From some of the description of the beast, it sounds like an artificial intelligence (AI). A robot. I remember back in the 90's people worked on those talk programs so it could be something like this. Those programs where you talk with the PC.
One of the descriptions, is that it's an idle that can move and talk. The other one, is 'I was dead, but live.' It's an dead idle that looks alive.
Have you heard about how Egypt used to have a cat ruling it? They made the cat ruler. They could make an AI the ruler of a kingdom. However, I think it's not advanced enough yet.
I think the bible also says, that it shoots fire out of it's mouth. A dragon figure maybe?
Think about the idea of setting up an AI as the ruler, as it would not become changed. It would always follow the 'program'. It certainly would be an idea someone would try.
