The Beast of Revelation 13

The Third Angel’s Message

July 26 – August 1, 2026

Key Text

“And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great … he cast down the truth to the ground. He did all this and prospered.” Daniel 8:9, 12

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 434–439; Selected Messages, Book 2, 367–375

Introduction

“Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history.” The Great Controversy, 565

Sunday

1 SYMBOLS USED FOR KINGDOMS

1.a. What symbols are used in the Bible to represent earthly powers? Give examples. Daniel 7:3, 17, 23

Note: “To Daniel was given a vision of fierce beasts, representing the powers of the earth.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1171

“The Holy Spirit represents worldly kingdoms under the symbol of fierce beasts of prey.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 77

1.b. What symbols represent the Roman Empire in its divided state? Daniel 7:7; Revelation 12:3

Note: “The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus, while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.” The Great Controversy, 438

Monday

2 PAPAL ROME

2.a. What symbols stand for papal Rome? Daniel 7:8, 24; Revelation 13:1, 2

Note: “In [Revelation] chapter 13 (verses 1–10) is described another beast, ‘like unto a leopard,’ to which the dragon gave ‘his power, and his seat, and great authority.’ This symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman empire. Of the leopardlike beast it is declared: ‘There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. … And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” This prophecy, which is nearly identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the papacy.” The Great Controversy, 439

2.b. What was the predicted duration of the supremacy of papal Rome as a persecuting power? Daniel 7:25, last part; Revelation 13:5, 7

Note: “ ‘Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.’ And, says the prophet, ‘I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.’ And again: ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.’ The forty and two months are the same as the ‘time and times and the dividing of time,’ three years and a half, or 1260 days, of Daniel 7—the time during which the papal power was to oppress God’s people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy, AD 538, and terminated in 1798.” The Great Controversy, 439

Tuesday

3 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

3.a. In what sense is Rome accused of uttering “great words”? Daniel 7:25, first part; Revelation 13:5, first part; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7

Note: “The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus, the minds of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing iniquity.” The Great Controversy, 55

3.b. According to prophecy, what would Rome do with the law of God and with the truth in general? Daniel 7:25, middle part; 8:12

Note: “The papacy has attempted to change the law of God. The second commandment, forbidding image worship, has been dropped from the law, and the fourth commandment has been so changed as to authorize the observance of the first instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath. But papists urge, as a reason for omitting the second commandment, that it is unnecessary, being included in the first, and that they are giving the law exactly as God designed it to be understood. This cannot be the change foretold by the prophet. An intentional, deliberate change is presented: ‘He shall think to change the times and the law.’ The change in the fourth commandment exactly fulfills the prophecy. For this the only authority claimed is that of the church. Here the papal power openly sets itself above God.” The Great Controversy, 446 [Author’s emphasis.]

Wednesday

4 THE DEADLY WOUND IS HEALED

4.a. What is meant by the wounding of the head of the symbolic beast? Revelation 13:3, first part

Note: “At that time [1798], the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.’ ” The Great Controversy, 439

4.b. What is meant by the healing of the wound? Revelation 13:3, middle part. How should this affect us personally?

Note: “The Scriptures teach that popery is to regain its lost supremacy, and that the fires of persecution will be rekindled through the time-serving concessions of the so-called Protestant world. In this time of peril, we can stand only as we have the truth and the power of God. Men can know the truth only by being themselves partakers of the divine nature. We have need now for more than human wisdom in reading and searching the Scriptures; and if we come to God’s Word with humble hearts, He will raise up a standard for us against the lawless element.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 367, 368

Thursday

5 THE BASIC AIM OF THE VATICAN

5.a. As the political influence of the papacy is steadily increasing, what position will Rome reach before the whole world? Revelation 13:3, last part, 8

Note: “The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. ‘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.’ Verse 3). The infliction of the deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, ‘his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.’ Paul states plainly that the ‘man of sin’ will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: ‘All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.’ Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church. …

“Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Church. She can read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the Protestant churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of the false sabbath and that they are preparing to enforce it by the very means which she herself employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light of truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to exalt an institution that originated with her.” The Great Controversy, 579, 580

5.b. Under what other symbol is the growing power of the Roman Catholic Church also represented? Revelation 17:1, 15, 9, 18

Note: “Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to reestablish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.

“God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.” The Great Controversy, 581

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

What role did pagan Rome have in prophecy and history?
What do prophecy and history teach us about papal Rome?
Why is it necessary to point out warnings about the papal power?
What evidence do we have of the “healing” of the “deadly wound”?
How is the Protestant world now cooperating with Rome’s agenda?