Is the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 one of the beasts or horns in Daniel 7?

Question

There are strong links between the sea beast of Revelation 13 and the beasts of Daniel 7:

1. The beasts in Daniel 7 also come out of the sea (Dan 7:3).

2. The sea beast has the same number of heads and horns that the four beasts of Daniel 7 have in total, namely, seven heads and ten horns. (The leopard has four heads (Dan 7:6) and the fourth beast has ten horns (Dan 7:7).)

3. The sea beast has characteristics of three animals (a lion, a bear, and a leopard) and the first three beasts in Daniel 7 are explicitly like those same three animals (Dan 7:4-6).

4. The dragon, which gave to the sea beast “his power and his throne and great authority” (13:2), is the fourth beast in Daniel 7. This statement is argued as follows:

   • In Revelation 13:2, the sea beast receives something from each of four beasts. Since three of them are explicitly three of the four beasts of Daniel 7, it follows that the fourth beast in 13:2 (the dragon) is the fourth beast of Daniel.

   • Daniel 7 does not say what type of animal the fourth beast is but describes it as “dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong” (Dan 7:7). “Dragon” is a good name for such a beast.

These links imply that the sea beast is part of or a continuation of the series of beasts in Daniel 7. What evidence exists that the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 is one of the four beasts or seven heads or ten (or 11) horns in Daniel 7?

Answer 1

Yes, there are strong links between the beasts of Daniel ch.7 and the sea beast of Revelation ch.13. You rightly wonder if the sea beast "is part of or a continuation of the series of beasts in Daniel 7." There is a need to build upon Daniel ch.7, using its information as a foundation for the fuller prophecy that takes us right to the Day of Judgment.

Rev. ch.13 reveals two global concepts with which the adversary deceives the whole world, just before Christ returns to lawfully recover his throne and dominion from that usurper. There is the beast out of the sea, and the beast out of the earth, but you only ask about the sea beast. You have already detailed many similarities, however, it is the differences between Daniel and the Revelation visions that are important. Daniel saw a series of four figurative beasts in succession. Revelation shows an amalgamation - where one beast out of the sea has leopard, bear, and lion characteristics. It is empowered by the dragon, so cannot be the dragon (as you point out). Now I will give points from a book dealing with this - selected points, as there are many pages of exposition.

"The beast of chapter 13 incorporates features from all the beasts successively revealed in Daniel chapter 7, besides having features of its own. Such a composite implies all those powers envisaged by Daniel depicted manifestations of that concept for the succeeding times then present. But the beast of Revelation 13 answers to time itself... This one beast evidently incorporated the separate and distinct four beasts seen by Daniel...

John sees one beast, though with seven heads. Of these 'heads', Daniel had envisioned four; although in his vision each of the four heads - the third being the exception in appearance - belonged to one or another of the four distinct beasts in succession. John perceives a deeper principle: the heads might have come up one after the other, they may have appeared diverse, but behind them all lay one single concept; the beast.

The vision in Revelation is that in which each of Daniel's allegorical beasts in turn become equally incorporated into the one great power lying deeply beneath every single historical materialization of its age-long strife for dominion...

[Rev. 17:10,11] But none saw the beast - the eighth - of whom these seven were but the visible successive manifestations... [John] knew that the seven 'heads', or 'kings', were connected to the one vast underlying body of power reaching over all time, and active throughout history...

The metaphorical beast represents the means by which the figurative dragon - which signifies the devil, or Satan - seeks to attain his end, that is, to grasp nd hold the throne of world dominion. This he does through what John depicts as a series of monstrous figures, the primary one of which is called the first beast...

The mind of the dragon is to gain the crown rights properly due to Christ. He will have the crowns. In the graphic imagery of Revelation, he will gain his end by the power of the beast, that is, the ten crowned horns. This indicates complete power, as do seven heads perfect intelligence, not in relation to heaven, but in relation to the earth. The beast [out of the sea] will yet again reign completely with the name of blasphemy... Mankind as a whole remains - and will remain - wholly oblivious to what actually takes place in the realm of that which is invisible, spiritual, and visionary. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp.307-328 John Metcalfe

In summary, I would express this as the sea beast of Revelation having been in existence even before Daniel's visions, and continuing till Rome, where Daniel's visions stopped. The Roman power suffered the deadly wound (at the cross) but has wondrously revived with multiple horns and diadems. Those equate with worldly (political) facets, allowed to continue 42 symbolic 'months', persecuting and overcoming the saints, even till now.

Much nearer the time of Christ's return, the second earth beast arises - appearing oh-so-religious and lamb-like, but it also blasphemes God by deceiving the world into false worship with signs, such as fire from heaven. It kills those who don't worship the image of the first beast. Those who do give that false, blasphemous worship, have the mark of the beast.

Answer 2

Yes, the beast of Revelation 13 is related to the beasts in Daniel.

