service of temples; and recall the fact that ?a?a´?µata , or "cuttings," such as are here mentioned, were forbidden to the Jews (Le 19:28).

17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they

had the mark, which is the name of the beast or

the number of its name.

1.BARNES, “And that no man might buy or sell - That is, this mighty power would claim jurisdiction over the traffic of the world, and endeavor to make it tributary to its own purposes. Compare Rev_18:11-13, Rev_18:17-19. This is represented by saying that no one might “buy or sell” except by its permission; and it is clear that where this power exists of determining who may “buy and sell,” there is absolute control over the wealth of the world.Save he that had the mark - To keep it all among its own friends; among those who showed allegiance to this power.Or the name of the beast - That is, the “mark” referred to was either the name of the beast, or the number of his name. The meaning is, that he had something branded on him that showed that he belonged to the beast - as a slave had the name of his master; in other words, there was something that certainly showed that he was subject to its authority.Or the number of his name - In regard to what is denoted by the number of the beast, see the notes on Rev_13:18. The idea here is, that that “number,” whatever it was, was so marked on him as to show to whom he belonged. According to the interpretation here proposed, the meaning of this passage is, that the papacy would claim jurisdiction over traffic and commerce; or would endeavor to bring it under its control, and make it subservient to its own ends. Traffic or commerce is one of the principal means by which property is acquired, and he who has the control of this has, to a great degree, the control of the wealth of a nation; and the question now is, whether any such jurisdiction has been set up, or whether any such control has in fact been exercised, so that the wealth of the world has been subject to papal Rome? For a more full illustration of this I may refer to the notes on Rev_18:11-13, Rev_18:16-17; but at present it may be sufficient to remark, that the manifest aim of the papacy, in all its history, has been to control the world, and to get dominion over its wealth, in order that it might accomplish its own purposes. But, besides this, there have been numerous specified acts more particularly designed to control the business of “buying and selling.” It has been common in Rome to prohibit, by express law, all traffic with heretics. Thus a canon of the Lateran council, under Pope Alexander III., commanded that no man should entertain or cherish them in his house or land, or traffic with them (Hard. vi., 2:1684). The synod of Tours, under the same Pope Alexander, passed the law that no man should presume to receive or assist the heretics, no, not so much as to exercise commerce with them in selling or buying. And so, too, the Constance council as expressed in Pope Martin’s bull (Elliott, vol. 3, pp. 220, 221).

2. CLARKE, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark - “If any,” observes Bishop Newton, “dissent from the stated and authorized forms; they are condemned and excommunicated as heretics; and in consequence of that they are no longer suffered to buy or sell; they are interdicted from traffic and commerce, and all the benefits of civil society. So Roger Hoveden relates of William the Conqueror, that he was so dutiful to the pope that he would not permit any one in his power to buy or sell any thing whom he found disobedient to the apostolic see. So the canon of the council of Lateran, under Pope Alexander III., made against the Waldenses and Albigenses, enjoins, upon pain of anathema, that no man presume to entertain or cherish them in his house or land, or exercise traffic with them. The synod of Tours, in France, under the same pope, orders, under the like intermination, that no man should presume to receive or assist them, no, not so much as hold any communion with them, in selling or buying; that, being deprived of the comfort of humanity they may be compelled to repent of the error of their way.” In

the tenth and eleventh centuries the severity against the excommunicated was carried to so high a pitch, that nobody might come near them, not even their own wives, children, or servants; they forfeited all their natural legal rights and privileges, and were excluded from all kinds of offices. The form of excommunication in the Romish Church is to take lighted torches, throw them upon the ground with curses and anathemas, and trample them out under foot to the ringing of the bells. It is in this and similar ways that the false prophet has terrified the Latin world, and kept it in subjection to the secular and spiritual powers. Those interdicted by the two-horned beast from all offices of civil life are also such as have not: - The name of the beast, or the number of his name - See on the following verse (note).

3. GILL, “And that no man might buy or sell,.... Either in an ecclesiastical sense, as to, be in any church office, or perform any such service, to say Mass, hear confession, give absolution, sell pardons and indulgences, &c. or in a civil sense, as to trade, and exercise merchandise, and this was forbidden by several Popish councils and synods; the Lateran council, under Pope Alexander, decreed against the Waldenses and Albigenses, that no one should presume to retain or encourage them in their houses or countries, or "trade" with them; and the synod of Tours in France forbid any reception of heretics, or protection, and that any communion should be had with them "in buying and selling", as Mr. Mede has observed; and it was ordered by a bull of Pope Martin the Fifth, that no contract should be made with such, and that they should not follow any business and merchandise:

save he that had the mark; took the oath to be true to the pope, or made a public profession of the Popish religion:

or the name of the beast; Papists, so called from the pope; thus the antichristians are called from antichrist, as the Christians from Christ:

or the number of his name; which is either the same with the number of the beast in Rev_13:18, or is something distinct it; and those who have it may be such persons who neither have the indelible character of the Romish clergy, nor are open professors of the Popish religion, but are in heart inclined to it, and privately and secretly promote it, by their doctrines and practices; and so are numbered, reckoned, esteemed, and accounted of by the Papists, and receive favours from them; or rather such who openly "furnish the drink offering" in the Mass, mixed with wine and water, ????, "for that number", Isa_65:11.

4. JAMISON, “And — So A, B, and Vulgate read. C, Irenaeus, 316, Coptic, and Syriac omit it.might buy — Greek, “may be able to buy.”the mark, or the name — Greek, “the mark (namely), the name of the beast.” The mark may be, as in the case of the sealing of the saints in the forehead, not a visible mark, but symbolical of allegiance. So the sign of the cross in Popery. The Pope’s interdict has often shut out the excommunicate from social and commercial intercourse. Under the final Antichrist this shall come to pass in its most violent form.number of his name — implying that the name has some numerical meaning.

5. NOTES, “"Giving those loyal to the beast a mark is a parody of the sealing of the elect, which is described in 7:1-8. The seal (sphragis) of the living God is a guarantee of protection from the natural and demonic plagues of the end time, whereas the mark (charagma) of the beast marks its bearer for such plagues and for eternal punishment.This idea of a mark or a seal that determines ones fate is clearly tradition and reflects Ezek. 9."

Religion and economy are linked and so the control of money is the name of the game for this humanistic religion where big bucks is what matters. Peterson writes, "Dragon, sea beast, and land beast are a satanic trinity that ilnfiltrate the political world in order to deflect our worship from the God whom we cannot see to the authorities that we can see, and to deceive us into buying into a religion or belilef system that has visible results in self-gratification."

Everyone is marked, for all are marked men, and there are two kinds of brands: One for the Master-Gal. 6:17, and one for the beast.

