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11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb’s but spoke like a dragon. 12 It wielded all the authority of the first beast in its sight and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 It performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of everyone.(A) 14 It deceived the inhabitants of the earth with the signs it was allowed to perform in the sight of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword and revived. 15 It was then permitted to breathe life into the beast’s image, so that the beast’s image could speak and [could] have anyone who did not worship it put to death.(B) 16 It forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a stamped image on their right hands or their foreheads,(C) 17 so that no one could buy or sell except one who had the stamped image of the beast’s name or the number that stood for its name.

18 [a](D)Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:18 Each of the letters of the alphabet in Hebrew as well as in Greek has a numerical value. Many possible combinations of letters will add up to 666, and many candidates have been nominated for this infamous number. The most likely is the emperor Caesar Nero (see note on Rev 13:3), the Greek form of whose name in Hebrew letters gives the required sum. (The Latin form of this name equals 616, which is the reading of a few manuscripts.) Nero personifies the emperors who viciously persecuted the church. It has also been observed that “6” represents imperfection, falling short of the perfect number “7,” and is represented here in a triple or superlative form.

The Beast out of the Earth

11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth.(A) It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.(B) 12 It exercised all the authority(C) of the first beast on its behalf,(D) and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,(E) whose fatal wound had been healed.(F) 13 And it performed great signs,(G) even causing fire to come down from heaven(H) to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs(I) it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived(J) the inhabitants of the earth.(K) It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.(L) 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship(M) the image to be killed.(N) 16 It also forced all people, great and small,(O) rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,(P) 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark,(Q) which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.(R)

18 This calls for wisdom.(S) Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a](T) That number is 666.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number