The Beast

This is one of the most debated subjects not only in Revelation, but the whole Bible. The beast is described of having seven heads and ten horns with ten crowns. Our rule of Bible Interpretation is that when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. Are we going to witness a beast with seven heads taking over the world? Probably not. So it must be symbolic which leaves it open to hundreds of interpretations. The beast often gets associated with the single antichrist, which makes no sense because it has seven heads, which means it has seven different identities. The term "antichrist" means exactly what is says, to be "anti" or against Christ.

I John 2:22. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

II John 1:7. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The term "antichrist" doesn't appear once in Revelation. That isn't to say that there isn't going to be a one-world ruler, but it is never specifically mentioned in Revelation. So what then could the so-called beast actually represent? It represents a system of world domination. It is Satan's ultimate plan to rule the planet.

We are giving two chapters that describe what the beast is. In Revelation 13, we have an introduction of the beast. In chapter 17 we have a more detailed description of the beast in which the whore of Babylon sits. Let us now go through all of the information we have to figure out what the beast really is.

Revelation 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.

Here we are first introduced to the beast. We will get to the identity of the heads in a moment, but notice that it rises out of the sea. Since the "beast" is a metaphor, so is the sea in which it rises out of. If we look at Revelation chapter 17 we see a description of the sea -

Revelation 17:15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

So the sea is all the people and nations of the world. The sea is everything that God has created.

Revelation 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.

Before we go any further, we must take a look back in the Bible to where these three characteristics of the beast are mentioned.

Daniel 7:3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The prophet Daniel had seen the same animals in a vision hundreds of years before. He sees four beasts rise out of the sea of nations and people.

Daniel 7:4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

The first beast is the empire of Babylon. The empire lasted from 612 B.C. to 539 B.C. The lion can be seen throughout its culture as a representative of the empire. The wings represent the speed in the conquest of the empire from the Assyrians, as seen in Habakkuk chapter 1. Babylonian kings would serve as both king and priest. They would take part in all of the main rituals but would appoint other priests to take care of the daily work. It is estimated that Babylon was the largest city from 612 B.C. to 320 B.C. The arrogance and blasphemy of Belshazzar cost Babylon its authority, as seen in Daniel Chapter 5. Immediately after that, God caused Daruis the Mede to take over Babylon.

Daniel 7:5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

The second beast is the empire of the Medes and the Persians. Their combined empire lasted from 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. The bear is raised on one side because of the Persian takeover of the Medes, led by Cyrus the Great. The three ribs represent the three kingdoms of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon, which were suppressed by the Medo-Persian Empire. In 539 B.C., Cyrus the Great seized control of Babylon, which God foretold almost 150 years prior. The command to "devour much flesh" indicates the Persians wide extent of their conquests. It also indicates the persecution power of the Persian rulers, which was greatly known, as seen in Daniel Chapter 6.

Daniel 7:6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

The third beast is the empire of Greece. The empire lasted from 331 B.C, to 146 B.C. In what is known as the Hellenistic age, the culture of Greece would become the cornerstone in Western development. It became immensely influential on language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts. Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world in a matter of eight years, which are represented by the four wings. He suddenly became ill and died of a fever at the age of 32. Control of Greece was then divided between his four generals, which are represented by the four heads on the leopard.

Now that we know what Daniel saw in his vision, we can decipher what the beast is made out of in John's vision. The beast is made up of parts of the other empires, which means that certain characteristics are to be applied to the beast. The beast was "like unto a leopard" which means it will have the cultural and political dominance of Greece. Its feet were "as the feet of a bear" which means it will have the persecution power of the Medes and Persians. And his mouth is "as the mouth of a lion" which means it will speak blasphemy and have the arrogance of the Babylonians.

So we know what the different parts of the body represent, but what do the heads still represent?

Revelation 17:9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

The seven heads are seven mountains. Notice that it says "here is mind which hath wisdom." It’s a clue that it means something else. A mountain is often used of has a symbol of a kingdom -

Jeremiah 51:25. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down form the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

In the next verse, we learn that there are seven kings.

Revelation 17:10. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

The seven kings are the seven major empires that have reigned throughout history. We must remember what Jesus said to John -

Revelation 1:19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

He is told to record the past, present, and future. So we learn that five kings have fallen -

1.Egypt

2. Assyria

3. Babylon

4. Persian – Median

5. Greece

And one is -

6. Rome

The Roman Empire was in control at the time of when Jesus was on earth. Rome was also in power when John wrote the book of Revelation in 95 or 96 A.D. The empire lasted from 146 B.C. to 476 A.D. As a matter of fact, the Romans were the ones who sent John to the island of Patmos in the first place.

The other is not yet come -

7. Britain

And when he cometh, he must continue a short space -

Most scholars don't recognize the seventh empire as the British Empire. At the height of its power, it is considered the most powerful empire in history. From 1814 to 1914, it is referred to as Britain's "imperial century." During these hundred years, it has estimated that Britain has accumulated 10,000,000 square miles of territory and roughly 400 million people. John says in the verse that he must "continue a short space." The height of Britain's power only lasted a hundred years.

