7 heads of the beast of Revelation

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greenonions

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#21
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The 10 horned beast is killed before being given to flame in Daniel but in Revelation 19 the 10 horned beast is alive when cast into fire. Which is correct?
Daniel 7:11 (NIV) says: "... I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire." It doesn't actually specify a time sequence, so I would not consider this to be a contradiction of Revelation 19:20.
 

Hakawaka

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#22
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The 10 horned beast is killed before being given to flame in Daniel but in Revelation 19 the 10 horned beast is alive when cast into fire. Which is correct?
Maybe the text isn't meant to be read in an over-literal way?
 

ewq1938

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#24
Daniel 7:11 (NIV) says: "... I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire." It doesn't actually specify a time sequence, so I would not consider this to be a contradiction of Revelation 19:20.

Either the beast is dead before being burned or the beast is alive before being burned. Which is correct?

Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Dead then burned or burned alive?
 

ewq1938

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#25
Based on Dan. 7:24, you said that the little horn (antichrist) is diverse from the first (Rome = beast). But I understand it to mean that the little horn is diverse from the 10 horns (not a different beast). The word "first" seems to be plural in Aramaic.

Neither. It's the 4th beast which is diverse from the other 3 beasts. This is not about it's horns.

Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
 

Inquisitor

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#26
Rome is in the middle of every Satanic movement throughout history since it rose to power so I wouldn't think it's a good idea to eliminate it.
I thought Rome was the whore that road the scarlet beast, i.e., the city that sits on the seven hills?

Revelation 17:18
The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues."

The Lord's people are in that city.

She has the blood of the saints on her hands.

She has a golden cup in her hand.

Sure looks like Rome.
 

Inquisitor

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#27
Don't ignore Daniel's prophecies
Use the bible to interpret the bible. Daniel is the key to unlock many of John's revelations.

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

It seems like the same power and beast is being described in all of these prophecies

The interpretation is given....
Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

The beast is clearly being described by all these prophecies

Which power or kingdom ticks all the boxes of all the identifying marks ???
The beast in Daniel only has four heads or empires.

The beast in Revelation has seven heads and ten horns; so it's definitely not the same beast.
 

Inquisitor

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#28
The beast is mentioned have seven heads in Revelation 13:1; 17:7-11.

In Rev. 13:1, a beast is described that sounds like the combination of the 4 beasts in Daniel Chapter 7. Based on that, I conclude that one lion head is Babylon, one bear head is Medo-Persia, four leopard heads are Greek kingdoms, and one head with ten horns belongs to the fourth beast in Daniel. (By the way, the Styracosaurus was a dinosaur similar to a triceratops that had many horns)

Revelation 17 calls them seven mountains and seven kings. I interpret this to mean seven geographical locations that were capitals of kingdoms/empires. Thus I interpret the 4 leopard heads as Macedonia, Eastern Thrace, Syria, and Egypt, based on the four Diadochi Greek kingdoms around 300 BC. When John wrote Revelation around AD 95, five were fallen (Babylon, Macedonia, Eastern Thrace, Syria, Egypt), one was (Medo-Persia), and one did not come yet. You will notice that I did not include Rome which conquered the first five, since I think the one that was refers to the Parthian Empire (Medo-Persia), which was later followed by the Sasanian Empire (also Medo-Persia). If the beast is Islam, then the seventh head could be Medina in Arabia, which was the capital city from AD 622-656, which is a relatively short time. Later Islamic kingdoms and caliphates had capitals in Babylonia (Kufah and Baghdad), Syria (Damascus), Egypt (Cairo), and Eastern Thrace (Istanbul).

This leaves out Assyria and Rome. What do you think?
No one knows who the seven heads are nor who the ten horns represent.

Daniel was told who the four heads were and in Revelation we are not told.

The man, the antichrist, is only revealed when Jesus returns.

So we are flying completely blind.
 

Jackson129

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Dec 14, 2018
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#29
Either the beast is dead before being burned or the beast is alive before being burned. Which is correct?

Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Dead then burned or burned alive?
Maybe it is talking about the same thing and Daniel and John just express it differently. Maybe having its body destroyed and it's soul cast into the fire. The beast is the ac if I interpret it right. So it is a man.
 

greenonions

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#30
Either the beast is dead before being burned or the beast is alive before being burned. Which is correct?

Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Dead then burned or burned alive?
I think of the beast as representing a kingdom with many people. I think some of the people will be killed and some will be cast alive into the lake of fire.
 

greenonions

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#31
I thought Rome was the whore that road the scarlet beast, i.e., the city that sits on the seven hills?

Revelation 17:18
The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues."

The Lord's people are in that city.

She has the blood of the saints on her hands.

She has a golden cup in her hand.

Sure looks like Rome.
Let me offer a few possible reasons to think that the whore is not Rome:

1) If Rome stops buying merchandise today, the merchants would not say that no one else will buy (Rev. 18:11). This is the weakest reason, because circumstances can change in the future.

2) The whore is called Babylon (Rev. 17:5). Babylon will receive the wine of God's wrath (Rev. 14:8; 16:19). We also read in Rev. 14:19-20 that the nations are gathered to the winepress that is outside the city. I'm assuming that the wine of God's wrath is related to the winepress, wouldn't you agree? Where are the nations gathered? Some place that has a Hebrew name (Rev. 16:16). I think Armageddon is code for Jerusalem, where the nations will definitely gather (Zech. 12:2; 14:2; Isa. 29:7; Joel 3:12-17). Joel 3:12-17 in particular matches the imagery in Rev. 14:18-20 very closely, mentioning the sickle, harvest, winepress, and Jerusalem.

3) The whore will receive double for her sins (Rev. 18:6). In the future, Jerusalem will be comforted because she received double for her sins (Isa. 40:2)
 

greenonions

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#32
The beast in Daniel only has four heads or empires.

The beast in Revelation has seven heads and ten horns; so it's definitely not the same beast.
No, the four beasts in Daniel are the lion (1 head), bear (1 head), leopard (4 heads -- Daniel 7:6), fourth beast (1 head).
Add the heads up 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 7. It's a perfect match with Revelation.
 

greenonions

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#33
No one knows who the seven heads are nor who the ten horns represent.

Daniel was told who the four heads were and in Revelation we are not told.

The man, the antichrist, is only revealed when Jesus returns.

So we are flying completely blind.
Daniel wasn't told directly who the four beasts were. If we assume the four beasts match the four metals in the statue in Daniel Chapter 2, then we know that the first two kingdoms were Babylon and Medo-Persia. Greece is mentioned in Daniel Chapter 8 as coming after Medo-Persia and having four horns (Dan. 8:8, which is analogous to the four heads), so that is a pretty solid identification as the third beast. The fourth kingdom is never named. We have clues so we are not completely blind.

You are correct that we don't know who the antichrist is, as he will be revealed in the end times (2 Thess. 2:3).
 

ewq1938

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Oct 18, 2018
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#34
Maybe it is talking about the same thing and Daniel and John just express it differently.
It's not the same thing at all. They are opposites. One the beast is dead when it is in fire and in one the beast is alive when in fire.
 

ewq1938

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#36
No, the four beasts in Daniel are the lion (1 head), bear (1 head), leopard (4 heads -- Daniel 7:6), fourth beast (1 head).
Add the heads up 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 7. It's a perfect match with Revelation.

Not really.

Daniel has 4 beasts with a total of 7 heads.

Rev has two beasts, one with 7 heads which are mountains and one beast is a human with one head, 8 heads total.
 

Inquisitor

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#37
Daniel wasn't told directly who the four beasts were. If we assume the four beasts match the four metals in the statue in Daniel Chapter 2, then we know that the first two kingdoms were Babylon and Medo-Persia. Greece is mentioned in Daniel Chapter 8 as coming after Medo-Persia and having four horns (Dan. 8:8, which is analogous to the four heads), so that is a pretty solid identification as the third beast. The fourth kingdom is never named. We have clues so we are not completely blind.

