Contending With Conclusion of Two Ferocious Beasts

Moreover, why should anyone object to the Bible's saying that it is Satan who gives the wild beast its great authority?  God is the Source of that statement, and before him 'the nations are as a drop from a bucket and as a film of dust.'  Those nations would do better to court God's favor than to take offense at the way his prophetic Word describes them.  (Isaiah 40:15, 17; Psalm 2:10-12.  Satan is no mythical person assigned to tormenting departed souls in a fiery hell. No such place exists.  Rather, Satan is described in Scripture as "an angel of light" -a master of deception who exercises powerful influence in general political affairs. -2 Corinthians 11:3, 14, 15;  Ephesians 6:11-18.

The wild beast has ten horns on its seven heads.  Perhaps four heads had one horn each and three heads  two horns each and .  Moreover, it had ten diadems on its horns.  In the book of Daniel, fearsome beasts are described, and the numbering of their horns is to be interpreted literally.  For example, the two horns on a ram represented a world empire made up of two partners, Media and Persia, while the four horns on a goat represented the four co-existing empires that grew out of Alexander the Great's  Greek empire.  (Daniel 8:3, 8,20-22)  On the beast that John saw, however, the numbering of ten horns appear to be symbolic.  (Compare Daniel 7:24l; Revelation 17:12)  They represent the completeness of sovereign states making up the entire political organization of Satan.  All these horns are violent and aggressive, but as indicated by the seven heads, headship resides  in only one world power at a time.  Similarly, the ten diadems indicated that all sovereign states would exercise ruling power simultaneously with the dominant state, or world power, of that time. 

The wild beast has "upon its heads blasphemous  names,"  making claims for itself that show disrespect for Jehovah God and Christ Jesus.  It has used names of God and Christa s a sham to achieve its political ends, and it has played along with  false religion, even allowing the clergy to take part in it political processes.  For example, the House of Lords in England includes  the bishops.   Catholic cardinals had played prominent political roles in France and Italy, and more recently, priests have taken political office in Latin America.  Governments print religious slogans, such as "IN GOD WE TRUST,"  on their banks notes, and on their coins they claim divine approval for their rulers, stating, for example, that these are appointed "by the grace of God."  All of this is blasphemous, for it attempts to involve God in the sullied nationalistic political arena. 

The wild beast comes out of "the sea," which is a fitting symbol of the turbulent masses from which human government springs.  (Isaiah 17:12, 13)  This wild beast began to emerge out of the sea of turbulent humanity away back in the days of Nimrod (about the 21st century B.C.E.) When a post-Flood system of things opposed to Jehovah , first manifested itself.  (Genesis 10:8-12; 11:1-9)   But only during  the Lord's day has the last one of  its seven heads fully manifested itself. Notice, too, it is the dragon that "gave great authority."  (Compare Luke 4:6)  The beast is Satan's political creation among the masses of mankind.  Satan is truly "the ruler of this world." -John 12:31. (At least for now. That is why we all need to get very close and worship and work for Jehovah God now, in order to get his protection.) 

Next time:  Two Ferocious Beasts - The Death Stroke

From the Book of Revelation