Revelation 13 Earth Beast
To understand the interpretation of this beast, read the
material below the picture and also see the Prophetic Rules of Interpretation in the Main
Menu above.
Who is this earth beast that rises up out of the earth and yet is unlike the majority of other prophetic beasts which rise from the sea? Many interpretations have been proposed, but most of them have fallen short of identifying it properly because they don't use all the clues available and usually don't understand the identity of the power that came before - the sea beast.
For the first clue to its identity, one must determine when this earth beast power arose in history. Consider that John saw it rise up out of the earth after he was given the explanation of the body of the sea beast. We know from history that the sea beast was given power for 1260 prophetic days, or 1260 literal years. Based on the identification of the sea beast as the combined power of the Roman Church with the leaders of the natons, we can know that the 1260 prophetic days began in 538 and ended in the year 1798. Therefore, this strongly suggests that the earth beast must arise near to the year 1798.
Another clue to its identity is how it acts - its behavior. John said that this beast had horns like those of a lamb. He did not say that the beast itself was like a lamb and, as a matter of fact, did not say anything about what the beast itself looked like so we have no information to go on from that except that it arose from the earth. The two horns were the part of this beast that to him resembled a lamb. This resemblence is significant because in the Bible, the lamb is a commonly used symbol for Jesus (see John 1:29). This suggests that these two horns were to resemble Christ in their behavior. That does not mean a perfect resemblance, of course, but the purpose here is to present a contrast of the behavior of the sea beast that came before and to the later behavior of the earth beast when it begins to speak as a dragon.
The sea beast was a persecuting power because it made war against the people of God, whereas this earth beast power is the opposite, meaning it is not a persecuting power with respect to people's religious beliefs. It respects those beliefs and allows individual choice (see Revelation 13:14 and note that the people are being persuaded to make the image beast, which implies a choice about doing this). The contrast between the two beasts presented by the behavior of the sea beast and the behavior suggested by the two lamblike horns of the earth beast shows that this is true.
Another clue is found in the construction of the earth beast, that is, how it represents the history of this power. The earth beast had two parts that were mentioned so has a two phase history that follows the pattern shown in Daniel:
- the body
- the lamblike horns
The Miller Principle from the rules of interpretation informs you that the body of a beast represents the first phase of its history while the two horns represent the second phase of its history. Of course, if there were several heads, then the heads would represent the second phase of its history and the horns would represent the third phase. But the earth beast shows only a two phase history because it consists of a body and the two horns.
What this tells you is that during the second phase of its history, this power is divided into two parts, which either can be complete divisions that are entirely separate or else represent divisions within the same power. The clue to whether it is divided into two separate powers or two powers within the same power is the fact that this beast is spoken of in Revelation 13 as if there are two cooperating powers working together as if they are part of the same beast, instead of two separate powers that have completely separated. Therefore, the two horns represent two divisions within the same power.
It says that this power will speak as a dragon. This is like the sea beast before it, which was empowered by the devil and had his power, authority, and seat. The sea beast came into existance when the Eastern Roman Emperor gave the pope the power to be head bishop over all bishops in Christian lands and the power to prosecute heresy. Thus, this power used civil authority to persecute for "crimes" against the church - heresy. This was instigated by Satan (who is not the owner of the nations but can influence them). The combined power of the Church with this legal power of the state was then used to persecute.
A political power "speaks" by creating and enforcing laws through the civil legal process. A religious power speaks by creating and enforcing church laws and doctrines. Thus, the talking horn in Daniel 7 spoke great things against God, so this means it created church laws and doctrines that were contrary to God's revealed will. And through its influence and control over the kings of the earth, it was able to enforce those laws through the civil authorities.
To speak as a dragon then is to create laws that Satan wants passed rather than the type of laws that God wants. God wants people to serve him from a free choice. Satan only wants people to serve him, whether by fear, choice, terror, apathy, or whatever. As long as you don't serve God, he is happy. And if he can get laws passed that force you to not obey God, that is all the better for him. He does not care about the reason you have for not obeying God, only so long as you don't obey God is all that matters to him. Therefore, this power will speak as a dragon by passing laws that are contrary to God's laws and require you to disobey God. The question, of course, is which of God's laws will it target?
One other characteristic that is important is this: it arises from the earth, meaning that it arises where there are very few people and no major, large organized nations to oppose its rise. Remember that the desert represents a prison, whereras waters represents peoples, nations, languages and multitudes, so the earth must represent neither the desert nor the waters. This means any power arising on the earth must not be in prison and must arise where there are few people, no significant nations, no significant language barriers, and no large multitudes in place to oppose its rise to power. Revelation 17:15 says "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues," is the basis for understanding the waters. The desert is based on Revelation 17:3, 8 and 20:1-3, 7 by comparing the prison to the abyss (bottomless pit in some versions) and the wilderness to the abyss. In this comparison, it should become clear that the wilderness is the same as the abyss, both of which are symbols of a prison.
