The Beast Out of the Sea
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
The Beast Out of the Earth
11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
The Mark of the Beast
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Beast from the Sea
(Daniel 7:1–8)
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. 2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him. 6 He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 I saw another beast coming 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. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people. 14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived. 15 It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn’t worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The Mark of the Beast
16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; 17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.
The Beast from the Sea
(Daniel 7:1–8)
1 Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months. 6 And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.
7 Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain. a
9 He who has an ear, let him hear:
10 “If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he will go;
if anyone is to die b by the sword,
by the sword he must be killed.” c
Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. 12 And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
13 And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. 15 The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.
The Mark of the Beast
16 And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666. d
Footnotes:
8 a Or written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
10 b NE, WH, and BYZ if anyone kills
10 c See Jeremiah 15:2.
18 d Some manuscripts 616
The Beast Out of the Sea
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw out of the sea a beast coming up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads a name of evil speaking, 2and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority. 3And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed, and all the earth did wonder after the beast, 4and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast, saying, 'Who is like to the beast? who is able to war with it?' 5And there was given to it a mouth speaking great things, and evil-speakings, and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months, 6and it did open its mouth for evil-speaking toward God, to speak evil of His name, and of His tabernacle, and of those who in the heaven tabernacle,
7and there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and there was given to it authority over every tribe, and tongue, and nation. 8And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; 9if any one hath an ear -- let him hear: 10if any one a captivity doth gather, into captivity he doth go away; if any one by sword doth kill, it behoveth him by sword to be killed; here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.
The Beast Out of the Earth
11And I saw another beast coming up out of the land, and it had two horns, like a lamb, and it was speaking as a dragon, 12and all the authority of the first beast doth it do before it, and it maketh the land and those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast, whose deadly stroke was healed, 13and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men, 14and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live, 15and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and that it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed.
The Mark of the Beast
16And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, 17and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is the wisdom! He who is having the understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for the number of a man it is, and its number is six hundred and sixty six.
The Favor of God paraphrase
The Beast from the Sea
¹ I saw a beast rising out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled 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 heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder 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 the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His name, His dwelling place, and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ All the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.
¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
The Beast from the Earth
¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 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 the image to be killed. ¹⁶ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
¹⁸ This calls for wisdom: Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
Footnotes:
1.The “beast from the sea” (verse 1) symbolizes a powerful empire or ruler who opposes God. The ten horns and seven heads, along with the crowns, suggest authority and dominion over multiple nations. The blasphemous names indicate the beast’s defiance against God.
2.The dragon (Satan) giving the beast its power (verse 2) indicates that this evil ruler or system derives its authority from demonic influence. The leopard, bear, and lion imagery connect to Daniel 7, where similar beasts represent empires hostile to God’s people.
3.The “fatal wound that was healed” (verse 3) likely symbolizes a seemingly defeated but revived power, empire, or ruler. The world’s astonishment at this event leads many to follow and worship the beast, reflecting deception on a global scale.
4.The beast’s blasphemies and authority for forty-two months (verse 5) parallel the period of persecution mentioned in earlier chapters. Forty-two months, or three and a half years, often symbolizes a time of trial and suffering in biblical prophecy.
5.The “Lamb’s book of life” (verse 8) refers to the record of those who belong to Jesus, the Lamb who was slain. The contrast between worshipers of the beast and those written in the book underscores the eternal difference between those aligned with evil and those who belong to God.
6.The “second beast” (verse 11) is often interpreted as a false prophet or religious leader who supports the first beast’s authority. Though it appears innocent (“like a lamb”), its speech reveals its true, deceitful nature—speaking “like a dragon.”
7.The mark of the beast (verse 16) is a symbol of allegiance to the beast’s system, and it controls economic participation. The reference to a mark on the hand or forehead recalls the mark of God’s seal in earlier chapters, highlighting the choice between loyalty to God or to evil.
8.The number 666 (verse 18) has been the subject of much speculation. It is often interpreted as symbolizing imperfection or falling short of divine completeness (represented by the number seven). Some link the number to historical rulers, while others see it as a symbol of humanity’s rebellion against God.
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