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CHAPTER XIII.

THIRD WO CONTINUED.

THE BEAST FROM THE SEA.-THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH.

V. 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Καὶ ἐστάθην ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσ. σης καὶ εἶδον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον, ἔχον κέρατα δέκα καὶ κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κεράτων αὑτοῦ δέκα διαδήματα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὑτοῦ ὀνόματα βλαςφημίας.

The Beast from the Sea.

§ 293. And I stood upon the sand of the sea.'-The scene is now changed, at least in the foreground of the exhibition. The apostle is still in spirit; he sees things in their spiritual sense, but his position during the contemplation of the present spectacle is changed. In heaven he saw things as seen in heaven; on earth he saw things as they are on earth, but with a spiritual discernment.

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The time of this spectacle, if the term be admissible, commences with the coming down of the dragon or serpent to the earth. The earth is allotted to Satan for a certain period of time, as the earthly system is assigned to the influence and operation of the element of accusation. The sea, we suppose to be a figure of the element of vindictive wrath: wrath justly deserved on the part of man, and for that reason the subject of apprehension, (124)—the sea and the waves roaring, being a cause of the distress and perplexity of nations, and of the failing of men's hearts for fear, spoken of Luke xxi. 25, 26. A position on the sand of the sea must be the converse of a position upon a rock or mountain. The apostle stood not merely upon the sea shore, but upon the sand of the sea; a quicksand, a movable foundation, and a foundation to be moved, even by the overwhelming element to which it is peculiar. He thus occupies the position of one who builds his hopes of salvation upon a sandy foundation; not that his own faith is of this character, but he is thus placed that he may see and understand the peculiarities of such a condition. As Paul was caught up in

spirit into paradise, that he might discern the peculiarities of that position; and as John himself had been favoured with a position in heaven, to enable him to understand the things of heaven; so he is now brought into the position enabling him to contemplate the earthly system, especially as exposed to the action of the element of wrath.

And saw a beast rise up [or rising up] out of the sea.'-The Greek term rendered beast here is an entirely different one from that designating the four living creatures around the throne, which our translators have also rendered beast, ($ 125.) The animal now described is of the ferocious, destructive, and unclean character, and as such the opposite of any thing set apart as acceptable to God; while it equally represents something hostile to the welfare (the eternal welfare) of man. Whatever the character of this animal be, however, it is an emanation from the element of vindictive wrath-rising or coming up, as it is rendered in the Rheims version. The action is not confined to a particular moment, it is something continually in operation. Any one who occupies the sandy position from which the apostle makes his observations, if gifted with a spiritual understanding, may be said perhaps to see this beast coming up, or emanating from the element of wrath. It is in the nature of a legal element of wrath to give birth to a principle or spirit of the kind represented by this animal.

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§ 294. Having seven heads.'-The number of these heads is the same as that of the heads of the serpent or great dragon, and we apply to them the interpretation already given to the heads of that monster. They are leading and directing principles. Taken severally, or as a whole, they constitute one head, having perhaps seven peculiar characteristics; and if, as we think it probable, they represent the heads of the great serpent transferred to this beast, then also, like the heads of that monster, they contain the sting: the sting of the legal adversary, which carries with it the power of characterizing the action of the sinner as a legal transgression, or as sin; and which thus constitutes that deadly venom,-that finishing of its operation, which bringeth forth death or condemnation, (James i. 15.)

And ten horns.'-The horns also correspond in number with those of the fiery red dragon, and we suppose them also to be the same. They are powers-powers of the law, ($ 271,)-the ten being put for the whole law, or for so many characteristics of the whole law, or for the infinity of obedience which the whole law requires; every jot and tittle of the law being to be fulfilled-the power of these horns depending of course, as before suggested, upon the fact that the law has not been fulfilled, either in effect by the disciple, or vicariously for him.

'And upon his horns ten crowns;' or, as before, ten diadems.-Here there is a difference between this beast and that designated as the great dragon : the dragon wore these diadems upon his heads; the beast carries them upon

his horns. This may be because his horns possess only a real power, while the dragon assumes a regal authority for his heads of accusation; or we may consider the horns of the beast as occupying the place of the hand of a man the instrument of power, whether of offence or of defence. Thus the diadems on the horns of the beast may be equivalent as a figure to the diadem in the hand—that is, the kind of diadem or royal shawl carried in the hand as a sign of delegated power—as distinguished from the identity of power, symbolized by the diadem placed upon the head of one participating in the authority of the sovereign, ($ 272.) We incline to this latter construction, for the reason that this beast is a representative on earth of the dragon, as we shall see hereafter; and in this respect an opposite of her of whom it is said, Thou shalt be a royal diadem in the hand of thy God, (Is. lxii. 3.) We might indeed suppose the beast to affect the appropriation of these insignia of royalty to his ten elements of legal power, acting under the hypocritical pretence of magnifying the law, and of making it honourable; but there does not appear to be, in the subsequent picture of his character, even this affectation of modesty.

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And upon his heads the name of blasphemy ;'-or, according to our Greek edition, names of blasphemy-every head importing a blasphemous pretension; and, as a whole, the seven heads constituting one name, or grand pretension, of the same blasphemous character. The horns are not impressed with the blasphemous character; for the law is good, if a man use it lawfully. It is only the perversion of its use that is to be deprecated. But the leading principles of this beast, that is, the whole spirit and tendency of its action, is blasphemous.