The False Prophet will be the devil's agent for instituting the Antichrist's trademark: "The Mark of the Beast." Let's look at what God chooses to reveal about the mark in this passage: • This will not be a voluntary process. Everyone will be commanded to take the mark. • They will take the mark on their right hands or their foreheads. Some people might not have intact right hands, but everyone has a head. • This mark will be the ultimate ATM card and ID card. Our grocery stores and warehouse stores already have card readers for their discount cards and membership cards and for payment cards. The gas stations and liquor stores and restaurants already have scanners for credit and ATM cards. You can use your ATM or credit card almost anywhere. Even most Internet transactions are credit-card based. How nice of all these companies to perfect the technology in advance! (A sign of the times: A recent TV commercial for a technology company shows a young man apparently stealing items in a store and hiding them in his coat; on his way out the door, a sensor detects his cargo. The security guard stops the man and says, "You forgot your receipt." The point is that we already have the technology to scan everything in the store -- including YOU -- and immediately charge the right bank account. How nice of all these companies to warn you that the False Prophet's technology is available already!) • The mark will be a unique identification system. It will identify you TO the beast. It will also, somehow, identify you WITH the beast. In ways that aren't clear in this passage, taking the mark (or name or number) OF the beast is an act of submission TO the beast. • The number of the beast is six hundred sixty-six. It is not of divine or satanic origin. Instead, "it is the number of a man." Verse 18 exhorts the reader who has wisdom and specific understanding to count (literally to calculate) the number. This is a huge hint that the False Prophet will not be putting tatoos on people reading "666" in plain numbers. However, a person with some discernment (and maybe some computer skills) will be able to figure out how the beast's name or mark can be traced to the number 666. Hey, teacher! What will the mark be?Nobody knows for sure, because there are several different technologies to choose from! Since the early 1990s, pet owners have been able to put a tiny "smart" pellet (about the size of a grain of rice) under the neck skin of their pet. The identity of the pet is immediately discernible when the pet stands near a scanning device. These pellets, though, are relatively limited. Newer chips with active processing power can be injected under human skin. Some of these are semi-passive: they only operate when within a certain distance of the scanning device. Others (developed in Israel, of all places!) are full-time computing devices and are powered by chemical interaction with human body fluids. As we'll see in a future lesson, the False Prophet will choose the WRONG technology. Don't worry about trying to figure out the mark in advance. It will be obvious to everyone that the "new" universal, mandatory, forgery-proof ID system is a method of submission to the power of the one-world government. Refusal to take the mark will mean physical death, but eternal life for believers in Jesus. Accepting the mark will mean a temporary extension of life, but eternal torment, as we shall see in a later lesson.6. PULPIT, “And that no man might bay or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. "And" is omitted in à , C, some cursives and versions and Fathers: no man should be able to buy, etc. A, B, C, P, and most cursives also omit ??´ , "or," before "the name," thus reading, as in the Revised Version: save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast, or the number of his name. This expressly asserts what we might have gathered from the analogy of the mark of the true Christian (see on Rev_13:16), viz. that "the mark" was "the name" or "the number of his name." The manner in which this was fulfilled in the early ages of the Church is sufficiently notorious. Then faithfulness to the cause of Christ frequently meant banishment from friends, kindred, and home. St. John himself was feeling the effect of this at the time when he wrote these words in exile at Patmos. So, at the present day, the Jews regard as an utter alien any one of their number who embraces Christianity. So also, at the present day, the faithful Christian is often interdicted the society of the world, is declared a social nuisance, and is shunned by the worldly minded, who pay allegiance to the beast. (On the "number," see on verse 18.)

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has

insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is

the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.

1.BARNES, “Here is wisdom - That is, in what is stated respecting the name and the number of the name of the beast. The idea is, either that there would be need of special sagacity in determining what the “number” of the “beast” or of his “name” was, or that special “wisdom” was shown by the fact that the number could be thus expressed. The language used in the verse would lead the reader to suppose that the attempt to make out the “number” was not absolutely hopeless, but that the number was so far enigmatical as to require much skill in determining its meaning. It may also be implied that, for some reason, there was true “wisdom” in designating the name by this number, either because a more direct and explicit statement might expose him who made it to persecution, and it showed practical wisdom thus to guard against this danger; or because there was “wisdom” or skill shown in the fact that a number could be found which would thus correspond with the name. On either of these suppositions, special wisdom would be required in deciphering its meaning.Let him that hath understanding - Implying:(a) That it was practicable to “count the number of the name”; and,(b) That it would require uncommon skill to do it.It could not be successfully attempted by all; but still there were those who might do it. This is such language as would be used respecting some difficult matter, but where there was hope that, by diligent application of the mind, and by the exercise of a sound understanding, there would be a prospect of success.Count the number of the beast - In Rev_13:16 it is “the number of his name.” The word rendered here “count” - ??f?sa´t? pse‾phisato‾ - means, properly, to count or reckon with pebbles, or counters; then to reckon, to estimate. The word here means “compute”; that is, ascertain the exact import of the number, so as to identify the beast. The “number” is what is immediately specified, “six hundred threescore and six” - 666. The phrase “the number of the beast” means, that somehow this number was so connected with the beast, or would so represent its name or character, that the “beast” would be identified by its proper application. The mention in Rev_13:17 of “the name of the beast,” and “the number of his name,” shows that this “number” was somehow connected with his proper designation, so that by this he would be identified. The plain meaning is, that the number 666 would be so connected with his name, or with what would properly designate him, that it could be determined who was meant by finding that number in his name or in his proper designation. This is the exercise of the skill or wisdom to which the writer here refers: substantially that which is required in the solution of a riddle or a conundrum. If it should be said here that this is undignified and unworthy of an inspired book, it may be replied:(a) That there might be some important reason why the name or designation should not be more plainly made;(b) That it was important, nevertheless, that it should be so made that it would be possible to ascertain who was referred to;(c) That this should be done only in some way which would involve the principle of the enigma - “where a known thing was concealed under obscure language” (Webster’s Dictionary);(d) That the use of symbols, emblems, hieroglyphics, and riddles was common in the early periods of the world; and,(e) That it was no uncommon thing in ancient times, as it is in modern, to test the capacity and skill of people by their ability to unfold the meaning of proverbs, riddles, and dark sayings. Compare the riddle of Samson, Jdg_14:12 ff. See also Psa_49:4; Psa_78:2; Eze_17:2-8; Pro_1:2-6; Dan_8:23.It would be a sufficient vindication of the method adopted here if it was certain or probable that a

direct and explicit statement of what was meant would have been attended with immediate danger, and if the object could be secured by an enigmatical form.For it is the number of a man - Various interpretations of this have been proposed. Clericus renders it, “The number is small, or not such as cannot be estimated by a man.” Rosenmuller, “The number indicates a man, or a certain race of men.” Prof. Stuart, “The number is to be computed more humano, not wore angelico”; “it is a man’s number.” DeWette, “It is such a number as is commonly reckoned or designated by men.” Other interpretations may be seen in Poole’s Synopsis. That which is proposed by Rosenmuller, however, meets all the circumstances of the case. The idea is, evidently, that the number indicates or refers to a certain man, or order of people. It does not pertain to a brute, or to angelic beings. Thus it would be understood by one merely interpreting the language, and thus the connection demands.And his number is six hundred threescore and six - The number of his name, Rev_13:17. This cannot be supposed to mean that his name would be composed of six hundred and sixty-six letters; and it must, therefore, mean that somehow the number 666 would be expressed by his name in some well-understood method of computation. The number here - six hundred and sixty-six - is, in Walton’s Polyglott, written out in full: ???a??´s??? e??a´???ta e?´? Hexakosioi hexakonta hex. In Wetstein, Griesbach, Hahn, Tittmann, and the common Greek text, it is expressed by the characters ??? = 666. There can be no doubt that this is the correct number, though, in the time of Irenaeus, there was in some copies another reading - ??? = 616. This reading was adopted by the expositor Tychonius; but against this Irenaeus inveighs (Liv. v. 100:30). There can be no doubt that the number 666 is the correct reading, though it would seem that this was sometimes expressed in letters, and sometimes written in full. Wetstein supposes that both methods were used by John; that in the first copy of his book he used the letters, and in a subsequent copy wrote it in full. This inquiry is not of material consequence.It need not be said that much has been written on this mysterious “number,” and that very different theories have been adopted in regard to its application. For the views which have been entertained on the subject, the reader may consult, with advantage, the article in Calmet’s Dictionary, under the word “antichrist.” It was natural for Calmet, being a Roman Catholic, to endeavor to show that the interpretations have been so various, that there could be no certainty in the application, and especially in the common application to the papacy. In endeavoring to ascertain the meaning of the passage, the following general remarks may be made, as containing the result of the investigation thus far:(a) There was some mystery in the matter - some designed concealment - some reason why a more explicit statement was not adopted. The reason of this is not stated; but it may not be improper to suppose that it arose from something in the circumstances of the writer, and that the adoption of this enigmatical expression was designed to avoid some peril to which he or others might be exposed if there were a more explicit statement.(b) It is implied, nevertheless, that it could be understood; that is, that the meaning was not so obscure that, by proper study, the designed reference could not be ascertained without material danger of error.(c) It required skill to do this; either natural sagacity, or particular skill in interpreting hieroglyphics and symbols, or uncommon spiritual discernment.(d) Some man, or order of men, is referred to that could properly be designated in this manner.(e) The method of designating persons obscurely by a reference to the numerical signification of the letters in their names was not very uncommon, and was one that was not unlikely, in the circumstances of the case, to have been resorted to by John. “Thus, among the pagans, the Egyptian mystics spoke of Mercury, or Thouth, under the name 1218, because the Greek letters composing the word Thouth, when estimated by their numerical value, together made up that number. By others, Jupiter was invoked under the mystical number 717; because the letters of ?? ???? HEE‾ ARCHEE - “Beginning,” or “First Origin,” which was a characteristic of the supreme deity worshipped as Jupiter, made up that number. And Apollo under the number 608, as being that of ??? e‾us or ???? hue‾s, words expressing certain solar attributes. Again, the pseudo-Christian, or semi-pagan Gnostics, from John’s time and downward, affixed to their gems and amulets, of which multitudes remain to the present day, the mystic word aß?asa? abrasax or aß?a?a? abraxas, under the idea of some magic virtue attaching to its number 365, as being that of the days of the annual solar circle,” etc. See other instances referred to in Elliott, 3:205. These facts show that John would not be unlikely to adopt some such method of expressing a sentiment which it was designed should be obscure in form, but possible to be understood. It should be

