Beast of Revelation.pdf - Friends of the Sabbath Australia

The Beast of Revelation
this system that had its origins in ancient Babylon. If we let the
Bible interpret itself, this progression of mankind’s four worldruling
kingdoms followed by God’s Kingdom is clear.
The Beasts of Daniel 7
In Daniel 7, decades after Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, Daniel himself
had quite an unusual dream. He stared transfixed at dark,
swirling clouds and a raging sea. From this stormy sea he saw four
great creatures or “beasts” emerge, one at a time, and come ashore.
The first was like a lion, the second a bear and the third a fourheaded
leopard. The fourth beast was described as a terrible creature
with great iron teeth (vv. 4–7). From its head, ten horns protruded.
This dream, just as Nebuchadnezzar’s, culminated in a vision of the
time when “the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom,
and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever” (v. 18).
Do we let our imaginations run wild in trying to discern the
identity of these creatures? No—for understanding Bible prophecy
is not intended by the God who inspired it to be a mere exercise
in creative imagination. Neither is prophecy to be understood
by reading contemporary events into the Bible account. Rather,
contrary to popular conception, “no prophecy of Scripture is of
any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). When the Bible uses
symbolic language, we must look elsewhere in the text for the
meaning of the symbols (Is. 28:9–10).
Do we see “beasts” emerging from a sea elsewhere in
Scripture? Yes! In Revelation 13 and 17. (We will examine these
beasts in detail later in this booklet.) In Revelation, the waters of
the sea represent “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues”
(17:15). Evidently each of these beasts arises from a conglomerate
of different nations and peoples.
In Daniel 7:17, the four creatures that arose successively (vv.
3–7) symbolize four kings or kingdoms. Verse 23 specifically
refers to the fourth beast as representing the “fourth kingdom on
earth.” We’ve already seen from Daniel 2 a succession of four
kingdoms. The visions recorded in Daniel 2 and 7 both foretell
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