This beast, the fourth beast mentioned in Dan. 7:7, is Antichrist. In Rev. 9:11 he is the king of the locusts.

The sea here is the Mediterranean Sea, out of which Antichrist will come. In Rev. 9:11; 11:7, and Rev. 17:8 we are told that Antichrist will come up out of the abyss. Here we are told that he will come up out of the sea, as is mentioned also in Dan. 7:3. This indicates that Antichrist will come from two sources. His spirit, which exists in the abyss before he is born, will come up out of the abyss. (See note Rev. 17:8¹; note Rev. 17:10¹; note Rev. 17:11¹.) His body will come from one of the Gentile nations around the Mediterranean Sea. In biblical figure, the land signifies the nation of Israel and the sea signifies the Gentile nations (Rev. 17:15; Isa. 57:20).

That Antichrist will come up out of both the abyss and the sea may indicate also that the sea is the mouth of the abyss, because the abyss is in the heart of the earth (Rom. 10:7; Matt. 12:40) and the sea is above the earth.

The ten horns and seven heads of the beast are those of the dragon (Rev. 12:3). This indicates that the beast is one with the dragon. The ten horns are the ten coming kings (Rev. 17:12; Dan. 7:24); the seven heads are the seven Caesars (Rev. 17:10). The ten horns correspond with the ten toes of the great image mentioned in Dan. 2:42-44. The word here indicates that the Roman Empire, Antichrist, and the ten kings are one with Satan.

The seven Caesars symbolized by the seven heads of the beast claimed deity and called for their people to worship them as gods. That was truly a blasphemy against God.

The beast, Antichrist, is "like a leopard, and his feet like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion." According to Dan. 7:4-6, the leopard, which is characterized by swift and cruel movement, was the symbol of Alexander the Great, the king of Greece. The bear, characterized by its destroying feet, was the symbol of the monarchy of Medo-Persia. The lion, characterized by its devouring mouth, was a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Since Antichrist, the beast, is like these three, he will have all their characteristics, as mentioned in Dan. 7:4-7. He is the totality of all the evil powers in human history.

That the dragon gives his power, his throne, and great authority to the beast indicates that he makes the beast one with him so that on behalf of the dragon the beast can resist God and persecute God's people on the earth.

One of his heads refers to one of the Caesars, who will be slain and resuscitated. His death stroke was healed means that the Caesar will be resuscitated from death. (See note Rev. 17:11¹.) Because of this the whole earth will marvel and follow after him.

The forty-two months here and in Rev. 11:2 are the three and a half years in Rev. 12:14, and are also the one thousand two hundred and sixty days in Rev. 11:3 and Rev. 12:6, the time of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). At the end of this age Antichrist will make a seven-year covenant with the nation of Israel. Three and a half years after the covenant is made, he will break it, terminate all the Jewish worship and service to God (Dan. 9:27), persecute the saints (v. 7), and destroy the holy city (Rev. 11:2) for three and a half years.

The saints here constitute the rest of the woman's seed mentioned in Rev. 12:17, which consists of the Jews, who keep God's commandments, and the believers, who bear the testimony for Christ. This proves that in the great tribulation there will still be believers on the earth who are not yet raptured.

Or, written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Lit., scroll.

See note Rev. 13:7¹.

This other beast is the false prophet (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).

This other beast will come up out of the earth. Since the earth, the land, signifies the nation of Israel, as mentioned in note Rev. 13:1^2b this other beast, the false prophet, will come out of the Jews. This one may be Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71), because after Judas died, he went to "his own place" (Acts 1:25), not to his people as others did (Gen. 25:17; 35:29). Geographically, this false prophet will come up out of the earth, and figuratively, he will come out of the Jews.

The false prophet looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. That he appears to be a lamb but speaks like the dragon, Satan, indicates his falsity.

The false prophet will employ satanic power to perform great signs, such as calling down fire out of heaven as Elijah did (1 Kings 18:36-38); thus, it will be difficult for people to distinguish the real prophets from the false prophet (cf. Rev. 11:5).

Lit., telling.

Or, spirit.

No idol made by man has ever been able to speak (Psa. 115:5), but this last idol will be enabled to speak as a living image. This surely will be a marvelous sign to those who dwell on the earth, and will cause them all to worship the idol.

Lit., mind.

The number of the beast is the number of a man. This man is Caesar Nero, who is the coming Antichrist. (See note Rev. 17:8¹; note Rev. 17:10¹; note Rev. 17:11¹.) The number represented by the Hebrew letters of the name Caesar Nero is 666, as follows:
Νε  — נ  — 50
ρ  — ד  — 200
ω  — ו  — 6
ν  — נ  — 50
   =306
   +
Και  — ק  — 100
σα  — ם  — 60
p  — ד  — 200
   =360
   306+360=666

Because the book of Revelation was written during the time of the Roman Empire, John did not mention the name of Nero but indicated it with a number. Therefore, wisdom is needed to understand.