So now we know that the seven heads of the beast are the seven empires that have ruled over the world. This next verse is commonly misinterpreted as referring to the "antichrist."

Revelation 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.

But if we follow the theory that one of the empires has received a deadly wound, we might be able to make sense of what is being said. When all of the empires throughout history have fallen, their power fades away until they are out of the public eye, except for one.

After World War II, much of Europe was left in ruins. At the end 1945, Britain was virtually bankrupt. It had to borrow a $3.5 million loan from the United States just to stay afloat. Britain's dominance over the world had come to a close, but something else emerged from the ruin that was Britain.

Revelation 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.

In prophecy, horns are seen has kings, or kingdoms.

Daniel 8:20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

So the two horns on the second beast are going to be two kingdoms. It also will appear as gentle has a lamb, but speak great things as a dragon. Notice that this beast comes from the "earth" as opposed to the "sea." This is to signify that it will come out of what man has created, as opposed to the sea, which is what God created.

Let us recap so far. The beast is a satanic system that is composed of seven world empires that have reigned with force throughout history. It will have cultural and political sophistication. It will have great persecution power, and it will be arrogant and speak great blasphemy. But what can this second beast actually be? Let's look at another clue as to what it is.

Revelation 17:11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

So the second beast is going to be from the seventh. It is going to be gentle as a lamb on the outside, but it will speak great blasphemy. Jesus warned us about such things -

Matthew 7:15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are raving wolves.

At the same time Britain was officially bankrupt due to the war, the United Nations was born. The UN was started for one reason, world government. It's stated aims are to have cooperation on international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights and achieving world piece. It officially came in to existence on October 24, 1945 as the successor of the League of Nations. The five permanent members were the United States, the United Kingdom, the Security Council France, the Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.

The two major factors in the formation of the UN were the United States and Britain. The term "United Nations" was first used by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in the 1942 Declaration by United Nations, which united the allied countries under the Atlantic Charter. The home of the UN is currently in New York City. John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated the land used for the headquarters.

So the beast that was -

Britain

And is not -

Britain was virtually bankrupt after World War II.

Even he is the eight, and is of the seven -

1945 was the year that England almost collapsed and the United Nations was formed. The United Nations is the false prophet, which is as gentle as a lamb whose goal is world peace. It was created from a joined effort from mostly Britain, which was the last world empire. The two horns of the lamb are the United States and Britain because of their involvement in the foundation of the United States.

Revelation 17:12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

The ten horns are ten kingdoms that will rule during the end times. We are already seeing the world being divided into ten regions or zones by most political organizations.

European Union -

1. North America 2.Central America and the Caribbean 3. South America 4. Western Europe 5. Eastern Europe and Central Asia 6. Mediterranean and Middle East 7. Africa 8. North East and South East Asia 9. South East Asia 10. Australia and Pacific.

Global think-tank the Club of Rome -

1. Canada and the United States of America 2. European Union - Western Europe 3. Japan 4. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and Pacific Islands 5. Eastern Europe 6. Latin America - Mexico, Central and South America 7. North Africa and the Middle East (Moslems) 8. Central Africa 9. South and Southeast Asia 10. Central Asia

Revelation 17:13. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

These kings will have one goal and one purpose, world domination. The ten kingdoms will give power unto the beast, which is the system of global unification.

Revelation 13:4. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

Verse four tells us that Satan is in control of this system. Remember when Jesus is tempted of Satan in the wilderness. He takes him on a mountain and says all of the kingdoms will be yours if you do my biding.

Luke 4:5. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

In the next verse, we learn how long the beast will have total control.

Revelation 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 world government will reign for three and a half years. This is the same amount of time that was prophesied by Daniel in his vision of the 70 weeks.

The second beast will cause everybody on earth to worship the first beast.

Revelation 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 United Nations will cause all the world to worship the idea of a one world government. The UN will have all the power of territorial jurisdiction and regulation just like Britain at the top of its power.

With the shape of the world economy today, we are inevitably going to witness the global government that the global elites have worked so hard for.

"We shall have World Government, whether we like it or not. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent."

James Paul Warburg Feb. 7, 1950

“It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."

David Rockefeller Baden-Baden, Germany 1991

"This present window of opportunity, during which a truly peaceful and interdependent world order might be built, will not be open for too long - We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order."

David Rockefeller Sept. 23, 1994

"The New World Order cannot happen without U.S. participation, as we are the most significant single component. Yes, there will be a New World Order, and it will force the United States to change its perceptions."

Henry Kissinger April 19, 1994

When the beast has control of the world, it will have the power to kill anybody who opposes -

Revelation 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.

They will seek to destroy all of the godly that resist, but they will never win -

Revelation 17:14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

When you hear the world say there is peace at last, just remember the words of Paul -

I Thessalonians 5:3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

References -

Ken Klein

Wikipedia

Tim Lahaye

Bibleexplained.com