In each blog, I often reference many different topics that I've already covered (or will soon cover), and maybe you've missed. Please review my blogs to read more...
CLICK HERE! for an index to previous blogs.
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Many of the notes below come from a book called Revelation Deciphered by Nelson Waters.
I do not agree with some of Nelson's Theological beliefs in this book, but I would highly recommend you getting a copy of this book and reading it through! It is a great resource for understanding upcoming events.
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Daniel's fourth beast should be of our primary interest so I want to stop and make sure we cover it in detail before moving on to Daniel 9.
This fourth beast will conquer Jerusalem and will bring about persecution and death to both Jews and Christians alike.
I've covered the fourth beast briefly in Daniel 7 and 8 but it will be good to review again and bring attention to this beast... this beast is the "little horn" aka Antichrist:
Dan 7:8 While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.
Two Beasts
In Revelation we see two beasts. A beast from the sea, and one from the earth (False Prophet).
[1] Beast of the Sea
The beast of the Sea is Antichrist:
Rev 13:1-2 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
[2] Beast of the Earth
The beast of the Earth is the False Prophet:
Rev 13:11-12 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
This blog will only deal with the first Beast above.
Like I said, I've covered some of these verses in different blogs, but here they are again:
Dan 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
Dan 7:7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a FOURTH BEAST, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
Rev 17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
We know that this fourth beast can be classified as a political/religious empire, a human ruler, and a spiritual demonic being.
We were told in Dan 7:7 that the four beasts are four kingdoms that shall arise on the earth.
We're also told of the beast that carries the woman:
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw WAS, and IS NOT [at John's time], and is ABOUT TO COME UP out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he WAS and IS NOT and WILL COME.
As the beast comes up out of the abyss we can determine that it is also demonic in nature.
Rev 17:9-10 Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are SEVEN MOUNTAINS on which the woman sits, and they are SEVEN KINGS; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
Now with the additional information above we know that the beast is also an earthly king. The seven heads are seven mountains AND seven kings.
Mountain is a symbol for kingdom (Dan 2:35). The "head" is a symbol of authority just as Jesus is the "Head" of His Body of believers.
The heads of the beast are the authoritative sources of the beast... the seven kingdoms ruled by the seven kings.
Satan also has seven heads. The beast is the incorporation of all of those kingdoms rolled into one beast.
Seven Heads Identified
Again, I covered this in my blog Daniel 7, but...
Dan 7:3-7 And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a [1] lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a [2] bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!' After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a [3] leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads [3-6], and dominion was given to it. After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a [7] fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
[1] Lion = Babylon (Iraq)
[2] Bear = Persia (Iran)
Leopard (with four heads) = after the death of Alexander, his Hellenistic kingdom was divided into four sub-kingdoms:
[3] Macedonia (Greece)
[4] Asia minor (Turkey)
[5] Seleucid Empire (Syria and much of eastern Asia)
[6] Ptolemaic Empire (Egypt)
[7] FUTURE BEAST EMPIRE... Islamic Federation.
Some will be quick to point out that "Rome" is not on the list above.
John recorded: "five have fallen, ONE IS, the other has not yet come".
John wrote during the reign of the Roman Empire so they claim that Rome must be on this list. There is an easy answer to this problem.
The geographical area that the Roman Empire occupied during the time of John was Asia Minor, also known today as: Turkey.
All six of the empires listed above perfectly match the land mass, or geographical locations of the nations listed above today in our modern time. These are the locations that the Beast, or Antichrist, will occupy and control. Also note that all of these nations are mostly Islamic and of the line of Esau, also named Edom in connection with the red lentil soup for which he sold his birthright.
This shows the enmity between Esau (later established as chief of the land of Edom) and his twin brother Jacob (later named Israel "wrestler with God") and you should be able to see all the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place.
