“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
We have here an account of the rise, figure, and progress of the first beast; and observe, 1. From what situation the apostle saw this monster. He seemed to himself to stand upon the sea-shore, though it is probable he was still in a rapture; but he took himself to be in the island Patmos, but whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell. 2.
Commenting on Revelation 13:1-10
And I beheld another beast,.... The same with the first, only in another form; the same for being and person, but under a different consideration; the same antichrist, but appearing in another light and view: the first beast is the pope of Rome, at the head of the ten kingdoms, of which the Roman empire consisted; this other beast is the same pope of Rome...
Verse 10. He that leadeth into captivity. This is clearly intended to refer to the power or government which is denoted by the beast. The form of the expression here in the Greek is peculiar--"if any one leadeth into captivity," etc.--Ειτιςαιχμαλωσιανσυναγει. The statement is general, and it is intended to make use of a general or prevalent truth with reference to this particular case.