Section 13:11–18
The second beast rose from the earth
In this section, John saw another beast. This beast rose from the earth. He also had Satan’s authority, as did the first beast. He forced people to worship the first beast. He did miracles and deceived people. He also forced people to have a mark put on their hand or their forehead.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The beast from the earth
-or-
The false prophet that forced people to take the mark ⌊of the first beast⌋
Paragraph 13:11–17
13:11a
beast: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beast refers to any animal, often a wild animal. The Berean Standard Bible uses the word beast to imply that this being is evil, fierce, and dangerous. Here the word refers to one of Satan’s servants. See how you translated this word in 13:1.
rising out of the earth: The Greek verb indicates the direction “up.” This beast somehow rose from underneath the surface of the earth. For example:
which rose out of the earth (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
ascending from beneath the surface of the earth
13:11b
This beast had two horns like a lamb: The beast’s horns probably looked like the horns just beginning to form on an almost fully grown lamb. Scholars have interpreted this clause in many ways. So you should not explain the symbolic meaning in your translation. Many English versions translate it literally. See how you translated lamb in 13:8, but do not capitalize the word or phrase here.
but spoke like a dragon: This clause probably indicates that the beast spoke fiercely, like the dragon did. He followed the dragon and so said the same kinds of things as the dragon. For example:
spoke with the voice of a dragon (New Living Translation (2004))
The beast probably spoke like a dragon during the whole 42 months. Translate this clause so that it indicates always doing so rather than doing this once.
dragon: This word refers to a mythical creature something like a huge lizard. See how you translated this word in 12:3.
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