After King Nebuchadnezzar learns the content and interpretation of his dream in Daniel 2, he demonstrates a serious lack of true understanding. Instead, he reinterprets the dream to suit his ego. Daniel had told him that he was the head of gold, and that inferior kingdoms would follow him.
Apparently, the king wants to challenge God’s will. He thought that Babylon should be the eternal kingdom, not merely the first of four transient kingdoms. In Daniel 3, we see what happens. Nebuchadnezzar sets up a large image entirely of gold and commanded his many officials to bow down to this image in a ceremonial show of submission to Babylon. Obviously, this image was set up in reaction to the king’s dream of an image of various metals.
Those who refused to bow before the image would be thrown into a blazing furnace. This Babylonian test of loyalty was destined to become highly significant later in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Revelation.
Why? Because of how Daniel’s three friends reacted to the command. As faithful worshipers of the God of heaven, they refused to worship this pagan image, no matter the cost. As the story concludes, we see the three men thrown into the furnace, yet emerge unharmed, miraculously preserved by the Son of God who walked among them in the furnace.
The three Hebrews passed an important test of loyalty to God. They loved God more than their own lives. The second commandment of the decalogue forbids the making and worshipping of images (see Ex. 20:4), a common practice in the ancient world. People were not to worship any human conception of God, but they were to worship God directly with nothing between the worshiper and God.
This ancient test in the literal land of Babylon foreshadowed a universal test at the end of time. In Revelation 13, we see two beasts, a sea beast and a land beast. The entire world is mesmerized by the sea beast and eventually worships the beast. This worship is commanded by the land beast, a last-day power that enforces worship of an “image to the beast.” Just as in ancient Babylon, the worship of the sea beast is forced worship, on pain of death.
We know that such a universal test has not yet occurred in our world. It is a future event. However, I Peter 5:13 provides a clue to the identity of the sea beast. The sea beast is a persecuting power. Here’s the clue: Peter sends greetings to his Christian readers. One greeting is from a woman in “Babylon.”
It is commonly known that Babylon was a code name for Rome by early Christians. Since pagan Rome was the great persecuting power of early Christians, it was thought best not to name her explicitly. By using code, Peter is connecting the religious tyranny of Babylon with the religious tyranny of Rome.
We can conclude, then, that Rome is the sea beast of Revelation 13. Of course, pagan Rome is long gone, yet papal Rome remains, ever more powerful, a persecuting power in the past, and a potential persecuting power in the near future. It is perfectly logical to identify the sea beast as Rome.
The sea beast and the land beast of Revelation 13 will constitute a combined power demanding worship of an “image to the beast.” Know that in the future we will see papal Rome, in the form of an “image,” receive the worship of the whole world, on pain of death.