The beast emerging from the sea. And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I 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

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.

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 down to the dragon who gave power to the beast,

And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast, and who can fight with 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 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.

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 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 would not worship the image of the beast was killed.

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,

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.

It is better to consider this chapter in its entirety first before proceeding to its detailed study. This is all the more important because this chapter is central to the entire book.

The general meaning of the chapter is this. Cast down from heaven, Satan knows his time is short and tries to do as much damage as possible. To do this, he transferred his power and strength to two animals, which are the central figures of this chapter.

The beast emerging from the sea symbolizes the Roman Empire, the embodiment of evil in the mind of John. This beast is described in expressions dating back to the Book of the Prophet Daniel. V Dan. 7.3-7 there is a vision of four beasts coming out of the sea; they symbolize the four empires that ruled over the world before and at the time of the writing of the Book of Vice of Daniel. The beast, like a lion with eagle wings, symbolizes Babylon; bear-like, Mussel; similar to a leopard, with four wings - Persia; and the fourth - the empire of Alexander the Great. In Daniel's mind, these powers were so wild and inhuman that they can only be compared to beasts. It was only natural for a Jew, like John, to turn to this picture of brutal empires when he wanted to create a picture of yet another satanic empire that threatened the people of God in his day. In his picture in Revelation, John combines the features of all four in one beast: he is like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like that of a lion. In other words, in John's eyes, the Roman Empire was so satanic that it contained all the horrors of the terrible empires that preceded it.

The beast had seven heads and ten horns. They symbolize Roman rulers and emperors. Since the time of Octavian Augustus, the first Roman emperor, there have been seven emperors in Rome: Tiberius (AD 14-37); Caligula (37-41); Claudius (41-54); Nero (55-68); Vespasian (69-79); Titus (79-81); Domitian (81-96). These seven emperors are the seven heads of the beast. But, in addition, the beast has ten horns. This is explained by this. After the death of Emperor Nero, for some time almost complete chaos reigned in Rome. For eighteen months, the imperial throne was occupied by three people: Galba, Otho and Vitellius. They are not included in John's list of the seven heads, but they are included in the list of ten horns.

On the heads of the beast, says John, were blasphemous names. This refers to the titles that emperors appropriated to themselves. Each emperor had a title divus or sebastos, What means divine. Often the emperor was even given a name God or God's Son, and on the coins of Emperor Nero was the title he appropriated to himself savior of the world. But if a person called himself divine, then this is a blasphemous insult to God. Further, later Roman emperors gave themselves another title dominus, or Greek equivalent curios, which both matter Lord and in the Old Testament are a special title for God, and in the New Testament a special title for Jesus Christ.

The second beast that appears in this chapter, emerging from the earth, symbolizes the totality of the provincial power and priesthood, which was entrusted with the task of introducing (if necessary by force) the cult of Caesar, which confronted Christians with a choice: either to say that Caesar is God, or die.

Thus our picture falls apart; these two wild beasts - the Roman power and the organization that promotes the cult of Caesar, began their joint attack on Christians; and yet no nation had been able until then to withstand the power of Rome. What could Christians hope for - poor, defenseless, outcasts.

The head that was wounded and healed

This is another recurring theme in this chapter. Of the seven heads of the beast, one was mortally wounded, but healed (13,3); this head should be worshiped the most (13,12.14)", she is supremely evil, the foremost enemy of Christ.

We have already seen that the seven heads symbolize the seven Roman emperors, and therefore the head, wounded and then healed, symbolizes the emperor who died and then came to life again. This head symbolizes Nero redivivus, or the resurrected Nero. This legend merged in the minds of Christians with the idea of ​​the Antichrist.

Only when we understand who Nero was can we imagine how his return could be combined with the coming of the Antichrist.

It is hardly possible to find another person with such a bad heredity as the emperor Nero. His father, Knei Domitius Ahenobarbus, was known as the most vile man. He once killed his freedman simply because he did not want to drink anymore; on the Appian Way, he deliberately crushed a boy with his chariot; during a quarrel at the Forum, in Rome, he gouged out the eye of one rider, and finally died of dropsy, which was the result of a dissolute life.

His mother, Agrippina, was one of the most terrible women in history. When Domitius Ahenobarbus learned that he had a son by Agrippina, he cynically declared that nothing could be born to him and Agrippina but horror and grief for mankind. When Nero was three years old, his mother Agrippina was exiled under the emperor Caligula, and Nero himself was given into the care of his aunt Lepida, who entrusted his upbringing to two vile slaves, of whom one was a hairdresser, and the other a dancer.

Under the emperor Claudius, Agrippina was returned from exile. She had only one aspiration: to make her son emperor. Fortune tellers and astrologers warned her that if Nero became emperor, it would end in death for her. She replied: "Let him kill me, so long as he reigns."

Agrippina set about implementing her plan with all the passion and intrigues of her stormy nature. Claudius already had two children, Octavia and Britannicus, but Agrippina harassed him with her requests to adopt Nero when he was in his eleventh year and persuaded Claudius to marry her, although he was her uncle. Agrippina then demanded that Nero's mentors be the famous philosopher Seneca and the illustrious military leader Aphranius Burr. Gradually, Britannicus, heir to the throne, was relegated to the background, and Nero was placed in the center of attention.

The marriage of Claudius with Agrippina lasted five years, and then Agrippina arranged for Claudius to be poisoned with porcini mushrooms, and when he lay unconscious, she hastened his death by fanning his neck with a poisoned feather. As soon as Claudius was dead, Nero was presented as emperor, with the army bribed to support him.

A strange situation has arisen. The first five years of Nero's reign were the best in the history of imperial Rome. Nero was engaged in drawing, sculpture, music, theater; he was a complete dilettante, and meanwhile the wise Seneca and the honest Burr ruled the empire.

