A Beast Rises From the Sea
A beast comes up from the sea with the dragon's own throne, insulting our Father while the whole earth admires its healed wound. A second beast makes an image speak, kills those who won't worship it, and controls who may buy or sell. Faithfulness here means endurance, not rescue.
13 1The dragon stood on the sea's sand. I saw a beast rising from the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, ten crowns on its horns, and names insulting God on its heads. 2The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet like a bear's, its mouth like a lion's. The dragon gave it his power, his throne, and great authority. 3One of its heads seemed fatally wounded, but the wound healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast his authority, and worshiped the beast, asking, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight it?"
5The beast was given a mouth to speak boasts and insults against God, and was given authority to act forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to insult our Father—to insult his name and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven. 7It was given to make war on the holy ones and conquer them, and given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8Everyone living on earth will worship it, except those whose names have been written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world—the Lamb who was slain. 9If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he goes; if anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the holy ones.
A Second Beast From the Earth
11Then I saw another beast rise from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. 12It wields all the first beast's authority on its behalf, making the earth and its people worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14By the signs it was allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives those living on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15It was allowed to give breath to the beast's image, so the image could even speak, and cause all who refuse to worship the beast's image to be killed.
16It compels everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to take a mark on their right hand or forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell without the mark: the beast's name, or the number of that name. 18This calls for wisdom: let the one with insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man—666. a a v18 The number is described as "the number of a man" — a symbolic figure pointing to human rebellion, not a code to be solved with literal math.
