Daniel and Revelation: The Seven Kingdoms and the Beast of Revelation 17

In our last studies, we explained that there would be ten end-time kings who give the Antichrist his kingdom. We looked at Daniel for the most part when we examined this. But Daniel isn’t the only place we find these kings.

This vision is very similar to the visions in Daniel. Both include beasts, horns, and an explanation of what these things mean. But in the book of Revelation, something is missing. It explains what the horns represent. It explains what the heads represent. But it doesn’t really explain what the beast itself represents.

Revelation tells us what the beast does. It tells us when it exists. It tells us where it comes from and how it affects the world. It even tells us that ten kings come from it. But it does not directly define what the beast is. Even as the chapter unfolds, that specific definition is not given.

That is not because Revelation wants to keep it a secret. It is because Revelation is not a stand-alone book. It was written to the churches—people who already knew the Scriptures. They were not encountering these symbols for the first time. The imagery of beasts, horns, kings, and kingdoms had already been defined for them in the earlier books of the Bible.

The Beast of Revelation 17 Explained

Revelation gives us enough information to point us in the right direction for understanding this vision completely. It mirrors the visions in Daniel and the interpretations given to him. So we can understand this vision in light of what we learn in Daniel.

Daniel gives us the meaning of what beasts like these symbolize. They are kings and kingdoms.

The pattern throughout the Bible shows that kings and kingdoms are often spoken of as interchangeable. A kingdom can be represented by the king, and the king can represent his kingdom.

Note that Daniel 7:17 tells us these are kings, but verse 23 tells us it is a kingdom. That’s not an accident.

In prophetic Scripture, it often speaks of the king of a nation as though he will be around long enough to see the prophecy take place. But often the prophecy is meant for a time long after he is gone. This is because the Bible speaks of kings as symbols of their kingdoms, not always merely as individual people.

We saw this pattern in Daniel 11 when it spoke of the kings of the north and south as though they were the same person, even though they were different individuals who held the same office within those nations.

It’s important that we understand this; otherwise, we may interpret the beast in Revelation as just a king or just a kingdom, but not both. Daniel gives us the interpretation that shows these beasts are symbols of both.

So the missing information in Revelation—what the beast itself symbolizes apart from the heads and horns—is made clear. The beast is a world empire and its leader.

We now know exactly what each part of this beast represents. The ten horns represent individual kings in the last days. The heads represent kingdoms. And the beast as a whole represents a world empire and its leader.

The Seven Heads of the Beast in Revelation

Daniel gives us a count of four world empires that will come to power before the Kingdom of Jesus is physically set up on earth. So the natural question is: which one of these four empires is this beast? And the natural answer you may assume is the fourth. But the truth is much more amazing than you may realize.

Revelation tells us that the seven heads represent both kings and kingdoms (as we have already seen how the Bible uses them interchangeably). It also tells us that five are fallen, one is, and one more will come.

So to understand the heads, we need to determine whether it is speaking of individual people or kingdoms. Let’s look at this through the eyes of Daniel again. What are these seven mountains? Who are these kings?

Daniel tells us the mountain here symbolizes the kingdom of God. This isn’t the first time a mountain has been used to symbolize a kingdom either.

The kingdom of Babylon was called a mountain. This pattern is seen throughout Scripture. Nations are symbolized as mountains. We see the same thing in Isaiah 2:2, Ezekiel 35:3, and so on. The Scriptures even use the word “hill” in a similar way in other passages.

Some have interpreted the seven mountains as referring specifically and only to Rome, since Rome was known as the city built on seven hills because of the topography. However, the text does not say “hills,” but “mountains,” and throughout Scripture mountains, as well as hills, frequently symbolize kingdoms. Revelation 17 itself moves immediately from mountains to kings, suggesting that the mountains are nations under those kings rather than physical landmarks.

At the time John was writing, the kingdom that existed was Rome. The emperor over it was Nero. There were only four emperors before him. Only four had fallen before him, not five. There were also six emperors after him. Only one was supposed to come after him. So we can rule out the emperors of Rome as being represented here.

Since John is told, “five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come,” and we now know it cannot mean the kings over Rome, we have only one option left. It is most certainly talking about different kingdoms, not one kingdom with multiple kings in it.

So when we see Revelation 17:9–11 telling us about seven mountains with seven kings, it is telling us about seven kingdoms. It isn’t talking about individual Roman emperors.

It is telling us there are five nations before Rome that have fallen. Rome is in power at that time. Another nation will come after it, making a total of seven nations being listed.

But there’s a problem. Daniel said there would only be four world empires. So how can there be seven? When you understand the reality, you are going to be amazed at the level of detail God has put into prophecy.

