Verses 11-18
The beast out of the earth 13:11-18
Most interpreters who see the first beast as an individual also see the second beast as one. Others who see the first beast as a power or movement tend to view the second beast similarly. [Note: E.g., ibid., p. 172.] Many of the Reformers identified the second beast as the papacy or as specific popes. Many modern interpreters view the first beast as the personification of secular power in opposition to the church and the second beast as the personification of false religion. [Note: E.g., Mounce, p. 349.] However it seems best to take these beasts as representing individuals.
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