Tag: Fatal wound

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Which of the beast’s seven heads has the fatal wound?

Summary

One head was fatally wounded.

John saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had “ten horns and seven heads” (Rev 13:1). John also “saw one of his heads as if it had been slain,” for it had a “fatal wound” (Rev 13:3).

A “fatal wound” is a wound that kills. In other words, the beast was dead. Therefore, when the wound was healed, it is said that the beast “has come to life” (Rev 13:12, 14; cf. Rev 2:8; 20:4).

But the entire beast did not die; only “one of his heads” was “slain” (Rev 13:3). Since the seven heads exist one after the other (Rev 17:9-10), the seven heads symbolize the seven phases of the beast’s existence. So, the death of one of its heads is the death of the whole beast but only for a time.

The Fatal Wound in Revelation 17

Revelation 17 also describes the fatal wound. In that chapter, the beast:

      • “Is not” (Rev 17:8), implying that it does not exist,
      • Is in “a wilderness” (Rev 17:3), symbolizing difficult circumstances (cf. Rev 12:6, 14),
      • Is in the “abyss” (Rev 17:8), symbolizing incapacity (Rev 20:3), and
      • Has no diadems (ruler crowns) (Rev 17:3; cf. Rev 12:3; 13:1;), implying that it is unable to rule.

So, in Revelation 17, the beast is suffering, weakened, and unable to rule. In some sense, it “is not.”

Since two different chapters of Revelation describe the beast in a weakened state, these likely describe the same weak period. Furthermore, both the fatal wound in Revelation 13 and the abyss in Revelation 17 symbolize incapacity (Rev 20:3):

For the beast to be alive means to blaspheme God and to persecute God’s people (e.g., Dan 7:25; Rev 13:5-7). Therefore, for the beast to be dead (have a fatal wound) means to be unable to persecute God’s people for it has been incapacitated.

That is also the meaning of being in the abyss. For example, Satan is bound in the abyss “so that he would not deceive the nations any longer” (Rev 20:3). And, after the beast comes up from the abyss, it immediately proceeds to persecute God’s witnesses (Rev 11:7, 3).

For these reasons, Revelation 17 describes the same fatal wound as 13:3.

The wound healed in Revelation 17

This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that Revelation 17 describes the same recovery as Revelation 13. To see this, compare the following two verses:

“His fatal wound was healed.
And the whole earth was amazed
and followed after the beast” (Rev 13:3).

“The beast that you saw …
is about to come up out of the abyss …
And those who dwell on the earth …
will wonder when they see the beast” (Rev 17:8).

Note the similarities:

      1. In both, the whole world adores the beast.
      2. “Amazed” (13:3) is similar to “wonder” (17:8).
      3. In both chapters, the beast is exalted after its recovery (Rev 13:3-4; 17:8).
      4. In both chapters, the beast’s followers are described as:

“Everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life” (Rev 13:8; 17:8).

These similarities indicate that the beast’s fatal wound in Revelation 13 is equivalent to the beast being in the abyss in Revelation 17.

The Fatal Wound is the Sixth Head.

Revelation 17 explains the beast and its heads by referring to the past, the present, and the future:

The Beast (Rev 17:8) Heads (Rev 17:10)
Past Was “Five have fallen.”
Present Is not and is in the abyss “One is.” This would be the sixth head.
Future Will “come up out of the abyss.” “The other” (the seventh) will “come.”

Therefore, the period when the beast is in the abyss, which is equivalent to the head with the fatal wound, is the sixth head. After the fatal wound has been healed, the entire world will follow after the beast (Rev 13:4). This will be the seventh and final head of the beast.

Identity of the Sixth Head

This article does not identify the sixth head in terms of a specific period in history. To identify the sixth in that way, one needs to identify all seven heads. This is done in other articles on this website. See:

– END OF SUMMARY –

Revelation 13:3-4

3. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain,
and his fatal wound was healed.
And the whole earth was amazed
and followed after the beast

4. They worshiped the dragon
because he gave his authority to the beast;
and they worshiped the beast, saying,

“Who is like the beast,
and who is able to wage war with him?”

The purpose of the current article is to explain what this fatal wound is, including which head was dead.

