As mentioned previously, the seven-headed beast of Revelation 13 has been interpreted by some to be the Roman Empire with its first seven emperors: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero and Vespasian (excluding the three emperors who rose to power for a short time between Nero and Vespasian. It’s not a perfect fit, since three are subjectively eliminated from the interpretation, but this is one of its interpretations. A more widely accepted but also a modern interpretation is that the seven-headed beast represents seven resurrections of the Roman Empire (1-Justinian; 2-Charlemagne; 3-Otto the Great; 4-Charles V; 5-Napoleon; 6-Hitler), with the seventh and final resurrection being yet future.[1] There are other variations of the above, but in essence these are the interpretations of most modern end-time enthusiasts. What can be said of these things?
According to Revelation 13:1, John stood upon the sand of the sea, and he saw a beast rise out of the sea. This same beast had seven heads and ten horns with crowns upon its horn, and upon the heads was written the name of blasphemy. The sand on the seashore represents the great number of people in the nations (Revelation 20:8), and the sea represents the wicked of the land: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). The sea, therefore, represents the loud cries of those in rebellion (Isaiah 17:12).[2] It is out of such a context as this that the beast arises (Revelation 11:7; 17:8),[3] and it was out of such a context that Daniel’s four great empires arose (Daniel 7:2-3).
This beast appears to be somewhat like the dragon of Revelation 12, but the two are different, at least in some respects. The beast of Revelation 13 also bears a resemblance of the beast of Revelation 17, but they, too, are different in some respects. Nevertheless, all three beasts have seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:3), so in other respects they appear the same. What can be said of these things?
If we are able to believe what the Scriptures say about Scripture more than what men interpret history to say about Scripture, then we may get a different picture from this chapter of the Apocalypse than what we have been told. In the words of Sir Author Conan Doyle: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”[4] In the context of the beast of Revelation 13, how could we apply this concept? Well, the bear’s feet Revelation 13:2 probably represent the second kingdom of Daniel 7, while the leopard’s (body), no doubt, represents the third kingdom of Daniel 7, but the mouth represents the first kingdom. These have been interpreted to be Babylon (first kingdom), Persia (second kingdom) and Greece is the third kingdom, and I have no reason to take issue with this interpretation.
Nevertheless, the Apocalypse presents them differently from what we can see in Daniel 7. Only parts of these kingdoms are mentioned in Revelation 13, and not at all in Revelation 12 or 17. Notice that the dragon of Revelation 12 has the crowns upon the heads, while the beast of Revelation 13 have the crowns upon the horns. Clearly, the 10 horns represent the same 10 horns mentioned in Daniel 7 for the fourth kingdom, and most scholars interpret the fourth kingdom to represent Rome. Horns represent power, so they point to the power of the Roman Empire in some manner, in the context of Daniel’s fourth beast being Rome.
What this tells me is without the power of the horns, or the authority vested in the horns by the dragon, the beast would have no power or authority over “all tribes, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:7), which included the power to persecute the saints. It would be impossible for the beast of Revelation 13 to be Rome, because, in the context of the Apocalypse being fulfilled not long after it was written in the first century AD (Revelation 13:1, 3; 22:10, 12, 20), the beast was destroyed in the lake of fire (Revelation 19:19-20; cf. 20:10, 14).[5] Yet, Rome was not destroyed in the first century AD.
Well, this is what we know to be impossible, according to the Scriptures,. What is left to consider? The only Biblical entity left that was, indeed, destroyed in the first century AD (70 AD) was Jerusalem, the Temple and the Jewish nation in her apostate, unbelieving condition. No matter how improbable this is to believe, this **must** be the truth, if the Apocalypse was fulfilled in the first century AD. This understanding should become clearer in succeeding studies.
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[1] For an example of this interpretation, see the Trumpet.
[2] See my previous study: The Birth of the Beast of Revelation 13.
[3] The sea or the “troubled sea that cannot rest” is not The Bottomless Pit, per se, but it is due to the efforts and cries of the wicked (viz. the troubled sea of Isaiah 57:20 and the rebellious people of Isaiah 17:12) that the beast arises out of the bottomless pit.
[4] Quote from: The Sign of Four; chapter 6, page 111; a mystery about the investigations of Sherlock Holms (1890).
[5] For studies on Jesus’ Second Coming being cir. 70 AD see my numerous studies linked to my AD 70 Eschatology page.
Smoodock's Blog 
10 responses to “The Beast with Seven Heads”
Greetings Eddie. There is just too much research and learning in these Revelation blogs for them to just disappear into the ether. Therefore I would like to compile them into a single file so I can study them in more detail. Do you already have them compiled? If not do you mind if I do? It would be for my own study anyway. (My church might run me out on a rail if I tried to propagate it!)
