I stood upon the sand of the sea. (See homily on Jeremiah 49:23: vol. 2. 'Pulpit Commentary,' p. 261.) - S. C.

I. OUR FOR IS A PERSONAL ONE (ver. 9).

II. HE IS AN OLD ONE. "The devil sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:8; John 8:44).

III. HE IS A DARING ONE.

IV. HIS ATTEMPTS ARE OFTEN FAILURES. The dragon warred and his angels, and they prevailed not (ver. 8).

V. HE IS AN ANGRY FOE. "He hath great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time" (ver. 12).

VI. HE IS A MALICIOUS ONE (ver. 13).

VII. HE IS A WATCHFUL AND CRAFTY ONE (vers. 4, 13, 15), varying his methods according to the case in hand.

VIII. HE IS A CIRCUMSCRIBED FOE. This chapter tells us of three limits put to him and to his power.

1. One, of space. He is cast down to earth. He is "the God of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

2. A second, of time. "A time, and times, and half a time."

3. There is yet a third limit, that of force. "The earth helped the woman," etc. (ver. 16). We are taught in Scripture that there are five ways by which his power is restricted and his intention foiled.(1) There is providential dispensation (vers. 6, 14, 16; 1 Corinthians 10:13).(2) There is angelic ministry (ver. 7).(3) There is the direct exertion of Christ's commanding word (Matthew 17:18).(4) There is the counteracting power of Divine grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).(5) There is the intercession of our Redeemer (Luke 22:31, 32).

IX. HE IS A FOE WITH WHOSE DEVICES WE HAVE TO RECKON IN FIGHTING THE BATTLE OF LIFE (ver. 17). Note —

1. He is one at whom we cannot afford to laugh, and whose existence we cannot afford to deny.

2. He is a foe before whom we need not quail.

3. He is a foe to whom not an inch of room should be given (Ephesians 4:27).

4. He is a foe for whose onsets we should prepare by a survey and appropriation of heavenly forces.

5. He is a foe on whose ultimate defeat and complete discomfiture we may surely and confidently reckon if we look to Jesus.

(C. Clemance, D. D.)

In calling him the dragon, the Holy Spirit seems to hint at his mysterious power and character. To us a spirit such as he is must ever be a mystery in his being and working. Satan is a mysterious personage though he is not a mythical one. We can never doubt his existence if we have once come into conflict with him; yet he is to us all the more real because so mysterious. If he were flesh and blood it would be far easier to contend with him; but to fight with this spiritual wickedness in high places is a terrible task. As a dragon he is full of cunning and ferocity. In him force is allied with craft; and if he cannot achieve his purpose at once by power, he waits his time. He deludes, he deceives; in fact, he is said to deceive the whole world. What a power of deception must reside in him, when under his influence the third part of the stars of heaven are made to fall, and myriads of men in all ages have worshipped demons and idols! He has steeped the minds of men in delusion, so that they cannot see that they should worship none but God, their Maker. He is styled "the old serpent"; and this reminds us how practised he is in every evil art. He was a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies. After thousands of years of constant practice in deception he is much too cunning for us. If we think that we can match him by craft we are grievous fools, for he knows vastly more than the wisest of mortals; and if it once comes to a game of policies, he will certainly clear the board, and sweep our tricks into the bag. To this cunning he adds great speed, so that he is quick to assail at any moment, darting down upon us like a hawk upon a poor chick. He is not everywhere present; but it is hard to say where he is not. He cannot be omnipresent; but yet, by that majestic craft of his, he so manages his armies of fallen ones that, like a great general, he superintends the whole field of battle, and seems present at every point. No door can shut him out, no height of piety can rise beyond his reach. He meets us in all our weaknesses, and assails us from every point of the compass. He comes upon us unawares, and gives us wounds which are not easily healed. But yet, powerful as this infernal spirit certainly must be, his power is defeated when we are resolved never to be at peace with him.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

JohnPatmosBeast, Blasphemous, Crowns, Heads, Horns, Names, Sand, Seven, Shore, Stood, Ten1. A beast rises out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns, to whom the dragon gives his power.
11. Another beast comes out of the earth,
14. causes an image to be made of the former beast,
15. and that men should worship it,
16. and receive his mark.

