So what do we observe in life? Fear, dislike, and sometimes hatred for the number six hundred sixty-six and its digital image in the form of three sixes. What is this fear based on and does it have a real basis in reality?

Strange as it may seem, but this fear is based on faith and on faith precisely in the word of God, which is recorded in the 13th chapter of the "Revelation" of John the Theologian in verses 16 to 18. Imagine for a moment that this place does not exist and never has! Could there then be a fear of the number 666? What would it be based on? But it should be noted that this faith received a distorted, and therefore incorrect, object of its own. That is, they began to believe in something that is not there, in Revelation.

The holy fathers of the Church, obedient to God, acted wisely in avoiding a clear answer to the question about the number of the beast. They did this out of obedience to God and His providence for the salvation of people. And this providence also applies to the prophetic passages of Holy Scripture, which should be revealed at the right and pleasing time for God. Therefore, belief in the magical power of the number 666 is false.

So, there is an opinion that the number 666 in itself does not carry anything negative or diabolical and evil. After all, the Bible also has page 666, and in many other cases in life we ​​use this number simply as a number. Of course, at the sight of it, unpleasant sensations arise from the memories of what is indicated in the Holy Scriptures, but the number itself has nothing to do with it. It is the same as other numbers. Moreover, God created exactly six days, and we also work six days a week, and rest on the seventh.

It should be noted that neither in the book "Revelation", nor in other books of Holy Scripture, except for the 1st and 2nd Epistles of John the Theologian, there is no word "antichrist". In Scripture, he is called: the beast; the beast coming out of the sea; the beast emerging from the abyss; son of perdition; a man of sin; lawless. This beast is called Antichrist by the Holy Fathers of the Church and in the Tradition of the Church. That is why, when we call him the beast Antichrist, we are, as it were, linking Scripture with Tradition, for one complements the other.

The name of the antichrist of the beast will reflect this duality in itself. One part of it will express opposition to the true God, and this will be the first part of his name. The second part is to express the bestial essence of the son of perdition. From the possible names of the Antichrist, one should immediately exclude the names of the holy apostles and, in general, all the saints. All other common human names should be excluded from consideration, so that it will not be possible to say: Antichrist Zhora, George, Bill, Michael, etc. The Beast in its name will emphasize its uniqueness, uniqueness and exclusivity, as it was in the names of its forerunners: Napoleon Bonaparte, Hitler, Lenin, Stalin. His name will be invented and composed, and not passport, as was the case with the nicknames: Lenin and Stalin. Imitating Christ, the beast will take seven letters for its name, as we see in the name Christ.

Since in Scripture the Lord calls himself Alpha (and Omega), then the lawless person will take this letter first in his name, as if emphasizing his equality and primacy over all (he will also have O from Omega). We know that the book "Apocalypse", like most of the books of the New Testament, was written in ancient Greek. Also, the Lord, calling Himself Alpha and Omega, used the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. That is why the name of the Antichrist of the Beast will be made up of the letters of the Greek alphabet, although, perhaps, it will have analogues in other major languages.

It is also important that the Greek language allows you to calculate the name of the beast, since the numbers and numbers in this language have a literal expression, that is, they are depicted by the letters of the Greek alphabet. This makes it possible to count each letter and express every word by its number, as well as write letters as numbers, and numbers as letters. This ability, apart from Greek have two more: Hebrew and Church Slavonic. Church Slavonic almost coincides in terms of numbers with Greek. After all, it was not in vain that Saints Cyril and Methodius took for him many letters of the Greek alphabet.

Let's move on to the consideration of the desired text from the 13th chapter of "Revelation". However, it will not be enough to focus on verses 16 to 18. To better resolve the issue of the name and number of the name of the beast, the context should be expanded by adding the verses preceding the 16th, as well as a fragment from the 14th chapter, which also deals with the inscription of the name of the beast.

open thirteen:

11 And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

12 He works before him with all the power of the first beast and makes the whole earth and those who dwell on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed;

13 And he does great signs, so that he also brings fire down from heaven to earth before people.

14 And by the wonders which he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives.

15 And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed.

16 And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slaves, will be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.

So, we see that it is the second beast that comes out of the earth (i.e., during the time of a firm order under the Antichrist) and is called a false prophet, who will introduce into use the mark with the name and number of the name of the beast.

When, that is, during what period of the reign of the first beast, the Antichrist, will the second beast, the false prophet, appear? Knowing this, we will also know the time of the universal introduction of the mark of the beast. To do this, let's go back to the beginning of the 13th chapter:

open thirteen:

1 And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea, with seven heads and ten horns; on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.

2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority.

3 And I saw; that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth wondered, following the beast, and bowed to the dragon, who gave power to the beast,

4 and worshiped the beast; saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given him to continue for forty-two months.

6 And he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, to blaspheme His name and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven.

7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.

8 And all who dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

9 He who has an ear, let him hear.

It is known from Church Tradition that seven earthly years will be allotted to the worldwide reign of the Antichrist. This is the last week, which is spoken of by the prophet Daniel. Half of this period, i.e. 3.5 years, the Antichrist will rule in Rome as a world king. He will combine the title of Roman Emperor and Pope.

And in the middle of his reign, he will be, as it were, mortally wounded by an assassination attempt. In fact, he will not die, but will only freeze due to the action of Satan, who organizes this assassination attempt and the whole performance with a false resurrection, or false resurrection of the beast. This is indicated by the words, as it were, in the 3rd verse. Satan is the father of lies, and here he will resort to crafty deception. Moreover, he will deceive not only people, but also the Antichrist himself. Scripture calls the false resurrection of the beast "healing" so as not to degrade the word "resurrection", for only God can resurrect.

Satan will need this action with the "revival" of the beast in order to assure the whole earth and the Antichrist himself of the divinity of the latter, and through him, of his own. This performance will be followed by all means mass media. And if the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected secretly, then the beast will rise before the eyes of everyone. After realizing himself as God, the Antichrist will transfer his capital from the political center of the world - Rome to the religious center - Jerusalem and declare it the capital of the eternal God, that is, his own. In Jerusalem, he, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, will sit in the Jewish temple rebuilt by that time and declare himself God. As a false god, he will have 42 months to act.

Satan, knowing that he has little time left, will put forward another beast to help the Antichrist beast - a false prophet. It is this second beast, which by the power of demons will produce spectacular false miracles, and will put forward the idea with the mark of the first beast.

Consequently, the mark of the beast with his name and the number of his name will be first introduced on earth no earlier than the appearance of the false prophet, that is, no earlier than after three and a half years of the reign of the Antichrist and 42 months before his end. The expectation of the introduction of the mark before this date, and even more so in a secret way, is erroneous and is an obvious demonic charm or extreme ignorance.

It should be noted that nowhere in Revelation is the name "seal" used in relation to the mark of the beast. This word is used in relation to the servants of God:

open 7:

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying:

3 Do no harm to the earth, or the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.

It is no coincidence that the word of God uses the name “mark” to stigmatize the Antichrist. The root of this word is to draw. Mostly geometric shapes are drawn. Here is one of these geometric shapes, made up of two intersecting equilateral triangles, known as the star of David, and will be taken by the Antichrist, at the suggestion of the false prophet, as the basis of the mark.

Let us consider in detail verses 16 to 18 of the 13th chapter.

open thirteen:

16 And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

17 and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except he who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

In verse 16 only the mark is mentioned, but in verse 17 the name of the beast and the number of his name are added. It would seem that in verse 17 it was necessary to put a full stop after the word "mark". Or, in the 16th, add the name and number of the name of the beast to the inscription. It really needs wisdom from God to understand.

In fact, there is no contradiction or disagreement, because in both cases we are talking about the same thing. We see a kind of trinity: one mark in three "hypostases". In the first case, it is indicated folded into one outline, which contains the name and number of the name of the beast. In the second - in all three of its parts: the actual mark, the name of the beast and the number of his name. This connection is also helped by the place from the 14th chapter, where in the 11th verse we read: "the mark of his name."

This knowledge will help us understand the structure of this mark, that is, that in addition to the geometric figure of the Star of David, it will contain the name of the beast and the number of his name.

Why, then, having great power, will the Antichrist demand an emphatically voluntary acceptance of his mark? Yes, because, out of his insane audacity and pride, he wants to show the true God, as it were, that people worship and obey him, the beast, consciously and voluntarily, and also that they have left the true God.

The inscription itself, according to a number of church fathers, will be applied to the right hand or forehead by means of a laser or other modern technical instrument. It will be something similar to the current plastic cards. The places on the forehead and right hand will not be chosen by chance, this will help to deprive a person of the power of the sign of the cross and the very opportunity to overshadow himself with the sign of the cross. That is why accepting the mark of the beast would be, among other things, a Crusade heresy.

The image applied to the skin, in addition to the inscription with the name and number of the name of the beast (which only gives the right to buy and sell), may also have information about the carrier's bank accounts and other information about him. In this case, the inscription can perform the function of money (bank plastic cards), since all the financial information of the animal worshiper will be stored on it.

The false prophet will introduce obligatory worship of the “living” statue (robot) of the beast. These statues will be installed everywhere in the antichristianiums (that is, in temples named after the beast; the mausoleums of some leaders are only their prototypes). Most of these temples of the beast will be former Christian churches. Christianity as a religion will be banned under pain of death. All crosses and holy images from temples and domes will be removed. The iconostases will be removed and in the altar part of the temple, instead of the throne, a “living”, speaking and capable of killing statue (robot) of the antichrist of the beast will be installed. Something similar happened during the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman troops of Emperor Titus Vespassian, when the soldiers brought the statue of Vespassian into the Jerusalem temple and installed it in the holy of holies as an image of their god. This desecration of Christian temples and altars is what the prophet Daniel calls the abomination of desolation in a holy place.

open thirteen:

It turns out that any time smart man can find out the number of the beast. In order to avoid such a false understanding, it was necessary to point out in relation to what was said before the 18th verse: "Here is wisdom." It follows that an intelligent person can calculate this number if a wise man(i.e., one who has a spiritual mind) will give him the initial data for the calculation.

