REVELATION 13 – BEAST FROM THE SEA – REVEALED!

Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God is pure; he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Isaiah 50:4-5 “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; he wakeneth (me) morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.”

BEASTS OF DANIEL AND REVELATION 13:1-10

It is generally recognized that the Biblical beasts and images portrayed in the visions of Daniel and the Apostle John in Revelation, are representative of the great Empires which have arisen and will arise during the course of World History, centred on the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East.

THE BEASTS OF DANIEL

The first of the Empire images was seen by King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream which he promptly forgot.

Since he was left with a troubled mind, he tried to find out the meaning of his dream. In response to Daniel’s prayer, God repeated the vision for Daniel. It is recorded in Daniel 2:31-35. KJV

“Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

Further details regarding the feet and toes of the image are given in Daniel’s interpretation in Daniel 2:41-43. KJV

“And wheras thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”

The interpretation is given in Daniel 2:38-45.

1. The head was gold - Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Kingdom

2. The breast and arms were silver - future inferior kingdom

3. The belly and thighs were brass - future world-wide kingdom

4. The legs were iron - future supreme kingdom, breaking & bruising others

5. The feet were of iron and clay – partly strong and partly broken kingdoms.

6. The stone made without hands - a heavenly kingdom that will break and consume all the previous kingdoms at one time, and fill the earth.

These Kingdoms are usually interpreted as being –

1. Babylonian

2. Media/Persian Kingdom

3. Grecian Kingdom

4. Rome

5. End of the Roman era, until the present.

6. The establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, and its effect on worldly kingdoms.

The second vision of the great empires occurs in Daniel chapter 7:3-8.

These empires come up out of the Great Sea (regarded as the Mediterranean).

Daniel 7:3-8. KJV

“And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

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. (This is believed to relate to Nebuchadnezzar’s illness). 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. After this I beheld, and lo another, (Third) 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. 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. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”

Judgement was pronounced on this last beast –

Daniel 7:11 –

“I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.”

Even though it sounds so dreadful – God deals with it, and it is destroyed. Yahweh is Sovereign, and the Beast is destroyed after his brief tenure on earth.

The interpretation of these five Empires are usually regarded as being equivalent to the first vision seen by Nebuchadnezzar and later by Daniel.

To summarise –

1. Lion Beast – 4 eagles wings which were plucked off. = (Babylon - Gold head)

2. Bear Beast – raised on one side – 3 ribs in its mouth. = (Media/Persia - Silver Breast and arms)

3. Leopard Beast – 4 fowl’s wings on its back, and 4 heads. = (Greece – Brass Belly and Thighs)

4. Dreadful Beast – iron teeth, devouring & breaking, stamping with its iron and clay feet - a “different” kind of beast = (Rome – Iron/clay legs and feet). This beast has no “animal” equivalent.

5. The latter manifestation of this beast acquires horns. 10 horns - little horn (3 horns plucked up) connected to the dreadful beast. The little horn has eyes and a mouth = (End of Rome era)

We could note however, that instead of “toes” being mentioned, we now have “10 horns”.

This is a progressive revelation being given of historical empires which rise like a “land mass” out of the “Mediterranean” sea; constantly changing; each “old empire” being superseded by its successor i.e.“devour much flesh”. They come to power and ebb away as the next great Empire rises onto the World stage of History. The name “Mediterranean” means “in the middle of the earth”.

More revelation is added in Daniel 8:3-12 regarding two specific empires Nos. 2 and 3 listed above. His vision centred on Susa, the Capital of Persia, which in the Old Testament is constantly designated as the “fortress”.

Daniel 8:3-12

“Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; (he must have been in the East – Media/Persia) so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering behold, an he goat came from the west (Macedonian/Grecian Army) on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, towards the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily… (“sacrifice” Not in the Hebrew) was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily…(“sacrifice” Not in the Hebrew) by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.”

We can identify the first of these two beasts as being No. 2 above – Media/Persia because of what we know of subsequent history about the Persian Empire. In this instance the vision illustration changes from a Bear Beast, to a Ram beast with two unequal horns (symbolic of two Nations), the lesser signifying the Mede’s which were overshadowed by the growing power and strength of Persia, under Cyrus, and later Darius.