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. ² 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 13:1-2, KJV)

As noted in the question, the leopard, the lion, and the bear were each beasts which preceded the fourth beast in Daniel (see Daniel 7:3-6).

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. (Daniel 7:7, KJV).

Both the beast of Revelation 13 and the fourth beast of Daniel 7 is said to have "ten horns." A horn represents a power, or a king. As an example, consider the goat in the next chapter of Daniel.

Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. (Daniel 8:8, KJV)

The "great horn" of the "he goat" aligns prophetically with Alexander the Great, upon whose demise his kingdom was divided among his four generals, which split the territory among them.

So in both Revelation 13 and in Daniel 7, the ten horns represent ten kings, or we might even say kingdoms. Daniel provides this explanation in the verses which follow.

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:8, KJV)

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. (Daniel 7:24, KJV)

But heads also represent kings or kingdoms (think of a head of state). So it is interesting that in Revelation 13, the beast with the ten horns had seven heads. As Daniel 7:24 mentioned, three of those kings were to be subdued--leaving but seven of the original ten, hence the "seven heads."

As the beast of Revelation 13 represents the same power as the fourth beast of Daniel 7, we see the parallel in Revelation for the "mouth speaking great things" in Daniel.

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. (Revelation 13:5, KJV)

The additional detail provided for this beast (governmental) power in Revelation is sufficient to make its correct identification.

Answer 3

The allusions in Revelation 13:1-2 to Daniel 7 are perhaps the strongest allusions to the OT one would find anywhere in the book of Revelation. This strong link between Revelation's beast and the beasts of Daniel 7 demands that we identify Revelation's beast as part of the series of beasts, heads, and horns of Daniel 7.

(Beasts, heads, and horns all symbolize kingdoms (Dan 7:17). For example, the four horns of the male goat in Daniel 8:8 are interpreted as the four kingdoms into which the empire of Alexander the Great was divided after his death, and these four horns as equivalent to the four heads of the leopard in Daniel 7.)

In other words, we must identify Revelation's beast as part of the series of kingdoms described in Daniel 7.

And since the dragon and the scarlet beasts also have seven heads and ten horns – just like the beast from the sea – these three beasts are of the same species, meaning that all three of them are facets of the sequence of kingdoms described in Daniel 7.

As the question indicates, the dragon in Revelation is equivalent to the fourth beast in Daniel 7. Furthermore, the traditional and conservative interpretation of the fourth beast is that it is the Roman Empire. Consequently, Revelation’s beast receives “his power and his throne and great authority” (Rev 13:2) from the Roman Empire.

Daniel 7 indicates that many horns (several kingdoms) will grow out of (will follow after the demise of) the fourth animal (Dan 7:7, 24). These kingdoms, therefore are the descendants of the Roman Empire. Since Revelation’s beast receives his power, throne, and great authority from the Roman Empire, it is implied that Revelation’s beast is one of the fragments of the Roman Empire that resulted from the fall of Rome. This conclusion may be confirmed as follows:

1. Revelation’s beast has diadems on its horns (Rev 13:1), meaning that it exists during the time of the horns of Daniel 7.

2. Revelation’s beast receives (Rev 13:2) a body like the leopard (Greece), feet like the bear (Medo-Persia), a mouth like the lion (Babylon) and “power … and great authority” from the dragon (the Roman Empire). Since the beast receives something from each of these four animals, it comes to exist in time AFTER all four of these animals, namely, in the time of the horns of the Roman Empire.

We are able to be more specific: The main character and purpose of Daniel 7 is the evil 11th horn that grows out of the fourth beast. An analysis of that chapter will show that the only reason that Daniel 7 mentions the four animals and the other ten horns is so that the readers would be able to identify this 11th horn.

We are able to be more specific and identify Revelation’s beast as that 11th horn, argued as follows:

(a) Antichrist

If we use the term Antichrist to refer to the main opponent of God on earth, both the 11th horn and the beast are described as the Antichrist. For example:

• Both are described as the main power that opposes God.
• Both blaspheme God and persecute His people (e.g., Dan 7:21, 25; Rev 13:6-7).
• Both are only destroyed when Christ returns (Dan 7:26-27; Rev 19:11, 20).

(b) Time, times, and half a time

Revelation's beast was given "authority to act for forty-two months" (Rev 13:5). Similarly, in Daniel, "the saints of the Highest One... will be given into his (the evil horn's) hand for a time, times, and half a time" (Dan 7:25). As discussed elsewhere, the 42 months refer to the same period as the time, times and a half.

This is only a preliminary identification of the beast based on the first two verses of Revelation 13. To identify Revelation’s beast more specifically, we need to identify Daniel's 11th horn. For the full article, of which this is a summary, see here.

Answer 4

A common view is that the beasts of Revelation 13 are Behemoth (the beast from the land) and Leviathan (the beast from the sea), the creatures described in Job 40 and 41.

