What Are the Beasts of Revelation Chapter 13?
Revelation 17:7b … the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
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.
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.
Notice I used the word “what” in the title of this article, not the pronoun “who”. It’s because the Book of Daniel clearly identifies what a “beast” is. It’s used as a metaphor for a kingdom or an empire, and not a person.
Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
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.
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.
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.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
The Beasts of Daniel 7 represented four empires.
Babylon
Greece
Medo-Persia
Rome
I think it’s safe to say most Bible prophecy studies will not debate that. The term “beast” is therefore a metaphor, symbolical language. Therefore I do not agree with Pastor John MacArthur when he says prophecy is always literal. Some prophecies such as the Messiah born of a virgin are indeed literal, but to call an empire a “beast” clearly indicates symbolism.
One website on the subject says:
Maybe you have asked the question what are the two beasts in Revelation 13? The short answer is they represent the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
I thought so too for 40 plus years, but I no longer agree with that statement.
I used to associate the Beast of Revelation 13 with the Antichrist who is supposed to rise to power and rule the earth for a final 7 years just before the return of Jesus Christ. I’ve come to see this interpretation as based on the Futurist school of interpretation which I believe to be false. I am a Historicist, the school of prophetic interpretation which was held by the Protestant Reformers and Baptists up to the end of the 18th century. It was John Nelson Darby and his Plymouth Brethern who in 1830 introduced to the evangelical Christian world the futurist interpretations of the Books of Daniel, Revelation, and Matthew 24. In other words, Darby and his people took prophecies that were fulfilled in the past claiming they are yet to be fulfilled in the future! And sad to say, by and by these doctrines were eventually accepted by the prestigious Dallas Theological Seminary and spread around the world.
The point I want to make in this article is this: The “Beast” today represents Globalism, the Shadow Government, the Deep State. Why would the entire world react the same way to the pandemic with lockdowns, guarantees, the use of face masks, and social distancing? Answer: It’s all coming from the same source, the Beast! It’s unprecedented in history. Lockdowns are crashing the economy, and it may all be leading up to the Mark of the Beast. Is it too far fetched to think the Mark may have something to do with a mandatory coronavirus vaccination?
Just in my lifetime, I can tell you many times the Beast told me something that turned out later to be false. The Gulf War of 1990 was justified because “Iraqi soldiers were taking babies out of hospital incubators and laid on the floor to die.” (False!) The invasion of Iraq was justified because of “weapons of mass destruction”. (False!) The Vietnam War was justified to “save the world from Communism.” And now though all of Vietnam is Communist, it has become an economic competitor to the USA! These wars cost the lives of millions of people! If the Beast would lie about that through its mouth – the mainstream media – why would you believe what it’s saying now about the pandemic and the coming vaccines? I sure don’t trust anything the media is telling me, and that includes not only liberal media, but conservative as well.
Related posts:
The Seven Seals of Revelation Chapter 6 Shown to be Fulfilled Historically
Who Are the Two Witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11?
The Book of Daniel interprets the Book of Revelation
“… and his deadly wound was healed” – Revelation 13:3
The Geneva Bible Notes Explain Revelation 17 & 18
“And the Woman Was Arrayed in Purple and Scarlet Colour…” – Revelation 17:4
Biblical Exegesis and the Beast of Revelation
What is the Great City of the Book of Revelation?