The he goat is recognised as Alexander the Great (a Macedonian) who founded the Grecian Empire - No. 3 above. He conquered the Media/Persian Empire and advanced quickly throughout the conquered territory until he entered into India as far as the Indus River. At that time his troops persuaded him to return home, but unfortunately Alexander died in Babylon aged thirty-two. After his death, rival Macedonian warlords fought one another for a share of the empire, and it was divided into four. The two most prominent territories were seized by –

Seleucus who took Asia (Turkey), Persia and Syria in the North. The descendant ruler out of this territory is described as “the little horn which waxed exceeding great, towards the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land”) It was a subsequent Seleucid King – Antiochus IV (Ephiphanes) who desecrated the Jewish Temple on 25 December 167 B.C. causing the cessation of sacrifices in the Temple. He is called the King of the North
Ptolomy (Egypt)– in the South, called the King of the South.

The others were –

3. Macedonia

4. Thrace

The use of Apocalyptic language in describing the beasts in Daniel and Revelation is a device used to hide the identity of the various empires and perpetrators in a time of persecution. In the book of Daniel it applied to the Jews at the time of Antiochus IV; and in the book of Revelation it applied to the Christians during the early Roman Empire. The imagery was made known to those who were being persecuted and they could therefore understand the message contained within the writing. It was always a message of hope and comfort, because of the described and anticipated demise of the perpetrators of such persecution.

The great theme of such imagery is that God’s Kingdom is now working in history, and will finally transform it. Such imagery however, is not limited to only one fulfilment, instead it may apply to other secondary, (perhaps more) prophetic events, yet in the future.

THE BEAST OF REVELATION 13:1-10

In describing the book of Revelation the New Bible Dictionary states “…for the most part modern readers find the book unintelligible. This is largely because the book abounds in symbolism of a type that we do not use, and to which we no longer possess the key.”

It would certainly appear that the descriptions of the two beasts in Revelation chapter 13, appear to be some sort of “riddle”, that have a “time lock” on them – i.e. they would be revealed at the right time, if only we could understand what they stood for. It is generally accepted that the “two beasts” were first applied to the Roman Empire during the time of intense persecution of the early Church. Notable persecutions occurred under Nero and Domition.

Whereas the Apostle John was told “…seal not the saying of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.” Rev. 22:10, Daniel was told “…shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” Dan. 12:4. Many people have tried to make “something of it” before the “right time”, to make it fit a possible future scenario, and the results have been confusing and divisive. In this way “men’s traditions” make the word of God of no effect. Mark 7:13.

The missing “keys” to understanding the two beasts of Revelation 13 may be contained in the book of Daniel because that is the book which has been closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

FROM HERE ON I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE MY JOURNEY IN DISCOVERING A POSSIBLE INTERPRETATION OF THE BEASTS OF DANIEL, AND THE BEAST FROM THE SEA IN REVELATION 13, AS THEY APPLY TO US TODAY.

In the early 1990’s as a result of the Holy Spirit’s quickening, I found an interest in prophecy regarding the future was stirred up. I did a lot of reading on the subject in the intervening years.

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, brought further revelation, and on 14^th October 2001, I preached a morning sermon at Church called “The Day That Changed the World”. I realize now that I didn’t have a full understanding of events then, but as time went on, I sorted some things out in my mind and some events began to fit into place. On 16^th December 2001, I was again asked to do a post-script evening sermon which I called “Enigma”. This focused on the Beast of Revelation 13:1-4. I was interested in the similarity of the Beast out of the Sea to those mentioned in Daniel chapter 7, which relate to ancient world empires.

In my research on the subject I read some Political World Atlases from the local library, and whilst plotting the rise and fall of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome etc., it seemed my eyes were opened, and instead of seeing the ancient empire of Persia, I saw what looked like a big creature with a twisted body. I identified it as cat-like, but thought its head looked more like a lion. It is a map of the Persian Empire under Darius – about 500 B.C. Its body seemed to be raised up on one side, and I was intrigued with its horns on the other side of the Bosporus Strait. This was the empire described firstly by Daniel as a “bear raised up on one side” , and later as a “two horned ram.”