This is the basis of the "olam ebah" (the ancient hatred) which still exists to this day! I will soon post a blog entitled "Olam Ebah" and fill in all the gaps of this great Biblical story which explains our news headlines to this very day... it's amazing!
Historic Empire Approach
Another approach to deciphering the seven heads is to look at the historical empires of the world that Satan has used to persecute Israel and Christianity.
They are the exact same nations as listed above but a curious thing develops when viewing them in chronological order on a timeline... each of these kingdoms defeated and replaced the previous kingdom.
[1] Egypt - Ptolemaic empire, modern day Egypt.
Pharaoh attempted genocide by killing Jewish baby boys and throwing them in the Nile River (Exo 1:16).
Assyria conquered Egypt sometime around 675-700BC (Isa 20:1-6)
[2] Assyria - Seleucid Empire, modern day Syria and Eastern Asia
Conquered Israel and sent it into captivity (2 Ki 17:1-6; 2 Ki 17:24; 2 Ki 18:7; 2 Ki 18:9) and nearly conquered Judah (Isa 10).
Babylon conquered Assyria sometime around 600BC.
[3] Babylon - Babylon, modern day Iraq
Conquered Judah and took them into captivity.
Medes and Persians conquered Babylon around 540BC (Dan 5).
[4] Persia - Persia, modern day Iran
Haman, in the Persian court, attempted genocide of the Jews (Book of Esther).
Greece conquered Persia around 324BC.
[5] Greece - Hellenistic, Macedonia, modern day Greece
Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple and killed thousands of Jews (Book of Maccabees).
Rome conquered Greece (The Seleucid Empire) around 65BC.
[6] Rome - Asia Minor, modern day Turkey
Rome crucified Jesus, ruled over Israel, and burned the temple in 70AD sending the Jews into captivity, etc., etc..
Islam (The Ottoman Empire) conquered Rome in 1453AD.
[7] Islamic Caliphate - Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire killed millions of Jews and Christians during their jihads. They built the Dome on the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The Allies of WWI divided the Ottoman Empire after WWI in 1922.
There should be no doubt of what the seven heads represent at this point. No matter which method you choose the seven heads of Satan and the Beast are clear.
Beast's Territory
The Beast, Antichrist's territory will be a federation of all the seven heads.
If you look at a map of these modern day nations, you'll see that it is basically the whole geographical area surrounding Israel.
You'll also see something missing from this group... Saudi Arabia.
What do we know about Saudi Arabia that might be applicable?
It was Muhammed's original home base from where his jihads were launched. It is also home to Mecca and the Kaaba at the Masjid al-Haram, the largest Islamic mosque in the world.
Seventh Head Slain
The beast has seven heads, but there are actually eight kingdoms.
One of the first seven heads dies, descends into the abyss, and then returns to the earth.
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw WAS, and IS NOT, and is ABOUT TO COME UP out of the abyss and go to destruction...
Rev 17:11 The beast which WAS and IS NOT, is himself also an EIGHTH and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Rev 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Which of the above seven heads was slain? The Islamic Ottoman Empire...
In 1922 the Allied Powers dissolved the Ottoman Empire after their victory in WWI.
The Islamic Caliphate is going to return to power.
Satan will deliver that power to the Antichrist and also deliver his throne to the Antichrist.
Where is Satan's throne?
Pergamum...
Rev 2:12-13 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
And where is Pergamum?
Modern day Turkey.
Beast is Demonic
Dan 10:20 Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.
It has been suggested that the Greek word [G758 - archon] is used in reference to spiritual rulers... both Angelic and Demonic. Michael the archangel is the Angel over Israel [G758 - archon].
The prince of Persia of which Michael fought against is also said to be a spiritual force.
Here's why I bring this up:
Many muslims believe that a physical animal known as the "Daabba" will arise during the time of the end. This animal will mark the foreheads of all believers in Islam so they can be differentiated from the infidels. They also expect this beast to speak.
