The Beast that Comes from the Sea
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.So it has been revealed that there are eight powers that ruled the earth, as there are seven heads on the Beast that came from the sea in Revelations, and the Beast itself, and "explained" in Rev 17, and in Daniel, of which "five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come".
He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.
The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.
The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.
And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.[Rev 13:1-8]
And the power that was at that time, was Rome.
Working backwards in time, we identified the other five fallen powers to be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and the Greeks under Alexander the Great.
Some would not count Egypt, but split the Persians into two: Medes and Persia. And then there are others who count the Roman kings instead, but I think a biblically more consistent interpretation is to match them to world powers as was explained to Daniel in his visions.
(As an aside, people in a time always try to fit all that is known into what is revealed. This may not be wise. From comparison of history and revelation, we can know what we do not know, and then we know what to see as the future unfolds, and thus our are eyes are open to see.)
And then one of these heads appear to have a fatal wound - wounded by the sword [Rev 13] - but is yet alive. Which head can this be? What mortal wound is this?
And now almost two thousand years have passed, and we are still not sure who is the seventh head, and also who is the Beast which is the eight power.
It is arguable that the USA is the seventh head (see also here), especially since the USSR imploded leaving behind a unipolar world, a situation similar to the times during the reign of the other six heads on the Beast.
(See here for another interpretation of the seventh head.)
And this seventh head has remain a little while only.
If the current financial crisis is the death knell of the USA, then will we be seeing the eight power, the Beast itself - who once was, is not, but will be - now being revealed? And is this crisis the mortal wound that John saw on one of the Beast's head?
Also that the seven world powers are heads on this beast seems to suggest that this beast is the true power empowering all of them, and that the eight power, the Beast itself, the sum of the heads and more, will be differently manifested.
It may not be a nation or any kind of superpower, even as Capitalism is a real, global and pervasive power but yet does not reside in or emanate from a person or a nation. And certainly there are no "tribe, people, language and nation" untouched by Capitalism today.
Or perhaps the Beast is something yet to be seen, something unexperienced or ever imagined in the world today, which will arise from the aftermath of this present crisis.
And there may be echoes and glimpse of such a thing already. For one of the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929, was WWII, and for that we have Hitler.
And then it is seems obvious to think that China will be the next superpower after the USA, thus the Beast itself - and its colour is red too, and its national symbol is the Dragon - but it may fall too with the USA in this present crisis.
Thus, at this moment, we can only be ever so more vigilant, and watch, and to seek out the things not seen.
And then there are the ten horns on this beast. It is not clear if these horns are distributed on the heads or are they extra protrusions elsewhere on the beast's body. It is is easier to envisage the latter. What is revealed is:
And Daniel also saw that three of these horns will fall and in its place a little horn will arise.
From what I can see in my temporal horizon, I cannot yet glimpse who or what these ten horns might be, and even less who the three to fall can be. And also Revelation seems to suggest that these ten horns will reign in the time of the Beast itself, who will reign only "forty two months".
Going back to Hitler, as example of things to come, who persecute the Jews then, this time these powers will persecute the "chosen and faithful followers". And these are not necessarily the Christian churches as we know of these churches in the world today.
In fact the churches could be in cahoot with these very powers, namely the other Beast, the Lamb who spoke with a voice of a dragon. For not all the chosen and faithful followers are necessarily "churched". They are many who wander the earth as pilgrims, longing for a home that is not the earth.
So this is the time to watch.
And very trying times are ahead:
If the current financial crisis is the death knell of the USA, then will we be seeing the eight power, the Beast itself - who once was, is not, but will be - now being revealed? And is this crisis the mortal wound that John saw on one of the Beast's head?
Also that the seven world powers are heads on this beast seems to suggest that this beast is the true power empowering all of them, and that the eight power, the Beast itself, the sum of the heads and more, will be differently manifested.
It may not be a nation or any kind of superpower, even as Capitalism is a real, global and pervasive power but yet does not reside in or emanate from a person or a nation. And certainly there are no "tribe, people, language and nation" untouched by Capitalism today.
Or perhaps the Beast is something yet to be seen, something unexperienced or ever imagined in the world today, which will arise from the aftermath of this present crisis.
And there may be echoes and glimpse of such a thing already. For one of the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929, was WWII, and for that we have Hitler.
And then it is seems obvious to think that China will be the next superpower after the USA, thus the Beast itself - and its colour is red too, and its national symbol is the Dragon - but it may fall too with the USA in this present crisis.
Thus, at this moment, we can only be ever so more vigilant, and watch, and to seek out the things not seen.
And then there are the ten horns on this beast. It is not clear if these horns are distributed on the heads or are they extra protrusions elsewhere on the beast's body. It is is easier to envisage the latter. What is revealed is:
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.[Rev 17:12-14]
And Daniel also saw that three of these horns will fall and in its place a little horn will arise.
While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.[Dan 7:8]
From what I can see in my temporal horizon, I cannot yet glimpse who or what these ten horns might be, and even less who the three to fall can be. And also Revelation seems to suggest that these ten horns will reign in the time of the Beast itself, who will reign only "forty two months".
Going back to Hitler, as example of things to come, who persecute the Jews then, this time these powers will persecute the "chosen and faithful followers". And these are not necessarily the Christian churches as we know of these churches in the world today.
In fact the churches could be in cahoot with these very powers, namely the other Beast, the Lamb who spoke with a voice of a dragon. For not all the chosen and faithful followers are necessarily "churched". They are many who wander the earth as pilgrims, longing for a home that is not the earth.
So this is the time to watch.
And very trying times are ahead:
If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.Even so as Habakkuk sat on the tower, and watched, and affirmed in faith:
If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.[Rev 13:10]
Though the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails,
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen,
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
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