Both “clues” to this beast can be seen in this Map, i.e. the raised up side to the North, and the two horns to the West.

In Daniel 7:3-8 these 4 beasts come up out of the sea. I had always been taught that “the sea” means that these beast/nations come out of the people masses. I now believe each beast is simply a land mass that comes up out of the sea – i.e. a beast shaped area of land that a nation occupies.

I then applied this idea of a land mass to Revelation 13 where the first beast comes up out of the sea. Logic tells me that “land” rises up out of the sea. I believe this creature represents the “last days” empire of Daniels 4 Beasts.

(As for the 2^nd beast of Revelation 13:11, he comes out of the earth and I believe this man is a type of ruler/leader of the 1^st beast empire because…. “He exercises all the powers of the first beast…” As ruler/leader etc., he has all the power of an empire behind him.

In fact it says He is a man and his number is 666.) I will deal with the 2^nd Beast in a later article.

DANIEL’S FOUR BEASTS

To view the various empires ‘Contrl. & click’ each link

When I studied the book of Daniel at Bible College, we were taught that the 4 beasts of Dan.7 were –

Lion beast with eagles’s wings (plucked off) represented Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar’s subsequent illness, recovery, and eventual belief in God.

These maps are copyrighted but you may view Babylonian Empire 609-539 B.C. http://www.science.co.il/Maps-Near-East-Empires.asp

Further information see Neo-Babylonian Empire – Page 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Babylonia&printable=yes

The Bear beast represented Media/Persia and the 3 ribs represent the provinces Cyrus conquered – Lydia, Media and Babylon. Its later description as a Ram with two horns, one higher than the other can be seen as the protrusions from its head, which covers the area known as Thrace, (now Greece, Bulgaria and Romania Coastlands). Persian Empire 550 – 330 B.C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire (See Map - Page 2 plate)

The Leopard had 4 wings of a fowl on its back, and four heads (the result of the division of Alexander’s Grecian empire after his death).

http://www.science.co.il/Maps-Near-East-Empires.asp Page 3 Macedonian/Greece 336 – 323 B.C.

The Terrible Beast had iron teeth etc. and 10 horns - (N.B.) It had no animal equivalent. We have equated this Empire to Rome, and its downfall, and it would be hard to see an animal equivalent in the shape of the Roman Empire. There is an obvious shape of a leg and foot in the Italian Peninsular. This is a clue to tie this Empire to the Legs and Feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the Metallic Man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empire&printable=yes

Map on Page 3.

Within the last two weeks, (Sept/Oct. 2005) I have gained additional understanding by the Holy Spirit of the role of these beasts in the last days.

To continue…

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S VISION: (Legs, feet and toes)

Previously (in Daniel 2) - Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel had seen the vision of the Metallic Man Statue which we understand represents the same Empires/Kingdoms as above, with a lot more detail about the end of the last Kingdom (signified by the toes made of potter’s clay and iron.) It says quite clearly in Daniel 2:41-43 “…that the kingdom shall be divided… it shall be partly strong and partly broken… they shall not cleave to one another…” ????

Perhaps you have seen artists’ renditions of this marvellous statue/vision, standing there in all its glory on two legs and two feet. The Golden head of Babylon; the Silver Chest and arms of Media/Persia; the Brass belly and thighs of Greece, and the Roman legs of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of clay. I have seen its feet portrayed as mottled (i.e. clay and iron.) All in all a wonderful sight!

Lets re-run that picture, and see instead that more of the clay was on one foot, and more of the iron made up the other foot. (i.e. they did not cleave to one another because they were in fact two separate legs and feet– the Italian Peninsular, Western ‘old’ Rome, and the Balkan/East-European side ‘new’ Rome, which alone remained at the end of Rome’s glory days. This Eastern Roman Empire was later labelled the Byzantine Empire.

The fact is that the Roman Empire lost one leg, (the Western portion) and remained standing on the Eastern leg for another 1,000 years after the Capital was moved to Constantinople, which was called NEW ROME. This Eastern Christian Empire lasted from 476 – 1461 A.D, and was established by Constantine.

