they think they're clever, but they aren't the beast. the beast is a politcal/religious system. all prophecy in the Bible follows keys which are laid out in the book of Daniel.  if you read the prophecy regarding Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the four beast prophecy in Daniel's dream, they are the same world powers, starting from Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, to the the Medes and Persians, to the Greek empire, to Rome, which is still the world power of today. we are in the "feet" portion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.