13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
We must notice once again the emphasis made in 7 - 'it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them...'. This should be compared with the parallel vision in chapter 11 which spoke of the overthrow of the two witnesses. This is a quite unmistakable emphasis, and it repeats to us the grim warning given in the earlier chapter that organised religion as such will be overcome and destroyed by the power of Satan in the endtime, prior to our Lord's return. This indeed looked as if it might be true in John's time, when the might of Rome crushed down upon the young Church (the picture of the dragon standing at the ready to destroy the man-child and the woman who gave birth to him, is true of every age). But it was not, as we know; but it will be true in the end-time, when the beast's endeavours will at last be successful and the church will be overcome. The words 'power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues and nations' are charged with meaning for our own time, and it is not surprising that many think we are in a fair way towards their fulfilment already. When one thinks of the spread of Communism since the October Revolution in 1917, when there were but nineteen communists in the whole world, and now a great part of the nations under its sway, one begins to realise just how sinister and deadly it is as a power in opposition against God. The disquieting news from behind the bamboo curtain about what is happening to God's people in China only serves to confirm the grim truth contained in this prophecy, and indicates that the end-time may not be very far away.