This chapter contains a description of the Romish antichrist, under the figure of two beasts, the one representing him in his civil power, the other in his ecclesiastical power.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, “and he stood” and so the Alexandrian copy; meaning the dragon, said to be wroth with the woman, and to go forth to make war with her seed, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, where some versions…

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard To which the Grecian kingdom is compared in ; because of that rapidity and swiftness with which Alexander overran the world, and set up this monarchy; and to which the Roman Papal monarchy bears some resemblance; for as the Grecian monarchy was…

And I saw one of his heads Not the Capitoline mountain, or the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter, built on that hill, which was burnt by lightning in the times of Titus, and magnificently rebuilt by Domitian, which was a thing past, and of no such moment as to be taken notice of here; nor anyone of…

And they worshipped the dragon The devil, in the idols, images, angels, and saints departed, to whom they give adoration, as did the Gentiles, whose successors they are, and whose name they bear; see ; which gave power unto the beast, as in ; and they worshipped the beast; not only in a civil way,…

And there was given unto him a mouth The beast is said to have a mouth before, like the mouth of a lion, ; but now he was moved and stirred up by the dragon, the devil, to open it, not only in a cruel and voracious way, but in a haughty, lying, and blasphemous manner: and this was given him, it was…

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God By sitting as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God; by suffering himself to be called by the name of God, God on earth, Lord God the pope, and to be worshipped as God; and by assuming infallibility, giving out that he cannot err,…

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints The remnant of the woman’s seed, , whom God has set apart for himself, Christ has cleansed from sin by his blood, and the Holy Spirit has sanctified by his grace; and who under the influence of it live holy lives and conversations; against such…

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him The inhabitants of the Roman empire, the idolatrous part of it, the men of the world, earthly minded men; who are as they came into the world, and are of the earth, earthly, and seek only after earthly honours, pleasures, and profits; these are…

If any man have an ear, let him hear. ] And diligently attend to this mystical description of antichrist, as being matter of some difficulty to understand, as well as of great moment and importance, and seriously consider it, that he may know him, and his followers, and avoid them; (See Gill on…

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity, &c.] As the devil, by whom men are led captive at his will, and the Romish antichrist, who leads multitudes of souls to hell; these shall be taken and cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

And I beheld another beast The same with the first, only in another form; the same for being and person, but under a different consideration; the same antichrist, but appearing in another light and view: the first beast is the pope of Rome, at the head of the ten kingdoms, of which the Roman empire…

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him Sitting in the same seat, having the same power and authority from the dragon, making war with the saints by preaching and writing against them, by anathemas, excommunications, and bulls, and so overcame and silenced them, or delivered…

And he doeth great wonders Or miracles; not real, but pretended ones, lying wonders, which the Popish legends are full of the accounts of, as done by the priests, or by this or the other saint: so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men; in imitation of Elijah, ;…

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth The Complutensian edition, and two of Stephens’s copies, read “mine”, instead of “them”; creatures of God, and professors of Christ, carnal and unregenerate men; not the elect of God, and true believers in Christ, these cannot be deceived by the signs and…

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, &c.] Or “breath”; he breathed into it, and animated it; he gave this new religion a sanction, he confirmed and established it, and obliged all in his dominions to embrace and acknowledge it; and this he did by his decrees and canons, and…

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond Men of all ranks and degrees, states and conditions, within his jurisdiction; this refers to the beast, and not to the image: to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; or “that they might give themselves…

And that no man might buy or sell Either in an ecclesiastical sense, as to, be in any church office, or perform any such service, to say Mass, hear confession, give absolution, sell pardons and indulgences or in a civil sense, as to trade, and exercise merchandise, and this was forbidden by several…

Here is wisdom Not only in the above description of the two beasts, but in what follows as to the number of the beast, these two now coalescing in one, and have one and the same number; and to wrap it up, and conceal it in such an obscure manner, shows great wisdom in God, as it requires much in…