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Bible Articles and Lessons: B

Beasts, heads, and horns

"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... and the dragon gave him his power... and great authority" (Rev 13:1,2).

Introduction

They are such frightening pictures, aren't they? Wild dragon-like monsters, with purple and red crocodile hides, fierce countenances, sharp claws, thrashing tails, and extra heads and horns sprouting out at odd angles? Did Daniel have terrible nightmares as a child which he could never put out of his mind? Did the apostle John use psychedelic drugs, as some cynics have suggested? Are twentieth-century readers supposed to take all of this seriously anyway?

Yes! There is rhyme and reason to these fantastic visions. It is not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to make sense of it all. Maybe none of us can expect, at the present time, to make sense of ALL of it. But the Bible does provide, both in its historical sections and in other more straightforward prophecies, guidelines by which we can begin the task of unraveling the apocalyptic enigmas.

"Beasts"?

The Bible tells us generally that men who know not God, or who treat other men in a brutal fashion, are no better than "beasts" in God's sight, and that they will ultimately perish like beasts (Psa 49:12,20; Ecc 3:19,20). This is probably the rationale for Gentile oppressors of God's people being characterized as "beasts" of prey, in Daniel and elsewhere. The great "Beast" of Rev 13, with its 7 heads and 10 horns, also is said to have the number of a man (v 18), perhaps indicating that it represents a particular man.

At least one man in Old Testament times was actually made by God to be like a "beast". This was the great king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who recognized himself in the "head of gold" in the image of Daniel 2, and whose great pride and arrogance brought upon him an unusual judgment from the Almighty: see Dan 4:16,25,32,33.

Only a coincidence? Or does this suggest that the "Beast" of the Last Days will be Babylonian, as was the "Beast" Nebuchadnezzar?

Furthermore: is it another coincidence that the "Beast", Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, set up an image (of himself?) to be worshiped by all his subjects (Dan 3:4-6) -- remarkably similar to the image (not to mention the overall circumstances) described in Rev 13?

Such "coincidences" may in fact be useful patterns -- arranged by the Divine Hand -- upon which the outlines of future events may be discerned. In other words, Old Testament history may point the way to the fulfillment of New Testament prophecy. For example, along with "Beasts" and images, Babylon and the Euphrates River (the great river that flowed through the heart of ancient Babylon) also appear as symbols in the Book of Revelation:

Rev 9 describes a great Destroying Power bound at the Euphrates River -- the river which flows directly through modern-day Iraq (Rev 9:12-21).
Rev 16:12 pictures the Divine judgments poured out upon the Euphrates River, causing it to dry up; this leads immediately to the fall of Babylon (Rev 16:17-21; cp Rev 14:8; 17:5; 18:2,10,21).

All this makes sense if the fate of the Euphrates River and the fate of Babylon are closely connected in the Last Days, as they were in Daniel's day -- when the drying up of the Euphrates was the proximate cause of the capture of Babylon by Darius the Mede (Dan 5:31; cp Jer 50:38; 51:36). And all these details point to the greater Middle Eastern area as the scene of Revelation's final fulfillment.

The Beast of Rev 13 combines the characteristics of the four beasts of Dan 7. Thus:

Beast of Revelation 13	Daniel 7
Like a leopard	3^rd beast
Feet like a bear	2^nd beast
Mouth of a lion	1^st beast
10 horns	4^th beast

The Apocalyptic Beast appears to be a composite of all four beasts of Dan 7. Furthermore, the four beasts have, collectively, 7 heads and ten horns, ie:

Beast	Heads	Horns
Lion	1	--
Bear	1	--
Leopard	4	--
Fourth Beast	1	10
Totals	7	10

And the one Beast of Rev 13 likewise has, all to itself, seven heads and ten horns! This is not random confusion and monstrosity for its own sake; there is pattern here, and in pattern there may be discerned divine inspiration and direction for our understanding.

"Heads"?

The idea that the great Beast of Revelation somehow combines and represents the four kingdoms of Daniel, which in turn trod down Israel, suggests the following analysis (names on the same line are equivalent):

The 4 kingdoms of Dan 2;7	The 7 heads of Revelation
1. Babylon	1. Iraq*
2. Persia	2. Iran*
3. Greece (a)	3. Greece* Turkey (c) Egypt (Ptolemy)* Syria (Seleucus)*
4. Rome	4. Rome (b)

* These five "heads" had ruled over Israel by John's time. Egypt (the king of the south) and Syria (the king of the north) each ruled for only short periods during approximately 300-100 BC (see Dan 11).

After the death of Alexander the Great, his vast empire was divided into 4 parts, ruled over by his 4 generals. Greece's 4 "heads" (Dan 7:6; 8:8,22) -- roughly equivalent to Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Syria today -- plus the 3 other kingdoms -- Iraq, Iran, and Rome -- (with one head each) = 7 "heads".
The 6th "head" "now is": At the time of John's writing, Rome ruled over Israel. Counting the five that had already ruled over Israel, and the sixth was "now is", there is left only one other head, which is...
The 7th "head" -- which in John's day "is still to come". Of the seven "heads" as outlined above, this would leave only the Turkish/Ottoman Empire. Although it ruled over the Middle East for a long time, it ruled only for a "short time" over Jewish-populated Palestine. There may also be a place here for another Last-Days power (somehow related to all the others) which will rule for the very "short time" of about 3 1/2 years.

"Horns"?

In Daniel, the alignment between Dan 2 (the "Image") and Dan 7 (the 4 "beasts") suggests that the (10?) "toes" that arise after the fourth empire are equivalent to the 10 "horns" that grow out of the fourth "beast".

In the first instance of fulfillment, the 10 "horns" were the mercenary armies of the Arabs and Idumeans (Edomites) which assisted the Roman legions in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state in AD 70 (cp the historian Josephus in his Wars of the Jews) [see Lesson, Ten toes, identity].

But Daniel also indicated that the 10 horns also exist when "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed" (Dan 2:44). Since the Kingdom of God has not yet been set up as predicted here (see also Dan 7:27), there must be a further fulfillment of the toes prophecy. This illustrates the dual-fulfillment feature common in Daniel's prophecy (and other Bible prophecies): once in an immediate and preliminary and partial sense, and once again (in a more complete sense) at the time of the end.

With Israel back as a nation in their land again (since 1948), the stage is set for another fulfillment. Who are most likely to be the 10 "horns" of the Last Days?

Psalm 83 lists 10 nations -- giving their ancient names -- which will join together in their determination to destroy Israel as a nation in the Last Days.

Likewise, recent Middle East history has seen ten Arab nations -- occupying generally the same territory as the nations of Psalm 83 -- gain their independence during the same generation (1922--1971) that saw the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948. (This is probably the import of Jesus' words in Luke 21:29: "Behold the fig tree [Israel] AND ALL THE TREES.")

There are currently, in the area occupied by the old Roman Empire, exactly 10 such independent Arab nations. This scenario even allows for the infamous eleventh "horn" of Dan 7, which arises after the others and acts as a catalyst in the defeat and persecution of Israel -- the incipient "nation" of Palestine. At this writing it is not yet independent, but it could become so soon. Will this be the eleventh horn which comes up among, and after, the former ten?:

Egypt (1922)
Saudi Arabia (1932)
Iraq (1932)
Lebanon (1943)
Syria (1946)
Jordan (1949)
Kuwait (1963)
Bahrain (1971)
Qatar (1971)
United Arab Emirates (1971)

and

11. Palestine (?)

Thus the following analysis (names on the same line are generally equivalent):

10 Nations of Psalm 83	10 (and then 11) Horns of Revelation (a)
1. Assur (Assyria)	1. Iraq
2. Hagarenes	2. Egypt (?)
3. Tyre	3. Syria
4. Gebal	4. Lebanon
5. Moab	5. Jordan
6. Ammon
7. Edom	6. Saudi Arabia
8. Amalek
9. Ishmaelites	7. Kuwait 8. Qatar 9. United Arab Emirates 10. Bahrain
10. Philistines	11. Palestine (PLO) (b)

These nations (all Arab) are all remnants of the Roman Empire in the Middle East (thus justifiably considered the "extension" of Rome, and the "toes" of Dan 2). This criterion (ie being part of the old Roman Empire) would exclude other nations like Yemen, Oman, and Iran. In fact, the territory of the ten Arab kings, along with that of Israel, is the only area of the whole world where all of Daniel's four kingdoms actually ruled (ie where the territories of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome at their furthest limits overlapped)!
The eleventh "horn"? It seems to be similar to the other ten horns, yet it is somehow different, and it arises later and displaces three others (perhaps Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria?).

Summary

The two charts may now be combined, and -- for purposes of contrast -- set alongside the list of the aggressor nations of Eze 38 (once again, an attempt is made to show equivalency from left to right):

The 4 Kingdoms of Dan 2; Dan 7	The 7 Heads of Revelation	The 10 Nations of Psalm 83	The 10 (and then 11) Horns of Revelation	"Gog and Magog" of Eze 38
1. Babylon	1. Iraq	1. Assur or Assyria	1. Iraq	--
2. Persia	2. Iran	--	--	1. Persia
3. Greece " " " " " " " " " " " "	3. Greece 4. Turkey " " " " 5. Egypt 6. Syria	-- -- -- -- 2. Hagar 3. Tyre, and 4. Gebal	-- -- -- -- 2. Egypt 3. Syria, & 4. Lebanon	2. Meshech 3. Tubal 4. Gomer 5. Togarmah -- -- --
4. Rome " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "	7. Rome " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "	5. Moab 6. Ammon 7. Edom 8. Amalek 9. Ishmael " " " " " " 10. Philistia	5. Jordan " " 6. Saudi Arabia " " 7. Kuwait 8. Qatar 9. UAE 10. Bahrain 11. Palestine (PLO)	-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--	--	--	--	6. Libya
--	--	--	--	7. Ethiopia

General Comments on the Chart

A. While there are numerous points of connection between the nations of Psa 83 and the Beasts, heads, and horns -- the nations of Eze 38 are largely a different group. Might they not (as Rev 20 suggests) attack Israel only after Christ and the saints have defeated the Arab powers and established the Kingdom in Jerusalem?

B. One of the 7 "heads" of the "Beast" is wounded with a "deadly" wound, but recovers -- so that all the world gazes in awe at the Beast (Rev 13:3,5,6). At this date, it can only be speculation, but is the Iraq of Saddam Hussein that head? And is Saddam's recent overwhelming defeat in the Gulf War the "deadly wound" from which he (the "Beast", like Nebuchadnezzar) will rise again to dominate the Arab nations and threaten Israel once more?

C. The confederacy outlined above (in the first four columns) also includes the historical "kings of the north" (Syria) and "south" (Egypt). In Bible times, powers to the immediate north and south often put Israel into a pincers between them (cp all of Dan 11). Will they do so again?

D. The last element (and one of the most significant elements) of such a confederacy could be a newly-independent and vocal Palestine. Could PLO head Arafat be the second "Beast" of Rev 13 and the "little horn with a mouth speaking great things" of Dan 7:20 (ie great things against Israel)? Consider that Daniel's beastly image had Babylon (Iraq?) for a head, but David's beastly image -- Goliath -- was a Philistine, or Palestinian!

Conclusion

It is at least a possibility that such a confederacy as outlined above could arise in the near future, to threaten Israel (and, to some extent, the rest of the world). If it did, it would be at least one means of fulfilling the apocalyptic visions of Daniel and John. The great "image" of Dan 2, the 4 "beasts" of Dan 7, the 7 "heads", the 10 toes and 10 "horns", and the eleventh "horn" speaking blasphemous things may be seen to have their modern counterparts in such a pan-Arab coalition.

There may well be other scenarios that, at this point, are still possible -- from both a Biblical viewpoint and a political one. Even at this late date, other changes could take place in the developing picture -- new leaders rising up to displace old familiar ones, new treaties and agreements among the principals. Events have moved so rapidly in the last several years -- so there is almost nothing imaginable which can surprise us any more. Or is there?

It is the business of all disciples to keep open minds as they study their Bibles in these turbulent and exciting times, and most especially to prepare themselves spiritually for the return of Christ.