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St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City by vtarnini
Who Are the Two Beasts of Revelation 13?
By Author Eli Kittim
A “Beast” Represents An Empire
In the Bible, a “beast” represents a kingdom or an empire (see Dan. 7.3 ff.). Dan. 7.3 reports that “four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.” In Dan. 7.4 we read: “The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it.” So, although it initially appears as an empire, it ends up looking like a human being, probably signifying its leader.
•••••
The Danielic narrative continues. Then a second beast appears, but this one is not depicted as a human being. Dan. 7.5 reads: “Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, ‘Arise, devour many bodies!’ “ This is certainly not a human being. Dan. 7.6 goes on to describe a third “beast” that is also nonhuman, given that it has four heads: “After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it.” The “dominion” that “was given to it” signifies that it’s some type of a political, economic, or military power and certainly not an individual!
A “Horn” Signifies A King
Dan. 7.7 clearly demonstrates that these beasts represent “kingdoms” or “empires” because it also mentions that the fourth beast had *ten horns,* signifying “ten kings” (see Rev. 17.12: “the ten horns that you saw are ten kings”). Daniel 7.7 declares:
“After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns.”
It’s in Dan. 7.8 that a little horn (a king) appears, in addition to the 10 earlier horns, and this king is said to be a human being. But he arises out of the fourth beast (or empire). Dan. 7.17 gives us the exact interpretation:
“As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth.” However, Dan. 7.23-24 is even more precise by referring to the fourth beast as “a fourth kingdom on earth”:
“As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth that shall be different from all the other kingdoms; it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them. This one shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.”
Thus, in Daniel 7, a “beast” represents a kingdom, while a “horn” signifies a king. Of course, the last king of the final empire will be the one we call the “Antichrist,” who will rule on earth for 3 and a half years (i.e. during the time of the Great Tribulation):
“He shall speak words against the Most High, shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his power for a time, two times, and half a time” (Dan. 7.25).
The First Beast of Revelation 13
Revelation 13.1 reads:
“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads” (cf. Rev. 12).
This is obviously not a description of a human being but of the final empire on earth (cf. Dan. 2; Rev. 12; 17.9-15; for further details on why this is the final empire on earth, see https://www.instagram.com/p/BYr5b5HgBq1/?igshid=1ml02os1or44x Click “more” to view the successive empires).
Revelation 13.3 goes on to say:
“One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast.”
Question: is the whole earth following a king or a kingdom? It’s quite possible that the Bible has conflated the leader with his actual kingdom, as in Dan. 7.4 where the first beast is transformed into a human being. The evidence for this is that Rev. 13.3 uses the personal pronoun “his” (Gk. αὐτοῦ) in the phrase, “his mortal wound was healed,” which is also found elsewhere in the chapter.
And even though a “beast” is typically an empire, and a “horn” a king, nevertheless this chapter suggests that the so-called first “beast” is both a person and an empire.
•••••
The beast will be granted authority for 42 months (Rev.13.5). Rev 13.7 suggests that the beast will persecute the “saints,” war against them and come out victorious, creating a religious apartheid in the process, and that authority will be given to him over every nation and every language on the planet for three and a half years. Rev. 13.3 suggests that the beast’s resurrection from the dead is what stirs great amazement and causes “the whole earth” to follow him, and ultimately to worship him (v. 8).
The Second Beast of Revelation 13
First off, it’s important to note that, unlike the first beast, the second beast is never explicitly referred to as a person (e.g. “he”) in the Greek text. No wonder that the NRSV descriptions of the second beast are always translated as “it.” And given that we are told that “It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf” (Rev. 13.12), it’s reasonable to assume that it represents some kind of political/religious entity. This explains why it performs the socioeconomic and military functions as well as the public relations of the first beast. And since we know that Biblically a beast represents an empire, it seems quite plausible that the second beast is a reference to a nation. Rev. 13.11 refers to the second beast as ἄλλο θηρίον (Gk. “another beast”), which is suggestive of another nation. A further distinction is that the second beast came “out of the earth,” in contrast to the first beast that arose “out of the sea.”
