Apocalypse Revealed#567
567. REVELATION: CHAPTER 13
1. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on its horns ten jewels, 1 and on its heads a blasphemous name.
2. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, whose feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave it its power, its throne, and great authority.
3. And I saw one of its heads appearing as though fatally wounded, and its mortal injury was healed. And all the earth went marveling after the beast.
4. Then they worshiped the dragon which gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?"
5. And it was given a mouth speaking great and blasphemous things, and it was given authority to do so for forty-two months.
6. Then it opened its mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and against His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7. It was granted it to make war with the saints and overcome them. And it was given authority over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
8. All who dwell on the earth will worship it, all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10. Anyone who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; anyone who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12. And it exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal injury was healed.
13. It also performs great signs, so as to even make fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men,
14. and to lead astray those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs which it was granted to do in the presence of the beast, telling those dwelling upon the earth to make an image of the beast that was injured by the sword and lived.
15. It was also granted it to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might speak and cause whoever does not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16. And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive from it a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads,
17. so that no one can buy or sell if he does not have the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of its name.
18. Here is wisdom: let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and its number is 666.
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Contents of the Whole Chapter
The dragon continues to be the subject in this chapter, which describes the doctrine and faith meant by the dragon. The character of that doctrine and faith among the laity, and then its character among the clergy. The beast rising up out of the sea describes the doctrine and faith among the laity (verses 1-10), and the beast coming up out of the earth the doctrine and faith among the clergy (verses 11-17).
Lastly it describes the clergy's falsification of the Word's truth (verse 18).
The Contents of the Individual Verses:
| Verse Contents | Spiritual Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, | The laity in the Protestant Reformed churches who are caught up in the doctrine and faith of the dragon regarding God and salvation. |
| having seven heads | The irrationality resulting from their absolute falsities. |
| and ten horns, | Their great power. |
| and on its horns ten jewels, 2 | Their power to falsify many of the Word's truths. |
| and on its heads a blasphemous name. | Their denial of the Lord's Divine humanity and affirmation of their church's doctrine, drawn not from the Word but from their own intelligence. |
| 2. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, | Their heresy destructive of the church, being founded on the Word's truths falsified, |
| whose feet were like those of a bear, | full of misconceptions taken from the literal sense of the Word, read but not understood. |
| and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. | Their reasonings based on falsities as though on truths. |
| And the dragon gave it its power, its throne, and great authority. | This heresy prevails and reigns as a result of its acceptance by the laity. |
| 3. And I saw one of its heads appearing as though fatally wounded, | Their doctrine of faith alone does not accord with the Word, in which works are so often commanded. |
| and its mortal injury was healed. | A remedy for this explained. |
| And all the earth went marveling after the beast. | That doctrine and faith then accepted with joy. |
| 4. Then they worshiped the dragon which gave authority to the beast; | Their acknowledgment that the doctrine is such as declared by the leaders of the church and its teachers, who have caused the doctrine to prevail as a result of its acceptance by the general populace. |
| and they worshiped the beast, | An acknowledgment by the general populace that the doctrine is a sacred truth. |
| saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?" | The preeminence of that doctrine because no one can dispute it. |
| 5. And it was given a mouth speaking great and blasphemous things, | It teaches evils and falsities. |
| and it was given authority to do so for forty-two months. | The scope to teach and practice the evils and falsities accompanying that doctrine even to the end of that church, until the beginning of a new one. |
| 6. Then it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God and His name, | Their assertions, which are scandalous, against the Divine itself and the Lord's Divine humanity, and at the same time against everything that the church has from the Word by which the Lord is worshiped. |
| and against His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. | Scandalous assertions against the Lord's celestial church and against heaven. |
| 7. It was granted it to make war with the saints and overcome them. | They attacked the Word's Divine truths and overturned them. |
| And it was given authority over every tribe, tongue, and nation. | Their consequent dominion over everything connected with the church, over everything pertaining to its doctrine and over everything pertaining to its life. |
| 8. All who dwell on the earth will worship it, all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb | They all acknowledged that heresy as a sacred tenet of the church, all but those who believed in the Lord. |
| slain from the foundation of the world. | The Lord's Divine humanity unacknowledged from the inception of the church. |
| 9. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. | Let people who wish to be wise pay attention to this. |
