And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear‘s, and its mouth was like a lion‘s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
Revelation 13:1-3
The main points in the description of the leopard-like beast are:
- Came up out of the sea
- Has seven heads (with blasphemous names) and ten horns (which have crowns)
- Is like a leopard, with the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion
- Power, authority, and throne from Satan
- One head had a mortal wound that gets healed
Out of the Sea
In prophecy, the sea is commonly interpreted to represent the gentile nations, excluding the nation of Judah. This beast rises up out of the gentiles, which includes the House of Israel because its ten tribes were scattered among the nations in the 8th century BC.
Seven Heads & Ten Horns
In Daniel 7, symbolic descriptions are provided for four beasts that would control the known world from the Babylonian exile until the establishment of Yeshua’s kingdom. These beasts are characterized as a lion (with one head), a bear (with one head), a leopard (with four heads), and a terrifying beast (with one head) which has ten horns. Collectively, these beasts have seven heads and ten horns, a correlation that we do not believe is coincidental. For more information, please see our studies on them here.
The empires that the beasts represent are:
- Babylonian (Lion)
- Medo-Persian (Bear)
- Roman (Leopard)
- Byzantine (Leopard)
- Ottoman (Leopard)
- British (Leopard)
- American (Terrifying Beast)
We believe that the ten horns are associated with the head corresponding to the terrifying beast of Daniel 7, representing the American Empire. These horns symbolize the ten nations mentioned in Psalm 83. In the past, these regions were independent kingdoms, and that’s why the horns have crowns, even though some of them are amalgamated into larger states today.
The United States has permanent military bases in all but three of the nations from Psalm 83—Gebal, Tyre, and the Philistines. You can see that the Philistines are the Gaza Strip today, a region that has been utterly destroyed by the State of Israel, with the support of the US; now, the US is planning to build a 5000-person military base in the region. Gebal and Tyre are both part of modern-day Lebanon, which is currently being destroyed by the State of Israel, so it would not be unreasonable to assume it will meet the same fate as Gaza.
Like a Leopard, Feet of a Bear, Mouth of a Lion
The beast has a lion’s mouth What does a mouth do? It speaks. So the beast speaks like a lion. The Akkadian Empire was made up of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. They blasphemed YHWH and their kings claimed titles that only belong to Yeshua, such as King of Kings. Nebuchadnezzar had a massive statue of himself built and forced everyone to worship it. One of the seven heads corresponds to the lion-like beast of Daniel 7, which was the Akkadian Empire (Babylon).
The beast has feet like a bear One of the seven heads corresponds to the bear-like beast of Daniel 7, which was the Aryan Empire (Medo-Persia).
The beast has the appearance of a leopard Four of the seven heads correspond to the leopard-like beast of Daniel 7, which is Javen (Europe).
This beast empire represents Satan’s seven world empires through history.
Power, Authority, and Throne from Satan
Satan is described in Revelation 12 as a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. This beast also has seven heads and ten horns because it is in Satan’s image; that is, it has his character, power, and authority. Satan has been trying to use this beast to undermine YHWH and His Word on earth since the Tower of Babel (Babylon).
Spiritual Babylon
Babylon was Satan’s prototype, and its spirit has lived on through all subsequent empires. First, the Persians used the city of Babylon as their new capital after they conquered the empire. Next, Alexander the Great used it as his new capital when he conquered the Persians. Rome was called Babylon by the early Christians, showing that they recognized that Satan’s authority had migrated west and settled in the new empires of Europe. The United States is now the new Rome, built in its image, and the spirit of Babylon lives on.
Mortal Wound is Healed
The United States received a mortal wound through the American Civil War at the end of the 19th century, then in the early 20th it began to be rebuilt and is currently the world’s top super power. We believe the head that receives a mortal wound that was healed, is the United States of America. And this is where we transition to the Scarlet Beast…
May you be blessed by this Study. Shalom.