Are the two great world leaders of the tribulation actual animals?
No. The two great world leaders of the tribulation are not actual animals; they are men. They are called bestial only because their personalities will be ruthless toward humanity. One is the Antichrist, a counterfeit of the Son, and the other is a false religious leader.
Les explains that these two great world leaders during the tribulation are not animals but men. They are bestial in their personalities because they will be so ruthless toward humanity. The second figure, a false Holy Spirit or false religious leader, will cause the people of the earth to worship the Antichrist, who is a counterfeit of the Son. He will say to those dwelling on the earth that they should make an image of the Antichrist, just as Nebuchadnezzar built a great image to centralize worship. The Antichrist and the false prophet will consort together to amalgamate all the religions of the world into worship of one great image. The false religious leader will have power to give life to the image, which Les notes is not beyond present technology, referencing the Japanese working on a living cell computer.