Daniel 2:41-43 “…that the kingdom shall be divided… it shall be partly strong and partly broken… they shall not cleave to one another…”

The end of the Western leg Empire is traditionally set in 476, when the Imperial insignia went to Constantinople. Christianity (the “stone kingdom made without hands”), became established as the State religion by the Emperor Constantine in the Eastern portion. The final leg remained standing, until the last vestiges of Rome (as the Byzantine Empire) shrunk down until it only incorporated some of the now Balkan States, finally shrinking until only Constantinople was left, when it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. That was the end of the 10 toes of the 4^th Beast.

This link has several maps which show the decline of the Empire – especially on pages 6 & 7.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byzantine_Empire&printable=yes

Short History of the Byzantine era http://www.byzantinecoins.com/history.html

All of these Empires covered the Fertile Crescent “known world” of Daniel’s Day and Old Testament times.

The Roman /Byzantine Empire came to an end in a rather spectacular manner. Constantinople stood alone at the end because of its impregnable walls and defensible position. The Turks conducted their siege of the City from April to May 1453. The Turkish leader was Sultan Muhammed II. He employed a Hungarian engineer called Urban to make a very long bronze cannon with which to batter the walls of Constantinople. The cannon measured 8 metres and was capable of throwing a 660 Kg. stone for 1.6 kilometres. The cannon had to be cooled with water after each firing, and could only be fired 7 times a day. It was this formidable weapon that after 12 days of heavy bombardment, broke through the walls of the City. Constantinople fell on May 29^th 1453, after 1,000 years of Christian rule in the Byzantine era. The Ottomans made it the Capital of their Empire in 1457, (re-named it Istanbul) and the Turks have retained control of the City almost continually until the present day. The City sits on both sides of the Bosporus Strait.

Keys to Understanding the Beast from the Sea

If the beasts of Daniel 7 contain the keys to understanding the Beast from the sea in Revelation 13, (which is the final Beast Empire that terrifies the fourth part of the earth over which it has dominion for a period of time), (Rev. 6:8); then we need to gain a better understanding of what the beasts’ descriptions stand for.

Revelation 17 contains a further key. Mystery Babylon is sitting on a scarlet coloured beast with 7 heads and 10 horns, full of names of blasphemy. (SAME beast as the first one in Revelation 13 - I presume.) In Rev. 17:8 we are told “The beast that thou sawest WAS, and IS NOT; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition;…… the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” Rev. 17:10-11 says “And there are 7 kings; 5 are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is OF the seven and goeth into perdition.

Whereas Daniel’s view of history was limited to 4 major Old Testament Empires, John sees a total of eight in the perspective from which he is looking. My premise is that John is looking at the complete range of Empires which ruled in the Fertile Crescent, from start to finish, until God finally brings in his “great mountain” Kingdom that fills the whole earth.

There are differing opinions as to who the early fallen Kingdoms are. Some people suggest Egypt is one. However, when you look at the particular land area of the early Empires; they are stacked one on top of each other on the same topography in the Fertile Crescent which was the extent of the Old Biblical World. This area experienced the events from the creation of Adam and Eve, and the Fall, until the family of Jacob went down into Egypt as described in Genesis. It covers the area of conflict following the Exodus and settlement in the Promised Land. It covers the areas of conflict during the Great World Empires. It covers the areas of the Crusades, and the World Wars and it will be the theatre for the final war, sometimes called Armageddon. If John, the writer of Revelation, is describing a broad picture of Worldly Empires (hostile to God – hence the blasphemous names on the heads); from first to last in the Fertile Crescent, then these could be the Empires chosen. They are described as “Kings” and “Heads”.

We know from the above that prior to John’s time there have been 5 Empires –

We could start with Nimrod (1^st rebellion - Babel) and Old Babylon(1);

Assyria (2);

Neo-Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon) (3);

Persia (4);

and Greece (5).

We know that Rome was in existence in John’s time, so we have identified the first 6.

