13
The dragon stood on the seashore. I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. There were ten crowns on its horns. On each head was an evil name that brought shame to God. 2 The beast I saw looked like a leopard. But it had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of the beast's heads seemed to have had a deadly wound. But the wound had been healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast. 4 People worshipped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast. They also worshipped the beast. They asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can make war against it?’ 5 The beast was given a mouth to boast and speak evil things against God. The beast was allowed to use its authority for 42 months. 6 The beast opened its mouth to speak evil things against God. It told lies about God and about the place where God lives. And it told lies about those who live in heaven with him. 7 The beast was allowed to make war against God's holy people and to overcome them. It was given authority over every tribe, people and nation, no matter what language they spoke. 8 Many people who live on the earth will worship the beast. They are the ones whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life. The Lamb is the one whose death was planned before the world was created.
9 Whoever has ears should listen.
10 ‘Everyone who is supposed to be captured
will be captured.
Everyone who is supposed to be killed by a sword
will be killed by a sword.’ (Jeremiah 15:2)
So God's people must be patient and faithful.
11 Then I saw a second beast. This one came out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb. But it spoke like a dragon. 12 This beast had all the authority of the first beast. It did what the first beast wanted. It made the earth and all who live on it worship the first beast. The first beast was the one whose deadly wound had been healed. 13 The second beast performed great signs. It even made fire come from heaven to the earth. And the fire was seen by everyone. 14 The first beast had given the second beast the power to perform these signs. By these signs, the second beast tricked those who live on the earth. The second beast ordered people to set up a statue to honour the first beast. The first beast was the one who had been wounded by a sword and still lived. 15 The second beast was allowed to give breath to this statue so it could speak. The statue could kill all who refused to worship it. 16 It also forced everyone to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. People great or small, rich or poor, free or slave had to receive the mark. 17 They could not buy or sell anything unless they had the mark. The mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This problem requires wisdom. Anyone who is wise should figure out what the beast's number means. It is the number of a man. And that number is 666.
13:1–18 In the vision, John saw a beast come out of the sea. He saw another beast come out of the earth. They were like the four animals Daniel saw in a vision recorded in Daniel chapter 7. In Daniel's vision, beasts were signs of human governments. Thrones were signs of authority and horns were signs of power. This was true for John's vision as well. The first beast was a sign of a powerful ruler or government. The second beast was a sign of a person or group that supported them. In Revelation 16:13 the second beast was also called a false prophet. The devil was the dragon who gave these beasts power over people. The first beast was allowed to rule for 42 months. The second beast made people worship the first beast and be marked in a certain way. This was the opposite of when God's servants were marked by God's seal. The mark of the beast from the sea was the number 666. All of this was like something happening in John's time in the lands controlled by Rome. Authorities and rulers made people obey and worship Rome and the emperor. Those who refused to worship the Roman ruler Caesar were treated badly or killed.