Sea Beast Archives » From Daniel to Revelation

2012-01-042022-10-12

The Seven Heads are Daniel’s 4 beasts plus the 3 phases of the 11th horn.

Purpose

There are three beasts in Revelation with seven heads each. The article on the Seven-Headed Beasts identifies them as follows:

- The Dragon (Rev 12:3) is the Roman Empire.
- The Sea Beast (Rev 13:1) is another symbol for the 11th horn that grows out of the Roman Empire.
- The Scarlet Beast on which the harlot sits (Rev 17:3), is not a specific organization but symbolizes the political governments of the world in general; always dominated by false religion (symbolically, sat on by Babylon).

Another article concluded that these three beasts are three of the seven heads. (These two articles should be read before the current one.) The purpose of the current article is to identify all seven heads.

The NASB translation of Revelation 17 explains the seven heads as seven consecutive kings:

“The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits,
and they are seven kings;
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come;
and when he comes, he must remain a little while”
(Rev 17:9-10).

Summary

Five Foundational Principles

(1) Revelation 17:9-10, quoted above, explains the seven heads as seven “kings” that reign ONE AFTER THE OTHER.

(2) In Daniel, and therefore in Revelation, a king represents a kingdom or even AN ENTIRE EMPIRE.

(3) Since each of the three beasts has exactly seven heads and ten horns, the three beasts share THE SAME SEVEN HEADS.

(4) In reality, there is no beast. Only the heads exist. The beast is simply the sum of the heads. The seven heads are seven consecutive phases of Satan’s oppressive rule on earth.

(5) The heads of the beast must be limited to the beasts in Daniel. The first kingdom, therefore, must be the ancient Babylonian Empire, and not Assyria, as some suggest.

First Five Heads

The comparison of the beasts in Daniel 7 and Daniel 8 identifies the four beasts of Daniel 7 as follows:

- - Babylonian Empire
  - Medo-Persian Empire
  - Greece
  - Roman Empire

Based on the principles above, these are the first four of the beast’s seven heads.

Great Red Dragon Previous articles in this series in another way confirm that the dragon is one of the heads. One article identifies the Dragon, WHEN it stands before the woman, ready to kill Jesus as soon as He is born, as the Roman Empire. Another article concluded that the beasts of Revelation are three of the seven heads. It follows that the Roman Empire is one of the seven heads.

The article on the Seven-Headed Beasts identifies the Sea Beast as another symbol for the 11^th horn that grows out of Daniel’s fourth kingdom, which has been identified as the Roman Empire. This organization is the main anti-God power in both Daniel and Revelation. For that reason, we count the 11^th horn as a fifth “kingdom” in Daniel 7. On that basis, the 11^th horn is the fifth head. The first five heads, therefore, are:

- 1. Babylonian Empire
  2. Medo-Persian Empire
  3. Greece
  4. Roman Empire
  5. The 11^th horn that grows out of the Roman Empire

Last Two Heads

According to Revelation 13:3-4, the fifth kingdom (the Sea Beast or 11^th horn) goes through three phases :

1. ALIVE – It exists for a time.
2. DEAD – After receiving a deadly wound.
3. ALIVE – It recovers from the fatal wound).

Revelation 17:9 identifies that the DEAD period as the sixth head. We, therefore, have the following seven heads/kingdoms:

1. 1. Babylonian Empires;
  2. Mede-Persian Empire;
  3. Greece;
  4. Roman Empire;
  5. 11th horn that arose from the Roman Empire;
  6. 11th horn mortally wounded (13:3) / In the abyss (17:8);
  7. 11th horn resurrected (13:4); This is when the False Prophet arises “out of the earth” (13:11).

– END OF SUMMARY –

THE SEVEN HILLS OF ROME

In the NASB translation, the seven heads are the seven kings:

“The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits,
and they are seven kings
(Rev 17:9-10).

In the popular Preterist interpretation—generally the view of Critical Scholars:

- - The seven heads are seven mountains, interpreted as the Seven Hills of Rome.
  - The seven kings are not related to the seven mountains but symbolize seven literal Roman emperors.

