The Composite Beast

THE COMPOSITE BEAST

Editors Note:  This article, originally posted on 11/26/2014, has been edited and rewritten on 7/12/2018 to reflect my current views since I no longer accept the dispensational viewpoint, the unfulfilled 70th week of Daniel, and the Revelation as a roadmap of the so-called period of tribulation misunderstanding.

Introduction

Some of the information contained in this article is merely conjecture and opinion without any positive scriptural backing. The so-called end-times world leader basically known by many as the antichrist is not actually called the antichrist in the Bible. In the book of the Revelation he is often referred to as the beast from the sea.  Other places in Scripture he is referred to as “the man of sin”, “the son of perdition (ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal): - damnable)”, “the lawless one”, and in Daniel he is denoted as the “little horn” and the king. The word “antichrist” can be found in the letters of John depicting a person who is opposed to Christ or teaches divergent doctrines to those of Christ.

Jesus refers to Judas as the “son of perdition” in John 17:12 and Paul refers to some type of person as both the “son of perdition” and as the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.  Many have accepted this verse as proof of an end-times “antichrist”.

John 17:12 KJV While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Psalms 41:9 KJV Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

The Composite Beast Empire

Two instances in the Revelation and once in Daniel, a composite beast is introduced.  It may have multiple heads, multiple horns, and various animal type body parts.  On some occasions there will be crowns upon the heads.  The composite beast is always symbolic of several empires and it also may be symbolic of a king, ruler, or an entity of some type.  There are various interpretations of the heads and horns.

Revelation 12:3 KJV

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

We will begin our study of the composite beast empire with the appearance of the dragon in Revelation 12:3.  This composite beast, which is later identified as a Satan-type entity, is representative of the empire instigated by Satan throughout the history of the Hebrew-Israelite people.  The purpose of this historical empire could possibly be to prevent the birth of the woman’s Son who will bruise (crush NIV, attack NET) the head of the serpent or Satan as prophesied in Genesis.  The main reason however, is that God placed Judah under judgment by placing them in subjugation to a series of empires.

Genesis 3:15 KJV And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise (crush, attack) thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

All authority will be subject to this child and He will rule and control the nations with a rod of iron (i.e. a metaphoric symbol for absolute authority).  The Son of Man / the Son of God will replace the “prince (king) of this world” who is generally considered to be Satan/devil.  This could explain why Satan has attempted to kill Him or His linage from the foundation of civilization.  This attack on the linage of Jesus included the children of Adam and Eve, with Abel as the initial victim, and the pre-flood disaster involving the mating of angelic entities with human women (Genesis 6) which is the foundation of the worldwide flood saving only Noah and seven others.

From a different perspective, aside from a judgment of God concerning the nation of Judah, it can be said the dragon, as described here, has seven heads with each head having a crown.  It is said that Satan has previously activated six historical empires for the purpose of destroying the Hebrew-Israelite people with the hope of destroying the seed of the woman thus preventing the birth of the Son, Jesus Christ.  The Bible, however, states that God raised up these empires to punish Israel and Judah.

The first was the Egyptian Empire, that was initially hosting the Hebrew people as refugees during the seven years of drought and famine.  Over time, with a change of rulers, the Hebrew people became a nuisance and were enslaved as farmers, hard manual labor, and construction workers.  Through Satan’s influence, the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all male children of a certain age. However, God saved Moses, who later became the leader of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.  The Satanically inspired pharaoh had to be decimated with plagues, the death of all first born sons, and his army drowned by the wrath of God before he would conclude his assault.

The second head was the Assyrians.  They destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and deported all the inhabitants that could be found.  Their next assault was the southern kingdom of Judah, but the Assyrian army was decimated by an angel of the Lord before conceding and returning home.  The Babylonians as the third kingdom destroyed Judah and deported many of the Judeans.  With the Persian Empire as the fourth, there is the story in the book of Esther of Haman and his attempt to eradicate the Jews (Judeans).  After the fall of Babylon to the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE, exiled Jews were allowed to return to the land of Judah

The fifth head, the Greek empire, begins with Alexander the Great.  At his entry into the area of Israel, Alexander was shown the prophecies in the book of Daniel speaking of the Greek empire.  This impressed him and he left Judea with no harm but after his death, the four generals who divided his empire among themselves, rendered the middle-east, along with Judea, a war zone.  Antiochus Epiphanes was so corrupt that God allowed him to die and the Judean people were given exactly 100 years of reprieve under the Hasmonean rulership.