But then Nero ceased to be a cultural amateur and a series of terrible crimes began. He walked at night in the company of golden youth through the streets of Rome, attacking anyone he met. But the worst was yet to come. He killed, as a possible rival, Britannicus.

Neither boys nor women were immune from his lust. It was a terrible homosexual; he officially married the boy Spore, having celebrated the wedding with all the rites, and went with him on a honeymoon trip to Greece. Then he "married" the freedman Doryphoros; he made a mistress, and then married Poppaea Sabina, the wife of his closest friend Otho, and killed her with a kick when she was pregnant.

He had a passion for wild extravagance and made money out of everything. The Imperial Palace was a den of murder, immorality and crime.

One of Nero's passions was construction. In 64 there was a great fire of Rome; the city burned for a whole week. There is not the slightest doubt that Nero arranged it, or at least interfered with all attempts to extinguish it, so that later he would receive the glory of the man who rebuilt the city again. The people knew well who was responsible for the fire, but Nero shifted the blame to the Christians, and the most exquisite sadistic of all persecutions began. By his order, Christians were sewn into the skins of wild animals and set on them by ferocious hunting dogs; they were sewn into bags of stones and thrown into the Tiber River; they were smeared with pitch and lit like living torches to illuminate the gardens of the palace.

The madness of evil intensified and intensified. Seneca was forced to commit suicide; Burrus was killed by a poisoned medicine that Nero had sent him to cure a sore throat; they killed anyone who caused the slightest displeasure of Nero.

Agrippina made attempts to control him and Nero eventually rebelled against her as well. He made several attempts to kill her with poison; made a piece ceiling over her bed to bring it down on her sleeping; sent her to the sea on a special ship, which was supposed to crumble into the sea. Finally, he sent the freedman Aniket to her to stab her. Agrippina, seeing the dagger, exposed her body: “Beat the womb,” she said, “because it gave birth to Nero.”

It couldn't go on like this. First, Julius Vindex raised an uprising in Galiya, then Galba in Spain. Finally, the senate took the liberty of declaring Nero a public enemy. In the end, he committed suicide in the estate of the freedman Phaon.

This is the head that was mortally wounded and healed; the antichrist whom John was waiting for was the resurrected Nero.

Now let's take a look at the chapter in detail. It may be necessary to repeat some things, but in such an important and difficult chapter, repetitions can only serve to increase clarity.

Revelation 13:1-5 The devil and the beast

Let's start by summarizing what was said in the introduction to this chapter. The beast is the Roman Empire, the seven heads are the seven emperors, during whose reign the cult of Caesar was obligatory - Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The ten horns are the seven emperors and three other rulers who were in power together for only eighteen months following the death of Nero - Galba, Otho and Vitelius. The head, mortally wounded and healed, symbolizes the idea Nero redivus. In this picture, the Roman Empire is symbolized by a beast like a leopard, with legs like a bear and a mouth like a lion.

This indicates a completely changed attitude towards Rome. Paul received only help from the Roman government. The intervention of the Roman authorities and the Roman citizenship of Paul repeatedly saved him from the wrath and hatred of the Jews; so it was in Philippi (Acts 16), in Corinth (Acts 18), in Ephesus (Acts 19) and in Jerusalem (Acts 21:22). Paul believed that all authority is from God and all Christians should be subject to them. (Rom. 13:1-6). In the epistles of Peter, Christians are commanded to be submissive to all authorities, to be good citizens (1 Pet. 2:13-17). V 2 Thess. 2.6.7, most likely, it should be understood that the Roman Empire is a force that holds the world together, which protects the world from decay and chaos, and man from sin.

Everything changed in Revelation. The cult of Caesar arose. Emperors appropriate blasphemous titles for themselves: divine, son of God, savior, Lord. The power of Rome is aimed at crushing the Christian faith; and Rome became an instrument of the devil. In the description of the beast, the English theologian Sweet sees the symbol of the power of Rome. The empire has the vigilance, strength and ferocity of a leopard, always ready to jump on its prey; she has the crushing strength of a bear; and the empire is like a lion whose roar frightens the flock.

"Who is like this beast?" This is a dark parody of the great question: "Who is like You, Lord, among the gods?" (Ex. 15:11). Sweet points out that the beast's claim to superiority is not based on moral greatness at all, but only on brute force. Any empire based on brute force rather than moral greatness is an enemy of God. Glory of the beast that speaks proud and blasphemous (13,5), go back to the description in Dan. 7.8.20) small horn.

This passage reveals a great truth to us. Man and people in this world can choose whether to be an instrument of Satan or an instrument of God.

Revelation 13:6-9 Blasphemy

Verse 6 is difficult. Here it is said that the beast opened its mouth in order to speak blasphemy against God and against His dwelling and against all who live in heaven.

1. This can be understood as a generalized statement. This may mean that the power of the empire and the cult of Caesar represent blasphemy against God, heaven and angels. If we analyze this expression in more detail, we will see that the word used in the original Greek skinny, translated in the Bible as dwelling of God means a little more, because it matters tent, tent, temple, tabernacle, dwelling place, habitation. This word skinny always associated in the Jewish mind with the Hebrew word shekinah glory of God, though it has nothing to do with it at all. So it may well be that John meant to say that the whole way of life of the Roman Empire, and especially the cult of Caesar, is an insult to the glory of God.

2. But this passage may have a more specific meaning. The beast is the Roman Empire. It is possible that John means all the ways and occasions when Rome—not only in the age of John—offended God and His habitation. Most Roman emperors were shocked by the cult of Caesar, but not the emperor Caligula (37-41) - an epileptic and a lunatic. He took his divinity very seriously and insisted on being worshiped by everyone and everywhere.

The Jews had already always been exempted from the worship of Caesar, because the Romans were well aware of their unwavering devotion to the worship of the one God. This is closely related to the fact that of all the peoples of the empire, only the Jews were exempted from military service because of their strict observance of the food and Sabbath laws. But Caligula insisted that his image be placed in the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple. The Jews would have preferred to perish all rather than endure such a desecration of the Saint, and Caligula did indeed raise an army to impose his demands by force (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18), but, fortunately, he died without having carried out this.