In this interpretation, therefore, the heads and kings are DIFFERENT THINGS. The KJV and NKJV translations of Revelation 17:9-10 do give this impression. For example:

“The seven heads are seven mountains,
on which the woman sitteth.
And there are seven kings” (KJV).

“The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits.
There are also seven kings.” (NKJV).

However, the words “there” and “also” in these translations do not exist in the Greek. The NASB translation, therefore, is to be preferred. In the NASB, the heads do not exist all at the same time but one after the other:

“The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits,
and they are seven kings;
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come”
(Rev 17:9-10).

This means that the heads/mountains/kings cannot be the the seven hills of Rome, for these hills all exist at the same time.

MOUNTAINS ARE KINGDOMS

This conclusion can be supported by noting that the Bible often uses mountains as symbols for kingdoms and their kings (Isaiah 2:2-3; Jeremiah 17:3; 31:23; 51:24, 25; Ezekiel 17:22-23; Zech. 4:7). In Habakkuk 3:6, the mountains are the nations that God scattered.

The stone in Daniel 2 becomes a great mountain (Dan 2:34-35). This is explained as “a kingdom which will never be destroyed” (Dan 2:44). Also:

“In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills, And all the nations will stream to it” (Isa 2:2 NASB).

The seven heads, the seven mountains, and the seven kings, therefore, all refer to the same seven things.

PRINCIPLES TO IDENTIFY THE SEVEN HEADS

KINGS ARE EMPIRES.

As discussed in a previous article, in prophetic symbolism, the term “king” represents a “kingdom” or even a world empire, consisting of many kingdoms.

ONE AFTER THE OTHER

Revelation 17:10 (quoted above) explains the seven heads as seven kings (kingdoms) that reign one after the other.

THE SAME SEVEN EMPIRES

Since each of the three beasts has exactly seven heads and ten horns, the three beasts share the same seven heads, pointing to the same seven world empires.

THE BEAST IS THE SUM OF THE SEVEN HEADS.

As also discussed in a previous article, apart from the seven heads, there is no beast. It is only the heads that exist. The beast is simply the sum of the heads. Conversely, the seven heads are seven consecutive phases of Satan’s oppressive rule. Everywhere that Revelation says that a beast does something, it is one of the heads (kings) that are doing it.

ONLY FROM DANIEL

Many interpreters find heads by looking at empires that precede the ancient Babylonian Empire. It is proposed here that such a procedure is inconsistent with the principle that Revelation is built on Daniel. According to this principle, ONE SHOULD NOT LOOK OUTSIDE DANIEL for the interpretation of the heads.

This approach is confirmed by the fact that the beasts of Revelation all have 7 heads and 10 horns, while the beasts in Daniel 7 also have, IN TOTAL, 7 heads and 10 horns. This implies a close relationship between the beasts of Daniel and Revelation. The beasts in Revelation are a continuation of the beasts in Daniel.

That, however, does not mean that the seven heads of the beast in Revelation are the same as the seven heads in Daniel 7. For example, Daniel’s third empire (Greece) had four heads (Dan 7:6). If the seven heads of Revelation’s beast were the same as the seven heads of the beasts of Daniel 7, then the third to sixth heads would be the four Grecian empires, which existed simultaneously. This would be inconsistent with Revelation 17:10 which indicates that the sixth head follows in time after the fifth.

FIRST FIVE HEADS

Based on the principle that we should identify the heads from the beasts in Daniel, the first kingdom must be the ancient Babylonian Empire and not Assyria. Then, based on the principles above, the four beasts in Daniel 7 are the first four heads. They are:

- - Babylonian Empire
  - Medo-Persian Empire
  - Greece
  - Roman Empire (See the article on Daniel 7)

DRAGON

Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon, which is one of the three beasts with seven heads (Rev. 12), as Satan. However, that is in the context of the war in heaven. When it stands before the woman, ready to devour Christ as soon as He is born, it has seven heads (12:3-4). That means that, in that context, it is an earthly power. It then must be the Roman Empire, for that empire ruled when Jesus was born.

Based on the principle that the beasts of Revelation are heads, this confirms that the Roman Empire is one of the seven heads.

