Is the beast of Revelation 13 the same as the beast of Daniel 7?

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From some books that I read, it is understood that the Beast that came out of the sea in Revelation 13 is the combination of the three beasts in Daniel 7. Daniel saw three separate beasts - lion, bear and leopard. John saw one beast which is an integration of lion, bear and leopard. The three beasts in Daniel are now combined into one giant Beast in Revelation. Just have a look at those passages.

Daniel 7:4-6 (NIV)

“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

Revelation 13:2 (NIV)

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.

Now, what do they mean? It's up to you to interpret. Daniel was told, "The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth(Daniel 7:17)". If the three beasts saw by Daniel represent three separate kingdoms, that would mean, the Beast at the apocalypse will be a single kingdom formed by uniting the previous three kingdoms from Daniel's vision, or something like that.

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The beast that comes out of the sea of Revelation 13 and 17 is synonymous with the beasts of Daniel 7. They share the same body types and the same number of heads. The references to the book of Daniel in the book of Revelation compels us to believe that the Holy Spirit intended a link between the two books. Our understanding about the beasts and their meaning stems from our bias towards Christian eschatology. The beasts of Daniel are most often understood in an historicist view, even by futurists, as being kingdoms that ascended after Nebuchadnezzar II. This is a good illustration that teaches us to always question our assumptions. To accept this understanding we must ignore Daniel 7:11-12 where the last beast to rise out of the sea is the first to fall. The other three beasts are allowed to continue to exist but not retain their authority. Clearly, these verses do not agree with the understanding that the beasts are kingdoms that have risen and fallen in history. Commentaries on the Book of Daniel also ignore the relationship of the eschatological visions of Daniel. The statue of Daniel 2 and its four subdivisions after the head of gold, the four beasts of chapter 7, the four kingdoms of chapters 8, and the four kingdoms after the mighty warrior king of chapter 11 are all representative of the same events. Yes, the beasts of Daniel 7 are the same as the beast of Revelation 13 and 17 but they tell of the same events from different perspectives.

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Is the beast of Revelation 13 the same as the beast of Daniel 7?

Put simply, one represents Rome and one represents Papal Rome, and that is why they are so similar.


The prophecies in Daniel, starting with Daniel 2, repeat the same four sequence of world kingdoms, starting with Babylon, then Greece, Medo-Perisa, and finally Rome (1). Rome is the kingdom that is depicted as continuing even unto today but is fragmented (represented by the statue's feet of iron and clay).

The prophecies in Revelation, contain the same imagery because it still refers to the same events. However, it starts from John's time, Rome, and then has a more detailed revealing of events that would follow.


Therefore, Daniel 7, the fourth beast with iron teeth, with a little horn power that emerges afterwards with its own mouth, speaking blasphemies for a time, times and half a time period (Dan 7:25) and persecuting saints, is none other than the depiction of Rome and then its new form of government during the middle ages when it existed as the Holy Roman Empire and other forms.

In comparison, Revelation 12-13, Rome is depicted in more detail as two beasts, Pagan Rome and Papal Rome.

Pagan Rome, found in Revelation 12, is the Red Dragon with seven heads and ten horn, persecuting Jesus as soon as he is born (Rev 12:3). Yes, it primarily symbolizes Satan, but the context show that it is depicting Satan's persecution through Pagan Rome.

Papal Rome, found in Revelation 13, is the beast that rises out of the sea, with elements of the kingdoms that rose before it (leopard, bear and lion forms and power given to it by the dragon - Pagan Rome). The details suggest similarity to the little horn.

  • It persecutes for 42 months or a time, times and half a time (Rev 13:5), just like the little horn power in Daniel 7 (2)
  • It speaks blasphemies (showing that it could be a religious entity), just like the mouth on the little horn in Daniel 7
  • It persecutes saints, just like the little horn in Daniel 7

Therefore, the beast of Revelation 13 is not exactly the beast of Daniel 7, but the little horn of the beast of Daniel 7. It is the Papal Rome of the Roman Empire.

(1) Daniel 8 even names Greece and Medo-Persia by name as the kingdoms after Babylon, each represented as a separate animal.

