Year of the Bible
Revelation 13
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Commentary on the Book of Revelation, Chapter 13:
We continue John’s vision of events on earth with two more symbolic creatures: two beasts, one from the sea and one from the land. In the ancient world, the sea was a place of chaos, and the sea beast looks chaotic and brings chaos as he appears as a messiah: he has a healed wound, people marvel at him, and they worship him. His words, however, reveal he is a false messiah, or an anti-messiah/anti-christ. Like the dragon/Satan, he makes war on the faithful of the earth (12:17), so endurance and faith is required. The second beast looks like a lamb but sounds like a dragon, and will be described as a false prophet (16:13, 19:20, 20:10). He causes people to worship the first beast, and, in opposition to God’s sealing of His faithful (chapter 7), this false prophet marks his followers with the number for his name, which is 666. Seven is the number of perfection in the Bible, so three six’s represent the fullness of imperfection of this false prophet, or anti-christ.
The Book of Revelation, Chapter 13:
The Beast from the Sea
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear:
10 If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes;
if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be
slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14 and by the signs which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
Although we know the power of Satan doesn't compare to the Power and Authority of God, the battle of between good and evil are real. What 'war' is the Devil proposing to disturb your heart, the heart of God's holy one, right now? What does God want you to do as defense against this temptation?
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
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1 Y vi una bestia que salía del mar: tenía
diez cuernos y siete cabezas, y sobre
sus cuernos diez diademas y sobre sus
cabezas nombres blasfemos.
2 La bestia que vi se parecía a un leopardo,
sus pies eran como los de un oso,
y su boca como la boca de un león. El
dragón le entregó su fuerza, su trono y
gran poder. 3 Una de sus cabezas estaba
como herida de muerte, pero se curó su
herida mortal, y toda la tierra, admirada,
siguió a la bestia. 4 Y adoraron al dragón
porque había entregado el poder a
la bestia. También adoraron a la bestia
diciendo:
–¿Quién es como la bestia, y quién
puede luchar contra ella?
5 Se le dio una boca que profería palabras
arrogantes y blasfemias, y se le
dio poder para actuar durante cuarenta
y dos meses. 6 Y abrió su boca con
blasfemias contra Dios, para injuriar su
nombre, su tabernáculo y a los que moran
en el cielo. 7 Se le permitió también
hacer la guerra contra los santos y vencerlos,
y se le dio poder sobre toda tribu
y pueblo, lengua y nación. 8 Y le adorarán
todos los que habitan la tierra,
aquellos cuyo nombre no está escrito,
desde el origen del mundo, en el libro
de la vida del Cordero inmolado.
9 Si alguno tiene oídos, que oiga:
10 Si alguno está destinado a la cautividad,
a la cautividad irá;
si alguno debe morir a espada,
es necesario que muera a espada.
Aquí están la paciencia y la fe de los
santos.
11 Y vi otra bestia que subía de la tierra.
Tenía dos cuernos semejantes a los
de un cordero, pero hablaba como un
dragón. 12 Ejerce en su presencia todo el
poder de la primera bestia, y hace que
la tierra y sus habitantes adoren a la primera
bestia, cuya herida de muerte fue
curada. 13 Realiza grandes prodigios, incluso
hace descender fuego del cielo a la
tierra a la vista de los hombres. 14 Y seduce
a los habitantes de la tierra con los
prodigios que le ha sido concedido realizar
en presencia de la bestia, diciendo
a los habitantes de la tierra que hagan
una imagen de la bestia que tenía una
herida de espada y ha sobrevivido. 15 Se
le concedió infundir aliento a la imagen
de la bestia, de modo que la imagen de
la bestia hable y haga que todos cuantos
no adoren la imagen de la bestia mueran.
16 Hace que todos, pequeños y grandes,
ricos y pobres, libres y siervos, reciban
una marca en la mano derecha o en
la frente, 17 para que nadie pueda comprar
o vender sino el que tenga la marca,
el nombre de la bestia o el número
de su nombre.
18 ¡Aquí está la sabiduría! El que tenga
inteligencia que calcule el número de
la bestia, pues es número de un hombre.
Su número es seiscientos sesenta y seis.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).