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John in vision here sees ONE "beast" rise up out of the sea--
but it combined all the main carnal strengths and characteristics
of Daniel's four "beasts." What the apostle John saw was a single
wild animal with seven heads and ten horns. Daniel saw four
"beasts" but the third, the Greco-Macedonian Empire, had four
heads--the four divisions into which Alexander's empire split up.
The wild animal John saw was like a leopard--but with the feet
of a bear (the strongest part of the bear), a mouth like a lion and
therefore the body of a quick cat-like leopard--in other words, the
carnal and physical strength and characteristics of Babylon,
Persia, Greece and Rome were all combined in this one animal--which
therefore represented the ROMAN EMPIRE, with its continuation
through the "Holy Roman Empire," and even until the coming of
Christ to RULE!
John continues describing this wild animal, saying that the
"dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority"
(Rev. 13:2). In Rev. 12:9 the dragon is explained to be a symbol
representing Satan the Devil. So, this wild animal symbolizes the
Roman Empire, as organized by MAN under the sway of Satan.
Verse 3: one of his seven heads--definitely the last one, or
the Roman Empire of 31 B.C. - 476 A.D.--was wounded to death (476
A.D.), but the deadly wound was healed--by the succeeding "Holy
Roman Empire," beginning 554 A.D.
The people of the Western world worshipped the dragon--Satan,
the god of this world--which the world is deceived into
worshipping. They also worshipped the "beast"--the "Holy Roman
Empire." HOW? By saying, "Who is like unto the beast (the Holy
Roman Empire), who is able to make war with him?" THAT IS WORSHIP!
"And there was given unto him" (verse 5) "a mouth speaking
great things...and powerwas given unto him to continue forty and
two months"--prophetic months--literally 1260 years--and it
actually continued 554 to 1814--precisely 1260 years. This "mouth
speaking great things" is the same as the little horn of Daniel 7
with "a mouth speaking great things"--in other words, the Vatican.
Verse 7: "And it was given unto him [by Satan] to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them." It was Simon the Sorcerer
(Acts 8) who, in 33 A.D., two years after Christ had founded the
Church of God, turned the Babylonian Mystery religion into a
so-called "Christianity," and wielded enough power to SUPPRESS the
preaching of Christ's gospel message (Gal. 1:6,7). If you have
ever read "Fox's Book of Martyrs" you will understand how this
religious power, sitting astride the government--during this 1260
years tortured and put to death thousands of saints.
The church merely pronounced them "anathema from Christ"
and/or state military police did the torturing and killing. This
is referred to in Rev. 6 under the fifth seal--symbolizing the
now-imminent "Great Tribulation" when another martyrdom of saints
is coming in our time, during the Great Tribulation!