The Four Beasts of Revelation

We hear so much about who the Antichrist is. There are many differences of opinions, but the most important thing we need to know is what the Antichrist does and how to recognize him. The Bible clearly says that he would even deceive the very elect. We need to study everything the Bible says about him as well as his government. He will come as an angel of light and he knows Scripture better than most of us. He will not be what he appears to be and that is God. No one knows the identity of the Antichrist. If we all knew then there would be no need to study and that is exactly what Satan is depending upon. He is the master of deception.

There are 4 beasts mentioned in the book of Revelation.

The Lamb (Jesus the Lamb of God)

The Lamb-like

Dragon

Dragon-like

The Dragon The identity of the Dragon is easily seen when we look to the Bible.

Revelation 12:3-4 And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars (angels) of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman (church, God's people) who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. (Jesus).

Verse 7 And there was war in heaven, Michael (Jesus) and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war.

Verse 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

There is no question as to who the Dragon is. He is Satan, Lucifer, the Devil. The Dragon is at war with Jesus and this war is over the people of God. Read the entire chapter of Revelation 12 to see this war and what it is about.

Who is the Dragon-like beast? Babylon. The word Babylon means confusion and that is exactly what it will be. This beast will have power for 42 months.

Revelation 13:1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. The blasphemous names on the heads indicate that they are religious in nature. Webster's dictionary says to speak of or address something sacred esp. God impiously or irreverently. In other words these names are religious in nature and they speak against God. The diadems on the horns represent the crown of authority. You will notice that this beast comes out of sea. Waters mean people's in the Bible. The number seven means complete spiritually. The number ten is complete politically.

This beast is not the dragon. This beast is made up of kingdoms represented by the lion, bear, leopard and the terrible beast found in Daniel 7. In Daniel 7:12 "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. In other words their descendents remain. This is a confederation of global powers, which is Babylon.

In Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Imagine a glove. If I hold out the glove it is motionless on it's own. But if I place the glove on my hand, it now has life. I can move it and make it do what I want. This is exactly what is happening here. The glove is Babylon and the hand inside is Satan or the Dragon.

We learn that one of the heads has been wounded in Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" We know from history that this head is the Papacy. It was wounded in 1798 when General Berthier captured the Pope and Rome fell from power. We also know that Rome is quickly rising to power again.

If one of the heads is of a religious nature then the other heads must be the same for they are all coming off one body. So how do we identify the other heads? We find our answer in Revelation 17:9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen (exposed, or brought down), one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. In ancient times hills or mountains were used for places of worship or seen as the places where God dwells. People look up to these. They look for all the answers within their church, from their pastor. Even most laity have no idea where their beliefs actually originated.

When Jesus was born as a man the teachings of men were exposed as being false.

Five fallen

Heathenism- man creates his own gods

Atheism- denies the existence of God

Judaism- rejects that Jesus is the Messiah, seeking salvation through obedience

Eastern Mysticism- man can become God

Islam (Arabic faith)- denies Jesus being the Son of God

6. One is

In John's day the religious system was Christianity, what we now call Catholicism. Satan gained control of Christianity and it rose and fell and was proven false.

7. And one is yet to come

Protestantism was next on the scene. And comparatively speaking it is quite young. All the other religious systems are 20 or more centuries old.

So our heads are exposed. We now know who they are. These are the false religious systems of our world and the Papacy will bring these systems together in response to the devastation of the trumpets.

As you can see, the consolidation of all these religions will be confusing to say the least. This is why it is called Babylon. The Papacy will take the lead in establishing this union and it will make laws that will be severe in order to give honor to God. When Satan arrives he will merge these 7 systems into one great image. Revelation 13:14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. The saints will be severely persecuted during this time. They will need to completely submit their lives to our Lord and Savior. GOBEDO

Who is the lamb-like beast? This is the most powerful of all the beasts.

Revelation 13:11-12 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

In Revelation 17:8 "The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 17:11 "And the beast which was and is not, is himself also the eighth, which is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. Now what does this mean? If you will insert the word visible, the meaning becomes clearer. The beast that you saw was visible and is not visible and is about to come up out of the abyss. Do you see now!

Lucifer, the Devil, Satan, is an angel. He has been confined to the spiritual realm (invisible), but he is going to be allowed to come up out of the abyss and assume the body of a man (visible). Just as Jesus came to earth as a man, Satan will also be a man. He will have a physical body and he will perform miracles and convince many that he is God.

We do not know the name Satan will use, the Bible again does not tell us. We know that his name will be associated with the number of 666. Many are pointing at different individuals such as the Pope, Kissinger and many others. We need to be more concerned with what Satan does and how he is going to do it so that we will recognize him when he comes. We will not be deceived if we have studied the prophecies. Satan loves it when we look at certain individuals so that it might take our eyes off who he may really be. We will know him no matter what. We also do not know the name that Jesus has been given upon His return. The Bible does not tell us, we only know He will receive a new name. If we knew His name then Satan would know it too and he would use that name when he comes.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

Another thing thing that is important to mention is that many are not prepared for is the timing of Satan's arrival. The world will be in such chaos that many will be looking to anyone who has the answers to what is going on. Satan's timely arrival will be during the 5th trumpet. This earth will be in such destruction that many will even welcome his coming as God from the clouds. He will perform many miracles so as to convince people he is God. He will be a dynamic person, remember he was the most beautiful angel in heaven so he will have a personality that will draw people to him in the beginning.

Always remember that Jesus never touches the earth when He returns for His saints. Satan will be seen in many places on the earth many times. Yet he will come from the clouds just as Jesus. The Bible tells us that every eye will see Jesus' return. Satan cannot be seen by all at the same time. By the way, Jesus doesn't need TV either to be seen.

Our prayer is that you will study the prophecies so you will not be deceived.