18 Then the dinosaur stood on the beach by the ocean

13 and I saw a wild creature coming up out of the water.[ref] It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten crowns, and anti-God names were written on each of its heads.[ref] 2 The sea creature that I saw was like a leopard with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion,[ref] and the dinosaur gave it his power and his throne and wide-ranging authority. 3 One of the heads of the sea creature looked as if someone had wounded it so that it had died, but that wound had healed and as a result, all the people of the earth marvelled at the sea creature and obeyed it. 4 They worshipped the dinosaur because he had given authority to the sea creature, and they worshipped the sea creature, saying, “Who is like this sea creature and who is able to battle against it?”

5 The sea creature was given a mouth so it could speak out arrogant and anti-God statements, and it was given authority to act for three and a half years.[ref] 6 So it started speaking out anti-God statements, as well as speaking out against God’s name and his home and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given permission to battle against the believers and to conquer them,[ref] and it was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 All the people living on the earth will worship it—all of those whose names have never been written in the lamb’s book of life since the creation of the world[ref]—the lamb who was slaughtered.[fn]

9 Everyone who wants to understand needs to listen. 10 If anyone’s enemies are going to capture them, they will capture them and if anyone’s enemies are going to kill them with a sword, they’ll kill them with a sword.[ref] So God’s people must endure suffering and remain faithful.

11 Then I saw a second wild animal come up from the earth. It had two small horns on its head like a lamb, but it spoke like a dinosaur. 12 This land animal carries out all the orders of the sea creature and insists that the people who live on the earth worship the sea creature—the one that almost died except its wound healed. 13 The land animal also did amazing miracles and it even caused fire to fall from the sky down to the earth that people could see. 14 The dinosaur gave the land animal the power to do these miracles on behalf of the sea creature. The land animal used the miracles to deceive the people who live on the earth, telling them to make an idol that looked like the sea creature that had survived a sword wound that seemed to kill it. 15 The dinosaur also gave the land animal the power to make that idol live and so the idol that looked like the sea creature was able to speak. The land animal was able to execute anyone who refused to worship the idol 16 and it also required each person, whether important or not, and whether rich or poor, free or slave, to have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. 17 Then the land creature ordered that no one could buy or sell anything if they don’t have that mark. The mark was the name of the sea creature or the number that stood for its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: Let anyone who has understanding calculate the number of the creature, because it’s the number of a man and his number is 666.[fn]