If there ever was a blasphemy against the dwelling of God, then it was undoubtedly the actions of the emperor Caligula, and it is quite possible that, speaking of the blasphemy of the beast against the dwelling of God, John is thinking of this remarkable case.

Revelation 13:6-9 (continued) Earthly Perils and Heavenly Security

And it was given to the beast to overcome all those whose names are not written in the book of life. The Book of Life is often referred to in Rev. 3.5; 13.8; 17.8; 20.12.15; 21.27. In the ancient world, kings and rulers kept lists of the citizens of their states. If a person died or lost the right to citizenship, his name was deleted from there. The book of life is a list of those who belong to God.

In connection with 13,8 There is a problem with the correctness of the translation. The Greek text can be translated both as: “those whose (whose) names were written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain,” and as: “those whose (whose) names were written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world."

1. The first option is undoubtedly a translation of the parallel passage into 17,8; another close parallel is Eph. 1.4, where Paul says that God chose us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. The meaning of the phrase then boils down to the fact that God chose us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, and nothing in life and death, in time and eternity, nothing that the devil or the Roman Empire can do at all, can snatch them out of His hands. This option is adopted in the latest translations of the Bible.

2. The second version of the translation refers to Jesus Christ as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. A close parallel to this is 1 Pet. 1.19.20, where Peter speaks of Jesus and His sacrifice, predestined before the foundation of the world. The Jews believed that the archangel Michael was created before the foundation of the world to act as a mediator between God and Israel, and therefore, for the Jewish mind, there was nothing special in the phrase that Jesus was chosen before the beginning of the world to be the Redeemer of mankind.

These two translations contain two equally precious truths, but if we have to choose, we will choose the first, because in 17,8 John no doubt uses the phrase in this sense.

Revelation 13:10 The only weapon of Christians

At first glance, this is a difficult passage.

Whoever leads into captivity will himself go into captivity (at Barclay, whoever must go into captivity, let him go into captivity), whoever kills with the sword, he himself must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints. This verse is made up of two quotations. It begins with a quote from Jer. 15.2, where Jeremiah is to convey to his people that he who is condemned to death must go to death; who is doomed to go under the sword, must go under the sword; who is doomed to hunger must go to hunger; and whoever is to go into captivity must go into captivity. The point is that the judgment of God cannot be avoided. This is followed by a quotation from the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:52. When the crowd in the Garden of Gethsemane came to seize Him and Peter drew his sword to defend Him, Jesus said, "Put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."

There are three points to note here.

1. If the Christian faith foreshadows imprisonment, the Christian must unreservedly accept it. The Christian must accept everything that can befall him for following Christ.

2. Christianity cannot be defended by force; whoever takes a sword in his hand will perish by the sword. When the Roman government began persecuting Christians, there were about a hundred thousand of them, but it never occurred to them to use force and resist. To defend the gospel of the love of God with human violence is an incredible contradiction.

3. The weapons that the Christian can use in this struggle are patience and faith. Patience - Greek hupomone. This does not mean passively enduring everything, but courageously accepting the worst that life can bring and turning it into glory. Faith in Greek pistis, and that means unwavering devotion to the Lord.

Revelation 13:11-17 Power and authority of the second beast

This passage speaks of the power and strength of the second beast - the officials and administration, created to plant the cult of Caesar throughout the empire. Something is also said about his strength.

1. He does great signs and wonders. So, for example, he brings down fire from heaven to earth, and he made the image of the beast speak. Everywhere were statues of the emperor, in front of which an official act of worship was performed. In all ancient religions, the priests knew how to perform signs and wonders, how to create the impression of a talking statue. Pharaoh had his sorcerers in the time of Moses; the imperial priests were also experts in tricks and ventriloquism.

V 13,11 curious phrase. The beast from the earth has two horns, like the horns of a lamb, that is, he is a gloomy likeness of the Lamb in the Christian sense of the word, which spoke like a dragon. It is very possible that this last phrase should sound like this: spoke like a snake. This would then be a reference to the serpent that seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. The priests of the imperial cult could also utter seductive phrases: “Look what Rome has done for you. See what peace and prosperity he has given you; have you ever seen a greater benefactor than our emperor? You, of course, out of pure gratitude, can perform this formal act of worship to him. There is always an excellent case to be made that the Church should compromise with the world; but the fact is that by doing this, she once again betrays Christ.

2. The passage shows that anyone who does not worship the beast will be killed. And so it was in the law. A Christian who refused to perform an act of worship to Caesar was to be killed. The death penalty, however, was not always carried out; but the Christian who did not have the mark of the beast could neither buy nor sell. That is, the one who refused to worship the emperor, even if his life was left, was economically destroyed. The world knows well how to put pressure on those who do not accept its norms. And today a person often has to choose between material success and loyalty to Jesus Christ.

Revelation 13:11-17 (continued) Mark of the Beast

All who rendered the obeisance to the emperor that was demanded of them received mark of the beast on the right hand or on the forehead. This mark is another of the dark parodies in this chapter; it is a parody of a sacred Jewish custom. When a Jew prayed, he had on his left hand and on his forehead phylacteries, small leather cases with small rolls of parchment on which texts were written Ref. 13.1-10; 13:11-16; Deut. 6.4-9; 11:13-21.

Inscription, in Greek kharagma, may be traced back to several ancient customs.

1. Sometimes domestic slaves were branded with the brand (sign) of the owner. But usually only runaway or serious crime slaves were stigmatized. Such a brand or sign was called stigma; This word is still used in English today. If inscription associated with this sign or brand, John meant to say that the one who worships the beast is his property.

