Two Beasts in Revelation
In the last chapter we saw five beast empires in Daniel Two. In this chapter we are going to take a closer look at those same beast empires, and then look at a second beast empire that shows up in Revelation.
If we are willing to accept it, the five ‘different’ beast empires in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue are really all just different faces of one adversarial beast. Consider that the parts of the statue are all interconnected, and that when one of the parts is ‘active’ the other four parts do not disappear. Rather, it still continues to be ‘all one statue’; and as we look at history we see that all of the different faces of this beast continue to work together to oppress and subdue the Nation of Israel and its people.
The head is the Babylonian Empire, and there are many different manifestations of Babylon (including the Daughter of Babylon, which is America). The arms are Media-Persia (Iran), which is still an adversary today. The belly and thighs are Greece, and Greek thought permeates the Christian world (turning the Ephraimite people into anti-Semites). The legs of iron are Rome, and the feet of iron and clay are Rome and Islam. The Roman Papacy and Islam have immense influence in the world today; and from the looks of current events, at the time of this writing their influence would appear to be getting ready to become even greater.
Even though these beasts are all inter-connected, this same combined adversarial beast shows up in its ‘Christian-Islamic’ manifestation in Revelation 17.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 17:3-11
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Yeshua. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
7 But the angel said to me, "Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
Scholars disagree as to the exact identities of these ‘kings.’ However, when we remember that Scripture concerns itself with the Middle East (and especially with the Land of Israel), it makes sense that these kings were, are, and will be:
- Egypt (Ezekiel 29:1-30-26);
- Assyria and Nineveh (Nahum 3:1-19);
- Babylon (Revelation 18:2, Jeremiah 50-51);
- Media-Persia (Daniel 8:20-22, 10:13, 11:2);
- Greece (Daniel 11:4)
- Rome (existed when Revelation was written)
- Ottoman Islamic Caliphate (1299-1922)
- Renewed Turkish-Islamic Caliphate
At the time Revelation was written, Babylon, Iran and Alexander’s former empire had all fallen. Rome was, but the Ottoman Islamic Caliphate was not yet; and when it came it continued ‘a short time’ (1299-1922). It received a ‘deadly wound’ at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, from which it never recovered. However, it is possible that it will soon recover from its ‘deadly wound’; and if so this may lead to a renewed Islamic Caliphate, possibly centered in Turkey, which would be the eighth kingship in this passage. There are other theories, but this one seems to fit particularly well.
11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
We will see more evidence for a restored Turkish-Islamic empire in coming chapters; and if it is restored it will fulfill all of the prophetic requirements of the eighth kingdom in a way that no other kingdom can, because the seventh will also be the eighth.
There is a saying in Hebrew about Jews for Jesus and the (partially) ‘Torah-observant’ Messianic Movement:, “It is the same woman in a different dress” (Oto giveret, shinui aderet). The meaning of this cut is that Jews for Jesus and the partially-observant Messianic Movement is really just lawless Christianity in a disguise. This is essentially a true saying; and when we look at Revelation 13 we can see how this saying also applies to the combined adversarial beast. However, first let us look at Daniel 7.
Most commentators agree that in Daniel 7, the lion is Babylon/Iraq, the bear is Media-Persia/Iran, and the leopard is Greece, while the beast with the iron teeth was/is Rome:
Daniel 7:2-8
2 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
4 The first was like a lion (Babylon/Iraq), and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear (Media-Persia/Iran). It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!'
6 "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard (Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire), which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads (including the Seleucid Empire), and dominion was given to it.
7 "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong (Rome). It had huge iron teeth (Rome); it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one (the Papacy) coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”
The first beast was like a lion. This was the Babylonian Empire (which had great power); and the eagle’s wings symbolized its high-flying arrogance. The second beast was like a bear, which was Media-Persia (in modern-day Iran). This beast was very powerful, but not very quick to rise, or to move. The third beast was the leopard, which symbolized Alexander the Great’s Empire. It ‘ran’ (i.e., spread) very quickly eastward, conquering most of Asia in one long continuous advance. The four horns represent the four empires that sprang out of Alexander’s empire after his death. (These included the Seleucid Empire, which terrorized the Land of Israel during the time of the Maccabees.)
