Many people
mistakenly assume the fourth
beast in Daniel 7 and the
leopard-like beast in Revelation
13 are the same beast. This
understanding is incorrect for
five reasons:
- The
leopard-like beast does
not exist prior to 1798. When
the leopard-like beast
rises from the sea, John
saw that one head on the
leopard-like beast
“seemed to have had
a fatal would, but the
fatal wound had been
healed.” (Revelation
13:3) For reasons that
will be presented later,
this head represents the
Roman Catholic Church.
History records that the
Catholic Church lost its
authority over the kings
of Europe during the
French Revolution
(1789-1799). The pope was
exiled to France in 1798
and the authority of the
church was badly wounded.
Now notice that when the
authority of the church
was badly wounded. Now
notice that when the
leopard-like beast rises
from the sea, the deadly
would is healed. This
specification forces the
appearing of the
leopard-like beast after
1798 because the
fatal wound cannot be
healed before the deadly
would is inflicted!
- Earlier in
this study we learned
that various parts of a
beast’s anatomy may
or may not be functional
when a beast is
introduced. This feature
exists with both the ten
horns on the fourth beast
in Daniel 7 and the seven
heads and the ten horns
on the great red dragon
in Revelation 12. Even
though Daniel saw ten
horns on the fourth beast
in Daniel 7 when it rose
out of the sea, history
verifies that ten horns
did not function in a
prophetic sense until 600
years later. The
leopard-like beast has a
similar feature. John
describes the
leopard-like beast as
having seven heads when
it rises to power and “one
of its seven heads seemed
to have had a fatal
wound, but the fatal
wound had been
healed.” (Revelation
13:3)
Some people read
Revelation 13:3 and conclude that
the leopard-like beast must have
existed prior to 1798 because one
of the heads on the beast was
wounded in 1798, but this is not
the case. Read the specifications
carefully! When the leopard-like
beast rises from the sea, it
comes up from the sea with a head
that “seems to have had a
fatal wound, but the fatal wound
had been healed.” Did you
notice the past perfect tense?
The past perfect tense means
action completed in the past. For
example, suppose I saw a new
automobile roll off the assembly
line and I said to you, “The
car had a bad tire, but the tire
had been repaired by the time it
had rolled off the assembly
line.” Does my
statement require the auto to be
complete and functioning before
the bad tire was discovered or
does my statement mean the bad
tire was discovered and repaired
before the auto rolled off the
assembly line? The latter meaning
is the intent of my statement.
The papacy existed
before 1798, but the
leopard-like beast is not the
papacy. The papacy is only one
part of the leopard-like beast. The
leopard-like beast has seven
heads – seven religious
systems, not one! One head is
described with precise language
that eliminates any wiggle room
on its identity. Daniel 7
indicates that the little horn
power was empowered for 1,260
years (A.D. 538-1798). Daniel
7:11 states that the little horn
power would recover from its
wound, and again speak boastfully
after 1798. History confirms this
prediction and recent history
affirms the recovery of the
papacy. Today, the Roman Catholic
Church is again a respected world
power. The church has diplomatic
relations with 170 nations! God
used precise language in
Revelation 13:3 for two reasons.
First, God wants everyone to know
that the wounded/healed head
represents the Roman Catholic
Church. If we can identify that
one head is a religious system,
then the remaining six heads must
be religious systems, as well.
Second, God wants everyone to
know that the rise of the
leopard-like beast has to occur
after 1798, because the language
specifically states that the
wounded head is healed
when the beast rises from the
sea.
3.
Notice that the leopard-like
beast has body parts that belong
to a lion, a bear, and a leopard,
and it so happens that the first
beast in Daniel 7 are a lion,
bear, and a leopard. Furthermore,
the fourth beat in Daniel 7 has
ten horns when it rises from the
sea and so does the leopard-like
beast! Many people have noticed
these similarities and then make
a big mistake. They leap to the
conclusion that the fourth beast
in Daniel 7 and the leopard-like
beast in Revelation 13 are the same
beast even though the “head
count” is different –
one in Daniel and seven in
Revelation. This leap in logic is
not supported by the facts or the
specifications. The fourth beast
in Daniel 7 and the leopard-like
beast in Revelation 13 are very
different beasts, and even more
importantly, they live at
different times. Even though they
share certain similarities, they
are separate and distinct
entities.