2. Sometimes warriors branded themselves with the name of their commander, to whom they were very devoted. This, to some extent, corresponds in our time to the custom of tattooing the name of a particularly dear person on your body. If John meant such a mark, then he meant that whoever worships the beast is his devoted follower.

3. On each contract of sale was placed kharagma, seal, and on the seal - the name of the emperor and the date. If John had in mind such a mark, then he meant that whoever worships the beast recognizes his authority.

4. All the coins were engraved with the head and name of the emperor, indicating that they belong to him. If John had in mind such a spelling, he again wanted to say that anyone with such a mark is the property of the beast.

5. A person who burned his incense stick in honor of Caesar received a certificate that he had done it. The mark of the beast may be this certificate of the performance of the ceremony of worshiping Caesar, which a Christian could receive only at the cost of renouncing his faith.

Revelation 13:18 Number of the beast

This verse says that the number of the beast is six hundred and sixty-six; and it must be confessed that more ingenuity has been expended on this verse than on any other verse of Scripture. Who is this satanic beast represented here by such a symbolic number? It must be remembered that in antiquity there were no numbers, and the letters of the alphabet also performed the function of numbers. So, in Cyrillic (Russian alphabet) A meant 1; B-2; C-3; G-4, etc. Thus, every word, and therefore every name, can also be a number. One sweet and romantic example of this use is given by Gustav Deisman. On the walls of Pompeii, a lover wrote: "I love the one whose number is 545", and thus called the name of his beloved and at the same time hid it!

Countless suggestions have been made regarding the number 666. In view of the fact that this is the name of the beast, they distorted it in any way to fit their sworn enemy; and therefore 666 also meant the Pope, Napoleon, the leader of German Protestantism, Martin Luther, the founder of the Scottish Presbyterian Church, John Knox, and many others. So, during the Second World War, they managed to create a system according to which it turned out that 666 was Hitler!

At the very beginning we said that Revelation was written in coded language; therefore, it is quite obvious that here, where the name of the sworn enemy of the Church was concerned, the most reliable code was chosen. Oddly enough, the key to the code seems to have been lost very early, because even such a great theologian as Irenaeus of Lyon, who lived in the second century, did not know what was behind this symbolic number.

We present here four of the very first suggestions.

Irenaeus of Lyons suggested that it could symbolize Euanphas. In Greek: E - 5; U -400; A - 1; H - 50; F - 9; A - 1; C - 200; and the sum is 666. But what Euanthas is - Irenaeus knew nothing about this; that is, he replaced one riddle with another.

It has been suggested that this word Lateinos. L - 30; A - 1; T - 300; E - 5; I - 10; H - 50; O - 70; C - 200; the sum is 666. Under lateinos Latin could be understood and therefore it could symbolize the Roman Empire.

The third assumption was that the word is Teitan. T - 300; E - 5; I - 10; T - 300; A - 1; H -50; and the sum is 666. Of teitanos two values ​​could be obtained. In ancient Greek mythology, the titans rebelled against God. Secondly, the emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian were from the family of Titus, and perhaps they could be called titans.

Fourth, it was suggested that this word arnoume. A - 1; P - 100; H - 50; O - 70; U -400; M - 40; E - 5; and the sum is 666. There is a possibility that arnoume - is a form of the Greek word arnoumap, —"I deny." In this case, the number symbolizes the denial of the name of Christ.

None of these assumptions seem convincing. The chapter itself gives us a slightly better clue to the puzzle. Again and again a mortally wounded head is mentioned, which later healed. As we have seen, this head symbolizes the legend of Emperor Nero. Nero redivivus, and, therefore, we may well infer that the number has something to do with Nero. In many ancient lists, the number is given as 616. If we write the name Nero in Latin letters and give them numerical values, we get: H - 50; E -6; P - 500; O - 60; H - 50, and the sum - 666; if you write the name Nero without the last N, the amount will be 616. And if the words Caesar Nero transcribed in Hebrew consonants, their sum will also be equal to 666.

There is no doubt that the number of the beast symbolizes the emperor Nero, and that John predicts the coming of the Antichrist in the form of Nero, the embodiment of evil, who has returned to this earth.

(Revelation chapter 13)

The devil is very interested that we misunderstand the book of Revelation, that we create all kinds of theories about images and symbols. This way it is easier for him to push us against each other, because at the same time everyone will defend “his” truth and fight for it with others. And in the meantime, he takes position after position in our heart. When we see Christ as the main character in the book of Revelation, the devil already loses his power over us, because we want to submit to Christ and His love.

The thirteenth chapter tells us about an unusual beast emerging from the sea, outwardly very similar to the dragon from chapter 12, standing in front of the woman who was to give birth to the Baby.

“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 power and his throne and great authority” (Rev. 13:1, 2).

Note that the beast is very similar to the dragon we met in chapter 12. The sea symbolizes the nations (Rev. 17:15). Rejecting the power of God over themselves, people choose rulers from among themselves, in whom all character traits correspond to the dragon. Like the dragon, the beast from the sea has seven heads and ten horns. This testifies to the fullness of his authority and power on earth. Whichever head rules, it will still carry out the will of the dragon. The number "seven" and "ten" in Revelation are symbols of completeness. Consequently, any power, political or religious, that exists in our world, no matter who and how this power is elected, for whatever purpose it is created, it always has one source of origin. Everything that comes from the "sea" (people's power, democratic, monarchical or republican, religious) has one root of origin and is always associated with the dragon. In other words, everything in this world comes from Satan, no matter what name it may be disguised as.

And, nevertheless, it should be noted that any power that existed or exists on earth is controlled from above and, ultimately, fulfills the will of the Creator. There are many examples of this in the Bible, here is one of them:

“Pilate says to Him: Are you not answering me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You and I have power to let You go? Jesus replied: you would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above; therefore more sin is on him who delivered me to you” (John 19:10-11).