Behemoth is described by God in placid terms in Job 40. It is powerful and exacts tribute. It hides among the reeds, meaning it hides its true intent. In Revelation 13 it is described as resembling a lamb but speaking like a dragon. That may mean that it retains the trappings of Judeo-Christian tradition but has sunk into apostasy and idolatry. It maintains a facade of law and order, but those laws are increasingly unjust.

Leviathan, on the other hand, is described as chaotic. It has no shred of allegiance to Christian tradition. In ancient religious writing, the sea is the source of chaos, death and destruction. It also stands for people in general. Thus anything that arises from the sea arises from the sea of unsaved mankind.

Many theologians associate the fourth beast of Daniel's sequence with Rome. If you consider all the empires with overseas empires that sprang from Rome (including America, its grandchild), the count is ten, and they collectively conquered the whole world, with the exception of a handful of nations, but even those nations were not unscathed. Those empires are Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, France, England, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy and America. Part of Denmark was arguably a vassal state of Rome; Denmark was part of the later Holy Roman Empire. Russia and Greece are excluded as they have their own place in prophecy, Greece being the third beast. Other empires to arise within Europe did not acquire overseas territories. The world's uncolonized lands are (according to one Internet list): Liberia, Ethiopia, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Iran, Nepal, Tonga, China, and possibly North Korea, South Korea and Mongolia. However, part of China was "leased" by England, Japan was nuked and occupied by the USA and had a new form of government imposed upon it. The US also occupied South Korea for a long time, Liberia was settled by free slaves from America and Italy briefly held Ethiopia. So pretty much the whole world was conquered by those ten horns from the beast.

Curiously, if you go through the prophets, you often find sets of beasts listed. The lists keep changing. By comparing them all, it is clear that there is a master list.

• Daniel 7: lion, bear, leopard, terrible beast.
• Revelation 13: leopard, bear, lion
• Jeremiah 4:7, 5:6: lion, wolf, leopard
• Lamentations 3:10-13: bear, lion, arrows
• Hosea 13:7-8: lion, leopard, bear
• Isaiah 11:6-7: wolf, leopard, lion, bear, lion again (excluding the meek lamb, yearling, cow, ox)
• Habakkuk 1:8: leopards, wolves, eagle
• Zephaniah 3:3: lions, wolves
• Ezekiel 22:18: copper, tin, iron, lead, silver. (Note that bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and lead is similar in weight to gold. Similar metallic list to Daniel, reordered.)
• Ezekiel 22:25-27: lion, wolves

Habakkuk's eagle is interesting, as it ties to Daniel 7:4, where "the first was a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle". Then the "wings were torn off". Daniel 7:7 associates the metal iron with the fourth beast. (I imagine that some will see in this prophecy a reference to America. England is symbolized by the Lion and America through its revolution was torn off from that Empire, and has the symbol of an eagle.)

I go to great lengths in the chapter "Timeless?" of my book Peace, like Solomon Never Knew to use textual clues (like references to morning and evening) to supply a time sequence to the various beasts and corresponding metals. The conclusion is that the "terrible beast" is synonymous with most prophetic references to wolves, and Rome's creation myth was that Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, were suckled by wolves. Thus the prophets used a subterfuge of synonyms to conceal the fact that many prophecies were against Rome.

Hopefully these scriptures can serve as a sourcebook for further study of the beasts.

I am currently researching a theory that the book of Job has the master list of empires. Each "negative speech" plus God's chapters on Behemoth and Leviathan match an empire, in chronological order. A few prophetic references to metals (bronze for Greece and iron for Rome) pop up, but not the beasts. This is the correspondence:

1. Antediluvian Anarchy: Job 1. Satan's first attack is chaotic, with bands of thieves, a tornado and lightning strikes. It matches the time before the flood, a time of anarchy.
2. Nimrod's Babel: Job 2. Job's health suffers, matching the decline in lifespans following the flood. Nimrod is described in Genesis as the first "mighty man" in history, founder of the first human empire.
3. Egypt: Job 5-6. This chapter of Job has many references to the Exodus plagues.
4. Israel/Judah: Job 8.
5. Assyria: Job 11.
6. Babylon: Job 15.
7. Medo-Persia (Achaemenid Dynasty): Job 18. Has clues pointing to the death of Cambyses II.
8. Greece: Job 20. Describes the death of Alexander the Great.
9. Rome: Job 22.
10. Islamic Empires: Job 25.
11. Behemoth: Job 40.
12. Leviathan: Job 41.

In Peace, like Solomon Never Knew, I devote an entire chapter to Job 20. It has about twenty prophetic details that tie it to the setting, symptoms, death and burial of Alexander the Great. I am now digging up comparisons that tie those chapters to the other empires.

The upshot of all this is that you need to find the right scaffolding, then attach prophecies from all over the Bible to that scaffolding so that the many details reinforce one another. Finding a non-contradictory solution that incorporates all the evidence is not easy.