The Beast is not the same entity as "the" antichrist. The Beast from the Sea = Rome and Nero. The beast from The Land (which land? THE Land! Israel) had two horns like a ram (superficial nodding acquaintance with Biblical faith) but spake like a dragon (We will have no King but Caesar!) IOW -- the corrupted rabbinic Judaism that repudiated God's Messiah and sucked up to pagan Rome instead. Israel gave Rome a "credibility transfusion" that reinvigorated the Roman Empire for a few years, even as American Christians today prop up the most effective enemy of their faith, the public education system.