Who Was The Land Beast Of Revelation 13?
By Don K. Preston (Part 2 of 2)
Video #8:
We have some indicators, some very powerful evidence in Revelation that helps us identify the land beast and also the specific framework in which we must place that land beast. I Revelation 13, the land beast causes others to worship the sea beast, to receive the mark, and to worship his image. We’ve already demonstrated the partnership of persecution between the sea beast and the land beast in Rev 17, and that there is only one historical time that fits that which was under Nero when he was in partnership with Jerusalem to persecute the Church. He turned on Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the temple. Notice that we have the land beast that causes people to worship the beast and receive his mark, and in the declaration of the judgment of Babylon, Revelation 14:8, another angel came saying:
Revelation 14:8-10 [KJV]
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
In the judgment of Babylon, those who would receive the mark and be involved in this persecution of the saints would be judged. Notice, all of those who had even worshipped the beast would be judged along with Babylon who CAUSED men to worship the beast…this is representative judgment. IN verse 14:14f, we have the coming of the Son of Man (Christ) with a golden crown and a sharp sickle:
Revelation 14:15-18 [KJV]
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
In order to appreciate this and the power of its statement, the framework of fulfillment, we need to go back to John the Baptizer. Remember, John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. John said:
Matthew 3:12 [KJV]
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
What is the “fan”? It is the winnowing shovel which is an END of harvest instrument. The angel in Revelation depicts Christ with a SICKLE, which is an instrument used DURING the harvest. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:12) posits the resurrection as ALREADY having begun because the winnowing shove is already in his hand! Revelation 14 is looking at things past, things present, and things about to be (Rev 1:19). All of this proves conclusively that Revelation 13, the land beast, and Revelation 14, the coming of the Lord at the time of the harvest was to be in the 1st century. John said his winnowing shovel is already in his hand! We cannot deny the force of this language and when we see that the harvest was in fulfillment to Israel to reap Judah in the Last Days, then it means that the Land Beast was, in fact, Jerusalem of Old Covenant Israel.
Video #9:
The main question in the book of Revelation is: WHO is Babylon? So we want to look at the identity of the land beast from the perspective of the vindication of the martyrs. It is strange that many, many commentators completely overlook this absolutely most pervasive, dominant theme of Revelation which is the vindication of the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. Not to mention his own martyred apostles and disciples AND all the righteous slain in the earth all the way back to Abel (Matt 23:35). Now, in that light, take a look at Revelation 1:7
Revelation 1:7 [KJV]
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
This coming of the Lord in the book of Revelation would be in vindication of the suffering of Jesus at the hands of Babylon. So the question is…who killed Jesus? It was the land beast, Babylon, the city where the Lord was slain! Now look how this conflates and agrees perfectly with Jesus on trial. Pilate declares Jesus innocent of all charges and he said I wash my hands of the blood of this innocent man. Also notice that Acts 4 says, citing the Psalms:
Acts 4:25-28 [KJV]
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Here are the Jews in conspiracy with Pilate (Rome) to kill the Lord. The Jews are the movers and shakers in his death, but when Pilate exonerates himself and washes his hands of the blood of Jesus, the Jews cry out “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” (Matt 27:25) As pointed out in my book, “Who Is This Babylon?” (Don K. Preston), the answer to the Jews’ declaration “Let his blood be on us and on our children” is found in Revelation in judgment of the land beast, the city where the Lord was slain. It’s fascinating that the book of Revelation focuses on the judgment of THAT CITY more than any other topic. This is about the vindication of the death of Jesus when THE JEWS THEMSELVES cried out…”Let his blood be on us and on our children.” The entire book of Revelation is God saying “You asked for it….you’re getting it.”
Video #10:
To identify the Land Beast, one of the things we absolutely have to see is that the land beast is in full cooperation with the sea beast to persecute the saints. If you don’t have the mark of the beast, you’re persecuted, you can’t buy, you can’t sell. Martyrdom lies at the foundation of the entire doctrine and theology of the sea beast and land beast. Throughout Revelation, from chapter 1 through chapter 22, we find the emphasis on the vindication of the martyrs. We actually find the indication of past suffering and martyrdom, present suffering and martyrdom, and future suffering and martyrdom, but…that future suffering and martyrdom is placed within a very imminent context. Revelation 6:9-11:
Revelation 6:9-11 [KJV]
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
So, we have a land beast joining with the sea beast to persecute the saints. The souls under the alter (Rev 6) want vindication to come AGAINST THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH who have been guilty of persecuting them. Notice that they are promised that vindication would come in a “little season.” NOT in 2000 years, not in 5000 years, but in a LITTLE while. Now, ask yourself a question….when did Jesus say that all of the blood, of all the righteous, shed upon the earth all the way back to ABEL, would be judged and vindicated?