Stupid Pilate did not even realize that the power he used, and often judged people unjustly, was given to him from above. Many dictators of the ancient world were aware of this. For example, the commander of the king of Assyria, Rabshakeh, who surrounded Jerusalem with his wars, admits this, listen to what he says to the people of Judah:

“Besides, did I, without the will of the Lord, go to this place to destroy it? The Lord told me, “Go into this land and destroy it” (2 Kings 18:25).

The devil can only use people and dictate his will to them when he is allowed to do so from above. The power-hungry and cruel kings, emperors of antiquity and military leaders, whom Satan used for his own purposes, carried out, first of all, the will of God, and then their own.

So, John observes how an unusual beast emerges from the sea, combining the characteristic features of various wild animals: a leopard, a bear, and a lion. In the form of a leopard, a bear and a lion, the prophet recognizes the ancient empires that existed long before him, which are described by the prophet Daniel (see Dan. 7: 1 - 6). The beast emerging from the sea gathered in itself all the predatory qualities of the former beasts that represented the world empires of the past. He has seven heads, all with blasphemous names. Any of his heads challenges God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The prophet understands that no matter what head gets the power, it will always oppose God.

It is important to note that the beast receives its strength, throne and power from the dragon itself. Why does the power-hungry dragon share its power and strength with the beast? Because the beast that comes out of the sea follows the will of the dragon in everything and encourages people to worship the dragon. And this is what he needs. God does not force anyone to worship Him and always gives a person the right to choose. When the Son of God was on earth, the devil was ready to share his power with Him, but on one condition, we read about this:

“Again the devil takes him to a very high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he says to him: I will give you all this if you bow down to me.”(Matthew 4:8, 9).

To bow means to recognize the authority and power of the one you worship over yourself. This is what the devil sought in heaven, and it is around this that a fierce struggle is waged on earth, which is so detailed in the visions of the book of Revelation. And people, absolutely without hesitation, worship him, giving themselves voluntarily into slavery.

“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 down to the dragon who gave power to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast, and who can fight with him? (Rev. 13:3, 4).

Watching the beast appear, the prophet sees that one of its heads has received deadly wound. From this mortal wound the beast could have died, but this wound was healed! How? Who heals the wound of the beast? Let's look, first of all, at who is the one who inflicts a mortal wound on the beast? And what does his healing mean? I advise you at this moment to forget all previous interpretations of this place in the book of Revelation, and let's try to observe the beast together with the prophet in order to see the meaning of this mortal wound and its healing. Leave, at least for a while, your previous theories and understanding of this episode, when we identified this wound with some political force that appeared on earth ... We noted that the seven heads of the beast represent different political and religious systems successfully used by Satan in his purposes. Therefore, he will not inflict a mortal wound on himself, so that another of his heads can rule instead of the wounded one. Why would he hurt himself, then to give power to his other head? Christ once reminded the Pharisees, who accused Him of being connected with satanic power, the whole futility of such an argument.

“The Pharisees, when they heard this, said: He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided against himself: how can his kingdom stand” (Matt. 12:24-26).

From the words of Christ it becomes clear that Satan will not cast himself out, much less inflict deadly a wound to his own head. Otherwise his kingdom will not stand. Only one who is stronger than him can inflict a mortal wound on him. Continuing His discourse further, Christ says to His hearers:

“Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his things, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house” (v. 29)

To bind the strong, you need to be stronger than the strong. To inflict a mortal wound on a beast that does the will of a dragon, you need to be stronger than it, the dragon. And this is possible only for the One who is stronger than him - Christ! Christ inflicts a mortal wound on the beast! And this is the fulfillment of the precious promise of the great plan of salvation given to Adam and Eve after they had eaten the forbidden fruit. Here is the promise:

“And the Lord said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and above all animals of the field; and you will walk on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; It will hit you in the head and you will bruise his heel” (Get. 3:14, 15).

The Promised Seed of the woman (Christ!) strikes the serpent (dragon) in the head! By his sacrifice at Calvary, Satan received deadly a wound from which he could would and die, because the sacrifice of Christ allows every descendant of Adam to be freed from his power. But, alas!

John sees that this mortal wound is healed! How? Who heals his wound? Watching in wonder, John sees how people “worshiped the dragon, who gave power to the beast.“And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast, and who can fight with him?” It turns out that the people themselves helped him heal! By their worship, people returned the beast to its former strength and power over them. And he gladly accepts these honors from people, continuing to mislead them. The devil is a vampire living off the energy that people themselves give him. This is what the healing of the mortal wound of the beast brought! People cured him! That's why he behaves so arrogantly!

“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 power was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation” (Rev. 13:5-7).

Pay attention, again the prophet emphasizes: "and they were given to him ...". This means that everything that the beast allows itself to do is given to it. He receives the right and power to carry out his insidious mission from above! Does this surprise us? But remember that the “two witnesses” of Revelation 11 are given the same right and authority to testify and exercise their all-powerful authority for exactly the same amount of time: one thousand two hundred and sixty days(See Rev. 11:3)! This amounts to the same time period - forty-two months! The conditions and time for the action of the beast and the two Witnesses on earth are exactly the same. The Lord gives him equal opportunities as to His two witnesses. Only their methods of action are different. And people themselves have to make a choice between two opposing forces that accept worship.

Note that the devil only gains power over those who disregard the testimony of two Witnesses. Such are found among all men, "in every kindred and people, tongue and nation." And it doesn't matter what religion people profess. Here on earth one gets the impression that he is, as it were, defeating the saints in his war with them. But this is far from true. John sees further:

“And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

What does it mean? It is not enough to profess religion and do good deeds, cast out unclean spirits. It is important that your name be written in the Lamb's book of life. Christ spoke about this to His disciples.

“Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits obey you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:19, 20).