You are correct that we don't know who the antichrist is, as he will be revealed in the end times (2 Thess. 2:3).
Here is what Chat GPT had to say about the four beasts in Daniel and the Beast In Revelation.

1. How many heads are on each beast?

  • Daniel 7:
    • Daniel sees four separate beasts, not one beast with multiple heads.
      • 1st beast: like a lion (1 head)
      • 2nd beast: like a bear (1 head)
      • 3rd beast: like a leopard with four heads
      • 4th beast: dreadful and terrible, with ten horns (no explicit number of heads mentioned, but generally assumed to have 1 head)
  • Total heads across the four beasts:
    1 (lion) + 1 (bear) + 4 (leopard) + 1 (terrible beast) = 7 heads
  • Revelation 13:1:
    • John sees one composite beast rising from the sea with:
      • 7 heads and 10 horns
      • This beast resembles a leopard, bear, and lion all in one (Rev. 13:2)

🧩 2. What do the heads of each beast represent?

  • Daniel 7:
    • Each beast represents a kingdom or empire (Daniel 7:17, 23).
    • The four-headed leopard suggests a kingdom that divides into four parts — commonly understood as Alexander the Great’s empire dividing among his generals after his death.
    • So the heads in Daniel 7 can be seen as rulers or divisions of empires.
  • Revelation 13:
    • The 7 heads are explained in Revelation 17:9–10:
      • "The seven heads are seven mountains... and they are seven kings."
      • These heads represent kingdoms or kings, often interpreted as a succession of empires (e.g., Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and a final end-time kingdom).

🔗 3. Are they related in any way?

Yes — closely.


  • The beast in Revelation 13 is a composite of the four beasts in Daniel 7:
    • It has characteristics of a leopard, bear, lion, and a terrifying beast (Rev. 13:2).
  • This shows that the Revelation 13 beast is a culmination or continuation of the same succession of world empires described in Daniel.
  • The 7 heads in Revelation match the total number of heads across the 4 beasts in Daniel (1 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 7), reinforcing the idea that these visions are connected.
 

Inquisitor

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#38
Not really.

Daniel has 4 beasts with a total of 7 heads.

Rev has two beasts, one with 7 heads which are mountains and one beast is a human with one head, 8 heads total.
Using AI.

📖 Revelation 13 – Two Beasts

  1. The First Beast – from the Sea (Revelation 13:1–10)
    • Has 7 heads and 10 horns
    • Resembles a leopard, bear, and lion
    • Receives power from the dragon (Satan)
    • One of its heads is wounded and healed, amazing the world
    • It speaks blasphemies and persecutes the saints
    • Often associated with political power or an empire
  2. The Second Beast – from the Earth (Revelation 13:11–18)
    • Has 2 horns like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon
    • Exercises authority on behalf of the first beast
    • Performs signs and deceives people
    • Makes an image of the first beast and enforces worship
    • Causes all to receive a mark (the famous 666 passage)
    • Often identified as the false prophet in Revelation 16:13, 19:20, and 20:10

🤔

  • Revelation does not explicitly describe the second beast's head.
  • It says it has two horns like a lamb and speaks like a dragon.
  • This language suggests it appears gentle or religious (like a lamb — possibly imitating Christ) but is demonic in speech.
  • Some interpret this as symbolizing deceptive spiritual authority — often seen as a religious leader or system, not a literal human head.

So to clarify:


  • Neither beast is described as having a "human head" in a literal sense.
  • But the second beast (earth beast) is human-like in its behavior and speech, possibly personified as a deceptive individual or false prophet.
  • This symbolic imagery may give the impression of a human element, but the text does not say it has one human head.
 

Inquisitor

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Mar 17, 2022
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#39
Let me offer a few possible reasons to think that the whore is not Rome:

1) If Rome stops buying merchandise today, the merchants would not say that no one else will buy (Rev. 18:11). This is the weakest reason, because circumstances can change in the future.