I shouldn't have to remind you how closely this resembles the mark of the beast as found in Revelation:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Beast is Antichrist
The Beast himself will be the eighth king and he was one of the seven.
Does this mean that this demon possessed a king of the past will again possess another king in the near future?
I think that is exactly what the Revelation is trying to tell us.
We know that the Islamic Caliphate is the Beast... Islam is expecting their al-Mahdi, the coming one to lead this final caliphate.
I can only speculate, but a good example would be the demon that possessed Muhammed may be making a return appearance... in what form? We don't know yet, but the whole world will be amazed:
Rev 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Muhammed, himself claimed to be demon possessed. A "spirit being" dictated the Quran to Muhammed in a cave. During this dictation, Muhammed was choked forcibly three times. As a result, Muhammed attempted suicide and it is said that the "spirit" prevented his death.
The spirit claimed to be Gabriel and told Muhammed that he would be an apostle of allah.
Perhaps, the coming Antichrist will claim to be Muhammed himself. That would certainly unite the Sunni and Shia factions of Islam, and unite them fiercely in the final caliphate for world domination.
Also, seeing something like this would rattle the cages of Christendom and confuse some to the point of apostasy. Afterall, why would Jehovah allow this to happen? Perhaps Islam is the true religion afterall? "The whole earth was amazed".
Don't buy into the deception!
Authority of Satan
Joh 12:31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world [Satan] will be cast out.
Joh 14:30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world [Satan] is coming, and he has nothing in Me
Satan is currently the ruler of this world. Remember the temptation of Christ?
Luk 4:5-7 And he [Satan] led Him [Jesus] up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
The True Messiah turned down Satan's offer, but the coming false messiah (Antichrist) will eagerly accept the offer.
The kingdoms of this world do not become His [Jesus] Kingdom until Jesus returns and takes what is rightfully His at the seventh trumpet.
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The Antichrist will not have political authority over the entire world. While Satan has demonic authority over the world, he is not the political leader of all nations. The Antichrist will be given Satan's spiritual authority over the entire world, but their political reign appears to be over only those of the seven heads... the Middle East regions as defined above.
The whole world will be amazed, or in awe of the Beast after the head wound is healed but that does not mean that Antichrist will have political power over every nation.
Also note, that while Antichrist is given Satan's power - it is only given per God's guidelines and only lasts for as long as God says it lasts... 42 months (3.5 years).
Rev 13:5-7 There was GIVEN to him [Antichrist] a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months [3.5 years] was GIVEN to him.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
It was also GIVEN to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was GIVEN to him.
Notice above all that is GIVEN... this is all in accordance with God's plan and GIVEN by His guidelines. Even to war against the saints:
Dan 7:21-22 I beheld, and the same horn [Antichrist] made war WITH THE SAINTS, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom.
It is said that this is not necessarily a militaristic war, but a spiritual war and spiritual authority to overcome.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Remember how we discussed nikao? This is represented in the next verse of Revelation 13:
Rev 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him [Antichrist], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain.
We also know that Antichrist will not politically control specific regions in the Mideast:
Dan 11:41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
We also know that Antichrist will continue warring against other countries during this 3.5 year period:
Dan 11:44 But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him...
This may be in preparation for the sixth bowl judgment:
Rev 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
Antichrist has to use his demonic power to convince the other kings to do battle... he does not "order" them to do so:
Rev 16:13-14 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
If the Antichrist is indeed the Islamic Mahdi he will have spiritual and political control of all muslims across the globe... and it won't be control over "radical" Islam alone... it will be control over all of Islam.
There are muslims in every nation now and they are growing rapidly in numbers. It doesn't take much imagination to see the effects of this in our future.
Be prepared and use this knowledge to educate and witness to others... the time is drawing short and all of this was prophesied long ago. Use this information to build up your faith and watch for these events to unfold.
