Chapter 13 – The Sea Beast, the Earth Beast and its Image
Verse 1: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Manifestations of the Roman Beast
The opening verses, as supplemental, (1-8) contain more than adequate recapitulation for identification and note several changes for the era opening. Then follows (11-17) an overview of the final phase in the life, machinations, and affiliations of the greatest and most enduring of the final world dominating powers, or beasts, a government created by mortal man, with its revived head and supporting companions – the Earth Beast and its Image – before it goes to perdition.
First manifestation: (7th cen. B.C. – 6th A.D.) Here we identify the forth beast of Daniel 7:7, noting the attributes (lion, bear, and leopard) of the three sea beasts which it conquered and assimilated in succession, so identified as the Roman Empire, pagan in its first manifestation which lasted about 1200 years, until the empirical rule was taken out of the way, to make way for the rise of the man of sin with his great apostasy.
Second manifestation: (6th – 18th cen. A.D.) The ten kingdoms into which the Roman Empire then divided was consistent with the division corresponding to the ten toes of Daniel’s image.1 The principal Gothic tribes raised into sovereignties were: 1. The Anglo-Saxons in Britain; 2. The Franks in central France; 3. The Allemanni on the Rhine; 4. The Burgundians in Burgundy, south-eastern France, and part of Switzerland; 5. The Visigoths in Spain; 6. The Suevi in Portugal and Galicia; 7. The Vandals in Africa and the Italian islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; 8. The Bavarians on the Danube; 9. The Heruli, succeeded by the Ostrogoths, in Italy; 10. The Lombards in Lombardy. These kingdoms all acknowledged the Papal supremacy, three being immediately plucked up and supplanted by the little horn of Daniel; Clovis, king of the Franks, submitting about 496 AD; the rest capitulating by 600 AD. Thus, the crowns remained upon the seven heads throughout both, the Pagan Empirical (Rev.12:3) and the Papal 1260 year rule.
Third and final manifestation: (18th cen. A.D. to Consummation) Is signified (first) by the placement of the crowns upon the ten horns; (second) while having upon his heads the name of blasphemy, signifying the Antichristian power from which the crowns have been removed to the horns. Thus we understand the changes here to represent from the end of the 1260 year Papal rule of the empire and the beginning of the final era, it having received the purported deadly wound by the sword, until the Second Advent of Christ. We learn later, that the ten horns will finally turn on the whore of the seven hills and desolate her.2
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
“Here is a demand of attention to what is here discovered of the great sufferings and troubles of the church, and an assurance given that when God has accomplished his work on mount Zion, his refining work, then he will turn his hand against the enemies of his people, and those who have killed with the sword shall themselves fall by the sword, and those who led the people of God into captivity shall themselves be made captives. Here now is that which will be proper exercise for the patience and faith of the saints – patience under the prospect of such great sufferings, and faith in the prospect of so glorious a deliverance.”3
Rise of the Two Horned Earth Beast.
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here we have the seventh and final beast power enumerated in the scripture.4 Let us examine the mentioned attributes of this seventh beast power from the divine text itself, and see if we can find a candidate in subsequent history that satisfies all of the criteria following. First let us refer to Revelation 17:9-11, and the attributes which there help identify this new seventh King/Beast5 revealed here as the Earth Beast:
1. He “is not yet come”:
Here is a direct future tense reference to an appearance of a seventh Beast Power that did not previously exist, future from the present tense of John receiving the Revelation, and future from the “one is” – the Roman beast then in existence. Revelation 13 has the only mention of the appearance of an additional and subsequent Beast Power in the scripture, so of necessity must be the same Beast Power mentioned in both texts;
2. And, “when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”
Still directing us to the future tense, the author asserts the continuance of this Beast Power must be relatively short in comparison to the other Beast powers before it, or at least the one immediately preceding and contemporary with it, of which the latter seems to be the case.
We now turn back to our primary text above. Revelation 13:11-14:
3. This Beast comes “up out of the earth”:
First, we notice that this Beast does not rise up out of the sea as did the four previous Beast Powers. The sea: waters or flood, each respectively indicating multitudes6 or a densely populated area, such as the Old World, and conquest by warfare or the sword; this Earth Beast would rise up without conquest of the Beast preceding it, nor would it occupy the highly populated locality of the preceding Sea Beast Powers.
There is only one symbolic use of the word “earth” that I could find in the Revelation, and that concerning the Church’s flight “into the wilderness”. This would seem to confirm the understanding that it refers to the opposite definition than that of the “sea” symbol:7 that this beast did not rise up in the old world locality where the sea beasts did, but rather would appear from a locality which was sparsely populated upon its rise.