added here, that this was more common among the Jews than among any other people.(f) It seems clear that some Greek word is here referred to, and that the mystic number is to be found in some word of that language. The reasons for this opinion are these:(1) John was writing in Greek, and it is most natural to suppose that this would be the reference;(2) He expected that his book would be read by those who understood the Greek language, and it would have been unnatural to have increased the perplexity in understanding what he referred to by introducing a word of a foreign language;(3) The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and not those of the Hebrew, are expressly selected by the Saviour to denote his eternity - “I am Alpha and Omega,” Rev_1:8, Rev_1:11; and,(4) The numerals by which the enigma is expressed - ??? - are Greek. It has indeed been supposed by many that the solution is to be found in the Hebrew language, but these reasons seem to me to show conclusively that we are to look for the solution in some Greek word.The question now is, whether there is any word which corresponds with these conditions, and which would naturally be referred to by John in this manner. The exposition thus far has led us to suppose that the papacy in some form is referred to; and the inquiry now is, whether there is any word which is so certain and determinate as to make it probable that John meant to designate that. The word ?ate???? Lateinos - “Lateinos, the Latin” (Man) - actually has all the conditions supposed in the interpretation of this passage. From this word the number specified - 666 - is made out as follows:

? ? ? ? ? ? ? S30 1 300 5 10 50 70 200 = 666

In support of the opinion that this is the word intended to be referred to, the following suggestions may be made:(a) It is a Greek word.(b) It expresses the exact number, and corresponds in this respect with the language used by John.(c) It was early suggested as the probable meaning, and by those who lived near the time of John; who were intimately acquainted with the Greek language; and who may be supposed to have been familiar with this mode of writing.Thus it was suggested by Irenaeus, who says, “It seems to me very probable; for this is a name of the last of Daniel’s four kingdoms; they being Latins that now reign.” It is true that he also mentions two other words as those which may be meant - e?a??a? euanthas, a word which had been suggested by others, but concerning which he makes no remarks, and which, of course, must have been destitute of any probability in his view; and ?e?ta? Teitan, which he thinks has the clearest claims for admission - though he speaks of the word ?ate???? Lateinos as having a claim of probability.(d) This word would properly denote the Roman power, or the then Latin power, and would refer to that dominion as a Latin dominion - as it properly was; and if it be supposed that it was intended to refer to that, and, at the same time, that there should be some degree of obscurity about it, this would be more likely to be selected than the word “Roman,” which was better known; and,(e) there was a special propriety in this, on the supposition that it was intended to refer to the papal Latin power. The most appropriate appellation, if it was designed to refer to Rome as a civil power, would undoubtedly have been the word “Roman”; but if it was intended to refer to the ecclesiastical power, or to the papacy, this is the very word to express the idea. In earlier times the more common appellation was Roman. This continued until the separation of the Eastern and Western empires, when the Eastern was called Greek, and the Western the Latin; or when the Eastern empire assumed the name of Roman, and affixed to the Western kingdoms one and all that were connected with Rome the appellation of Latin. This appellation, originally applied to the language only, was adopted by the Western kingdoms, and came to be that by which they were best designated. It was the Latin world, the Latin kingdom, the Latin church, the Latin patriarch, the Latin clergy, the Latin councils. To use Dr. More’s words, “They Latinize everything: mass, prayers, hymns, litanies, canons, decretals, bulls, are conceived in Latin. The papal councils speak in Latin, women themselves pray in Latin. The Scriptures are read in no other language under the papacy than Latin. In short, all things are Latin.” With what propriety, then, might John,

under the influence of inspiration, speak, in this enigmatical manner, of the new power that was symbolized by the beast as Latin.The only objection to this solution that has been suggested is, that the orthography of the Greek word is ?at???? Latinos - “Latinos,” and not ?ate???? Lateinos - Lateinos, giving the number 661, and not 666; and Bellarmine asserts that this is the uniform method of spelling in Greek authors. All that is necessary in reply to this is to copy the following remark from Prof. Stuart, vol. ii. p. 456: “As to the form of the Greek word ?ate???? Lateinos, namely, that e? ei is employed for the Latin long 4, it is a sufficient vindication of it to cite Saße????? Sabeinos, Fa?ste????? Fausteinos, ?a??e????? Pauleinos, ??t??e????? Anto‾neinos, ?te????? Ateilios, ?ete?????? Metei?lios, ?ape?????? Papeirios, ??e??ß??? Oueibios, etc. Or we may refer to the custom of the more ancient Latin, as in Plautus, of writing i by ei; e. g., solitei, Diveis, captivei, preimus, Lateina, etc.” See this point examined further, in Elliott, 3:210-213.As a matter of historical interest, it may be observed that the solution of the difficulty has been sought in numerous other words, and the friends of the papacy and the enemies of the Bible have endeavored to show that such terms are so numerous that there can be no certainty in the application. Thus Calmet (Dictionary, “Antichrist”), after enumerating many of these terms, says: “The number 666 is found in names the most sacred, the most opposite to antichrist. The wisest and best way is to be silent.”We have seen that, besides the name “Lateinos,” two other words had been referred to in the timeof Irenaeus. Some of the words in which the mysterious number has been since supposed to be found are the following:

???? ??? Neron Caesar.50 + 200 + 6 + 50, and 100 + 60 + 200 = 666Diocles Augustus (Dioclesian) = DCLXVI.C. F. Julianus Caesar Atheus (the Apostate) = DCLXVI.Luther - ?????200 + 400 + 30 + 6 + 30 = 666Lampetis, ?aµpet??30 + 1 + 40 + 80 + 5 + 300 + 10 + 200 = 666?? ?at??? ?as??e?a he‾ Latine‾ Basileia8 + 30 + 1 + 300 + 10 + 50 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 200 + 10 + 30 + 5 + 10 + 1 =

666??ta???a e????s?a Italika ekkle‾sia10 + 300 + 1 + 30 + 10 + 20 + 1 + 5 + 20 + 20 + 30 + 8 + 200 + 10 + 1 =

666??p?stat?? Apostate‾s (the Apostate)1 + 80 + 70 + 6 + 1 + 300 + 8 + 200 = 666?????? (Roman, sc. Sedes)200 + 6 + 40 + 10 + 10 + 400 = 666??????? (Romanus, sc. Man)200 + 40 + 70 + 50 + 6 + 300 = 666

It will be admitted that many of these, and others that might be named, are fanciful, and perhaps had their origin in a determination, on the one hand, to find Rome referred to somehow, or in a determination, on the other hand, equally strong, not to find this; but still it is remarkable how many of the most obvious solutions refer to Rome and the papacy. But the mind need not be distracted, nor need doubt be thrown over the subject, by the number of the solutions proposed. They show the restless character of the human mind, and the ingenuity of people; but this should not be allowed to bring into doubt a solution that is simple and natural, and that meets all the

circumstances of the case. Such a solution, I believe, is found in the word ?ate???? Lateinos - “Lateinos,” as illustrated above; and as that, if correct, settles the case, it is unnecessary to pursue the matter further. Those who are disposed to do so, however, may find ample illustration in Calmet, Dictionary “Antichrist”; Elliott, Horae Apoca. iii. 207-221; Prof. Stuart, Com. vol. ii. Excursus iv.; Bibliotheca Sacra, i. 84-86; Robert Fleming on the Rise and Fall of the papacy, 28, seq.; DeWette, Exegetisches Handbuch, New Testament, iii. 140-142; Vitringa, Com. 625-637, Excursus iv.; Nov. Tes. Edi. Koppianae, vol. x. b, pp. 235-265; and the Commentaries generally.

