What other scriptures describe the "beast" mentioned in Revelation 11:7? Opening the Text: Revelation 11:7 “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the Abyss will wage war against them, and will overpower and kill them.” Key Descriptors of the Beast • Rises from the Abyss • Wages war against God’s witnesses • Temporarily prevails, but ultimate defeat is implied by later passages Parallel Passages in Revelation • Revelation 13:1–7 — “A beast coming up out of the sea… the dragon gave the beast his power… it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them.” – Same war-making character – Seven heads, ten horns parallel Daniel’s imagery • Revelation 17:8 — “The beast that you saw was, and is no more, and is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction.” – Direct link to the Abyss of 11:7 • Revelation 17:11–14 — The beast is an eighth king who “goes to destruction,” yet briefly rules with ten kings and fights the Lamb. • Revelation 19:19–20 — The beast gathers the nations at Armageddon and is “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” – Final, literal judgment anticipated from the first mention in 11:7 Old Testament Previews • Daniel 7:7-8, 19-26 — The fourth terrifying beast with iron teeth; a “little horn” that speaks boastfully and persecutes the saints “for a time, times, and half a time.” – Mirrors the beast’s blasphemy and 42-month persecution (Revelation 13:5) • Daniel 8:23-25 — A fierce-featured king who “destroys the mighty, along with the holy people,” but is “broken without human hand.” • Daniel 11:36-45 — “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself above every god.” – Foreshadows the beast’s self-exaltation and final defeat New Testament Echoes Beyond Revelation • 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 — “The man of lawlessness… exalts himself above every so-called god… setting himself up in God’s temple.” – Shares the beast’s blasphemous self-exaltation • 1 John 2:18 — “You have heard that antichrist is coming.” – John’s broader term aligns with the same end-time figure Putting the Portrait Together • Revelation gives the fullest picture: a political-religious ruler empowered by Satan, emerging from the Abyss, dominating the earth for 42 months, persecuting God’s people, and meeting sudden destruction. • Daniel supplies the foundational imagery: a final empire symbolized by a monstrous beast, culminating in a blasphemous ruler whose reign ends when God’s kingdom is established. • Paul and John (outside Revelation) confirm the same individual: a man of lawlessness—antichrist—who opposes God but cannot escape judgment. Taken together, these passages form a single, consistent portrait of the beast introduced in Revelation 11:7: a literal, future world ruler energized by demonic power, hostile toward God’s saints, yet destined for irrevocable defeat by the returning Christ. |
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