NELSON WATERS WORST THEORY OF THE IDENTITY OF THE BEAST (REVELATION 13:1)

BEST Theory About the Beast's Fatal Wound Identifies WHO THE BEAST IS (youtube.com)

Nelson Walters' chaotic attempt to identify the beast of Revelation 13:1 as a fallen angel contains so many inaccuracies that it is preposterous. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the prophetic scriptures should reject this theory outright.  

Walters makes three false assumptions.. 1. the sea in Revelation 13:1 is the abyss, 2. the beast is a demon/fallen angel/chimera, 3. the ten horns (kings) are fallen angels. 

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. (Revelation 13:1 cf. Revelation 11:7).

Walters: "The abyss is frequently referred to as the deepest part of the ocean.. Satan sees the beast coming up out of the abyss.. If he comes out of the abyss, he is a demon or an angel who has been imprisoned there.. The beast in his essence is a demon or a fallen angel.. When it (the beast) arises it already has ten horns (ten kings), they are already formed..  So if the beast is a supernatural fallen angel and he is one of the first seven, they are all supernatural fallen angels.."

 1. The sea

The view that "the sea" in Revelation 13:1 represents the great, restless mass of wicked humanity is widely acknowledged. (Isaiah 17:12-13,57:20; Jude 1:12-13). This interpretation is corroborated elsewhere (Daniel 7:2-3 cf. Daniel 7:7:17; Revelation 17:15), especially in Daniel 7: Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.  The "sea" here represents the agitated world of nations out of which four "beasts" (kingdoms) arise. The four winds of the heaven is a term that describes the four points of the compass. The same expression is found in Daniel 8:8,11:4; Zechariah 2:6,6:5 and Esdras 13:5. This expression is further evidence of the earthly origin of the little horn (the Antichrist) who came up amongst the ten horns (kings). (Daniel 7:7).

And he stood on the sand of the sea (thalassēs). And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. (Revelation 12:17-13:1)

The Greek in the above verse is thalassa (sea). Strongs: "2281, the sea, in contrast to the land, (b) a particular sea or lake, e.g. the sea of Galilee (Tiberias), the Red Sea." 1 

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. (Revelation 13:11). The second beast (the false prophet), rises out of the earth (land).

Precept Austin: "These contrasting terms are indicative of the origin of the two beasts. The sea may symbolize the Gentiles (Rev. 17:15+; cf. Dan. 7:2-3) and if this is the case here, the opposite term, the earth, symbolizes the Jews. There is precedence for the Gentile origin of Antichrist in the Old Testament allusions, and the Jewish identification may be strengthened if here 'the earth' has technical sense of 'the land' [of Israel] as it sometimes may in Revelation (Rev. 11:18+; cf. Dan. 8:9).11"2 

Given that John had no hesitation in making direct reference to the abyss elsewhere (Revelation 9:1-12,11:7,17:8,20:1-3), the widely accepted symbolic interpretation that "a beast rising out of the sea (Revelation 13:1)" represents "the great restless mass of wicked humanity" is the obvious interpretation.3 

Barnes: "The natural idea, therefore, in this passage, would be that the power that was represented by the 'beast' would spring up among the nations, when restless or unsettled, like the waves of the ocean."4 

Walter's statement that "the deepest part of the ocean" is a holding place for fallen angels appears to be based on Genesis 1:2. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. (Heb -tehom). This great deep is void and otherwise undefined. In the context of Genesis 1, the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, deep) refers to the watery deep, especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth. (Genesis 7:11). What we know about the abyss is that it is an unfathomable depth located in the heart of the earth, the entrance of which is approached via a pit or shaft. (Revelation 9:1). Gebhardt: “These expressions are based upon rabbinical representations, originating from such O.T. statements as Psalm 81:10; Psalm 107:26; Isaiah 14:15 (cf. Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 30:33), according to which there is under the earth an abyss or bottomless pit, with a lake or sea in which brimstone and fire seethe together.5

In the New Testament, descriptions of the abyss are sparse.

He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. (Revelation 9:2).

..chains of gloomy darkness. (2 Peter 2:4).

2. The beast 

And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, (Revelation 11:7).  

In the prophetic scriptures the term “beast” describes a wicked nation or king. Daniel refers to the higher echelons of fallen angels as princes (rulers). (Daniel 10:13,20). Satan is described as "the prince of this world" (John 12:31,14:30,16:11; cf. Ephesians 2:2). Michael is referred to as a celestial "chief prince". (Daniel 10:13,21,12:1). Strongs 8269: "sar: chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince."6  The point is that fallen angels are never referred to as "beasts".

John directly refers to "the bottomless pit" (not the sea) in Revelation 11:7. This reference to the beast that rises from the bottomless pit corresponds with the beast “about to come from the abyss” in Revelation 17:8 cf. Revelation 13:1) and is mentioned here in prolepsis.7 

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. (Revelation 17:8).
As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. (Revelation 17:11).

The beast's ascension from the bottomless pit coincides with the ten horns (kings) handing over their power and authority to him. (Revelation 17:12-14), and "one hour/a little while" i.e. forty-two months, when he will be given satanic authority over every tribe and people etc. (Revelation 13:3-7 cf. Revelation 12:12). 

One of its heads seemed (ὡς) to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”(Revelation 13:3-4).

..it (the beast) was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. (Revelation 13:7).