Consider the
similarities between the two
beasts: Both beasts persecute the
saints of God for a specific
amount of time. The fourth beast
in Daniel 7 persecuted the saints
for 1,260 years. (Daniel 7:25)
The leopard-like beast will
persecute God’s people for
forty-two months during the Great
Tribulation. (Revelation 13:5)
These two time periods cannot
be the same time period. If they
were, then the leopard-like beast
would have to rise to power along
with the fourth beast in 168 B.C.
Of course, this is not possible
because John documented that when
he saw the leopard-like beast
rising out of the sea, the deadly
wound had been healed!
(Revelation 13:3)
4.
The Bible predicts, “All
inhabitants of the Earth will
worship the [leopard-like] beast….”
(Revelation 13:8, insertion
mine) There has never been a
historical time when “all
inhabitants of the Earth”
worshiped the fourth beast of
Daniel 7 and there never will be
a future time. The fourth beast
in Daniel 7 was given power to
rule over Europe for 1,260 years.
The leopard-like beast will be
given power to rule over the whole
world for a literal period of
forty-two months. If the
forty-two months in Revelation
13:5 and the time, times and half
a time in Daniel 7:25 represent
the same time period, then an
insurmountable problem is
created. It would mean that both
beasts are powerless during the
Great Tribulation because their
empowerment is limited to the
Dark Ages (A.D. 538-1798).
5.
Finally, the fourth beat in
Daniel 7 and the leopard-like
beast in Revelation 13 have ten
horns, but they are not the same
ten horns. The ten horns on
the fourth beast in Daniel 7
represent ten tribal nations
divided and conquered Rome by
A.D. 476. The ten horns on the
leopard-like beast represent ten
kings who will be alive at the
Second Coming! (Revelation 13:1;
17:12-14; Daniel 2:42)
Consider the math:
The Bible predicted that three of
the original ten horns on the
fourth beast in Daniel 7 would be
uprooted and destroyed by A.D.
538. History affirms the
fulfillment of this prediction.
Then, the little horn (the
papacy) became the eighth horn
and it ruled over the remaining
seven horns until it received a
deadly wound in 1798. Therefore,
the fourth beast in Daniel 7
ended up having eight horns for
1,260 years.
Notice the
difference. When the leopard-like
beast rises to power during the
Great Tribulation, it will have
seven heads and ten horns –
not eight horns! The ten horns on
the leopard-like beast represent
ten kings who will be alive at
the Second Coming! The angel told
John, “The ten horns you
saw [on the leopard-like
beast] are the ten kings who
have not received a kingdom, but
for one hour will receive
authority as kings with the [great
red dragon] beast. They have
one purpose and will give their
power and authority to the [great
red dragon] beast [the
devil]. They will make war
against the Lamb [at the
Second Coming – Revelation
16:14-16], but the Lamb will
overcome them because he is Lord
of lords and King of kings –
and with him will be his called,
chosen and faithful
followers.” (Revelation
17:12-14)
Bottom Line: When
we synthesize these five issues,
it is impossible for the fourth
beast in Daniel 7 and the
leopard-like beast in Revelation
13 to be the same beast. There
are too many similarities between
them, but they are two different
creatures living in two different
ages. They share several
parallels, which helps us
understand the future more
clearly because the behavior of
the leopard-like beast will
mirror the behavior of the fourth
beast in Daniel 7. For example,
consider these parallels between
the two beasts: both beasts
persecute God’s saints; both
beasts are empowered for a
specific amount of time; both
beasts will be destroyed with
fire at the Second Coming; both
beasts are blasphemous; and both
beasts emphasize the role of the
papacy (that is, the papacy
derives its ruling power from
each beast). Papal power will
soon flourish during the
forty-two months granted to the
leopard-like beast just like it
flourished during the 1,260 years
given to the fourth beast.