THE SEVENTH BEAST of Rev. 17:10-11

One more was to come. The Ottoman Empire succeeded Rome after they captured Constantinople in 1453 – it stretched from the Persian Gulf in the East to Hungary in the Northwest, and from Egypt in the south to the Caucasus in the North. It endured for 6 centuries, (1281 – 1923) interacting with both East and the West.

This Empire is the one that was to come after John’s Day – i.e. the 7^th. John doesn’t say very much about it, neither does it have a “beast” description.

It ended up being defeated by the Allies in the Balkans at the end of World War I. (1914-1918) Allenby took Jerusalem in December, 1917; his victory at Megiddo (September, 1918) and capture of Damascus and Aleppo finally crushed the Turks.

The Link shows the Balkan States (1918 – 1938) http://www.terra.es/personal7/jqvaraderey/balkan2.htm

After the end of the 1^st World War the victorious allies divided up the Ottoman Empire into individual states, including Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Transjordan. Its head was cut off !!! The same head which was seen in the Persian and Grecian Empires. This is the Empire head (Revelation 13:3) that has the deadly wound. It had to be decapitated, so Israel could be granted the right to go back into the land via the Balfour Declaration, (as per the favour of Britain,) which became one step in the establishment of a National Jewish home in Palestine.

Information about the Ottoman Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ottoman_1683.png

From the remnants of the fallen empire, the Republic of Turkey was founded on October 29, 1923. That was almost 82 years ago. The rest of the beast became fragmented into various Islamic republics, - part went to the U.S.S.R. and became communist states and the Empire was completely dismembered. This was the very time that Israel was about to be reborn. .

Shortly after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, moves were made to abolish the Ottoman Sultanate, and the title “Caliph” has been defunct since 1924. The Caliph is the Islamic leader that led the Ottoman Empire – it means successor to Mohammad, or Prince of the Faithful.

Information regarding the Caliph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_empire

Turkey is at present a secular Islamic state. However, in the light of my findings below, I think we can understand why Turkey did not want the U.S.A. and coalition forces to use its territory to enter into Iraq in 2003.

On 3^rd October 2005 (the eve of Rosh Hashana -Jewish New Year 5766) the E.U. and Turkey began talks about Turkey joining the E.U. I understand from news sources that many of the people of Europe and Turkey are not keen about the prospect, but the Politicians are!

From this point, I take a bit of a leap into the unknown in some respects, but there is good evidence to support this picture of the composite beast.

THE 8^th BEAST OF REVELATION 17:8-11

The 8^th Beast is yet to come. The Beast is described by the angel as –

1^st phrase – v.8 “The beast which thou sawest WAS, and IS NOT…” and shall ascend out of

the bottomless pit, and go into perdition”

2^nd phrase – v.8b. “the beast that was and is not, and YET IS”.

3^rd phrase – v.11. “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is

OF THE SEVEN and goeth into perdition.”

It is clear that this beast did not exist in John’s Day, but had existed prior to John’s day when Rome ruled the area. There were only 5 Empires prior to Rome. Which one was it? ANSWER – It wasn’t any one of them, it was all of them, or rather a piece of each. There are two witnesses to this. Just above it says it is the eighth and is OF the seven. The word of means “belong to” or “coming from”. This beast is all of the previous empires which covered the same area. That is why in the 2^nd phrase used above it says “and yet is”. John describes this beast as being like parts of different beasts, and I believe this final beast empire has a specific shape, because it is a composite beast made up of parts of the previous kingdoms which were shown in the “links” to maps above. The Apocalyptic language used by Daniel contains clues about the shape and area of the 8^th Beast Kingdom.

Remember Daniel 7’s four beasts - Lion with 4 eagles wings plucked off

Bear raised up on one side eating 3 ribs – also described in

Daniel 8:3-12 as a Ram with two horns

Leopard (4 heads) (4 fowl’s wings) – also described in

Daniel 8:3-12 as a goat with a prominent horn.

Dreadful beast – 10 horns

The 8^th Beast in Revelation 13:1-3 KJV. is described as -

“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. 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.”

I’m not quite sure why this 8^th beast’s parts are listed in the opposite pattern to Daniel’s beasts, other than perhaps that is the order in which John noticed it, but note that he adds the mouth last. Compare 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. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” An interesting news item http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,16806886,00.html

It sounds as if the beast is looking for a “spokesman”.