But this is possible only for the mind that will be immersed in the Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. Remember the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the wonderworker, that the mind of a true Christian must swim in the word of God. Only such a mind will be able to calculate the number of the beast at a time blessed by God.

Why, then, should one count the number of the beast, if this number is already known as 666? And what does it mean in this case: to count? Counting in this case is not an arithmetic operation. Knowing the number completely eliminates the need for mathematical calculations. To count means to determine its literal meaning from the number known from the "Revelation" and thereby determine the name of the beast.

The great John the Theologian calls this number human. That is why it is useless to give this number the meaning of satanic, when the word of God and the beloved disciple of Christ call it human. Why else is this number called human? It is not of divine origin, but composed by man; it looks human and has a meaning that a human can understand; it lends itself to calculation and understanding by man.

Let us cite more evidence from Scripture, denouncing those who are now prematurely struggling with the number 666, as if with the number of the beast, as well as with its introduction into the tax system or into other systems of command and control. The Scripture testifies that when the time comes (after the release of the false prophet), then the real denunciation of the mark and the number of the beast will be given by the three great messengers of God, called angels in Revelation.

open 14:

6 And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having an everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people;

8 And another angel followed him, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, the great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of her wrath of fornication.

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, Whoever worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10 he will drink the wine of the wrath of God, the whole wine prepared in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb;

11 And the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and they will have no rest, day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and who receive the mark of his name.

The first angel is the resurrected Great Apostle of Love, John the Theologian, who wrote the eternal spiritual Gospel. Why is his gospel called eternal? Because it, in addition to relating to the earthly life of Christ the Lord (which is also present in the other three Gospels), has eternal spiritual laws.

The second angel is the great Old Testament prophet Elijah the Thesbitian, who was taken alive to heaven in his old body (he must be killed and rise in a new capacity).

The third angel is the great righteous and prophet from the antediluvian world Enoch, who was also taken alive to heaven (and will also be killed by the Antichrist and will rise with Elijah in a perfect body).

These great holy pillars of the Church and God's saints are destined by Divine Providence to preach against worshiping the beast and against accepting his mark with his number. This sermon will be accompanied and witnessed by great miracles, signs and the power of God produced by these three angels of God.

Some believe that instead of Enoch there may be the prophet Moses, for he, along with Elijah and John the Theologian, was a witness and participant in the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tabor. This idea is not correct, for Moses participated, according to the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, as a representative of the dead, and was present only in spirit. His presence was necessary in order to show that the law of Moses was a schoolmaster to Christ, and that Moses himself was a servant of Christ. He also assured the souls of the dead of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of men. Of the living ancient prophets, only two were preserved: Enoch and Elijah the Thesbite. They, according to Scripture, must be killed and after 3.5 days rise and ascend to heaven. How can an already dead Moses be killed? In addition, the Tradition of the Church (for example, the service and akathist to the prophet Elijah) and many holy fathers directly pointed to Elijah and Enoch, including St. Nil the Myrrh-streaming Athos, who spoke after his death. We cannot doubt his broadcasts brought from heaven.

The seer John sees a beast emerging from the sea with seven heads and ten horns.

St. Ephraim the Syrian, depicting, as he puts it, “the shamelessness of the serpent, which, like a thief, will come in due time with the intention of dyeing, slaughtering and destroying the chosen flock of the true shepherd,” cites the features that depict the apocalyptic beast. Using these patristic testimonies, we can make the following few notes about the vision of John the Evangelist.

The Revelation of John speaks of three different beasts: the beast from the sea (13:1ff.), the beast from the earth (13:11ff.), and the beast from the abyss (17:8ff.). If we compare 17, 3 and 8 with ch. 13, 1-2, then the similarity in the description (both here and there “blasphemous names”, seven heads and ten horns are attributed to the beast) and the obvious relationship of one chapter to another (an angel in chapter 17, article 8 says to the Seer: “ The beast that you saw was, and is not there...”) are forced to count the beast from the sea and the beast from the abyss as one beast.

Now the question is: what do the heads of this beast mean? The answer to this question is found in Revelation 17:9: the seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sits, and the seven kings. Thus, the heads mean the bearers of worldly power, hostile to God. Such a representative of worldly power will be the beast that was and is not, that is, the beast from the abyss.

The apocalyptic beast from the abyss, called the "eighth", despite its close relationship to the fourfold beast from the sea, at the same time has some difference from it. Coming out of the midst of the seven heads (or kings) of the beast out of the sea (Rev. 17:10-11), he will also be a beast out of the abyss, that is, he will have a connection with the kingdom of darkness, with the hiding places of the demonic forces of destruction (Rev. 17, 8; 9, 11; 11, 7).

Being the last representative of the worldly anti-Christian kingdom, he will depend on the devil, and in him his God-hostility is a sign of bloodthirstiness.

Do not all these traits attributed by the Seer to the beast from the abyss remind us of the man of sin, who is presented by the Apostle Paul as the head of the apostasy, and of whom it is said that his coming is according to the work of Satan (2 Thess. 2:9)?! Let us note at the same time that both apostles, Paul and John, speak of the defeat of the Antichrist in complete agreement with each other. As according to the prediction of the Apostle Paul, the triumph of the Antichrist will be short, and judgment will come upon him soon (2 Thess. 2, 3, 8), so St. John, as soon as he spoke about the new appearance of the beast, he already adds that he will go to destruction (17, 8, 11). This similarity between the "man of sin" and the "beast from the abyss" leads us to the idea that the latter is also an individual.

So, if we recognize the “beast from the abyss” as Antichrist, and, as we have seen, the testimonies of some fathers and teachers of the Church and the context of speech prompt us to recognize him, then it is also necessary to admit that he is a separate person, a specific individual, a separate person, gifted great strength and power, which will combine in itself all the properties of worldly God-hostile power that existed before it.

St. Ephraim the Syrian, depicting the cunning and revenge of the Antichrist, directly calls him a king: “When many estates see the virtues and strength of an apostate, everyone will have one thought for him and proclaim him king. And soon his kingdom will be established, and in anger he will strike down three great kings. Then this serpent will ascend in his heart and vomit his bitterness, confuse the universe, move its ends, oppress everyone ... ”The activity of the Antichrist depicted here does not belong to the religious or spiritual sphere, but to the external or political.

While recognizing in Antichrist a political figure, we do not at all deny his religious activity; on the contrary, the Antichrist will be not so much a political figure as a religious one. The political sphere will serve as the most favorable ground for the achievement of his spiritual goals and for the fulfillment of his satanic plans.

From the words "On the Antichrist" St. John of Damascus: “And so the Jews did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and God, but they will accept a deceiver who calls himself God. That he will call himself a god, about this the angel instructing Daniel says this: he does not understand his own fathers (Dan. 11, 37). And the apostle: let no one deceive you in the same way: as if the apostasy does not come first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, the adversary, and be exalted more than any god that can be spoken, or, honour, as if he should sit in the church of God, showing himself, as God exists (2 Thess. 2:3). The apostle, saying, in the church of God, does not mean ours, but the ancient Jews. For he will not come to us, but to the Jews; not for Christ, but against Christ and Christians. Why is it called Antichrist?

From the word of St. Irenaeus of Lyons “On the tyrannical kingdom of the Antichrist”: “When the Antichrist devastates everything in this world, reigns for three years and six months and sits in the Temple of Jerusalem, then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds in the glory of the Father, and he and those who obey him will send into the lake fiery, but to the righteous he will give times of the kingdom, i.e., rest, the sanctified seventh day, and will restore to Abraham the promised inheritance, a kingdom in which, according to the Lord, many from the east and west will come to sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matt. 8 , 1.1)".

Obviously, the Antichrist is a specific person who at the end of time will be possessed (inhabited) by Satan and who, according to the action of Satan, will be a short-term world ruler. It is clear that he will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan and will appear as their long-awaited messiah, who will confirm in his face their age-old aspirations for dominion over the whole world. Antichrist will appear as an outstanding world genius, religious leader and reformer, autocrat and political figure, conciliator and public benefactor.

For the apostate world, including those who falsely continue to consider and call themselves Orthodox, the beast Antichrist will be the resolver of all questions and the satisfaction of all desires and aspirations. For apostates and unbelievers, this offspring of Satan will completely replace Christ, who has become for them a fiercely hated obstacle in their "progress and prosperity." Thus, he will satisfy the aspirations of the Jews by declaring himself their messiah, and their post-Mosaic faith dominant on earth. Catholics, Protestants, and all those descended from them, as well as apostates from Orthodoxy, he will buy by becoming the head of the ecumenical "Christian" religion. At the same time, he will announce the supremacy and primacy of the neo-Jewish religion and equality with Buddhism, Hinduism and other pagan cults.

In his gloomy kingdom he will ban and abolish the name of Christ Jesus the Lord, His Church and Her teaching. He will subject the Church of Christ to the most fierce persecution in history with the merciless and most savage slaughter of Her faithful, who, as in the beginning, will be called saints.

He will appease Muslims (Islam) by accepting the false prophet (the beast coming out of the earth) as his first and main assistant and declaring him the incarnated prophet Muhammad (Mohammed), who supposedly returned from heaven with a new name - Magdala or similar. This false Muhammad will turn all Muslims to the Antichrist, reconcile them with Jews, apostates from Christ and pagans.

