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.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Though St. Iren us, and also St. Gregory, (lib. xxxi. mor. chap. xli.) by the first of these two beasts understand antichrist, and others would have antichrist to be meant by one of the two, yet this is not to be looked upon as absolutely certain, not being witnessed by the consent of primitive Fathers. The ancient Fathers, especially in the exposition of obscure prophecies, many times give us no more than their private opinions, or suspicions and conjectures, as St. Augustine expressly takes notice in the 20th book de Civ. Dei Ver. 12. Est enim numerus hominis, et numerus ejus sexcenti sexaginta sex; arithmos gar anthropou esti, kai o arithmos autou chxs. St. Iren us, (lib. v. chap. xxx. p. 370) numerus nominis bestiæ secundum Græcorum computationem per litteras quæ in eo sunt, sexcentos habebit et sexaginta et sex. Eusebius (lib. v. History of the Church, chap. viii. Ed. Valesii) citing the words of St. Iren us, in Greek, p. 172: oti o arithmos tou onomatos tou theriou, kata ten ton ...
I saw a beast coming out of the sea. By this first beast several understand antichrist, as St. Iren us, lib. v. chap. xxviii. and St. Gregory, lib. xxxi. Moral. chap. xli. But this is not certain. By the other beast coming up out of the earth, (ver. 11) many understand antichrist's false prophet, some famous impostor and magician in antichrist's time, who will do great wonders and signs. The seven heads and ten horns, may again signify a great number of kings and princes, who shall be overcome by antichrist, and submit themselves to him. The dragon, or devil, gives that great power to antichrist, signified by the different parts of the beast, some like to a leopard, others to a bear, and others to a lion. The head wounded to death and cured, is either antichrist himself or some one of those heads or kings, cured by the devil and diabolical arts after a mortal wound. (Witham)
This first beast, with seven heads and ten horns, is probably the whole company of infidels, enemies and persec...
