When "The" Church Rides the Beast
Chapter
19
Daniel and John Focus on Satan
“And the beast which I saw was like unto
a leopard, and his feet were as the feet
of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his
power, and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2).
God immediately inspires John to
disclose important facts about this terrible power.
“And the beast which I saw was like
unto a leopard,” (vs 2)
This immediately links us to Daniel
7:6 where the Old Testament prophet saw a leopard-like beast that represented
the Grecian Empire (323–146 B.C.). That becomes an end-time symbol at the time
the little horn – antichrist power – would arise the second time! It was then
depicted as a rough goat at war with the ram (Daniel 8:5-8, 21). That Grecian
goat represented Satan at war with Christ in a setting called the “time of the
end” at an “appointed time” (Daniel
The goat’s initial horn that was
broken was a metaphor for the papacy during the Dark Ages (Daniel 7 – horn out
of ten on beast). In its place came up four powers. In this end-time setting,
one of those horns is described as a “king of fierce countenance, and
understanding dark sentences” (Daniel
Key characteristics that Daniel
discloses (Daniel 8) of this second rise of the little horn:
1.
Started small and became a massive power (vs 9, 24)
2.
Came
from the north (vs 9)
3.
Persecuted God’s people and leaders (vs 10, 24)
4.
Filled
with deceit (23-24)
5.
Magnified himself to the level of Christ (11, 25)
6.
Cast
God’s church down (11)
7.
Has a
large following (12)
8.
Removes the Sabbath (12)
9.
Sets
up a false sabbath (12)
10.
Satan
– the he-goat – gives him his power
Already we have seen that blasphemy
is a characteristic against God/Christ.
“and his feet were as
the feet of a bear, and his mouth as
the mouth of a lion:” (vs 2)
The story expands when the feet are
that of a bear – symbolic of Medo-Persia. Since only the feet are portrayed, it
must represent the crushing power of its military machine. The mouth of the lion
illustrates the fierceness and power of its words.
Many expositors feel that this beast
is a composite of all the beasts of Daniel 7. To a small degree this is true.
However, the bear–lion ties are specific to the
action of the beast, per se, i.e., feet and mouth. Those symbols allude
to unique characteristics that God is unfolding. From its tie to Daniel, we can
see by the description alone:
1.
It is
a power that will be tied to
Satan – the rough he-goat
2.
It
will think nothing of crushing
others to achieve its goals.
3.
Its
words will be controlling and self-serving.
“and
the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority”
(vs 2)
This is another parody where God is
really the one who gives power and permits (13:5, 7, 14-15). Yet three things
are conveyed by Satan to this beast in a mockery exercise to show what he can
wield: power, seat (judicial control) and authority (jurisdiction over the
world) (13:7). He tries to have the last word. This power comes from the “god of
this world” (II Corinthians 4:4).
This authority echoes once again the
third beast or leopard of Daniel (7:6). He, too, was “given authority to rule!”
Since this authority, judicial power
and supremacy relate to the first characteristic of the beast heads –
“blasphemy” – many conclude that this is the antichrist or man of sin depicted
by Paul to the Thessalonians (II Thessalonians 2:1-12).[1]
Since this is tied to individual heads, the ultimate focus is the papal head
right at the end – Pope Benedict XVI. This parallels the king of the north
declaration when “he will magnify himself above every god and will say unheard
of things against the God of gods” (vs 4; Daniel
As Jesus shares the Father’s throne (