So, what we know about this power is as follows:
- this power arises about 1798
- it arises is an area that has few people and no major, large organized nations to oppose its rise
- sometime after the beast itself arises, it is eventually is divided into two different branches entirely within the same power
- the two horn powers do not persecute based on religious beliefs but rather respects those beliefs and allows freedom of choice (some of the lamblike characteristics)
- at some point in the future after the two horns are created, they (the two horns) eventually undergo a change in their behavior and begin to speak as a dragon, which means they become a persecuting power just like the sea beast before it through the creation of laws that bring about persecution
- becoming a persecuting power means the two horns must combine together to form the persecuting power known in the Bible as the image beast (a beast made like the one before it or a mirror image copy of another one). Since the sea beast was empowered by the dragon and spoke through legal power, for this earth beast to speak as a dragon means it too forms an image beast, one that does exactly the same thing as the sea beast that existed before it that clearly spoke as Satan wanted it to. The fact that it is an image beast tells you that its behavior is like the sea beast.
That is quite a bit to know from the few things John told us, but it is enough to tell us who this power is. What power arose somewhere around the end of the 1260 days (1798) in an area where there were not many people and no large organized nations to oppose its rise, and was subsequently divided into two powers within the same power which respected the religious beliefs of people and allowed freedom of choice? There is only one such power: the United States of America.
Now, you may say that the United States was not divided into two powers within the same power. But, it was. Here are the facts of history:
The body of the earth beast represents the United States just after it became a nation by a treaty with Great Britain that was signed in 1783. For a few years, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. During this time, there was no persecution in the United States, but nevertheless, the powers of church and state were not legally separated. God does mark things by the decrees and laws that men pass for dating things with regards to the prophetic beasts. See the rules of interpretation for the rule called the Decree Transition Principle for more information about this. Most states had their own legally authorized state church, perhaps with the exception of Rhode Island.
After about 4 years, the Federal Government decided that the Articles of Confederation had proved inadequate for the task. The Federal Government could not do its job. Consequently, the federal government asked the states to amend the Articles of Confederation. The men who met in the city of Philadelphia to do this task decided that amending the document was insufficient, so set about writing an entirely new Constitution. The result of their efforts was the current Constitution of the United States government.
The new Constitution was ratified by the states and put into force of law on March 4, 1789. Once the new Constitution was ratified by the states, the first order of business for Congress under the new Constitution was to amend it to include a bill of rights, an action which had been agreed upon by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphya. Among the 10 bills of citizers' rights was the First Amendment which stipulated that Congress, among other things, could not make any laws respecting a religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. What this did, in effect, was stipulate that the church and state were to operate separately. Nowhere in the Constitution does it give permission for the church to dominate or control the government, and the First Amendment prohibits the government from involving itself with the churches. By prohibiting Congress from making laws regarding religion, this should have the effect of preventing the government from giving the church the power to prosecute heresy. Click here for a summary of the details of the history of how this all happened and the US Constitution.
By prohibiting Congress from giving churches the legal power to prosecute heresy, the law provided for a separation between the two powers so that they should not meddle in each others' affairs. Many argue that this was not the intent of the founders of this nation, but the actions of the founders speak louder than opinions voiced today. The founders framed the First Amendment of the US Constitution so as to prevent the government from giving the churches the right to legally prosecute heresy. They did this because they knew of the history of persecution in Europe under the power of the church and wanted to prevent that from happening here in America. The clause they put in is exactly what is needed to prevent this so long as the United States adheres to the basic principles of the Constitution. Therefore, how could they then not intend for a separation to occur under such a clear mandate in the Constitution? But some will continue to argue this and are determined to undermine this clause of the First Amendment. Without a doubt, they will pay dearly for this in the long run once they lose their own freedoms by their own hand. They will have nobody to blame but themselves for what is coming upon this country someday soon because they will fail to learn from history.
The two horns on the earth beast represent the time when church and state would be separated from one another and represents each of those separate powers. This time began March 4, 1789, when the current Constitution went into effect. Historically, this country has been governed by two powers, Protestantism (church - one of the two horns) and Republicanism (state - the other horn), ever since the current Constitution of the United States was implemented. Someday soon, the two horns will join to form the image beast when the government gives the churches the right to prosecute heresy. Terrible consequences will follow this choice, according to the Bible.