2. CLARKE, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six - In this verse we have the very name of the beast given under the symbol of the number 666. Before the invention of figures by the Arabs, in the tenth century, letters of the alphabet were used for numbers. The Greeks in the time of Homer, or soon after, are thought by some to have assigned to their letters anumerical value corresponding to their order in the alphabet: thus, a was 1, because the first letter; and ? 24, being the last. It is in this manner that the books of the Iliad and Odyssey are numbered, which have been thus marked by Homer himself, or by some person who lived near his time. A system of representing numbers of great antiquity was used by the Greeks, very much resembling that afterwards adopted by the Romans. This consisted in assigning to the initial letter of the name of the number a value equal to the number. Thus ?, the initial of ????a, stood for a thousand; ?, the initial of de?a, for ten; ?, the initial of pe?te, for five, etc. Herodotus, the grammarian, is the only writer of antiquity who has noticed this system, and the chronological table of remarkable events on the Arundelian marbles the only work extant in which this method of representing numbers is exhibited. The system now in use cannot be traced to any very ancient source. What can be proved is, that it was in use before the commencement of the Christian era. Numerical letters, denoting the year of the Roman emperor’s reign, exist on great numbers of the Egyptian coins, from the time of Augustus Caesar through the succeeding reigns. See Numi Egyptii Imperatorii, a Geo. Zoega, edit. Romans 1787. There are coins extant marked of the 2d, 3d, 14th, 30th, 35th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 41st, and 42d years of Augustus Caesar, with the numerical letters preceded by L or ? for ???aßa? , year, thus: L?, LG, L??, L?, L??, L??, L?T, L?, L??, and L??. The following is the Greek alphabet, with the numerical value of each letter affixed, according to the generally received system: -

a - 1 ? - 10 ? - 100 ß - 2 ? - 20 s - 200? - 3 ? - 30 t - 300 d - 4 µ - 40 ? - 400 e - 5 ? - 50 f - 500 ? - 7 ? - 60 ? - 600 ? - 8 ? - 70 ? - 700 ? - 9 p - 80 ? - 80

The method just described of representing numbers or letters of the alphabet, gave rise to a practice among the ancients of representing names also by numbers. Examples of this kind abound in the writings of heathens, Jews, and Christians. Where the practice of counting the number in names or phrases began first to be used, cannot be ascertained; it is sufficient for the illustration of the passage under consideration, if it can be shown to have been in existence in the apostolic age. Seneca, who was contemporary with St. Paul, informs us, in his eighty-eighth epistle, that Apion, the grammarian, maintained Homer to have been the author of the division of his poems of the Iliad and Odyssey into forty-eight books; for a proof of which Apion produces the following argument: that the poet commenced his Iliad with the word µ????, that the two first letters, whose sum is 48, might indicate such division. Leonidas of Alexandria, who flourished in the reigns of Nero, Vespasian, etc., carried the practice of computing the number in words so far as to construct equinumeral distichs; that is, epigrams of four lines, whose first hexameter and pentameter contain the same number with the other two. We will only notice two examples; the first is addressed to one of the emperors, the other to Poppaea, the wife of Nero.T?e? s?? t?de ??aµµa ?e?e???a?a?s?? e? ???a??,?a?sa?, ?e??a?? ???sa ?e???de?.

?a????p?? ?a? a?ap??? ae? ????? e?? de ?e?ta?? e?e????, ??se? t??de pe??ss?te?a.“The muse of Leonidas of the Nile offers up to thee, O Caesar, this writing, at the time of thy nativity; for the sacrifice of Calliope is always without smoke: but in the ensuing year he will offer up, if thou wilt, better things than this.”From the numerical table already given, the preceding epigram may be shown to contain equinumeral distichs, as follows: ??e? 424, i.e., ? 9, ? 400, e 5, ? 10; in all 424: s?? contains 280, i.e., s 200, ? 70, ? 10. In like manner t?de will be found to contain 379, ??aµµa 185, ?e?e???a?a?s?? 404, e? 55, ???a?? 1111, ?a?sa? 332, ?e??a?? 114, ???sa 711, ?e???de? 1704. The sum of all these is 5699, the number in the first distich. In the second distich, ?a????p?? contains 449, ?a? 104, a?ap??? 272, ae? 16, ???? 679, e?? 215, de 9, ?e?ta 1156, ?? 58, e?e???? 267, (the subscribed iota being taken into the account), ??se? 624, t??de 779, pe??ss?te?a 1071. The sum of all 5699, which is precisely the same with that contained in the first distich.???a???? µe?µ?µa ?e?e???a?a?s?? e? ???a?????t’ ap? ?e????e???? de?? ?e???de?,??ppa?a, ???? e???, Seßast?a?? e?ade ?a? s?????a, ta ?a? ?e?t??? a??a ?a? s?f???.“O Poppaea, wife of Jupiter (Nero) Augusta, receive from Leonidas of the Nile a celestial globe on the day of thy nativity; for gifts please thee which are suited to thy imperial dignity and wisdom.”In this epigram each of the distichs contains the number 6422, viz., ???a???? 751, (i.e., ? 70, ? 400, ? 100, a 1, ? 50, ? 10, ? 70, ? 50, the sum of which is 751), µe?µ?µa 144, ?e?e???a?a?s?? 404, e? 55, ???a?? 1111, t??t’ 1070, ap? 151, ?e????e???? 893, de?? 139, ?e???de? 1704; the sum of all 6422. The numbers corresponding to the words of the second distich are, respectively, 322, 284, 465, 919, 415, 104, 280, 905, 301, 31, 1305, 72, 31, 988; the sum of which is also 6422.This poet did not restrict himself to the construction of equinumeral distichs. The following is one of his distichs in which the hexameter line is made equal in number to its corresponding pentameter: - ???? p??? e??a ??f??s?? ?sa?eta?, ?? d?? d?????,?? ?a? et? ste??? t?? d???????af???.“One line is made equal in number to one, not two to two; for I no longer approve of long epigrams.”In this distich the words of the hexameter line contain, respectively, the numbers 215, 450, 56, 1548, 534, 470, 474, and 364; the sum of which is 4111. The numbers corresponding to the words of the pentameter line are, respectively, 470, 104, 315, 1408, 358, and 1456; the sum of which is also 4111. The equinumeral distichs of Leonidas are contained in the second volume of Brunck and Jacob’s edition of the Greek Anthology. It appears from ancient records that some of the Greeks in the early part of the second century, if not in the apostolic age, employed themselves in counting the numbers contained in the verses of Homer to find out what two consecutive lines were ?s???f?? or equinumeral. Aulus Gellius, the grammarian, who lived in the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, gives us an account (lib. xiv., cap. 6) of a person who presented him with a book filled with a variety of information collected from numerous sources, of which he was at liberty to avail himself in writing his Attic Nights. Among the subjects treated of in this book, we are informed by Gellius, was that of Homeric equinumeral verses. None of the examples are given by the grammarian; but Labbeus says, in his Bibl. Nov. MSS., p. 284, that the equinumeral verses are marked in the Codex 2216, in the French king’s library. Gronovius, in his notes on Gellius, p. 655, has copied what he found in a MS. (No. 1488) upon this subject, viz., two examples out of the Iliad, and one in the Odyssey. The examples in the Iliad are lines 264 and 265of book vii., each line containing 3508; and lines 306 and 307 of book xix., each containing 2848. The verses in the Odyssey (?, 110, 111) stated to be equinumeral in the MS. cited by Gronovius have not now this property, owing possibly to some corruption that may have taken place in the lines from frequent transcription.For other examples of the computation of the number in words or phrases, the reader is referred to the Oneirocritica of Artemidorus, lib. ii. c. 75; lib. iii. c. 34: and lib. iv. c. 26. See also Martiani Minei Felicis Capelhae Africarthaginensis, De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, lib. ii. and vii.; Irenaeus adversus Haereses, lib. i., ii., and v.; Tertullian. de Praescriptionibus Haeret., tom. ii., p. 487; Wirceburgi, 1781; Sibyll. Oracul., lib. i., etc.Having thus shown that it was a practice in the apostolic age, and subsequently, to count the number in words and phrases, and even in whole verses, it will be evident that what is intended by

