When we think of the king or the kingdom commonly known as "the Beast," our minds bring up various impressions of the final, anti-God and anti-Christ power that will be given authority for 42 months (Revelation 13:5). Perhaps what comes to mind are the artistic depictions used on the old World Tomorrow telecast, which portrayed a conglomeration of characteristics and body parts of multiple animals. The most prominent feature was the head of something like a triceratops but which had ten horns instead of three.
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Whatever our exact mental image, this end-time king and kingdom will be intensely militaristic, a merciless, crushing force that serves only its own violent interests. It will be empowered by the great dragon, and because of this, it will be particularly focused on God's people—the physical and spiritual Israelites. The Beast is prophesied to be allowed "to make war with the saints and to overcome them" (Revelation 13:7). A fearsome and terrible entity, its violent reign lurks in the background of verses like Matthew 24:21: ". . . then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."
We often unconsciously insert another description of the Beast: Because of its descriptions in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13, we usually refer to the Beast as a "world-ruling empire." Yet, because of the human nature that remains within us, a potential pitfall for us appears in this: What if a world-ruling empire is not on the horizon? We know that world conditions are bad and getting worse, yet no world-ruling empire seems close to coming in existence. No current nation appears capable of dominating the globe.
The closest nation to a world-ruling empire right now is the United States, yet it is more interested in trade than in demolishing the world's nations—not to mention, as one of the foremost Israelitish nations, it is prophesied to go through Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). Not only is the U.S. in decline, but it also seems to be a perfect manifestation of Babylon the Great, the woman whom the Beast hates and will burn with fire (Revelation 17:5, 16).
We do not yet see a king or kingdom rising up to threaten the whole earth. The danger, then, is that in the absence of an obvious world-ruling empire, we may think that we have more time. However, the parables teach that, if we start thinking that "our Master delays His coming," there is a temptation to let down, become distracted, and drift away.
Just what is the scope or the breadth of the end-time Beast's dominion? Is it truly global? Will every last nation come under its sway before the end? Numerous scriptures contain descriptions of the Beast, but they also allow for something that may be unexpected: The kingdom of the Beast does not have to stretch over the entire globe. If we are waiting for a world-ruling empire to arise before we begin to seek God earnestly, we may be taken by surprise.[
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