Chapter XIII.
(Vers. 1.)
(Verse 1.) And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on its horns ten diadems. This beast signifies Antichrist: but they who are signified by the sand and by the sea denote the multitude of the wicked. Therefore the beast was seen to rise out of the sea; because Antichrist will arise from the society of the wicked, which is described as having seven heads and ten horns. Similarly, it is said that the dragon above had seven heads, and on the heads were seven crowns: through which we have said that all the reprobates, whom the devil used to deceive the human race, were designated. However, this beast is described as having ten crowns on ten horns, not on its heads; and therefore, through the ten horns, the nations that the Antichrist will subjugate are designated: but the seven heads represent the seven deadly sins. And so, in order to better understand the following, I decided to follow the enumeration of vices by Prudentius, who excellently discussed the conflict between vices and virtues in verses. Firstly, he identified the worship of idols as the first vice, followed by lust as the second, anger as the third, pride as the fourth, and luxury as the fifth. Although lust is so closely connected to luxury, like a limb to the body, which is why the Fathers often placed luxury after lust; there is still a distinction between lust and luxury. He placed greed as the sixth, blasphemy as the seventh, or discord. And because those who are subject to these vices will easily be deceived by the Antichrist, and will join him, rightly the seven vices are designated by seven heads.
The Lord speaks in the Gospel about these seven vices, saying: When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, it says: 'I will return to my house from which I came out.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and adorned. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there (Matt. 12:43). An unclean spirit went out of a man when the devil went out of the Jews when they received the Law. He walked through dry places, that is, through the nations of the Gentiles, which were barren; because they did not have the verdure of faith. He did not find rest there, because with the coming of Christ in the flesh, he lost the nations that he had long held. He returned to his own house, from where he had come out; because he had come back to possess the Jews, since they had refused to believe in Christ. He found the house of the Jews vacant, because they did not have Christ as a guest. However, we must inquire why he called those minds that did not have God as an inhabitant "cleansed and adorned. But they were cleansed by the devil, not by God; for what is clean in the sight of God appears unclean to the devil, and what is unclean to God appears clean to the devil. For just as a dung beetle appears cleaner than the excrement of any creature, compared to any clean and delightful food; so the devil loves more those hearts that are filled with all vices, than those that abound in all virtues. But brooms are those that cleanse the house from the dirt. Therefore, God has His brooms, and the devil also has his: God's brooms are those that clean His house so that He may dwell in it, namely, confession of sins, repentance, tears, and alms-giving. The devil's brooms are those that sweep his house, namely, love of the world, fickleness of mind, disregard for God's commandments, and many others. As for the seven spirits that the devil has taken with him, they are the seven deadly sins: thus, with these seven satellites, the devil still possesses the Jews. But it can be questioned why these seven deadly sins are said to be worse than the devil. However, for us vices are worse than demons: because they attack us from within, while demons attack us from outside. Just as enemies who attack a city from outside are more easily tolerated because they have walls to defend against, compared to those who are positioned inside and already devastate the city: demons, who are external, are more easily tolerated than vices, which incessantly devastate us from within. And on his heads were names of blasphemy. The Antichrist will have many names of blasphemy, for he will blaspheme Christ in many ways.
(Vers. 2.)
(Version 2.) And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and its feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion. By the leopard, which is said to have various colors, the hypocrisy of the Antichrist is represented: who, being a most wicked man, will disguise himself with various virtues in order to deceive the foolish more easily. And by the bear, which is a very cunning animal, its cunning can be seen in deceiving men. Nevertheless, his cruelty is designated to tear apart the people of God like a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and great authority. The devil will give his evil power, which is all wickedness, to the Antichrist; because he will dwell in him, and through him he will do whatever mischief the devil can devise. But since the scripture says, 'There is no power but from God' (Rom. XIII, 1), how can the devil give great power to the Antichrist? God will give power to the Antichrist, but he will so completely change that power into evil, that it will be believed and become completely diabolical.
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3.) And I saw one of its heads as if it had been slain to death, and the wound of its death was healed. We have said above that the seven principal vices of the Antichrist were designated by the seven heads. Therefore, by the head that was not slain, but appeared as if slain, blasphemy is signified. We must therefore inquire how blasphemy can be said to be as if slain. In the early times of the Gospel, there were many heretics who tried to undermine the faith of the Church with their errors. But almighty God chose defenders of the orthodox Church from among the children of the Church, whom He filled with the river of His wisdom, and through their teachings, He eliminated all heresies from His Church. Among them were Ambrose, Hilary, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory, and many others who also produced a great number of books, by which all heresies that were and could be were destroyed. Therefore, blasphemy seems as if it has been killed for now: because although there are many who conceive many blasphemies in their minds, they do not dare to utter the evil they have conceived, lest they be shamefully convicted by the teaching of those people. Therefore, this head, that is, blasphemy, will appear to be dead in the times of the Antichrist; but it will be resurrected by the devil in the Antichrist, whom he will inflame to the point of blaspheming Christ, surpassing all blasphemers in their blasphemies. And the whole earth marveled after the beast. Sinful men are designated on the earth.
