Who are the two beasts of Revelation 13? As I always say, we need to let Scripture define Scripture. These two beasts are easy to understand when we let the definition of these two beast’s be defined by the attributes given to us.

"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." Revelation 13:1

This is not the first time we see this depiction of the beast with seven heads and ten horns. The first mention is in chapter 12.

"And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems." Revelation 12:3

Ok, so we see this dragon, what are its attributes?

"His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it." Revelation 12:4

We have this seven-headed dragon that tries to kill the Baby Jesus. We understand the dragon to be satan and it’s believed that verse 4 is talking about him bringing 1/3 of the angels with him. There is no passage to support this, but it does seem to be very plausible.

What about these seven heads? We see this seven-headed beast again in chapter 17:

"And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns." Revelation 17:3

Ok, let be private investigators here. Let’s look at the evidence given to us and see what it is saying.

We are given a solid clue in chapter 17. The angel tells us what the heads represent:

"This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;" Revelation 17:9

When we look at Daniel, we see that a beast represents an empire. Understanding God’s symbolism, we will pass that over to the book of Revelation. So this woman is sitting on a beast. To sit on a beast means to control the beast. Since a beast is an empire, this woman controls an empire that has seven hills.

We see these seven hills in chapter 12 and chapter 13.

Looking in chapter 12, we understand the dragon is satan that tried to kill Christ; but by what empire did he try to kill Christ? Rome. Even if we did not understand the geography of Rome, and the nickname that it’s the “city of seven hills” we would understand that the beast is Rome. Now it get’s interesting.

We’re reading about this seven-headed dragon, in chapter 12, who tries to kill baby Y’shua. Then, when we continue in chapter 13:

"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. 2 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." Revelation 13:1-2


So, we see the dragon from chapter 12 gives its power and authority to this beast that rises up out of the sea and looks like a portion of the first three empires mentioned in Daniel chapter 7. Notice something.... the first beast of Revelation 13 has seven heads just like Rome; it looks like Rome.

Notice this parallel. The beast rises up from the sea and the woman, in Revelation 17, sits on many waters. What does this mean? Fortunately, the angel tells us:

"And the angel said to me, 'The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.'" Revelation 17:15

So this woman and this beast will be among many nations and many people. This is no surprise. What’s the saying, “All roads lead to Rome”? We know we have Rome, a multitude of people all around, with different nations filled with different languages. Ok, so we have all these clues but what about the woman?

Revelation is a prophecy, and prophecy is a warning to the people of God. Revelation is a comparison between a good church, in Revelation 12, who is the light of the world, and a bad church, in Revelation 17, who is blasphemous, adulterous, and materialistic. This is a parallel to Christ’s teaching about the narrow road and the wide road, the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares. It’s a church, so let’s put all the clues together.

Looking at the parallels in Revelation, we have the seven heads which represent the seven hills in which Rome sits and we have a beast and woman on waters. These are two different accounts that give us a three dimensional perspective on what is being told.

So, looking at this three-dimensional perspective. Satan will try to kill baby Jesus through the empire of Old Rome. Old Rome will give its power and authority to a church that looks very much like Rome, and this church will sit in Rome and control Rome.

I’m not trying to beat anyone up here but I’m just looking at what Scripture says, yet it does not stop there - we have another beast in chapter 13.

"Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon." Revelation 13:11

We actually have more parallels here. In verse 12, we see this beast exercises the authority of the first beast in his presence; which is to say, the first beast is still alive. These beasts are almost like partners. This parallels with the woman of Revelation 17 who is called a whore, and her offspring are called harlots. Then we get to chapter 19 where we have the beast and the second beast is called a false prophet. The term “false prophet” is bringing us home to false religious teachings. So the second beast will operate under the authority of the first beast, which is a whore church, and the second beast will teach false teachings of the Gospel and Christ.

Remember that Revelation is a warning, and we really need to take heed of this warning.

Look at the characteristics of the second beast. It comes up out of the earth, which is the opposite from the sea. Understanding the sea is a multitude of people, the earth would be the opposite. The second beast looks like a lamb. We understand the Lamb to be Christ; thus the second beast looks Christian. The second beast speaks like the dragon. We know the dragon is satan and Christ says this of satan:

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

Ok, so let’s take a look at the evidence of the second beast. The second beast will arise after the first, which arose out of Old Rome. The second beast will arise from a vastness of the land, with few people, and will look like a Christian empire but will be a murderer from the beginning and speak lies. It will arise from the whore woman, which is the church in Rome, and will be a harlot speaking blasphemies, murderous, and covetous of the worldly things.

Bring this back home and sum it up. Rome will try to kill Baby Y’shua then it will pass it’s authority and power to a church that looks like Rome, sits in Rome, and controls Rome. From this Roman church, another will arise in the vastness of the land. It will profess and look like a Christian empire but will be founded upon murder and lies. It will be an offspring of the Roman church, and practice the idolatry introduced by that church. It will teach false teachings and be consumed with worldly pleasures, not being the light of the world.

Many will reject this but it’s clearly what is being said through the warnings of prophecy and the symbolism used to tell the warning. The majority of the professing Christians do not study their Bible; and when they do, they do so by following another teacher who guides them through. If one does not study Scripture, and only follows other men's belief’s, how does that person know they are not being led astray by false teachings? They’ve taken their eternities and entrusted it in the hands of a man who is merely parroting the belief’s of others and the methods used to prove the belief; while ignoring Scripture that contradicts such beliefs.

It’s time to wake up to the warning of Revelation