Now let us look at Revelation 13 and we will see the same attributes show up. The head that was mortally wounded in verse 3 is the Ottoman Empire, the ‘wound’ referring to the Ottoman Empire’s defeat at the walls of Vienna in 1683.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 13:1-10
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded (Ottoman Empire), and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against Elohim, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
The reason this passage only mentions four beasts is that it considers Islam as part of Rome. And indeed, as verse 4 asks, who can make war with the Christian-Islamic beast? Most of the industrialized world pays it homage in some form or other.
4 So they worshiped the dragon (Satan) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
As I explain in Nazarene Israel, a Hebrew month is considered to be thirty days long. Therefore, forty-two months is 1260 days (as 42 x 30 = 1260). However, Ezekiel 4 tells us that a day in prophecy can also be equal to one earth year.
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 4:4-6
4 "Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the House of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the House of Israel.
6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the House of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.”
Using this principle of a day for a year, 42 months (or 1260 days) refers to 1260 earth years. Of course, it can also refer to 1260 literal days (or about 3-1/2 years). But which count applies, and when does it begin? The Western mind wants to set one single pinpoint date for the beginning and one single point for the end (and then to invalidate all others). However, this does not really work with regards to prophecy, as many of the time cycles we read in Scripture have more than one start and ending point. In fact, scholars note a number of different start-and-ending points for this forty-two month oppression, using both a 1260 day and 1260 year count. The reason this works is that the Hebrew conception of time is very different than that used in the West. The Hebraic conception of time is not always linear (as in Western thought), but cyclical. This is why prophecies can have more than one fulfillment; and this is why it is possible for there to be more than one singular forty-two month period of oppression. (We will see something similar to this in the next chapter.)
Now that we have an understanding of ‘composite’ beasts, Revelation 13 speaks of a second beast which is different than the first beast we have already discussed. Again, while some scholars suggest that the prophecies over this beast may have been fulfilled in the past, nothing precludes additional fulfillments. In fact, there is most likely a coming fulfillment by the United Nations, which is expected to ratify the United Religions Initiative (URI). The purpose of the URI is to establish one single world religion for all of the people of earth, based off of a modified version of Catholicism. This would be the ‘image of the beast.’
Hitgalut (Revelation) 13:11-18
11 Then I saw another beast (UN) coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666 (chi xi stigma).
This second beast (UN) and its image (URI) would likely exercise all of the (political) authority of the first beast (i.e., the Roman Empire) in his presence, and it will cause the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast (the Roman Church and Islam) through the new united religion. This is a very realistic scenario that fits with the news we read in the papers, and it will likely play out soon after the United Nations is brought to full power and the ‘United Religion’ becomes the ‘official’ world religion.
When verse 15 says the second beast will be granted power to “give breath to the image of the beast” it means they will have the power to ‘breathe life into’ this new world religion. This means that it will come to pass. Since the word Catholic means ‘Universal’, the Pope will have no issue establishing such a ‘universal’ united religion, and can be expected to incorporate elements of the other major world religions into this coming world religion, in order to obtain ‘buy in’ from the masses.
We will see just how realistic this scenario is in coming chapters. However, first let us look at Revelation 20:7-10, which tells us that the Devil will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the (Catholic-Islamic) Beast and the False Prophet are.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 20:7-10
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from Elohim out of heaven and devoured them.
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The False Prophet might be Mohammed. However, if we remember that spirits can manifest themselves in more than one way here on earth, the False Prophet is likely also the Hellenistic (Greek) version of the Messiah. Neither Mohammed nor the Greek ‘J-sus Christ’ teaches YHWH’s people to obey Torah; and therefore neither one of them is the True Prophet (Yeshua).