English · KJV

Bede

Late Patristic · AD 500–800 · 6,271 passages across 45 books

Commentary

5,761–5,780 of 6,271
Revelation 12:17

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Who keep the commandments of God, etc. To keep the commandments of God in the faith of Jesus Christ is to fight with the dragon and provoke him to battle. And thanks be to God, who has nullified the attempts of the savage dragon. For behold, having tried to destroy the Lord born in the flesh, he is frustrated by His resurrection. Then, laboring to break the confidence of the apostles in teaching, he strove to remove the woman, that is, the whole Church, from human affairs. But having failed in this, he now attacks individual ages of the faithful everywhere. Hence it follows:
Revelation 13:1 · 3 passages

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.

Having seven heads and ten horns, etc. He shows that the seven heads are the same as the ten horns. For he had said that the dragon carried seven diadems on its seven heads; now he says the beast carries ten diadems on its ten horns. For seven and ten are the same as receiving a sevenfold in this age. And another evangelist says a hundredfold (Matthew XIX).
And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. The beast has various interpretations according to the locations. Here, it signifies the body of the devil arising from the people of the impious. This sea is understood to be the abyss mentioned above. Hence, the dragon is called the king of all that are in the waters, and whose heads are broken in the sea, according to David.
And on its heads names of blasphemy. For they call their kings gods, both dead and supposedly translated to heaven among the gods, and also on earth as Augusti, which is a name of divinity as they will it. Elsewhere, he says the whole beast is full of names of blasphemy.
Revelation 13:2 · 2 passages

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, and great authority.

And the dragon gave him his power. Thus the Apostle, speaking of the body of the devil, says: His coming is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish (2 Thessalonians II).
And the beast I saw was like a leopard, etc. It is compared to a leopard because of the diversity of nations; to a bear, because of its malice and ferocity; to a lion, because of its physical strength and the arrogance of its tongue. In Daniel, we read that the kingdom of the Chaldeans is compared to a lioness, that of the Persians to a bear, and that of the Macedonians to a leopard.
Revelation 13:3 · 2 passages

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

And the whole earth marveled and followed the beast. He uses the genus for the species, saying that the beast is worshiped, when it is the false head, under the name of the truly slain and living head, that earthly men are to worship.
And I saw one of its heads as if it had been mortally wounded, etc. The Antichrist, pertaining to the heads of the earthly kingdom, in imitation of our true head, dares to present himself as if he were mortally wounded and had resurrected, to be accepted in place of Christ, who truly accomplished this. It is said that the deception in Simon Magus prefigured this deceit.
Revelation 13:4 · 2 passages

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

And they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. They claim to worship God, who gave authority to Christ.
And they worshiped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast? They say: Who is like Christ? Or who can defeat him?
Revelation 13:5 · 2 passages

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

And he was given authority to act for forty-two months, etc. For the first three and a half years, he does not openly blaspheme but acts in the mystery of iniquity, which, after the dissension and the revelation of the man of sin, will be exposed. Then he will say: I am Christ (Matthew XXIV); now, however: Behold, here is Christ, and there (Ibid.). By against God, it signifies against God.
And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. He exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thessalonians II).
Revelation 13:6

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

To blaspheme His name and His tabernacle. The wicked one, usurping for himself the dignity of God's name, will also presume to call his own church by that name.
Revelation 13:7

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

And it was granted to him to make war with the saints, etc. By the part, he means the whole. Those who can be conquered, with the violence of the time, if possible, even the elect will be shaken. That the Jews may be condemned, who, not believing the truth, accepted the lie.
Revelation 13:8 · 3 passages

And all that dwell upon 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.

Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb. It is just that those who serve the author of death should not be written in the book of life, and those who are deceived by the simulated death of the beast should lack the fellowship of the Lamb who took away the sins of the world. He says,
The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb, as Peter says, without blemish, foreordained indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifest in these last times (1 Peter I). Another edition translates it as the Lamb marked from the foundation of the world. It can also be understood through hyperbaton that the names of the saints have been written in the book of life from the beginning.
And all who dwell on the earth will worship him. He said all, but he meant those who dwell on the earth. For those who depart from you, he says, will be written in the earth (Jeremiah XVII).
Revelation 13:9

If any man have an ear, let him hear.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear. Whenever Scripture interposes this saying, it seeks an attentive listener due to the obscurity of the matter. So that the momentary kingdom of the devil is not regarded highly, it meets human thoughts by saying: He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity, that is, the devil and the beast, who now seem to capture the nations with their snares, will themselves soon be captives.
Revelation 13:10 · 2 passages

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. He had promised that the murderer would be killed, but because no one is crowned unless he competes lawfully, now he says there is a need for strong spirits and firm hearts. Having first described the beast generally in hypocrisy, then with an open mouth blaspheming, he now describes it among the rulers alone, similarly in hypocrisy, then revealed.
He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. He who now persecutes the Church with either carnal or even spiritual death, the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

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