666 is, that the Greek name of the beast (for it was in the Greek language that Jesus Christ communicated his revelation to St. John) contains this number. Many names have been proposed from time to time as applicable to the beast, and at the same time containing 666. We will only notice one example, viz., that famous one of Irenaeus, which has been approved of by almost all commentators who have given any sort of tolerable exposition of the Revelation. The word alluded to is ?ate????, the letters of which have the following numerical values: ? 30, a 1, t 300, e 5, ? 10, ? 50, ? 70, ? 200; and if these be added together, the sum will be found to be equivalent to the number of the beast. This word was applied by Irenaeus, who lived in the second century, to the then existing Roman empire; “for,” says he, “they are Latins who now reign.” Though it is evident, from the notes on the preceding part of this chapter, that the conjecture of Irenaeus respecting the number 666 having some way or other a reference to the empire of the Latins is well founded; yet his production of the word ?ate????, as containing 666, is not a proof that it has any such reference. Bellarmin the Jesuit objected against ?ate???? being the name intended in the prophecy from its orthography; for, says he, it should be written ?at????. That the objection of the learned Jesuit has very great force is evident from every Greek writer extant, who has used the Greek word for Latinus, in all of whom it is uniformly found without the dipthong. See Hesiod, Polybius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Strabo, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, Photius, the Byzantine historians, etc., etc. It hence follows that if the Greek word for Latinus had been intended, the number contained in ?at????, and not that in ?ate????, would have been called the number of the beast. We have already observed that the beast is the Latin kingdom or empire; therefore, if this observation be correct, the Greek words signifying the Latin kingdom must have this number. The most concise method of expressing this among the Greeks was as follows, ?? ?at??? ßas??e?a, which is thus numbered: -

? = 8 The ? = 30 L a= 1 A t = 300 T ? = 10 I ? = 50 N

? = 2 K a = 1 I s = 200 N ? = 10 G ? = 30 D e = 5 O ? = 10 M a = 1

666

No other kingdom on earth can be found to contain 666. This is then ?? s?f?a, the wisdom or demonstration. A beast is the symbol of a kingdom; The beast has been proved, in the preceding part of this chapter, to be the Latin kingdom; and ?? ?at??? ßas??e?a, being shown to contain, exclusively, the number 666, is the demonstration.Having demonstrated that ?? ?at??? ßas??e?a, The Latin kingdom, is the name of the beast, we must now examine what is intended by the phrase in the 17th verse, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Bishop Newton supposes that the name of the beast, and the number of his name, mean the same thing; but this opinion is totally irreconcilable with Rev_15:2, where St. John informs us that he “saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, stand upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” In this passage it is evident that the beast, his image, and the number of his name, are perfectly distinct; and therefore no two of them can mean the same thing. Hence what is meant by the name of the beast is entirely different from that intended by the number of his name. But how can this be, when it is expressly declared that the number of the beast is 666, which number is declared to be that of his name? The solution of the whole mystery is as follows: Both beasts of the Apocalypse, we have already shown, have the same appellation;

that it to say, the name of the first and second least is equally ?? ?at??? ßas??e?a, the Latin kingdom; therefore, by the name of the beast is meant the Latin kingdom, and by the number of his name is also meant the Latin kingdom. Hence only one of the beasts is numbered; the name of that which is not numbered is termed the name of the beast, and the numbered Latin empire is denominated the number of his name, or 666, exactly agreeable to an ancient practice already noticed, of representing names by the numbers contained in them. Therefore the meaning of the whole passage is, that those whom the false prophet does not excommunicate, or put out of the pale of his Church, have the mark of the beast, that is, are genuine papists, or such as are actively or passively obedient to his Latin idolatry. Those also escape his ecclesiastical interdicts who have the name of the beast, or the number of his name. By a person having the name of the beast is evidently meant his being a Latin, i.e., in subjection to the Latin empire, and, consequently an individual of the Latin world; therefore those that have the name of the beast, or the number of his name, are those that are subjects of the Latin empire, or of the numbered Latin empire, viz., who are in subjection to the Latin empire, secular or spiritual. All that were in subjection to the secular or spiritual power were not papists in heart; hence the propriety of distinguishing those which have the mark from those which have the name of the beast or the number of his name. But which of the two beasts it is which God has numbered has been not a little contested. That it is the first beast which is numbered has been the prevailing opinion. On this side are Lord Napier, Whiston, Bishop Newton, Faber, and others. Among those that have supposed the second beast to be the one which is numbered are, Dr. Henry More, Pyle, Kershaw, Galloway, Bicheno, Dr. Hales, etc. Drs. Gill and Reader assert that both beasts have the same number, and that the name is ?ate????. Though it has been demonstrated that the name of the beast is the Latin kingdom, it is impossible from the mere name to say whether it is the Latin empire, Secular or Spiritual; hence the necessity of determining which of the two beasts God has computed. That it is the second beast which is numbered is evident from three different passages in the Apocalypse. The first is in Rev_13:17, where it is said, “that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Here the name of the beast is mentioned before the number of his name, which is a presumptive evidence that the name of the beast refers to the first beast, and the number of his name to the second. The second passage is in Rev_15:2, where mention is made of “them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name.” That here styled the beast is evidently the secular Latin empire, for it was to this that the two-horned beast made an image; consequently there can be no doubt that the number of his name, or the numbered Latin empire, is the two-horned beast or false prophet. To feel the full force of this argument, it must be considered that the saints of God are represented as getting the victory over the beast as well as over the number of his name, which is a proof that two distinct antichristian empires are here spoken of, for otherwise it would be tautology. That the two-horned beast is the one which is numbered, is farther evident from a comparison of this passage with Rev_19:20. In the latter passage the words are: “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.” Here nothing is said of the number of his name, which is so particularly mentioned in Rev_15:2, and in that chapter nothing is mentioned of the false prophet, the reason of which can only be, that what is termed in one passage the number of his name, is in its parallel one called the false prophet. Hence the two-horned beast, or false prophet, is also designated by the phrase the number of his name; and consequently it is this beast which is numbered. But what adds the last degree of certainty to this argument is the passage in Rev_13:18 : “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath a mind count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is six hundred threescore and six.” Here is the solution of this mystery: let him that hath a mind for investigations of this kind, find out a kingdom which contains precisely the number 666, for this must be infallibly the name of the beast. ?? ?at??? ßas??e?a, The Latin Kingdom, has exclusively this number. But both beasts are called by this name; which is, therefore, the one that is numbered? It is said the number of the beast is the number of a man; consequently the numbered beast must be A Man, that is, it must be represented elsewhere in the Revelation under this emblem, for in no other sense can an empire be denominated a man. Therefore, it is not the ten-horned beast, for this is uniformly styled The Beast in every part of the Apocalypse where there has been occasion to mention this power. It can therefore be no other than the two-horned beast, or Romish hierarchy; which, on account of its preaching to the world its most antichristian system of doctrines, and calling it Christianity, is likewise named in Rev_

16:13; Rev_19:20; and Rev_20:10, The False Prophet.John Edward Clark.

