To understand the book of Revelation, it is important to compare it with the Book of Daniel. Taken together, the symbolism comes to life.
Daniel shows us that empires, or civil powers, are pictured as beasts. Daniel 7:17, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” This type of representation is still common today. For example, the United States uses the symbol of an eagle. Russia is represented by a bear.
When comparing Revelation 13 to Daniel 7, we notice a similar description of a beast with 10 horns.
Revelation 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.”
Daniel 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.”
From these descriptions, it is clear that Daniel and Revelation are describing the same beast. Both accounts also provide a time frame for the persecuting power of this beast.
Revelation 13:5, 7 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months” (1260 days)…And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Daniel 7:21,25 “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. And he shall speak great words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time (1260 days).” In both accounts, the beast blasphemes God and persecutes the saints for 1260 days.
History shows the fourth universal empire that controlled the land of Israel was Rome. In the dream God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar as described in Daniel 2, the giant image had feet made of iron mixed with clay. This pictures the Pagan Roman Empire transitioning into the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy. So, Papacy is the “beast” in both Daniel 7 and Revelation 13.
God permitted the Papacy to jail, torture, and execute many saints of God whom they labeled as “heretics.” These 42 symbolic months, or 1260 symbolic days, are the same as mentioned in the preceding chapter and also foretold by Daniel 12:7 as 3½ times. (3½ times or years = 42 symbolic months = 1260 symbolic days.) A symbolic day represents one year, as seen in Ezekiel 4:6. This then points to a period of 1260 years of Papal domination. Its control of the civilized world began when Roman Emperor Justinian granted supreme power to the Papal system. It ended in 1799 when French forces took Pope Pius VI a prisoner to Paris, where he died. The power of this beast has not been so great since, and the various horns (kingdoms) that once defended her no longer submit to the Papacy’s rule. The dominion has been taken away (Revelation 17:16).
The image of the beast is an entity that mirrors the beast and is first described in Revelation 13:11-14: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”
The very fact that another power could arise suggests that the power of the first beast was greatly reduced. From the years1800 to 1846, great numbers of new sects arose which could not have occurred while Papay’s power was in full control. Protestants were fast splitting up into fragments. Established Protestant sects wanted to stop the growing desire for individual thought. But personal Bible study was the very thing God wanted so that people should be free to establish their faith in the Word of God. Sincere believers need not honor doctrines from councils, the Pope, or the head of the English Church. Their only authority should be the Word of God.
The Church of England and the Protestant churches saw the power of the Papal argument, that it is the Church, and that all others were heretical. The various denominations, therefore, felt it necessary to establish their own standard of doctrine to define orthodoxy. The authority of this standard would give prestige to their teachings, and bring the combined influence of all, against any further advance in knowledge or truth. This was done by the formation of the “Evangelical Alliance” in 1846. The principal object of the Alliance was to “Promote between the different Evangelical denominations, an effective co-operation in the efforts to repel common enemies and dangers.”
The Evangelical Alliance was following Papacy’s tactics, and in that Alliance, created the “image” of the beast. Thus, it was a copy, or image, of the Papal institution. It has been merely an image, without life or power, for almost 180 years.
Very few denominations have sprung up since that Alliance determined doctrine and what was not evangelical, regardless of whether it was scriptural. Like Papacy, it has made a clear and distinct separation between clergy and laity.
Today, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) unites 600 million evangelicals globally. It is the largest organization of evangelical Christian churches with nine regional alliances, 129 churches, and over 150 organizations. The Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom, its founding member, is part of the World Alliance.
At the close of this age, the image will receive life (Revelation 13:15-18), vitality, energy and power. No longer will it stand as a mere image. We expect it to become as active as the beast. Moreover, it will not be antagonistic to the beast, but sympathetic, and attempt to influence all to either worship the beast or the image. It will teach that all must be in harmony with either Catholicism or the Protestant system, of which now, the World Evangelical Alliance is the primary organization. Today the image is waiting to receive the vitalizing breath.