SEA BEAST

The beast that comes out of the sea, with its seven heads (13:1) inherits its characteristics from four other animals:

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard,
and his feet were like those of a bear,
and his mouth like the mouth of a lion.
And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. (Rev 13:2 NASB)

The leopard, bear, and lion are explicitly the first three animals in Daniel 7 (7:3-5). Daniel 7 does not say what kind of animal the fourth is but describes it as “dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong” (Dan 7:7). However, for the following reasons, Revelation’s “dragon” is the fourth beast in Daniel 7:

- - It is mentioned together with the first three beasts of Daniel 7.
  - The description of the fourth beast in Daniel 7 (“dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong”) sounds like a dragon.

The Sea Beast, therefore, inherits something from each of the four beasts in Daniel. For that reason, as argued in the article on The Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation, the Sea Beast is the same as the 11^th horn that grows out of Daniel’s fourth empire (the Roman Empire). These are two different symbols for the same power; the Antichrist. Since it is the main anti-God power in both Daniel and Revelation, and we must regard it as a separate kingdom. Furthermore, since the beasts of Revelation are heads of the beast, the 11^th horn (the sea beast) is the fifth head.

LAST OF THE SEVEN HEADS

Revelation 13 mentions something about the Sea Beast which Daniel does not say about the 11^th horn, namely that this beast receives a deadly (13,3), but recovers from that wound to become Satan’s primary agent on earth. It is the mark of this beast which people will receive in the end-time (13:16). The deadly wound implies three phases:

1. ALIVE – It exists for a time before receiving the wound.
2. DEAD – After receiving the deadly wound.
3. ALIVE – After it recovers from the fatal wound.

Revelation 17 identifies the wound-period as the sixth head:

Revelation 17:8-10 explains both the seven heads and the beast in terms of the past, the present, and the future:

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
BEAST	WAS	IS NOT / IN ABYSS	COME UP FROM ABYSS
HEADS	FIVE WAS	ONE IS	OTHER HAS NOT YET COME

The sixth head is the ‘present’ head, but at ‘present’ the beast is in the Abyss, for it is “about to come up out of the abyss” (v8). The Abyss-period is, therefore, the 6^th head.

It is quite unusual for the powers that oppose God to go through a period of incapacity. It is therefore likely that the period of incapacity in Revelation 13 (the period of death) is the same as the period of incapacity in Revelation 17 (the “is not” or Abyss-period).

We can prove this, for the following two verses describe what will happen AFTER the beast in Revelation 13 recovers from the deadly wound and after the beast in Revelation 17 comes out of the abyss:

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life” (13:8).

“Those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast” (17:8).

The similarity of these two verses implies that they refer to the same event, which means that the DEAD-period in Revelation 13 is the same as the Abyss-period in Revelation 17, which is the sixth head.

CONCLUSION

The foregoing results in the following seven heads:

1. 1. Babylonian Empires
  2. Medo-Persian Empire
  3. Greece
  4. Roman Empire
  5. 11th horn arose from the Roman Empire
  6. 11th horn mortally wounded (13:3) / in abyss (17:8) / in wilderness (17:3)
  7. 11th horn resurrected in the end-time (13:4) — The time of the False Prophet and Image of the Beast

THE TIME PERSPECTIVE

In Revelation 17, the sixth head of the beast presently “is” (17:9-10). The conclusion above means that the ‘present time’ in Revelation 17 is a long time after Christ’s ascension. This creates a challenge because many commentaries hold that the explanations of the vision in Revelation are always given from the perspective of John’s time, which would require the sixth head (17:8) to be in John’s time.

However, the article on the fifth seal has concluded that both the seven seals and the seven trumpets have a ‘present time’ with events in the past and events in the future, and in both this time perspective is much later than John’s time:

In the fifth seal, the souls under the altar receive their white robes after many Christians have already been slaughtered but before many more will be killed (Rev 6:9-11). This point in time, when they receive their robes, is much later than John’s time, for it is part of the fifth seal, and the starting point for the seals is Christ’s ascension.

