And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. And he caused the earth and them that dwell therein to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed.
και την εξουσιαν του πρωτου θηριου πασαν ποιει ενωπιον αυτου και εποιει την γην και τους εν αυτη κατοικουντας ινα προσκυνησωσιν το θηριον το πρωτον ου εθεραπευθη η πληγη του θανατου αυτου
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
This signifies that the second beast, according to the law of Augustus, from whose times the Roman kingdom was properly established, will personally issue commands. Ruling over all, he will establish order, all with the aim of gaining still greater glory for himself.
He is going to act before men in such a way that the dead seem to rise. For these magicians also act before men through apostate angels.
By sorcery and deception, the forerunner of the apostate false Christ will do everything to deceive men. He will seek to make them regard Antichrist as God, as a glorious wonderworker worthy of such glorification. He will be like the Baptist, who led believers to the Savior, for falsehood too strives to imitate truth in order to deceive men. Therefore it is no wonder if the deceived see fire coming down from heaven with their eyes. We know from the history of Job that, by God's permission, fire came down from heaven through Satan's action and burned his flocks (Job 1:16).
Since heaven is the Church, what is the fire coming down from heaven if not heresies falling upon the Church? For it is written: "They went out from us, but they were not of us" (1 Jn 2:19). Fire comes down from heaven when heretics who come out of the Church persecute the Church itself like fire. The beast with two horns acts so that the people may worship the image of the beast, that is, the devil's invention.
"And he works great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven to earth before men." Although John says that the beast works many signs, he prefers one remarkable sign to the others.
This metaphor speaks as if of the past while foretelling the future, yet it also indicates that the future will be different. John says the following: "so that he even makes fire come down from heaven to earth."
That he makes fire come down from heaven to earth, that is, from the Church upon the inhabitants of the earth, means this. Either by using the changeability of the human race, or through the tricks of the fallen enemy, he makes his servants speak in new and manifold tongues.
Therefore they babble as though they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who once truly descended in the form of fiery tongues upon the individual disciples of Christ (Acts 2:1-4).
For by this sign the Lord first marked believers, saying, "These signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues" (Mk 16:17), and the like.
Therefore it is no wonder that this beast, who hypocritically usurped the name of the Lamb, slain and alive, fraudulently and by mimicry ascribed to himself this highest gift of the Holy Spirit.
He invented the claim that his servants possessed this gift, just as Simon once boasted, yet could accomplish nothing (cf. Acts 8:9-24).
The false prophet, in order to deceive men, will work false miracles by the power of Antichrist. They will be like those performed, for example, by Apollonius of Tyana, Simon Magus, and others. It is he who will establish the worship of Antichrist's image.
This is the same beast, but it is portrayed as coming not from the sea, like the first, but from the earth. This signifies that all his feelings and thoughts will be entirely earthly and sensual in character.
He has two horns like a lamb's, signifying that his authority and power will, by their nature, be like a lamb's. That is, they will be spiritual in character, not political or physical.
The divine Lamb, Christ Jesus, used two chief powers to destroy the works of the devil in the human race: the power of the word and the power of miracles. So also the Antichrist's assistant will mainly put these same two powers into action.
But he will speak "like a dragon." That is, his speeches will be blasphemous, and the fruit of his words will be nothing but godlessness and extreme impiety.
He will act "before the dragon," that is, according to the desires and intentions of the dragon, the devil. It will be as though in his presence and with his assistance. Moreover, he will act "with all the authority of the first beast."
That is, the political might and civil plenitude of power belonging to the Antichrist will come entirely to the aid of his helper, the false prophet. The whole aim of this latter one's activity will tend only to "make all the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first beast," that is, the Antichrist.
In explaining verses 12-18 of chapter 13 of the Apocalypse, St. Andrew says: "By sorcery and deceit the forerunner of the apostate, the false Christ, will do everything to deceive men, so that they will regard the Antichrist as God.
He will be like the Baptist, who led believers to the Savior. For in deceiving men, falsehood also strives to imitate the truth. Therefore it is not surprising if the deceived see with their eyes fire coming down from heaven.
For we know from the history of Job that, by God's permission, fire came down from heaven through Satan's action and burned Job's flocks. Therefore there is nothing strange in this either.
The forerunner and armor-bearer of the Antichrist, with the help of demons, will make an image of the beast and falsely show it speaking. He will command that all who do not worship it be killed.
He will try to place upon everyone the mark of the destructive name of the apostate and deceiver, on their right hands, to take away the power to perform good deeds. He will also place it on their foreheads, to make the deceived bold in deceptions and darkness.
But those whose faces have been sealed with the divine Light will not receive it. He will spread the beastly seal everywhere, in buying and selling, so that those who do not receive it may die a violent death from lack of what is necessary to sustain life."
Concerning the filthy name of the Antichrist, the Apocalypse is silent: "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; his number is six hundred sixty-six" (v. 18).
Regarding the name of the Antichrist, St. Andrew reasons thus: "If it were necessary to know his name, then, as some teachers say, the seer of mysteries would have revealed it. But the grace of God did not will that this ruinous name be written in the divine book.
If one examines words, then, according to Hippolytus and others, one can find many names, both proper and common, corresponding to this number. Proper names include, for example, Lampetis, Titan, Latinos, and Benediktos, meaning blessed, perhaps in imitation of the one blessed Christ.
Common names include kakos hodegos, evil guide; palai baskanos, ancient envier; alethos blaberos, truly harmful; and amnos adikos, unrighteous lamb. Those who reject the deception will call by these names the one whose glory is shameful."
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 32 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS