Beasts of Daniel 7, 8 and Revelation 12, 13, & 17

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation;

Best place to begin the explanation;

Connection to Leviticus 26;

Beastly Pertinent Questions;

The Beastly Rule of Thrace;

The Beastly 10 Horns

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation; Best place to begin the explanation; Connection to Leviticus 26; Beastly Pertinent Questions; The Beastly Rule of Thrace; The Beastly 10 Horns

In Leviticus 26, the “seven times” are mentioned four times. I do not believe it is accidental that Daniel’s vision contains seven heads upon four beasts. In the same chapter, the Lord says, “I will send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, make you few in number, and leave your highways desolate.” These “wild beasts” appear to point to the beasts of Daniel, not literal animals. For that reason, most commentators look to the nations that ruled over Israel as the meaning of Daniel’s beasts: the lion represents Babylon, the bear Persia, the leopard Greece, and the fourth beast Rome. These empires ruled over Israel during the “seven times” punishment that began when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took Israel captive (Daniel 1:1).

This “seven times” punishment also represents a prophetic period: seven years of 360 prophetic days each, or 2,520 days, understood by the day-for-a-year principle as 2,520 years. Counting from 607 BC, when Israel was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, brings us to 1914, the beginning of World War I. That war led to the Balfour Declaration, which recognized Palestine as a national homeland for the Jewish people. Since then, Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948, fulfilling Ezekiel 37. It is also noteworthy that 1948 is 70 years after 1878, when Jewish people were first permitted to buy land in Israel after the dispersion began. If the Times of the Gentiles are calculated using literal 365-day years, the day-for-year total becomes 2555 years, which also reaches from 607 BC to 1948. To me, this is far more than coincidence.

Many believe the Lord used these particular “wild beasts” to describe the military methods these nations used to conquer their enemies. As these empires overcame other peoples, Israel became part of their plunder. The beasts’ heads represent ruling cities, while the horns represent Dynastic Kingly powers in covenant relationship with the head. For example, the United States could be pictured as one head with either fifty horns, or thirteen horns representing the original colonies that separated from England and formed the nation. I mention this only to illustrate that, during the 1,260 years of Papal rule, the number of horns supporting the Papacy may have fluctuated, though it began with ten. In Daniel 7, three horns were then uprooted by a new horn, leaving eight. Therefore, the key question is how many horns are on the beast at a given point in time.

So far, I have identified the beasts as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. We now turn to their heads. Three of the beasts are straightforward because each has one head: Babylon had Babylon as its capital, Persia had Susa (Daniel 8:2), and Rome had Rome. Greece is more complex because Daniel describes the leopard as having four heads. To help explain this, the Lord gives another view of Greece in Daniel 8. There, the ram with two horns represents the Persian Empire, and the goat with the notable horn represents the Grecian Empire (Daniel 8:20–21).

What is especially interesting is that Daniel 7 and Daniel 8 describe the same empires using different animals and different symbols. In Daniel 7, Persia is pictured as a bear with no horns; in Daniel 8, it is a two-horned ram. In Daniel 7, Greece is pictured as a four-headed leopard; in Daniel 8, it appears as a goat with one, four, or five horns, depending on the period being described.

The differences between the heads and horns in Daniel 7 and Daniel 8, together with a key found in Revelation 17, help us identify more precisely what heads and horns represent. Before drawing conclusions, we should briefly note the main issues these chapters raise.

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation; Best place to begin the explanation; Connection to Leviticus 26; Beastly Pertinent Questions; The Beastly Rule of Thrace; The Beastly 10 Horns

Beastly Connection to Leviticus 26

1. Why does the leopard, representing Greece, have four heads and no horns, while the dragon, representing Rome, has one head and ten horns? Why not give Rome ten heads and Greece four horns? The key question is this: what is the difference between a head and a horn?

2. In Daniel 8, the ram, representing Persia, has one head and two horns. Why, then, does the Persian bear in Daniel 7 have neither horns nor multiple heads?

3. In Daniel 8, the goat, representing Greece, has one head and—depending on the time period—one, four, or five horns. Yet in Daniel 7, the Greek leopard has four heads and no horns. Why are Greece’s divisions shown as heads in one vision and horns in another?