Thus, all religious strife will be formally eliminated and all earthly religions, cults and beliefs will merge into one world religion of Antichrist and into one cult - the cult of his father, Satan. To finally resolve this issue, the devil and antichrist will play a trick on humanity through a performance with an attempt on the beast, his false death and false resurrection. It is after this insidious deception that in the second half of his week (7 years) the Antichrist will declare himself "God" and demand divine worship for himself. This is where the false prophet, the false Muhammad, will come to his aid and lead to the worship of all Muslims, from among whom the most trusted and select troops of the Antichrist and the false prophet will be created. The Antichrist will declare himself the common "God" of all religions and all people. He will say to people: “Come to me all, for I am your “God”, “savior”, “benefactor” and “reconciler” - and two-thirds of those living on earth will receive him and worship him as “God”. After this worship, as well as after accepting the mark of the beast, a person becomes a demon in his soul, no longer capable of repentance and turning to the true God. Such demon people will share eternal torment with demon spirits.

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will come out of the abyss and go to destruction; and those who live on earth, whose names are not inscribed in the book of life from the beginning of the world, will be surprised, seeing that the beast was, and is not, and will appear - this is the man Antichrist, who desired divine honors and worship as God. whom you saw - St. John the Theologian saw the beast and the Antichrist in the person of the Roman emperor Nero, the first fierce persecutor of Christians. He demanded divine worship for himself, was the first Antichrist and was a type of the last beast Antichrist.

There was - there was the Antichrist in the person of the first emperors of Rome, who persecuted the Church of Christ, fiercely killed and terribly tortured Christians. They were driven to persecution by Satan, who will persecute Christians through the last Roman and universal emperor, the beast Antichrist.

Which was - he was in the person of the first Roman emperors-persecutors.

And who is not - he is not among the emperors of Rome, for he will declare himself God in Jerusalem.

There is an eighth - he is the eighth in order after the first seven persecutors of the Roman emperors.

Of the seven, in spirit and continuity from the seven most ferocious persecutors of the Roman emperors.

Vision of two animals. Description of a beast from the sea with seven heads, ten horns; mortally wounded and healed his head; worship of the people and his blasphemy (1–6). His struggle with the saints and the worship of him by people who do not belong to the Kingdom of God (7–9). A call for patience (10 tbsp). Beast on earth with two horns (11); his miracles and seductive activities (12–16). The imposition of a seal on people in the form of the inscription of the number 666.

. And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.

. The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority.

The first verse must be taken as an indication of a new scene of vision, as of a new appearance before the eyes of the seer, in an entirely new setting. John sees the beast coming out of the sea, not out of the abyss, as in . Obviously this is about something else. The beast Chapter XIII a completely independent symbolic image (cf.). The very name "beast" is used here in the sense of such an animal, in which the properties of cruelty and bloodthirstiness are especially prominent. He comes out of the sea, which in the language of St. The Scriptures are very often used in the sense of a multitude of peoples, moreover, peoples who are restless, restless and hostile to the Kingdom of God, to the people of God (; ; ). On this basis, the symbol of the beast emerging from the sea must also be understood as an image of a creature that emerges from the midst of a sinful, God-hostile human world. Thus the beast XIII ch. there is an antichrist who, according to belief Orthodox Church, will be the last representative and spokesman of the God-hostile diabolical power, the king of the anti-Christian kingdom.

Further signs of the described beast symbolically depict before us how and through whom the devil acted in the past, and how and through whom he will act in the last time. - The Beast in St. Scripture usually serves as a symbol of the kingdom, and the head of the beast is an indication of the king who is at the head of the kingdom. Therefore, and in accordance with, the image of the beast with seven heads is only a device for the apocalyptic revelation of the truth, and under the heads one must understand the kings and kingdoms in their sequence. The kingdoms represented by the seven heads of the beast are obviously those kingdoms and peoples that were hostile to the establishment of God. Kingdoms on earth and dangerous to the people of God. The Seer himself does not give any solution to the question of these kingdoms. Obviously, both for him and in the essence of the matter, it is not important in which certain kingdoms the God-hostile power of the devil was found. More importantly, this diabolical power, the power of the prince of this world, will be revealed as such in the last time, and moreover, in such a way that its previous manifestations would, as it were, enter into general composition; and all the evil that was revealed in parts in the world in the person of those or other kingdoms and sovereigns who were at enmity against the Kingdom of God on earth, will be revealed in its entirety in the person of the king of the last kingdom, in the person of Antichrist, the beast with seven heads.

– Speaking of the ten horns of the beast, St. John does not indicate how they were placed. He seems to want to show that the horns of the beast did not belong to any one head, but to the whole beast, to all the heads together and each separately. The horn is well known in the Holy. In Scripture, the symbol of the power of power, and ten horns, as the number of fullness, thus speaks of the higher strength and power of the beast Antichrist. And if ever these ten horns will mean something definite, that is, ten kings with their kingdoms, then only in the last time, in the days of Antichrist. Tiaras over the horns of the beast, as a royal headdress, also speaks of the royal power of the beast-antichrist, of his right to possess the world, which right he will receive from the devil-dragon (v. 2).

This origin of the power of the beast will naturally be reflected in his attitude towards God: we see blasphemous names on the heads of the beast, of which there were obviously several. The meaning of this is that the beast, as an instrument of the devil's activity, is so imbued with God-hostile aspirations that, as if on his forehead, that inner being, which will be self-exaltation and blasphemy, will be reflected. This was also predicted by Ap. Paul in the epistle to the Thessalonica (cf.). To indicate the destructiveness and malignancy of the activity of the beast, the properties of not one, but three animals are attributed to it: a leopard (cunning), a bear (perseverance) and a lion (arrogance and greedy lust for power); all this together speaks of deceit and cruelty. The dragon, that is, the devil, gives this beast his strength, his throne and great power. The strength of the devil is those of his natural forces and abilities that belong to him as a spirit and a black and highest divine creature. The throne of the devil is the whole world, the prince of which the Holy One calls him. Scripture. The Lord allows the devil to use power over the world, although only insofar as the world itself, as lying in evil, allows the devil to rule over itself ().

. And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth wondered, watching the beast, and bowed to the dragon, who gave power to the beast.

Describing the beast as it came out of the sea, John next draws attention to the change that has taken place in his image. - The head of the beast was mortally wounded already at the very exit of it from the sea. Now John observes only the fact that this wound healed before his eyes. - This symbol of a slain and then healed head must be explained not in relation to any one head of the beast, but in relation to the whole beast. Therefore, a mortal wound of the head must be identified with the non-existence of the beast, and healing - with its reappearance. The head of the beast is the ability of the beast and his inspirer, the devil, to tempt and tempt the world, and therefore a mortal wound to the head indicates a temporary loss of this ability or its weakening. But the head was only mortally wounded, and not separated and destroyed, and, consequently, the ability of the beast to destroy was not completely taken away from it, but only deprived of the opportunity to manifest itself in its former strength. Thus, a wounded head will mean that during the previous time the devil was deprived of some part of his freedom in God-hostile activities. But by the permission of God, this freedom will return to him again. In the face of the Antichrist, this beast with all seven heads, he will begin to act with special strength and energy.

The wound was inflicted on the devil by Christianity, which protected Christians from the devil's delusion and gave them the strength to resist his wiles in the name of Jesus Christ and the power of the life-giving cross. But when the apostasy from Divine truth takes place in the Christian world, then the devil will also receive his former freedom. His head will be healed and he will show his activity in the same degree to which it manifested itself in idolatry and persecution against Christians. Such a return of the former diabolical power and influence, and the former forms of this influence, will be truly amazing (). And this surprise will lead the earth, i.e., those who live on it, to direct worship of the dragon, who gave power to the beast. It is not indicated here that the people of that time would distinguish between the beast, i.e., the Antichrist, from the dragon, i.e., from the devil, and the expression of the worship of the dragon speaks only of the objective fact that the worship of the beast will in reality be the worship of the dragon; since the beast-antichrist will have power and significance only insofar as he receives them from the dragon-devil.

. and worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?

. And there was given unto him a mouth that spoke proudly and blasphemies, and power was given to him to act for forty-two months.

People will bow to the beast not only in the way they sometimes bow before people worthy of respect and admiration, but they will bow as to a god. They will put him above all doubt, and incomparability, complete perfection is a divine property (cf.). Further features of the description of the beast bring it even closer to the antichrist about whom Ap. Paul () and Prop. Daniel () and who will be an obedient instrument in the hands of the devil, the spirit of pride and malice. The pride of the Antichrist, according to the Savior, will be expressed in the fact that he does not recognize himself as someone else's messenger, but will come from himself (). The activity of the antichrist-beast will be only an allowance and even a direct influence of God ("he will be given ..."). Therefore, this domination in the world of blasphemy and resistance to God will continue for 42 months. This period must be identified with forty-two months of trampling the peoples of Jerusalem () and with 3 1/2 years of hiding the wife from the dragon in the wilderness (). And St. The fathers and teachers of the Church (St. Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerus., John the Golden, Blessed Jerome, and others) definitely asserted that the Antichrist would reign for three and a half years about the continuation of the kingdom of Antichrist. But also in this short period Antichrist, with the assistance of the devil, will have time to complete his work, and the world will reveal its maturity enough for judgment, since by that time it will reach the extreme development of its wickedness, and will itself meet Antichrist as the spokesman and representative of its wickedness.

. And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven.

. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and power was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.

. And all who dwell on earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

. Whoever has an ear, let him hear.

. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints

Since the Antichrist will strive to present himself as a god, then, according to the power of things, it will even be necessary for him to humiliate and blaspheme everything that people previously considered to be God, divine and holy. He will blaspheme God, Jesus Christ, and His work of redemption; he will blaspheme heaven, the habitation of God, the place of God. throne, will blaspheme those who live in heaven, - St. Angels and glorified saints. Antichrist will use all the devil's machinations to tempt believers and all means of violence. His power will be so great that it will extend to all who live on earth, both the pious and the wicked. And all those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life will worship him. This book of the Lamb is the same as . The addition of the definition of the Lamb indicates that the salvation of the pious from the wiles of the devil and Antichrist depends entirely on faith in Jesus Christ and on the hope of God's mercy.

