How does Saint John unveil the rise, blasphemies, and deceptive tyranny of the two beasts in Apocalypse 13?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Two beasts receive power, wage war and enforce worship through signs, a speaking image, threat of death and a character restricting commerce; annotations offer qualified historical interpretations.

Chapter breakdown

John sees a beast from the sea with seven heads, ten horns, ten diadems on the horns and blasphemous names on its heads. It is like a leopard with bear-like feet and a lion-like mouth, and the dragon gives it strength and great power. One head appears slain, but its death wound is healed and the earth admires the beast. The printed annotation calls it probably the company of infidels, enemies and persecutors across history. It identifies seven principal empires: Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia and Greece fallen; Rome present; and Antichrist’s empire to come. The ten horns may mean lesser persecutors. Some understand the wound as Roman idolatry wounded under Constantine and revived under Julian. These are annotation interpretations.

People adore dragon and beast and ask who can fight it. It receives a mouth of great things and blasphemies and power for forty-two months, blaspheming God’s name, tabernacle and heavenly dwellers. The annotation explains tabernacle and dwellers as church and saints. It is given war against saints and power over every tribe, people, tongue and nation. Earth dwellers whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book adore it. The Lamb is described as slain from the beginning of the world; the annotation explains foreknowledge and mercy and grace given from the beginning in view of his death and passion. Those leading into captivity shall go into captivity, and killers by sword must be killed by sword: here is the saints’ patience and faith.

Another beast comes from earth with lamb-like horns but dragon-like speech. The annotation says it may mean heathen priests and magicians promoting idolatry and persecution. It exercises the first beast’s power, causes its worship, makes fire descend before people, and seduces them by signs to make the image of the beast wounded by sword and alive. It is given life for the speaking image, which causes nonadorers to be slain. It shall impose a character on right hand or forehead across small and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, restricting buying and selling to holders of the character, name or number. Whoever has understanding is told to count the number of a man, six hundred sixty-six; the annotation says numeral letters of his name make this number.

The story inside

Context: John sees a sea beast and an earth beast. Stakes: The first wars against saints; the image causes nonadorers to be slain, and commerce is restricted by character, name or number. Action: The dragon gives strength and great power; the first beast blasphemes, and the second seduces with signs and causes worship. Consequence: Earth dwellers whose names are not in the Lamb’s book adore; the saints’ patience and faith are invoked. Limits: The printed annotations qualify the first identity as probable and horns and second beast as possible. They give a particular optional Constantine/Julian reading of the wounded head.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Seven heads, ten horns and diadems distinguish the sea beast; the earth beast has two lamb-like horns and dragon-like speech.
2
Slain from the beginning is explained by the annotation as divine foreknowledge and mercy and grace in view of the passion.
3
The character, name or number is required for commerce; 666 is a man’s number whose name’s numeral letters are explained in the annotation.

Test your recall

What symbolic animal traits characterize the first beast from the sea in Apocalypse 13, and what is the number of his name?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 139413–139415
13:1. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns: and upon his horns, ten diadems: and upon his heads, names of blasphemy.
Lines 139453–139459
13:7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 13:8. And all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb which was slain from the beginning of the world.
Lines 139494–139503
13:16. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: 13:17. And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 13:18. Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.