In the trumpets, John has to eat the little book and “prophesy again” (Rev 10:11). This implies that he also prophesied before. Since this is part of the sixth trumpet, and because the trumpets also begin at the Cross, it means that the little book comes down out of heaven (Rev 10:1) much later than John’s time.

THE TIME OF THE END

The article on the fifth seal concluded further that the time perspective in both the seven seals and the seven trumpets is the beginning of Daniel’s “time of the end,” when Daniel’s prophecies will be understood (Dan 12:4). At that time, both the seal of God (Rev 7:1) and the little book (Rev 10:1) comes down out of heaven, causing the subsequent sealing (Rev 7:1-8), prophesying (Rev 10:11) and final persecution (Rev 6:11).

It is further proposed that the entire book of Revelation is presented to us from the time perspective of the beginning of “the time of the end.” This would also be the time perspective of Revelation 17, when the beast “is about to come up out of the abyss” (Rev 17:8).

AVAILABLE ARTICLES ON REVELATION

INTRODUCTORY
   Why is the title of this website Revelation BY Jesus Christ?
   Are events described in chronological sequence?
   Is a consistently literal interpretation appropriate?
Does Revelation present Jesus as God?
   God’s throne – the center of the universe.
BABYLON
   Babylon; the mother of harlots
   Babylon’s merchants are her false prophets.
   Babylon is not the reconstructed ancient city of Babylon.
   How does Babylon relate to the beast?
SEVEN-HEADED BEASTS
   The Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation
   The three beasts are three of the seven heads.
   The Seven Heads Identified
REVELATION 13
13:1-2 – The Beast relates to Daniel 7.
   13:3-4 – The fatal wound
   The identity of the beast
SEVEN SEALS
   Introduction to the Seven Seals – What book is this?
   Seven seals explained
   Does the seventh seal include the seven trumpets?
SEVEN PLAGUES
   The Plagues of Revelation – 16 articles

For further reading, Jon Paulien’s commentary is recommended. For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.

2012-01-022024-02-07

The scarlet beast on which the harlot sits (Rev 17)

UNDER MAINTENANCE

THREE SEVEN-HEADED BEASTS

In the Book of Revelation, there are three beasts that each have seven heads and ten horns:

The Dragon from which the Sea Beast received its authority (Rev 13:1-2) has been identified as the 4th kingdom in Daniel 7, which was identified as the Roman Empire.

The Sea Beast – the beast that comes up out of the sea (Rev 13:1), whose mark in the end-time is put on the foreheads of his followers (Rev 13:1, 16-17), has been identified as the 11th horn of the 4th kingdom in Daniel 7. It is an organization that came out of the Roman Empire, meaning that it is one of the fragments into which the Roman Empire divided. These fragments are the nations of Europe. the 11th horn becomes stronger than the other fragments blasphemes God, persecutes His people, and will continue to do so until Christ returns. One may appropriately describe it as the Antichrist.

The third is the Scarlet Beast, on which the harlot sits (Rev 17:3). Since it also has seven heads and ten horns, it must be related to the other two beasts. The purpose of this article is to identify the Scarlet Beast and to explain how it relates to the other two beasts.

THE SCARLET BEAST

The beast that “comes up out of the abyss” in Rev 11:7 is the Scarlet Beast, for the latter will also “come up out of the abyss” (Rev 17:8).

Associated with the Harlot; not the Dragon.

The Beasts of Revelation present two different perspectives of Satan’s forces:

Three Parts – The Dragon, the Sea Beast, and the Earth Beast work together. The Sea Beast receives its authority from the Dragon (Rev 13:2) and gives its authority to the Earth Beast (Rev 13:12). Revelation often presents this evil trinity as working together (e.g. Rev 16:13; 19:20-20:2). They represent Satan’s forces as consisting of three parts.

Two Parts – The Scarlet Beast, in contrast, is never mentioned with this evil trinity. It is only mentioned together with the harlot Babylon (Rev 17:3-5). They exist at the same time as the evil trinity but describe Satan’s forces as consisting of two parts.

Subordinate to the Harlot.