What does a head with a fatal wound look like? John is describing what he saw in vision but much of that was not visual images but concepts that the Holy Spirit gave him to understand.

Verse 1 described the heads of the beast. Verse 2 explains the body. Verse 3 returns to the heads.

Identity of the Beast

Great Red DragonBased on Revelation 13:1-2, the previous article identified the dragon and the beast as follows:

1. In the context of Revelation 13:2, the dragon is the same as the fourth animal in Daniel 7 and symbolizes the Roman Empire.

2. Revelation’s beast is the same as the evil 11th horn in Daniel 7 and symbolizes a world power that:

        • Came into existence when the Roman Empire fell and divided into many kingdoms in the fifth or later centuries,
        • Became the most powerful of the kingdoms ruling in the territory of the previous Roman Empire (Dan 7:20), and
        • Had the authority of the Roman Empire (cf. Rev 13:2).

This wound is fatal.

This is not simply a serious wound but a “fatal wound” (Rev 13:3). In other words, the beast was dead. For that reason, when the wound was healed, the beast “has come to life” (Rev 13:12, 14). That same expression is used for Christ’s resurrection (Rev 2:8) and the resurrection of God’s people at the beginning of the thousand years (Rev 20:4).

Only for a Time

But the entire beast did not die; only “one of his heads” was “slain” with this fatal wound (Rev 13:3). Revelation 17:9-10 shows that the seven heads exist one after the other:

The “seven heads … are seven kings;
five have fallen,
one is,
the other has not yet come” (NASB).

Therefore, the seven heads symbolize the seven phases of the beast’s existence. The beast is simply the sum of the seven phases. Apart from the seven heads, there is no beast. So, the death of one of its heads is the death of the whole beast but only for a time.

Worshiped the Beast

“The whole earth … worshiped the beast” (Rev 13:3-4). The English word “worship” usually means that the object of worship is a god; either the true God or a false god (Cambridge, Merriam-Webster). In contrast, the Greek word translated as “worship” (proskuneó), as defined by the NAS Exhaustive Concordance, is “to do reverence to.” In Greek, it usually means to do reverence to a king or some other person in an exalted position. In the current verse, people proskuneó the beast not as a god or as God but in the normal Greek sense of the word, namely, as a mighty king, for they say:

“Who is like the beast, and who is able
to wage war with him?” (Rev 13:4)

In other words, they show respect to the beast because it is powerful.

Furthermore, “they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast” (Rev 13:4). In the context of Revelation 13:1-4, the dragon symbolizes the Roman Empire. That empire no longer existed when the beast receives its fatal wound or when the wound was healed. But, by worshiping (showing respect to) the beast, which is the descendant of the Roman Empire, the people indirectly show respect to the Roman Empire.

Revelation 17 describes the Fatal Wound.

This section shows that Revelation 17 also describes the beast’s fatal wound and its recovery from that wound. It explains what that fatal wound is and which of the seven heads is dead.

The Same Fatal Wound

As the following indicates, at the point in history described by Revelation 17, the beast is dead:

Is not – The beast “is not” (Rev 17:8). In other words, in some sense, at this time, the beast does not exist.

Wilderness –In Revelation 12, the pure woman was described as in the wilderness (Rev 12:6, 14), symbolizing difficult circumstances. But, in Revelation 17, the beast is in the “wilderness” (Rev 17:3). It is unusual for the beast to be in the wilderness. It was not in the wilderness when the pure woman was in that place. Neither was the beast in the “wilderness” in John’s time when the Roman Empire brutally persecuted Christians.

Abyss – Revelation 17 describes a specific point in history with a past, a present, and a future. In the present, the beast is in the “abyss” (Rev 17:8), which symbolizes incapacity (Rev 20:3).

Diadems – In contrast to the dragon and the beast from the sea, the beast in Revelation 17 has no diadems (ruler crowns) (Rev 12:3; 13:1; 17:3), implying that it is unable to rule.

