The Beast from the Sea
1 And thedragon (Satan) stood on the sandy shore of the sea.
Then I saw a [vicious] beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten royalcrowns (diadems), and on his heads were blasphemous names.
2 And the beast that I saw resembled aleopard, but his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
3 I sawone of his heads which seemed to have a fatal wound, but his fatal wound was healed; and the entire earthfollowedafter the beast in amazement.
4 They fell downandworshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; they also worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like (as great as) the beast, and who is able to wage war against him?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great thingsandarrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedomandauthority to actandto do as he pleased forforty-two months (three and a half years).
6 And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemies (abusive speech, slander) against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who live in heaven.
7 He was alsopermitted to wage war against the saints (God’s people) and to overcome them, and authorityandpower over every tribe and people and language and nation.
8 All the inhabitants of the earth will fall downandworship him,everyonewhose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain [as a willing sacrifice].
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10 If anyoneis destinedfor captivity, he will go into captivity; if anyone kills with a sword, he must be killed with a sword. Here is [the call for] the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints [which is seen in the response of God’s people to difficult times].
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I sawanother beast rising up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon.
12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence [when the two are together]. And he makes the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 He performs great signs (awe-inspiring acts), even making fire fall from the sky to the earth, right before peoples’ eyes.
14 And he deceives those [unconverted ones] who inhabit the earth [into believing him] because of the signs which he is given [by Satan] to perform in the presence of the [first] beast, telling those who inhabit the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded [fatally] by the sword and has come back to life.
15 And he is given power to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast will even [appear to] speak, and cause those who do not bow downandworship the image of the beast to be put to death.
16 Also he compels all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead [signifying allegiance to the beast],
17 and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark,eitherthe name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let the person who has enough insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the [imperfect] number of a man;and his number issix hundred and sixty-six.