In Revelation 13, people worship the Sea Beast (Rev 13:3-4). It receives “his power and his throne and great authority” from the Dragon (Rev 13:2), but then it becomes the superior power. There is no mention of a power controlling it. The false prophet is subordinate to it (Rev 13:12). The Dragon, identified previously as the Roman Empire, gives the Sea Beast its authority and power, but is not further involved in the end-time crisis.

The Scarlet Beast, in contrast to the Sea Beast, is a subordinate power. It is dominated by the harlot, symbolized as sitting on it (Rev 17:3).

Consists of seven phases.

The seven heads and ten horns are explained in Revelation 17 in the explanation of the Scarlet Beast; not when the Dragon and the Sea Beast are explained. This implies that the heads and horns are particularly relevant to the Scarlet Beast.

The beast as such is not explained but it has seven heads and the harlot also sits on the beast’s seven heads (Rev 17:9) and these ‘heads’ are explained as ‘seven kings’ (Rev 17:10). Since they exist one after the other (Rev 17:10), they represent the seven phases of the beast’s existence. By sitting on all seven phases, the harlot sits on the entire beast.

The Scarlet Beast, therefore, consists of seven phases. Since it is part of the kingdoms of Daniel 7, we must find the seven phases in Daniel 7. Another article identifies the seven phases as the four kingdoms of Daniel 7 plus the three phases of the 11th horn.

Sitting on these “seven kings,” and, therefore, on the beast, is explained as that the harlot “reigns over the kings of the earth” (Rev 17:18). So, the harlot reigns over the Scarlet Beast. The Scarlet Beast is subordinate to her.

Part of the animals of Daniel 7.

Just like the Dragon and the Sea Beast, the Scarlet Beast has seven heads and ten horns (Rev 17:3), implying that these three beasts are of the same species.

Since there are also seven heads and ten horns among the four animals of Daniel 7 (See – Overview the Daniel 7), the seven heads and ten horns of the beasts in Revelation imply that their species is defined by Daniel 7. Since both the animal-kingdoms of Daniel 7 and the beasts of Revelation exist until the return of Christ, the beasts of Revelation are part of the series of kingdoms in Daniel 7:

Dragon – As stated, previous articles have identified the Dragon as Daniel’s fourth kingdom, which has been identified as the Roman Empire.

Sea Beast – Since both the 11th horn and Revelation’s Sea are destroyed when Christ returns (Rev 19:20), and since both are described as the end-time Antichrist, the Sea Beast has previously been identified as that fourth kingdom’s 11th horn.

Scarlet Beast – The Scarlet Beast must also be part of the animals of Daniel 7. The purpose of this article is to help explain how it is related.

Always exists

The Dragon, the Sea Beast, and the Earth Beast do not always exist.

In the context of the War in Heaven, the Dragon is identified as Satan (Rev 12:9). As Satan (Rev 20:2) it continues until it is thrown into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:10). As Satan, the Dragon always exist. But, in the context of the war on Earth, the Dragon has been identified as the Roman Empire. As such, it did not always exist.

The origins of the Sea and Earth Beasts are described in Rev 13:1 and 11 respectively. In the end-time, the Dragon, the Sea Beast, and the Earth Beast form an evil trinity.

The Scarlet Beast, in contrast, seems to always exist. Revelation never describes their birth:

The Scarlet Beast comes up out of the abyss (Rev 11:7; 17:8) but that is not its origin. It has seven heads, described as seven consecutive kings (Rev 17:9-10), and .

Is described during the weak phase.

The Scarlet Beast is explained from the perspective of a specific point in history. At that time, it is said that it “is not.” (Rev 17:8) That does not mean that it does not exist, for the beast is described as “was and is not and will come.” (Rev 17:8), meaning:

- In the past, it “was,”
- Currently, it “is not,” and
- In the future, it “will come.”

The “is not” is explained by the description of the beast as ‘currently’ in a wilderness, in the abyss, and by the lack of crowns (Rev 17:3, 8). While both the other two seven-headed beasts (the Dragon and Sea Beasts) have crowns (Rev 12:3; 13:1-2), the Scarlet Beast is not said to have crowns, perhaps indicating that it does not rule. All four of these things indicate that the Scarlet Beast is described at a time when it is weak.