2) The whore is called Babylon (Rev. 17:5). Babylon will receive the wine of God's wrath (Rev. 14:8; 16:19). We also read in Rev. 14:19-20 that the nations are gathered to the winepress that is outside the city. I'm assuming that the wine of God's wrath is related to the winepress, wouldn't you agree? Where are the nations gathered? Some place that has a Hebrew name (Rev. 16:16). I think Armageddon is code for Jerusalem, where the nations will definitely gather (Zech. 12:2; 14:2; Isa. 29:7; Joel 3:12-17). Joel 3:12-17 in particular matches the imagery in Rev. 14:18-20 very closely, mentioning the sickle, harvest, winepress, and Jerusalem.

3) The whore will receive double for her sins (Rev. 18:6). In the future, Jerusalem will be comforted because she received double for her sins (Isa. 40:2)
AI thinks it may be Rome.

Here have a read below.

1. The City on Seven Hills

Revelation 17:9 states:
“This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.”

Historically, Rome was famously known as the city on seven hills. Ancient writers from both pagan and Christian traditions referred to Rome that way. So, many interpreters — especially in early and medieval times — identified this symbolic city as Rome.

2. The Woman (The Whore of Babylon)

  • She is described as:
    • Sitting on many waters (peoples, nations — v.15),
    • Holding a golden cup full of abominations (v.4),
    • Drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus (v.6),
    • Called “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth” (v.5),
    • And is a city ruling over the kings of the earth (v.18).

Your interpretation draws lines between:


  • The cup and transubstantiation (the Catholic teaching that the Eucharist becomes the body and blood of Christ),
  • Claiming to be the Bride of Christ and asserting that salvation is found within her alone — aligning with Roman Catholic exclusivist ecclesiology, historically stated as “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus” ("Outside the Church there is no salvation"),
  • Persecution of true believers (e.g., martyrs, Inquisitions),
  • Wealth and trade, matching descriptions in Revelation 18.
3. Protestant Historicist View

This was the standard Protestant view for centuries:


  • Reformers like Luther, Calvin, and many Puritans believed the papacy was the Antichrist, and Rome (as the institutional church) was the whore of Babylon.
  • They cited the blood of saints (e.g., Inquisitions, Crusades), idolatry (e.g., veneration of images and saints), and corruption as signs of spiritual adultery.
4. Modern Views

There are multiple interpretative schools:


  • Historicist (as above): Rome/Catholicism = Babylon.
  • Futurist: Babylon is a future global religious/political/economic system, possibly centered in a revived empire or global order.
  • Preterist: Babylon represents Jerusalem, which persecuted the early Christians and rejected Christ.
  • Idealist: Babylon is any worldly system that seduces God’s people with wealth, power, and false religion — a recurring symbol throughout history.
5. Theological Considerations

You rightly point out something many overlook: God’s people are within her, and He calls them out (Rev. 18:4):


“Come out of her, my people…”

This means the harlot is not only an external enemy, but a counterfeit church — an apostate body that once bore truth but is now corrupted. This adds weight to your argument that she falsely claims to be the Bride, mimicking the true Church but betraying her Lord.


Conclusion

Yes, Rome fits many aspects of the symbolic city described in Revelation, especially when viewed from a historicist or Protestant lens. The Roman Catholic Church has claimed exclusive authority, conducted bloody persecutions, held vast wealth, and emphasized outward ritual — which parallels Babylon the Great. However, interpretations vary depending on theological and eschatological frameworks.


Would you like a breakdown comparing Revelation 17–18 with Roman Catholic history more directly?
 

Jackson129

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Dec 14, 2018
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#40
It's not the same thing at all. They are opposites. One the beast is dead when it is in fire and in one the beast is alive when in fire.
No one or "thing" is actually dead when it gets cast into the lake of fire. When it comes to death there is no death only life. Heaven or the lake of fire.