_And I stood upon the sand of the sea_, &c. Here _the beast_ is described at large, who was only mentioned before, Revelation 11:7; and a _beast_, in the prophetic style, is a tyrannical idolatrous empire. The kingdom of God and of Christ is never represented under the image of a _beast._ As Daniel... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things_ This expression seems to be taken from the description of the little horn in Daniel's vision, (Daniel 7:8,) and is explained, Revelation 13:11, by the voice of the great words which the horn spake. It must be observed, however, that it is... [ Continue Reading ]
_If any man have an ear, let him hear_ It was customary with our Saviour, when he would have his auditors to pay a particular attention to what he had been saying, to add, _He who hath ears to hear, let him hear._ St. John repeats the same admonition at the end of each of the seven epistles to the s... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I beheld another beast_, &c. From the description of _the ten-horned beast_, or Roman state in general, the prophet passeth to that of _the two-horned beast_, or Roman Church in particular. _The beast with ten crowned horns_ is the Roman empire, as divided into ten kingdoms; _the beast with two... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he doeth great wonders_ We have seen the greatness of the power and authority of the beast, and we shall now see what course he pursues to establish it. He pretends, like other false prophets, to show _great signs and wonders_, and even to call for _fire from heaven_, as Elias did, 2 Kings 1:11... [ Continue Reading ]
_Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast_ In saying, _Here is wisdom_, the apostle shows that it is not a vain and ridiculous attempt to search into this mystery, but, on the contrary, that it is recommended to us on divine authority. _For it is the number of a... [ Continue Reading ]