After detailed description the beast-antichrist and those terrible sad consequences, the cause of which will be his reign, the revelation calls for attentiveness. For the pious, this appeal contains consolation and encouragement, and at the same time a call for patience, for strengthening the exploits of vigilance and piety; in relation to the wicked, this appeal contains the threat of Divine retribution, which sooner or later, but always surely comes into its own. The beast-antichrist will go into captivity, be deprived of freedom and cast into fiery hell (); as he killed with the sword, destroyed and destroyed, so he himself will be destroyed by the sword that proceeds from the mouth of God, will be destroyed by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord (). From this, believers can draw comfort and encouragement for themselves. The expression "here" indicates that it is now, in the days of anti-Christian violence, that special patience is needed, and also that in everything that has been said, only true Christians have in mind the patience and faith.

In order to explain the fact of the special success of the activities of the Antichrist among human society, a picture of a new phenomenon, the second beast, opens up before the eye of the mystic. This beast comes out of the earth, while the first came out of the sea. Consequently, he, as coming out of the earth, will be a representative of everything that is the property of the earth and of all earthly culture, as it is worked out by the long history of human society and that materialism, which reduces everything to the actions of natural natural forces, leaving no room for the spirit and God. . According to the indication of the Apocalypse itself (), interpreters look at this beast as a false prophet, acting simultaneously with the first antichrist beast (cf.). Just as the first beast from the sea is the personality of Antichrist - the man of sin, the king of the last days, so exactly the second beast from the earth is also a personality, although different from Antichrist, but closely connected with him both in time and in the purpose of their activity. The second beast will be a false prophet in the broadest sense of the word, precisely as a herald before people of the will of Antichrist, who came according to the action and will of the devil.

. And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and makes the whole earth and those who dwell on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed;

The likeness of the second beast to the Lamb must be limited only by the appearance of the horns. The strength of the characteristic is that the beast in terms of horns is not exactly the same as the Lamb, but only similar to it. The beast from the earth has only two horns (the Lamb has seven horns), which, signifying its lesser strength, distinguishes it both from the Lamb and from the dragon and the beast. He can only be a service force in relation to the dragon and the beast; and in relation to the Lamb he can only be a deceiver, hiding behind appearance. His inner being and the purpose of his appearance, as completely opposed to the essence of the Lamb and his relation to the world, are clearly indicated in the last words of the verse: "talked like a dragon". His words are words of deceit and seduction, and their goal will be the temptation and destruction of people (). At the same time, he will be the executor of someone else's will and someone else's desire, as the expression "before him" clearly says. Acting as a servant of the beast antichrist, the false prophet will force the whole earth and all people to bow down to this latter. In Revelation 13, it was said that all those living on earth, whose names are not written in the book of life, that is, all people, except for the chosen and perfect Christians, will worship the Antichrist. Here (v. 12) the same thing is said, only a new person, a false prophet, is exposed as acting in the accomplishment of this deed.

. And he does great signs, so that he brings down fire from heaven to earth before people.

Thus, all the activities of the false prophet will be aimed at increasing the power and influence of the Antichrist over the world. To do this, he will perform great signs, which in any case will be natural and real facts, real, and not seeming miracles, although performed by the power of the devil. And if for some reason these miracles can be called false, then only because they will done for deceit, deceit and lawless suggestions. Such, for example, will be the miracle of bringing fire down from heaven, which he will perform in contrast to the miracle of two witnesses () who blew fire from their mouths, and which will be “before people”, that is, with a ostentatious, public character and with the aim of producing impression on people (cf.;).

. And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives.

as a false prophet famous person, through his preaching and miracles, he will persuade people not only to honor the beast-antichrist himself, but even to make his images and worship before them. This feature of the activity of the false prophet indicates that the kingdom of the Antichrist of the last time will have the character of religiosity and will have the goal of proclaiming a new religion. The new religion will be the opposite of Christianity - anti-Christianity; then they will believe in the Antichrist himself, who will declare himself God. He will demand divine honors for himself, he will demand special worship and veneration of his images (cf.).

. And it was given to him to put the spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed.

There will be something special in the last time of the world to test the Christian faith. The statue of the beast-antichrist will speak and give the order to kill anyone who does not worship before it and before other images of the beast. This means that then a complete and widespread persecution will be declared against any other religion, except for anti-Christianity. Then it will be possible according to the action of Satan and a miracle with the statue, as it will be possible for the false prophet and the bringing down of fire from heaven.

. And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

The mark of the beast may be reminiscent of the custom of the ancient Romans, in whom warriors sometimes burned the names of their leaders on their hands and foreheads, and slaves (voluntarily or by force) - the names of their masters. The inscription of the anti-Christian name will be violence and unconditional constraint only for the saints, for those who do not wish to worship the beast and its statues. Anyone who decides to refuse to accept the mark, thereby exposes himself to complete social alienation and helplessness. This, undoubtedly, is a powerful means to persuade all the fainthearted and weak to recognize the power of the Antichrist and achieve the goal of deceiving people. The writing was twofold. But since, according to the Jewish and Greek custom of that time, the letters of the alphabet very often served as numbers, so that a certain combination of letters gave this or that name or the corresponding number and vice versa, then the number and the name in relation to the beast are the same and serve as a definition of it. personality by which he would be known among the people of that time. The Seer did not directly mention this very name; he indicated only the number corresponding to it, presenting the very wisdom of man to discover the real name of the Antichrist. - "Here", that is, when discovering this mysterious name and its meaning, wisdom is needed, a special effort of the mind is needed.

. and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except he who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

. Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred sixty-six.

This is both difficult and easy. It is difficult because moral perfection is required, but it is easy because, on the one hand, the very circumstances of that time will contribute to this, on the other hand, and the number of the beast that needs to be counted is the number of a man, that is, the number that makes up the name person, in the usual usage and meaning of a human name. It is necessary to find such a human name, which would give the sum of its letters, translated into numbers, to give the sum of 666. Mohammed, Patr. Nikon, Napoleon and other historical figures. History in its past has not yet given us the antichrist-beast, and therefore his name or the number of his name cannot be indicated in the past. But the number 666 cannot be given an exclusively symbolic meaning.

When deciding on the number of the beast, one should pay special attention to the fact that the text deliberately repeats the number of the beast, which is equivalent to the number of his name. And if so, then there is no reason to pay exclusive attention only to the number, and not to the number and name. It is necessary, identifying the name of the beast and the number of his name, to refer them to the Antichrist, as his personal name. In any case, the true name of the Antichrist, which gives the sum of 666, along with other signs, will belong to his historical personality, as it is depicted according to the prophecy of St. John, App. Paul and Prop. Daniel. John did not mention this name now, but not because he wanted to create a riddle through it, but because the knowledge of this name is now unnecessary, because it is useless. It will be necessary and useful only in recent times, when the person who will bear this name appears. According to the words of Jesus Christ: "another will come in his name"() Antichrist will be a well-known human person and, like him, will bear his own personal name. The personal name of the Antichrist is deliberately hidden by the will of God with special wise purposes, and only future times will reveal the name of this extreme adversary of Jesus Christ and St. Churches. In fulfilling the desire to know the name of the Antichrist, one must begin not with his name, but with his other signs indicated in the Holy. Scripture, and the name of Antichrist, which gives the number 666, must be given only to that (Antichrist) person to whom all other signs will be applied.

The Appearance of the Antichrist

< Откровение 13:1-18 >

“And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were names of blasphemy. The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority. And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth marveled, following the beast, and bowed down to the dragon, which gave power to the beast, And bowed down to the beast, saying: Who is like this beast? and who can fight him? And there was given unto him a mouth that spoke proudly and blasphemies, and power was given to him to act for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Whoever has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints. And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and makes the whole earth and those who dwell on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound is healed; And he does great signs, so that fire also brings down from heaven to earth before people. And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives. And it was given to him to put the spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed. And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, And that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this mark. , or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six."

Interpretation

Verse 1 "And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea, with seven heads and ten horns; on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names".

The apostle John saw a beast coming out of the sea. God uses the image of the beast to show us what the Antichrist will do when he appears on earth. The beast that God showed John has seven heads and ten horns. But this does not mean at all that it is in this guise that the Antichrist will appear. This means that someone will appear on earth who will be endowed with the power and authority of this beast and who will persecute the saints, will subject them to torment and put them to death.

Doesn't this mean that, like the image of this beast, everything else in Revelation is only symbolic? In no case! Because in order to describe the appearance of the Antichrist and tell about his deeds, God could only speak through such visions. This is the wisdom of God and the power. Through the Word of Revelation 13, we should have a clear idea of ​​what will happen at the end of time.

The first thing John saw was the appearance of the beast that came out of the sea. The seven heads of the beast and its ten horns speak of the power that the beast will have in this world. The words “on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names” mean that the Antichrist will gather under his command the peoples of the whole world and rise up against God. It also tells us that he will rule over all the mighty of the world this. The ten diadems mean the victories of the Antichrist over the rulers of this world, and the “blasphemous names” on the heads of the beast mean the subdued pride of these rulers.

In the future, the world will be ruled by some kind of multinational organization that will protect the common interests of the states that make up this organization. This supranational body will subordinate the whole world to its power and will dictate its will to all nations and peoples. And, as a result, when the Antichrist appears on this earth, this organization will become an accomplice in his affairs. The Antichrist is the enemy of God. He is the one who works under the power of Satan and is the servant of the devil.

Verse 2 “The beast that I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.".

These lines tell us what the Antichrist will do with the saints and other people when he appears. The reason the Antichrist treats the saints harshly is because Satan will endow him with so much power and authority. These lines also speak of the subtle cruelty with which the Antichrist will treat the saints, indicating exactly what kind of torment the saints will be subjected to by the Antichrist during his martyrdom.

This verse shows us how ferocious and terrible the Antichrist is. The words "his legs are like those of a bear" talk about how great his power is. The dragon in question here was originally an angel created by God who challenged Him and claimed His throne. It was this dragon that gave power to the beast spoken of in this Chapter, which rebelled against God and His saints.