•••••
So, let’s review the descriptions of the second beast. Rev. 13.11 talks of the appearance of another beast. This one came out of the Earth (not the Sea); “it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.”
This could be a reference to an ecclesiastical monarchy, suggested by the phrase “two horns like a lamb,” that might be governed by 2 heads of state (i.e. 2 horns/kings, such as the 2 heads of the Vatican, Pope Francis and President Bertello [the Holy See and the Vatican City State], for example). In Rev 13.12, this enigmatic second “beast,” which is probably a political/religious institution, makes the inhabitants of the earth to worship the first beast due to the latter’s miraculous resurrection. And the second beast also makes great signs, so that even fire descends from the sky. Although this could be in the category of the miraculous, it’s probably a reference to a nuclear holocaust. At any rate, Rev 13.14 suggests that this second “beast” deceives the entire world through great signs and insists that an *image* be made to the first beast who was killed by some type of weapon yet miraculously came back from the dead. And, in Rev. 13.15, the *image* was animated and took on lifelike qualities. Those who didn’t worship it were to be killed. What is more, the second beast causes all to have a mark on their right hand or forehead (v. 16), “so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name” (v. 17). Rev 13.18 goes on to say:
“Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, vote the number of the beast; it’s a number of a human being, and his number is 600, 60, 6” (my translation).
Who Is the First Beast?
Obviously, the reference in Rev. 13.18 is to the first beast, not the second. And the solution to the riddle of his identity may be associated with the time-period in which he’s *voted into office,* that is, the time-frame during which his political party gains ascendancy. Thus, the triple-digit 666 could be a cryptic code of this particular time-period which might be deciphered and decrypted only through a sort of retrograde inversion or reversal: (i.e. “999”):
The year 1999 seven month,
From the sky will come a great King of terror:
To bring back to life the great King of Angolmois, (the Mongols),
Before after Mars to reign by good luck
(Century X, Quatrain 72)
“Nostradamus' most famous doomsday prediction warns future generations of a King of Terror descending from the skies in July 1999. This holy terror could be linked to the Third Antichrist,” writes John Hogue, an authority on Nostradamus! It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe who the Antichrist might be, but I will briefly mention what most eschatological studies indicate.
•••••
We are accustomed to think of the European Union as the Revived Roman Empire of Bible Prophecy, with a focus primarily on the Western rather than the Eastern leg of this Empire, which was supplanted by Russia after the fall of Byzantium in 1453. The Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, uses the phrase "Ρως Μοσοχ"----which seemingly stands for Ρωσία (the Greek word for Russia) and Μόσχα (the Greek term for Moscow)----in Ezek. 38.2 to identify the country from the far north that will head up a large coalition against Israel in the latter days (see Ezek. 38.15-16). Moreover, according to Josephus, a first-century scholar and historian, "the land of Magog," which is also mentioned in Ezek. 38.2, refers to the Scythians (Ant., bk. I, 6), and thus represents contemporary Russia. And although the "chief prince" of this nation is not explicitly mentioned as the Antichrist (cf. "the troops of the prince who is to come," Dan. 9.26), Ezek. 38 is quite suggestive in this regard, while clearly pointing to the Eastern leg of the Roman Empire! Most Bible prophecy experts agree that this is a reference to Russia. Therefore, the point I made earlier about 666 being a cryptic inversion of 999 has a great deal to do with the current leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who actually came to power in 1999!
What Is the Second Beast?
According to the undermentioned symbols of Bible prophecy, the second beast with “two horns like a lamb,” which is traditionally associated with the false prophet of Revelation, appears to represent the Vatican City-State, a Country in Europe and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church! Rev 17.1-6 reads:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk [the sacramental wine of the Eucharist?].’ So he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of whores and of earth's abominations.’ And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus [martyrs who were killed as heretics by the Catholic Church?].”
