Identifying the First Beast of Revelation Chapter 13
The First Beast of Revelation Chapter 13
Don’t accept the mark of the beast is the greatest warning given to humanity. Yet, there is so much confusion as to what the mark of the beast is. It will be impossible for us to know what the mark of the beast is if we don’t know who the beast is.
This study will reveal from the Bible who the Beast is and what his mark is, so you won’t make the fatal mistake of receiving his mark. Let’s re-read the actual warning as given in Revelation 14:9-11, “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
God has given us instructions as to how to study the Bible, Isaiah 28:10 tells us, “For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little.” The Bible must be allowed to explain and define itself.
To define the word Beast, we read Daniel 7:17, “These great beasts, which are four, [are] four kings, [which] shall arise out of the earth.” Verse 7:23 says, “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” So the word Beast represents kings and kingdoms. Kings are Leaders, Presidents, or Heads of State. Kingdoms are nations or countries.
There are two Beasts or Powers involved in end-time prophecy, the first and second Beast. We will only identify the first beast in this lesson, the Beast, whose mark we are warned by God not to receive. There are nine descriptive references given in Revelation 13 that identify the first Beast. We are going to take a look at these Biblical descriptions to identify the beast. Mark your Bibles so you can share your knowledge with others when they have questions about the Beast and his mark.
Our first identifying mark as to who the first beast is is found in Revelation13:1, “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.” So this beast power or kingdom rose from the sea. Let’s identify how the word sea is defined in Bible prophecy. Revelation 17:15 says, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The first Beast rose from a populated area among people and nations. During this period, Europe would be considered the most populated area, often considered the old world. The Americas were new and scarcely populated. This entity arose in Europe, the Catholic Church arose in Rome, a densely populated area during this time.
another identifying mark is in Revelation 13:2, “And the beast which I saw….. the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 12:9 tells us who the Dragon is. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” his power is received from Satan. It was Satan who influenced Herod, the king of the pagan Roman Empire, to slay all the male babies in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:13, 16)
History reveals that pagan Rome gave its power and capital city to the church of Rome. ‘The Roman church …. pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation … The Pope, who calls himself ‘King’ and ‘Pontifex Maximus,’ is Caesar’s successor.” (Harnack, A. What is Christianity? P. 270)
Clue number three is found in Revelation 13:4, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” This verse tells us that this Beast is worshiped, and its power is acknowledged. The Beast receives power from Satan, making it a voice of authority, and because it is worshiped, it is a religious voice as well, a combination of both Church and State power. This church has an army known as the Pontifical Swiss Guard.
The Beast combines religious and political power (Revelation 13:4) The Catholic Church has political and religious power. This is the only church that exercises political power. It has ambassadors from different countries, and it exerts political influence.
Clue number four is in Revelation 13:5, "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." This Beast power reigns as a political and religious power for 42 months (12060 days). A month, in the Mosaic calendar, has 30 days.
In Bible prophecy, a day is equal to 1 year. We find evidence for this in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6. Therefore, the Beast of Revelation 13:5 is a supreme reigning power for 1,260 literal years. This era is more commonly known as the dark ages. Emperor Justinian declared the Pope an ecclesiastical power, head of all churches in both the east and west empire in 533 Ad. It was not until 538 AD the Papacy was recognized as a political power.
Revelation 13:7 tells us, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” This means the Beast power persecuted and killed the saints. The beast made war with the saints (Revelation 13:7) Written of the Roman Church, it is said. “We must rank the Inquisition … as among the darkest blots on the record of mankind.” (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 4, p. 78. That the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind will be questioned by no Protestant who has a complete knowledge of history ... It is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims … and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings.” (W. Leekly, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 2, p. 32
Yet another identifying mark is found in Revelation 13:3, “And 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. Something happen to this entity that made it appear as though it lost its power, but it will regain its lost power.
In 1798 General Berthier entered Rome, abolished the papal government, and established a secular one. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1941 edition) The church lost its power to the authority of the French. This is when it received its deadly wound. Berthier set up a secular government … Church and state was separated.
The Lateran Treaty: The agreement signed in the Lateran Palace in 1929 by Italy and the Holy See distinguished the Vatican City as a sovereign and independent state. At this point, the wound began to heal. The Papacy has regained political and religious power but does not yet have world dominance. The Lateran Treaty was a prophetic event. Just as Revelation 13:3 said, “ the beast received a deadly wound that heals, and the world wondered after the beast.
The New York Times July 7, 1929, read: MORTAL WOUND HEALED: “From 11 O'clock this morning there was another sovereign independent State in the world. At that time Premier Mussolini … exchanged with Cardinal Gasparri, Papal Secretary of State, representing Pope Pius XI, ratifications of the treaties signed at the Lateran Palace on February 11. By that simple act, the sovereign independent State of Vatican City came into existence.”
The seventh clue is found in Revelation 13:17, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. The beast has a number, 666, that identifies its office and its name.
The April 18, 1915 issue of Our Sunday Visitor, states: "The letters inscribed in the Pope's MITRE are these: "VICARIUS FILII DEI," which is Latin for Vicar of the Son of God." When the Roman numbers are added up they equal 666; the number of a man’s name or his title.
The eighth clue is in 13:5, 6, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months. 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”
Christ was accused of blasphemy, which is, claiming to be God and claiming to take the role of God in forgiving sin (John 10:33, Luke 5:21). This is how the Bible defines blasphemy. The beast blasphemes against God by claiming to be God and grants forgiveness of sin (Revelation 13:5-6) The Papacy states, “We hold upon earth the place of God Almighty.” (Pope Leo Xiii, in an Encyclical letter June 20, 1894.
The beast blasphemes against God by claiming to be God and grants forgiveness of sin (Revelation 13:5-6) “The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, hidden under a veil of Flesh.” (The Catholic National, July 1895) “This judicial authority will even include the power to forgive sin.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 12, Article “Pope” p, 26.
Our final revelation of who the Beast is, is found in Revelation 13:5, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months. The beast speaks great things against God (Revelation 13:5).
The Papacy has made these Statements: “The priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering sinners from hell, of making them worthy of paradise, and of changing them from the slaves of Satan into the children of God … and God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priests … The Sovereign Master of the universe only follows the servant by confirming in heaven all that the latter decides upon earth.” (Liguori, Duties, and Dignities of the Priest p.27, 28. “Priests are the saviors of the world.” (Saint Jerome)
The Catholic Church, the Papacy, is the only entity that can be said to have all these identifying marks. The Papacy is the first beast in Revelation 13.
