Identity of the Beast of Revelation

Identity of the Beast of Revelation

Ted Wade, 7/8/2003

Leaders of the Protestant Reformation, many of whom died for their faith, saw the beast of Revelation 13 as the antichrist or the papacy or the pope. “Many of the great Christians of Reformation and post-Reformation times . . . identified Antichrist with the Roman Papacy. . . . Among adherents of this [historicist] interpretation were the Waldenses, the Hussites, Wyclif, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Melanchthon, the Baptist theologians John Gill, the martyrs Cranmer, Tyndale, Latimer and Ridley.”[1]It’s easy to hold the opinion that the beast which arose from the seasymbolizes the papacy. Our authority, however is the word of God. We’ll follow several lines of evidence.

The beast identified by the historical situation at the time she arose to power

Imperial Rome was pagan following many of the religious forms of Babylon.[2]The idea that Roman emperors were gods came from Babylon where the kings were thus considered.At the command of a pagan emperor, Jesus’ parents went to Bethlehem to register for the census. Jesus was sent to His death by the pagan governor, Pilate, who ruled under a later pagan emperor. In the early centuries after Christ the emperors controlled the church. The first church council was called by Emperor Clovis not long before his death in 511.[3]Later, Justinian declared the Bishop of Rome to be the head of all the churches. He was also determined to have only one denomination, that of his own church, Roman Catholicism. Hoping to bring unity to the crumbling Western Roman Empire, and in cooperation with his church, he destroyed three of the tribes of Europe who were Christians with different beliefs.[4] He also established a model for legislation which became known as the Code of Justinian.One of its provisions or interpretations was for the state to support his own church financially.

As the Roman Empireweakened, the power of the church became stronger. The remaining tribes supported the Catholic faith but were now free from the iron hand of the Western Roman Empire. "The collapse of unified civil power together with the loss of the state-supported system of schools and universities gave the Church, the only large collective body that remained, an opportunity to take charge."[5]

Now turn to the description of the rise of the beast. “. . . 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.”[6]Notice that the crowns were on the beast’s blasphemous heads. An earlier beast, the dragon, had been more directly in control. Turning back to the description in chapter 12, we find crowns on the dragon’shorns.[7] Heads represent leadership and horns, the power of a nation to enforce its will symbolized by the use animals make of their horns. The Roman church, as the beast from the sea, gradually took over the religious and, to some degree, civil leadership while depending on the various nations of the former empire, now with their own military strength, to force compliance. This shift in power and direction is thus pictured in the beast rising from the sea.

Blasphemy

Here again is our key verse: “ . . . 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. 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.”[8]

On his heads a blasphemous name. “Blasphemy” is bold disrespect for God. Someone’s name is who he is. It’s his character. In this case, blasphemy is assuming a power which belongs only to Christ.[9]Church-appointed men act as mediators and pronounce forgiveness of sins while only Christ may be our mediator before God. No priest may forgive our sins. Neither may Mary or any other person declared to be a saint.[10]

Perhaps the boldest rite of the Roman church is the Eucharist celebration. According to the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the bishop or priest, acting in the person of Christ during the Mass, offers bread and wine (and water) in the Eucharist sacrifice. These thus become Christ's very body sacrificed on the cross and the very blood He poured out. Christ is present "whole and entire" in the whole bread and in each part. (Items 1348, 1357, 1365, 1377). The process is called transubstantiation. Certainly many sincere Catholic Christians haven't stopped to think that, in this ceremony, the human priest acts "in the person of Christ." He presumes to become the Redeemer! Furthermore, although a human sinner, he claims to be the Creator and, by his words, the divine Christ is said to be the created! Satan has ever coveted this very worship.[11]

While we oppose the system of the Roman church, we love her people. Jesus died for all of us.

More to learn by comparing the story as shown to Daniel

First notice verse 2 of Revelation 13. “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.”

Daniel saw four beasts come up out of the sea.[12] They were a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a dreadful beast with iron teeth. In chapter 2 he had seen an image representing kingdoms of earth. His chapter 8 along with chapter 2 helps us interpret Daniel’s beasts from the sea as representing Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Imperial Rome. Daniel also saw a fifth power — a small horn that became large pushing up among the ten horns of the terrible beast and uprooting three horns.

John was shown a composite beast drawn from Daniel’s first three in reverse order.[13]Counting the present beast arising from the sea, we have four world powers while we saw five in Daniel. We may recognize the sea beast as representing the last two powers of Daniel, the dreadful beast along with its blasphemous horn or both pagan (imperial) Rome and papal Rome.Our text reads “I . . . saw a beast risingup.” John saw it in motion. In the fulfillment of the prophecy, this may be seen to represent the power shift we discussed. Church and state had been strongly united since the time of Clovis. After Justinian, they were still united but the dominance gradually shifted to the church.[14]

Power from the dragon

We have already recognized that imperial Rome was pagan in the time of Christ. Our text confirms this. “The dragon gave him [the beast] his power, his throne, and great authority.”[15] The changing church represented by the beast from the sea depended heavily on the dragon. In hopes of keeping the pagan nations of the former empire happy, their customs and worship were adopted by the church. The pagan gods were renamed as Christian saints. Ceremonies like sprinkling with “holy” water were adopted. And holidays were renamed. Halloween has an occult background. It was the night that souls were said to return to their buried bodies. Also consider Easter.

“What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears the Chaldean[16] origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven,[17] whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country [England]. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.”[18]Eggs and rabbits, known for reproduction, had apparently been important in the fertility cult.