4. “he had two horns like a lamb”:
For reference, averting our attention to the division of the Greek Empire with its singular horn being broke off8 and supplanted by four horns, signifying a new four-fold division; and the ten horns of the concurrent Sea Beast three being plucked before the little horn, etc.: We expect to see something representing a twofold division of power during the continuance of this Earth Beast as demonstrated by the short history of the Medo-Persian power.
It’s being described as like a lamb is a probable indicator of the attribute of one of those horns, or division of power, and the other indicated by our next attribute:
5. “he spake as a dragon.”
This Dragon Influence or division would be concurrent throughout the life of this Beast Power with the two horns, as we notice no change, or one horn being plucked up by another as in the Grecian and Roman Empire Beasts previous to it, or the Medo-Persian9 where one horn is higher than the other. This Beast may exhibit an equilibrium or even a constant power struggle between its lamb like qualities and dragon like conversation, something similar to the old cartoon caricature with a devil on one shoulder, and an angel on the other, especially in its support of the Sea Beast which derives its power10 from the Dragon or Satan, the god of this world.
6. “he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him”
In its history the Roman Empire ruled the then known world and all of its civilizations; it had military outposts in many of those nations; it was the police power of the world. This is the kind of power that will be necessary to fulfill the following tasks (7-14) set forth in the vision for this Earth Beast Power:
7. “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast”
This is an overview of the end result and motivation of this horn division in the following actions or, in the biblical sense, its dragon conversation. He uses the following feats to accomplish world obedience to the First Beast.
8. “doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”
In the context as in the Roman, this power is military, an overwhelming military power, and contemporarily, this means fire-power, a power used to bend the nations to its will.
9. “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast”
Here we continue the theme of an overwhelming military power that would seem miraculous by any historical standard, and the exhibition of such power in the locality of, or in the sight of the beast, the sea beast,
10. “saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast”
So much so this power, that the entire earth will easily capitulate to the assembly of the Image to the Beast, and eventual worldwide obedience to it.
11. “he had power to give life unto the image of the beast”
The end result of the wonder, power, and miraculous machinations of this Earth Beast lead to the next step of worship or obedience to the Image of the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is,11 which will vicariously rule the world through the construct of this Image.
12. “and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
Indicating that this Second Beast’s dragon speech or horn division of power must be a primary motivator behind the enforcement action of the image it instigates, which enforcement action extends to the following attribute in such action;
13. “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark” “that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark…” The imposition of which we will discuss in a following section.
The Identity of the Earth Beast Prefigured in the Vision.
Now we look to recent history, a history which follows all of the expositors whose shoulders we have so far stood upon, a future they could not see. And it seems so obvious, so wonderfully fulfilled, that only one candidate among the prominent powers of the world stands out immediately as fulfilling every criteria of this Two Horned Earth Beast in every detail prefigured in the apocalyptic vision. We here expound upon them one point at a time:
1. America had “not yet come” at the reception of the Revelation by John – the New World where this power appeared was an unknown. Upon the punishment and wounding “as it were to death” of that head of the Sea Beast, a dominion that lasted for 1260 years under that head, the Papal Power and its Holy Roman Empire seemed to disappear (was and is not). By 1870 it seemed only a powerless shadow of it remained.
2. America rises in the New World about the same time of the wounding of the Roman Papal Head and has now existed a little more than 200 years in its current Constitutional established form.12 How much time can this Beast Power continue before it exceeds the “short space” qualification? Exactly what is “a short space” in context of the prophecy? Even if Christ were not to appear for several hundred years more, America’s time would still be a short space in comparison to its contemporary, the sea beast.
3. America comes “up out of the earth”: rather than the sea, representing peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, where the four previous beast powers rose up; this beast rises out of the New World, a sparsely populated wilderness by comparison. There is no conquest or necessity of assimilation as noticed in the previous consecutive sea beast powers, so that this power can come along side of and support the Sea Beast as predicted.
4. “he had two horns like a lamb” and; 5. “he spake as a dragon.”
When a tenth part of the Papal Kingdom fell,13 which tenth we have identified as the falling away of Protestant England from the Papal States, many had been fleeing to the New World to escape religious persecution and Papal Inquisition in the same place where Protestant England eventually established thirteen colonies. Canada to the North was a Crown Colony of the Sovereign City of London. Mexico down through all of South America (Latin America) was conquered on behalf of the Vatican by the Papal vassals of Portugal and Spanish Conquistadores. These are all primarily Roman Catholic.
In the New World the only Power that rose up and in time came to exhibit all of the attributes of the Revelation 13 Earth Beast, is the one that developed out of the thirteen colonies planted by Protestant England: The United States America.