So, in Revelation 17, the beast is suffering, weakened, and unable to rule. In some sense, it “is not.” For the following reasons, this is the same as the fatal wound of Revelation 13:

Firstly, since two different chapters of Revelation describe the beast in a weakened state, these likely describe the same weak period. The purpose of Revelation 17 is to explain the seventh plague, where the harlot Babylon has to drink the cup of the wine of God’s fierce wrath (Rev 16:19; 17:1). For that reason, Revelation 17 goes over the same ground covered by previous prophecies, to explain where Babylon fits into the picture.

Secondly, both the fatal wound and the abyss symbolize incapacity (Rev 20:3):

For the beast to be alive means to blaspheme God and to persecute God’s people (e.g., Dan 7:25; Rev 13:5-7). Therefore, for the beast to be dead (have a fatal wound) means to be unable to persecute God’s people; it has been incapacitated.

That is also the meaning of being in the abyss. For example, Satan is bound in the abyss “so that he would not deceive the nations any longer” (Rev 20:3). Similarly, after the beast comes up from the abyss, it immediately proceeds to persecute God’s witnesses (Rev 11:7, 3).

The Same Recovery

Further evidence that Revelation 17 describes the fatal wound of 13:3 is that it describes the same recovery as in Revelation 13.

In Revelation 17, the beast is predicted to come up out of the abyss (Rev 17:8). To confirm that these describe the same recovery, compare the following two verses:

“His fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast” (Rev 13:3).

“The beast that you saw … is about to come up out of the abyss … And those who dwell on the earth … will wonder when they see the beast” (Rev 17:8).

Note the similarities:

1. In both, the whole world adores the beast.

2. “Amazed” (13:3) and “wonder” (17:8) are similar concepts.

3. In both chapters, this exaltation of the beast follows after its recovery:

        • In Revelation 13 – after the beast has recovered from the fatal wound.
        • In Revelation 17 – after it came out of “the abyss” (Rev 17:8).

4. In both chapters, the beast’s followers are described as “everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life” (Rev 13:8; 17:8).

Conclusions

These similarities indicate that:

1. The two chapters describe the same period of incapacity. In other words, the beast’s fatal wound in Revelation 13 is equivalent to the beast being in the abyss in Revelation 17.

2. The subsequent worship in the two chapters describes the same event. 

The Fatal Wound is the Sixth Head.

Revelation 17 explains the beast and its heads by referring to the past, the present, and the future:

The Beast (Rev 17:8) Heads (Rev 17:10)
Past Was “Five have fallen.”
Present Is not and is in the abyss “One is.” This would be the sixth head.
Future Will “come up out of the abyss.” The whole world will “wonder when they see the beast.” “The other” (the seventh) “has not yet come.”

From this, we can conclude as follows:

1. In the present time of Revelation 17, the beast “is not” because it is in the abyss. It will “come up out of the abyss.” In other words, in the ‘present’, it exists but it is incapacitated.

2. The present time is the sixth head. The period in the abyss, therefore, is the sixth head. And since the fatal wound is equal to the abyss, the fatal wound is the sixth head.

3. Since both the seventh head and the adoration of the beast by the whole world are in the future, this adoration is the seventh head. In other words:

        • The entire sixth head is dead.
        • The fifth head or phase comes to an end when the beast-power is killed.
        • That “his fatal wound was healed” (Rev 13:3, 12) means that the sixth phase has come to an end and the seventh head (phase) has begun.

This conclusion may be supported as follows: We nowhere read that the head with the mortal wound comes to life. But we do read that “the beast who had the wound … has come to life” (Rev 13:14).

Identity of the Sixth Head

So far, the sixth head has not yet been identified. To identify the sixth, one needs to identify all seven heads. This is done in other articles on this website. See:

John’s time?

Many commentators assume, arguing that John had to understand what he is being told, that the ‘present time’ in Revelation 17 must refer to John’s own time. But that would mean that the beast was dead in John’s time, which most certainly was not the case. At that time, the authorities were most very able to persecute Christians.

My view is that, when the angel “carried” John “into a wilderness” (Rev 17:3), he took John not to a specific place but to a specific time in history which was not necessarily John’s time.

Other Articles

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The beast in Revelation is the mainstream church of Christendom.

This is an article in the series on Revelation 13. The purpose of the current article is to identify the beast that comes out of the sea (Rev 13:1).

