Revelation 13

1Then I saw a beast rising out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, ten royal crowns on its horns, and on its heads names that blasphemed God. 2The beast I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon handed over to it his power, his throne, and great authority. 3One of its heads looked as though it had been slaughtered and killed, but its deadly wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth went after the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon, since he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast as well, saying, “Who is equal to the beast? Who could fight a war against it?” 5It was allowed a mouth that spoke boastful words and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. 6Its mouth opened in blasphemies against God, insulting his name and his dwelling, those whose home is in heaven. 7It was allowed to make war on God’s holy people and to overcome them; and authority was given to it over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8All who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written, since the world was founded, in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slaughtered.

9If anyone has ears, let them listen. 10Whoever is bound for captivity goes into captivity; whoever is to die by the sword must die by the sword. Here is where God’s holy people need endurance and faith.

11I saw yet another beast coming up from the land. Its two horns were like a lamb’s, yet its voice was the voice of a dragon. 12All the authority of the first beast it puts to use, acting in its presence. It forces the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13It performs great signs, even bringing fire down from the sky to the earth in front of everyone. 14It leads astray the people of the earth with the signs it was allowed to do in the beast’s presence, and it tells them to make an image for the beast that had the sword-wound and yet came back to life. 15It was permitted to give life-breath to the image of the beast, so that the image could even speak, and could have put to death all who refused to worship it. 16It makes everyone, the lowly and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slave, take a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17No one may buy or sell except those who have the mark: the name of the beast or the number that stands for its name. 18Here wisdom is needed. Whoever has understanding should count up the number of the beast, for it is a human number. Its number is 666.