Clearly, the Lord is illustrating different aspects of how these nations rose to power. I suggest that Daniel 7 primarily concerns the four beastly nations and the seven ruling cities God used to punish Israel during the seven times punishment described in Leviticus 26. Daniel 8, by contrast, gives more detail about the Persian and Grecian Empires, using animals those nations themselves minted on their coins. This helps us know what to look for when determining when a horn on the Grecian goat later is seen as a head. This is also the subject of Daniel 11 and explains why Revelation 17 says, “Here is the mind which has wisdom.” In other words, this is not an easy subject, but the Lord has given clues to help us understand it. Daniel 7, 8, 11, 12, and Revelation 12, 13, and 17 are wonderfully interconnected. In brief, a head represents a nation’s governing city. In Daniel 7, it is the ruling city that becomes the governmental head over Israel. A horn typically represents the kings dynasty of that ruling city, or a division of kingly power connected to that government. The beast’s body represents the country or empire itself.

Most readers recognize that the four beasts rule in succession, but identifying the successive ruling cities from the imagery is more complex. Graphically, the order appears to be Babylon ruling from Babylon; Persia from Susa; the four divisions of Greece—Macedonia, Egypt, Syria, and Thrace; and finally Rome. Historically, Babylon began the Gentile dominion over Israel from Babylon in 607 BCE, becoming the first head. Seventy years later, Persia ruled from Susa in 536 BCE, becoming the second head (see Daniel 11:2–3). Greece then ruled from Pella in Macedonia under Alexander the Great in 336 BCE, becoming the third head (see Daniel 11:3–4). After Alexander’s death, his kingdom was divided among his four generals. Ptolemy Soter ruled Egypt from Alexandria and gained control of Israel in 323 BCE, making Alexandria the fourth head (see Daniel 11:5–15). Later, during the conflict between the kings of the north and south, Antiochus III, king of the north, took Israel in 198 BCE. Thus Antioch, capital of Syria, became the fifth head. (see Daniel 11:16-20).

At this point, three of Greece’s four heads had successively ruled Israel: Pella in Macedonia, Alexandria in Egypt, and Antioch in Syria. Only Thrace, the fourth Greek division, remained. At first glance, one might expect Thrace to be the next power to control Israel. But Daniel 11:20-28 says “In his place one [Augustus Caesar Rome] will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle...” It was this tax collector that caused Mary and Joseph the parents of Jesus to have to go to Bethlehem Judea (Luke 2:1-6). This creates a difficulty. Some may conclude that the four heads merely refer to Greece’s four divisions, or that Thrace must somehow have already ruled Israel. But if that were true, there would be little difference between a head and a horn. We should therefore look further, and Revelation 17 provides the needed clue.

Revelation 17:9–10 says, “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits [is supported by]. And there are seven kings: five have fallen [by John’s Day], and one is [Rome], and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.” This appears to answer the problem. By the time John received Revelation, five heads had already fallen: Babylon at Babylon, the first head; Persia at Susa, the second; Greece at Pella, the third; Greece at Alexandria, the fourth; and Greece at Antioch, the fifth. Rome, the sixth head, was ruling in John’s Day. That leaves one head still to come. Was any Greek kingdom left after Rome conquered? In one sense, yes; in another, no. Much of the Greek Empire had been absorbed by Rome, yet Daniel 7:12 says, “their dominion [over Israel] was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.”

Beastly Pertinent Questions

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation; Best place to begin the explanation; Connection to Leviticus 26; Beastly Pertinent Questions; The Beastly Rule of Thrace; The Beastly 10 Horns

Returning to the question: when did the Thracian portion of the Grecian Empire rule over Israel as a Grecian power? The answer is: never. Nor should we look for this in the future. The answer appears in Daniel 8:24, which says, “His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.” This describes another power establishing its seat of power in a Grecian territory. That is exactly what Rome did when it moved its capital to Constantinople, located in Thrace—the fourth division, or head, of the Grecian Empire. Therefore, this horn is not a Grecian power, but Roman power being exercised from Greek Thrace. Hence for a time becoming called the Greko-Roman Empire.

Daniel 8:9 speaks of the “little horn which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land,” the “pleasant land” being Israel. Daniel 8:23–24 adds that “in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.” Whose power was it? It was Roman power. In 330 CE, Constantine, the first Christian emperor, moved Rome’s capital to Constantinople in Greek Thrace, near where he grew up in Nicomedia located in Turkey. Nearby Byzantium (which was renamed Constantinople, modern Istanbul) as the new capital of the Roman Empire. From then on, Constantinople became the seventh and final head, or capital, to rule over Israel.

