If nothing else, the book of Revelation gets us thinking.
I would like to share some of what I think about concerning the Kingdom of the Beast.
If we take a look at Genesis, God assigned Man dominion.
Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Notice what is missing in Man's dominion- the beast of the earth
Okay, unto Revelation
Taking a look at the Beast Kingdom, there are:
- The Beast
- The False Prophet
- The Image of the Beast
- The Mark of the Beast
The Beast would represent the Kingdom of the Beast.
Rev 13:2 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.Satan tempted Jesus with giving him the kingdoms of the world if he would bow down and worship him, so we see that Satan has rulership over the kingdoms of the earth, and the kingdoms of the earth are Man's kingdoms. Satan has given Man his power, his seat, and great authority. Satan is an adversary, or adverse to the Kingdom of God. It is his commission to keep Man, God's children, away from God and God's kingdom. Satan started in the Garden of Eden and will continue until the end.
So the Beast is the kingdom of Man, throughout the ages.
The False Prophet would represent Man's religious systems. As the True Prophet is Jesus Christ, God himself, Man's prophet is himself and his path to his own salvation, without God. I truly believe that this False Prophet, besides false religions, is secular Science. Science promotes Evolution, which is total blasphemy, in not acknowledging God as the creator. Evolution states that we came from nothing and that Man is basically the highest state of evolution, that Man has created himself through the processes of evolution (or maybe Evilution?). Science is used to heal man's infirmities, make life more pleasurable and extend the years of life on earth. This is man improving himself. Science wasn't always this way, for Isaac Newton glorified God in the discoveries that he made.
The Image of the Beast. Again, this would be Man.
Rev 13:15 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. God created Man in his image. This image was the complete man, including God's Spirit (Holy Spirit) which He breathed into Man. But when Adam didn't consult with the Holy Spirit to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Man the Beast was born. At that point, Satan took God's throne within Man, thus Man became the Image of the Beast. If we look at society, everything is about us, not God.We worship ourselves.
Rev 13:18 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. There it is, 666. The completeness of Man himself, as the Kingdom of the Beast - 6, As the False Prophet - 6, and as the Image of the Beast - 6.
Taking this to the Lake of Fire, we see that Satan and his angels, the Beast (Man's Governmental systems), the False Prophet (Man's religious systems) are thrown into the Lake of Fire. But, what is not mentioned as being thrown into the lake of fire is the Image of the Beast (man himself).
But what about the Mark of the Beast. We are told that the mark is to be placed in the right hand or forehead. The forehead is where our thoughts are and the right hand is our actions. So the thoughts and actions of Man are continually for one's self, not towards God.
Satan's Kingdom has been around since the Garden of Eden and stands in opposition, or is adverse (Satan means Adversary) to God's Kingdom the whole time.
Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.