The symbolism of drunkenness “with the blood of the saints” coupled with the golden cup in her hand suggest not only the perpetual sacramental wine of the Eucharist but also the innumerable saints that were burned or killed as heretics by the Catholic Church. The specific colored attire of verse 4 also matches the Vatican dress code: for example, the purple cassocks worn by Bishops and honorary prelates, as well as the scarlet cassocks worn by members of the College of Cardinals. Moreover, the commingling with the kings of the earth (v. 2) is suggestive of the union of church and state in former times when the Catholic Church flaunted its power in Europe and controlled both countries and kings! She is also said to be “adorned with gold and jewels and pearls” (v. 4), an obvious description of the papal tiara (crown) that is adorned with gold and is heavily bejewelled with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. As you can see, the specific symbols generated in Revelation 17 match perfectly with those of the Holy Mother Church, a term that is often used to refer to the Roman Catholics Church!
Conclusion
Studies in Biblical eschatology suggest that the second beast is the so-called “false prophet” of Rev. 16.13:
“And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.”
This verse would strongly indicate that the false prophet represents a religious figure/institution. And the previous symbolism strongly suggests that it might be the Roman Catholic Church. After all, the term Antichrist doesn’t only mean “against Christ”; it also means “in place of Christ.” Similarly, the term Vicar of Christ (Lat. Vicarius Christi) means that the Pope is the”earthly representative of Christ” or acts “in place of Christ” (i.e. Antichrist)! Also, the second beast appears to be in collaboration with the first beast in controlling the world for 42 months (during the time of the Great Tribulation), as well as the one that causes all to take the latter’s “mark,” while killing all those who refuse. The Bible warns that those who take the mark of the beast will be eternally condemned (Rev. 14:9-10). So, the coded trilogy of 666 appears to be a reference to a person, to wit, the so-called first beast of Revelation 13. Astoundingly, most comprehensive Bible-prophecy studies suggest that this figure is most likely the leader of Russia!
•••••
So the so-called “whore” (πόρνη) of Revelation 17.1 (the second beast) appears to be the Papacy, which is sitting on the first beast, while the “scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and . . . had seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17.3) represents the final superpower on earth, namely, Russia!
(For further details on this point, see https://www.instagram.com/p/BqRDTWHgOIQ/?igshid=fzgzeal7j94t
Click “more” to view the 10 kings).
•••••
However, later in the narrative, Revelation 17 reveals that Russia, despite its alliance, will nevertheless turn on the Vatican and destroy the Papacy, probably after it has accomplished its mission of promoting its leader:
“The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (Rev. 17.16).
•••••
So, let’s answer this paper’s original question.
. . . . .
Question: Who Are the Two Beasts of Revelation 13?
Answer: The first Beast probably represents Vladimir Putin and Russia, while the second Beast seemingly represents the Pope (Vatican) and the Roman Catholic Church!
Should Our Prayers Be Offered to Jesus or to the Saints?
By Author Eli Kittim
The Communion of Saints
Intercession of the saints plays a crucial role in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. This practice is derived from the Catholic creed of the Communion of saints. The said doctrine holds that dead saints pass instantly into the divine presence and therefore have a sort of fiduciary power in helping others to procure favors and blessings. This is not unlike Shinto, a Japanese religion that incorporates the worship of ancestors. In fact, the Christian patron saints that act as intermediaries between God and humans, interceding for trade, agriculture, health, and so on, are reminiscent of the Greek pantheon of demigods (The Twelve Olympians) in which each deity was responsible for a particular aspect of life. In this sense, the church adopted a form of pagan polytheism. The specific dedications and remembrances of saints in the Catholic, and especially in the Orthodox, churches have been highly developed to such an extent that the entire liturgical year is devoted to and structured around the so-called calendar of saints, in which each day pays homage to a particular saint(s) (i.e. feast day). Not to mention the ancient preoccupation with saints' relics and the lucrative pilgrimages that have been designed for such worship.
Do the Saints in Heaven Pray for the People on Earth?
Much to our dismay, saints in heaven don’t pray on behalf of earthlings. Rather, these martyrs pray for God to avenge their blood (Rev. 6.9-10 NRSV):
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of those who had been
slaughtered for the word of God and for the
testimony they had given; they cried out
with a loud voice, ‘Sovereign
Lord, holy and true, how long will it be
before you judge and avenge our blood on
the inhabitants of the earth?’
