ACC ~ Revelation 13 v11 - 17

OVERVIEW:

The beast from the earth is the antichrist, who has earth as his source of origin as does all of humankind (OECUMENIUS). Or this beast is the false prophet who is the armorbearer of the antichrist and by sorcery and deceit prepares the way for the antichrist (VICTORINUS, ANDREW OF CAESAREA). He will arise from an earthly and groveling manner of life (ANDREW OF CAESAREA) and will set himself up as the Son of God and a king (HIPPOLYTUS). Although at first he will assume the form of a righteous and pious man (VICTORINUS, ANDREW OF CAESAREA) and will use the two Testaments as though he were the true Lamb (TYCONIUS), he will afterward show himself to be full of malice, a deceiver and murderous within like a wolf (HIPPOLYTUS, VICTORINUS, ANDREW OF CAESAREA). Although he is neither the devil nor the Christ, he does the work of the devil while he imitates the Christ (OECUMENIUS). As John the Baptist led those who believe to the Savior, this false prophet deceives many to believe that the antichrist is God (ANDREW OF CAESAREA). Yet he attacks the body of the Lamb and drives from the truth those whom he has deluded (TYCONIUS).

Like a magician, the false prophet will seem to raise the dead (VICTORINUS) and to cause fire to fall from heaven (ANDREW OF CAESAREA). However, he is merely imitating the church of the Lamb, which alone possesses the Holy Spirit who came upon the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. The Holy Spirit will frustrate this prophet even as he did the magicians who competed against Moses (PRIMASIUS). Nonetheless, the power of the beast’s seduction is great, for it brings both body and soul of people to destruction (TYCONIUS) and leads many heretics to leave the church through a false worship (CAESARIUS OF ARLES). His rule will be great and glorious, for he will govern in the manner of Augustus (HIPPOLYTUS) and will erect the image of antichrist in the temple as did Nebuchadnezzar (VICTORINUS). However, he will be harsh to the servants of God who do not obey him, and just as Antiochus Epiphanes tortured the righteous Jews, he will slaughter the faithful (HIPPOLYTUS). Many will, nonetheless, be deceived by him and will, as though one city, confess the antichrist with a uniform confession (PRIMASIUS). This beast represents the city of confusion, Babylon, which lives by fakery and imitation (CAESARIUS OF ARLES). Given up to sorcery as were those tricked by the magicians of Pharaoh and by Simon Magus (OECUMENIUS, ANDREW OF CAESAREA), the citizens of this city are unfaithful and live the life of infidelity, even though they might confess the catholic faith (CAESARIUS OF ARLES).

13:11 | Another Beast Rises Out of the Earth

A KINGDOM OF DECEIT. HIPPOLYTUS: By the beast coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him. And in speaking of “the horns being like a lamb,” he means that he will make himself like the Son of God and set himself forward as king. The term “he spoke like a dragon” means that he is a deceiver and not truthful. ON THE ANTICHRIST 49.

THE FORM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BUT FULL OF MALICE. VICTORINUS OF PETOVIUM: “Another great beast rose out of the earth.” This is the false prophet who will do signs and portents and false prodigies before him in the presence of people. It says that he has “horns like a lamb” because he has the form of a righteous man and that he “speaks like a dragon” because he is full of the malice of the devil. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.4.

THE ANTICHRIST WILL BEGUILE. TYCONIUS: It has two horns that are like those of a lamb. These are the two Testaments that belong to the true Lamb but that the beast tried to usurp for himself by feigning to be a lamb. Nevertheless, it is said to speak like a dragon, because by the hypocrisy of a false truth it beguiles those whom it can lead astray. For it would not be like a lamb were it to speak openly as a dragon. It now pretends to be the Lamb so that it might assail the Lamb, that is, the body of Christ. It speaks against God, since it drives away from the way of truth those whom he has deluded and who now seek after him. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.11.

THE ANTICHRIST ARISES FROM THE EARTH. OECUMENIUS: “Then I saw,” it says, “another beast which rose out of the earth.” The earth is the source of origin for all humankind, for the antichrist is a man “whose coming will be by the activity of the devil,” as the all-wise Paul says. “And it had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon.” Rightly does it say that it had two horns “like a lamb,” not the horns of a lamb, and that it spoke “like a dragon,” not that it was a dragon. For since the wicked one makes himself out to be the Christ but is not, he has given to him horns “like a lamb.” And since through every kind of unholy work he spreads what is similar to the devil but in fact is not the devil, it does not say that he is a dragon but that he speaks like a dragon. And since such is the case, the discourse has preserved for him an image also in the vision, and it gives to him a form, not that of a lamb but like a lamb, and not that of a dragon but like a dragon. For Christ is said to be a lamb, and the devil is said to be a dragon, but this one is neither one nor the other. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.11-13.

