When I first heard about this, I had my doubts. After all, it sounds too crazy to be true. But as it turns out, the United Nations is now displaying a statue that fits the description of the beasts described in both Daniel and Revelation, right outside their headquarters in New York City.

As in, the adversarial figure mentioned in Bible prophecy as being a ruling power that’s the enemy of the saints.

Pictured above is the statue named, “The Guardian of International Peace and Security”. It’s said to be a mixture between a jaguar and an eagle, but it looks like an artistic representation of the beast described by the Biblical prophet Daniel, and again in the book of Revelation.

Here is Revelation 13:2:

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Revelation 13:2

According to the above verse, the beast is supposed to be like a leopard. Here is a picture of a leopard:

And here’s a Jaguar:

There are many similarities, as they are both large orange cats with black spots.

Here’s what a bear paw looks like:

There’s one more claw than the statue, but notice how the claws are exposed, as they are on the statue? Seems like the statue’s paws seem more like a bear than a cat. A cat’s claws are retractable, but they have to spread their claws to expose them.

And here is a lion with it’s mouth open.

A lion’s mouth is similar to that of a jaguar, but is conspicuously wider, which can also be said about the statue.

Finally, the verse says that the beast got it’s authority from the dragon. As it so happens, the statue looks dragon-like, with wings and spiky ridges starting from the top of its head, and going down along it’s back to the tip of its tail.

Considering how well this fits the Biblical description of the first beast of Revelation 13, some might wonder whether it’s a fulfillment of that prophecy. Personally, I suspect that it isn’t, considering that it’s apparent that the descriptions of the beasts in Bible prophecy were intended to be allegories for the attributes of ruling powers.

Because the descriptions of the beasts are among the better-known Bible symbols, I suspect that the design of the statue was a deliberate move, and was intended to communicate that the U.N. is well aware of their adversarial relationship with Christianity, and is yet another method to communicate to the Christian world that they do not have their values.

Considering what else Revelation 13 has to say about the first beast it describes, it’s interesting that the U.N. would decide to display such an adversarial figure:

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 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. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Revelation 13:3-8

Considering that it says, “it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:”, the statue might be the U.N.’s way of saying that they don’t want to be friends with Christians. What’s more, Revelation continues, “and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”, the statue may be the U.N.’s way of saying that they aspire to achieve total domination over global affairs. Which wouldn’t be terribly surprising, considering their behavior as of late.

Interestingly, Revelation 13 mentions a second beast, and here is a link to the chapter so you can read it. Interestingly, the chapter culminates in a warning for us about a system of identification for all people, down to the individual level, without which a person would not be permitted to participate in commercial activities (verses 16-18).

As much as I could speculate that the artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles were trolling the U.N. to have the statue displayed completely unaware of the symbolism involved, even a person who never bothered to read a word of the Scriptures with any intention other than to smugly criticize them should be familiar with the symbolism, as it is one of the most recognizable symbols in the cultural frame of reference of many (perhaps most) U.N. officials. That’s why I suspect that its prominent display outside the United Nations building in New York City was in deliberate consideration of the symbolism.

The officials who understand the symbolism may actually find the display of the statue funny, but I suspect that many people of Christian background, such as myself, do not. But if their choice to display the statue wasn’t for humor, that might indicate some different problems.

The global leadership that’s in power today does not have the same values as the people that they govern, and we didn’t need some statue to tell us that.

We’d all have a better shot at peace and security if the United Nations would collectively shut their mouths and leave the rest of us be.