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Identity of the First Beast of Revelation 13

Revelation 13:1 Then I{John} stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names.

What does "a beast" represent in prophecy? A beast is the Bible symbol of an unrighteous nation, or power, representing sometimes the civil power alone, sometimes a religious power in connection with the civil. As we will see in verse 4, this beast is worshiped, thus we know that it is a religious nation. As we will see in verse 2, it also has "great authority", thus it is also a civil power. It is a dangerous power that is a mix of church and state(civil power).

What does "the sea" represent? Notice => Revelation 17:15 "And he{an angel} said to me{John}, The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages."

So, the "beast coming up out of the sea", was some sort of unrighteous religious nation which started in a thickly populated territory, which is also a civil power with "great authority".

What about the "ten horns and seven heads"? Notice => Revelation 12:3 "Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns."

The context of the "great red dragon" indicates that it is also a "beast" - an unholy nation that was was in power at the time of the birth of our Messiah. This could only be the pagan nation of Rome, which consisted of 10 countries, which is the reason for the "ten horns", as documented in Daniel 7:24, as we will soon see. From history, we know that the Roman power went through seven successive(one after the other) forms of government, which is the reason for the "seven heads". The first six were different forms of government, each being pagan, in religion. At Christ's birth, Rome was in it's 6th phase, which I think was an Imperial government. Then, starting in 538 AD(more on this later), it became a fake form of "Christianity", ruled by the papacy. The papacy form of Roman government is represented by the the leopard beast, described in Revelation 13:1-10 and the "little horn" in Daniel 7, as well as other representations in other places in Revelation. More confirmation of this identity is in the "Historical Context" section at the end of this study.

Revelation 13:2 The beast{papal Rome} 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. The dragon{pagan Rome, the "great red dragon" of Rev12} gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

Let's look now at Daniel 7:7-8 for another Roman prophecy => "After this{Daniel saw 3 other beasts before this one} I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse 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 horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."

What about the "three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots"? At the end of this study, there is some historical context...

Later in Daniel 7, the angel gave more information about this beast =>

Daniel 7:23-24 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.

I should mention here that there is another "dragon", mentioned in Revelation 12:7 => "... Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8 They didn't prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."

So, we have two "dragons" in Rev12:

      1. "The great dragon", "called the devil and Satan" who is the god of both pagan and papal Rome.
      2. "The great red dragon" who is pagan Rome who later, in 538AD, gave "his power, his throne, and great authority" to the leopard beast - papal Rome.

Who is "Michael"? It is Jesus, our Messiah, as shown in this Bible study => http://sidnash.org/docs/WhoIsMichael.html

Revelation 13:3 One of his{Rome's} heads{the 7th head - the papacy} looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast.

Timeline regarding the papacy being "wounded fatally"

Timeline regarding the papacy's "fatal wound {that} was healed", or at least "began to be healed"

Revelation 13:4-7 They{the whole earth(vs3)} worshiped the dragon{pagan Rome}, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast{papal Rome}, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" 5 A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy{see Dan7:25 } was given to him. Authority to make war for forty - two months was given to him. 6 He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.

Please notice that the same prophesy that is in Rev13:5-7 above is also found in Daniel 7:25 => "And he shall speak great words against the most High{see Rev13:5 }, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."

We also have this same prophesy a third time in Rev12:6 => "The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days."

It is interesting to note that 42 months and 3 1/2 years and 1260 days are all the same period of time, as shown in this short study => http://sidnash.org/docs/30_360_days.html

We also need to consider the Bible principle of understanding one day in prophesy as one year. I have a study on that here => http://sidnash.org/docs/PropheticDayYear.html

Revelation 13:8-10 All who dwell on the earth will worship him{papal Rome}, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he{papal Rome} that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Matthew 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Here, we see the final end of the beast{papal Rome} =>

Revelation 19:19-20 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:

More about the "false prophet" and the image of papal Rome and the second beast of Rev13, in this study => http://sidnash.org/docs/2ndBeastRev13.html

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Historical Context of the papacy

Daniel 7:8 I{Daniel} considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns{"Arian powers"} were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."

By the 6th century, "there was only one hindrance to [papal] supremacy, -- the opposition of the Arian powers to the doctrines of the Catholics, especially to that of the Trinity. These opposing powers were rooted up, the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538." See "Student's Gibbon"(Edward Gibbon, Wm Smith) pp. 309-319 for documentation of this claim.

The best historical information on trinity origins I've found => "The Surprising Origins of the Trinity Doctrine"

What are "Arian powers"? These are three nations who were against "the doctrines of the Catholics, especially ... the Trinity". What does "Arian" mean? It means that they agreed with a man named Arius who I'm pretty sure believed in the "only true God" of the Bible and His Son, Jesus, our Messiah. The common belief is that Arius thought Jesus was created. However, there is evidence that Arius believed that Jesus was born, just as the Bible teaches. The problem is that all of his writings that Rome could find were destroyed in the 4th century. But there are still writings from others who knew Arius and they said that Arius believed in a born Jesus. In a future study, we will look more at that happenings in 4th-century Rome.

Now, we know that the Heruli, Vandals, and the Ostrogoths are the 3 horns{"Arian powers"} that were "plucked up by the roots" "before" the "little horn" "came up". We also know that, "in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.( Dan7:8 )" This is, of course, the beginning of papal reign.

"It is a remarkable fact, that the popes to this day wear a triple crown, -- a fact that exists in regard to no other monarchs. ... The papacy [is] well represented by the 'little horn.' ... In fact, this one power absorbed into itself three of these sovereignties." -- Barne's Notes on Daniel, p. 327.

"The most remarkable was the little horn, which rose after the others, and is by Protestant commentators (and we think with good reason) explained of the ecclesiastical dominion of the pope or bishop of Rome." -- Cottage Bible.

"In 533, Justinian entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to secure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued that memorable letter(in 533) which was to constitute the pope the head of all the churches, and from the carrying out of which, in 538 [when the last of the three Arian horns was plucked up], the period of papal supremacy is to be dated. And whoever will read the history of the African campaign, 533-534, and the Italian campaign, 534-538, will notice that the Catholics everywhere hailed as deliverers the army of Belisarius, the general of Justinian." -- Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, p. 136

"The celebrated letter of Justinian to the pope in the year 533, not only recognized all previous privileges, but enlarging them, and entitling the pope and his church to many immunities and rights, which afterward gave origin to the pretensions displayed in the canon law." -- Gavazzi's Lectures, p. 66

It is clearly evident, therefore, that just as soon as the last opposition to the papacy was removed, it became firmly seated by the famous letter of Justinian, -- that the bishop of Rome should be recognized as the head of the universal church and the corrector of heretics. The year 538 A.D. may be set down, then, as the time when the papacy became an established power. (Bible Readings for the Home Circle", pages 29&30)

Therefore, there is no question that 538AD marked the beginning of the 1260 "day" prophesy of Daniel and of Revelation, which, if believing in the year-day principle, ended in 1798, when the papacy received the "deadly wound" when pius VI was put in prison, where he later died.

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )

-Sid Nash: 01/24/2025. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/1stBeastRev13.html