THE SKIN OF A LAMB BUT A WOLF WITHIN. ANDREW OF CAESAREA: Some say that this beast is the antichrist, while to others its two horns signify the antichrist and the false prophet. But since also the false prophet is thought to come in his own person, it is proper to think that the dragon is to be interpreted as Satan, the beast that arises from the sea as the antichrist, and this beast that comes up from the earth as the false prophet, which is the opinion of the blessed Irenaeus. That he comes up from the earth symbolizes that he arises from an earthly and groveling manner of life. That he has two horns like a lamb indicates that in the skin of a lamb he cloaks the murderousness of the wolf hiding within and that at the beginning he will have the form of piety. Concerning him Irenaeus says, “Concerning his armorbearer, whom he also calls the false prophet, he says, ‘he spoke like a dragon.’” The authority of signs and wonders was given to him, so that going before the antichrist, he might prepare the way of destruction for him. We say that the healing of the wound of the beast is either the apparent, short-lived unity of the divided empire, or the temporary restoration by the antichrist of the tyranny of Satan that had been destroyed, or the fraudulent resurrection of one of his associates who had died. It says that he speaks like a dragon, because he will do and say the things of the devil, who is the author of evil. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.11.

13:12-13 | It Makes Fire Fall from Heaven

THE ANTICHRIST WILL RULE EVERYTHING. HIPPOLYTUS: In regard to the words “he exercised all the power of the first beast before him and caused the earth and those who dwell within it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed,” this signifies that, after the manner of the law of Augustus, by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern, sanctioning everything by it and taking greater glory to himself. ON THE ANTICHRIST 49.

IN THE MANNER OF A MAGICIAN. VICTORINUS OF PETOVIUM: He will perform [his works] in the presence of people, so that even the dead seem to rise again, for through apostate angels even magicians do such things in front of people. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.4.

FALSE LEADERS DO THE WILL OF THE DEVIL. TYCONIUS: It exercised all the power of the first beast on the earth. He spoke of that earlier beast that he had seen rising from the sea and to which the dragon had given his own great power. He said that the beast exercised this power before the beast. For all the power of the people is in their leaders, which he described, just as the power of the locusts and the horses is in their tails. In front of the people, the leaders do what is useful to the will of the devil under the cover of an imitation of the church. Clearly, in both beasts there is one body, and they practice the worship of one iniquity, so that the mimicry of the latter beast may be said to work to the advantage of that earlier beast. … “So that those who dwell on the earth worship the first beast.” … Or as another translation renders, “so that the earth and those who inhabit it.” … And he mentioned the earth and those who inhabit the earth with good reason. For it might have sufficed to mention either the earth or those who inhabit the earth. However, he shows the force of [the beast’s] seduction which has given both body and soul to him as property. For whoever falls by force without being enticed away is made captive in the body alone. However, whoever falls to seduction is made captive both in the body and in the mind, and for this reason he said, “He caused the earth and those who inhabit it to worship the beast whose mortal wound was healed.” COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.12.

ONLY THE CHURCH POSSESSES THE HOLY SPIRIT. PRIMASIUS: “And he did great signs, even making fire come down from heaven in the sight of people.” Although it says that he would do many signs, he mentions only this remarkable sign. This translation speaks as though of the past, while it announces the future, although indicating that the future will also be different. And so it says, “so that he also makes fire come down from heaven.” That he causes fire to descend from heaven to the earth, that is, from the church to those who are earthly, indicates that whether from a variety of peoples or by the wiles of a falling enemy he causes his servants to speak in new and multiple tongues. In this manner they prattle as though they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit who in the form of fiery tongues had once truly shined upon the individual disciples of Christ. And, indeed, the Lord especially commended this sign of those who believe, saying, “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues,” and the like. It is not surprising, therefore, if that beast which by imitation usurped the name of the Lamb who had been killed and now is living should also fraudulently lay claim by mimicry to that great gift of the Holy Spirit and feign that gift also for his servants, even as we recall what once Simon boasted but was unable to do. For when the very ministers of Satan listed their expulsions of demons and their various wonders and said, “Did we not cast out demons in your name?” and the like, the Lord did not approve of their boasting but reproved them as arrogant and worthy of damnation. And therefore, perhaps by emphasizing this sign [of fire], which represents the Holy Spirit, he wished to indicate especially that which is superior to all else. For although heresies seem to have some things in common with us, only the church of Christ can boast that she especially is possessed of this gift. Although the magicians of Pharaoh performed wonders similar to those of Moses, we are told that they were frustrated by the Holy Spirit. When they gave up on their own claims and were defeated, they spoke a true confession and said, “This is the finger of God.” The Gospel testifies that the Holy Spirit is called “the finger of God” when one Gospel says, “By the Spirit of God I cast out demons,” while another says, “By the finger of God I cast out demons.” And so the sheer force of the seduction is indicated, that the beast is thought to possess that Spirit that resisted the magicians and brought their deceptions to nothing. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.13.