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We still need to briefly cover the False Prophet in Part 2:
[2] Beast of the Earth
The beast of the Earth is the False Prophet:
Rev 13:11-12 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
CLICK HERE! for an index to previous blogs.
____________________
Many of the notes below come from a book called Revelation Deciphered by Nelson Waters.
I do not agree with some of Nelson's Theological beliefs in this book, but I would highly recommend you getting a copy of this book and reading it through! It is a great resource for understanding upcoming events.
____________________
Daniel's fourth beast should be of our primary interest so I want to stop and make sure we cover it in detail before moving on to Daniel 9.
This fourth beast will conquer Jerusalem and will bring about persecution and death to both Jews and Christians alike.
I've covered the fourth beast briefly in Daniel 7 and 8 but it will be good to review again and bring attention to this beast... this beast is the "little horn" aka Antichrist:
Dan 7:8 While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.
Two Beasts
In Revelation we see two beasts. A beast from the sea, and one from the earth (False Prophet).
[1] Beast of the Sea
The beast of the Sea is Antichrist:
Rev 13:1-2 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
[2] Beast of the Earth
The beast of the Earth is the False Prophet:
Rev 13:11-12 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
This blog will only deal with the first Beast above.
Like I said, I've covered some of these verses in different blogs, but here they are again:
Dan 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
Dan 7:7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a FOURTH BEAST, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
Rev 17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
We know that this fourth beast can be classified as a political/religious empire, a human ruler, and a spiritual demonic being.
We were told in Dan 7:7 that the four beasts are four kingdoms that shall arise on the earth.
We're also told of the beast that carries the woman:
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw WAS, and IS NOT [at John's time], and is ABOUT TO COME UP out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he WAS and IS NOT and WILL COME.
As the beast comes up out of the abyss we can determine that it is also demonic in nature.
Rev 17:9-10 Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are SEVEN MOUNTAINS on which the woman sits, and they are SEVEN KINGS; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
Now with the additional information above we know that the beast is also an earthly king. The seven heads are seven mountains AND seven kings.
Mountain is a symbol for kingdom (Dan 2:35). The "head" is a symbol of authority just as Jesus is the "Head" of His Body of believers.
The heads of the beast are the authoritative sources of the beast... the seven kingdoms ruled by the seven kings.
Satan also has seven heads. The beast is the incorporation of all of those kingdoms rolled into one beast.
Seven Heads Identified
Again, I covered this in my blog Daniel 7, but...
Dan 7:3-7 And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. The first was like a [1] lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a [2] bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!' After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a [3] leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads [3-6], and dominion was given to it. After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a [7] fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
[1] Lion = Babylon (Iraq)
[2] Bear = Persia (Iran)
Leopard (with four heads) = after the death of Alexander, his Hellenistic kingdom was divided into four sub-kingdoms:
[3] Macedonia (Greece)
[4] Asia minor (Turkey)
[5] Seleucid Empire (Syria and much of eastern Asia)
[6] Ptolemaic Empire (Egypt)
[7] FUTURE BEAST EMPIRE... Islamic Federation.
Some will be quick to point out that "Rome" is not on the list above.
John recorded: "five have fallen, ONE IS, the other has not yet come".
John wrote during the reign of the Roman Empire so they claim that Rome must be on this list. There is an easy answer to this problem.
The geographical area that the Roman Empire occupied during the time of John was Asia Minor, also known today as: Turkey.
All six of the empires listed above perfectly match the land mass, or geographical locations of the nations listed above today in our modern time. These are the locations that the Beast, or Antichrist, will occupy and control. Also note that all of these nations are mostly Islamic and of the line of Esau, also named Edom in connection with the red lentil soup for which he sold his birthright.
This shows the enmity between Esau (later established as chief of the land of Edom) and his twin brother Jacob (later named Israel "wrestler with God") and you should be able to see all the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place.