Having power over unclean spirits does not mean defeating them. It is important that your name be written in the Lamb's book of life, that is, in Christ Himself! The one who inflicted a mortal wound on the enemy knows how to defeat him completely on earth. Everything that is done by people themselves only contributes to the healing of the mortal wound of Satan. The religious systems that exist in the world only serve to heal the wound of the beast. Only one who has a circumcised ear can understand this. So John writes:

“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” (Rev. 13:9, 10)

May the Lord circumcise our hearts and ears so that we can understand all the deceit of Satan, without embarrassment, using absolutely everything, even religious people, to deceive and kill. It is people who contribute to the healing of the mortal wound inflicted on him by Christ. How important it is for us to understand the meaning of the tenth text of this chapter, which is always exactly fulfilled in history. The Jews who arrested Christ and killed Him, inspired by Satan, were themselves taken captive, and millions of them were killed by the same devil. In the chaos and spiritual darkness that reign in the sinful world, one must maintain patience and faith. These priceless gifts of the grace of God will help us win a complete victory over the insidious enemy.

Hello.
I read the first book in the Space series by James Corey, Leviathan Wakes. In general, these are two people - Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank. They are like Oldie two-in-one. And although this is the opening novel of the series, it does not end in mid-sentence and is quite a separate work.

Genre. In "Awakening" there are elements of horror (sometimes pressing on disgust body horror) and action and detective, but the main thing is either space opera or hard science fiction.
In terms of the scale of the event, it is closer to a space opera, but the authors approached the scientific basis so seriously and left so few fantastic assumptions that it turned out to be science fiction.

There are two serious assumptions - an engine running on technology that is still unknown to us and a protomolecule plus everything that it can. Everything else is a natural development of existing technologies.

Here are some examples:
there is no air resistance in a vacuum; therefore, ships for flights in space without landings are flying bricks of absolutely no streamlined shape;
gravity is created either by the Coriolis force (due to rotation) - the closer to the center of rotation, the lower, or by linear acceleration;
information is not transmitted faster than the speed of light, the signal arrives over long distances with significant delays (quantum entanglement is not used in transmitters);
planets and stations are very vulnerable to any objects moving at sub-light speeds;
people who grew up on Mars or on asteroids of a much more fragile build, endure overloads higher and worse.
There are many such details, many physical, physiological and social aspects of the cosmos have been thought out in the course of human expansion.

A certain Martian genius invented a new generation engine, thanks to which humanity conquered the solar system.
By the time the novel begins, there are three main forces at work: Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance (OAP) - a community of asters (people who grew up on asteroids) that the two main forces do not take seriously at first.
Actually, these three sides are pushed together by the authors with their foreheads, acting with their hands ... Oh, spoilers ...
At the center of the collision is one Aster detective, as if created for space noir: cynicism, sarcasm, alcoholism and a hat are attached, and the crew of the Canterbury ship (actually not quite) under the leadership of the first officer.


The plot twists very dashingly and there are a couple of impressive action scenes.
All events take place in space, but the parallels are very easy to trace - the cold war between Earth and Mars, "third world countries" - asteroids and stations that were taxed, and using the trade and technological advantages "milk". Social inequality, xenophobia, discrimination. Everything is the same as what is happening in the modern world, but a little different.
Not discrimination based on skin color or nationality, but whether you grew up in a "gravity well" or among "Asters". New slang and ghetto. All this is very well thought out and well superimposed on the current realities.

The authors also conduct a very serious social debate about freedom of information. This question has been raised several times. We know him from Snowden. Essentially: does society need to know about everything? One character defends the position that is needed, then, having all the information, people will be able to make the right conclusions and all disasters and social upheavals come from the fact that people withhold information. He courageously follows this creed and becomes the cause of a military clash. There is a reason in the behavior of the hero, a very honest and open position, and if everyone would follow it, perhaps it would really be better for society.

There is also a Christian background in the question: if everyone treats the other as he would like to be treated himself, man and mankind will have no enemies. But since not everyone is able to behave like this ...
The second one almost quotes Agent Kay from Men in Black: “A man is reasonable. And the mob is a stupid, panic-prone dangerous beast,” and “There will always be an Archwellian battlecruiser or a Correllian death ray or a plague designed to destroy all life on this poor little planet, and the only way for these people to continue to live is not to know about it!”
Now, take a close look at this item...


This is certainly not the only interesting reflection, the theme of heredity in technology and development slips through, the theme of redemption flickers, the relationship between ends and means, and a lot of things ... I'm just trying to say that this is not just an unprincipled space action.

The world of "Space" is similar to Sterling's earlier or realistic "Schimatrix". There is practically no virtuality in it, which plays an important role in Swanwick, Simmons, Sterling, and Gibson. I read reviews where “Space” is called the new “Hyperion”. It seems to me that the authors give Simmons a slight bow, the opening novel of the tetralogy was compared with Chausser's Canterbury Tales, one of the ships that appears at the beginning of Awakening ... is called the Canterbury.
“Hyperion” is rather a parable about man, humanity, and post-human, reason and God. The opening novel "Space" is devoid of this parable. But this is a very strong story with a strong scientific base.
The authors actively use biblical allusions (as if the title did not tease).

It is interesting to watch the ups and downs, it is interesting to read about “sworn friends” who are forced to work together and cannot stand each other’s spirits. There are two knights in the novel: Holden - in sparkling armor and Miller - in rusty ones.

At the same time, the second one, with all the mudachism inherent in it, impresses me much more. He does what he must while others reflect.
Holden is definitely a reference to Salinger. Reflections, truth-telling, yes, this is Caulfield grown up.

An attentive reader, I believe, can easily predict the fate of the characters after the first third, if not earlier. But this does not become a disadvantage. While reading, it also seemed to me that there were several climaxes in the text (such a strange thing), but the novel ended before these slides began to tire.

So, I advise this book (everything will be utterly simple here) to everyone who loves science fiction: space opera, science, social and those who want to get acquainted with modern science fiction. It is definitely not worth reading for those who are not interested in space and science fiction, who are afraid of body horror.