Applying Daniel’s clues:

If we take the clues from Daniel’s Beasts and apply them to what John saw then we get a pretty interesting picture. Remember, when John saw the vision, and wrote Revelation he was on the island of Patmos. Patmos is a very small Island situated right near and opposite the mouth of the 8^th Beast. Somehow in the Spirit, he looked over the Agean Sea, and he saw the shape of this huge land mass.

The only similarity here from Daniel’s dreadful beast (Rome) are the “10” toes (i.e. end of the Roman/Byzantine Empire,) which in John’s beast seem to have turned into the “10 horns” which are crowned. Since toes and horns usually appear on the opposite ends of a beast, this was a puzzle to start with! (We have already seen that the previous 7 heads were the former empires on which this one is overlaid, so I am not concerned about those. I just accepted that the horns are on the head of this Revelation beast, just as the toes were on the feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s Metallic man.)

This beast looked like a leopard (Greece), therefore it must have had a leopard’s head and body, complete with the 4 wings of a fowl, which are Daniel’s clues.. It had the feet of a bear with 3 ribs in its mouth -also symbolized as a Ram with two horns.(Persia), but it had a Lion’s mouth (Babylon).

When all the “mentioned” parts of the previous empires are put together and plotted on a modern map we get a picture of a composite beast, forming a perfect outline of a beast with 10 horns, mouth of a lion, head and body of the leopard with wings, and with the large feet of a bear. (The ribs in its mouth would represent the 3 horns that are later uprooted by the “so-called” little horn with the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:8) This indicates the “little horn” is a person, whereas the others are not.

Trying to describe this composite beast by means of written text, and figuring out what the “clues” mean has been quite difficult. However, all is revealed when it is plotted on a modern map and the outline can be seen. This beast is crouching over Israel, which is situated right where a feline holds its prey.

A very useful help in understanding all of this up until 1000 A.D. is an animated web-site showing the rise and fall of these empires, and the areas under their dominion. It doesn’t take long to download and it can be paused whenever necessary. Unfortunately it stops at 1000 A.D.

www.atlasofworldhistory.com

Assessment:

Our God is an awesome God. This beast has been unseen, and Daniel’s clues “sealed” and hidden in our maps, until the present time. It could not be revealed until after the 1st World War, when the Middle East was cut up and the Islamic Republics were set up. The wings on the leopard body could not be revealed until 1991 when the U.S.S.R. dissolved and these states became independent and part of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The 10 horns (Balkans) have only recently been defined with the dissection of Yugoslavia in 1991/2 Etc.

I have no doubt that there are other Nations who will align themselves with this beast, but they do not lie within the areas of the previous 7 empires.

Daniel’s clues, and John’s vision have revealed the 8^th Beast out of the seven previous empires, which will rise up out of the abyss at the end of the Gentile age. This great land mass is the Biblical stage for historical struggles for Dominion in our World. It began with the temptation in the Garden of Eden, and continued with the struggle for “birthright” and “land-rights” between Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau. Israel (the “Fig Tree”) has been AT HOME for 57 years (since 1948,) where she has struggled for existence against formidable opposition from Islamic Nations to the North and from Arab States to the South. While she was yet young – 19 years old in 1967 – she put forth leaves, winning the 6-day War, when she annexed the Golan Heights, West Bank, Gaza and Sinai.

Today, we are seeing renewed pressure on Israel to relinquish more of those annexed areas. The fact that this beast is now revealed must mean the time is near for the fulfilment of the struggle for the “birthright” and possession of the land between the Sons of Abraham. It is not the end of the age, but near the end of the time when afflictions will fall upon Israel. See Daniel 8:23-25.

Jesus said – Matt.24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is night; So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

I am aware that there are some loose threads to tidy up in this scenario. It has entailed a paradigm shift in focus, and because of that many other features of these visions must be made to fit, if it is a true interpretation of Daniel’s Beasts and John vision of the Beast out of the Sea.

I intend to continue with more detail about the horns and wings in PART II