The beast is a religious as well as a civil institution

We have implied that the beast represents a religio-political power. Here is the text: “. . . And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 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?"[19]

Persecution authorized

“And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. . . . 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.”[20]

The persecution was more severe than most people realize. From Daniel 4, and by comparing other texts about the time of persecution or tribulation, we see that the 42 months or 1260 days are literally 1260 years since a day in symbolic language of the Bible represents a year.[21]

This same time of persecution was seen by Daniel. We recognize this from the similarities and its time in history. “The ten horns are ten kings[22] who shall arise from this kingdom.[23] And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.[24]But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever.”[25] Notice in this text that the other horn rises on the head of the beast (Rome) after its ten horns were in place just as the crowns were already on the ten horns of the sea beast when it was rising. You can see other similarities. The important point is that both texts point to the time of the shift from pagan to papal Rome.

The beast apostasy represented as a woman

We have seen the rise of the beast power in the first part of Revelation 13 and forced worship of the beast in the second part. In chapter 14, we find that God will pour out undiluted wrath on those who worship the beast.[26]

The same apostate power is described in Revelation 17 and 18 where the new Babylonappears as a wicked woman and a city. “she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day. . . .”[27] Her counterpart is the pure bride of Christ, His church who was found ready: “‘Let us be glad and rejoice . . . for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”[28]In 2 Thessalonians 2, the apostate force is the “man of sin.” It would arise from within the church itself.[29]

Listen to our Lord’s final appeal: “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, “I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.” Therefore her plagues will come in one day – death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,’”[30]

The medal illustrated above was commissioned by Pope Leo XII in 1825 with his image on the obverse side. On the reverse are the words Sedet super universum, “The whole world is her seat.” She sits as a queen with her cup, pretending to be the true bride of Christ. She sits on many waters[31] which are “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”[32]

1

[1] George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope, 1956, p. 33., Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI.

[2] “We must not neglect the historical parallel between Babylon and Rome. Babylon had been and was the Queen of the East in the age of the Hebrew Prophets and Rome was the Mistress of the West when St. John wrote. Babylon was called the GoldenCity, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency. She claimed Eternity and Universal Supremacy. . . . Babylon was imitated by Rome. She also called herself the Golden City, the EternalCity.” Chr[istopher] Wordsworth. Union With Rome (London: Longmans, 1909) pp. 6, 7.

[3] I saw this in an old Encyclopedia Britannica but should be a commonly known historical fact.

[4] This was predicted by Daniel who was shown a horn in the fourth beast (Rome) which grew from being small and, as it arose, uprooted three other horns.

[5] Alice K. Turner, The History of Hell, p. 92, 1993, 1995.

[6] Rev. 13:1. All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

[7] “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.” Rev. 12:3.

[8] Rev. 13:1, 2.

[9] Jesus was accused of blasphemy by Jewish leaders who denied His divinity. “The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” John 10:33. The literal meaning of the word is “slander.”

[10] “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. . . .” 1 Tim. 2:5, 6.

[11] See Rom. 3:23, Isa. 14;13; Luke 4:5-7.

[12] The beasts from the sea are in Daniel 7.

[13] We may interpret the reverse order showing John’s beast from the sea as having developed from the characteristics of the beast before it which likewise developed from the beast it followed, and so on.

[14] The beast, in the process of rising, began to be controlled by a different head. Church dominance became quite visible under Pope Gregory I, who was in power from 590 to 604. It took a giant step in 800 when Charlemagne became the first “Holy Roman Emperor” by accepting the crown from the hand of Pope Leo III. In granting the crown, the papacy also felt at liberty to remove it. “Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the martyrologies. Vigilius (537-555) is the first of a series of popes who no longer bear this title which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this time on, the popes, more and more involved in worldly events, no longer belong solely to the Church; they are men of the state and then rulers of the state. Gregory [I] the Great, who merited canonization, began the evolution which opened the way to such high destinies for the bishopric of Rome.” Charles Bémont and G. Monod, Medieval Europe From 395 to 1270 (New York: Henry Holt, 1902). pp. 120, 121. Some historians date the beginning of Vigilius’ legitimate pontificate from 538 instead of 537 because his deposed predecessor, Silverius, died in 538. See Archibald Bower The History of the Popes, vol. 1, 1847, p. 349; and Philip Schaff History of the Christian Church, vol. 3, 1902, p. 327.

[15] Rev. 13:2, last part.

[16] Chaldeans were the primary ethnic group of Babylon.

[17] The queen of heaven idolatry dates back at least to the time of Jeremiah. See Jer. 7:18; 44:17.

[18] Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, or the papal worship, proved to be the worship of Nimrod and his wife. 1916, 1943, 1959. Loizeaux Brothers, Inc. p. 103.

[19] Rev. 13:3, 4.

[20] Rev. 13:5, 7.

[21] How do we know that a day stands for a year? The time of papal dominance was essentially the Middle Ages which spanned more than a thousand years. Thus the 1260 “days” could not be a literal. 3½ years. The Bible provides the meaning. “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.” (Deut. 14:35).

[22] Like the ten horns on the sea beast.

[23] The ten horns arose from the iron-toothed beast which represented imperial, pagan Rome. Europe had ten significant nations.

[24] Like the 42 months of dominance of the sea beast, the 3½ “times” calculates to 1260 literal days. Notice that in both case God allowed the persecution to come. Compare James 5:17.

[25] Dan. 7:24, 25.

[26] Rev. 14:9-12.

[27] Rev. 18:7, 8.

[28] Rev. 19:7, 8. At the end of chapter 18, the woman on the beast was found full of the blood of God’s holy people. In chapter 19, we hear rejoicing and are then shown the pure woman who represents the holy people who remained faithful.

[29] Acts 20:29, 30.

[30] Rev. 18:4-9.

[31] Rev. 17:1.

[32] Rev. 17:15.