As we saw in the last lesson, the beast with 7 chapters already exists. This is NATO. After the opening of the 6th seal (the great world catastrophe), NATO will transfer power to the 10 horns (the world government of the tens is the UN (Security Council).

“And I stood on the sand of the sea and saw emerging from the sea(sea peoples, this is the earthly government) of a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns: on its horns there were 10 diadems (the horn, as discussed on page 4, is a person, diadems are a symbol of power. These are 10 individuals in power), and on his heads are blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard (this is the same leopard as Daniel. These are European countries) his legs are like at the bear(Russia), and his mouth is like a mouth lion(Great Britain); and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great power.

And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded (one country will be in a very bad state after the passage of the X-planet), but this mortal wound has healed. And all the earth wondered, following the beast; and bowed to the dragon who gave power to the beast, and bowed to the beast... and power was given to him to act forty two months(This is the same 0.5 weeks of power of the Antichrist that Daniel spoke of. This means that 10 horns will have crowns, or the UN will be in power, at the same time with the Antichrist) ... And it was given to him to make war on saints and defeat them; and power was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation (United Nations - world government)" (13:1-7).

The Antichrist is presented in Revelation as a beast with two horns. He will demonstrate his power during the reign of 10 horns (UN).
“And I saw another beast, coming out of the earth; he had 2 horns like those of the Lamb (this will be a Christian leader who will imitate Jesus the lamb - Rev. 5:6), and he spoke like a dragon (he will speak very cunningly like Satan himself). He acts before him with all the power of the first beast (in reality he will have all power in the UN) and makes the whole earth and those who live on it worship the first beast (he will say that the UN is a unique power intended by God), which has a mortal wound healed (one or more countries will be restored); And he does great signs, so that fire also brings down from heaven to earth before people. And by the miracles with which it was given to him to work 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 breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would both speak and act in such a way that everyone was killed who would not worship the image of the beast. And he made it so that all - small and great, rich and poor, free and slaves - will be given 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 the number is human; his number is 666” (13:11-18).

Thus we see the woman, the true church of God; a dragon with 7 heads, 10 horns and 7 diadems on its heads - Satan; a beast with 7 heads, 10 horns and 10 crowns on its horns - NATO with the UN; and the beast with two horns - Antichrist. Another character is the Whore of Babylon.

13. Harlot Babylon. Who is she?

In chapter 17, the angel says to John, “I will show you the judgment of the great harlot sitting on the waters many; The kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth were drunk with the wine of her fornication... and I saw a woman, sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, with 7 heads 10 horns(as we will see later, there is a parallelism - a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns, which we have already seen, is today's NATO and UN governments before the opening of the 6th seal, before all power (crowns) is transferred to the UN; and a red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns- Satan). And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, and held golden cup in hand her own, filled with abominations and the uncleanness of her fornication; And on her forehead is written a name: secret, Babylon the great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus” (17:1-6)

“...the waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are people and nations, and tribes and languages ​​...

... The wife that you saw is great city, reigning over earthly kings» (15-18)

“... Babylon, the great harlot, became the dwelling place of demons ...... and the merchants of the earth became rich from its great luxury... woe to you great city ... for in one hour such wealth perished. And all the helmsmen, and all sailing on ships, .. they stood afar off and, seeing the smoke from her fire, cried out, saying: what a city is like a great city! ... with the jewels of which all the ships on the sea were enriched ... your merchants were the nobles of the earth, and all nations have been deceived by your magic. And in it blood of prophets and saints found and all the slain on earth” (Ch. 18).

Some believe that the Babylon in the prophecy of John is the real Babylon, which was located in the territory of modern Iraq, and it will allegedly be reborn by the end of time. This point of view is far from the truth. Real Babylon IV century BC in the bible is called "golden cup in the hand of the Lord ”(Jer.51:7), when the Babylon of the last days is a woman with a cup in her hand.

About the real Babylon it is said: “it will not be inhabited forever and inhabited for generations of generations. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown by God ... so not a single person will live here ... ”(Jer.50:39,40). Everything turned out as predicted. The prophecy given in the 4th century BC is true to this day: Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Babylon are a desert to this day. *

The prophecy says about Babylon that it is a "mystery", which means: humanity clearly realizes who Babylon is only towards the end of time, when she sits on a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. And only now, having all the historical information, we can say that Babylon is the Roman Catholic Church with its center in the city of Vatican City, which sits on a beast with 7 heads - NATO (almost all of Europe, part of the USA and half of Canada are Catholic) , and which is the only church "permanent representative" in the UN (10 horns).

The map shows Catholic countries in red, Protestant countries in purple, Orthodox countries in orange, and Muslim countries in green. You can see clearly that almost all of Europe (the beast with 7 heads) is Catholic.

Among other things, there are specific details in Revelation that tell us about the Vatican:

1) In the prophecies, the image of a woman means: the church. The woman “clothed with the sun: under her feet the moon” is the real church of God. The woman who "was clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls" is a false church;

2) "the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth." Only the Roman Catholic Church, namely the Vatican City, has ever ruled over kings. For example: in 712 the Church of Rome refused to recognize the new emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Philippic Vardanus, because his faith (Monothelitism) was different from the Catholic one. This caused an uprising and in 713 the emperor was removed;
In 751, Pope Zacharias put an end to the Merovingian dynasty, which had been in power since the fifth century, and a new king, Pepin the Short, was erected on the throne of the Franks, who began a new dynasty. Since that time, the Vatican has received the right to appoint kings at its discretion. Coronation has since been impossible without prior approval by the church.