At this point, we have considered the four beasts and the seven heads. The next question is: what are the ten horns? Since the ten horns belong to Daniel’s fourth beast, commonly understood to be Rome, we should examine the Roman Empire’s structure. From Rome’s conquest of Israel through the apostolic period, there is no clear division of the empire into ten kingdoms. This is why Daniel 7:24 says, “The ten horns out of the kingdom are ten kings that shall arise,” indicating that they were not present at the beginning, nor even in John’s Day. Yet the ten kings must arise before the Papal horn, because the Papal horn displaces three of the original 10 Daniel 7:8. This rules out interpretations that place their rise in the late 1800s. Revelation 17:12 confirms this: “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet” [in John’s Day], “but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.”

In 476 CE, Odoacer, king of the Heruli, conquered Rome and ended the Western Roman Empire. After Rome’s fall, its former territory divided into ten smaller kingdoms: Heruli, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Alemanni, Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suebi, and Vandals. But Rome’s role did not end with the fall of pagan Rome. The Papacy became the most powerful institution remaining in Rome. By 539 CE, the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards—the three horns of Daniel 7:8 and 7:24—were incorporated into the revived, Rome-centered Kingdom of Italy. Thus, Rome experienced a renewed rise to power, described in Revelation 13, as the European kingdoms gave their strength to Papal Rome.

This rise is also shown by the placement of the crowns. In Revelation 12:3, the dragon has seven crowns on its seven heads, but none on its ten horns. This suggests a period when all seven heads had received power, while the ten horns were only beginning to form. By Revelation 13, the crowns appear on the horns, showing that the ten kings had now received power and were giving their strength to the Papal horn. Revelation 17:12 states the same point: “The ten horns have received no kingdom as yet” [in John’s Day], “but receive power as kings one hour with the beast,” that is, when Rome returned to power in 539.

Some object that “one hour” must refer to a short period, while this interpretation spans 1,260 years or more. But Scripture does not always use “hour” to mean a brief interval. In 1 John 2:18, John writes, “Little children, it is the last time,” using the same Greek word that can be translated “hour.” The verse could therefore read, “Little children, it is the last hour…” Yet this “hour” has already lasted more than 1,900 years. Likewise, in John 5:28–29, Jesus says, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.” I understand that “hour” to refer to the Millennial Age. Thus, in prophecy, “hour” can simply mean a period of time whose length is determined by context.

Here, the context is the beast that continued for 1,260 years after its deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:3 says, “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.” They wondered because the wound had been healed; Rome appeared invincible again and was thereby called the “Eternal City.” Then Revelation 13:5 says, “Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” The word “continue” suggests a prior life interrupted by the deadly wound and then resumed for another 1,260 years. This connects the war of Revelation 12, where Pagan Rome is cast down, with Revelation 13, where Papal Rome rises—different in form, yet still bearing Rome’s same seven heads and ten horns.

If “hour” is understood as “time,” as it often can be, the thought is that the horns “receive power as kings one time with the beast.” Many today argue that the ten horns receive power twice—once during the Dark Ages and again in the future under a final antichrist. But this overlooks the crowns on the ten horns in Revelation 13, which show that, by the time the wounded head was healed, and Pagan Rome became Papal Rome, the horns had already received their kingdoms. Daniel 7:24 confirms this order: “The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise, and another [a single horn] shall rise after them [the Papacy] and he shall be diverse from the first [a religious power] and shall subdue three kings.” This shows that the ten horns receive power before the Papacy is established. Therefore, the expectation of a future set of ten horns has little scriptural support unless one adopts the Papal view that the Antichrist is a future individual.

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation; Best place to begin the explanation; Connection to Leviticus 26; Beastly Pertinent Questions; The Beastly Rule of Thrace; The Beastly 10 Horns

The Beastly Rule of Thrace

Having examined the mystery of the seven heads and ten horns in Daniel’s four beasts, we can now return to John’s Revelation. Some may feel that several points still need explanation in light of what has been presented. I intend to address those concerns and show that the apparent weaknesses are not true weaknesses, but difficult points made challenging by the great amount of historical detail compressed into very few words. I believe interpretations should be weighed by the number of biblical connections they make. To my knowledge, no other interpretation comes close to the number of connections presented here while also fitting both the biblical context and the known course of history.