Here is an outline of Revelation 13:11-18 so that you may understand these verses about the earth beast and image beast more clearly:
| Verse Number | Revelation 13 Verse Text | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; | This beast follows the 1260 days of the sea beast so must arise about 1798. It comes up out of the earth meaning it is not in prison and not in a place where there are significant organized nations or peoples. Thus, warfare in a struggle against nations immediately around it is not significant (Britain was far removed from it). |
| 11 | and he had two horns like a lamb, | This refers not only to the time period when the two horns will have power but their description tells you about their behavior. The lamblike characteristic is that used for Jesus, so this is a relatively docile power, does not persecute like what came before or will come after, and respects religious beliefs. The two horns are a division within one power, which are identified as a religious Protestant horn and the political state horn. These horns began to have power in 1789 and will continue until the image beast is formed at the same time the beast of Revelation 13 returns to power. |
| 11 | and he spoke as a dragon. |
This tells you that this power will eventually become like the sea beast that came before it in history. It will legislate power for the churches to enforce church doctrine through the law just like the sea beast did and was empowered by the dragon to do so. This is a preview of the image beast time. |
| 12 | And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them who dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. | This is a quick summary of what is coming. The behavior described in this verse is that which the image beast will do once it is in power. The deadly wound was healed in 1800 when Pope Pius VII was elected to continue the name line of Pius, which nearly died out when Pius VI was taken captive and died in prison in August of 1799 in France. |
| 13 | And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, | This verse describes what is done to bring about the formation of the image beast. This behavior is done by the Protestant horn on the earth beast before the image beast is formed . This is a religious activity and has nothing to do with the atomic bomb as some have thought (including the author at one time). This refers either to the bringing down of fire from heaven in the manner of Elijah or else to the tongues of fire that occurred on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem in which the speaking in foreign tongues was done. The latter is much more probable because there is a false movement of speaking in tongues in this country that has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit of God, in spite of their claims to the contrary, and this movement in gaining in strength as time progresses. The reason this part of verse 13 is a religious activity is because verse 14 says that this power deceives people through the miracles it is able to do, while verse 13 tells about the miracles themselves. The only logical place for the false prophet to arise from is the Protestant Religious powers of the United States because the false prophet is connected with the earth beast through the miracles it is said to do in verse 14 and in Revelation 19:20. A false prophet is a spiritual person or power of some sort, and is not necessarily a single individual. Being a spiritual power almost certainly indicates that this cannot refer to the state horn of the earth beast. Calling this Protestant horn a false prophet is alluding to the fact that this power will claim to speak for God when in fact he has not sent them (see Jeremiah 29:8-9 for example). |
| 14 | And deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; | This is a refernce to the fire brought down from heaven. By means of these miracles, it is able to deceive those living on the earth. The beast itself cannot have yet returned at this point so this is an anticipation in the Bible that it will return soon. The reason the beast cannot have yet returned at the point of time represented in verse 14 is because in Revelation 17:12, the 10 horns receive their kingdom at the same time as the beast. The 10 horns are representative of the Protestant Religions who will receive their kingdom by receiving power from the state for prosecution of heresy. When the deceit by the Protestant horn is yet going on in verses 13 and 14 of Revelation 13, this event is yet future because the 10 horn receiving their power is the same as the formation of the image beast. The events described in Revelation 13:14 are just beginning and will build until the image beast is formed at the same time that the sea beast of Revelation 13 returns. |
| 14 | saying to them that dwell on the earth,
that they should make an image to the beast, that had
the wound by a sword, and did live. |
This clearly indicates a choice for the individuals to whom this power is speaking. Conisder that it says that they "should make". that is a choice. They don't have to do it, but can make the choice to do so. the image they are being persuaded to make is an image to the beast. If the first beast is the combination of the church with the nations, then the image to the beast would be a similar power, a combination of the Protestant Churches which run America and the United States government. The Protestant Horn again is the power which does this persuasion. This occurs before the image beast occurs. |
| 15 | And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, | Clearly the religious Protestant horn cannot give life to the image of the beast because it says it gives it power to speak, which means it can legislate. That is not possible for the Protestant horn to do. Consequently, this must be a function of the state horn of the earth beast. To give life to the image means to create it and give it power to exist as a legal entity. This occurs just as the image beast is being formed. |
| 15 | that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. | Here it enumerates the powers given to the image beast, that it should both be able to speak (to legislate as that is how powers do speak, by making and enforcing laws), and enforce worship of the image beast by giving it the power to enforce the death penalty against those who refuse to worship the image beast. To worship the image beast is to give allegiance to it, to obey its laws fully. The image beast will enforce these laws so enforcement of these laws refers to the time of the image beast that follows the two horns' time. |
