The Beast (Revelation)

This article uses texts from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article. (April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Beast (Koinē Greek: Θηρίον, Thērion) may refer to one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 12-13 describes these three beasts as follows:

• (1) The dragon (later revealed in the text to be Satan)^[1]
• (2) The beast of the sea (commonly interpreted as the Antichrist)^[2][3] and
• (3) The beast of the earth (later revealed in the text to be the False Prophet).^[4]

However, many people have different beliefs about the meaning of these beasts.

In Revelation 13:1–10, the beast of the sea rises "out of the sea" and is given authority and power by the dragon. It persecutes God's people in the 2nd part of Revelation 13. To buy and sell, everyone is required to have its name or number on their forehead or right hand (Rev 13:16-17). It speaks blasphemous words against God, will rule the world for 42 months (Revelation 13:5-7), and is described as resembling a leopard, a lion, and a bear— which are three of the animals in Daniel 7. It suffers a fatal head wound which is miraculously healed, bewildering the world's population and causing many to worship it.

In Revelation 13:11–18, the beast of the earth, later known as the false prophet, comes "out of the earth," exercises all the authority of the Sea Beast, forces everyone on earth to worship the Sea Beast, and convinces the people, through signs and wonders, to make an image of the Sea Beast.

In their fight against God, the Sea Beast and the False Prophet ally with the Dragon to persecute the "saints" and those who do not "worship the image of the beast [of the sea]" and influence earthly kings through three unclean spirits to gather for the battle of Armageddon.^[5] These two beasts are ultimately defeated by Christ and thrown into the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation 19:18–20, while Satan, the dragon, is imprisoned in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. After being released from the bottomless pit after the millennial reign, Satan deceives the nations one last time, ultimately ending in Satan being defeated and thrown in the lake of fire.