3. GILL, “Here is wisdom,.... Not only in the above description of the two beasts, but in what follows as to the number of the beast, these two now coalescing in one, and have one and the same number; and to wrap it up, and conceal it in such an obscure manner, shows great wisdom in God, as it requires much in men, and serves greatly to exercise all his intellectual powers to find it out:

let him that hath understanding count the number of, the beast; whoever has skill numbers, let him make use of it, that he may know the name and nature of the antichristian beast, and the numerical letters of his name, or the number of him, and of the time when he arose, and when he will expire:

for it is the number of a man: either a number that may be reckoned by man, or which is in common use among men; see Rev_21:17; or that which is contained in the name of a man:

and his number is six hundred threescore and six: which some think refers to the time of the rise of antichrist, in the year 666; but that seems rather to be in the year 859, when the bishop of Rome obtained the name of universal bishop; others have been of opinion that it refers to the expiration of the beast, which they thought would have been in the year 1666, the number of the thousand being dropped, as it is in our common way of speaking; as when we say the Spanish invasion was in 88, meaning 1588, and the civil wars began in 41, that is, 1641; but time has shown that this was a mistaken sense; the more prevailing opinion is that of Mr. Potter, who has wrote a peculiar and learned treatise upon this passage, who makes the counting of this number to be no other than the extracting of its root, which is the number 25, which when multiplied into itself, and the fraction in working it 41 is added, makes up the square number 666; and now 25 being added to A. D. 33, make 58, which was the time of the beast's conception, to which if 666 is added, it brings us to the year 724, when he arrived to his age of manhood, and when the war about the worshipping of images broke out: but others think that the numeral letters in some man's name which amount to this date, and which agrees with antichrist, are intended; and here various conjectures are made; some have observed, that in genealogical arithmetic the number of Adonikam's posterity is 666, Ezr_2:13; whose name signifies "a lord rising up", or "risen"; and suits very well with antichrist, who is risen up, and assumes a lordly domination over the kings of the earth; and it is further observed, that the Hebrew word ??????, which signifies "Roman", and, having the word beast or kingdom joined to it, designs the Roman beast, or kingdom, consists of numeral letters, which make up this sum; and so the Hebrew word ????, "Sethut", which is the name of a man, Num_13:13, and signifies "mystery", in its numeral letters comes just to this number, and one of the names of the whore of Babylon is "mystery", Rev_17:5; but the name "Lateinos" bids as fair as any, which is mentioned by so ancient a writer as Irenaeus, who was a hearer of Polycarp, a disciple of John, the writer of this book; now the numeral value of the letters of this word makes up exactly 666, thus; ? 30. a 1. t 300. e 5. ? 10. ? 50. ? 70. ? 200. in all 666; and it is well known that the church of Rome is called the Latin Church and the pope of Rome the head of the Latin church, and his seat is in the Latin empire, and the service of the beast is in the Latin tongue, and the Bible is kept in that language, from the reading of the common people: it has been observed that the numeral letters in Ludovicus, or Lewis, which is a common name of the French kings, and is the name of the present French king, make up this same number; and may denote the destruction of antichrist, which will quickly follow the downfall of the kingdom of France, under a king of this name; and the rather, since this was the last of the ten kingdoms that was set up, and in which the primitive beast subsists, and the only one that has not yet been conquered, or in which a revolution has not been; and since this is the tenth part of the city which shall fall a little before the third woe comes on: and that it may fall under Ludovicus, or Lewis, the present French king (a), may be hoped for, and is desirable.

(a) The reader will bear in mind that the original edition of this work was published in the year 1747. --Ed.

4. HENRY, “We have here the number of the beast, given in such a manner as shows the infinite wisdom of God, and will sufficiently exercise all the wisdom and accuracy of men: The number is the number of a man, computed after the usual manner among men, and it is 666. Whether this be the number of the errors and heresies that are contained in popery, or rather, as others, the number of the years from its rise to its fall, is not certain, much less what that period is which is described by these prophetic numbers. The most admired dissertation on this intricate subject is that of Dr. Potter, where the curious may find sufficient entertainment. It seems to me to be one of those seasons which God has reserved in his own power; only this we know, God has written Mene Tekel upon all his enemies; he has numbered their days, and they shall be finished, but his own kingdom shall endure for ever.

5. JAMISON, “wisdom — the armory against the second beast, as patience and faith against the first. Spiritual wisdom is needed to solve the mystery of iniquity, so as not to be beguiled by it.count ... for — The “for” implies the possibility of our calculating or counting the beast’s number.the number of a man — that is, counted as men generally count. So the phrase is used in Rev_21:17. The number is the number of a man, not of God; he shall extol himself above the power of the Godhead, as the MAN of sin [Aquinas]. Though it is an imitation of the divine name, it is only human.six hundred threescore and six — A and Vulgate write the numbers in full in the Greek. But B writes merely the three Greek letters standing for numbers, Ch, X, St. “C reads” 616, but Irenaeus, 328, opposes this and maintains “666.” Irenaeus, in the second century, disciple of Polycarp, John’s disciple, explained this number as contained in the Greek letters of Lateinos (L being thirty; A, one; T, three hundred; E, five; I, ten; N, fifty; O, seventy; S, two hundred). The Latin is peculiarly the language of the Church of Rome in all her official acts; the forced unity of language in ritual being the counterfeit of the true unity; the premature and spurious anticipation of the real unity, only to be realized at Christ’s coming, when all the earth shall speak “one language” (Zep_3:9). The last Antichrist may have a close connection with Rome, and so the name Lateinos (666) may apply to him. The Hebrew letters of Balaam amount to 666 [Bunsen]; a type of the false prophet, whose characteristic, like Balaam’s, will be high spiritual knowledge perverted to Satanic ends. The number six is the world number; in 666 it occurs in units, tens, and hundreds. It is next neighbor to the sacred seven, but is severed from it by an impassable gulf. It is the number of the world given over to judgment; hence there is a pause between the sixth and seventh seals, and the sixth and seventh trumpets. The judgments on the world are complete in six; by the fulfillment of seven, the kingdoms of the world become Christ’s. As twelve is the number of the Church, so six, its half, symbolizes the world kingdom broken. The raising of the six to tens and hundreds (higher powers) indicates that the beast, notwithstanding his progression to higher powers, can only rise to greater ripeness for judgment. Thus 666, the judged world power, contrasts with the 144,000 sealed and transfigured ones (the Church number, twelve, squared and multiplied by one thousand, the number symbolizing the world pervaded by God; ten, the world number, raised to the power of three the number of God) [Auberlen]. The “mark” (Greek, “charagma”) and “name” are one and the same. The first two radical letters of Christ (Greek, “Christos”), Ch and R, are the same as the first two of charagma, and were the imperial monogram of Christian Rome. Antichrist, personating Christ, adopts a symbol like, but not agreeing with, Christ’s monogram, Ch, X, St; whereas the radicals in “Christ” are Ch, R, St. Papal Rome has similarly substituted the standard of the Keys for the standard of the Cross; so on the papal coinage (the image of power, Mat_22:20). The two first letters of “Christ,” Ch, R, represent seven hundred, the perfect number. The Ch, X, St represent an imperfect number, a triple falling away (apostasy) from septenary perfection [Wordsworth].

5B. COLLECTED NOTES, “The concept of the number of his name was common, because in Greek (and Hebrew as well), letters were assigned a numerical value (such as A=1, B=2, and so forth)i. For example, a graffiti in Pompeii reads "I love her whose number is 545"

666-Irenaeus in Against Heresies writes, "It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous to await

the fulfillment of the prophecy, then to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, in so much as many names can be found possessing the number.

We all have a number, or many numbers. We have social security numbers, license numbers, phone numbers, house numbers, bank numbers, credit card numbers, insurance numbers, charge account numbers, etc. We are identified by our numbers, and so is the anti-Christ.

Some read 616 and Nero fits both the 666 and 616 and so most go with Nero, but others that have been selected are Napoleon, Pope, Kaiser, Hitler, Luther, Mohammed, and a number of contemporary leaders.

