The Beasts of Revelation and Daniel

[john Stefan]

Can someone please tell me who exactly are the beasts in the books of Revelation and Daniel and what they do represent?

 

[David]

Can someone please tell me who exactly are the beasts in the books of Revelation and Daniel and what they do represent?

That is a good question, but I would be careful with the word “exactly,” because Scripture tells us some things plainly and leaves some details unnamed. We should not pretend to know more than God has revealed.

In Daniel 7, the four beasts that rise from the sea are explained directly in the chapter. Daniel 7:17 says, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” Then Daniel 7:23 says of the fourth beast, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” So the beasts are kings and kingdoms. They are not just strange prophetic creatures. They represent earthly powers that rise up in history.

Daniel 7 puts special attention on the fourth beast. It is different from the others, it devours, breaks in pieces, and treads down. The ten horns are ten kings that arise out of that kingdom, and another king, shown as the little horn, rises after them. Daniel 7:25 says he “shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High.” That continues until God brings judgment. Daniel 7:26 says, “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.”

Daniel 8 gives names where Daniel 7 does not. The ram with two horns is identified plainly: “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia” (Daniel 8:20). The rough goat is also identified: “And the rough goat is the king of Grecia” (Daniel 8:21). So we do not have to guess there. Scripture itself tells us what those beasts represent.

Revelation uses the same kind of beast language. In Revelation 13, a beast rises out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns. It has features like the leopard, bear, and lion from Daniel, and Revelation 13:2 says, “the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 12:9 tells us plainly that the dragon is “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.”

So the first beast in Revelation represents a Satan-empowered world ruler and kingdom. He receives worship, speaks blasphemy against God, and makes war with the saints. Revelation 13:7 says, “it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” That is what the text says he does.

Then Revelation 13 shows another beast coming up out of the earth. He has two horns like a lamb, but he speaks as a dragon. He causes the earth to worship the first beast, does signs, deceives those who dwell on the earth, promotes the image of the beast, and enforces the mark connected to the beast. Later Revelation 19:20 identifies this second beast as the false prophet.

So in plain terms, Daniel’s beasts are kings and kingdoms. Daniel 8 names Medo-Persia and Greece directly. Revelation’s first beast is the final Satan-empowered beastly ruler and kingdom that blasphemes God and persecutes the saints. The second beast is the false prophet, who uses deception to point the world to worship the first beast. Behind it all is the dragon, Satan.

But the beasts do not win. That is the part we should not miss. Daniel 7:14 says of the Son of man, “his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Revelation 19 shows the beast and the false prophet judged by Christ. Every kingdom that rises against God will fall, but the kingdom of Jesus Christ will stand forever.