Matthew 23:35-36 [KJV]
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
What authority, what evidence do we have, to divorce Matthew 23, the vindication of all the martyrs, from Revelation 6? There is NO evidence, nothing in the text to suggest such a dichotomy. That means, since the souls under the altar are looking for vindication (i.e. judgment) on those who dwell on the earth (i.e. the land beast), and that vindication was promised “in a little while,” when we conflate that with Matthew 23, it definitively identifies the Land Beast as the persecutor, as 1st century Jerusalem. And the vindication of those martyrs of Revelation 6, Revelation 13, Revelation 14, Revelation 19, and at the END OF THE MILLENNIUM……as occurring in 70A.D.
Video #11:
In Revelation 14, we have almost certain identification of the land beast as Old Covenant Israel. In Revelation 14, after the announcement of the imminent judgment of Babylon, notice in Revelation 14:17f:
Revelation 14:17-19 [KJV]
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
We have to understand the Book of Revelation is immanently Hebraic in thought. It alludes to, cites, and echoes over 400 Old Covenant passages. As a Hebrew Christian, reading the book of Revelation, you were saturated with the thought, terminology, motifs, and language of the Old Covenant. So when Revelation 14 speaks of the imminent harvest of the “vine of the earth”, twice John is referencing the vine of the land, the vine of the earth. So if you are a Hebrew saturated in Old Covenant terminology, who do you think is the “vine of the land”? It is none other than Old Covenant Israel:
Jeremiah 2:21 [KJV]
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?Isaiah 5:1-2 [KJV]
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
There’s no question about it. When we are attuned to the Old Testament source of the Hebrew language, it’s not difficult at all to identify the Land Beast of the book of Revelation.
Video #12:
It is critical to see that Revelation MUST be limited to the time of the Roman Empire due to Daneil’s prophecy. It is also critical to see this identity of this Land Beast in terms of being the persecutor of God’s people through partnership with the sea beast (Rome). Throughout the book of Revelation, when you look up the word “land” or “earth”, it is the word “ge.” So, all through Revelation, we have references to “the land”, and to the activities of “the land” in regard to persecution of the saints and judgment coming on “the earth” or “the land.” We want to pay particular attention to Revelation 6:9-11.
Revelation 6:9-11 [KJV]
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
The martyrs are looking for vindication of their martyrdom at the hands of “them that dwell on the earth.” This is the Land Beast who has persecuted them unto death in partnership with the Sea Beast. When we look at this theme of martyr vindication, it is amazing how little attention some commentators give to this theme in the book of Revelation. From the first chapter to the last, the story of Revelation concerns the vindication of the murder of Jesus Christ and all the innocent blood of all the righteous shed on the earth all the way back to ABEL. So, we have to ask ourselves this question: How do we divorce the book of Revelation, with what it says about the vindication of the martyrs, from what Jesus said about the vindication of the martyrs? Jesus spoke in his ministry over and over again about the coming, imminent vindication of all the martyrs. In Matthew 23, Jesus stood in the temple at Jerusalem and castigated the Jewish leaders and said “YOU are those who bear witness that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets, for you say ‘If we would have been alive in the days of our fathers, WE would not have killed the prophets!’” and then he said “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers’ guilt! Behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes, some of them you shall crucify, scourge, and chase from city to city, that upon YOU shall come all the righteous blood of all the righteous shed upon the earth, from righteous Abel to Zacharias son of Barachias whom you slew between the altar and the temple.” Jesus himself defined and described Old Covenant Jerusalem as the party GUILTY of shedding all the blood on “the Land.” Jerusalem is the LAND BEAST guilty of shedding the blood of the LAND. Unless one can find some scriptural definitive evidence to divorce Jesus’ definition of the entity that shed the blood ON THE LAND from Revelation 6, 13, 14, 20-22….then we have undeniably clear evidence that the “Land Beast” was, in fact, Old Covenant Jerusalem.