It is failure upon failure upon failure says Hendriksen. The trinity of imperfection. Centuries of conjection have not brought us any clear answer to this puzzle. Nero is the most common guess. The state can be unholy trinity seeking to take the place of the holy trinity in our lives. The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet appear to be an intentional counterfeit of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Donald Richardson writes, "There were also sinister numbers among the Jews, just as with us the number 13 is for many people a number of evil portent. Some people will not sit down with 13 at a dinner table. Many of our skyscraper buildings have no 13th floor, and there is no room numbered 13 in our hotels." He goes on to say that for the Jew the number 6 had in it the very sound of doom, and a triple 6 would be triple doom. It stands for evil in its ultimate ascendance as 666.

Seven is perfect and so six falls short and is imperfect. 666 is multiplied in perfection. A triple play is the worst possible failure a baseball team can experience. You cannot make four outs, and so triple outs is the ultimate, and the beast is the ultimate in evil and falling short of God's will. State religion is the very worst of all kinds of false religion, for it is exalting a very valid good that is even God ordained to a level of idolatry. The state is not divine, and when it trys to be, it is a beast of evil. When the state trys to be God it is a triple 6-an absolute enemy of God.

The number of the beast is 666 (Rev. 13:18). The meaning of this number remains a mystery to this day. Evidently, it will be deciphered when circumstances enable us to do so. Some scholars see the number 666 as a diminution of the number 777, which in its own right designates threefold perfection or completeness. In the context of this understanding of the symbolism of the number, the antichrist, who strives in every way possible to show his superiority over Christ, in reality will beimperfect in every way.

Copyright ©1997 by Kenneth W. Collins. All rights reserved.Should we seek the beast of Revelation?Throughout the history of Christendom, every generation has fancied itself to be the last one, every generation has had its end-times prognosticators, every generation has tried to identify the beast whose appearance ushers in the final events leading up to The End.And every single one of them has failed. From this we learn (but they don’t) that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.Both Hebrew and Greek used ordinary letters as numerals, so any word or name can be interpreted as a number. By translating names into Hebrew or Greek, you can discover that practically anyone is the beast in Revelation. During the Reformation, Lutherans used this scheme to identify the pope as the beast, while Catholics used the same method to identify Martin Luther as the beast! Just about every historical figure is the beast using this method. Since we know that God is not the author of confusion, these results cannot come from God. I submit that the problem is not in the calculation, but in the calculating.For scripture does not say:This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the numbers of men, for that way you can identify the beast. Whichever man has 666 as his number is the beast.-Revelation 13:18, Reversed Fractured Version

Rather it says:This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.-Revelation 13:18, NIVScripture does not say that if you find 666, you have found the beast. Lots of people have the number 666, and they can’t all be the beast. What scripture does say is that after you have found the beast, you can calculate that his number is 666.This is the original and most ancient temptation of them all-the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. We want to know all things, we want to be as wiser than the angels, even wiser than Jesus Himself. We strive for a prize that does not exist, for Jesus never said:No one knows about that day or hour, but whoever figures it out first wins a special door prize.-Matthew 24:36, Reversed Fractured VersionIn truth, Jesus said:No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.-Matthew 24:36, NIVWe volunteer for an imaginary task, for Jesus never said:Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For when I was coming, you figured out the time; when I was fighting, you identified my enemy; when I was physically absent, you solved all the mysteries of the Bible.-Matthew 25:24a-36, Reversed Fractured VersionIn truth, Jesus said:Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.-Matthew 25:34a-36, NIVSo I think we should stop listening to the serpent, who tempts us with the fruit of knowledge, and listen instead to the Spirit, who empowers us to bear the fruit of obedience. I do understand the allure of the temptation: knowing is easier than doing, and knowledge is easier than obedience. But what is easiest is not always what is best.Let us stop seeking the beast and seek instead the Kingdom of God. Let us stop eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and start bearing the fruit of obedience.

The Greek and Hebrew number system Let us consider the numeric value system of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets. When you and I wish to say "1" we do not spell "one" but we write the figure "1". We have distinct symbols for numbers. but the Greeks in whose language the New Testament was written, and the Hebrews, in whose language the Old Testament was written , had no special symbols for numbers. when they wished to say "1" they wrote the first letter of the alphabet. They had a defininate system where every letter of the Greek language stood for a special number. The first nine letters stood for 1-10, then from 20-100, and from 100-400. The Hebrews had the same system. they had 22 letters instead of 24, but each letter stood for a number, and each word is simply a sum in arithmetic, by adding the numeric values of the special letters. As each word consist of letters The numeric value of a word is the sum of the numeric values of its letters. But in Scripture an additional system is made use of for the purpose of numeric construction of the text, that of PLACE VALUE. The Place VALUE of a letter in Scripture, wether Hebrew or Greek is the number of the PLACE the letter occupies in the alphabet. Accordingly in the hebrew the place values and the numeriv values of the first ten letters are the same, and the same is the case with the first five letters in the Greek. But the ELEVENTH Hebrew letter does not stand for eleven, but twenty. Accordingly its numeric value is 20, but its place value is 11; the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the twenty second, stands for 400. Accordingly its numeric value is 400, but its place value is 22. Te same applies to the Greek alphabet. Its sixth letter stands for 7; this is its numeric value, but its place value is six. The VALUE of a Hebrew or Greek letter or word is the SUM OF ITS NUMERIC AND PLACE VALUES: thus the VALUE OF JESUS, in GREEK is 975, of which the NUMERIC VALUE IS 888, and the place value is 87.The numeric value of the Name of our Lord "JESUS" in Greek is 888. Scripture warns us "Here is

wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: For it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six". And the number is 666 and our Lord's number is 888. There is not a paragraph in the Bible that is not constructed on a similar numerical scheme. Even if men had the skill to construct the 66 books of the Bible, the construction of even a single book would in nearly all cases require some hundreds of years . As no man or set of men could write books thus, we can see that the writers of the Bible were guided by a superior mathematical mind, God!

Stedman, “First let me give you a brief list of names that have been identified as the Antichrist by this means: Nero, of course, was one of the first. One of his predecessors as emperor was Caligula, the mad emperor, and his name supposedly adds up to 666. Then the successor to Nero was Domitian, and his name, with a little manipulation, can be added up in this way. So also was Mohammed, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, Martin Luther, various popes, and, of course, Adolf Hitler. Even poor Henry Kissinger had to bear this stigma, and now, of course, it is Gorbachev. It is really ridiculous to use this method because the clue given here is the important thing. Look what it says, "This calls for wisdom." No Tom, Dick, or Harry with a calculator can figure this out. This calls for wisdom! "If any one has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast." Now here is the clue: "it is man's number." Not a man's number. It is man's number. It is the number associated with man. It is not an individual in view here at all. It reveals the character of the one who is talking and acting and living. If you see someone acting like God, claiming unusual powers, and teaching people that man is in charge of all things, that he can do anything, you are listening to a man, and his thinking reflects the number of man, 666. It is man's number. Eugene Peterson says something very helpful on this: Expose these religious pretensions. This religion has nothing to do with God. Get its number: it is a human number. This is not divine mystery, but a confidence man's patter; it is religion that makes a show, religion that vaunts itself, religion that takes our eyes off of the poor and suffering and holy Christ. In the language of numbers, 666 is a triple failure to be a 777, the three-times perfect, whole, divine number. So we see that John is showing us how the devil works. He attempts to organize behavior and from that always comes violence. When any government turns totalitarian and seeks to control every deed, every act, of its citizens, it produces a violent reaction. Turn on your television sets and you will see it in every news broadcast today. The Antichrist tries to organize belief as well as behavior, and when belief is organized it always produces deceit. There is nothing more deceitful than false religion. These are the weapons of Satan: He either intimidates or deceives. He has only two weapons, force and fantasy, lying and brutality, one or the other, or a mixture of both.

But this mark, which will be universally issued around the entire world, MUST NOT be received under any circumstances, even by Christians! Scripture goes on to say: "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If ANYONE worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. This calls for patient endurance on the part of THE SAINTS who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus' " (Rev. 14:9-12). As the mark will definitely be issued one day, as Scripture declares, the eternal destiny for all who receive that mark will also be in accordance with Scripture! Do not be deceived about this. If you are a Christian, you MUST NOT take this mark or you, too, will miss the kingdom of God and suffer eternal torment over this single act of disobedience, according to Scripture! If the popular teaching of eternal security (also known as the perseverance of the saints) was true, Rev. 14:9-12 would be an impossibility! So don't be deceived by the teaching of eternal security. You must endure to the end to be saved (Matt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11).