FIRE FALLS FROM HEAVEN. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Since the church is “heaven,” what is this fire that falls from heaven other than heresies that fall from the church? As it is written, “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” For fire falls from the church whenever heretics leave the church as though fire and persecute the church. Therefore, the beast with the two horns causes the people to worship the image of the beast, that is, the devices of the devil. EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.12-13, HOMILY 11.

THIS BEAST LEADS MANY TO THE FALSE CHRIST. ANDREW OF CAESAREA: The forerunner of the apostate false christ will do all things through sorcery for the deception of humankind, so that the antichrist will be regarded as God. And, since [the antichrist] receives the witness of the worker of such marvels, he receives undisputed honor, in imitation of the Baptist, who led those who believed to the Savior. For falsehood is zealous to imitate the truth for the deception of humankind. Therefore, it is not remarkable that to the eyes of those deceived, fire is seen coming down from heaven. For somewhere in the story of Job we are taught that, with the permission of God and by the activity of Satan, fire came down and consumed his flock. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.12-13.

13:14-17 | Marks on the Right Hand and the Forehead

THE ANTICHRIST WILL PERSECUTE THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY. HIPPOLYTUS: Being full of guile and exalting himself against the servants of God, with the wish to afflict them and persecute them out of the world because they do not give glory to him, he will order incense pans to be set up by all everywhere, that no one among the saints may be able to buy or sell without first sacrificing. This is what is meant by the mark received upon the right hand. And the words “on their forehead” indicate that all are crowned and put on a crown of fire, and not of life but of death. For in this way, too, did Antiochus Epiphanes the king of Syria, the descendant of Alexander of Macedon, devise measures against the Jews. He, too, in the exaltation of his heart, issued a decree in those times that “all should set up shrines before their doors and sacrifice, and that they should march in procession to the honor of Dionysus, waving chaplets of ivy,” and that those who refused obedience should be put to death by strangulation and torture. But he also met his due recompense at the hand of the Lord, the righteous Judge and all-searching God; for he died devoured by worms. ON THE ANTICHRIST 49.

AN IMAGE OF ANTICHRIST WILL BE ERECTED. VICTORINUS OF PETOVIUM: [The beast] will even see to it that a golden image of the antichrist is placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and the apostate angels will enter there and from there issue prophesies and oracles. And he himself will cause “both slave and free to receive a mark on their foreheads or on their right hands”—namely, the number of his name—“so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark.” Daniel had already spoken of this destruction of people and this contempt of God and this abomination, saying, “And he will place [an image] in his temple between the mountain of the sea and the two seas,” that is, at Jerusalem, and then he will place here his golden image, just as King Nebuchadnezzar had done. And the Lord recalls this to all the churches when he speaks of the last times: “When you see the contempt of turning away spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, where it ought not, let the reader understand.” It is said to be “contempt” when God is provoked because idols are being worshiped. On the other hand, it is said to be a “turning away” when unstable people, seduced by false signs and wonders, are turned away from their salvation. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.4.

LED BY THE SAME DEMON. OECUMENIUS: “And by signs he deceives those who dwell on earth.” He does signs, beguiling the eyes of those who look on, even as the magicians did in front of Pharaoh, for both they and this one are led by one and the same deceitful demon. And it rightly says that he does signs in the presence of the beast. For since he will set up an image for him, which he will compel all to worship, he will actually perform signs before it, and as though regarding the image as divine, claim that from it he has the power to do these things. “And it was allowed to give breath to the image.” They say that many statues both perspire and seem to speak by the activity of the devil. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.14-18.

