(1) And 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. (2) And 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. (3) And 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. (4) And 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? (5) And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (6) And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (7) And 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. (8) And 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. (9) If any man have an ear, let him hear. (10) He 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.
Here, if I mistake not, begins the first of Popery and Mahometanism. And if I am correct, this Chapter, in point of time, corresponds to the ninth Chapter of this blessed Book, which opens with the sounding of the fifth trumpet. Four hundred years or thereabout, had run out while the Empire was heathen. One hundred more or thereabout, under the professing Church of Christianity, when the heresies of Arius and Pelagius, had arisen to harass the Lord's people. And now the heresies of Popery and Mahometanism come forward to commence their horrible war, against the true faith as it is in Jesus. And these have both extended their powers, the one East, and the other West, (except in a few instances), to the present hour, and so will continue during the whole of the sixth trumpet's dispensation, and that woe is past. By comparing those scriptures together, the Reader will be best enabled through grace, to behold the correspondence in the history, and what is yet more, will therefrom learn also, somewhat of the grace and tenderness of Christ, in giving his Church through John a beautiful and most interesting duplicate of what they are so highly concerned to know, of those heresies which have distressed the Church, their beginning, progress, and sure destruction. In this Chapter we have only the features of the former.
Under the similitude of a beast rising up out of the sea, John is taught of a new power, coming forth to the persecution of the Church. This beast cannot be the Dragon before mentioned, because in the second verse of this Chapter, the Dragon, that is the devil, is said to give him his power. Therefore it will follow by an undeniable conclusion, that if the dragon which John saw before; in the twelfth Chapter, was the devil, and there so expressly said to be, (see Revelation 12:3 with Revelation 12:9) and this same dragon in this Chapter, is said to have given his power to this beast, John here saw coming up out of the sea, it must follow that this beast, be who or what he may, hath derived all his power and authority from hell. Laying this down as a proof which no one can deny, it will be our next grand concern, who this beast represents, and what he is.
The first account given of him, is of his strength and power. He is said to have seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and blasphemy upon all. That Rome is the seat of this beast's empire, there can be no question. Here it was, that all the great transactions of the Church were carried on. In consequence of its extensive empire at the time that these prophecies were given, it was called the world. Romans 1:7-8. Moreover, in further confirmation, it is remarkable, that the city itself stood upon seven mountains or hills, and is said to have had, under the jurisdiction of the empire, seven kingdoms. Hence those heads and crowns. Perhaps in the further extent, the ten crowns implied, that three other kingdoms had been added since the Empire ceased to be heathen, and when overrun by two nations which arose after, namely, the Goths and Vandals.
The second feature which this Chapter noticeth of this beast, is that the dragon, that is the devil, gave him his power and his seat, and great authority. Nothing can more strongly define a thing, than what is here done. The devil could give no authority to this beast, but for devilish purposes. And as the last account we had of the devil in the preceding Chapter was, that he was wrath, and went to make war with the remnant of the seed of the Church, and here in this scripture which immediately follows, we find him giving his power, and his seat, and his great authority, to this beast, it must have been as an Antichristian heresy, to afflict and make war with the true Church of God. This statement must also be allowed as correct.
Thirdly. John saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and yet this deadly wound was healed. Perhaps this alludes to the destruction of the empire, after it became Christian by profession. For it was mouldered away and divided. Therefore, in point of temporal power, Rome was lessened, before that this beast came to the government of it. And this might be intended, by the figure of a deadly wound. But now by the great power given to the beast by the dragon, this deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast; namely, that if the great Emperors gone before had not been able to keep their authority, what a wonderful power must this be, upheld by the dragon, to exercise such authority.
Fourthly. Let the Reader duly observe the bottom of this business. The great object of the whole is to worship the dragon. Yes! the beast, be whoever be may, is only made the tool of this whole concern. It is the devil that is to be worshipped, not the beast. Oh could the fool, whether it be the Pope or any of his Cardinals, that is here meant by the beast, but see what a tool he is made in this trumpery of show, how would he revolt at the impudence of the dragon upon the occasion.
Fifthly. Observe, that upon the heads of this beast was the name of blasphemy. And blasphemy indeed it must be, in the whole of this concern, which begins as we have seen with the devil, in giving his power, and his seat, and his great authority to the beast, and ends, as we read Revelation 19:20, in the beast being taken, and with him the false prophet, and both being cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Sixthly. And it is said that there was given unto him, a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. Yes. This is the bait by which the dragon, the devil, catches the world of the ungodly, both Popes and Prelates, men of titles, and the rich of the earth. When this devil, this dragon tempted Job, he stripped him and made him poor. The devil is grown wiser since. He was foiled then, for Job belonged not to him, and he could not prevail. He useth a more sure plan now. He does all by them that are his, as he did by this beast. He gives his power to him, and his seat, and his authority. He gives his followers these rattles, which, like children, shall amuse and lull them on. And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. But when the forty and two months are over, the mask falls off; and their eternal destruction is come.
Seventhly. The dragon is not satisfied with the ruin of this beast only, he must have all his followers. Hence, therefore, it is said, that they not only worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, but they worshipped the beast also, saying, who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? Hence we see, that the beast himself shall not only commit blasphemy, and open his mouth to blaspheme God, but his followers shall even take the words of God's children, and which can only be applied to God, when they say, as is upon record, who is a God like unto thee, O Lord, who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, Exodus 15:11. And these wretched men, shall dare to use similar language in their addresses to the beast; who is like unto the beast, who can make war with him.
Eighthly. Awful to relate, and as a close for the present to this awful account, it is added, that 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. Hence the power of this beast, and the dragon which hath given for a time his power to him, is much more extensive than is generally supposed. There is no preservative, but in the electing grace of God. Blessed be God! they are secured, whose names are in the Lamb's book of life. Neither beast nor dragon, neither Pope nor devil can touch them. But without this, all the world shall wonder after the beast, and all worship him. Reader! ponder well the account; and beg of God to give you a right understanding in all things.