The prophetic beast of the book of Revelation confuses most scholars and preachers, but prophecies about this beast should be clear since they apply to our time. God says ignorance is no excuse for a lack of understanding (Hosea 4:6).

We all must seek God’s protection from the beast while we still have a chance. Those who don’t look to God in this age will suffer in the Great Tribulation. Those who accept the mark of the beast during the Great Tribulation will experience Jesus Christ’s worst wrath (Revelation 13:16-17; 14:9-10). Those who reject the mark of the beast will be killed by the beast. The options are not ideal.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. We need to understand who or what is the prophetic beast. We must also know the mark of the beast so we may avoid it.

Daniel’s Vision

The Prophet Daniel saw four world-ruling beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a beast unlike anything we have ever seen on this Earth (Daniel chapters 2 and 7; Revelation chapters 13 and 17). Without God’s help, it would be impossible to decipher the meaning of Daniel’s vision.

“I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me” (Daniel 7:15). Just the thought of the dreadful beasts made Daniel feel sick! We should feel the same way as we see the fourth beast rise on the scene in this end time. Of course, we know that God has the situation under control.

“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth” (verse 17). The four beasts represent four kingdoms—not four churches. Secular history sources will tell you that these four kingdoms are Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman. Daniel prophesied during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the first ruler of the Babylonian Empire. As soon as one empire fell, another rose to take its place.

Dreadful and Terrible

The fourth beast embodies the strength of the first three. “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up 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).

Here is what Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast?:

And the fourth kingdom, which, developing from Rome, spread out and gradually absorbed one after another of these four divisions—“dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly,” was the Roman Empire (31 b.c. to a.d. 476). It had absorbed all the others, occupied all their territory, was greater and stronger than all. It included all the royal splendor of ancient Babylon, thus having the head—the strongest part—of the lion. It had all the massiveness and numerically powerful army of the Persian Empire—symbolized by the legs, the most powerful part of the bear. It was the greatest war-making machine the world had ever seen, and it also possessed the swiftness, the cunning, the cruelty of Alexander’s army, symbolized by the leopard. And thus, this fourth beast was unlike any wild beast of the Earth. It was stronger, greater, more terrible, than any. … Daniel’s fourth beast, the Roman Empire, had absorbed and therefore included the three beasts before it.

Ten Resurrections

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3). Barbarians dealt a deadly blow to the beast when they overran Rome and ended Roman rule in a.d. 476.

The 10 horns on this seventh head of the beast symbolize 10 successive kingdoms. The first three were barbarian tribes. The last seven come after the Roman Empire was wounded and are church-led war machines. Justinian restored Roman administration in a.d. 554, marking the first resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire.

John described each resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, including the sixth one, which culminated in the Hitler-Mussolini axis that killed 60 million people in World War ii. Six resurrections came to pass exactly as John prophesied they would. We can be sure that the seventh and final resurrection will be here soon.

The Mark of the Beast

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:17-18).

Mr. Armstrong gave six points about the mark of the beast in his booklet:

1. The beast has a number and may be identified, if we have wisdom, by this number.2. The number is 666.3. We are told to count this number—that is, add it up. The same Greek word is used elsewhere only in Luke 14:28: Count the cost.4. This number, 666, is the number of the beast. The only Bible interpretation of this symbol, “beast,” is a kingdom or the king who rules it and, therefore, really is the kingdom (Daniel 7:17-18, 22-24, 27). Therefore 666 must be the number of the kingdom, or government, or empire, as well as that of the king who founds or rules it.5. The expression “the name of the beast, or the number of his name” makes plain that the number 666 is the number of the name of the kingdom or empire.6. The expression “it is the number of a man” shows we must also count this number in the name of the king, or ruler, over the kingdom identified as the “beast.”

This is an in-depth subject, but you can prove who possesses this number simply by counting. Satan wants to obscure this truth because the beast is his instrument of destruction! We all must stop ignoring prophecies about the beast. Peace will only come when men listen to God and believe His Word.

Satan Worship

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4). The war machine known as the beast actually worships Satan! All its power comes directly from the devil.

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (verse 11). This church looks like it follows Christ, but it worships Satan. It teaches the message of Satan. This great false church has beguiled billions into abominable religious practices. If we aren’t careful, it is possible to be so deceived that we worship Satan when we think we are worshiping God!

Throughout history, we have seen a satanic church guiding one war-making empire after the other. Which church has caused at least 50 million deaths over the centuries? Which church helped Nazi war criminals escape via the ratlines after World War ii? The seventh resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, led by the great false church will kill every one of God’s own lukewarm, rebellious people in the near future (verse 7).

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads” (verses 15-16). Talk about power!

We need to know about the mark of the beast because it revolves around one of the Ten Commandments. The beast will compel everyone to work on the Sabbath and instead observe Sunday. God’s rebellious saints can either refuse the mark and die at the hands of the beast, or accept the mark and die by God’s wrath.

The good news in all this is that God’s loyal remnant will receive protection from the time of suffering just ahead. God only requires that we come out of this world and keep His Commandments, which bring joy, peace, happiness and even trials that help us qualify to rule forever with Jesus Christ.

Christ will soon smash the beast so that it never rises again. His return to this Earth will be the greatest event in the history of the universe!