And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Wonders - `signs.'
So that - so great that.
Maketh fire - `maketh even fire.' The very miracle which the two witnesses, and Elijah long ago, performed: this the beast from the bottomless pit, or false prophet, mimics. Not tricks, but miracles by demon aid, like those of the Egyptian magicians, calculated to deceive: performed "after the working (energy) of Satan" (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Probably this second beast answers to "the little horn," the 'wilful king' of Daniel 8:9-12; Daniel 8:23-25; Daniel 11:21-38; the Antichrist that oppresses Israel, from the third kingdom: as the first beast represents the God-opposed world-power, generally comprising Antiochus' blasphemies in the third kingdom, and the sacerdotal pretensions of the Eastern patriarchate, and the Romish little horn of Daniel 7:7-8; Daniel 7:11; Daniel 7:24-26, that oppressed Gentile believers, of the fourth kingdom. As Daniel 7:1-28 is Chaldaic, so with Daniel 8:1-27 begins the Hebrew portion. The little horn of the third kingdom, whose forerunner was Antiochus, is probably the pseudo-Messiah or false prophet which "shall come in his own name" (Daniel 8:1-27; Daniel 11:1-45; John 5:43), received by, and then tearing, the Jews (Zechariah 11:16); after that the apostate churches, Roman and Greek (the harlot), shall have been divested of all traces of their Christianity (answering to the humanity of the harlot).
Hence, follow the 144,000 on Zion (Revelation 14:1; Revelation 15:3): probably Israelites. The little horn, in Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:11; Daniel 7:25-26, is distinct from the beast: the horn (the papal kingdom) is judged and his dominion taken away, simultaneous with judgment on the whore, or whole apostate church, stripped naked, eaten, and burnt by the beast (Revelation 17:16); the beast's (Antichrist's) body is given by the Lord in person to the burning flame (Revelation 19:16-20). Antichrist's persecutions, though primarily falling on Israel, will also secondarily fall on Gentile believers. For the seven Asiatic Gentile churches addressed are urged to obtain the kingdom through suffering and keeping Christ's Word in the hour of universal temptation (Revelation 3:10).