Topical Bible: The Wicked are Compared to Beasts

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In the Bible, the wicked are often metaphorically compared to beasts, illustrating their lack of moral discernment, their instinctual behavior, and their opposition to God's righteous order. This imagery serves to highlight the contrast between the righteous, who are guided by divine wisdom, and the wicked, who are driven by base instincts.

Psalm 73:22 · "I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You." In this verse, the psalmist Asaph reflects on his own envy of the wicked and acknowledges that in his ignorance, he behaved like a beast. This comparison underscores the idea that without understanding and wisdom from God, humans can descend into a state of moral and spiritual insensitivity akin to that of animals.

Ecclesiastes 3:18 · "I said to myself concerning the sons of men, 'God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.'" Here, Solomon observes that humans, in their mortality and earthly pursuits, often resemble beasts. This comparison is not to deny the unique spiritual capacity of humans but to emphasize the folly of living without regard for God's eternal perspective.

2 Peter 2:12 · "But these men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will perish." Peter warns against false teachers and those who indulge in sinful desires, likening them to irrational animals. This comparison highlights their lack of spiritual insight and the destructive path they follow.

Jude 1:10 · "These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively." Jude echoes Peter's sentiment, emphasizing that those who reject divine truth and follow their instincts are akin to beasts, ultimately leading to their own destruction.

Daniel 7:17 · "These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth." In Daniel's vision, the empires of the world are depicted as beasts, symbolizing their power, ferocity, and opposition to God's kingdom. This imagery serves to remind believers of the transient and often brutal nature of earthly powers compared to the eternal reign of God.

Revelation 13:1-2 · "Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns, and blasphemous names on its heads. The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion." In Revelation, the beast represents a culmination of worldly powers in opposition to God, characterized by their beastly nature and blasphemy.

Throughout Scripture, the comparison of the wicked to beasts serves as a powerful metaphor for their moral and spiritual condition. It underscores the consequences of living apart from God's wisdom and the ultimate futility of opposing His divine order.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 49:12
Nevertheless man being in honor stays not: he is like the beasts that perish.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Peter 2:12
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether it is Lawful to Kill Sinners?
... rather are protected and saved by the slaying of the wicked, then the ... was in honor,
did not understand; he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether it is lawful to 7.htm

The Wicked Husbandmen.
... He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and ... former flourishing condition and
great extent compared with its ... of the protecting fence, the wild beasts of the ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xi the wicked husbandmen.htm

A Discourse of Mercifulness
... Blessed are the merciful'. The wicked are compared to beasts of prey that live
upon rapine and spoil. They do not care what mischief they do. ...
/.../15 a discourse of mercifulness.htm

Letter ii. --For 330. Easter-Day xxiv Pharmuthi; xiii Kal. Mai ...
... they were careless and imitated the wicked, the prophet ... of man, and birds, and
four-footed beasts, and creeping ... Lord, and with what have ye compared Him [3944 ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/letter ii for 330 easter-day xxiv.htm

Concerning Peaceableness
... White-robed peace is becoming to men, fierce anger is fitting for wild beasts.'
Man has his reason given him that he should ... The wicked are compared to a ...
/.../the beatitudes an exposition of matthew 51-12/18 concerning peaceableness.htm

The Potter and the Clay
... that many are offended, when mankind are compared to beasts ... a physical sense, that
they were really beasts and really ... said to lie in him, the wicked one, who ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the potter and the clay.htm

Demonstration v. --Of Wars.
... [733] And David said:"I saw the wicked exalted and ... So in the vision of the beasts
he is compared to a lion which excels in its might all the beasts. ...
/.../aphrahat/aphrahat select demonstrations/demonstration v of wars.htm

Psalm XLIX.
... to what men have brought themselves: they regard not what a wicked life he ... though
he was in honour perceived not, he was compared to the beasts without sense ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm xlix.htm

The Second Part.
... I rule no one, [1654] I would rule the wicked. ... hath writ at the end: "Man, though
he was in honour, understood not, was compared to the beasts without sense ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/the second part.htm

The Eternity of God
... an end; as all sensitive creatures, the beasts, fowls, fishes ... eternal, therefore
the torments of the wicked are eternal ... The wrath of God is compared to a stream ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/3 the eternity of god.htm