It symbolizes the civil rulers of the world.

The Sea Beast, which is the same as the 11^th horn that grows out of the Roman Empire, is a religious organization, for it persecutes God’s people, blasphemes God, and deceives the people through its assistant; the Beast from the Earth (Rev 13:14).

The Scarlet Beast is not a religious organization:

Many Waters – The harlot (Babylon) sits on both the Scarlet Beast and the many waters (Rev 17:3, 15). The beast, therefore, is related to the many waters, which are identified as the people of the world (Rev 17:1, 15).

Heads and horns – As mentioned, the beast’s seven heads are seven ‘kings’. The beast’s ten horns are also explained as ten ‘kings’ (Rev 17:12). Since the Scarlet Beast symbolizes “the kings of the earth,” it symbolizes the people of the world as they are divided into “nations” (Rev 17:15).

The Scarlet Beast, therefore, represents mankind that is ruled over by the harlot Babylon, which is explained as the false religious systems of the world.

The harlot also “sits on many waters” (Rev 17:1), explained as “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” (Rev 17:15).

The Scarlet Beast, therefore, symbolizes “the kings of the earth” (Rev 17:18)

It is not a specific organization.

In Revelation 12, “dragon” serves as a symbol for Satan’s forces at different times and places. That chapter uses “dragon” for Satan himself. In contrast, the Sea Beast and the Earth Beast are specific organizations that come into existence at specific points in time, namely when they come out of the Sea and the Earth respectively (Rev 13:1, 11).

The Scarlet Beast is not a specific organization. The harlot is identified in the article on Babylon as ‘false religion’. She exists for all of human history because “in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth” (Rev 18:24), and because she is the “mother (source or origin) of harlots” (Rev 17:5). If she exists for all human history, then the Scarlet Beast, on which she sits, must also exist for all human history.

The Harlot and the Scarlet Beast, therefore, depict a general principle, namely that the anti-God powers in all of human history consist of two parts; a political (beast) and a religious (harlot) component, with the religious component always reigning over the political.

The Sea Beast represents that same anti-God power, consisting of both the political and religious components, but limited to one specific organization in one period of human history. For example, the Sea Beast will “make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Rev 13:7) but Babylon is guilty of all martyr deaths of God’s people (Rev 18:24).

Babylon existed during all the empires of Daniel 7, corrupting the minds of the people (Rev 17:2) and killing the saints (Rev 18:24). This was also true during the Middle Ages and it will again be true during the end-time crisis, when the Earth Beast, also called the false prophet (Rev 16:13; 19:20) deceives the people to form an image of the Beast (Rev 13:14). It is that “Image” that will persecute God’s people (Rev 13:15).

Conclusion

The Sea Beast symbolizes a specific organization that comes into existence at a specific point in time. It receives its authority from the Dragon and gives its authority to the Earth Beast.

The Scarlet Beast, on the other hand, is never associated with this evil trinity. It is only mentioned together with the harlot Babylon. It symbolizes the people of the world as they are divided into “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” (Rev 17:15). It does not include religious authority, for the harlot Babylon—identified as false religion—reigns over it.

The Scarlet Beast is not a specific organization but exists for all of human history. Babylon and the Scarlet Beast, therefore, represent a general principle, namely that false religion, in all ages, rules over mankind.

Final Conclusions

When the Dragon stands ready to devour the woman’s Child as soon as He is born, it represents the Roman Empire.

The Dragon represents both Satan and the Roman Empire.

The Sea Beast is the same as the 11^th horn of Daniel 7.

The Scarlet Beast does not symbolize a specific organization but represents the people of the world, for all human history, divided into kingdoms.

The Sea Beast, which is the same as the 11^th horn that grows out of the Roman Empire, is a religious organization. The Scarlet Beast, in contrast, since it represents mankind that is ruled over by religious forces, has no religious authority.

Babylon and the Scarlet Beast symbolize a general principle, namely that false religion, in all ages, rules over mankind.

??Both the Sea Beast and the Scarlet Beast have seven heads and ten horns. As discussed, this means they are part of the series of kingdoms (empires) in Daniel 7.

Tag: Sea Beast