The Image of the Beast
The Seven Headed Beast
As the title of this article implies, it is about 'The Image of the Beast'. To be more specific, the seven headed beast in Revelation that comes out of the abyss, and the image of the beast that arrives soon after.
“. . .And it stood still upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names. 2 Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to [the beast] its power and its throne and great authority. 3 And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration.” (Re 13:1-3)
“. . .while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived. 15 And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.” (Re 13:14-15)
Before we get into the actual meaning behind these scriptures, it is important that we shed light on the errors surrounding them that the Watchtower has perpetuated for decades, and still teaches to this day. To help us do this, we will use the Watchtowers own quotes to help identify the error.
So, let's begin with a few quotes from the Watchtower to help us understand what has been interpreted and see if it actually makes sense according to the scriptures.
*Watchtower 1988 6/1 p. 27 Part 8—The Long March of the World Powers Nears Its End **
"As the prophecy had stated, this eighth king “was” from 1920 until 1939. It ‘was not’ from 1939 until World War II ended in 1945. Then it ascended “out of the abyss,” reactivated as the League’s successor, the United Nations."
This quote from the 1988 Watchtower, June 1st edition, claims that the Eighth King, the last king to exist before Armageddon, came to power in 1920, and existed for nineteen years before going into the abyss, and then reemerges from the abyss in 1945. Essentially, the Eighth King comes to power, loses his power, comes back to power over a period of 25 years, and on two different occasions. The following quote referenced from the Watchtower tells a different story.
* Watchtower 1987 7/1 pp. 21-22 pars. 4-5 Divine Blessings for “the Ones Having Insight” *
"In 1914 the truth of their message was dramatically confirmed when the first world war broke out, and the “pangs of distress” foretold by Jesus began. (Matthew 24:7, 8) Nevertheless, their religious enemies used the war hysteria to persecute them until finally, in 1918, their preaching work was virtually stopped, and principal servants of the Watch Tower Society were unjustly imprisoned. This caused great rejoicing in some quarters. It also fulfilled the prophecy recorded in the book of Revelation: “And when they have finished their witnessing, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them.”—Revelation 11:7.
According to "Diving Blessings for "'the ones having insight"'(the title of that article), we are told in this Watchtower from a year earlier than the first one, that not only did the wild beast ascend out of the abyss in 1918, but also that the prophecy recorded in Revelation regarding beast ascending out of the abyss was fulfilled. Now ask yourself, if the prophecy was fulfilled in 1918, then how is it that it also is fulfilled in 1920 and 1945 according to the other article from the Watchtower?
Interestingly, the Watchtower essentially is teaching that the Eighth King receives the death stroke at Revelation 13:3. Yet, when we read the scripture, it is clear that one of the heads of the seven headed beast receives the sword stroke, and THEN the eighth king comes out of the abyss afterwards. There is nothing in scripture to suggest the eighth king ever loses power once he ascends out of the abyss, until Armageddon.
As we can easily see, the Watchtowers understanding has some errors in it that simply do not stand up to the scriptures when we examine what they say.
So what does this mean? If we are given several different dates as to when the beast comes out of the abyss, how do we know which, if any is the correct one?
Lets look to the scriptures and see what they teach us.
Seven Kingdoms
The seven headed beast of Revelation is the symbolic manifestation of the seven world powers that have held position over Gods people over the last five millennia. Starting with Egypt, each of these heads represented Satans system on earth, and each head represented a stepping stone towards Satans eventual plan of marking every, man, woman, and child with the mark of the beast. The Bible calls the heads mountains, and each head is king in its own right while it holds its dominant position on the beast.
“. . .The seven heads mean seven mountains...And there are seven kings. . .” Re 17:9-10
The seven heads/mountains/kings are in order of ascendancy:
- Egypt
- Assyria
- Babylon
- Medo-Persia
- Greece
- Rome
- Anglo-America
Many will already know this information about the seven headed beast, but regardless, we must start with what we already know as truth in order to expose the error in the current understanding. To correctly discern the bibles many patterns and prophetic foreshadowing, we have to begin with an accurate description of the first pattern, or else the rest won't fit it.