Satan - an angel cast down from heaven - will give his power and strength to the one who rebels against God, and will lead him to death, forcing him to fight against God and His saints. In the future, the Antichrist, invested with the power of Satan, will severely persecute God's people and all the rest of mankind.

Verse 3 “And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth marveled as it followed the beast.”.

This verse tells us that the Antichrist will appear as one of the seven earthly kings. He is called the beast because of his bestial cruelty, which he will show in relation to the saints.

In these lines, the enemy of God and the saints is presented to those who, at the end of time, will be able to solve the problem of death itself. Therefore, many people at the end of time will believe that the Antichrist is able to cope with all the disasters that will fall on the earth at this time. But the Antichrist is the enemy of God. And despite the fact that he will force the people of the earth to submit to him, he, in Eventually, will be destroyed for rebelling against God and His saints.

Verse 4 “And they worshiped the dragon, who gave power to the beast, And worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?.

These lines tell us that the dragon will give all his power to the one whom he has turned into his servant, and who will commit atrocities on earth. For this reason, people in this world will regard the dragon as a god, and will tremble before it in horror and worship it. And, since at this time none of the earthly rulers will have power similar to the power of the beast, no one will be able to prevent him from declaring himself a god, and will not be able to prevent him from being deified by people.

Since the dragon will endow the beast with great power, everyone will worship the dragon and the beast, serving the latter as a god. When, with such great power, the Antichrist appears on earth, those who love darkness more than light will follow him, serve him as a god and exalt him high.

Verse 5 "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to go on for forty-two months".

The dragon will endow the beast with a heart full of pride and a mouth with which he will utter blasphemous words for forty-two months. Thus, for three and a half years, the beast will have the power to inflict pain and suffering on the saints and other people in this world.

The Beast, which is the Antichrist, will have the power to speak words against God and blaspheme His church for three and a half years. Thus, all sinners will kneel before the beast and, in the end, will come with him to their destruction.

Verse 6 "And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven".

Endowed with the power of a dragon, the beast will blaspheme God, all His Angels and saints for three and a half years. All this he will do at the behest of the dragon. Here we must understand and believe that only with the permission of God, Satan will be able to give the beast the power to blaspheme God for three and a half years.

In essence, the Antichrist exists to blaspheme God and His people. Having received power from the dragon, the Antichrist will blaspheme the name of God and His people during the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.

Verse 7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; And authority was given to him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.".

From the dragon the beast will receive the power to kill saints and make martyrs out of them. In addition, he will rule the whole world, since he will be given the power to subjugate all the peoples on this earth.

The Antichrist will kill the saints because only by fighting with the saints and defeating them will he be able to rule this world. The Antichrist is only a puppet in the hands of the devil, who, being a fallen angel, wants to be worshiped and served as God. By killing the saints, he will win the worship of those who are not born again. And the saints will be persecuted and tormented by the Antichrist during these times of Great Tribulation.

Verse 8 "And all who dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world".

When the Antichrist conquers this earth, all people, with the exception of those who have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, will worship and serve him as their god. Only those whose names are not written in the book of life will worship and serve the Antichrist.

Verse 9 "He who has an ear, let him hear".

These lines tell us that everyone who belongs to the people of God must strengthen his faith in order to be martyred. Because everything will happen in full accordance with what is written in Scripture.

Verse 10 “He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints".

Here God is saying that He has prepared the same death and torment for those who at the end of time will kill the born again saints. The Antichrist and his followers will kill the saints after the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. But, those who will kill the saints, God will repay with even greater torment and suffering. Therefore, all saints must unite their hearts, must overcome the Great Tribulation by their faith in the Word of the Lord, and must give glory to God by their martyrdom.

Verse 11 “And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.".

Here we see not the first beast, but the second. The second beast also speaks and thinks like a dragon. He not only considers himself like a dragon, but, moreover, basing all his actions on this conviction, he persecutes the saints even more cruelly. This beast is the prophet of the Antichrist.

Verse 12 "He works before him with all the power of the first beast and causes the whole earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound is healed".

The second beast, endowed with power by the first beast, will worship and serve the first beast and will force all who are still left on earth to worship and serve itself. His efforts will be aimed at elevating the first beast to the rank of a deity and making everyone worship him as God. As a result, both he and the first beast will become for people the same objects of worship as God Himself. The second beast is essentially a true servant of Satan.

Verse 13 "And he does great signs, so that he also brings fire down from heaven to earth before people".

Since Satan will perform miracles before people on this earth, he will be able to deceive and deceive many. He can even bring down fire from heaven to earth.

Verse 14 "And by the miracles which he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives".

But soon Satan will appear before people in his true form. All he wants is to steal from people's hearts their faith in God and make people worship and serve him instead of God. To achieve this, he will perform miracles before the people and will kill God's people. To achieve his ultimate goal - to become God - Satan will try to put himself in place of God. To do this, he will make the image of the first beast and force people to worship this image as God.

Verse 15 "And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed".

Satan's greatest obstacle to elevating himself to the rank of deity will be the people of God. Therefore, Satan will make every effort to get rid of the saints. He will kill all who do not worship the image of the beast, no matter how many there are. But the saints will not retreat before the beast. And thus, many saints at this time will readily accept martyrdom for their faith. They will accept martyrdom with the hope of life after their death. Since the Antichrist will subject the saints to terrible torments, God has prepared for him the disasters of the seven bowls of wrath and will punish him by plunging him into the ever-burning flames of hell.

Verses 16 and 17 “And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name".

In the midst of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist will demand from everyone and everyone to receive a special mark on the right hand or on the forehead, which will indicate that this person is under the control of the Antichrist. The mark is the mark of the beast. In order to turn all people into his servants, the Antichrist will force people to accept this sign.

For the Antichrist, human life will no longer be of any value. In order to finally subjugate the peoples and rule them undividedly, the Antichrist will weave a web of political intrigues. As a result of these conspiracies, he will make it so that those who do not have the mark of the beast, that is, proof of devotion to the antichrist, will not be able to buy or sell anything. This mark is the name of the beast, or the number of his name. When the beast comes to this world in the future, each person will be required to take the mark of the beast, which will contain either the name of the beast or the number of its name. Therefore, we must always remember God's warning that those who receive this mark will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone.

Verse 18 “Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six.".

The number of the beast is 666. This means that the beast itself wants to be like God. Is there a number that would mean that "man is God"? The number that has this meaning is the number of the antichrist. Saints cannot receive such a mark, since only the Triune God is the true God for us. The Saints must overcome Satan by their faith in the Lord and give glory to God. This is the best faith, and with this faith the saints can give all the glory to the Lord. Let us by our faith overcome the Antichrist.

Explanation of basic terms

The theme of Chapter 13 is the appearance of the Antichrist and Satan. With their appearance, the saints will enter into a spiritual battle in which they will have no choice but to be martyred at the hands of the Antichrist. The Antichrist, the servant of Satan, is precisely the one who will persecute the saints and put them to martyrdom.

At present, all people, both Christians and everyone else, should know the Word of Revelation. The 13th Chapter of Revelation prophesies that the time will come when Satan will elevate the Antichrist to the rank of God. Satan will give one of the world's biggest political leaders tremendous power and will cause him to rebel against God and His saints. In particular, the Antichrist will himself raise himself to the rank of a deity and, thereby, will challenge God.

All people, including the people of God, will suffer incredible suffering during the persecution to which they will be subjected by the fierce Antichrist like a beast. The lines of Revelation say that, filled with the spirit of Satan, the image of the Antichrist will speak as if alive and will have the power to kill people. Those who are not born again will bow before him and become his servants. But those who do not worship the image of the beast will be killed, however numerous they may be. And Satan will force people to take on their right hand or forehead the mark of the name of the beast or the number of the beast.

We all need to strengthen and prepare our faith in advance. And when the day comes, we will all have to fight against Satan and defeat him with our faith. We will have to overcome by understanding the meaning of the Word written in the 13th Chapter, by understanding and believing in it. The people of God living in these times must give glory to the Lord by heeding and believing the Word of Revelation and thus triumphing over the Antichrist.

Origin of Hell

First of all, we must know why hell exists and why it is needed. Hell is prepared for Satan. The Bible says that initially there was no Satan, but there was one of the many angels created by God. Overwhelmed with pride, this angel challenged God. For this sin, the angel became Satan, and hell became the place that God created to imprison him there. God created hell so that Satan and his followers would be punished for those who rebel against Him.

Isaiah 14:12-15 tells how this angel became Satan: “How you fell from the sky, morning star, son of the dawn! crushed on the ground, trampling the nations. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the assembly of the gods, on the edge of the north; I will ascend to the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” But you are thrown into hell, into the depths of the underworld".

The angel who rebelled in heaven against God desired the throne of God. Seeing that there is only God above him, this angel conceived to depose Him and sit on His throne. The attempt to rebel against God was unsuccessful and, as a result, this angel himself was thrown out of heaven by God and became Satan. Other angels who were on the side of Satan during his rebellion against God are called demons in the Bible.

To give due retribution to all creatures that rebel against God, He created a place called "hell." It may seem that Satan will endlessly challenge God and blaspheme His works. But it's not. When the gospel of the water and the Spirit—the good news of salvation—is proclaimed to everyone on this earth, Satan will eventually be imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand years.

Since Satan did not initially repent of his sin against God, he will continue to attempt to ascend to God's heights and end up suffering a terrible punishment and being imprisoned in hell forever. Until the very last moment, Satan will oppose God and the righteous, forcing people to worship him as a deity. This angel who blasphemes God and His saints is referred to in the Bible as Satan or the devil, as well as the dragon and the ancient serpent (Revelation 12:9).

666, number of the beast

God will eventually imprison Satan forever. But, before Satan is thrown into hell, Satan will force people to take on their right hand or forehead the inscription of his name and his number - 666. And whoever does not have this mark will be forbidden to buy or sell anything.

