13:1 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.
The beast rising from the sea symbolizes the selfish animalistic desires that are capable of ruling humanity. The ten crowns symbolize domination by the lower nature on the physical plane. The name of blasphemy symbolizes the nature of the forces that make the beast – the antithesis of the Spiritual Nature.
13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
The “beast” appears to be clever and swift, symbolized by the “appearance of a leopard”. A bear symbolizes the qualities of being cruel and bloodthirsty. The “beast” having the feet of a bear means that it moves coldly, without compassion. A lion symbolizes being rich and majestic. Having a mouth as a lion means knowing how to talk to people in ways that command respect. The dragon is a symbol of the life force. It means that the nature of the life force at this stage of development is what gives the “beast” its power.
13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
This animalistic desires corrupt the psyche.
13:4 And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
The dragon represents the life force, which empowers the animalistic desires of the ego.
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
The mouth means that the animalistic desires express themselves in the psyche of the individual. Forty-two reduces to six, symbolizing the human ego.
13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against the gods, to blaspheme their names, and their tabernacle, and them that dwell in the heavens.
The beast speaking blasphemy against the gods, his name, and the tabernacle means that at this stage in development, the animalistic desires compete with the growing spiritual consciousness within the psyche.
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
The animalistic desires are capable of overcoming the forces of spiritual consciousness in the individual at this level of development.
13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The people whose names are not written in the book of life represent the ideas\thoughts of the lower nature. Worshiping the beast means focusing on the lower nature, instead of the Divine. The thoughts of the lower nature always do this.
13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Those with the wisdom to understand this allegory should use it in order to understand what is being said here.
13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
The same spiritual laws apply, both for the ego and for everyone that the individual meets. The individual cannot be killed or trapped without consequences for those that try it.
13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
The two corrupt forces in the consciousness are the same forces that are wielded by the Spiritual Consciousness, but in a corrupted state. Speaking as a dragon means wielding power over the life force through communication.
13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
The second beast is the corrupted subconscious\soul of the individual.
13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
The soul at this level of development leads the other faculties of consciousness to cater to the animalistic desires.
13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
The Soul, at this level of development, causes the animalistic desires to have the ability to silence or “kill” everything within the psyche that doesn’t feed these desires.
13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Only those faculties which are empowering the animalistic desires can operate at this time.
13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
The beast is the un-evolved spiritual force, operating through the animalistic desires, affecting all three parts of human nature (Body, Mind, and Spirit).