Revelation 13:1 and 11: “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea . . . Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.”
Who are the two beasts in Revelation 13? Gill suggests they are two Roman entities which serve the interests of the antichrist; namely, (1) civil powers and (2) religious powers. He states,
This chapter contains a description of the Romish antichrist, under the figure of two beasts, the one representing him in his civil power, the other in his ecclesiastical power.”
John Gill, introductory comments to Revelation 13
Earlier, in Revelation 9, Gill named the antichrist as the succession of popes. He believes Satan has worked through the popes to establish and foster false religions and to consolidate secular powers against the saints. What emerges in Romans 13 is the chain of command: (1) Satan is the grand architect; (2) the antichrist (or, the popes) implement his mystery of lawlessness to keep men in subjection to…
