7. Who are the Beast,
Image of the Beast and the 2-Horned Beast
(Revelation 13:11-14)?
In the Bible, a "beast" is the symbol used to represent a government.
In Daniel’s prophecy the great successive universal empires of the earth which
ruled over Israel are symbolized as beasts. Babylon was a lion, Medo-Persia a bear, Greece
a leopard, and Rome a "terrible beast," that is, a dragon (Daniel 7:1-8;
Revelation 12:3).
Certainly it was Rome which ruled over Judea and Samaria in the days Jesus Christ
walked on this earth. This terrible dragon—the Roman Empire—had seven heads and
ten horns.
The seven heads described seven different successive periods of government, and
the ten "horns" described the sub-kingdoms present during each period. Since
horns are the power of a beast, horns symbolize its divisions of power.
Now the ''beast" of Revelation (Ch. 13) is
the same as the "Little Horn" that grows out of the fourth "terrible
beast" of Daniel.
How do we know? Both persecute the saints for 1260 symbolic days–that is,
1260 years. A prophetic day is a year (Ezekiel 4:6). Papacy fills this
role.
Now the "image of the beast" looks and
acts like the "beast." A Protestant federation is certainly mustering
today. It only lacks "life"—for a time.
What is that "life"? Just as
the "beast" claims for itself: the supposed authority of "apostolic
succession." The 2-horned beast supplies this "life." Historically, the
Church of England and Ireland has also claimed "apostolic succession."
When the Anglican Church lays its hands
on the Protestant Federation—it will have authority to "speak" with
authority. Then the "image," like the "beast," will have power
to start marking people.