The number 7 is the number of perfection, which refers to God. And the number 6 means man, since God created man in His own image and likeness on the sixth day. The number of the beast - 666 - shows us human pride, an attempt to become like the Triune God. In the near future, the time will come when people will begin to accept this mark - 666.

Revelation 13:1 says that among the ten nations there will be seven kings, seven rulers. One of these rulers, possessing great power and endowed with the power of Satan, will subdue the whole world. Performing great miracles, such as healing his mortal wounds, and casting down fire from heaven to the earth, he will make people follow him.

In other words, since Satan will make people follow him even more than people followed God, people will begin to worship him as God. Just as heroes appear in times of turmoil and calamity, so will the Antichrist appear. In resolving the complex political and economic problems that the world will face at the end of time, the Antichrist, endowed with great power by Satan, will seek to ensure that people follow him as God. But in the end, Satan will reveal his true identity, rebelling directly against God Himself.

From the Book of Daniel, we see that the Great Tribulation will reach its climax by the end of its first half. This first half, which will last three and a half years, will be a time of terrifying disasters and the dominion of Satan. However, after these three and a half years, the time will come for even more terrible and destructive disasters and catastrophes. At that time, Satan will be given power to kill all who will not listen to him and follow him. He will deceive and deceive people with miracles like the fire of heaven and, deifying himself, will make people blaspheme God.

At the same time, the Antichrist, having received power from Satan, will blaspheme the saints and kill those who disobey him. As verses 7 and 8 say: “And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on earth will bow down to him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”. However, at this time there will be people who refuse to kneel before the beast. And they are none other than the born again people of God, the people whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Martyrdom

The time for martyrdom will come when those born again by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will defend their faith in the Lord by refusing to accept the mark of Satan. In other words, the Great Tribulation will reach its peak as soon as its first three and a half years are completed. At this time, the faith of the righteous must be ready to face martyrdom.

However, those who believe in Jesus as their Savior but have not believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and therefore have not received a remission of sins and still have sin in their hearts will take sides with Satan and begin to worship and serve him. Because Christians who believe in Jesus but are not born again do not have the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they will surrender to Satan, receive his mark on their right hand or forehead, and worship him as God.

We must clearly understand that only those who have received the remission of their sins will not worship and serve Satan at the end of time. And we must realize that God has clearly told us that He, along with Satan, will cast into the lake of fire and brimstone those who bow before the beast.

Verses 9 and 10 read: “He who has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints". The Antichrist and his followers will subject the righteous to the most severe persecution, they will persecute them everywhere and kill them with their swords. However, we must, once and for all, realize the fact that God will certainly avenge us on our enemies who persecute and kill the righteous.

Therefore, the righteous must courageously face persecution and martyrdom, believing in God's promise. If God wasn't going to take revenge on our enemies, how could we close our eyes in an unsatisfied sense of justice. But since God has promised to avenge us on our enemies, our death will not be in vain. God will surely avenge those who torture the righteous and lead the righteous to the resurrection, ascension, and marriage supper of the Lamb. He will allow the righteous to reign with the Lord for a thousand years and live with Him forever and ever. We all believe and hope so. Our Lord is a wonderful God who will fulfill all our hopes.

Book "Beginning and End" - Part 3 Last days according to the prophecies about them 13.05.2009 22:02

THE LAST DAYS ACCORDING TO THE PROPHECIES ABOUT THEM

ABOUT THE “BEAST” COMING FROM THE SEA AND THE “BEAST” FROM THE EARTH

If we confine ourselves to covering only one historical side of the prophecies, then such a work would turn out to be incomplete and completely useless. The study of the future will be mere curiosity, if it does not aim at the knowledge of those diabolical traps and temptations, which, if their essence and the intention of their creators are not known, can lead to destruction. Therefore, it is now necessary to investigate the prophecies about the terrible dark forces of evil, through which the last dominion of Satan on earth will take place. The main distributors of evil in the last times are indicated in the Prophecy by the images of two "beasts": one coming out of the sea, and the other coming out of the earth, as it is said in the 13th chapter of Revelation, and additionally, as an explanation of the nature of the beast coming out of the sea , in chapter 17. These images are another way of depicting the periods of the last time.

From the description of the essence of the first beast, it is clear that the time of his reign is divided into three periods, corresponding to three periods in the prophetic speech of Christ the Savior.

The revelation says: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will come out of the abyss and go to destruction” (17:8).

The first period of his reign, marked by the word "was", is consecrated very briefly and only at the beginning of the 13th chapter of Revelation: “And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns there are ten diadems, and on its heads are blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great power. (13:1-2).

The likening of the beast to a cunning leopard with the gait of a bear and the ferocity of a lion clearly echoes the images of world powers that were replaced in Babylon according to the vision of the prophet Daniel, and this suggests that the beast of the last time will inherit the experience of ancient tyrants.

Not only tyranny belongs to its essence, but, as its main feature, blasphemy is militant atheism: “On his heads are blasphemous names,” i.e. atheism will be his state ideology, religion. Further, the essence of the heads is explained in the 17th chapter: “The seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sits, and the seven kings, of which five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he will not be long” (17:9-10).

The heads of the beast are called mountains, as supports for the harlot wife; they are kings in essence, being the supreme rulers in the kingdom of the beast, replacing one another. The words “five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come, and when it comes, it will not be long”, indicates the moment of the most durable “sitting” of the harlot on the beast (with the sixth head). This also determines the sequence of changing the power of the heads of the beast.

In words "the beast... is the eighth, and out of the seven, and will go to destruction.” one can see, firstly, an indication that even after leaving the abyss, he will not change his characteristic qualities, but will continue the same diabolical activity of the beast that came out of the sea; and, secondly, an indication that he is one survivor of the heads of the first beast. He is the antichrist with whom the master of the abyss himself will unite. But this will be in the third period - after the exit from the abyss.

The second period is marked in the 17th chapter with the words "he is not", and in the thirteenth chapter it is written: “And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed.” This is, in fact, the same thing: The mortal wound of the king - the supreme ruler is the loss of power by him, which is indicated by the words "he is not." Therefore, the description of the beast in the 13th chapter of Revelation, until the moment of healing of his wound, refers to his first exit from the sea - to the first period of the end times. Also, according to the figurative description of it in the 17th chapter, this period (“the beast was and is not him”) is limited only by the word “was”, and is also marked with the words: “seven kings, of which five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he will not be long.”

The second period is marked in the 17th chapter by the word "he is not here", and in the 13th chapter it is written: “And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed” (3:3). This is actually the same thing: a mortal wound for the ruler is the loss of power, all the same as "he is not there."

“But that mortal wound has healed. And all the earth marveled as it followed the beast.” (13:3). Indeed, even now the world would be surprised at the return of Bolshevism, especially after the revival of the monarchy and the Christianization of the world. The same point is noted in other words in the 17th chapter: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will come out of the abyss, and will go to destruction, and those who live on earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the beginning of the world, will be amazed, seeing that the beast was, and is not him, and it will appear" (17:8).

If the healing of the wound and the reappearance of the beast after its disappearance are not the same event, then the world will then have to be surprised twice in exactly the same way. But this is clearly one phenomenon, shown in different ways, and then the following picture is obtained: the power of seven general secretaries Bolshevism disappears, which is a mortal wound to the bloody regime, and then, to the surprise of the whole world, Bolshevism is healed and returns to power.

And not only the world is surprised at the “resurrection” of this monster, but “And they bowed down to the dragon, who gave power to the beast, and bowed down to the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? And who can fight him?"(13:3-4). From these words it is clear that to accept with faith the reigning servant of evil is the same as bowing, and not only to him, but also to the primary source of evil, the dragon - Satan.

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given him to continue for forty-two months.”(13:5). By the permission of God, he reigns for three and a half years by the action of Satan - "a mouth was given"... These same words are the best proof that the Antichrist is not a beast from the earth, as some believed, and not a beast from the sea, the regime of seven heads, but it is the healed beast according to the 13th chapter and the beast that returned from the abyss, called " eighth» , from the 17th chapter.

And here, upon his return, this fiend reveals himself in his full "glory": “And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven.” (13:6). AP says the same. Paul on Antichrist: “The man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or holiness, so that in the temple of God he will sit as God, posing as God”(2 Thessalonians 2:4). However, the worst thing is that not only the accession of the bloody regime is allowed, but also Satan himself is allowed to run the earth, since this regime “He gave ... the dragon (Satan) his strength and his throne and great power ... And it was given to him to make war with the saints and overcome them, and power was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, .. Whoever has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints" (13:2,7,9-10).

Salvation from this monster, who received God's permission and the power of Satan, consists, as we see, only in the patience and faith of the saints: neither a coup, nor a revolution, nor a military action can get rid of him. That's why ep. Ignaty Brianchaninov and said: “Retreat is allowed by God: do not try to stop it with your weak hand”. Only the word "retreat", I think, should be replaced by the word "the accession of the Antichrist", because. the retreat had already taken place and prepared the way for this fiend to power. And everyone was obliged to try to stop the retreat, in order to delay its accession as far as possible. It seems that no one and nothing can resist the reigning Antichrist, which is why the Lord commands at this moment to flee to the mountains. Those who did not have time to hide have nothing to lose - death is ahead, so it remains for them, imitating the prophets Elijah and Enoch, to hasten to reason with anyone possible.

It remains to explain the meaning of the "ten horns" of this monster.

“And the ten horns that you saw are the ten kings who have not yet received the kingdom, but will take power with the beast, as kings for one hour, they have one mind and will transfer their power and authority to the beast. They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings." (17:12-14).

Judging by everything, the world of antichrists will have ten great powers, the rulers of which will be subordinate to the antichrist, being in the position of vassals. However, these ten rulers will do not only an evil deed - the transfer of power to the Antichrist, but before that, according to God's providence, a good deed: they will destroy the church - a traitor.

