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 beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
So he's got the various characteristics of 1) a leopard 2) a bear 3) a lion and 4) a dragon.
This is very, very familiar for fans of Biblical apocalyptic literature:
Daniel 7.3-7
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
The explanation Daniel gives for this vision is that these various kingdoms represent various kingdoms; the first kingdom is Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his wings and was given, temporarily, a beast's heart until he learned humility before God. The kingdoms that follow are in sequence--the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, and a forth kingdom best understood as the Roman Empire.
The Revelator doesn't describe four beasts from the ocean--he describes one Beast, with all the characteristics of the four kingdoms. This Beast represents all those kingdoms at once--this Beast is the kingdoms of the world that threaten, dominate, and strive against God's people.
There is some very political rhetoric here, particularly if we know that "The Son of Man" is the hero of Daniel's own vision; Daniel uses the Son of Man as a symbol for the kingdom of the "saints of the Most High," and paints the kingdoms of the world as animals. This is suggestive, strongly, because it suggests that the People of God are the "Humanity" of Creation, whereas the anti-People of God are the "animals" that must be ruled over. Daniel's painted a vision where Restored Israel rules over the nations, using images of Adam ruling over creation in the Garden of Eden. The same latent image is also present inside of John's vision, with the Son of Man directly opposing the Beast.
Justin Staller - JUNIOR Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com
Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
(John 5.39-40)
The Beast (Revelation 13.1-2)
Revelation 13.1-2
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 beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
So he's got the various characteristics of 1) a leopard 2) a bear 3) a lion and 4) a dragon.
This is very, very familiar for fans of Biblical apocalyptic literature:
Daniel 7.3-7
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
The explanation Daniel gives for this vision is that these various kingdoms represent various kingdoms; the first kingdom is Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his wings and was given, temporarily, a beast's heart until he learned humility before God. The kingdoms that follow are in sequence--the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, and a forth kingdom best understood as the Roman Empire.
The Revelator doesn't describe four beasts from the ocean--he describes one Beast, with all the characteristics of the four kingdoms. This Beast represents all those kingdoms at once--this Beast is the kingdoms of the world that threaten, dominate, and strive against God's people.
There is some very political rhetoric here, particularly if we know that "The Son of Man" is the hero of Daniel's own vision; Daniel uses the Son of Man as a symbol for the kingdom of the "saints of the Most High," and paints the kingdoms of the world as animals. This is suggestive, strongly, because it suggests that the People of God are the "Humanity" of Creation, whereas the anti-People of God are the "animals" that must be ruled over. Daniel's painted a vision where Restored Israel rules over the nations, using images of Adam ruling over creation in the Garden of Eden. The same latent image is also present inside of John's vision, with the Son of Man directly opposing the Beast.
Justin Staller - JUNIOR Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com
Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
(John 5.39-40)