The Two Beasts in Revelation 13

One Vision, Two Beasts

The First Beast Seen Through the Eyes of Nephi

If you want to know who the two beasts are in Revelation 13, just ask Nephi. Better yet, read the apocalypse of Nephi in 1 Nephi 13–14.

Nephi’s vision in chapter 13 runs from 70 AD until the restoration of the church in 1830, which corresponds to Revelation 13:1–10. Nephi’s vision in chapter 14 runs from the restoration of the church to the Second Coming, which corresponds to John’s vision in Revelation 13:11–18.

Nephi and John had the same apocalyptic vision, but they used different names for the symbolic events they described.

For example, in 1 Nephi 13, Satan’s power and earthly kingdom at the end of the apostolic era is called the great and abominable church. John calls this same power the First Beast in Revelation 13 as a symbolic image for the Roman Empire.

The seven heads of the First Beast in Revelation 13:1 correspond to the seven hills on which Rome was built. (Rev 17:9)

The Great and Abominable Church

Since the Roman Empire is a symbolic synonym for the great and abominable church after 70 AD, this abominable church refers to:

“An immense assembly or association of people bound together by their loyalty to that which God hates.”
(Dennis Largey, The Book of Mormon Reference Companion, 311)

This title identifies:

“All churches or organizations of whatever name or nature—whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious—which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God.”
(Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 137–138)

The First Beast Rises from the Sea

In the context of the Roman Empire, the First Beast fostered the rise of the great and abominable church from the sea, which represents the bottomless pit, the abyss, and hell in Revelation 13:1.

Thus, a spiritual power rose within the Roman Empire that eventually overcame the ancient church of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, this power grew from within the ancient church itself.

“The beast seen by John that overcame the saints might be interpreted best as being Christianity itself—not the Christianity of Jesus, Peter, John, and Paul, but the Christianity that overcame the saints and apostles and survived into the next generation, ‘in the likeness of the kingdoms of the earth’ [Revelation 13:1, JST].”
(Lundquist & Ricks, eds., By Study and Also by Faith, Vol. 1, 94–95, 116)

Behold, There Are Two Churches Only

The true church of Jesus Christ was absent from the earth throughout the Great Apostasy until its restoration in 1830.

The restoration coincides with John’s vision of the Second Beast in Revelation 13:11–18. (Cf. 1 Ne 14:1, 7)

The restoration fulfilled the prophecy in 1 Nephi 14:10, which states:

“Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil.”

This declaration could not be made until the true church was again on the earth.

John described the “other church of the devil” in Revelation 13:11 as the Second Beast, which:

“Had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”

There are many good and lamblike churches in the latter days—both Christian and non-Christian, religious and secular.

But these other churches speak like a dragon because, as Elder McConkie taught, they lead people away from the truth and from salvation in Jesus Christ, which can be found only in the church of the Lamb of God.

Learn More

For a deeper dive into the two beasts in John’s vision in Revelation 13 and Nephi’s complementary visions in 1 Nephi 13–14, check out my podcasts from:

🎧 January 4, 2025 – Listen here

🎧 January 6, 2025 – Listen here

(Also available wherever you get your podcasts)

🎥 From Last Week’s Vlog

John Cassinat
Unveiling Jesus Christ

One Vision, Two Beasts