Summary

The Beast is the Horn of Daniel 7.

A previous article has shown that the beast in the book of Revelation and the evil 11th horn of the fourth beast in Daniel 7 symbolize the same world power. See also the article on the Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation.

The Little Horn is the Church of the Middle Ages.

The only reason that Daniel 7 mentions four beasts and eleven horns is to allow us to identify the evil eleventh horn. That chapter lists several specific characteristics of this horn. This section considers five of those characteristics and, for the reasons below, identifies the little horn of Daniel 7 as the church of the Middle Ages:

1. The evil horn grew out of the Roman Empire. The church, similarly, was one of the divisions into which the Roman Empire fragmented.

2. The horn will blaspheme God by attempting “to make alterations in times and in law.” The church of Rome blasphemes God with doctrines and practices that insult God.

3. The evil horn will persecute God’s true people. The church engaged in brutal forms of coercion, such as the Inquisition, seeking to compel or exterminate the people who protest against its doctrines.

4. The little horn uprooted three of the others as it came up. In the sixth century, Justinian uprooted three of the Arian Christian nations that previously dominated the Church in Rome.

5. The evil horn “was larger in appearance than its associates.” During the High Middle Ages, the church became dominant over the other kingdoms that arose from the Roman Empire.

Since the beast in Revelation is the dominating horn of Daniel 7 and since the horn is the church, the beast is the church of the Middle Ages.

The beast is the church.

The previous section identified the beast by identifying the evil horn of Daniel. The current section identifies the beast based on what Revelation 13 itself says about it.

The fatal wound and resurrection of the beast suggest that the world power, of which the beast is a symbol, would have a period of great authority for “42 months,” followed by a period of death before its ‘resurrection’. This may be applied as follows to the church:

1. The 42 months represent the many centuries during the Middle Ages when the church massacred people who did not accept its blaspheming doctrines and practices.

2. The authority of the church received a fatal wound through religious liberty in the time of the French revolution.

3. In the end-time, the wound will be healed (Rev 13:3) when an image of the beast (a copy of the system during the Middle Ages) will be set up which will again kill its opponents.

A further indication – that the beast is the church – is that the beast is not just a political power; it is also a religious power, for it “blaspheme His name and His tabernacle“and “make war with the saints.”

More specifically, the beast is a Christian organization, for it is a deliberate counterfeit of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus Christ, the beast:

      • Receives its authority,
      • Looks like one from which it receives its authority, and
      • Has a ministry that lasts three and a half years, followed by a death and a resurrection.

Other indications that the beast is a Christian organization are:

      • The beast specifically persecutes God’s people. Only a Christian organization is able to do that.
      • The beast works with a lamb-like beast. Revelation refers 28 times to Jesus as a lamb.
      • Various other Bible texts predict that the church would become corrupted.

THE END-TIME ANTICHRIST

Given that the beast represents the church of the Middle Ages, the question in this section is about the identity of the Antichrist in the end-time war. 

The beast symbolizes the Antichrist in both the Middle Ages and the end-time, but that does not mean that the same organizations will be involved in both phases. Just like Revelation 12 uses “dragon” as a symbol for Satan’s forces in different forms at different times, the beast could symbolize Satan’s forces in different forms at different times. 

Furthermore, the religious oppression and intolerance of the Protestant Orthodoxy (in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) were disturbingly similar to the Catholic Church in the High Middle Ages. The Holocaust and similar more recent religious cruelties make it clear that today’s version of institutional Christianity is not significantly improved over that of the Middle Ages.

For these reasons, I propose that we define the beast as the mainstream church of Christendom. That definition would allow it to be represented by different organizations at different times.

Whenever we see persecution and killing of people for their religious convictions, then we must know that the spirit of Satan is at work, for God never uses force.

– END OF SUMMARY – 

The Beast is the Evil Horn of Daniel 7.

In Daniel 7, ten horns grow out of the fourth animal. After them, a little horn comes up that grows to become larger than the others. This article sometimes refers to this 11th horn as the evil horn because, different from the others, it explicitly opposes God. It blasphemes the Most High and persecute His people (Dan 7:8, 24-25).