| 10. Anyone who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; | Someone who uses that heresy to draw others away from believing rightly and living rightly is drawn by his own falsities and evils into hell. |
| anyone who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. | Someone who uses falsities to destroy another's soul is destroyed by falsities and perishes. |
| Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. | Through the temptations or trials occasioned by these falsities a person of the Lord's New Church is examined to discover his character in respect to his life and faith. |
| 11. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, | The clergy who are caught up in the dragon's doctrine and faith regarding God and salvation. |
| and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. | They quote the Word in speaking, teaching and writing as though it were the Lord's Divine truth, and yet it is truth falsified. |
| 12. And it exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, | They have defended the dogmas, and the dogmas prevail in consequence of it. |
| and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal injury was healed. | By supporting arguments they have established that what the general populace has accepted be acknowledged as a sacred tenet of the church. |
| 13. It also performs great signs, | Testifications that their teachings are true, even though they are false. |
| so as to even make fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men, | Assertions that their falsities are true. |
| 14. and to lead astray those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs which it was granted to do in the presence of the beast, | Through their testifications and assertions they lead people in the church into errors. |
| telling those dwelling upon the earth to make an image of the beast that was injured by the sword and lived. | They induce people in the church to accept as doctrine that faith is the only means of salvation, for the reason stated. |
| 15. It was also granted it to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might speak | They were permitted to use the Word to defend the doctrine, so as to cause the doctrine to be seemingly animated by it. |
| and cause whoever does not worship the image of the beast to be killed. | They pronounce damnation on people who do not acknowledge their doctrine of faith as a sacred doctrine of the church. |
| 16. And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, | All the people in Protestant Reformed church, of whatever condition, degree of education, or degree of intelligence. |
| to receive from it a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads, | No one is acknowledged as a Protestant Reformed Christian but one who accepts that doctrine in faith and love. |
| 17. so that no one can buy or sell if he does not have the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. | No one allowed to teach from the Word but one who acknowledges that doctrine and swears to a belief in it and love for it, and to such as is in conformity with it. |
| 18. Here is wisdom: | From what we have said and explained in this chapter, it is the part of a wise person to see and understand the nature of the doctrine and faith among the clergy regarding God and salvation. |
| let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, | One who is enlightened by the Lord can discern the character of the arguments the clergy use from the Word in defense of that doctrine and faith. |
| for it is the number of a man, | The character of the Word and so of the church. |
| and its number is 666. | Their character being this, that by them all the Word's truth has been falsified. |
THE EXPOSITION
And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. This symbolizes the laity in the Protestant Reformed churches who are caught up in the doctrine and faith of the dragon regarding God and salvation.
The nature and character of the faith of the dragon may be seen in no. 537. The same faith continues to be the subject in this chapter, and the beast here that John saw rising up out of the sea means that faith among the laity, whereas the beast from the earth, described in verse 11, means that faith among the clergy.
That the dragon continues to be the subject here is apparent from the following statements in this chapter: that the dragon gave to the beast rising up out of the sea its power, its throne, and great authority (verse 2); that they worshiped the dragon which gave authority to the beast (verse 4); and, concerning the beast coming up out of the earth, that it spoke like a dragon (verse 11); and that it exercised all the authority of the first beast in the presence of the dragon (verse 12).
The laity are the people meant by the beast from the sea, and the clergy those meant by the beast from the earth, because the sea symbolizes the outer aspect of the church, and the land its inner aspect (no. 398 and elsewhere); and the laity are concerned with the external elements of the church's doctrine, while the clergy are concerned with its internal elements. That is why the beast from the earth is later called a false prophet. 3
That they are people in the Protestant Reformed churches is because the Protestant Reformed are the subject to the end of chapter 16, while Roman Catholics are the subject in chapters 17, 18. Then the subject after that is the Last Judgment and finally the New Church.
[2] These people were seen as beasts because the dragon is a beast, and because a beast in the Word symbolizes a person in respect to his affections - harmless and useful beasts a person in respect to good affections, and harmful and useless ones a person in respect to evil affections. People of the church are in general called sheep, therefore, and a company of them a flock, and one who teaches is called a shepherd.
That is also why the Word in respect to its power, affection, understanding and wisdom is described above in chapter four by four living creatures - a lion, a calf, an eagle and a human being - and an understanding of the Word by horses in chapter six.
The reason is that in the spiritual world a person's affections look at a distance like animals, as we have often said before; and regarded in themselves, animals are no more than embodiments of natural affections, while people are embodiments not only of natural affections, but also at the same time of spiritual affections.