Regarding the eighth king that rises from the abyss, the WT has, just like the many different dates, misinterpreted the identity of this king because they don't have an accurate first pattern to compare it to.
“. . .And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” (Re 17:11)
Establishing a Pattern
To find an accurate description of the first pattern, we MUST consider the first seven heads of the beast.
Each of these seven heads were sovereign nations, and each of these nations had their own culture, their own people, their own customs and religious practices, their own gods, their own language, their own currency, and they all had their own border relatively speaking. This is a pattern, established throughout history, which is easy to identify and acknowledge as true.
Therefore, when John describes to us that one of the seven heads suffers a death stroke, but is revived, this head that is revived must also follow the preexisting pattern established by the previous seven heads throughout history.
“. . .And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration.” Re 13:3
What the WT has done is analogous to putting the square block (United Nations as 8th King) into the round hole (prophetic pattern). They somehow managed to get it in, but in doing so mangled the original cube to the point it no longer retains the same shape. How so?
First and foremost, the United Nations is not a sovereign nation as the first seven heads were, it is an international organization, just as the W.H.O. or the Bank of International Settlements is. Secondly, the United Nations does not have any borders, nor does it have it's own language, currency, or for all practicality any of the things that are essential for a sovereign nation to have. The framework of the United Nations as the Eighth King of prophecy simply doesn't fit the preexisting pattern already established by the first seven heads of the beast. So how is it that the WT has made their understanding fit into the existing pattern, already set for five millennia, that defines what a head of the beast must possess?
Simple...they forced it!!!
The WT created an interpretation and pushed their own narrative of the United Nations as the Eighth King, and in doing so, they are not only promoting a lie, but they are preventing any further truth to fit through the round hole. Falsely applying the United Nations to the revived head of the beast, and the Eighth King, simply doesn't fit the prophetic pattern, no matter how hard you try to force it. Regardless of anything else they teach now on the subject, because they are forcing an interpretation, the teachings will all be incorrect. Which, in fact, they are!
So, the question is, if the United Nations doesn't fit the established preexisting pattern set throughout history as one of the heads of the beast revived, does it fit any other pattern in the Bible? Absolutely yes, and to get it to fit into the hole of truth, we don't need to force anything, in fact there are 'no tools required'.
Following the Pattern
The book of Daniel is not only full of historical events, but also prophetic events that are foretold to occur right up to the end of this worldly system. Rife with symbolism, and divine explanations that are still to be opened and explained, the book of Daniel offers incredible insight into the true understanding of the Eighth King, and also the 'image' that will force the mark of the beast upon all of humanity. In the third chapter of Daniel, we read the story about the giant golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar sets up on the plains of Dura. The statue is an image, in which its sole purpose for being created was so that the whole nation would bow down and worship it when the music began to play. Inside this biblical account is a prophetic pattern that helps us to identify what role the future United Nations will have during the end times.
The 'Image' of Gold
The 'image' of gold that Nebuchadnezzar makes is sixty cubits high, and the base has a breadth of six cubits. Thus, it was 6x6x60 cubits. A cubit measures 18' inches; thus the gold image was 90' feet high, and the base was 9' feet by 9' feet in modern measurement'. The 6x6x60 cubits is an obvious prophetic foreshadowing to the 666 we see at Revelation 13:18.
“. . .Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits [and] the breadth of which was six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Du´ra in the jurisdictional district of Babylon.”” Da 3:1
“. . .it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived... the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.” Re 13:18
There is a strong parallel connection between these two verses above, from Daniel and Revelation. Both verses have an image being made, and the number 666 is associated to both of them. The pattern established by the first in Daniel, is being followed by the verse in Revelation, thus the image in Daniel is foreshadowing that which is in Revelation.