Revelation 13:1

     4266   sea
     5280   crown

Revelation 13:1-3

     7735   leaders, political

Revelation 13:1-6

     4654   horn

Revelation 13:1-8

     4125   Satan, agents of
     4609   beast, the
     4627   creatures

Revelation 13:1-10

     2565   Christ, second coming

Revelation 13:1-18

     9115   antichrist, the

He Shall not Keep Silent.
THE heavens have long been silent. It is one of the leading characteristics of this present age, the closed, the silent heavens. But they will not be silent forever. "Our God shall come and shall not keep silence" (Ps. i:3). In His divine Patience the Lord has been at the right hand of God for nearly two thousand years. He will not occupy that place forever. It is not His permanent station to be upon the Father's throne. He has the promise of His own throne, which He as the King-Priest must occupy. …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Letter xxxvii (Circa A. D. 1131) to Magister Geoffrey, of Loretto.
To Magister Geoffrey, of Loretto. [57] He asks his assistance in maintaining the Pontificate of Innocent against the schism of Peter Leonis. 1. We look for scent in flowers and for savour in fruits; and so, most dearly beloved brother, attracted by the scent of your name which is as perfume poured forth, I long to know you also in the fruit of your work. For it is not I alone, but even God Himself, who has need of no man, yet who, at this crisis, needs your co-operation, if you do not act falsely …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Guelf and Ghibelline. (ii)
[Sidenote: Honorius III (1216-27) and the Crusade.] The bull of summons to the Lateran Council of 1215 mentions as the two great desires of the Pope's heart the recovery of the Holy Land and the reformation of the Church Universal; and it is made clear that the various measures of reform to be placed before the General Council are intended to bring Christian princes and peoples, both clergy and laity, into the frame of mind for sending aid to Palestine. Moreover, at the Council it was agreed that …
D. J. Medley—The Church and the Empire

The Third
refers to Exodus. The promise is, "I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it" (ii. 17). It is in this third Epistle, which refers to the wilderness period and Balaam's counsel, that we have a special reference to the manna, the wilderness sustenance, of which Exodus contains the record. "Bread from Heaven" and "Angels' food" (Ps. lxxviii. 24,25) are set over against the lusts of the …
E.W. Bullinger—Commentary on Revelation

But Whilst the King Has not that Most Blessed Light...
But whilst the King has not that most blessed light, yet there are some things in which he can discriminate; and here are seven comparisons in which his unaided wisdom can discern which is the better:-- 1. A good name is better than precious ointment. 2. The day of death " " " the day of birth. 3. The house of mourning " " " the house of feasting. 4. Borrow " " " laughter. 5. The rebuke of the wise " " " the song of fools. …
F. C. Jennings—Old Groans and New Songs

The Blessing of God.
NUMB. VI. 22-27. We have already seen the grace of GOD making provision that His people, who had lost the privilege of priestly service, might draw near to Him by Nazarite separation and consecration. And not as the offence was the free gift: those who had forfeited the privilege of priestly service were the males only, but women and even children might be Nazarites; whosoever desired was free to come, and thus draw near to GOD. We now come to the concluding verses of Numb. vi, and see in them one …
James Hudson Taylor—Separation and Service

The Seventh
refers to the throne, of which Solomon's was in every respect the ideal type. This, the highest promise, is given to the overcomers in the lowest condition of Israel's degradation, which is described as in danger of being "spued out." What that was we have already seen (page 89), and now we have the chiefest of all the promises. The overcomers in that last terrible condition of things are the ones who most need the greatest of Divine help and encouragement. Hence the highest promise is given. "To …
E.W. Bullinger—Commentary on Revelation

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Fifth vision "On Earth"
E5, xiv. 6-20. The Six Angels and the Son of Man. The next vision which follows "on earth," follows closely on the last, and is preliminary to the pouring out of the seven Vials. No angel has been seen or heard since the seventh angel sounded the seventh trumpet in xi. 15. This shows us that the passage xii. 1-- 8 is parenthetical, and constitutes one series or episode. This fifth vision on earth consists of the appearance of six angels consecutively, each having his separate mission, and all but …
E.W. Bullinger—Commentary on Revelation

The First vision "On Earth"
E^1, chap. vi. 1-- 8. The Six Seals, and the sealing of the 144,000 From the whole of the first Vision "in Heaven" (H^1, vi. 1-vii. 8) for the putting forth of power "on Earth" in the completion of the redemption of the purchased inheritance. The price has been paid in the shedding of the precious blood of the Lamb; and now, the necessary power is to be exercised so as to secure all its wondrous results, in wresting the inheritance from the hand of the enemy by ejecting the present usurper, and …
E.W. Bullinger—Commentary on Revelation

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