The metaphorical aspect of this
creature is represented by him having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns as does Satan in the
previous chapter as does the woman in chapter 17 where it is explained that the
seven heads represent seven mountains and the ten horns, kings. This beast is
characterized by blasphemy against God. He derives his power from Satan. Note
the similarity with the world’s kingdoms in Daniel.
Daniel 7:1 ¶ In the first year
of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon
his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2 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 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 by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like
the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
If we could determine who these
kingdoms are we might understand the nature of this beast’s earthly power, its
foundational political strength. Typically, the first beast of Daniel is
thought to be Babylon, the next Persia, then Alexander’s Greece, and finally,
the Roman Empire. This beast, though,
has similarities to these kingdoms, inasmuch as his parts are likened to them,
perhaps the absolute authority of the Babylonian emperor, the administrative
power to unite diverse peoples like Persia with its 127 provinces from India to
Ethiopia stated in the book of Esther, and the military power and ability of
Alexander the Great. Rome isn’t mentioned because, I think, Rome still exists.
Rome went from city-state around
750BC to republic to empire, split in two with the Eastern half lasting until
1453AD. We must remember that the Easter Roman Empire simply called itself the
Roman Empire and up through to the end referred to themselves as Romans. The
myth that Rome fell in 476 is just another lie from your high school history
textbook of which there are many. The Roman Catholic Church inherited the
administrative functions and ability of western Rome lasting from the 300’s AD
until the present.
So, Rome has been a political and
spiritual empire playing a great part in the world’s affairs for the better
part of nearly 3,000 years. That’s half of human history. Does this beast come
in the form of a Pope with political power available to him again because of
great suffering in the world and people looking to him for answers?
Whatever the case, Satan gives him
his power and authority and his seat. As a side note, when a Pope speaks ex cathedra that means literally from
the throne or seat, as in the Bible a teacher and authority seated was the
standard for a genuine authority. See Jesus in Matthew in the Sermon on the
Mount.
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