Is the beast of Revelation 13 the same as the beast of Daniel 7? There are several similarities between the Beast described in Revelation chapter 13 and the one described  in Daniel chapter 7.

Rev 13:1 and 2 KJV


  
  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 
  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 
  


Dan 7:6  and 7  KJV


  
  After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. 
  After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 
  


Do any Theologians support this idea?
The beasts in Daniel 7 are explained in Daniel 7:17 as four (separate and distinct) kings (kingdoms) which arise out of the earth (mankind). These respectively correspond to the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.
They give rise to a little horn (power) which rises up out of the fourth kingdom (Rome).
In verses 11, 20, 21, 24 and 25 of Daniel 7, this power is said to be bombastic (:11), a persecutor of the true saints (:21), one who destroys other contenders or powers (:24), one who claims great titles and glory to itself, crushes the true church almost out of existence and changes times and laws (:25).
Papacy fulfills this description minutely. Any short investigation of the Inquisition would remove the thought of this church system as an holy representation of God on earth. It is anti-Christian in the sense of being a false Christian system which supplants God's Church and it is anti-Christian also in that it has fought to destroy any Christian that disagrees with it.
Daniel chapter 7 is similar to Daniel chapter 11 in that it relays historical happenings yet to occur in a symbolic form.
Is the beast described in Revelation 13 the same as the beasts (plural) of Daniel? No.
Although there are similarities in the description, the book of Revelation was written during the fourth kingdom (Rome) and so, being prophetic like Daniel, it referred to the Papacy only and not to the past "beasts" or kingdoms.
Is the beast/whore of Babylon also said in Revelation to be a persecutor of the saints or the Church? Yes: Revelation 17:6, 18:24, 13:7

The following links refer to the beast/whore of Babylon more minutely and completely than I have outlined here for those who are interested:
Beast of Revelation - Part 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugLOPrWfSM
Beast of Revelation - Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHGtjwZ79Xs

Thank you for the warm welcome and I apologize for not originally following the form of this forum.