Similarly, “the prayers of the saints” in Rev. 5.8-10 are solely directed to Jesus, praising him for his extraordinary feats. They’re not about helping John Doe, back on earth, with his financial woes, or Jane Doe with her marital breakdown. Rev. 5.8-10 reads:
When he had taken the scroll, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
before the Lamb, each holding a harp and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to
open its seals, for you were slaughtered and
by your blood you ransomed for God saints
from every tribe and language and people
and nation; you have made them to be a
kingdom and priests serving our God, and
they will reign on earth.’
Incidentally, the so-called “saints” in Rev. 5.8 are not an elite, hierarchical class of people worthy of worship. That’s a misnomer. On the contrary, all who are *born-again* in Christ are called “saints” (cf. Rom. 1.7). Remember, not even angels are allowed to be worshipped in God’s kingdom (see Rev. 19.10), let alone departed spirits.
Is Praying to Saints Biblical?
Over against the intercessory prayer of saints is Deut. 18.11 which explicitly forbids those who consult the dead (cf. Isa. 8.19). That’s precisely why, in the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), the rich man’s intercessory-prayer request is denied!
Sometimes Catholic and Orthodox writers will point to Old Testament accounts in which patriarchs or prophets enlisted the help of an angel (e.g. Gen. 48.16; Zech. 1.8-11). But they fail to mention that the said angel is typically associated with the angel of the Lord, which is traditionally viewed by Christian commentators as the Pre-Incarnate Son (cf. Gen. 16.7; Exod. 33.14; Jer. 1.4). Furthermore, conversing with an angel is not the same as praying to an angel. Yet in defense of intercessory prayer of heavenly beings, Catholic writers often point to the Annunciation as a case in point. But again, Mary’s conversation with Gabriel does not involve an intercessory prayer request, nor an act of prostration or worship.
The Catholic commentariat has also presented several examples from the New Testament to make their point. For instance, they cite Rev. 8.3, namely, the prayers of the saints that rise up before God. However, the context of this eschatological verse is God’s wrath that is poured out upon the earth, not an answer to our prayers (Rev. 8.3-5):
Another angel with a golden censer came
and stood at the altar; he was given a great
quantity of incense to offer with the prayers
of all the saints on the golden altar that is
before the throne. And the smoke of the
incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose
before God from the hand of the angel.
Then the angel took the censer and filled it
with fire from the altar and threw it on the
earth; and there were peals of thunder,
rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an
earthquake.
Human Intercession versus Intercession of saints
The fact that there is a body of Christ (“a cloud of witnesses” Heb. 12.1) is not an invitation or a request to worship them. Catholic scholars have confused the issue even further. They cite various instances in the New Testament in which Paul commands Christians to pray for him (e.g. 2 Cor. 1.11). Or they’ll cite the example of Timothy who commands Christians to pray for one another (1 Tim. 2.1). However, praying “FOR” someone and praying “TO” someone are two completely different things. To pray “for” (or on behalf of) a living person is one thing. To pray “to” a dead person is quite another. In the first case, you’re simply praying *for* the living (human intercession) and asking God to help them in their time of need. However, praying *to* a deceased saint for help is a different matter altogether. Now, you are praying not to God but *to* a dead saint (Intercession of Saints) to help a living human being. As a result, the saints have gained so much power that they have become intercessors between heaven and earth. It’s true that Paul and Timothy instructed Christians to pray for the betterment of others. But that’s not the same as praying to dead saints for help, grace, and blessings.
Although Protestant denominations accept human intercessory prayer for the living (cf. Rom. 15.30), they deny the intercession of the dead on behalf of the living. Similarly, Reformed theologians acknowledge that the “communion of saints" comprise all who are in Christ, including the departed. Nevertheless, in their view, invocations of the departed spirits of saints constitute a transgression of the First Commandment (see Deut. 5.7): “You shall have no other gods before me.”