How Daniel and Revelation Count the Nations

Daniel doesn’t just count world empires. He counts empires in relation to Israel. Every vision, every beast, every horn, every prophecy is connected to the seventy weeks determined upon Israel. So when we see world empires and nations in Daniel, they are all connected to the seventy weeks determined upon Israel.

This prophecy tells us that “unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” It also says, “he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” This tells us something very important: this prophecy covers a period of Israel being made desolate all the way to the end.

It is telling us that these visions are about Israel—and specifically Jerusalem—being oppressed by surrounding nations. It is these nations that are important to Daniel.

Daniel told us about four world empires. But Revelation tells us about the nations within them. Not every empire was a single nation; some consisted of two ruling together.

1. Babylon was the first, consisting of a one nation.
2. Media-Persia was the second, composed of two nations.
3. Greece was the third, composed of two nations (even though it was divided into more).

I say Greece was composed of two nations because it began as a single kingdom under Alexander the Great but eventually divided into four after his death. Eventually they became just two. But only the northern kingdom (the Seleucid Empire) exercised oppression over Israel out of those. This is seen in Daniel 8:21–22 and Daniel 7:19–21. That is why it is counted among the seven while the other divisions are not.

That leads us to five nations that had fallen from being world empires before Rome came to power—just as the prophecy said.

1. Babylon
2. Media
3. Persia
4. Greece
5. The Seleucid Empire (Syria, which was also part of Greece)

After including Rome, all that is left is one more world empire to rise in order to complete the seven. That makes a total of seven nations represented in both Daniel and Revelation’s beast with seven heads.

The Beasts of Revelation and Daniel Combined

Let’s pull this all together.

Daniel lists four world empires that would oppress Israel. By the time of John, the fourth empire was in place. The nations involved before the time of John equaled five that had fallen, and Rome was now ruling. In the end times, Daniel expected ten kings to arise and place the Antichrist into his own kingdom as king of the north. This kingdom was not a new beast. It would come from the nation of Syria (part of the third beast) under a Roman system (the fourth beast).

Compare that with the beast in Revelation 17. Seven nations would oppress Israel. Five had fallen, one existed in the time of John, and another was coming. Ten kings would arise and be joined to the beast, which represents both a kingdom and, in this case, a specific king—the Antichrist. His nation would be the seventh.

What we see in Revelation is not just an end-times beast. It is a beast that has existed throughout history. It is the entire story of Daniel wrapped up into one representation.

This beast is also found in Revelation 13, where we see even more similarity to the four world empires of Daniel.

Notice in verse two it tells us this beast also has the features of the four world empires listed in Daniel. It is all the same beast. The four world empires in Daniel, the beast here in Revelation 13, and the beast in Revelation 17 are all the same thing. They are representations of the world empires throughout history.

Daniel shows them being built over time, looking forward. Revelation shows them already having existed, looking backward. And through all of it, there is one person behind it all—the old serpent, the dragon, Satan, who is also called the god of this world.

The Beast That Is Both Seven and Eight

But Revelation does something odd. Not only does it include all of these nations in one beast, but it also talks about an eighth.

We find the last beast in Revelation 13 right after reading about the same seven headed one:

Just after reading about the beast with seven heads, we read about another beast. This one doesn’t come from the sea (which represents many people and nations). This one comes from the earth, which tells us it is something already established (as the earth is established) but changing (as it is shifting the already established earth).

In our last study, I explained that the Antichrist doesn’t just attack Israel from Syria at first. Instead, Syria regains its status as a world empire under the Antichrist. This doesn’t mean there are no other nations on earth; it simply means this nation will have major influence over others. We discussed this earlier in this unit as well.

So Syria becomes the seventh nation that turns into a world empire. It is established. But something happens to it. In the middle of the tribulation period, the Antichrist turns on Israel. The previously friendly world empire changes and becomes a beast fighting against them. It is as though it becomes another nation, yet it is still the same one. That is how it can be both the seventh and the eighth.

This final eighth beast is the one with two horns like a lamb but speaking as a dragon. It’s not a new nation or a new world empire; it’s the seventh one in a changed form.

Let us remember that a beast represents a world empire, and a horn represents an individual leader. So here we see Syria turning into a world empire with two main leaders.

The first leader is the Antichrist, but Revelation tells us the second leader ruling with him is the false prophet. The final form of the kingdom of the Antichrist is a combination of political and religious power working together as one.

But what causes this shift? It must be something major.

There’s one more part of the vision in Revelation 17 that we haven’t discussed yet. There wasn’t just a beast with seven heads—there was also a woman riding it, called Mystery Babylon. I’ll explain her in the next study.

Continue To Unit 7:18 – Mystery Babylon: A City Awaiting Its Appointed Time OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 7 – The Latter Days – A Detailed Look