For the purpose of clarity, this article reserves the term “beast” for the beast from the sea in Revelation 13:1 and refer to the creatures of Daniel 7 as animals.

The first article in this series on Revelation 13, on the basis of an analysis of Revelation 13:1-2, has made the following preliminary identification of the beast in Revelation:

1. It is part of the series of animals and horns in Daniel 7. In other words, it is one of the animals or horns in that chapter.

2. The dragon from which the beast receives its authority (Rev 13:2) is the same as the fourth animal in Daniel 7, which has been identified as the Roman Empire.

3. The beast as one of the horns that grow out of Daniel’s fourth beast, meaning that it is one of the kingdoms into which the Roman Empire fractured.

4. Specifically, the beast in the book of Revelation and the evil 11th horn of the fourth beast in Daniel 7 are two symbols for the same world power. While that 11th horn is the Antichrist in the book of Daniel, the beast is the Antichrist in the book of Revelation.

The Little Horn is the Church of the Middle AgesAGES.

This section discusses some of the marks of identity in the book of Daniel and identifies the little horn of Daniel 7 as the church of the Middle Ages. Since it has already been shown that Revelation’s beast is the little horn of Daniel 7, that identifies the beast as the church of the Middle Ages.

Fragment of the Roman Empire

Firstly, the evil horn grew out of the Roman Empire. The church, similarly, was one of the divisions into which the Roman Empire fragmented:

Before Christianity was legalized in the year 313, religion was always regulated by the empire. The emperors used religion to promote the unity of the large number of nations that were part of the empire.

In the fourth-century Roman Empire, consistent with the status of religion in previous centuries, church and state were one. The church became a department of government, with the emperor the real head of the church, just like the king of England is still the head of the Church of England. The series of articles on the history of the church, for example, shows that the religious preferences of the emperors determined the outcome of the major controversy of the early centuries and resulted in the acceptance of the Trinity doctrine.

After the Germanic tribes divided the territory of the Western Empire between themselves in the fifth century, the church in Rome remained protected and governed by the emperor.

After emperor Justinian destroyed Arian domination in the sixth century, the Roman emperors in Constantinople continued to dominate the church for two centuries, known as the Byzantine Papacy.

Blasphemy and Persecution

The horn of Daniel 7 will blaspheme God and persecute His people. These two things are related: It blasphemes God by disregarding God’s Law and through teachings and practices that insult God. God’s true people protest and refuse to submit to the beast’s law. Consequently, the beast persecutes them. In support of this, note the parallelism in Daniel 7:25:

Blasphemy Persecution
He will speak out against the Most High  and wear down the saints of the Highest One
and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

Considering the column on the left, the horn “will speak out against the Most High” by attempting “to make alterations in times and in law.” Moving to the column on the right, this parallelism implies that the consequence of these alterations will be that God’s true people will protest, with the result that the horn will persecute them.

Blasphemy – The church in Rome blasphemed God by developing doctrines and practices that insult God. It gradually deviated from biblical truth in multiple areas, for example, deviations in Christology eventually resulting in Mariology. Other examples include false teachings with respect to salvation and indulgences, confession, and the veneration of people declared to be saints.

Persecution – “He will … wear down the saints of the Highest One” (Dan 7:25). As a clear mark of its identity, the church of the Middle Ages engaged in brutal forms of coercion, such as the Inquisition, seeking to compel or exterminate the true people of God who dared to stand up against these evil innovations. It killed and massacred God’s people. For example, see the massacres of the Waldensians. In so doing it had drifted far from the spirit of Jesus, as recognized by such medieval “saints” as Francis of Assisi, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Eberhard of Salzburg.

Other Identifications

The little horn uprooted three of the others as it came up (Dan 7:8; 20, 24). In the sixth century, Justinian uprooted three of the Arian Christian nations that previously dominated the Church in Rome. This allowed the papacy to become a dominant force in the territory of the previous Western Roman Empire.

The evil horn “was larger in appearance than its associates” (Dan 7:20). During the High Middle Ages, the church became dominant over the other kingdoms that arose out of the Roman Empire.