Video #13:
We’ve pointed out that the entire book of Revelation deals with the theme of the vindication of the martyrs of God. It’s not just some “future” group of martyrs. The martyrs in view in Revelation is a comprehensive element that, as good Bible students, we must consider the evidence of the rest of the Bible as it agrees with, segues with, Revelation. In Matthew 23, Jesus said it was Old Covenant Jerusalem that had killed the prophets. Old Covenant Jerusalem was going to kill HIM. (Matt 20-23) Old Covenant Jerusalem was going to kill his personal apostles and prophets that would be sent to them and they would fill up the measure of their guilt in doing so and judgment would fall on them in that generation. In 1st Thessalonians 2, Paul reminds the congregation how they were being presently persecuted by the Jews, their countrymen (confirmed in Acts 17). He also reminds them of how the Jews had killed the prophets in the past, had now slain Jesus, they were now killing the apostles and prophets, filling up the measure of their sin, and judgment was about to fall in that generation. Who disagrees that Paul was echoing what Jesus had said? So in Revelation we have the Sea Beast and the Land Beast in union to persecute the saints. The Land Beast was Babylon, the city where the LORD was slain, but Babylon was also the entity that killed the prophets (Rev 16:6). Notably, the term “The Prophets”, when used in the N.T. without a contextual qualifier, invariably refers to the O.T. prophets. So here is Babylon that has killed the prophets and is where the Lord was slain. In Revelation 18:20-24:
Revelation 18:20-24 [KJV]
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
When was this judgment coming? Very, very soon!
Revelation 22:6 [KJV]
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Revelation 22:7 [KJV]
Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Revelation 22:10 [KJV]
And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.Revelation 22:12 [KJV]
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.Revelation 22:20 [KJV]
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
So, in Matthew, we have the killing of the O.T. prophets, Jesus himself, the N.T. prophets and apostles, the filling up of the measure of sin, and judgment coming in that generation. In Paul, we have O.T. Israel killing the O.T. prophets, the killing of Jesus and his apostles and prophets, filling up the measure of their sin, and judgment is coming very soon. In Revelation, we have the past killing of the O.T. prophets, the city Babylon is where the Lord was slain, they are killing the apostles and prophets of Jesus, the cup of her sin (Rev 17:6f) is now full and judgment was coming imminently. This DEMANDS that the Sea Beast and the Land Beast, in their partnership of persecution, must be kept within a 1st century context because the focus is on Babylon and Babylon is the city where the Lord was slain. Therefore, you cannot destroy that pattern of the killing of the O.T. Prophets, Jesus, his apostles and prophets, filling up the measure of sin, and imminent judgment. You can’t divorce it from Jesus, which means Babylon is Jerusalem and you can’t divorce it from Paul. Babylon, the Land Beast….was JERUSALEM.
Video #14:
We have examined the concept from Rev 13 that there is a partnership of persecution between the Sea Beast and the Land Beast. The Land Beast, according to Rev 17, is to be identified with the city Babylon who rides upon the beast, sitting on seven mountains. This raises the question “WHO was Babylon?” The interpretations for these prophecies and the identity of Babylon are as varied as the number of Christian church denominations today. Many think the Roman Catholic Church or the Pope is depicted or a Revived Roman Empire in modern times or possibly the actual city of Babylon In Iraq will be revived in modern times. Revelations has NOTHING to do with any of these interpretations because NONE of these entities or their timeframes fit the requirements given in both Revelation and Daniel. We have already shown irrefutably that the events of Revelation MUST fall within the time frame of the 1st century AD. Revelation 18 identifies this Babylon FIVE TIMES as that “Great City.” In chapter 11, the “Great City” is identified as the city “where also our Lord was crucified.” That is an interpretive phrase. Notice John is initially told that this “Great City” is spiritually called “Sodom and Egypt.” In the Bible, there is only ONE city that is ever spiritually designated as “Sodom.” Isaiah 1, Ezekiel 16, Ezekiel 23. In Deuteronomy 32:32, Yahweh said that in Israel’s Last Days, she would become the VINE OF SODOM.
Deuteronomy 32:32 [KJV]
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
In Galatians 4:22f, Paul identifies Old Covenant Jerusalem as Hagar who was the Egyptian Bondwoman in Genesis 21:
Genesis 21:9-10 [KJV]
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.Galatians 4:22-26 [KJV]
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
So, we have two spiritual designations that are applied in scripture to Jerusalem and then the Holy Spirit interprets who it is by saying it is “where also our Lord was crucified.” Jesus was not slain in Babylon, the streets of the Vatican, or the streets of New York City. Whatever city you identify as Babylon, as “that Great City, it MUST be “the city where the Lord was slain.” If your “Babylon” does not match that Holy Spirit-inspired description, then you’ve got the WRONG BABYLON.
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