| 16-17 | (16) And he causes all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark
in their right hand, or in their foreheads: (17) And that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. |
This action is most likely taken by the image beast, though it is not impossible that the state horn of the earth beast sets this up by law. The enforcement of this will occur under the power of the image beast. |
| 18 | Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six. | 666 is the number of the beast, which means it can only be applied to the beast when the beast exists. Remember that the beast consists of the combination of the leaders of the Roman Church and the leaders of the nations through a legal decree that permits the Roman Church to prosecute heresy through the power of the state. Consequently, it is does not exist as of the writing of this paragraph (March of 2006), but it will exist someday soon and then the number can be applied. 666 is also a human number (the original Greek that is translated as "number of a man") but since it must also be the number of the beast, this cannot apply to man in general but must apply to the humans who are members of the beast, which in this case would refer to the leaders of the Papacy since it is they who lead the beast. The beast is a restricted set and cannot possibly include every human being on earth. The Beast Formula should make this abundantly clear. |
In essence, during the time when the two horns of the
earth beast are in power, the religious Protestant horn will
eventually instigate the people of the United States to petition
their political representatives to pass laws permitting the
churches to prosecute heresy. Once these laws are passed,
the earth beast's horns are combined and this creates the
image beast, which is then in power from then on until the
end of the world. The 10 horns of the scarlet beast of Revelation
are the 10 representative leaders of the Protestant churches,
so when the Protestant Churches of America combine with the
United States government to form the image beast, this is
the same as the 10 horns receiving their kingdom which they
receive by receiving power to prosecute heresy (persecute)
from the civil authorities.
Now, the original beast restricted religious liberty, so
likewise the image beast will do the same. Religious persecution
will eventually come to America, for whenever churches receive
power to prosecute heresy, persecution will inevitably
follow because it is guaranteed that somebody, somewhere,
will not be able to agree with the beliefs of the church
in power at the time. That
will be a sad day for the world when this occurs for America
has long enjoyed liberty of conscience and has tried to
promote freedom for all the world's people. Many in foreign
governments look to and are guided by decisions made in
our courts and Congress. When religious liberty is taken
away from the United States of America, many in foreign
lands will find that their rights to religious liberty
will also be taken away. America, the guiding light of
liberty, will bcome the promoter of darkness and the force
of oppression against freedom of conscience.
When this
happens, it will seem perfectly natural because of events
which lead people to choose such a path for the United States. If you
want to know more about one reason why this happens, see the section
on Muslims in Prophecy under Revelation in the Main Menu .
Note that an image beast will also be a beast with real
powers to do and accomplish things and is the successor power
to the earth beast. However, evidence suggests that this image
beast will be copied all over the world by other governments.
The most stern warnings in the Bible are given in Revelation 14:8-11. This warning applies to worship of the image beast in the New World and worship of the returned sea beast in the Old World. Why is this so important and what does it mean?
To worship the beast or its image is to give your alliegance to these powers and to obey their dictates. This means that just before the end of the world, the beast and the image beast will both have the power to prosecute heresy as they define it. This means that anyone not prosecuted for heresy will be obeying the beast or its image, which means such persons will NOT be obeying God. God has promised that anyone obeying the beast or its image will be subjected to the seven last plagues and will die in hell fire in extreme torture. He gives this warning because he wants people to understand how seriously he takes the events that are about to happen. He also wants them to know how much he dislikes it when churches use the state to enforce church teachings. He does not want us to give support to such a system. God wants service from free choice, not force. To force is to do it Satan's way which God will never do.
For this reason, when you hear people promoting the idea of having the churches enforce their beliefs through the government, run as far away from such ideas as you can because this will lead to the mark of the beast for anyone cooperating with such things. You most definitely do not want the mark of the beast. But, in order to avoid it, you have to know what it is first. After all, if you are traveling and don't know that a bridge is out on a certain road, you just might fall into the river.
That has actually happened to more than one person. An example of this is that just a few years ago one rainy night in the Los Angeles area, a retired but rather well known actor (the actor who played Zorro on the Disney series by that name) and his wife were heading home in the mountains. Unknown to them, a bridge on the way to their home had been washed out by flooding. They did not see it until it was too late. Unlike in the movies, there was no ramp ahead of the bridge to catapault them safely across to the other side of the bridge. Both the actor and his wife were killed when their car fell into the riverbed below.
Many do not realize that God also has a mark by whom the world will know his people. The devil is not the only one with a mark. This is a controversy between both God and Satan and the stakes are high. God's mark is discussed with the sealing of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and is the counterpart of the mark of the beast. To learn more about the mark of the beast, please click here to learn about the sealing of the 144,000. That article also deals with the mark of the beast.
To avoid the mark of the beast, you must learn to know Jesus. Spend time with him daily. He says that is the primary criteria for entry to heaven (Matthew 7:23).