Returning to the account in Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar then tells all the peoples, national groups and languages under his reign, that when they hear the music, they are to fall down and worship the golden image set up by the king. The Image of the Beast in Revelation ALSO requires all persons, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slaves, to worship it as well. Again, the established pattern in Daniel 3, of an image being worshipped is now being repeated in Revelation by the Image of the Beast. The pattern these verses create is what helps us to correctly interpret what the bible is teaching us.
“. . .And the herald was crying out loudly: “To YOU it is being said, O peoples, national groups and languages, 5 that at the time that YOU hear the sound ... YOU fall down and worship the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship will at the same moment be thrown into the burning fiery furnace.”. . .” Da 3:4-6
These verses in Daniel parallels the following verses in Revelation.
“. . .And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.. . .And it puts under compulsion all persons, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves. . .”.” Re 13:15
As we can see, the accounts of the golden 'image' set up in Babylon by the King, AND the Image of the Beast set up by the Eighth King, are impossible to deny as anything else but an established pattern. All the people under these two kings, King Nebuchadnezzer in Daniel, and the Eighth King in Revelation, were, and will be, required to worship the image, lest they be killed.
United Nations in New Role
As has been shown, the United Nations as the Eighth King does not fit the preexisting pattern that the first seven heads had already established for the past five millennia. The reason being that the United Nations does not share anything in the way of an actual sovereign nations' framework regarding a culture, a language, a currency, a border etc... etc., which the first 7 heads of the beast all had.
Thus, when we actually look at the pattern that the bible itself establishes, and allow it to interpret itself, we see that the United Nations cannot be the eighth king, but rather fits the role of the 'image' that will be set up to reflect the eighth kings Satanic agenda, and impose the mark of the beast upon the world.
How can we truly know this? Please consider again what the United Nations is.
The framework of the United Nations is a conglomerate of all the jurisdictions, or countries in the world, brought together to serve the interest of the leaders of the world.
Just as the golden image in Daniel was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar to serve his interest, so too will the future eighth king set up the image of the beast to serve his interest. This of course will mean the United Nations will take on a new role than what it has today. Forcing mankind to take the mark of the beast will be at the center of its intended purpose, and any who resist will be killed.
This understanding that the United Nations will be the future 'image' of the beast, follows the already established pattern that the bible and the historical record that has been provided us. The parallels that exist between the image set up by Nebuchadnezzar, and the image of the beast in Reveation are too strong to ignore. Consider the following verses.
"And Nebuchadnezzar himself as king sent to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the police magistrates and all the administrators of the jurisdictional districts to come to the inauguration of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” Da 3:1-2
Notice who is at the inauguration of the golden image that the King set up. Everybody who had authority within the jurisdictional districts of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was Uniting the whole of Babylon power, under the image he had set up in Dura. It was a United Nations of the time, but instead of nations, it was ALL the jurisdictional districts being brought together as one. It was essentially the United Nation of Babylon.
The United Nations is the same type of conglomeration but on a world wide scale. The 'Image' of the Beast comes to power when the kings of the earth give their power to the wild beast, and this is when the United Nations will take on the role as the ultimate idol/image set up by Satan for the world to worship, thus becoming the ’image of the beast’. This is when the Mark of the Beast will be forced upon every man, woman, and child or else be put to death.
“. . .so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.” (Re 13:15)
“. . .“And the ten horns that you saw mean ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings one hour with the wild beast. 13 These have one thought, and so they give their power and authority to the wild beast.” Re 17:12-13
The framework of the United Nations fits this understanding much more clearly than what the WT has misinterpreted it to be, for the Ten kings represent the conglomeration of the worlds countries into a single coalition, a United Nations on steroids. A newly born authoritarian regime imposed on mankind to force the worship of Satan. This image, or idol, is Satans masterpiece, manifesting in the world after seven thousand years of planning and preparation. It is his triumph over all those who will bow down and worship him as their God.
