THREE seven-headed monsters are described in the book
1. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads. (Revelation 12:3)
2. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a
beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his
horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 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)
3. So he carried me away in the spirit unto the
Wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)
Many Christians have found these symbolic beasts
incomprehensible. But God intended the book of Revelation to be
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the
words of this prophecy. (Revelation 1:3)
Fortunately, the Bible is its own expositor. Let us
examine the first seven-headed monsteróthe dragon beast. God does not
leave us in the least doubt about who is represented by this beast.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. (Revelation
Satan uses human instrumentalities to pursue his
nefarious schemes. The following prophecy refers to Godís church as a
pure woman and Christ as her child.
The dragon stood before the woman that was ready to be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation
At the time of Christís birth, King Herod, a vassal
of the Roman Empire, was ruler in Judea. In order to destroy the baby
Jesus, whom Herod feared as a potential rival, he had all males under two
years old slaughtered.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise
men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that
were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof. (Matthew 2:16)
Christís life was saved only because God intervened
by warning Joseph to flee with Him to Egypt. But Satan had done his
utmost, using the human arm of the Roman Empire, to destroy Christ before
His ministry commenced; thus the seven-headed monster of Revelation 12
illustrates the fact that all counterfeit religions, which inevitably
oppose Godís truth, are motivated by Satan. In this sense, the dragon of
Revelation 12 is a key to our understanding of all the beasts of prophecy.
Many have wondered why God uses beasts to symbolize
nations; yet such persons do not question the use of like symbolism in the
secular world today. A few years ago, when there was a major border
dispute between China and the U.S.S.R., Asiaweek magazine printed a
cover illustration depicting a fierce bear and an enraged panda fighting.
Only a most ill-informed reader would have needed to be enlightened
concerning which nations were represented here; likewise, countries
represent their sporting teams in symbols of animals and birds. In Rugby
League, the Australian team is called the Kangaroos and the New Zealand
team, the Kiwis. In Rugby Union, the British team is referred to as the
Lions; the South African team, the Springboks; and the Australian team,
the Wallabies. Americans frequently use the eagle as the symbol of their
nation. France uses the cockerel, and Thailand the elephant; thus God, in
His wisdom, uses a form of symbolism well understood by mankind.
The second seven-headed monster has a more specific
meaning, although still motivated by the demonic power of Satan. Notice
that this beast was a combination of the features of a leopard, a bear,
and a lion. These characteristics undoubtedly refer to the symbolic
animals of the great prophecy of Daniel 7. In that prophetic outline, the
lion symbolized Babylon; the bear Medo-Persia; and the leopard Greece.
This second seven-headed monster evidently possesses the evil
characteristics of the enemies of Godís truth and His people.
The second monster is identified by the description of
its activities and the duration of its reign.
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him forty and two months.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name,
and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto
him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given
him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:5Ė7)
The period of papal dominance during the 1260 years is
here reiterated. Each Jewish month consisted of 30 days; thus 42 months
equals 1260 days. As previously shown, a prophetic day is symbolic of a
literal year. Papal Rome dominated Europe and, later, much of the world
for precisely 1260 years. Since the year a.d. 538 (when the Ostrogoths
were driven out), the Roman emperor permitted the pope to implement
Emperor Justinianís edict of a.d. 533. This move made him the head of
all the churches. Papal authority was maintained in Europe until the pope
was made prisoner by Napoleon in 1798.
Let us note the other identifying characteristics
cited, including the persecution of Godís people and blasphemy against
God and His tabernacle. Daniel prophetically attributes these precise
characteristics to the little-horn power which also represents the Papacy.
And he shall speak great words against the most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times
and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and
the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)
Note that the blasphemy against god and the persecution
of His saints function together during a specific period of timeó"time
and times and the dividing of time." These time periods literally
refer to one year, two years, and half a yearóa total of three and a
half years. The Jewish year consists of 12 months each of 30 days; thus a
Jewish year was 360 days in length. Simple multiplication of 360 by three
and a half provides the figure of 1260 prophetic days or literal years,
precisely identical to the time specified in Revelation 13.
All three monsters possess ten horns. The book of
Daniel once more assists us in unfolding the mystery of these symbols, for
the fourth beast of Daniel 7 also possessed ten horns. Daniel represented
the Roman Empire by the symbolic fourth beast.
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings
that shall arise. (Daniel 7:24)
Revelation 13:1 records that each of the ten horns
possesses a crown. The Roman Empire fractured into the ten kingdoms of
Western Europeóthe Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi,
Burgundians, Heruli, Lombards, and Anglo-Saxons. Today, these tribes
largely constitute the European nations. The presence of the ten horns
indicates both the location of the Papacy in Europe and the powerful
support given it by the nations of that continent during the era of its
The thirteenth chapter of Revelation, as we have seen,
also depicts a lamblike beast with two horns which gave power to this
second monster after it had received the deadly wound. (Revelation 13:11Ė17).
We shall see more of this beast later.
The third seven-headed monster (of Revelation, chapter
17) is greatly significant to this present era. This beast also has ten
horns, but they are uncrowned. And a whore sat upon the beast.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup
in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and
upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation
This woman of ill-fame represents the evil counterfeit
religion of Babylon, in various guises, which has viciously oppressed Godís
people. The religion of modern Babylon was derived from the religion of
ancient Babylon which also formed the basis of the religions of
Medo-Persia, Greece, pagan Rome, and papal Rome. Although Babylon was
utterly destroyed many centuries ago, her religion remains very much alive
in all the apostate faiths that are based upon its false dogma.1
This woman can justifiably be seen riding upon each of
the beasts which represent the great forces in opposition to Godís pure
truth. This red-colored seven-headed monster is merely another aspect of
the same satanic power. Its identification will be discovered in the
For a more complete discussion of this matter, see Adventism Proclaimed
by the same authors. Write to Hartland Publications, P.O. Box 1, Rapidan
Virginia 22733, U.S.A.