This is the basis of the "olam ebah" (the ancient hatred) which still exists to this day! I will soon post a blog entitled "Olam Ebah" and fill in all the gaps of this great Biblical story which explains our news headlines to this very day... it's amazing!
Historic Empire Approach
Another approach to deciphering the seven heads is to look at the historical empires of the world that Satan has used to persecute Israel and Christianity.
They are the exact same nations as listed above but a curious thing develops when viewing them in chronological order on a timeline... each of these kingdoms defeated and replaced the previous kingdom.
[1] Egypt - Ptolemaic empire, modern day Egypt.
Pharaoh attempted genocide by killing Jewish baby boys and throwing them in the Nile River (Exo 1:16).
Assyria conquered Egypt sometime around 675-700BC (Isa 20:1-6)
[2] Assyria - Seleucid Empire, modern day Syria and Eastern Asia
Conquered Israel and sent it into captivity (2 Ki 17:1-6; 2 Ki 17:24; 2 Ki 18:7; 2 Ki 18:9) and nearly conquered Judah (Isa 10).
Babylon conquered Assyria sometime around 600BC.
[3] Babylon - Babylon, modern day Iraq
Conquered Judah and took them into captivity.
Medes and Persians conquered Babylon around 540BC (Dan 5).
[4] Persia - Persia, modern day Iran
Haman, in the Persian court, attempted genocide of the Jews (Book of Esther).
Greece conquered Persia around 324BC.
[5] Greece - Hellenistic, Macedonia, modern day Greece
Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple and killed thousands of Jews (Book of Maccabees).
Rome conquered Greece (The Seleucid Empire) around 65BC.
[6] Rome - Asia Minor, modern day Turkey
Rome crucified Jesus, ruled over Israel, and burned the temple in 70AD sending the Jews into captivity, etc., etc..
Islam (The Ottoman Empire) conquered Rome in 1453AD.
[7] Islamic Caliphate - Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire killed millions of Jews and Christians during their jihads. They built the Dome on the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The Allies of WWI divided the Ottoman Empire after WWI in 1922.
There should be no doubt of what the seven heads represent at this point. No matter which method you choose the seven heads of Satan and the Beast are clear.
Beast's Territory
The Beast, Antichrist's territory will be a federation of all the seven heads.
If you look at a map of these modern day nations, you'll see that it is basically the whole geographical area surrounding Israel.
You'll also see something missing from this group... Saudi Arabia.
What do we know about Saudi Arabia that might be applicable?
It was Muhammed's original home base from where his jihads were launched. It is also home to Mecca and the Kaaba at the Masjid al-Haram, the largest Islamic mosque in the world.
Seventh Head Slain
The beast has seven heads, but there are actually eight kingdoms.
One of the first seven heads dies, descends into the abyss, and then returns to the earth.
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw WAS, and IS NOT, and is ABOUT TO COME UP out of the abyss and go to destruction...
Rev 17:11 The beast which WAS and IS NOT, is himself also an EIGHTH and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Rev 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Which of the above seven heads was slain? The Islamic Ottoman Empire...
In 1922 the Allied Powers dissolved the Ottoman Empire after their victory in WWI.
The Islamic Caliphate is going to return to power.
Satan will deliver that power to the Antichrist and also deliver his throne to the Antichrist.
Where is Satan's throne?
Pergamum...
Rev 2:12-13 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
And where is Pergamum?
Modern day Turkey.
Beast is Demonic
Dan 10:20 Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.
It has been suggested that the Greek word [G758 - archon] is used in reference to spiritual rulers... both Angelic and Demonic. Michael the archangel is the Angel over Israel [G758 - archon].
The prince of Persia of which Michael fought against is also said to be a spiritual force.
Here's why I bring this up:
Many muslims believe that a physical animal known as the "Daabba" will arise during the time of the end. This animal will mark the foreheads of all believers in Islam so they can be differentiated from the infidels. They also expect this beast to speak.