THE DECEIT OF ANTICHRIST. PRIMASIUS: It is as though he had said that the deception had succeeded to such an extent that the earthly, led astray by the wonders of the beast, gave their full miserable assent to the beast and by a mutual devotion encouraged each other to make an image of the beast in the fraudulence of their hearts. And so they believe that there is no room for doubt but are convinced by the evidence of the fire that [the beast] is indeed the Christ, although the devil is in the antichrist and the same malignant spirit has taken the form of the Spirit and, with divine permission, lays down such seductive snares. Therefore, he is said “to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak.” This may be interpreted in two ways. Either the whole body of evil persons are persuaded by the demonstrations of power, since the devil is working and the leaders are urging the people, so that there is for everyone the same confession and that all are to proclaim it by a uniform formula, so that should anyone not speak this through the image of the beast, that is, through a mutual imitation, he should be killed. … Or, just as through conversation with a woman the first man was led astray by the mouth of a serpent, so then he deludes many by a similar fraud, when he causes his followers to receive messages by consulting an image, that is, the antichrist, to whom they believe honor is due, as to a god, although he is “the man of sin and the son of perdition.” … “And he causes all … to be marked on the right hand or the forehead.” He here distinguishes the individual members, although more often he includes them as a whole in the body or the person of the beast. The “hand” indicates works, and it is the right hand to simulate the truth. The “forehead” symbolizes the confession of faith. Since they are defrauded in regard to both of these good things, they are said to be marked on both. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.14-16.

THIS BEAST IS THE CITY OF THE IMPIOUS. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: “That he give them a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.” He speaks of the mystery of deception. For the saints who are in the church receive Christ in the hand and on the forehead. The hypocrites, however, receive the beast under the name of Christ. “Those who do not worship the beast … will be slain.” It is not inconsistent with the faith that the beast be understood as the city of the impious itself, that is, as the congregation or conspiracy of all those who are impious or filled with hubris. This city is called “Babylon,” which is interpreted as “Confusion,” and to it belong all who desire to work that which is worthy of confusion. He himself is the citizenry of unfaithful persons who are the opposite of the faithful people, that is, the city of God. His image is an imitation, that is, among those people who confess the catholic faith but live the life of infidelity. For they feign to be what they are not, and they are called Christians, not by way of the true image but by way of a false image. Of such persons the apostle wrote, “holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” Not a small number of these persons are within the catholic church. However, the righteous do not worship the beast, that is, they do not assent to him, nor do they submit to him, nor do they receive his mark, the mark of sin, on their forehead, on account of the confession, and on their hand, on account of works. EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.15-16, HOMILY 11.

THIS ARMORBEARER OF ANTICHRIST WORKS THROUGH DEMONS. ANDREW OF CAESAREA: [The beast] deceives those who continually dwell upon the earth in their hearts. For those who possess their citizenship in heaven are not deceived by fake appearances, since they have been sufficiently fortified by the prediction of his coming. … It is reported that demons often speak by sorcery through images and statues and trees and streams, also through Apollonius and others, and I think, even through dead bodies. For example, in the presence of Peter, Simon the Magician showed the Romans a dead body that he was moving. However, the apostle unmasked his deception by showing through those whom he himself raised how the dead were raised [by Simon]. And so there is nothing strange in the fact that working through demons, this standardbearer of the antichrist should make an image for the beast and contrive to show it speaking and see to it that those who did not worship it were killed. And he will eagerly strive to place the mark of the ruinous name of the apostate upon everyone. He will make the mark upon their right hands to bring to an end the doing of good works, and upon their foreheads in order to teach those deceived to be bold in their deception and darkness. But those who have had their faces sealed with the divine light will not receive the mark. He will undertake to spread the mark of the beast everywhere through buying and selling, so that a violent death might come to all who do have the mark from the lack of necessities. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 13.14-17.

THE ANTICHRIST WILL DECEIVE THE SENSES THROUGH PHANTASMS. BEDE: “By the signs which it is allowed to work, it deceives those who dwell on earth.” “For his coming,” it is said, will be “by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders.” It may be that these are called “false signs and wonders” because he will deceive the senses of people through phantasms, so that he seems to do what in fact he does not do. Or it may be that these signs, even though they will be astonishing wonders, will lead those to falsehood who, unaware of the power of the devil, will think that such things could not be accomplished apart from divine power. For it was not by a fake fire or storm that the devil destroyed the whole family of the saintly Job together with all of his flocks, but by a real fire and a real whirlwind. EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE, 13.14.