| Beasts of Revelation | formerly at BeastsOfRevelation.com |
| A Reformation view |
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Revelation (Apocalypse) CHAPTER 13 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. 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. 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. Commentator Albert Barnes saw the beast from the sea as the Roman Empire: "The reference here is to Rome, or the one Roman power, contemplated as made up of ten subordinate kingdoms, and therefore subsequently to the invasion of the Northern hordes, and to the time when the Papacy was about to rise. ...Thus in Daniel (vii. 2-7) the lion is introduced as the symbol of the Babylonian power; the bear, as the symbol of the Medo-Persian; the leopard, as the symbol of the Macedonian; and a nondescript animal, fierce, cruel, and mighty, with two horns, as the symbol of the Roman. See Notes on that passage. In John there is one animal representing the Roman power, as if it were made up of all these: a leopard with the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion, ...and with the general description of a fierce monster. ...the beast here represents the Roman power, as now broken up into the ten dominations which sprung up (see notes on Daniel as above) from the one original Roman power, and that became henceforward the supporters of the Papacy, and, therefore, properly represented here as having ten diadems. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy. That is, the whole power was blasphemous in its claims and pretensions." - Notes on the New Testament by Albert Barnes, 1884-1885 |
"a beast...out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns" and "another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon"
| 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? 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. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. |
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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. 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. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, |
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"This also designates the church of Rome. Fire coming down from heaven, seems to have reference to their excommunications, which were dreaded like fire from heaven." - A History of the Work of Redemption by Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758 "Those who think the first beast signifies Rome pagan by this second beast would understand Rome papal, which promotes idolatry and tyranny, but in a more soft and lamb-like manner: those that understand the first beast of the secular power of the papacy take the second to intend its spiritual and ecclesiastical powers, which act under the disguise of religion and charity to the souls of men." - Commentary on the Whole Bible by Matthew Henry, 1721 "Here, then, are the two Beasts. The one is the Empire. The other, with the two horns, is the Papacy." - "Second Preface to the Revelation of St. John" in Works VI:484 by Martin Luther, c. 1540, translated by Dr. F. N. Lee |
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14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. |
Martin Luther saw the pope as the two-horned beast from the earth, spoken of in Revelation 13:11, imparting power to a revived Roman empire in the form of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne, the image of the old imperial Rome, hence the image of the beast: "The Pope restored the fallen Roman Empire. ...It is an image of the Roman Empire, rather than the body of the Empire as it once was. Nevertheless, he puts spirit and life into this image ...and actually operates it to some extent." - "Second Preface to the Revelation of St. John" in Works VI:484 by Martin Luther, c. 1540, translated by Dr. F. N. Lee The Holy Roman Empire (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich), with emperors crowned by the Roman pope for hundreds of years, also came to be called the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation). It was succeeded by the Second Reich whose Kaiser (=Caesar) waged World War I, and then the Third Reich which seized most of Europe during World War II. |
| A modern view |
Matthew Henry saw the sea beast as ungodly human government:
"It appears to mean that worldly, oppressing dominion, which for many ages, even from the times of the Babylonish captivity, had been hostile to the church. The first beast then began to oppress and persecute the righteous for righteousness' sake, but they suffered most under the fourth beast of Daniel, (the Roman empire,) which has afflicted the saints with many cruel persecutions. The source of its power was the dragon. It was set up by the devil, and supported by him. The wounding the head may be the abolishing pagan idolatry; and the healing of the wound, introducing popish idolatry, the same in substance, only in a new dress, but which as effectually answers the devil's design. The world admired its power, policy and success. They paid honour and subjection to the devil and his instruments. It exercised infernal power and policy, requiring men to render that honour to creatures which belongs to God alone." - Concise Commentary on the Bible by Matthew Henry, 1721
 human government |
Revelation (Apocalypse) CHAPTER 13 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. 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. 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. |
"the first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings" - Dan. 7:4  |
"another beast, a second, like a bear…and it had three ribs in its mouth" - Dan. 7:5  |
"another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads" - Dan. 7:6  |
"a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong…and it had ten horns" - Dan. 7:7  |
| 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? |  |
"all the kingdoms of the world…And the devil said…'All this authority…has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish'" - Luke 4:5-6 |
| 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. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. |
1260days.com and BibleForetoldHolocaust.com |
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 - looks like a lamb - speaks like a dragon - led in building the image - exercises world power - sends fire from heaven 
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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. 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. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, |
| 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. |
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15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. |
The U.N., a miniature image of the world political system, actually lives and speaks. |
For more details, read the book United Nations vs Israel and the End of the World or read online at UNvsIL.com
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United Nations vs Israel and the End of the World by David A. Reed "Jerusalem will be...burdening the world...all the nations unite in an attempt..."-Zech. 12:3 LB "Jerusalem shall be...administered by the United Nations"-UN General Assembly Resolution 181 "they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle...to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon."-Rev. 16:14-16 NIV "Recalling its resolution 181...the proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel...null and void and must be rescinded"-UN General Assembly Resolution 66/18, Jan. 2012 "...all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem."-Zech 12:3 NCV MORE INFORMATION Buy printed book from publisher Buy from Amazon.com Read FREE online/save as FREE PDF file at UNvsIL.com |
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