3) "seven mountains on which the woman sits" (17:9). Rome has always been known as the city of 7 hills: “It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, the entire area of ​​the Vatican City State is now located”” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson, 1976, “Rome”);

4) The prostitute Babylon is close to the water (everyone working at sea sees the smoke from her fire) - the state of the Vatican is located in Rome, on the Mediterranean coast;

5) Babylon is the center of the arts, where “the voices of those who play the harp, and those who sing, and those who play the pipes ... there will be no artist in you ..” (18:22). The Vatican has incomparable treasures of culture: the Sistine Chapel with frescoes by Michelangelo, works by Raphael and Italian Renaissance masters, one of the richest libraries in the world, etc.;

The process of rebirth of the Kindest Teaching into a monster with a mortal wound that has healed.

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19

23 At that time there was no small rebellion against the way of the Lord,

24 for there was a certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made the silver temples of Artemis and made a great profit for the artists,

25 Gathering them and other similar artisans, he said: Friends! you know that our well-being depends on this craft;

26 meanwhile, you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but almost in all of Asia, this Paul, by his convictions, corrupted a considerable number of people, saying that those made by human hands are not gods.

27 And this threatens us with the fact that not only our craft will come into contempt, but the temple of the great goddess Artemis will mean nothing, and the greatness of the one that all Asia and the universe honors will be overthrown.

28 When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, saying: Great is Artemis of Ephesus!

29 And the whole city was filled with confusion. Seizing the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus, Pavlov's companions, they unanimously rushed to the spectacle.

In any new business that requires investment of effort and time, hard work; you will NEVER meet conformists. They creep later when they realize that the new movement has already gained momentum, and live an independent life, when all the barriers and obstacles are overcome by the Doers, when the new business becomes a source of strength, influence, enrichment.

Having entered the victorious movement, the opportunists change only outwardly. They formally carry out the statutes and rules of the progressive cause, actually destroying it from within. A humane, kind idea becomes a springboard for career growth, strengthening the power of conformists, and a trap for creators.

An example of the above is the events around the spread of the teachings of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. Throughout the universe, hundreds of gods and thousands of temples have been orphaned. Tens of thousands of priests and hundreds of thousands of attendants became beggars, homeless people. Then there was a real, serious crisis for false religions. The priests had no choice but to cling to the victorious Christians, and resurrect their usual foundations and rules in the new faith.

Revelation, Chapter 13

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.

The dragon is Satan, this is a no-brainer, but the “beast” is a symbol of some organization, a mass movement. Predatory appearance - a display of an aggressive, bloodthirsty essence.

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,

A deadly healed wound - the meaning of this symbol has been in front of our noses for many years - yes, DIED AND RISEN, trampled down death by death. One of the heads is the Christian church on the body of world religions. They are all one in essence, they all serve one "god".

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

There is no need to enumerate the "exploits" of Christians during the victorious march of faith, the Inquisition, the Crusades and forced baptisms.

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 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.

What kind of 42 months is this - to be honest, I don’t know who knows, but it’s clear that Satan’s power is not eternal, and will end soon. If we take it roughly, then for the last 150 (with a stretch) years we have had the opportunity to choose a religion, or even refuse to be baptized. For dozens of centuries the world was ruled by the priests. There was not a single person who was not dedicated to any deity (with the exception of Mowgli, raised by animals).

The law "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" has not been repealed. Words of Christ - “Think not that I have come to refute the scriptures or the prophets; I did not come to refute, but to fulfill.” Priests who perverted the teachings of Christ will receive their well-deserved rewards in full.

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

Two horns - two leaders. Like a lamb, like Christ. Catholics and Orthodox.

12 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;

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

Easter fire. They are forced to worship the idols depicting Christ. How many centuries Satan leads us by the nose, endlessly delaying time. The Orthodox love to excuse themselves with the "Antichrist" who will imitate their miracles. It's time to wake up and see that it's time to stop these "miracles".

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.

So they are called, in plain text - IMAGES. Istukanchiki - crosses, icons with images of the dead and resurrected (healed) head of the beast.

Miracles happen in all religions, among shamans, sorcerers and idols - thus, Christianity is one of the heads of the beast. The nature of miracles lies within the believers themselves. Even Christ Himself could not perform many miracles where they did not believe in Him.

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.

Forced baptism and destruction of heretics, crusades, genocide and wars - these "good" deeds of religions (not only Christianity) are well known to the whole world.

16 And he will cause all, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to 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 the skill of installing signs and seals, the Orthodox have gone the farthest. Including - on the hand and on the forehead. In general, it is easier to list where they do not put them. Who was present at the baptism - remember and confirm. 17 - it was already EVERYTHING. All were baptized in some faith.

The original of the Apocalypse is written in Greek.

At the time of its writing, Greece used an alphabetical number system (which lasted until the fall of the Byzantine Empire).

In this system, the first letters of the alphabet served as a substitute for numbers.

However, all texts contain a transcription of the number, as it is pronounced - six hundred and sixty six.

To write one number 6, the Greeks used 3 letters. In addition, hundreds and tens had their own symbols.

With the arrival of 0 (zero) in the system of Greek calculus, the situation became even more complicated. The number 666 has become possible to write in more than ten ways. As a result, the three sixes became among the Greeks a symbol of confusion, confusion, waste of time and demagoguery. They had to remove 2 letters from the classical alphabet, which served to designate the number 6 - stigma and digamma.

In the case of the apostle John writing this number in the alphabetical system, his contemporaries easily figure out that they are dealing with a PUN. The meaning of this number - "six hundred sixty-six" - is the same as that of the Russian LA-LA-LA or the American BLA-BLA-BLA.

Meanwhile, the clue is hidden in plain sight. The same verse in Revelation contains a direct answer.

"Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is a HUMAN number."

Everyone knows very well Who called Himself the Son of Man.

Thus, the warnings of Christ came true - "... good shepherds will come under my name in appearance, but they themselves are fierce wolves, and they will deceive many, even the elect."

Connoisseurs of taxonometric tables (determinants of plants, animals, etc.) are well aware that if so many unique characters match, the species is identified. So I congratulate all of us on Satan and the Antichrist, who never got off their thrones in churches.