The Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns, Part 1: Symbolism and Characteristics

Thanks for taking the time to watch today’s video, which deals with the infamous Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns. This is a subject that I’ve been meaning to cover for a while, as the imagery of this prophecy is certainly one of the more fascinating that we see in the bible.

Because this is a more involved topic, I’m going to break this down into several parts, with this obviously being part one. I anticipate this being a 5 part series, give or take, as examining the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns also involves understanding Mystery Babylon.

By the way, I will make videos on other subjects that will be uploaded in between each of the 5 parts to this series. So part 2 might be a few weeks down the line, after this first part is uploaded. Roughly speaking, it will be a once-per-month schedule for this series.

Bible Prophecy

All of us certainly know that the best approach to understanding bible prophecy is to let the bible interpret the bible. And in the case of this particular prophecy, the bible actually gives us very specific clues to help us identify the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns.

And that’s extremely important, because understanding this specific prophecy not only gives us a solid foundation on prophecy as a whole, but it will be a safeguard against being misled by faulty interpretations on other related subjects.

Meet the Beast

Most of us know that the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns is mentioned at the beginning of the 13th chapter of Revelation. In fact, chapter 13 of Revelation is probably THE most talked about section of prophecy in the bible, covering everything from the Antichrist and the False Prophet to the Mark of the Beast, and more.

However, the Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is actually discussed in 3 different chapters in the book of Revelation – chapter 12, chapter 13 and chapter 17. And each of these 3 separate chapters give us important clues to help us identify the 7 heads.

In addition, much of the imagery that we read about in Revelation also connects back to several prophetic passages in the Old Testament, especially Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which further helps us to identity the 7 heads of the Beast.

Before I start, I originally planned to cover several false interpretations of this prophecy, however debunking them would have greatly increased the length of these videos. That’s certainly not something I want to do, as those who tune into my videos usually get bored after about 5 or 10 minutes.

So, this video series will ONLY cover what the bible teaches us about the Beast with 7 Heads and Ten Horns. In the coming weeks and months I’ll do separate videos that specifically deal with the false interpretations surrounding this prophecy.

So, without further ado, let’s get right into this.

PART ONE: Symbolism and Characteristics

Who does the Beast symbolize?

As will be more clear in a few moments, understanding exactly WHO the beast represents will give us some initial insight into the identity of the 7 heads. The first mention of the Beast with 7 heads in Revelation is in chapter 12, verse 3:
“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.”

Verse 9 gives us more details, and tells us specifically what entity is being discussed:
“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

As we see, the Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is referred to as a great red dragon, and this dragon is then identified as Satan himself. We’re also told that he is thrown down to the earth, along with his angels.

Based on Revelation chapter 12, verses 3 and 9, our first question is answered: the Beast is symbolism for Satan. Furthermore, this beast was thrown down to the earth, so our interpreting the 7 heads and 10 horns must be done in that context.

What do the 7 heads symbolize?

Our first clue about what the 7 heads symbolize was also given to us in Revelation 12:3, which described crowns being upon the heads of the beast. This would imply that whatever the heads symbolize, it must involve rulership or authority.

And we get confirmation of this in Revelation chapter 17, where in verses 9 and 10, we read:
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”

The key to these two verses is the word mountain, because the bible often uses the word mountain to symbolize kingdom, as we see in these verses:

“… the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills … ” – Isaiah 2:2

“… the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” – Daniel 2:35

“… I am against thee, O destroying mountain …” – Jeremiah 51:25

Thus, letting the bible interpret the bible, the word mountain in verse 9 of Revelation 17 should be understood as referring to kingdoms. Therefor the seven heads represent seven kingdoms. To further solidify that this is the correct interpretation, verse 10 tells us that there are also 7 kings, which clearly go hand-in-hand with the 7 kingdoms.

And remember that we just talked about how Revelation 12:9 told us that the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns was thrown down TO the earth? Using that as a guide, we can now see that these will be 7 satanic kingdoms on earth, with 7 earthly kings heading them up.

Thus, the 7 heads of the beast are symbolic of BOTH 7 kingdoms and 7 kings.

To sum up the symbolism being used:

1. The beast symbolizes Satan himself being thrown down to the earth
2. The 7 heads symbolizes 7 satanic kingdoms AND kings here on earth

Are there specific characteristics to these 7 Kingdoms?

To hone in on what these 7 kingdoms would be, we need to ask if the bible tells us anything specific about the characteristics or attributes that they may possess. The key is to understand that these 7 Heads are growing OUT of the Beast, thus these 7 kingdoms and kings will share the traits and attributes of the Beast.

So, a better question might be, what does the bible tell us about the attributes or traits of the Beast? As it turns out, the bible does indeed describe three specific character traits of the Beast. In the first two verses of Revelation 12, we read the following:

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

The woman symbolized in these verses is Israel, and the child she is about to deliver is Jesus Christ, as is made clear in verse 5. Verse 13 tells us that one of the character traits of the Beast is to persecute the woman, which again, is symbolic of God’s nation Israel:

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”

Verse 17 tells us a second aspect or trait of the Beast with 7 Heads: it makes war with the remnant of Israel’s seed, and with those who have the testimony of Jesus.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The third trait of the Beast is that he blasphemes God:

“… and on his heads were blasphemous names.” – Rev 13:1

“… a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” – Rev 17:3

So, we can see that the Beast has three main attributes: he persecutes Israel; he looks to make war with those who are the remnant of her seed, and who have the testimony of Jesus; and he blasphemes God. Thus the 7 kingdom and kings will also share these 3 traits.

So, the first major clue as to the identity of the 7 Kingdoms is that they will do three things:

1. They will persecute Israel
2. They will be at war with the remnant of Israel’s seed and those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ
3. They will blaspheme God

Whatever the identities of these 7 kingdoms are, they will all share these 3 characteristics.

When did these 7 kingdoms exist?

A second way to hone in on the identity of these 7 kingdoms is to try and ascertain when they existed. In Revelation chapter 17, verses 10 and 11, the bible does give us the time frame for when these 7 kingdoms and their associated 7 kings existed, or will exist, and this is another major clue as to their identity.

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”

So, at the time John is given this prophecy, 5 of these kingdoms no longer existed, and the 6^th existed as of the time of John’s writing. After John’s time a 7^th kingdom and king will arise, but only for a short time. The 8^th kingdom/king is OF the seven.

To sum the major clues about the identity of the 7 kingdoms:

1. They share specific characteristics such as blaspheming God, persecuting Israel, and making war with the remnant of Israel’s seed and those who have the testimony of Jesus.
2. They existed at specific times in history: the first five before John received his visions in Revelation; the sixth existing concurrently with John; and the 7^th and 8^th kingdoms to come after John’s time.

This is the end of part one, and in part two I’ll get into specifically identifying the 7 satanic kingdoms and kings. Until then, thanks for watching, and if you care to leave a comment, please do. As always, kindly be respectful of others in any comment you leave, especially to those with whom you disagree. I’ll talk to you guys soon. ♦