The Bible says that a beast is a king or a kingdom.
Daniel 7:23 “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth”.
Daniel 7:17 “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings.”
While much of the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation are written in prophetic symbols, the Bible always gives an explanation of those symbols, and warns us not to put our own interpretation on Bible prophecy.
2 Peter 1:20-21 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.
Bible study guide 15 – Who is the Antichrist? explains the beasts seen in vision by the prophet Daniel, as outlined in Daniel chapter 7.
Bible study guide 20 – The Mark of the Beast, explains who the beast of Revelation 13 is.