“And the ten horns that you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, will destroy her, and will expose her, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her with fire, because God has put it on their hearts to do His will, to do one will, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled." (17:16-17).

The antinomy expressed here is explained by the fact that the rulers of the ten world powers, perhaps under the influence of the Russian Tsar and the widespread Christianization of the world, will really hate the traitorous Church, already condemned by the Council of the Church faithful to God, and inflict bloody reprisals on it. But at the same time, the rapid corruption of the world with its pursuit of profit, luxury and pleasure, with growing anarchy, will force the rulers of these ten powers to accept the program of a new political leader - Antichrist, who has tremendous political and economic power. According to the description of the saints, like any seducer, he will be infinitely generous with promises. With the accession of the Antichrist, the third period of the end times opens.

“And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and makes the whole earth and those who live on it bow down to the first beast. (13:11-12).

The second beast, although it speaks like a dragon, and received from it a power equal to that of the first beast, is, however, only an auxiliary force: it does not have its own idea, even if it is blasphemous. He comes out of the earth, i.e. from a simple human crowd, and not from educated strata with a special ideology, which are indicated by images of the sea or the abyss. It has not just horns, but two horns, i.e. two supreme personalities, by which, apparently, one must understand one of the seven heads of the beast from the sea, and one of the beast from the abyss. Both horns are "like a lamb" - this indicates ostentatious meekness, a skilful counterfeit of the divine Lamb, i.e. apparently they will come out and announce themselves as saviors and merciful benefactors.

The beast from the earth strives with all its might to realize the ideas of the first beast - blasphemy, atheism and subsequently dark mysticism. To force people to recognize these ideas as good and accept them, he uses measures of state coercion: "He works with all the power of the first beast and causes the whole earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast."

Worship here refers to the rendering of divine honors to someone or something. At the time of the writing of the Apocalypse, false worship was the offering of a sacrifice to an idol, i.e. a statue depicting a pagan deity: it was necessary to put a piece of meat on a grate over a fire near the statue. But false worship in this form ceased 1700 years ago. Devil invent new way worship to his henchman, and through this to himself. V Soviet period worship of the "leaders" forerunners of the Antichrist was carried out without fire and meat that had gone out of fashion: a person came to special place("Polling station"), took a special ticket and put it in a red (symbol of the dragon and the beast) box (urn) in front of the red banner with the symbols of the beast and in front of the statue of Lenin's beast. This was called voting for a "bloc of communists and non-party people". The whole procedure was called elections, but there was no choice here, since only one candidate was indicated on the piece of paper. The real choice was whether or not to vote. The refusal to vote did not promise anything good. Although even here there was no choice: all measures of control and coercion were involved so that no one would remain unbowed. There were other ways of worship, for example, in the form of various subscriptions, affirming agreement with the rule of the "beast". In the time of the Antichrist, the devil may come up with something else new, more original.

“And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives” (13:14).

The image of the beast cannot be a portrait or a statue of a "beast", since that would be just a portrait of a person. In addition, all six or more billion people cannot come together to make a portrait or a statue, and if everyone is obliged to make an individual image for worship, then no one will be able to keep track of whether everyone bows to him or not. If we take into account that the Antichrist all the time tries to copy God only with the opposite spiritual sign, then the image of the beast must be copied from the image of God, which is man himself. The best interpretation of this place in the Apocalypse was given by St. Patriarch Tikhon in his epistle to the so-called “beast”. "council people's commissars» dated 26 Oct. 1918: “We are going through a terrible time of your rule, and for a long time it will not be blotted out from the soul of the people, darkening the image of God in her and imprinted in her the image of the beast. .

In man, at creation, all the holy qualities that are present in God are laid down, but to a small extent, which is why he is the image of God. So, the one who wears the image of the beast is such a person, in whose spiritual being all the qualities inherent in the beast from the sea and the beast from the abyss are reflected, and they are the complete opposite of the holy qualities of God.

The beast emerging from the earth also creates a workshop for the production of this image, i.e. a counterfeit for the Church, which is called to cultivate and purify the image of God in man. Ap. Paul says this about it: “My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is formed in you”(Gal. 4:19). And if everything in the Church is aimed at affirming the image of God in man, then the beast creates some kind of false likeness of the Church, a community whose goal is not to cleanse from sin and become like God, not to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, but to educate the builder of the earthly kingdom in a revolutionary spirit, wrestling with God. The closest analogy is the construction of socialism, the purpose of which is the proclaimed paradise on earth, and in the course of which the image of the beast is forged a new "conscious" man, i.e. Soviet man.

“And it was given to him to put the spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would speak and act in such a way that if we kill, there would be anyone who would not worship the image of the beast.”

Beast from the earth, i.e. the socialist state, headed by the "first horn" Stalin, did everything exactly like this: not only were the means of physical and psychological violence used to create the "new man", but all measures were taken to destroy those who evaded and unwilling to imprint in their soul the image of the beast . The repressive system was organized in such a way that all those who did not join the construction of socialism were declared enemies of the people and destroyed: "the people are building socialism, and you are in the way." The destruction was carried out, as it were, on behalf of the builders of socialism, who assumed the image of the beast, and were declared "the people." This "people" was completely involved in denunciation and applause of executions, which was an integral part of socialist construction. Under the Antichrist, all this must be repeated on a terrifying scale.

Here we must remember the words of Rev. Nile the Mvrotochivy about this "image", which he calls "glory". “When the accursed glory sees Enoch and Elijah preaching and telling people not to accept the seal of the Antichrist, he will command them to be seized.” “Glory”, as we see, has vision and the ability to command, but by “glory”, of course, it is still not the Antichrist and not his statue, because Elijah further says to the Antichrist: "It is your cursed seal and defiled glory that brought the world to destruction". It can be assumed that during the time of the Antichrist, the construction of an earthly paradise and its builders will be called not “socialism”, but “glory”.

The socio-political structure of the world through the efforts of the beast from the earth will be organized in such a way that any private activity that is not controlled by the beast will be eradicated. Instead of a market, distribution will come, so that those who have not accepted the slavery of the beast will no longer be able to buy or sell anything. For convenience, all the slaves of the Antichrist are branded on their foreheads or on their right hands, the place of branding depends on the type of slavery: physical or mental.

“And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred sixty-six" (Rev. 13:16-18).

Slavery to the beast will be either open with the adoption of a title containing his name (following the example of the slavery of Christians to Christ), or indirect with the adoption of an encrypted "human number", i.e. willingly obey. In both cases, the ideological essence of slavery will be equally theomachy. There are, apparently, exactly 666 various subscriptions, registrations, certificates of acceptance into public organizations and the occupation of state posts and positions, through which a person enters the number of builders of the “image” of the beast and accepts slavery to him. Apparently, wisdom is really necessary here in order to to discern under the "human" guise of satanic theomachism. An attempt to get to the bottom of the mystical meaning of this number and "decipher" it can only lead to cabalism and occultism, which naturally could not be part of the task of the Seer. But also by compiling puzzles to guess the name of the beast Ap. John wouldn't do it. Moreover, knowing the name of Antichrist without knowing the essence of his ideas will not be of any use: it is not his name that makes him Antichrist, but disguised rebellion.

Here it is necessary to recall again the "Posthumous Hangings", where Rev. Neil the Mouthful says: “The seal will say the following: “I am yours.” "Yes, you are mine." “I go by will, not by force.” “And I accept you by your will, and not by force”.

So the whole point of accepting the seal is in voluntary slavery to the beast, and not in the mystical power of the number 666, and not in what colors or in what way it is set: with a red-hot iron, a laser beam, or in some other way. Recently, there has been a lot of noise about the introduction of bar codes, TIN, electronic passports, etc. One thing must be said that these innovations have nothing to do with the press, but are only components of a sophisticated system of universal control over people. These means are purely technical, they can be useful to the Antichrist only in order to more easily catch those who oppose the acceptance of his seal, or for coercion in conjunction with the abolition of money.

But, I think, the enemies of Christ are somewhat in a hurry with this system of control and surveillance, since there is still a revival of the Orthodox Monarchy in Russia, which will sweep away all this electronic control. And in order to avoid all these traps, you need to fight not with them, but for the power of the Tsar.

And more about the type of printing. Previously, when interpreting chapter seven of Revelation, it was mentioned that the Angel sealed 144,000 servants of God with a seal with the name of God the Father. However, no one has yet seen this seal, and no one has said what this name sounds like, although the process of this imprinting seems to be coming to an end. Consequently, we may not see the seal of the beast with physical eyes, although the seal that the first horn of the beast put from the earth has long been on all people. These seals are needed not for viewing by people, but for angels and demons: apparently, the dark power cannot touch those sealed with the seal of God, and angels will not approach those who have the seal of the Antichrist.

During the reign of the first horn of the beast from the earth, which corresponds to the beginning of the construction of socialism in the thirties, it was possible to observe everything described here. Then the complete nationalization of everything in the country was carried out, i.e. everything was declared the state property of the "beast". The “godless five-year plan” was announced: by 1937 it was planned to “expel religion from all cracks”, and under the slogan: “we will live without God”, the construction of an earthly paradise of a socialist all-state labor colony was proclaimed, the goal of which is the struggle with God and faith in Him. A network of communist and socialist societies and enterprises was founded. Labor was allowed only in socialist enterprises, while any activity independent of the state was cursed and declared a crime. In order to successfully drive people into this "church" of Satan, an artificial famine was arranged and a socialist card system: necessary for life began to be issued to the "builders" of socialism on special cards. Food was delivered in quantities sufficient only for a half-starved life, money fell out of use. And all this was done at a time when bread was sold abroad.

A person who did not enter the construction of socialism could no longer sell his product and could not conduct any labor activity at all, because no one needed money, no one could pay for food himself, there was not enough. So, without printing, no one could buy or sell. About twenty million faithful people died of hunger in 1933, and the survivors recognized themselves as slaves of the beast. Those who remained faithful to God were shot or starved to death in prisons until 1939.

