Revelation 13:5-15

5 The Beast had a loud mouth, boastful and blasphemous. It could do anything it wanted for forty-two months.

6 It yelled blasphemies against God, blasphemed his Name, blasphemed his Church, especially those already dwelling with God in Heaven.

7 It was permitted to make war on God's holy people and conquer them. It held absolute sway over all tribes and peoples, tongues and races.

8 Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world's foundation in the slaughtered Lamb's Book of Life will worship the Beast.

9 Are you listening to this?

10 They've made their bed; now they must lie in it. Anyone marked for prison goes straight to prison; anyone pulling a sword goes down by the sword. Meanwhile, God's holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground.

11 I saw another Beast rising out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb but sounded like a dragon when it spoke.

12 It was a puppet of the first Beast, made earth and everyone in it worship the first Beast, which had been healed of its deathblow.

13 This second Beast worked magical signs, dazzling people by making fire come down from Heaven.

14 It used the magic it got from the Beast to dupe earth dwellers, getting them to make an image of the Beast that received the deathblow and lived.

15 It was able to animate the image of the Beast so that it talked, and then arrange that anyone not worshiping the Beast would be killed.

Revelation 13:5-15 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.