In some sense the Antichrist/beast will mimic Jesus' resurrection from the dead. (Ephesians 4:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18-20; 2 Peter 2:4-5; Matthew 12:38-45; Luke 23:43). Whether the Antichrist literally receives a mortal wound and is resurrected, or whether it is a satanic deception is disputed due to the adverb ωσει hosei ho-si': as if -- about, as (it had been, it were), like (as).8 In any event, this man becomes satanically possessed and rises from the abyss just before the abomination of desolation event at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. (Revelation 17:8). 

3. The ten kings

Walters further speculates: "If the beast is a supernatural fallen angel and he is one of the first seven, they are all supernatural fallen angels."  We know that the beast rises from sinful humanity. (Revelation 13:1). We also know that he rises from the abyss after his mortal wound just before the midpoint of the 70th week. (Revelation 13:3-4).  As such neither he nor any of the horns are supernatural fallen angels. (Revelation 17:15; Daniel 7:8).     

And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. (Revelation 13:2-3).

Walters "The beast is one of these first seven heads. That answers our question about what kind of kings these heads are. It has to be a supernatural head, a supernatural king. The seven kings are supernatural kings. So if the beast is a supernatural fallen angel, and he is one of the first seven, they are all supernatural fallen angels. It also tells us he was the supernatural king of one of the first five empires. How can we say that? The beast was (it happened in the past before John), is not (it was in the abyss already so it couldn't have been Rome because Rome was ruling at that time); and it's going to come back and go to destruction." 

Walter's speculation that the beast is "one of the first seven heads/kings" is based on "he belongs to the other seven". (Revelation 17:11). The correct interpretation of this verse is that the final beast is an embodiment of the seven, he is not literally "one of the seven". 

Alford: "..he himself (or, this) also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth unto perdition (this eighth, the last and worst phase of the beast, is not represented as any one of his heads, but as being the beast himself in actual embodiment. He is ἐκ τῶν ἑπτά,—not, “one of the seven,” but, the successor and result of the seven, following and springing out of them."9 

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown: "The eighth is not merely one of the seven restored, but a new power or person proceeding out of the seven, and at the same time embodying all the God-opposed features of the previous seven concentrated and consummated; for which reason there are said to be not eight, but only seven heads, for the eighth is the embodiment of all the seven."10 

Walters keeps digging a deeper hole and he discounts Rome as a possibility because of his idea that the "supernatural king/angelic ruler of Rome" was not in the abyss when John wrote Revelation. ..the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, (Revelation 17:9-10). Since Rome (one is) is included in the seven kings/kingdoms, the seven heads must be human kings, they cannot be angelic rulers. 

Walters: "{There are} five possibilities for the head that receives the fatal wound., Babylon, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Greece. They all received fatal head wounds and were all replaced by the next empire.. Revelation 13:2 it is primarily a leopard.. the Greek empire was the empire of Alexander the Great then split among his four generals known as the Diadochi. The greatest shadow of the Antichrist in history comes from the Seleucid empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a former leader who matches the Antichrist action for action. Doesn't it make sense that it was the Greek empire, the prince of Greece, the demonic leader of the Greek empire? Daniel 10:20 the prince of Greece will come.."

Walters eventually whittles his choice of "beast" down to the supernatural prince of Greece on some very flimsy evidence 1. because the final beast is primarily a leopard (Revelation 13:2);  2. because Michael says to Daniel:  when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. (Daniel 10:20) 3. because Antiochus IV Epiphanies is a major type of the Antichrist. 

There is no evidence for Walters' questionable assumption that five princes, including the princes of Persia and Greece, are in the abyss. Rather it appears that the ongoing angelic battle between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels will probably continue until the Parousia.

The angels who were cast into the abyss appear to have committed a definite sin which is hinted at but not specified. The information we have is sketchy, but there seems to be some connection with Genesis 6 and also the book of Enoch. 

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; (2 Peter 2:4).

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—(Jude 1:6)

  

Cambridge Bible: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned] Better, spared not angels, there being no article in the Greek. Here the nature of the sin is not specified. We may think either of a rebellion of angels headed by Satan, such as Milton has represented in Paradise Lost, or of the degradation of their spiritual nature by sensual lust, as in Genesis 6:2. Looking to the more definite language of Jude, 2 Peter 2:6-8, where the guilt of the angels is placed on a level with that of Sodom, it seems probable that the Apostle had the latter in his thoughts. He does not specify the sin, whether rebellion, as in Revelation 12:7; or uncleanness, as apparently in Jude 1:6, 7, and Genesis 6:4."11 

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19).

As well as being completely isolated, Walters' interpretation of Revelation 13:1 has so many flaws that it is absurd. With such weighty warnings against misrepresenting the book of Revelation, I am always staggered when people rearrange it to suit their own purposes. I cannot imagine why Walters is teaching this nonsense other than the intention to muddy the waters or gain followers. (Acts 20:30). Mark and avoid this false teacher! (Romans 16:17-18). 

1. Strong's Greek: 2281. θάλασσα (thalassa) -- the sea
2. Revelation 13 Commentary | Precept Austin
3. Revelation 13:1 Commentaries: And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.,
4. Revelation 13 Barnes' Notes
5. Revelation 9 Meyer's NT Commentary
6. Strong's Hebrew: 8269. שָׂר (sar) -- chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince
7. Revelation 11:7 Commentaries: When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
8. Strong's Greek: 5616. ὡσεί (hósei) -- as if, as it were, like
9. Revelation 17 Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford
10. Revelation 17:11 Commentaries: "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
11. 2 Peter 2:4 Commentaries: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;