[3] That animals mean people in respect to their affections can be seen from the following passages:
You... will cause to fall a kindly rain. You will confirm Your inheritance... The beast, Your congregation, 4 shall dwell in it. (Psalms 68:9-10)
...every wild beast of the forest is Mine, the beasts on a thousand mountains. I know every bird of the mountains; the beast of My fields is with Me. (Psalms 50:10-11)
...Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon... ...its height was exalted... All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs, and under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young, and in its shade all great nations made their home. (Ezekiel 31:3-6, cf. 31:10, 31:13, Daniel 4:10-16)
In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens... And I will betroth you to Me forever. (Hosea 2:18-19)
Rejoice and be glad! ...Do not be afraid, you beasts of My fields, for the habitations of the wilderness have become grassy meadows. (Joel 2:21-23)
In that day there shall be a great tumult... Judah... will fight against Jerusalem... And such also shall be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every beast... And it shall come to pass that the remnant... shall go up (to Jerusalem). (Zechariah 14:13-16)
Birds shall abominate him, and every beast of the earth shall disdain him. (Isaiah 18:6)
...you, son of man..., "Say to every winged bird and to every beast of the field, '...Gather together... to My sacrifice... on the mountains of Israel... (Thus) I will set My glory among the nations.'" (Ezekiel 39:17-21)
(Jehovah) gathers the outcasts of Israel... Every beast of My fields, come... (Isaiah 56:8-9)
(Jehovah) will destroy Assyria... There shall lie down in her midst every wild beast of the nation, both the desert owl and the screech owl in her pomegranates... (Zephaniah 2:13-14)
(The sheep) were scattered without a shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast of the field... (Ezekiel 34:5, cf. 34:8)
I will cast you out on the face of the field, and cause to dwell on you every bird of the heavens. And with you I will satiate the wild beasts of the whole earth. (Ezekiel 32:4; see also 5:17; 29:5; 33:27; 39:4, Jeremiah 15:3; 16:4; 19:7; 27:5-6)
An enemy reproaches Jehovah... Do not deliver the life of (the) turtledove to the beast! (Psalms 74:18-19)
"I saw in... vision... four... beasts coming up from the sea... The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings... ...a second, like a bear... ...(a third) like a leopard... ...and a fourth..., dreadful... (Daniel 7:2-7)
...the Spirit drove (Jesus) out into the wilderness. And He was... with the beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. (Mark 1:12-13)
[4] He was not with beasts, but with devils, who are here meant by beasts.
So also in other places where beasts and wild beasts are mentioned, such as Isaiah 35:9; 43:20; Jeremiah 12:4, 8-10; Ezekiel 8:10; 34:23, 25, 28; 38:18-20; Hosea 4:2-3; 13:8; Exodus 23:28-30; Leviticus 26:6; Deuteronomy 7:22; 32:24. Beasts in these places symbolize people in respect to their affections.
[5] Man and beast mentioned together in the following passages symbolize a person in respect to his spiritual affection and in respect to his natural affection: Jeremiah 7:20; 21:6; 27:5; 31:27; 32:43; 33:10-12; 36:29; 50:3; Psalms 36:6; Numbers 18:15.
All the animals that were sacrificed symbolized good affections. So, too, animals that were eaten. And the converse animals that were not to be eaten (Leviticus 20:25-26).
脚注:
1.,. and 2. The word translated as "jewels" here means diadems or crowns in the original Greek and Latin, but the writer's definitions of the term elsewhere make plain that he regularly and consistently interpreted it to mean jewels or gems.
3. Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10
4. The beast, Your congregation, reflects the Latin translation of the Bible by Sebastian Schmidt, which includes the phrase translated as Your congregation in parentheses as an alternate reading. This is actually the preferred reading, but "the beast" accords with Roman Catholic tradition.
Jeremiah第50章
1
The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.
2
Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don't conceal: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.
3
For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal.
4
In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Yahweh their God.
5
They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, [saying], Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6
My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.
7
All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.
8
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.
9
For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.
10
Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied, says Yahweh.
11
Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out [the grain], and neigh as strong horses;
12
your mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13
Because of the wrath of Yahweh she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14
Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she has sinned against Yahweh.
15
Shout against her all around: she has submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh: take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her.
16
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.
17
Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.
18
Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19
I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
20
In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
21
Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: kill and utterly destroy after them, says Yahweh, and do according to all that I have commanded you.
22
A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24
I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren't aware: you are found, and also caught, because you have striven against Yahweh.
25
Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work [to do] in the land of the Chaldeans.
26
Come against her from the utmost border; open her storehouses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.
27
Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28
The voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29
Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp against her all around; let none of it escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.
30
Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her men of war will be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh.
31
Behold, I am against you, you proud one, says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies; for your day has come, the time that I will visit you.
32
The proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are around him.
33
Thus says Yahweh of Armies: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
34
Their Redeemer is strong; Yahweh of Armies is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35
A sword is on the Chaldeans, says Yahweh, and on the inhabitants of Babylon, and on her princes, and on her wise men.
36
A sword is on the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is on her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
37
A sword is on their horses, and on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is on her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
38
A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols.
39
Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation.
40
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.
41
Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
42
They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon.
43
The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.
44
Behold, [the enemy] shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
45
Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
46
At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.
