The Beast out of the Sea

13 The dragon^[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.^(A) It had ten horns and seven heads,^(B) with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.^{(C) 2} The beast I saw resembled a leopard,^(D) but had feet like those of a bear^(E) and a mouth like that of a lion.^(F) The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.^{(G) 3} One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.^(H) The whole world was filled with wonder^(I) and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like^(J) the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies^(K) and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.^{(L) 6} It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.^{(M) 7} It was given power to wage war^(N) against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.^{(O) 8} All inhabitants of the earth^(P) will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life,^(Q) the Lamb^(R) who was slain from the creation of the world.^[b](S)

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.^(T)

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness^(V) on the part of God’s people.^(W)

The Beast out of the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth.^(X) It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.^{(Y) 12} It exercised all the authority^(Z) of the first beast on its behalf,^(AA) and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,^(AB) whose fatal wound had been healed.^{(AC) 13} And it performed great signs,^(AD) even causing fire to come down from heaven^(AE) to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs^(AF) it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived^(AG) the inhabitants of the earth.^(AH) It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.^{(AI) 15} The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship^(AJ) the image to be killed.^{(AK) 16} It also forced all people, great and small,^(AL) rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,^{(AM) 17} so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark,^(AN) which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.^(AO)

¹⁸ This calls for wisdom.^(AP) Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.^[e](AQ) That number is 666.

⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss^(A) and go to its destruction.^(B) The inhabitants of the earth^(C) whose names have not been written in the book of life^(D) from the creation of the world will be astonished^(E) when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

²⁴ The ten horns^(A) are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.

² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter^(A)—asserting that the day of the Lord^(B) has already come.^{(C) 3} Don’t let anyone deceive you^(D) in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion^(E) occurs and the man of lawlessness^[a] is revealed,^(F) the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God^(G) or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.^(H)

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?^{(I) 6} And now you know what is holding him back,^(J) so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back^(K) will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed,^(L) whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth^(M) and destroy by the splendor of his coming.^{(N) 9} The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan^(O) works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders^(P) that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.^(Q) They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.^{(R) 11} For this reason God sends them^(S) a powerful delusion^(T) so that they will believe the lie^{(U) 12} and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.^(V)

¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,^(A) so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time,^(B) out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent^(C) spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

³⁸ Then the fire^(A) of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.