In this section, we argued that the dominant horn of Daniel 7 is the church of the Middle Ages. We only discussed four indicators:

      • Fragment of the Roman Empire;
      • Blasphemy & Persecution;
      • Uprooted three; and
      • Larger than the others.

A series of articles is available on this website that discusses the history of the church. Some of these articles have been referenced above. That series discusses all marks of identity provided in Daniel 7 to identify the church of Rome as the only historical entity that fits both the timing and the characteristics of the 11th horn of Daniel 7.

The Beast is the Church.

The previous section discussed evidence from Daniel 7. The current section identifies the beast as the church based on marks of identity in Revelation 13 itself:

42 Months, followed by Death and Resurrection

The death and resurrection of the beast suggest that the world power, of which the beast is a symbol, would have a period of great authority for “42 months,” followed by a period of death (the fatal wound – Rev 13:5) before its ‘resurrection’ (“his fatal wound was healed” – 13:5). Then the beast would play a major role in the final conflict in the history of this world.

The nature of Revelation, with things such as beasts with seven heads and ten horns, that are worshiped by the people of the world, implies that time indications are also symbolic. For example, the ten horns are ten kings that reign “for one hour” (Rev 17:12). This must be symbolic for a much longer period than one literal hour, but still a short period; perhaps only some months. Compared to one literal hour, 42 literal months (3½ years) is a very, very long time.

It is, therefore, quite possible that the 42 months represent the many centuries during which the mainstream church of the Middle Ages in the most horrendous ways massacred people who did not accept its blaspheming doctrines and practices.

The authority of the church received a fatal wound through religious liberty in the time of Napoleon and the French revolution. Today, the church is not able to kill God’s people as it did during the Middle Ages. The mainstream church, therefore, also had a long period of dominance, followed by a period of death; the fatal wound.

Revelation predicts that, in the end-time, an image of the beast (a copy of the system during the Middle Ages) will be set up which will again kill its opponents.

Religious Power

The beast is not just a political power like ancient Babylon and Rome but, like the church of the Middle Ages, it is also a religious power, for it “blaspheme His name and His tabernacle“ (Rev 13:6) and “make war with the saints” (Rev 13:7).

Christian Organization

More specifically, the beast, like the church of the Middle Ages, is a Christian organization. Firstly, it is a deliberate counterfeit of Jesus Christ:

It looks like the dragon because it has the same number of heads and horns and gets its authority from the dragon (Rev 13:2). This mirrors the relationship of Jesus with His Father because Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and because the Father has given Jesus “all authority … in heaven and on earth” (Matt 28:18).

Like Jesus, the beast has a ministry that lasts three and a half years, followed by a death and a resurrection.

Secondly, the beast specifically persecutes God’s people. That only a Christian organization is able to do, for God’s people are identified by their protest against unbiblical doctrines and practices in the church.

Thirdly, the beast works with a lamb-like beast (Rev 13:11-12). Revelation refers 28 times to Jesus as a lamb. This is the only instance in Revelation where “lamb” does not refer to Jesus. The lamb-like beast looks like Jesus but “spoke as a dragon” (Rev 13:11).

The beast is something dragon-like that has a Christian face! It names Jesus as its reason for existence, yet its actions serve the dragon!

Other Bible Evidence

Revelation is not alone in such a prediction. There are numerous other texts in the New Testament that forecast a similar future for the church, though in less dramatic terms. For example:

“The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim 4:1; cf. Acts 20:28-31; 2 Tim 3:1-5; 1 John 2:18-19).

In summary, so far, the main sections of this article have argued as follows:

        1. Revelation’s beast and daniel’s horn are two different symbols for the same world power – the Antichrist.
        2. That horn is the church of the Middle Ages. Therefore the beast is the same.
        3. Revelation itself identified the beast as a Christian organization.
        4. Various other Bible texts predict that the church would become corrupted.   

The End-time Antichrist

Given that the beast represents the church of the Middle Ages, the question in this section is about the identity of the Antichrist in the end-time war.

Each beast is a head.