Blasphemy, according to some, (Rob. Lex. p. 109,) may consist in calumny or evil speaking; but this does not appear to be the Scriptural sense of the term. Amongst the Jews, as we see from John x. 33, the crime of blasphemy consisted essentially in the pretension of making one's self equal with God. In this respect, the motive urged by the tempter to induce the transgression of our first parents was itself a blasphemous one; urging upon them the consideration that by the opening of their eyes they would become as gods, knowing good and evil: this being the first case on earth, we may say, in which the knowledge of the law was perverted to a blasphemous purpose. Blasphemy, strictly speaking, then, is the attempt to deify self-to put one's self in the place of God-to make one's self an object of worship and service; an effect corresponding with that ascribed to the man of sin—the son of perdition, 2 Thess. 4: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

If we suppose the distinguishing characteristics (heads) of the beast to be self-dependence, self-justification, self-redemption, self-exaltation, self-glori

fication, self-adoration, self-service, or self-devotion, (worship,) or elements of this description, we shall perceive that they all of them bear the stamp of blasphemy, all tending, or pretending, to place the individual actuated by them in the position of the Sovereign God.

V. 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as (the feet) of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [throne], and great authority.

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Καὶ τὸ θηρίον, ὃ εἶδον, ἦν ὅμοιον παρδάλει, καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὡς ἄρκου, καὶ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ὡς στόμα λέοντος. καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ δράκων τὴν δύναμιν αὑτοῦ καὶ τοῦ θρόνον αὑτοῦ καὶ ἐξουσίαν μεγά λην.

§ 295. And the beast which I saw was like,' &c.-All three of the animals here spoken of are wild beasts of the earth, peculiarly ferocious and destructive, as well as Levitically unclean. They are also spoken of by the prophet as eventually to be so changed in temper and disposition as to associate with animals of an entirely opposite character. The leopard is to lie down with the kid; the cow and the bear are to feed, and their young ones to lie down together; and the lion is to eat straw like the ox, Is. xi. 6,7. The beast from the sea however is not said to resemble either of these wild animals altogether, but apparently only in certain particulars.

'Like a leopard.'-As the likenesses of the other two animals are confined to certain specified members of the body, and that of the leopard is not so restricted, the inference is that this last is applicable to the general appearance of the animal. The leopard is scripturally distinguished for his spots; as it is said, Jer. xiii. 23, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" A leopard is thus an opposite of the lamb without spot, (Numb. xxviii. 3, and 1 Pet. i. 19,)—the lamb without spot representing Christ: spiritually, the righteousness of Christ, unmixed with any human merit-the only propitiatory oblation acceptable to God.

A garment of salvation, supposed to be wrought partly of the merits of Christ and partly of those of the disciple, is a garment spotted by the flesh; an opposite of that in which the church is supposed to be clothed by her Redeemer, Eph. v. 27, "Not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." Corresponding with this, a doctrine or system of doctrines of a mixed charracter, destructive in its nature as well as unclean or impure in the sight of God, may be figuratively spoken of as having the appearance of a leopard. Such we suppose to be the characteristic of the spirit or principle represented by this beast; something professedly Christian, but in fact so amalgamating pretensions of human merit with a professed reliance upon Christ as virtually to ascribe to man the glory of his own salvation.

§ 296. His feet were as (the feet) of a bear.'—An animal the opposite of the cow or heifer-destructive and unclean. The bear is said to hold its prey with its fore-paws, embowelling the animal in its possession with its

hinder feet; in which peculiarity it may represent the character of those of whom it is said, Rom. iii. 15, "Their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known;" that is, they are strangers to the way of peace, or of reconciliation with God, pointed out in the gospel. The heifer was a sacrifice of propitiation; the bear, not parting the hoof, was wholly unfit for this purpose. So the tendency of certain doctrinal principles are as hostile to the sinner's salvation as the bear is adverse to the heifer. The feet of the bear are also remarkable for their ugliness; in this they are figuratively opposites of the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things, Rom. x. 15. They bring only tidings of fear and terror; that is, they represent doctrinal principles of this import.

'And his mouth as the mouth of a lion.'-The beast is not described as generally like a lion, as was the case in what was said of the living creature in and about the throne. He resembles the lion only in his mouth. "Save me (says David) from the lion's mouth;" "They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion." It is not merely the lion's roar that is terrific; the sight of his mouth is as the sight of impending destruction. So we may suppose the tendency of the spirit or principle represented by this offspring of the element of vindictive wrath to be not merely of a denunciatory character, but one which enforces its views with a threatening of immediate destruction-views, the opposite of that doctrine which is said to drop as the rain, and that speech which is said to distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass, Deut. xxxii. 2.

The apparel, the head dress, and the ornaments of the feet, of the woman in heaven bearing the man-child, were described in the last chapter. In this chapter we have the outward appearance, or skin, the feet, and the mouth of the beast from the sea as particularly detailed; the contrast of the two figures suggesting the probability that, to a certain degree, one is nearly equivalent to an opposite of the other; the woman bringing forth the element of justification being the harbinger of peace, while this beast from the sea is the messenger of wo. Here, too, we may have a specimen of the manner in which the woman and her seed are persecuted by the serpent ; that is, by his getting up something of a counteracting tendency;-the beast and the false prophet representing principles, and the harlot, sustained by the beast, representing a system; all opposed to the elements of the economy of grace, and all emanating from the power of the legal accuser, or all indebted for their power to his.

$297. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority;'—or, the dragon gave him his strength, throne, and great power. Here we have the explicit declaration that this beast is the representative of the

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