13 And it works great signs, that it should cause even fire to come down from heaven to the earth before men.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city: and fire came down [from God] out of the heaven and devoured them.
And the beast was taken, and the false prophet that [was] with him, who wrought the signs before him by which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast, and those that worship his image. Alive were both cast into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone;
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
If there arise among you a prophet, or one that dreameth dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass that he told unto thee, when he said, Let us go after other gods, whom thou hast not known, and let us serve them, -- thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
and if any one wills to injure them, fire goes out of their mouth, and devours their enemies. And if any one wills to injure them, thus must he be killed.
whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved.
But a certain man, by name Simon, had been before in the city, using magic arts, and astonishing the nation of Samaria, saying that himself was some great one. To whom they had all given heed, from small to great, saying, This is the power of God which is called great. And they gave heed to him, because that for a long time he had astonished them by his magic arts.
Now in the same manner in which Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, thus these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, found worthless as regards the faith.
And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments: they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
And his disciples James and John seeing [it] said, Lord, wilt thou that we speak [that] fire come down from heaven and consume them, as also Elias did? But turning he rebuked them [and said, Ye know not of what spirit ye are]. And they went to another village.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and give signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
And the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to [him], asked him, tempting [him], to shew them a sign out of heaven.
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, And if I be a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from the heavens, and consumed him and his fifty. And again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he spoke and said to him, Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly! And Elijah answered and said to them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from the heavens, and consumed him and his fifty. And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him and said to him, Man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came down fire from the heavens, and consumed the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties; but now, let my life be precious in thy sight.
And there came out a fire from Jehovah, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that had presented incense.
And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.
And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast. Then the scribes said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God! But Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
And the scribes did so with their sorceries, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 13
Commentary on Revelation 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
We have, in this chapter, a further discovery and description of the church's enemies: not other enemies than are mentioned before, but described after another manner, that the methods of their enmity may more fully appear. They are represented as two beasts; the first you have an account of (v. 1-10) the second (v. 11-18). By the first some understand Rome pagan, and by the second Rome papal; but others understand Rome papal to be represented by both these beasts, by the first in its secular power, by the second in its ecclesiastical.
Rev 13:1-10
We have here an account of the rise, figure, and progress of the first beast; and observe,
Rev 13:11-18
Those who think the first beast signifies Rome pagan by this second beast would understand Rome papal, which promotes idolatry and tyranny, but in a more soft and lamb-like manner: those that understand the first beast of the secular power of the papacy take the second to intend its spiritual and ecclesiastical powers, which act under the disguise of religion and charity to the souls of men. Here observe,