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4.) And they worshipped the dragon, because he gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? How will they worship the dragon, that is, the devil, whom they do not see? But they will worship the Antichrist, those who are designated for the earth, and in the Antichrist they will worship the devil, saying that there is no one like the Antichrist, nor is there anyone who can equal his strength.
(Vers. 5.)
(Verse 5) And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. It was given, that is, permitted by God; that he should speak great things of himself, saying that he is the Son of God, and that he should speak blasphemies against God. And there was given to him power to make forty-two months. It seems difficult, in such a short time, that is, in three and a half years, to subdue all nations to himself, and to bring the human race to his own worship, except for a few chosen ones; for there will indeed be many chosen ones, but very few in comparison to the unbelievers. But it can happen that at first he may subject all nations to his rule: but afterwards, being uplifted in pride, he shall set himself up to be worshipped as a god. For as it seems to me, the time of persecution, which alone is to be considered, will last for three and a half years, during which he will exert all his power, both through himself and his disciples, and through the display of miraculous signs, to make all people devote themselves to the worship of him as a deity. But those who wish to oppose him, he will afflict with various and unheard-of torments, so that they may be compelled to do what they obstinately refuse to do willingly.
(Vers. 6.)
(Verse 6.) And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. For he will open his mouth to blaspheme God the Father, namely, the Son and the Holy Spirit; he will also blaspheme the name of God, saying that Christ is not God; he will also blaspheme the tabernacle of God, that is, the Church of God, saying that the Christian religion is of no benefit to believers, but rather brings destruction instead of salvation; he will also blaspheme those who dwell in heaven, that is, the martyrs and all the saints, saying that they can be of no help to anyone and that whatever is asserted about them by believers is false.
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7) And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. He will make war with the saints, some by flattery, some by intimidation, and in the end by inflicting the worst torments upon them, in order to lead them into their errors. But it is impossible for the chosen ones to be led astray. He will conquer them not by surpassing them, but by killing them.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) And power was given to him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation: And all who dwell on the earth will adore him. This will be fulfilled according to the letter. Many will say, why does God allow such things to happen, that the Antichrist deceives the human race so wickedly? But two causes exist for allowing such things; for as He Himself says in the Gospel: In those days, the charity of many will grow cold, and iniquity will abound (Matthew 24:12); to such an extent will the malice of men increase, and they will provoke God to anger with their crimes, deserving to be subjected to such a wicked man and deceived by him, as the Scriptures testify: He makes a hypocrite to reign over the people because of the people’s perversity (Job 34:30). For God will deliver them up, as the Apostle says, to a reprobate sense (Rom. I, 28); that they may do those things which are not convenient; and being filled with all iniquity, according to the just judgment of God, shall be punished eternally in the flames, enduring torments forever. God will permit this to happen for the testing of His chosen ones, just as gold is tested by fire; so too will they be tested and examined in the persecutions of Antichrist, as is written in the book of Daniel. They will be chosen, and they will be whitened, and they will be tested like gold. It follows: Whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb, who was slain from the beginning of the world (Dan. XII, 10). The book of life is the predestination of Almighty God: the reprobate are not written in the book of life; because they are not predestined to eternal life. But we must inquire, how the Lamb, that is, Christ, is said to have been slain from the beginning of the world.
(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) For that which follows: If anyone has ears, let him hear; wherever it is placed in the divine Scriptures, it signifies obscurity of what has gone before. For it requires the ears of the heart and understanding. Therefore, the Lamb was slain from the beginning of the world; because His death was foreshadowed in the holy fathers from the beginning of human history. It was foreshadowed in the first man, when he was asleep and Eve was made from his rib; likewise, it was foreshadowed in Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain. It was also foreshadowed in Isaac, whom his father offered as a burnt offering to the Lord; likewise, it was foreshadowed in Joseph, who was sold by his brothers. His death was also foreshadowed in various rituals of sacrifice. Therefore, as many times as the death of Christ was prefigured or foretold by the holy fathers, so many times was the Lamb slain. Although this can be understood simply as not saying that the Lamb was slain from the beginning of the world, but rather that the names of the saints were written from the beginning of the world in the book of the Lamb, who was slain for their salvation.
(Vers. 10.)
(Verse 10) Whoever leads into captivity will go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. The Antichrist who captivates the Christian people will himself be taken captive and cast into hell; and because he will kill the souls of many with the sword of his wickedness and will kill the bodies of the righteous with the sword, he himself will be condemned to eternal death. This is the patience and faith of the saints, that is, the patience and faith of the saints will be proven in the persecutions of the Antichrist.
