Revelation 13:11-18

The Second Beast from the Earth

11 And I saw another beast coming up from the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he was speaking like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast on behalf of him, and he causes the earth and those who live in it to worship the first beast {whose fatal wound had been healed}.
13 And he performs great signs, so that he even causes fire from heaven to come down to the earth before people.
14 And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it has been granted to him to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who has the wound of the sword and [yet] lived.
15 And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed.
16 And he causes all [people], the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, that they give them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
17 and that no one was able to buy or to sell except the one who had the mark--the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom: the one who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number, and his number [is] six hundred sixty-six.

Revelation 13:11-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 13

This chapter contains a description of the Romish antichrist, under the figure of two beasts, the one representing him in his civil power, the other in his ecclesiastical power. The first beast is described by its origin, the sea, and by the monstrous shape its several parts; its heads seven, in which were the name of blasphemy; its horns ten, on which were crowns; its skin like a leopard, its feet as a bear, and its mouth as a lion; and by its state and condition, having power, a throne, and great authority; and having one of its heads wounded, and healed; and by the great regard had unto him, being wondered at, and worshipped by all the world, and declared to be more powerful than any, and none to be like them, Re 13:1-4. Next an account is given of what he was suffered to have, a blaspheming mouth, and power to continue forty two months, Re 13:5; and of what he said or uttered, his blasphemy against God, his name, tabernacle, and the inhabitants of heaven, Re 13:6; and of what he did by permission, made war with the saints, overcame them, and had power over all people, Re 13:7; and of the worship given him by the reprobate part of the world, Re 13:8; and the whole is concluded with an exhortation exciting attention to what had been said, with a threatening to the beast, and a word of comfort to the saints, Re 13:9,10. And then follows the description of the second beast, by its original the earth; by its likeness to a lamb, and a dragon; to the former for its two horns, and to the latter for its speech, Re 13:11; and by the actions ascribed to it, which are many; as exercising all the power of the first beast; causing all the inhabitants of the earth to worship that; doing miracles, of which one is mentioned, thereby deceiving the men of the world; ordering them to make an image to the wounded beast; giving life to it, so that it could speak; putting to death all that refused to worship it; obliging men of all ranks and degrees to have a mark in their right hands or foreheads, and forbidding such that had not to buy or sell, Re 13:12-17. And the chapter is concluded with an epiphonema, exciting men of understanding to search out, and count the number of the beast's name, since it is possible to be done, being the number of a man, and easy to be done, consisting of three Greek letters, c x v, which are numerically 666, Re 13:18.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Literally "of whom the wound of his death had been healed"
  • [b]. Or "it is [the] number of [a] man"
  • [c]. A few significant manuscripts read "six hundred sixteen"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.