13:11 John then saw another beast, coming out of the earth, completing the trinity which rules over the evil kingdom. While John perhaps recognizes this second beast as Behemoth, the evil monster who occupies the primeval desert regions according to Jewish myth (Job 40:15–24; 1 Enoch 60:7–10; 4 Ezra 6:49–53), it is not clear how or if he then intends to use particulars of that myth to interpret the evil role of this second beast. John could have utilized the Behemoth/Leviathan myth simply as an aid in recognizing the two beasts in his vision as evil and eschatological. But this does not get the interpreter very far.

In the interpretation of Daniel’s dream of the four beasts, the author refers to the beasts as “four kingdoms that will rise from the earth” (Dan. 7:17). While appearing very …