I shouldn't have to remind you how closely this resembles the mark of the beast as found in Revelation:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Beast is Antichrist
The Beast himself will be the eighth king and he was one of the seven.
Does this mean that this demon possessed a king of the past will again possess another king in the near future?
I think that is exactly what the Revelation is trying to tell us.
We know that the Islamic Caliphate is the Beast... Islam is expecting their al-Mahdi, the coming one to lead this final caliphate.
I can only speculate, but a good example would be the demon that possessed Muhammed may be making a return appearance... in what form? We don't know yet, but the whole world will be amazed:
Rev 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Muhammed, himself claimed to be demon possessed. A "spirit being" dictated the Quran to Muhammed in a cave. During this dictation, Muhammed was choked forcibly three times. As a result, Muhammed attempted suicide and it is said that the "spirit" prevented his death.
The spirit claimed to be Gabriel and told Muhammed that he would be an apostle of allah.
Perhaps, the coming Antichrist will claim to be Muhammed himself. That would certainly unite the Sunni and Shia factions of Islam, and unite them fiercely in the final caliphate for world domination.
Also, seeing something like this would rattle the cages of Christendom and confuse some to the point of apostasy. Afterall, why would Jehovah allow this to happen? Perhaps Islam is the true religion afterall? "The whole earth was amazed".
Don't buy into the deception!
Authority of Satan
Joh 12:31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world [Satan] will be cast out.
Joh 14:30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world [Satan] is coming, and he has nothing in Me
Luk 4:5-7 And he [Satan] led Him [Jesus] up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
The True Messiah turned down Satan's offer, but the coming false messiah (Antichrist) will eagerly accept the offer.
The kingdoms of this world do not become His [Jesus] Kingdom until Jesus returns and takes what is rightfully His at the seventh trumpet.
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The Antichrist will not have political authority over the entire world. While Satan has demonic authority over the world, he is not the political leader of all nations. The Antichrist will be given Satan's spiritual authority over the entire world, but their political reign appears to be over only those of the seven heads... the Middle East regions as defined above.
The whole world will be amazed, or in awe of the Beast after the head wound is healed but that does not mean that Antichrist will have political power over every nation.
Also note, that while Antichrist is given Satan's power - it is only given per God's guidelines and only lasts for as long as God says it lasts... 42 months (3.5 years).
Rev 13:5-7 There was GIVEN to him [Antichrist] a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months [3.5 years] was GIVEN to him.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
It was also GIVEN to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was GIVEN to him.
Notice above all that is GIVEN... this is all in accordance with God's plan and GIVEN by His guidelines. Even to war against the saints:
Dan 7:21-22 I beheld, and the same horn [Antichrist] made war WITH THE SAINTS, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom.
It is said that this is not necessarily a militaristic war, but a spiritual war and spiritual authority to overcome.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Remember how we discussed nikao? This is represented in the next verse of Revelation 13:
Rev 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him [Antichrist], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain.
We also know that Antichrist will not politically control specific regions in the Mideast:
Dan 11:41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
We also know that Antichrist will continue warring against other countries during this 3.5 year period:
Dan 11:44 But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him...
This may be in preparation for the sixth bowl judgment:
Rev 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
Antichrist has to use his demonic power to convince the other kings to do battle... he does not "order" them to do so:
Rev 16:13-14 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
If the Antichrist is indeed the Islamic Mahdi he will have spiritual and political control of all muslims across the globe... and it won't be control over "radical" Islam alone... it will be control over all of Islam.
There are muslims in every nation now and they are growing rapidly in numbers. It doesn't take much imagination to see the effects of this in our future.
Be prepared and use this knowledge to educate and witness to others... the time is drawing short and all of this was prophesied long ago. Use this information to build up your faith and watch for these events to unfold.
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We still need to briefly cover the False Prophet in Part 2:
[2] Beast of the Earth
The beast of the Earth is the False Prophet:
Rev 13:11-12 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
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