The Identity of the Dragon

The prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12. The dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His birth is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus the dragon is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.HF 271.2

In Revelation 13 is another beast, “like unto a leopard,” to which the dragon gave “his power, and his seat, and great authority.” This symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the Roman empire. Of the leopardlike beast it is declared: “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. ... And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Revelation 13:2:5-7. This prophecy, nearly identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the papacy.HF 271.3

“Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months”—the three years and a half, or 1260 days, of Daniel 7—during which the papal power was to oppress God's people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time the papal power received its “deadly wound,” and the prediction was fulfilled, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.”HF 272.1