Those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast and worship his image are referred to in the following passage. These are the same ones who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus: "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the

souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4-6). Please notice, the "first resurrection" will not occur until the mark of the beast is made available! The first resurrection is for those who have done good and will rise to live, as opposed to those who have done evil and will rise to be condemned (Jn. 5:29). YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE A PERSONAL DECISION REGARDING THE MARK OF THE BEAST THROUGH A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE. Regarding "that day" or "our being gathered to him" (2 Thess. 2:1), the Bible says: "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction" (2 Thess. 2:3). Those who remain faithful to the Lord Jesus will refuse this mark, but will be beheaded as a result. This same fate for the God fearing who endure to the end is also mentioned in the following passage with another possibility for "the saints": "He was given power to make war against THE SAINTS and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast -- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of THE SAINTS" (Rev. 13:7-10). Dear reader, if you die in the Lord as a consequence of refusing the mark of the beast, please realize that you will immediately be in the presence of the Lord in "Paradise" (Lk. 23:43).

. As twelve is the number of the Church, so six, its half, symbolizes the world kingdom broken. The raising of the six to tens and hundreds (higher powers) indicates that the beast, notwithstanding his progression to higher powers, can only rise to greater ripeness for judgment. Thus 666, the judged world power, contrasts with the 144,000 sealed and transfigured ones (the Church number, twelve, squared and multiplied by one thousand, the number symbolizing the world pervaded by God; ten, the world number, raised to the power of three the number of God) [AUBERLEN]. The "mark" (Greek, "charagma") and "name" are one and the same. The first two radical letters of Christ (Greek, "Christos"), Ch and R, are the same as the first two of charagma, and were the imperial monogram of Christian Rome. Antichrist, personating Christ, adopts a symbol like, but not agreeing with, Christ's monogram, Ch, X, St; whereas the radicals in "Christ" are Ch, R, St. Papal Rome has similarly substituted the standard of the Keys for the standard of the Cross; so on the papal coinage (the image of power, Mt 22:20). The two first letters of "Christ," Ch, R, represent seven hundred, the perfect number. The Ch, X, St represent an imperfect number, a triple falling away (apostasy) from septenary perfection [WORDSWORTH].6. PULPIT, “Here is wisdom, Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man. The last clause has no article, a????µ?`? ?a`? a?????´p?? e?st?´ . Compare the expression, "Here is the patience," etc. inRev_13:10, where it relates to what precedes. Here it evidently refers to what follows. The form of expression is frequent in St. John's writings (cf. 1Jn_2:6; 1Jn_3:16, 1Jn_3:19; 1Jn_4:10, etc.). The plain meaning seems to be that men may display their wisdom and understanding in discovering the meaning of the number of the beast. But the interpretation which Auberlen gives may be correct; viz. that as the first beast is met and vanquished by patience and faith, so this second beast is to be met by wisdom. This agrees with our interpretation of this second beast as symbolizing self deceit. St. John evidently intends that the meaning of the number should be known: "Let him that hath understanding count the number;" that is, "Let him that hath understanding discern in what sense the symbol is used." It is the "number of man;" that is, it describes symbolically something which is peculiarly a characteristic of mankind. Some writers have understood the words to mean, "the number refers to an individual man;" but the absence of the article militates against this view. Others explain, "It is a number which is to be reckoned according to man's mode of reckoning," just as in Rev_21:17, "a measure of a man." If this be the meaning, it leaves open the question as to what St.

John meant by "the usual mode of man's reckoning." His own use of numerals throughout the Apocalypse is, as we have repeatedly seen, symbolical of general qualities, and does not indicate either individuals or exact numbers. We are justified, therefore, according to this view, in interpreting the number symbolically (vide supra). And his number is Six hundred three score and six. The Revised Version is better, Six hundred and sixty and six; it preserves the similarity of formwhich is found in the Greek words, e??a??´s??? e???´???ta e?´? , as found in A. In àwe have e??a??´s?a? , etc.; in P, Andreas, e??a??´s?a . The shortened form ??? ' is found in B and most cursives. C, 11, and some manuscripts known to Irenaeus and Tichonius differ by reading e??a??´s?a? de´?a e?´? , "six hundred and sixteen," but this is probably incorrect. Commentators have universally attempted to discover the name denoted by this number, by attaching to each letter of the name (generally the Greek letters) its numerical value, the total of which should equal the number 666. To this method there are several objections. In the first place, St. John nowhere else makes such use of a number, though numbers form a prominent feature of the book. In the second place, the adoption of this method seems to have been a consequence upon the interpretation of the words, "number of a man," as meaning "a number to be calculated according to man's methods." But this may not be the meaning at all (vide supra); and, if it is, "man's method" would surely signify the symbolical method which St. John adopts all through the rest of the book, as being a language perfectly well understood by himself and his readers. And thirdly, this numerical method has proved entirely unsatisfactory in the hands of those who have hitherto adopted it. For a complete expose of the fallaciousness of such attempts, we may refer the reader to Dr. Salmon's 'Introduction to the New Testament,' p. 291, et seq. A commonly received interpretation makes the name of the beast to be Nero Caesar, written in the Hebrew characters øñ÷ ðåøï ; and as the name may be written Neron or Nero, the difference of the final n(= 50) is thought to account for the discrepancy in the manuscript authorities. Dr. Salmon shows that Nero could not have been intended, because (1)the prophecy in that ease would have been immediately falsified;

(2) the solution would have been known to the early Christians; but it was not known, according to Irenaeus. Dr. Salmon then adds, "Pages might be filled with a list of persons whose names have been proposed as solutions of the problem. Among the persons supposed to be indicated are the emperors Caligula, Trajan, and Julian the Apostate, Genseric the Vandal, Popes Benedict IX. and Paul V., Mahomet, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Beza, and Napoleon Bonaparte. There are three rules by the help of which I believe an ingenious man could find the required sum in any given name. £ First, if the proper name by itself will not yield it, add a title; secondly, if the sum cannot be found in Greek, try Hebrew, or even Latin; thirdly, do not be too particular about the spelling." The above objections also hold good very generally with regard to the suggestion of ?ate???? , by which may be indicated the Roman or Latin power, either pagan or papal. But if we attempt to interpret this number in the same way as we have dealt with all other numbers in the Apocalypse, viz. by regarding them as symbolical of qualities, we shall be on surer ground. In the first place, the number six is typical of what is earthly as opposed to what is heavenly. As seven is the number of perfection, and is descriptive of universality, and is therefore the symbol pertaining to God, so six is a type of what falls short of the heavenly ideal. Cf. the six days of the creation; the six years of servitude (Exo_21:2, etc.) and of work (Exo_23:1-33. 10). Again, the threefold employment of the number six, while emphasizing the fact of the number referring to what is essentially earthly, has a fulness, importance, and seeming completeness which makes it a type of that which appears to be perfect, but in reality falls short of perfection. It is, in short, symbolical of a deceit, a sham. It is therefore descriptive of the nature of the second beast; of that self deceit which causes men to accept the world as a substitute for God, or, at least, as not antagonistic to him; which enables men to thus quiet their consciences, while in reality becoming followers of the worldly power and subjects of Satan. That this is the meaning of the number six is recognized by some writers, though they do not here so apply it. In the 'Speaker's Commentary,' Introduction, § 11 (a), we find, "Six is the 'signature' of non-perfection;" and, "This number is also a symbol of human rule and power." Wordsworth says, "The numerical symbol of the beast, 666, indicates that he aims at and aspires to the attributes of Christ, and puts forth a semblance of Christian truth, but falls away from it in a triple decline and degeneracy."

Footnotes:a. Revelation 13:1 Some manuscripts And Ib. Revelation 13:8 Or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slainc. Revelation 13:10 Some manuscripts anyone killsd. Revelation 13:10 Jer. 15:2e. Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s numberNew International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.