Best
Dave
Hi Dave, and thank you for asking, but I don’t mind whatever you want to do with my studies, as that pertains to your own private studies. Concerning a list, you can click on the Archives tab at the top of the page and you can get a linear list of all my published studies from the most recent (top) to my very first study several years ago (bottom). For what you want, you’ll have to scroll down to my first study in the Apocalypse, which is: “The Apocalypse and the 70 Weeks Prophecy”. On the other hand, you could also click on the ‘Apocalypse’ tab on the top of the page and you will be taken to a list of seven links to 7 pages, which contain my complete study, including my unpublished titles, but only the published studies have live links.
Thanks again for your interest in my studies. Lord bless you.
Greetings Eddie. Enjoying the study!
You may have seen it already, but Josephus presents an list…
“…appointed a great many generals for the war.
1) Joseph also, the son of Gorion, and
2) Ananus the high priest, were chosen as governors of all affairs within the city,
They also chose other generals for Idumea;
3) Jesus, the son of Sapphias, one of the high priests; and
4) Eleazar, the son of Ananias, the high priest; they also enjoined
5) Niger, the then governor of Idumea,
Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of the country; but
6) Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho, as was
7) Manasseh to Perea, and
8) John, the Esscue, to the toparchy of Thamna; Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus. But
9) John, the son of Matthias, was made governor of the toparchies of Gophnitica and Acrabattene; as was
10) Josephus, the son of Matthias, of both the Galilees. Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those parts, was put under his command. ”
Wars 2.20.3-4
The 4th kingdom had to follow Greece…and had the 2 parts. Maccabees 1 and Josephus tell us the next kingdom was the Hasmonean Dynasty (the Maccabeans)/Herodian Dynasty….Israel/Edom.
You will find this link fascinating, I hope. It is a list compiled about the leadership of the Zealot movement. There were 7…
https://archive.org/details/TheZealotsInvestigationIntoTheJewishFreedomMovementInThePeriodFromHerodIUntil70A.D/page/n355
(it’s on page 332, if the link doesn’t take you directly to the page)
Keep up the good work. Best regards.
Bill
Greetings Bill, and thank you for the link and your continued interest in my studies. To be honest, though, I don’t see the Hasmonean Dynasty as part of Daniel’s fourth Kingdom. In fact, I see the Herodian Dynasty as still part of Daniel’s third kingdom. I see Herod as the fourth head of the third beast. The fourth kingdom must be Rome, in my opinion, and each of the four beasts are different from one another. I have read about the 10 generals mentioned by Josephus, although I never listed them as you have done in your comment. What significance, if any, do you see that these ten have in the Apocalypse?
Hi Eddie,
Those 10 generals selected at the beginning of the war around AD 66 were the 10 HORNS (representing governing or military power) of the Rev. 17:12 Scarlet Beast. (Which is NOT the same Beast as the Roman Sea Beast of Rev. 13, or the other Rev. 13 Land Beast.). As of the time John was writing, the ten kings”/horns had not received a kingdom as yet, but they would all SIMULTANEOUSLY receive power for ONLY ONE HOUR, (the same “hour” in Rev. 18:10 & 17 that it took to bring Babylon/Jerusalem down). This power of the 10 “kings”/ horns was AS IF they were a king (even though they really were NOT kings in actuality) because they were each granted power over a certain region or group of cities to help establish defenses against the anticipated Roman invasion.
They were united in purpose to begin with (“These shall have one mind…”) and to start with, they all gave their power and strength to serve the Scarlet Beast, which was the newly-independent kingdom of Israel started by the Zealot uprising.
This Rev. 17 Scarlet Beast had been brought to existence once before by the Maccabean “Zealot” uprising against Antiochus Epiphanes, when Israel’s hard-fought victories won an approximate 80-year period of independent freedom as a nation. That’s when the Scarlet Beast “WAS” in existence. Then this Scarlet Beast “WAS NOT” in existence when Pompey subjugated Israel to Rome and put them under tribute.
Later, the Scarlet Beast then re-emerged in AD66 due to the Zealots throwing off the yoke of Rome by attacking the Antonia fortress and the Roman troops at Masada, and stopping the daily sacrifice for Rome and the emperor. At that time the Scarlet Beast “IS” once more in existence, just as Rev. 17:8 talked about this fluctuating state of the Scarlet Beast that “WAS, and IS NOT, and yet IS”, once it arose from the abyss in AD 66. It was “ABOUT TO ARISE” from that abyss (Rev. 17:8) when John was writing Revelation in late AD 59 to early AD 60.
These 10 generals selected to defend Jerusalem and the major cities against the anticipated war with the Romans were also referred to in Zechariah 13:5-6. “And the GOVERNORS OF JUDAH” (“ captains” in the LXX) “shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.’ In that day will I make the governors of Judah” (“captains of thousands of Judah” in the LXX), like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.”
This passage in the context of Zechariah 12-14’s prophecy for Israel is describing the conditions surrounding the AD 70 siege of Jerusalem and the period immediately preceding it. It was a time when Jerusalem would independently “dwell again by herself” (as the LXX phrases Zech. 12:6) after the AD 66 Zealot uprising.