Revelation 13:2

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Revelation 13:2

(2) And the beast . . .—The wild beast combined the features of three wild animals: the leopard, the bear, the lion. In Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:4) the kingdoms were described: the first, like a lion; the second, like a bear; the third, like a leopard or panther. Here all these features are combined, because the wild beast is a representative of all forms of world-power, which have been swift to shed blood: like a leopard leaping on the prey, tenacious and relentless as a bear, and all... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Revelation 13:1-18

Revelation 13:1-3 Louis Napoleon was a symbol and creature of his time, which divided with him the crime of the coup d'éat. He had his day, and paid his debt at the end of it to the retributory powers. But while his day lasted, and he seemed to thrive, he was an ugly object in the eyes of those who believed in some sort of providence. Froude. 'The same day,' writes Carlyle in his account of the French orgies in 1793, 'while this brave Carmagnoledance has hardly jigged itself out, there arrive... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:1-18

CHAPTER X.THE SECOND AND THIRD GREAT ENEMIES Of THE CHURCH.Revelation 13:1-18WE have seen that the main purpose of chap. 12 was to introduce to our notice the dragon, or Satan, the first great enemy of the Church. The object of chap. 13 is to make us acquainted with her second and third great enemies, and thus to enable us to form a distinct conception of the powerful foes with which the followers of Christ have to contend. The two enemies referred to are respectively styled "a beast"... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Revelation 13:2

13:2 And the beast which I saw was like {6} unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: {7} and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(6) Swift as the leopard, easily grabbing all things, as the bear does with his foot, and tearing and devouring all things with the mouth as a lion does.(7) That is, he lent the same power to the beast to use, when he perceived that he could not escape, but must be taken by the hand... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 13:1-18

A Beast Coming Out of the Sea In contrast to seeing a great sign in heaven in Revelation 12:1-3, John now stands on the shore and sees a Beast rise out of the sea (out of the Gentile or Western nations) with seven heads and ten horns. As we have seen, this is similar to the dragon in Revelation 12:3, but there it is seen as a sign in heaven, for in that case the vision goes back to the past history of the satanically inspired Roman Empire. Here, the crowns being on its ten horns indicate the... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:1-18

THE SEVEN PERSONAGES INTRODUCTION: THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON (Revelation 12:0 ) The seven personages of this division as identified by Erdman, include the woman, the child, the dragon, the archangel, the remnant (of Israel), the ten-horned beast, and the two-horned beast or false prophet, the first four being found in this chapter. The woman represents Israel it is believed, and the man-child to whom she gave birth, the Messiah. The dragon is Satan, whose ten horns represent the 10 kingdoms... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Revelation 13:1-10

(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... read more

George Haydock

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - Revelation 13:2

M. Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, observes in the emperors Maximian Herculeus, Galerius Maximin, and Dioclesian, the distinguishing characters of these three animals. The leopard represents Maximian, a changeable, restless and cruel prince. The bear figures Galerius Maximin, a man from the north of cruel and brutal disposition, terrible mein, and gigantic stature. Lactantius moreover informs us, that he took a pleasure in feeding bears, which bore so great a resemblance to him in size and brutality.... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 13:1-10

1-10 The apostle, standing on the shore, saw a savage beast rise out of the sea; a tyrannical, idolatrous, persecuting power, springing up out of the troubles which took place. It was a frightful monster! It appears to mean that worldly, oppressing dominion, which for many ages, even from the times of the Babylonish captivity, had been hostile to the church. The first beast then began to oppress and persecute the righteous for righteousness' sake, but they suffered most under the fourth beast... read more

Frank Binford Hole

F. B. Hole's Old and New Testament Commentary - Revelation 13:1-99

Revelation 13 THERE CAN BE no doubt, we think, that the 3.5 year period, mentioned in several different ways in this passage, is the time of the great tribulation. It will be a time when the devil is excluded from heaven and consequently concentrating his wrath upon earth, and, as we shall see presently, the time when the vials of the wrath of God are poured out on the earth: a much more serious matter. It will also be the time when human lawlessness and iniquity rise to mountainous heights,... read more

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