These two horns appear to be life-long polar opposites as indicated, they coexist without change during the continuance of the Earth Beast: These two horns demonstrate two equal and opposing powers at the origin of this Beast: lamb like and draconic in speech.
The American Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. The present Constitution for the United States was written during the Constitutional Convention, those that opposed the concentration of power, were able to get the Bill Of Rights attached to it in an attempt to preserve those enumerated liberties to the people. It was signed on September 17, 1787.
F. Tupper Saussy, in his book, Rulers Of Evil, unquestionably exposes the dragon influence and intrigue present in the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, and more specifically the concentration of power (Nicolaitan) in the newly created capital of this Beast, the Sovereign City of the District of Columbia. Though this power was founded upon many Godly or lamb like principles, the draconic influence would eventually turn it to come alongside the draconic power of the Sea Beast that infected it at its inception. The History of this alliance between these two Beasts is that which is foretold in the 13th chapter of the Revelation.
6. “he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.”
It would take two World Wars centered on the dominant locality of the wounded head to lure this Earth Beast into its predicted apocalyptic position of help and support for the Sea Beast.
It is not insignificant that about the same time this Sea Beast receives it’s deadly head wound that the Earth Beast rises in the New World and in time comes to exercise all of the powers of the First Beast before it until it finally, “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” It is all too evident that America exhibits the dichotomy which the Scripture indicates that it would in the two horns as this Earth Beast. As the Roman Empire was once the visible Police Power of the world, so today America, since WWII, has emerged as the Police Power of the world, and …exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.
“Despite recently closing hundreds of bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States still maintains nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad – from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined.”14
The Earth Beast Creates an Image of the Sea Beast:
[He] causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Rev 13:12-14)
Principle in our search for a divine interpretation on the symbol here used, that of an Image of a Beast Power, is that found in Daniel chapter two in the first appearance of the Mystery Babylon Image from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. In the first we see an image of all of the powers that would dominate the world from the first enumerated Sea Beast: that is Babylon its head, which demanded worship of its own Image in the plain of Dura,15 until this amalgamation of the four sea beast powers goes to perdition at the return of Christ.
In this second, end time Image, we see the amalgamation of all of the powers of the earth, for the final conquest of the whole earth, which will come to demand the worship or obedience of all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond.16 It is through this image that the wounded head’s healing is complete and through which it can vicariously rule the world, and cause them that dwell on the earth to wonder, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.17
We have learned from Bible History and at the temptation of Christ,18 that it is Satan who comes to dominate all of the kingdoms of mortal men, regardless of the best beginnings. So, with the Dragon Power firmly entrenched in the U. S. Government at Washington D.C. in The New World, World War One is initiated and America lured to engage the conflict in the Sea Beast locality, that is The Old World, after which the first attempt to create an Image of the Sea Beast ultimately failed: The League Of Nations was “founded on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War.”19 America is not yet ready, but is certainly on the way to becoming the most powerful nation on earth. “The onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years; the United Nations replaced it after the end of the Second World War…”20
World War II in the same 20th century fully develops American fire power in sight of the entire earth. America concludes WWII with a miraculous fire power previously unseen, the Atomic Bomb, against which none dare make war. By the means of those miracles which he had power to do, America convinced the world that they should make an image to the beast.
This new Image: “The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II with the aim of preventing another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193 [as of 2018]. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City…”21
The United Nations is the New World order. America did not join the former League of Nations, but is a founding member of the UN. “The UN Charter was drafted at a conference between April-June 1945 in San Francisco, and was signed on 26 June 1945 at the conclusion of the conference; this charter took effect on 24 October 1945, and the UN began operation.”22
“The organization’s membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programs far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.”23 America, with its 800 military outposts worldwide is the primary police power of the UN.
The above mentioned decolonization, continued breaking up, answers to the Dan. 7:19 attribute of the Sea Beast, “which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;” very fitting with the “iron mingled with clay” in the Daniel chapter 2 Mystery Babylon Image of the feet and ten toes description, “they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” preceding the return of Christ to set up His Kingdom.
The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015 for transforming our world truly covers just about every realm of human activity and is the perfect model of world government to support a comprehensive and mandatory Mark of the Beast type monetary system.
Beyond chapter 13 of the Revelation the Scripture makes no further telling exposition of the Image of the Beast; but can one even imagine what more needs to be said? If we have not here spoken the truth, then we must ask: What else could it possibly be?
From An Exposition of the Revelation, Nicklas Arthur (c) Cross The Border Publishing, 2021
CrossTheBorder.org 