Of interest, in the many prophetic patterns we have seen between Daniel and Revelation, the following verses from Daniel and Revelation truly tie this pattern together.
“. . .And the herald was crying out loudly: “To YOU it is being said, O peoples, national groups and languages, 5 that at the time that YOU hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the zither, the triangular harp, the stringed instrument, the bagpipe andand all sorts of musical instruments, YOU fall down and worship the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship will at the same moment be thrown into the burning fiery furnace.”. . .” Da 3:4-6
“. . .And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.” Re 13:15
In both Daniel, and Revelation, we see that a breath of some sort was required to give both images life. In Daniel, horns, pipes, and bagpipes all require air, or a breath, to be heard. So too, the image of the beast in Revelation is brought to life and given breath. This is certainly a fascinating similarity between the first pattern established in Daniel, to the final prophetic account in Revelation of the 'image of the beast'. Because these two prophecies harmonize with each other so clearly, it is evident and easy to see, that the identify of the coming 'image of the beast' is the United Nations in its new role over mankind.
An Image is a reflection of something else
Satan isn't very original, for he only knows what he learned in heaven, and thus tries to copy what God has already done. Just as Jesus Christ is the image of God(Col 1:15), and perfectly reflects Jehovahs glory(Heb 1:3), so too the United Nations becomes Satans perfect reflection of his evil glory on earth, in manmade form. It is for this very reason that the United Nations will go off into destruction upon the world once it is brought to life in its new role as the 'image of the beast'. Remember, it is an 'image' of the eighth king. It is as perfect an image, or reflection, as Satan could muster up in manmade form, the ultimate image of Satan.
“. . .And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” Re 17:11
To sum up:
The United States is the dominant head of the seven headed beast at the current time. When the United States collapses, which represents the mortal wound on the head of the beast(Rev 13:3), it will become the head of the beast 'that was but is not'(Rev 17:11). It is then revived(death stroke healed) and becomes the eighth king.
“. . .And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” (Re 17:11)
“. . .And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration.” Re 13:3
Because it is the seventh head of the beast that is slaughtered, and is thus revived, the United States will be the Eighth King of Revelation which springs from the seven when it recovers from the mortal blow. The slaughter of the seventh head is no doubt the coming collapse of the world reserve currency, the Petrodollar, which recently suffered a huge blow when Saudi Arabia declined to resume the agreement with the United States to sell oil in only American dollars. This momentous refusal by Saudi Arabia is most certainly the beginning of the end of the Petrodollar, and a major milestone in administering the sword stroke to America.
Once the United States is revived, It will not be the United States as we know it, as the constitution and everything that made America will have been destroyed and replaced by a communistic rulership with a godless ideology based on a Satanic agenda. We can know this is a true due to the fact that the 'image' of the beast is a direct reflection of the Eighth King. Once established, the image forces mankind to bear the mark of the beast, or die, thus we know that the Eighth King will be a godless, and corrupt empire, full of evil and hatred against mankind, and the 'image' will reflect all of the eighth kings characteristics.
Because the Eighth King springs from the seven heads/kings, this means that the Eighth King also represents all the former heads prior to it as the triangle to the left loosely shows. The eighth king is essentially a conglomerate of all the kingdoms prior, formed into one head, the eighth king of prophecy. It represents all the kingdoms of the world prior to it.
“. . .And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” Re 17:11
Therefore, since the 'image of the beast', is a reflection of the Eighth king, we should expect that the 'image' will also be a conglomerate of kingdoms, and so it is. The United Nations is a conglomerate of all the modern-day kingdoms into one cohesive unit designed to force the mark of the beast on every man, woman, and child.
In coming to this understanding, we did not force anything but merely let the bible interpret itself, through the history provided us within.
If you made it this far....thank you so much for reading.