The Roman Empire is head number six under Satan’s plan.  The Satanically inspired Edomite Herod copied the stratagem of the Pharaoh and ordered the death of all male children  two years and under, but the parents of Jesus had been warned and escaped to Egypt. 

Later, the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of Judea had Jesus crucified providing Satan the expectation he had finally succeeded.  He later discovered, that not only had he failed, but had inadvertently participated in his own downfall and destruction when Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven and the throne of God.

This leaves us with the seventh and future head which will be personified and described in Revelation chapters 13 and17.  Revelationcommentary.org claims that all 7 beast kingdoms existed in the past which they list as:  Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece, and Rome.  I disagree with them because the prophecies of Daniel always list Media and Persia as a combination of one empire.  The seventh Satanic beast kingdom could be considered as the “little horn” of Daniel 7.  The little horn is an extension of the Roman Empire was known as the Holy Roman Empire or the Roman Church ruled by the Papacy.

THE FOURTH BEAST OF DANIEL

Daniel 7:2-8 KJV  Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.  (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 (It refers to a difference that has become evident; to violate) from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.  (8)  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 (It refers to tearing something out, destroying it, pulling it out by the roots. It is used figuratively of tearing out men or rulers) by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

[Highlighted areas above (and below) were taken from the Word Study Dictionary]

Prior to discussing the 7^th and final beast kingdom, first referenced in Revelation 13 and then chapter 17, we will look at the beast of Daniel 7 which has some common characteristics to the final beast.

The first three beasts listed in Daniel 7 had their dominion or ruling power taken away yet Daniel 7:12 indicates their existence was prolonged for a few years even after the beast in thrown into the lake of fire at the beginning of the Millennium.   

Daniel 7:11-12 KJV (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. (12)  As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

I considered the (10) 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   (Daniel 7:8 KJV)

The beast arising from the sea is the same as the “little horn” of Daniel 7.  Daniel viewed four beasts arising from the sea.  These beasts correspond with the four sections of the statue within a dream by Nebuchadnezzar which are:  Babylon; Medo-Persia; Greece; and the Roman Empire.  The “little horn” arising from among the ten horns on the head of Daniel’s fourth beast represents an extension of the Roman Empire. 

When the civil western part of the Roman Empire expired, the Vatican with a hired army attacked and conquered three divisions of the ten divisions of the civil Empire and renamed itself the Holy Roman Empire, because it now had territory and could be considered an empire.  After Napoleon conquered the Holy Roman Empire and imprisoned the reining Pope, it then became the Roman Catholic Church.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.   (Revelation 17:12-13 KJV)

Let’s now compare the first three beasts of Daniel 7 with the beast of Revelation 13.  Notice that the 1^st was like a lion, the 2^nd like a bear, and the 3^rd was like a leopard.

Daniel 7:3-6 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. 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, 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. 

Now, let’s have a look at the beast in Revelation 13 that rises from the sea.  It also has 10 horns (still intact) and was like a leopard, feet as a bear, and mouth as a lion.  In addition to 7 heads, it has 10 horns, and the appearance of a lion, bear, and leopard as did the beast of Daniel 7.  The conclusion:  it is basically the same beast.

Revelation 13:1-2 KJV 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.

Revelation chapter 12 has a description of a great red dragon which has been shown to be the kingdoms supposedly inspired by the devil or Satan.  This dragon has a similar appearance to the beast of Revelation 13 except the crowns are on the heads instead of the horns. 

Revelation 12:3 KJV And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 

Daniel 7:23-24 KJV  Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse (It refers to a difference that has become evident; to violate) from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.  (24)  And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue (It describes figuratively the bringing down or making humble the prideful person) three kings.

In Daniel 7:23 an angel gives Daniel more information concerning the fourth beast he has been allowed to view.  It will be diverse, meaning visually different and it will be a violation.  It will encompass the entire world (figuratively), violate the world (figuratively), and execute much destruction.  The little horn will also be diverse (visually different and a violation).  He will usurp the power and authority of three kings (Babylon, Persia, & Greece), but the kingdoms will remain.