To discuss the seventh head, we first need to review the phases of the beast. As previously argued, each beast is one of the heads (phases) of the beast-power. According to the article on the Seven Heads:

      • The first four heads are the four beasts of Daniel 7. The fourth beast is the Roman Empire, represented in Revelation 12:3 as a dragon.
      • The last three heads are the three phases of the beast (the 11th horn); before, during, and after the fatal wound.

In other words:

      • Head 4 is the dragon in Rev 12:3, representing the Roman Empire.
      • Head 5 is the beast from the sea in Rev 13:1; another symbol for Daniel’s evil horn – the Antichrist.
      • Head 6 is the scarlet beast in Rev 17:3, which is in prison (the Abyss – Rev 17:8). This is the fatal wound (Rev 13:3).
      • Head 7 is the beast after its resurrection.

Indications of Dissimilarity

The beast, therefore, is the Antichrist in both the fifth and seventh phases, but that does not mean that the same organizations will be involved in both phases. For example, in Revelation 12, the dragon symbolizes Satan’s forces in different forms at different times:

      • At the time of Christ (Rev 12:3);
      • In the war in heaven (Rev 12:7);
      • During the Middle Ages (Rev 12:14) and
      • In the end-time war (Rev 12:17).

In the same way, the beast is a symbol for Satan’s forces in different forms at different times.  Just like the Babylonian Empire was the first of the seven heads but very different from the church of the Middle Ages, the final phase (head) of the beast, when the fatal wound is healed, may again be very different from the church of the Middle Ages. We should, therefore, not necessarily expect the same organizations to be involved in the end-time crisis. That beast of the fifth phase was the mainstream church of the Middle Ages does not mean that beast of the seventh phase is the Catholic Church.

Indications of Similarity

On the other hand, Daniel and Revelation indicate a significant continuity between the Middle Ages and the end-time, because:

      • The evil horn of Daniel 7 is the Antichrist in both eras, and
      • In the end-time war:
        • The sea beast will be resurrected, and
        • An “image” of the beast will be set up (Rev 13:14).

The question then, given these indications of similarity and dissimilarity, is how to define the beast.

Mainstream Church of Christendom

History teaches that the mainstream church of Christendom in the Middle Ages brutally persecuted and executed believers who dared to stand up to its doctrines and practices, but the mainstream churches of our day will act similarly. The religious oppression and intolerance of the Protestant Orthodoxy (in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) were disturbingly similar. For example; the role which Calvin played in the murder of Michael Servetus. Bosnia, Rwanda, and the Holocaust make it clear that today’s version of institutional Christianity is not significantly improved over that of the Middle Ages.

To make provision for both the indications of similarity and dissimilarity, I propose that we define the beast as the mainstream church of Christendom. That definition would allow it to be represented by different organizations at different times.

God never uses force.

As we continue to read Revelation 13, we will see further indications of the form which the beast will assume during the final crisis of this world’s history. However, whenever we see persecution and killing of people for their religious convictions, then we must know that the spirit of Satan is at work, for God never uses force. If God used forced, He would not have allowed evil to develop. But He created us with the wonderful ability to make our own choices.  He protects our freedom, for if He would override our freedom to choose against Him, He would be destroying the miracle which He has created.

God knows the future.

Is it also not wonderful to be reassured that God know the future? The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were given thousands of years ago and, according to the interpretation above, correctly predicted events over these centuries. But, for that reason, God shrouded these predictions in symbolic language so that only people that want to believe, will believe. The others will hear but not hear, see but not see”

“None of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand” (Dan 12:10).

Final Conclusions

The beast of Revelation is the mainstream church of Christendom. This is based on the following:

 – The beast of Revelation is another symbol for the world power (the Antichrist) that is symbolized by the evil horn in the Book of Daniel.
 – The evil horn of Daniel is the church of the Middle Ages.
 – Consequently the beast in Revelation is a symbol for the church of the Middle Ages.

Further evidence of this is that the description of the beast in Revelation 13 identifies it as the church; both during the Middle Ages and in the end-time (after the fatal wound has been healed).

More specifically, the description of the beast in Revelation 13 identifies it as a Christian organization.

Consequently, the beast symbolizes the Antichrist in both the Middle Ages and in the end-time, but different organizations may be involved in the two phases. In the end-time, the beast could take the form of the Protestant Orthodoxy.

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