Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 13:11

Revelation 13:11. And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. This is the third great enemy of the saints, the second ‘beast.' It is characterized by the same general term as the second enemy or the first beast; and although therefore, as afterwards mentioned, it resembles a lamb, this in no degree diminishes the fierceness of its nature. It is still a ‘beast.' It comes up not out of the ‘sea' like the first beast, but out of the ‘earth.' The contrast between the ‘sea' spoken of in Revelation 13:1 and the ‘earth' now mentioned makes it impossible to refer the latter to any one particular portion of the world, such as the Asiatic Continent, or even to the whole world itself, or to human society and its progress, or to earthly thinking and willing. The true meaning of the term must be sought in that distinction between the Jews and all other nations by which Scripture is pervaded. The ‘sea' represents the latter: the ‘earth' the former, yet not the former simply as a nation. The ‘sea' is the nations as opposed to God. The ‘earth' is the Jews, as God's prophetic and priestly people. That this beast comes up out of the earth is therefore a token that it springs out of a religious, not a secular, source; and this trait corresponds, as we shall see, to the whole description of it.

And he had two horns like a lamb. The lamb-like form of the horns can only be a travesty of the seven horns of ‘the Lamb' spoken of in these visions (chap. Revelation 5:6); and the number two is not to be understood literally. Like the ‘two' of the two witnesses in Revelation 11:3, the number is symbolical, and denotes all who are animated by the spirit of this lamb. The number two, therefore, does not ‘complete the similarity' to the animal in its ‘natural condition,' nor does it show that its power is ‘much less' than that of The Lamb, because two is less than seven. It rather connects with this beast an element of persuasiveness. There may even perhaps be a reference to the two false witnesses of Matthew 26:60, who came against our Lord. The like enemies will come against His people. The religious element again appears in the lamb-like horns.

And he spake as a dragon. The first beast does not speak: the second does. It is not said that the words spoken are religious; but, when we remember how often the word ‘spake' of the original is used of Christ in the Fourth Gospel, and that it denotes not so much an occasional remark as formal and continuous discourse, we can hardly be wrong in seeing here again a travesty of our Lord. The beast professed to teach religious truth; but his mode of teaching was fierce and murderous, the very opposite of that of Him who did not strive nor cry aloud, neither did any one hear His voice in the streets (Isaiah 42:2; Matthew 12:19).

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 13:11

Old Testament

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