"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, with 7 heads and 10 horns and upon his horns, 10 crowns, and upon its heads the name of blasphemy." Rev. 13:1
This prophecy of a beast that will rule the known earth, seems to be a duel prophecy. It seems to have been partly fulled in the past, yet may be fulfilled in a slightly different manner in these end times.
We know that this prophecy is related to that of the 7th chapter of Daniel, where we learn the symbolism of these heads and horns. Read carefully that chapter before reading on here.
The first four heads are the four beasts of Daniel chapter 7: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, in that order. Out of Rome would come 10 horns, and with a little horn among the other horns. After Rome, came the Byzantine Empire, which was the 5th head. The 6th head was the country of Italy in 1861. And now we have the last, the 7th head, as the European Union. Therefore, as present, the EU could represent this beast, but it does seem unlikely to be the beast that is cast into the lake of fire along with the second beast, aka the false prophet at the end of the 7th trumpet. It is very interesting that there are 27 heads and horns total representing this beast! And until Britain left the EU, there exactly 27 nations involved with the EU!
We know that the name Europe counts to 660 using the Greek. But most believe the beast's name must count to 666. So, there may be some other way to count it's name. Or there will be another beast, perhaps a man leader, who will rule the earth in these last days, and thereby, fulfill the prophecy of this first beast more completely in these times. It would seem that his name must count to 666 in the Greek for Him to be the beast, the antichrist.
More on this later.