The Beast from the Sea (Daniel 7:1–8)
1 UST Then I saw a beast come up out of the ocean. It had ten horns and seven heads. On each of its horns there was a royal crown. On each of its heads there was a name that insulted God. BSB BSB: Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
2 UST This beast was like a leopard, but its feet were like the feet of a bear. Its mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon made the beast very powerful. He also gave him the supreme right to rule over people as their king. BSB BSB: The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3 UST One of the heads of the beast looked as if someone had wounded it so that it had died. But that wound had healed. As a result, all the people of the earth marveled at the beast and obeyed it. BSB BSB: One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.
4 UST They worshiped the dragon because he had given the beast authority to rule over them. They also worshiped the beast. They said,“No one is as powerful as the beast! No one could ever fight against it!” BSB BSB: They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
5 UST The dragon enabled the beast to speak proudly and to insult God. The dragon also enabled it to rule the people on earth. But God would only allow the beast to rule for 42 months. BSB BSB: The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
6 UST When the beast spoke, it insulted God. It said that God was not really like what people believed him to be like. The beast also insulted the people in heaven among whom God lives. BSB BSB: And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.
7 UST The dragon enabled the beast to fight against God’ s people and conquer them. The dragon also gave the beast the right to rule over people no matter what tribe they came from or what group they belonged to or what language they spoke or where they lived. BSB BSB: Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
8 UST The names of some of the people living on earth do not appear in the Book of Life. Those people will worship the beast. The Book of Life belongs to the Lamb. The Lamb gave up his life at the beginning of the world in order to become the Savior. BSB BSB: And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
9 UST Everyone who wants to understand must listen carefully to this message from God. BSB BSB: He who has an ear, let him hear:
10 UST If anyone’ s enemies are going to capture him, they will capture him. If anyone’ s enemies are going to kill him with a sword, they will kill him with a sword. So God’ s people must endure suffering and remain faithful to him. BSB BSB: “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth 11 UST Then I saw another beast come up from the earth. It had two small horns on its head as a sheep has. But its voice sounded like a dragon’ s voice. BSB BSB: Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.
12 UST This beast from the earth carries out all the orders of the beast from the sea. It requires the people who live on the earth to worship the beast from the sea. That is the beast that almost died but whose wound healed. BSB BSB: And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
13 UST The beast from the earth also did amazing miracles. It even caused fire to fall from the sky onto the earth while people watched. BSB BSB: And the second beast performed great signs, even causing fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people.
14 UST The dragon gave the beast from the earth the power to do these miracles on behalf of the beast from the sea. The beast from the earth used the miracles to deceive the people who live on the earth. It told them to make an idol that looked like the beast from the sea. That was the beast that survived a sword wound that seemed to kill it. BSB BSB: Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
15 UST The dragon gave the beast from the earth the power to make that idol live. Then the idol that looked like the beast from the sea was able to speak. The beast from the earth then commanded that anyone who refused to worship the idol would be killed. BSB BSB: The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.
The Mark of the Beast 16 UST The beast from the earth also required each person to have a mark on his right hand or on his forehead. This requirement applied to important people and unimportant people. It applied to people who were rich and people who were poor. It applied to free people and to slaves. It applied to everyone! BSB BSB: And the second beast required all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
17 UST Then the beast from the earth ordered that no one could buy or sell anything if he did not have this mark. This mark was the name of the beast from the sea or the number that stood for its name. BSB BSB: so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 UST You must think wisely about this: Anyone who understands things well can figure out the identity of the beast from the sea. That is because the number that stands for its name actually represents the name of a man. That number is 666. BSB BSB: Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.