On the Importance of Developing a Personal Relationship with Christ
The Catholic and Orthodox mindset is that God is not in competition with his creation (Robert Barron), and that although Christ is humanity’s mediator via the cross (1 Tim. 2.5), he’s not necessarily accessible as our 24-7 prayer advocate on a minute-by-minute basis. He has partners and associates that work under him, much like a high-end law firm in New York. But the so-called “managing partner” (i.e. Law firm CEO) at the top is usually inaccessible. Hence the need for the intercessory prayers. They argue that turning to the saints for help is not in competition with Jesus Christ since God has many partners and friends and is the ultimate source of all living things.
But this represents a distortion of Biblical revelation. The multiple attestations of the New Testament are all about Jesus. They feature Jesus as the leading figure, who is the hero of the story, and without whom we cannot be saved. It is the story of the creator who enters creation. He is the one “through whom he [God] also created the worlds” (Heb. 1.2). John’s gospel attests of his divinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1.1). Paul declares: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2.9). And without the shedding of his blood there can be no New Testament, much less a church (cf. Heb. 9.17, 22). Phil. 2.10-11 concludes:
so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bend, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
In Mt. 28.18, the Matthean Jesus exclaims:
All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.
In Rev 1.8, Jesus is equated with God Almighty:
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’
says the Lord God, who is and
who was and who is to come,
the Almighty.
In Isaiah chapter 42 verse 8, God says:
I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I
give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
With Jesus’ extraordinary credentials and qualifications, why should we consult the spirits of dead men? The point is that Jesus is everything to regenerated Christians. He’s constantly on their mind. Born-again Christians are madly in love because of what Jesus has done for them, namely, he has made them *fully alive,* while their cup is running over with love, peace of mind, and perpetual bliss! Hence, there’s a fire of love for Jesus that burns inside every born-again-Christian’s heart. So, your focus should not be diluted on secondary figures and causes. Rather, your attention must be concentrated on Christ alone, if you are to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Rom. 12.2). That’s because there is only *one* mediator (not two or three) between God and humanity——“the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2.5). Therefore, when religion tries to seduce you into chasing after idols, you must run the other way.
Is the Intercession of the Saints Blasphemy?
Dr. Edward Sri——theologian, author, and prominent Catholic speaker who appears regularly on EWTN——wrote a paper entitled, “What Does the Bible Say about Praying to Saints?” The article concludes as follows:
How to Grow in Fellowship with the Saints
1. Pick a few saints that you want to get to know.
2. Read their writings and learn about their lives. Fill your mind with their stories and their example.
3. Talk to those saints, every day. Share your weaknesses with them and ask them to walk with you in your difficult times. Don’t just ask them to pray for you…invite them to be with you in every part of your life.
This borders on blasphemy. The point of Sri’s exhortation is that instead of developing a personal relationship with Jesus, we are encouraged to develop an intimate relationship with a beloved saint of our choosing. In other words, the aforesaid article is strongly urging people to devote themselves to someone other than Christ (in fact, a departed spirit) and to focus all their energies on the said saint. It is a clever, if not demonic, deception to remove our focus away from Christ under cloak of religion (2 Cor. 11.14):
And no wonder! Even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light.
——-
Cherub Angels overlooking the Baldacchino of St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
St. Juliana Falconieri
Inside St. Peters
“Christ’s Blood As Keys Of Heaven”. Álvaro Barcala, November 2020.
From my series of drawings “Wonderful Blood”
Matthew 16:19, Jesus says to Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven."
I think I was meant to feel like this trip was in my control , like if I had any idea of what I was doing but I just get so disassociated from everything. Nothing felt in my control other than my mind and that’s the last place I’d rather be . I hate being the subject of a fantasy I’m not aware of , I hate when people expect me to feel or react a certain way . I hate when I don’t feel the way I expect to feel. It’s just all wrong , and the worst thing is…even going to that beautiful country I still feel terrible and I doubt it changed my life . It was just a reminder , everything is just a reminder
Everything is a reminder , you’re a disappointment, you’re an embarrassment, you’re a watcher , you’re an angel - Sadly still Sænger