The “name of the beast” from among the “damaged” began to be worn by his direct followers of all ages: the Leninist Party, the Leninist Youth Union, pioneers and Octoberists - “young Leninists”. With the name “socialist”, enterprises, collectives, societies, unions, as well as posts and positions in them were founded, socialist contracts, registrations and insurances appeared - all of them, probably, were exactly 666. The visibility of these institutions is civil (human number) , but the essence is atheistic. Thus, the former "holy Russia" set out on a campaign against God. What did this apostate people deserve? Or strong admonition, or worthy punishment! The souls of those slain under the altar for the word of God cried out about this (Rev. 6:9), and in 1941 retribution followed.

Those who do not consider it a sin to betray God, rebellion against their Creator and Source of life, often cry: why did God send this disaster!? You can answer unequivocally. If the Lord had not allowed this war, then two mad worlds: the Bolshevik and the Nazi would have destroyed faith on earth. Treason against God, rebellion against Him, all the more forming societies to fight against Him, are the highest evil, for this creates the kingdom of the enemy of God - Satan. Therefore, the law of God's Truth determines: “Whoever worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will drink the wine of the wrath of God, whole wine prepared in the cup of His wrath, and will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the Angels and before the Lamb; And the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and they will have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and who receive the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:9-11).

And what do those who are faithful to God deserve? God the Father, seated on the throne, proclaims: “He who overcomes inherits everything, and I will be his God, and he will be my son”(21:7). And also Ap. John writes: “And I saw, as it were, a sea of ​​glass mingled with fire; and those who conquered the beast, and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name, stand on this sea of ​​glass, holding the harp of God, and sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. (15:2-3).

I knew a man who lived the entire period of Bolshevism from the day of accession to the abolition of it, and for the sake of loyalty to God, he never belonged to any of the societies, did not even have a certificate and never gave his signature. Naturally, he had to live a terrible life. He was taken to prison, escaped, hid for ten years, then fooled around until death. And all this only in order not to enter into an alliance with the enemies of Christ. For this, the Lord gave him the gift of miracles. Aug 7 In 1991 he accepted a martyr's death. His name is Arkatov Yakov Fedorovich.

But who is the inventor of such a cunning machine for the destruction of human souls? Bolsheviks? Long before the Red Bolsheviks appeared in the world in the first French revolution of 1789, and in subsequent revolutions, the world already saw the same Bolshevism with all its distinctive paraphernalia: the same red flag, the same five-pointed star, the same violence and rivers of blood under the slogan "freedom, equality and fraternity" and with the same falsely declared goal of building the kingdom of Astrea, universal justice and the earthly paradise of Eden. But at that time they began to build this paradise, this “glory”, flooding the earth with innocent blood, it was not the Bolsheviks who did not yet exist, but the Masons under the leadership of their leaders: Mirabeau, Robespierre, Marat ... They are the forerunners of the future Bolshevism. But, however, the Freemasons are not yet the true inventors of "glory", the monstrous "image of the beast" - communist socialism.

The true inventor of this system of violence, of course, is the father of lies - the devil, who directs all evil from the underworld. Being called the prince of this world, he has ministers in the world, and his army to wage war with Christ and his Church.

Ap. Paul writes: “The mystery of iniquity is already at work, but it will not be accomplished until the one who restrains now is taken from the midst, and then the lawless one will be revealed”(2 Thess. 2:7).

What does the Apostle mean by the mystery of iniquity in action? Naturally, he could not call a decline in morals or a combination of circumstances in this way, but he clearly understands the force that prepares the ground for the reign of the "lawless one." A lot has been written about this "force" and even about the motives that move it towards its goal.

In the time of the Apostles, only Judaism with its evil intentions and aspirations could be called the "mystery of iniquity". These are the Jews who changed the teaching of the prophets about the coming Christ - the Savior of the world, rebelled against the incarnate God and crucified Him. Those faithful to God followed the risen Christ and founded Christian Church is the community of His followers. In contrast to them, the crucifiers created their own society, which the Apostle called "the mystery of iniquity in action." These servants of the devil did not repent of their evil, but to this day they wage war against the followers of Christ. They need the reign over the world of a false messiah they please, through whom they intend to have power over the whole world. Whether consciously, according to their own plan, they create such cunning systems as socialism, democracy, etc., as opposed to the Christian monarchy, or whether this is done according to the plan of their father the devil, it is difficult to answer. But this "image of the beast", this "glory" could not be created without the activity of the "mystery of lawlessness".

The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority.

And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth wondered, following the beast, and bowed to the dragon, who gave power to the beast,

And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?

And there was given unto him a mouth that spoke proudly and blasphemies, and power was given to him to act for forty-two months.

And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven.

And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.

And all who dwell on earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Whoever has an ear, let him hear.

He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

Verse 1 in the original reads differently: "He stood on the seashore." This refers to the dragon waiting for the beast emerging from the sea. The beast has seven heads and diadems on ten horns.

In the 6th century, new kingdoms arise in Europe that replace the once great Roman Empire. At the same time, the rapprochement of the Roman Church with the emerging kingdoms of Europe takes place. Thus, instead of the Roman Empire, the spiritual empire of the papacy appears. The period of the Middle Ages begins, which will last one thousand two hundred and sixty years until 1798.

It is noteworthy that the city of Rome, the former capital of the pagan empire, by inheritance becomes the capital of the papal empire and remains so until 1870.

The French Revolution inflicted a serious wound on the power of the papacy: Pope Pius VI was captured French general Berthier in 1798. The papacy lost its political power over Rome (v. 3a). For a time, his political influence was completely paralyzed. The Pope declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican. But since 1929, the “prisoner” and his entourage have been gaining authority and making unsuccessful attempts to regain their former political influence and, moreover, to strengthen and expand it. Prophecy says that this wound will be completely healed, and by the end of time the papacy will have a power and influence that has never been seen before in the world (v. 3b). Currently, there is a rapid increase in the popularity of popes. The late Pope John Paul II did especially much to restore the authority of Catholicism, having visited 104 countries during the years of his pontificate (see appendix).

The Pope is not just a man, but God (Papa non est homo simpliciter sed Deus)2. Here it is appropriate to recall the prophecy of St. Paul (2 Thess. 2:7).

All this has given rise to atheists in Europe to reject faith in God and blaspheme Christianity. An era of secularism and indifference to faith has begun in Europe and in the world. After the "healing of the wound," the power of the papacy will be incomparably greater, but this is a matter for the future (v. 7, 8).

Beast from the earth

And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

12. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and causes the whole earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed;

And he does great signs, so that fire also brings down from heaven to earth before people.

And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and lives.

And it was given to him to put the spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed.

And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

And that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred sixty-six.

All the kingdoms of ancient and medieval history deprived a person of civil and religious freedom. The human personality was bound by the bonds of state despotism and religious dogmatism. This state of affairs was observed in all countries of the world.

The appearance of a new beast from the earth with two horns, similar to the horns of a lamb, speaks of the emergence of a power of a different plan.

The state that first proclaimed the principles of democracy and religious freedom was the United States of America. In 1776 the “Declaration of Independence”1 was approved, and in 1789 the first US President George Washington2 took office. This happened at the same time as the First French Revolution, which inflicted a serious wound on the centuries-old power of the popes in Europe (v. 3)3. At the intersection of these three major events starts New story peace.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that there are no diadems on the two horns (v. 11). They said about America: "This is a kingdom without a king and a Church without a pope." But it is no coincidence that Revelation says that this beast “spoke like a dragon” (v. 11). This country will certainly manifest the spirit of the dragon by the time the wound of the first beast is completely healed. The convergence of the papacy and the United States will lead to the emergence of a new world order in the world.

“Put your spirit into the image of the beast… which is wounded by the sword and lives” (v. 14). If the wound of the first beast was the deprivation of the papacy political power in Europe, then, naturally, the healing of this wound will mean the restoration of the union of Church and State. The previously existing model will be reanimated, but on a wider space and in new conditions.

“Speaking to those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast” (v. 14). Bishop Eusebius in the 4th century spoke about the universal Church and the universal empire. The great sovereigns and popes of the Middle Ages tried to achieve this desired goal.

Verses 15-18 suggest that some semblance of this pattern will emerge at the end of history, namely global political and religious control of the world. The “image of the beast”, having adopted the main ideas of the past, will successfully operate in the modern post-industrial world. History is back on track. The new history, which began under the banner of freedom and democracy, will end with a totalitarian system of a worldwide character.

Further events will show the whole world how the details of this prophecy are being fulfilled.

It is necessary to speak briefly about the miracles that the second beast does (vv. 13, 14). He brings down fire from heaven, which is reminiscent of the miracles in the days of the prophet Elijah (see 1 Kings 18:38). But here we are talking about the false miracles of the occult and spiritualism, which are extremely widespread in the USA and have recently taken on a religious coloring.

The mark of the beast. Back in the 4th century, the hierarchs of the Catholic Church encroached on the Law of God - the Ten Commandments. As a result, the second commandment of the Law of God was abolished and the fourth commandment changed. Instead of the biblical Sabbath, the “venerable day of the sun” was legalized - the first day of the week, called Sunday. This prescription had an imperative character, becoming, by and large, the first church-state act that was mandatory for execution. The same law will again take effect at the end of history.

“No one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this mark” (v. 17). The modern trading process is characterized by the indexation of all goods. All financial and trading transactions are controlled by the banking accounting system. In such conditions or in even more refined ones, apparently, people of the period of globalism will live.

It is important to note that App. John, writing Revelation in the first century, describes the human community at the end of days as organized on a worldwide scale and subject to a single government, anti-Christian in essence, but not all people living in those days recognize this tyranny.

Chapter 14

And I looked, and behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.