(Vers. 11.)
(Verse 11) And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, having two horns like a lamb, and speaking like a dragon. This beast either represents one of the disciples of the Antichrist who is worse than the others, or many who will preach about him. It appeared to have come up from the earth because it will arise from the company of the reprobate, and it was seen to have two horns like a lamb. Previously, we said that through the seven horns of the lamb, all the chosen ones were designated, whom we divided into seven parts. But through the fifth horn, we said that the Jews who believed in Christ were designated, and through the sixth, the Gentiles who also believed in Christ. Therefore, this beast will have two horns similar to a lamb; because it will deceive the Jews and the Gentiles by possession. For although many Jews believe in Christ through the preaching of Elijah, the majority of them will follow the Antichrist, as the Lord says in the Gospel: 'I came in my Father's name, and you did not receive Me; another will come in his own name, and you will receive him' (John 5:43). Thus, this beast spoke like a dragon, because its words were of the devil; for the devil, who speaks through the Antichrist, will also speak through his disciples.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12) And he exercises all the power of the first beast in his presence. The phrase "in his presence" means "in his name"; for the Antichrist cannot be physically present in all the places where he is preached. The Antichrist performs miracles by diabolical power, and so do his disciples. But their miracles will be false and not true, as the Apostle says: Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:9). For it is not believable that they whom God had blinded or weakened, can restore health: but only those whom they themselves had injured, harming in secret, healing openly. And even Antichrist himself will demonstrate in such great clarity to men, that he will be believed by the foolish to be God, as the Apostle says: So that he sits in the temple, showing himself as if he were God (Ibid., 4).
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13) And he performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of people. We read in the book of Job that the devil, with God's permission, brought fire down from heaven and consumed Job's sheep and servants (Job 1:16). What he did there by himself, in the end times he will do through the Antichrist and his followers.
(Vers. 14.)
(Verse 14.) And he deceived the inhabitants of the earth with the signs that were given to him to perform in the presence of the beast. There is nothing that deceives the simple ones more than the display of signs. And so, the ministers of the Antichrist easily deceive the foolish multitude because of the operation of signs. He tells the inhabitants of the earth to make an image of the beast, which had a wound by the sword and yet lived; namely, so that Antichrist may be worshipped in the images. But as for the beast that he said had the wound of the sword and lived, it can happen that by diabolical art the Antichrist pretends to die and rise again, in order to deceive men more easily by this act, which is said to have been done by Simon Magus.
(Vers. 15.)
(Verse 15.) And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could speak. But we have also heard that some magicians did this; they did it through the art of necromancy, so that statues appeared to move and speak. We can understand this differently. The image has the appearance of a man, but it is not a man: likewise, the Antichrist, because of the operation of miracles and signs, will be thought to be God, but this will be most false; for it cannot happen that the most impious man has anything divine in himself. Therefore, they will make an image of the Antichrist, who they will consider to be God; and the ministers of the Antichrist will give life to the image of the beast, compelling those who believe in the Antichrist to blaspheme against Christ. And he will cause whoever does not worship the image of the beast to be killed. The faithful who refuse to worship the Antichrist will be tormented with various punishments and killed; for there will be such tribulation, as the Lord said in the Gospel (Matthew 24:21), such as has not been from the beginning, nor will ever be, to deceive the elect if possible.
(Vers. 16.)
(Verse 16.) And it shall make all small and great, and rich and poor, and free and bond, to have a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. It is possible that, just as we have the mark of Christ, which is the cross by which we are signed, so Antichrist may have his own mark by which those who believe in him are identified. We can also understand this in another way. The disciples of Antichrist will be the promoters of vices, for they will teach that wine and other riches were created for this reason: so that people may abundantly and sufficiently indulge in them. They will claim that God made the genital organs so that men may have intercourse with women, and that it is wrong for anyone to abstain from sexual relations. They will argue that all carnal desires must be fulfilled. But when they affirm this godless doctrine with virtues, they will easily deceive earthly people who are inclined towards evil rather than good. Often, however, actions are understood through hands: therefore, the character of the Antichrist will be in their right hand, because they will perform evil deeds in accordance with the doctrine of the Antichrist. They will also have it on their forehead, through which the mind is often discerned, because it will be recognized by the wicked deeds that the worst minds bear.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17.) And no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast's name or the number of its name. We know that human life cannot survive unless people sometimes buy or sell; therefore, the persecution of the faithful by the Antichrist will be even more cruel when they are forbidden to do so, without which they cannot live. The ministers of the Antichrist will do this to apprehend those who wanted to secretly maintain the faith of Christianity in times of necessity.
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18.) Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is six hundred and sixty-six. Many have spoken extensively about this number, and have found many names in which this number is found. However, they have not been able to predict if any of these names belong to Antichrist. But I dare not define anything about such an uncertain matter. For who knows if the name that will be given to him by his parents contains this number.