OK. Thank you that makes sense I agree, with the above.

So it all checks out with the Apocalypse, now we have to look closer at what the explanation is for this beast...

Yes, and the basis for that explanation is found in Fr. Palau's book, but also and primarily in Daniel, the Apocalypse and  4 Esdras. All of these works are talking about the same entities and the same events. So we must tease out the essential core of events and put together the unique puzzle pieces that each description provides. Then the picture will come into better focus. 

I am happy to go through it with you and tell you what I have found.

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the tendency to think of these apocalyptic scenarios as referring to secular, geo-political events and people. That is fundamentally incorrect. These prophetic works are concerned with the Roman Catholic Church in the time just before the Second Coming.

The prophetic veil uses the symbols like wars and swords and kings and beasts in a figurative way to hide the fact that the subject matter is the final battle taking place between "the woman" and "the serpent." The woman is at once the faithful remnant Church and the Virgin. The serpent is Satan and his possessed agents working inside the Church to destroy it. These agents are ultimately the Antichrist and False Prophet, but also the antichrists and false prophets who prepare the way for these last demonic manifestations. And these are real people, the Cardinals and Bishops primarily, but also the Popes who allow themselves to be influenced by those demonic Cardinals and Bishops.