Let us begin with what most Bible students generally agree on and what this interpretation does not change. Broadly speaking, the three beasts in Revelation represent the Roman Empire from different viewpoints. In Revelation 12, the vision portrays the struggle between Christianity and paganism within the Roman halls of power. Revelation 13 presents the Papal Roman Empire after that conflict has ended and the pagan head of Rome has received its deadly wound. Pagan Rome, pictured in chapter 12 as the dragon, was cast down into the sea, which helps explain why the sea turns to blood during the second trumpet period (Revelation 8:8). Chapter 13 begins around 539, when Rome, now under Papal control, heals the deadly wound and is permitted to “continue” in that condition for another 1,260 years. Revelation 17:1–6 introduces the woman—the Roman Catholic Church—as the would-be New Jerusalem, the “eternal city” that rides the Babylonish Roman Empire during the Church’s wilderness condition (Revelation 17:18). In verse 7, the angel—Jesus—explains to John the parts that make up this Babylonish Roman Empire. Some argue that the angel is addressing the “John class” at the end of the age and that the true meaning of the beast was hidden until then. They reason that the phrase “five are fallen, and one is” (Revelation 17:10) cannot be understood until the end time. But if the heads and horns are not connected back to Daniel, and if all seven heads are made forms of Rome, the right perspective is lost. The key question is rarely asked: why does Rome have only one head in Daniel 7, but seven heads in Revelation? A more stable approach is to understand the angel as Jesus speaking directly to the apostle John around the year 90.

In Revelation, understanding the viewpoint of a vision is often the key to understanding the vision itself. Paul illustrates this in 2 Corinthians 2:15–16, where the Church’s preaching of the Gospel is viewed from two perspectives. To God, the Gospel is a sweet aroma of “life unto life.” To unbelievers, it is the odor of “death unto death.” The brazen serpent provides another example. When Israel sinned in the wilderness, the Lord sent serpents among them. Moses was told to lift up a bronze serpent so those bitten could look upon it and be healed. Jesus identified Himself as the antitype of that serpent (John 3:14). The lesson is that when people stray from the Lord’s ways, those who speak truth may appear to them as deceivers or serpents. Truth can feel like a plague when it exposes error. Healing begins when one is willing to consider that he may be wrong and to recognize that the pain comes because the truth is correcting him. Another example appears in Matthew 24:43–44, where Jesus compares Himself to a thief, not to the “goodman of the house.” In that parable, the “goodman” represents the devil, showing how difficult it can be for the world to distinguish good from evil. As Isaiah 5:20 warns, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” And Hebrews 5:14 reminds us that maturity belongs to those whose “senses [are] exercised to discern between good and evil.”

Much of Revelation uses graphic imagery from the standpoint of those who have departed from truth. That is why many scenes sound destructive, even though they often depict the spread of the Gospel through the Lord’s messengers. For example, Revelation speaks of seven messengers to the seven stages of the Church, and also of seven trumpets that seem to bring death and devastation on the earth. Yet the trumpeters are those same seven messengers, proclaiming the same truth. The difference is viewpoint: historically, those who loved error experienced the truth as destructive because it exposed and destroyed the errors they cherished.

We can now examine Revelation 12, 13, and eventually 17 from the foundation already laid: the seven heads and ten horns in these Revelation beasts are the same seven heads and ten horns found in Daniel 7. I am not saying that the Revelation beast is simply all of Daniel’s beasts combined into one. Rather, the Papal Roman Empire inherited the ways of thinking, represented by the heads, and the military methods, represented by the body parts, from the empires before it. In other words, the seven heads are not seven forms of Roman government. Instead, Rome draws on the combined satanic wisdom of the earlier empires and uses it to subdue its enemies, making it the most powerful expression of them all. This is why Revelation 17:11 says, “And the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth” [coming after Constantinople, the seventh head] “and is of the seven.” The beast is both Babylon, the first head, and Rome, the sixth head, revived after receiving its deadly wound from the Christian sword of truth. Yet it is also “of” all seven heads, having inherited their combined satanic wisdom. Babylon, which “was and is not” in John’s Day, returns as the new Babylon—the eighth head. This is significant because the beast in Revelation 13 has the mouth of the lion, representing Babylon, and the woman who rides the beast in Revelation 17 is also called Babylon. Since one who rides a horse effectively directs it as its head, the woman is identified as “that great city which rules over the kings of the earth”—that is, Rome. In essence, after Rome’s deadly wound is healed, it is identified as the new Babylon, where the Christian Church has its own Babylonian experience, just as the Jewish people once did. If the head of the beast is called “Babylon,” then the beast itself is spiritually Babylon.

Blessings in Christ Jesus: Click to continue with a verse-by-verse treatise.

Beastly Heads and Horns of Daniel and Revelation; Best place to begin the explanation; Connection to Leviticus 26; Beastly Pertinent Questions; The Beastly Rule of Thrace; The Beastly 10 Horns

The Beastly 10 Horns

Email

Call: Jim Schucker 808-754-8978 for help in understanding.

JimSchucker@revelation17.com

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