(2) Using the day-year principal, where a day in prophecy is a year, we can see that 1260 days is not literal days, but the period of Papal power. The Pope received its power in 533, but did not have the three dissenting kingdom (three horns) destroyed until 538, and it ruled until when the French Revolution removed the Pope in 1798 (its deadly wound). Since then it currently only has religious power and not secular power.

Amazingdiscoveries.org does a good job expounding, starting the first article, then follow the links.

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Daniel 7:7 says:"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth: it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with it's feet, it was different from all the beasts that went before it and it had ten horns."

If it were not for that one word "before" I could agree that the four beasts of Daniel 7 and Rev. 13 were one and the same but the word BEFORE can have two meanings. before as in time or before as in the presence of.If it can be established that the proper meaning is before as in the presence of then it would mean that all four beasts are contemporary beasts all standing there together at the end of the age eyeballing one another.All the commentaries have it wrong, they just assumed Matthew Henry got it right.The Bible translators also followed suit and used other words all meaning preceding in time instead of the proper meaning which is "in the presence of."Check it out if you are a true Berean.

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Source: Backus, I. (2000). THE BEAST: INTERPRETATIONS OF DANIEL 7.2-9 AND APOCALYPSE 13.1-4, 11-12 IN LUTHERAN, ZWINGLIAN AND CALVINIST CIRCLES IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Reformation & Renaissance Review: Journal Of The Society For Reformation Studies, (3), 59.

It is obvious that the Apocalypse passage is based on Daniel 7 and it is equally obvious that both seers or writers seek to establish an explicit link between the beast or beasts and the temporal powers of their time. Confining ourselves to a limited but representative sample of commentators, we shall examine Melanchthon's and Selneccer's Commentaries on Daniel and the Apocalypse, as well as Calvin's Commentary on Daniel, Colladon's on the Apocalypse and Bullinger's Commentaries on both the books. Our aim will be to see how those theologians' interpretations of Daniel and the Apocalypse reflected their perception of temporal power.

It appears that, in Backus' point of view, the Apocalypse 13 is based on Daniel 7, not just referring to the same entity as Daniel 7. That is to say that Apocalypse 13 may have been influenced by Daniel 7. However, the respective authors may have adapted the books to reflect the times.

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I agree that these two beasts are actually the same beast. Here's a list of similarities:

  1. Both rise from the sea
  2. Both have 10 horns
  3. Both will war against the saints
  4. Both will torture holy people for 3.5 years (Daniel); equivalent to 42 months (Rev)
  5. Both will say boastful words against God
  6. Both will have very long lives
  7. Both will be destroyed by God

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The beasts in Daniel 7 are explained in Daniel 7:17 as four (separate and distinct) kings (kingdoms) which arise out of the earth (mankind). These respectively correspond to the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. They give rise to a little horn (power) which rises up out of the fourth kingdom (Rome). In verses 11, 20, 21, 24 and 25 of Daniel 7, this power is said to be bombastic (:11), a persecutor of the true saints (:21), one who destroys other contenders or powers (:24), one who claims great titles and glory to itself, crushes the true church almost out of existence and changes times and laws (:25). Papacy fulfills this description minutely. Any short investigation of the Inquisition would remove the thought of this church system as an holy representation of God on earth. It is anti-Christian in the sense of being a false Christian system which supplants God's Church and it is anti-Christian also in that it has fought to destroy any Christian that disagrees with it. Daniel chapter 7 is similar to Daniel chapter 11 in that it relays historical happenings yet to occur in a symbolic form. Is the beast described in Revelation 13 the same as the beasts (plural) of Daniel? No. Although there are similarities in the description, the book of Revelation was written during the fourth kingdom (Rome) and so, being prophetic like Daniel, it referred to the Papacy only and not to the past "beasts" or kingdoms. Is the beast/who*e of Babylon also said in Revelation to be a persecutor of the saints or the Church? Yes: Revelation 17:6, 18:24, 13:7

The following links refer to the beast/who*e of Babylon more minutely and completely than I have outlined here for those who are interested: Beast of Revelation - Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugLOPrWfSM Beast of Revelation - Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHGtjwZ79Xs

Thank you for the warm welcome and I apologize for not originally following the form of this forum.

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