Daniel 2 & 7
(and Revelation 13 & 17 as a bonus [because they go together])
IS THE BIBLE GOD'S INFALLABLE WORD? HOW CAN YOU BE SURE? IS THERE PROOF? The proof that the Bible is God's inspired Word
can be seen through fulfilled prophecy.
What important set of prophecies can we look at which
will both prove God's Word as infallible, and answer a vital
question mankind has had for millennia of time?
Let's take a close look at the prophecies that show
the predicted rise and fall of empires, right up to the
return of Jesus Christ.
History has successfully verified over nine tenths
of these two prophecies found in Daniel 2 & 7 as 100
percent accurate. Less than ten percent are left to fulfill.
These empires were scary dictatorships for the most
part, so this is not only a valid proof of God's Word but
also serves as a warning of what's coming on mankind--and
the hope of a better world after Jesus returns.
This study will show that
one of the ten prophecied revivals of the fourth major Gentile
world empire, predicted by God through Daniel, was the Hitler-Mussolini
juggernaut that swept across Europe.
How real are these prophecies that prove God's Word
beyond a doubt? How real was this ninth revival of the fourth
Gentile empire predicted by Daniel?
Let William L. Shirer answer that one.
"The man who founded the Third Reich, who ruled
it ruthlessly and often with uncommon shrewdness, who led
it to such dizzy heights and to such a sorry end, was a
person of undoubted, if evil, genius...But without Hitler,
who was possessed of a demonic personality, a granite will,
of uncanny instincts, a cold ruthlessness, a remarkable
intellect, a soaring imagination and--until toward the end,
when drunk with power and success, he overreached himself--an
amazing capacity to size up people and situations, there
most certainly would never have been a Third Reich"
(Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, pp.20-21).
"In keeping with the emphasis placed on speed
and mobility, the German Armed Forces in World War II were
supplied with a dazzling array of fighting vehicles capable
of performing almost every battlefield function.
Taking pride of place among German divisions were
such excellent tanks as the Panzer III,
Panzer IV, Panther, and Tiger, ably supported by a range
of self-propelled anti-tank guns, infantry-support guns
and heavy artillery. For the infantry there were armoured cars and
half-tracks, allowing them to keep up with the tanks in
true Bliztkrieg style (German Tanks & Fighting Vehicles
of World War II). That's a "tip
of the iceberg" look into the second to last prophecied
resurrection of the Roman empire--with
one yet to follow. Do
you want to understand what the next one will be like, but
worse? Look into
history. Read Shirer's
"Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
How do I know there will be a next one, and that
God's Word is true and predicts so.
Read on. [Watching the movie "Schindler's List"
gives a very good look at the dark side of this particular
revival of the "Holy Roman Empire",
and will take less time to watch than reading Walter Schirer's
"Rise & Fall...]
When will the Kingdom of God be physically established on earth?
Does the Bible give us any indication at all-any
outline of events that lead up to this tremendous event?
The first question we need to ask ourselves then is: So when is the literal governmental Kingdom of God going to be physically established
on earth by Jesus in the broad expanse of history? As many Bible prophecies show, the Kingdom of God will be physically established on earth
at the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.
(And I'm taking the premise that Jesus' coming will
be literal and these prophecies are literal because nine
tenths of them have been fulfilled literally in history.
It goes against sound logic to spiritualize away
the last one tenth of a prophecy's fulfillment when the
previous nine tenths has been literally fulfilled and is
in our history books.) Does the Bible tell us anything about
the timing of this great event, when it is to occur in the
future? Indeed it
does! Only God can know for sure when the events will actually
start to occur that will trigger these end-time prophecies,
i.e. World War III,
and then Jesus Christ's very necessary intervention in man's
self-genocidal insanity. This much is certain however, history
is cyclical, and these events will
eventually come
to pass--for this event is part of a 20th century cycle
of World Wars.
Part of the answer to our
question of timing (although we are in no way attempting
to set specific dates to the Messiah's coming) can be found
in the second chapter of Daniel.
The book of Daniel is historically datable to the
time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire.
(And what follows is one GIANT
proof of God and of the infallibility of his Word the Bible,
for what mere mortal, even a righteous prophet, could, on
his very own, predict all of these events, and then bring
them to pass as they have been fulfilled down through millenniums
of time?) [This is
one reason atheistic critics of the Bible try to discount
Daniel as the original author of the Book of Daniel.
But the way these prophecies unfold and continue
to unfold, if Daniel were born at the time of Jesus Christ's
birth, two thirds of the prophecies would yet be there to
fulfill, many of which are fulfilled today in the year 2001. These critics have been essentially blown away
by any sensible reader and researcher of God's Word, and
they know it.] History
accurately records that Nebuchadnezzar first came to power
in 625 B.C. The first
captivity of the Jewish nation when Daniel was captured
took place around 605 B.C.
So again, if you are looking for an infallible proof
of the Bible as God's Word, realize that no mere human,
not even Daniel, could have accurately foretold the future
the way the book of Daniel does.
In Daniel chapter 2 king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
is shown as having a weird dream about a giant image whose
head was of fine gold, with shoulders and arms of silver,
thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with
clay. The king was badly disturbed by this dream and
called all his astrologers and magicians together and demanded
to know the meaning of the dream.
He told them that he had even forgotten the dream
and wanted them to recall it for him. If they didn't he'd kill all the wise men in
Babylon, including Daniel
and his three friends. Obviously,
this task was humanly impossible for them to do.
This event put Daniel's life on the line even though
he had nothing to do with these astrologers because he was
considered a wise man (Daniel 2:3-7).
The astrologers couldn't interpret or recall the
dream so the king ordered the death of all the wise men
in Babylon
(verses 8-13). Daniel
then sought God for the meaning of the dream so he and his
friends wouldn't be slain with the astrologers (verses 16-18).
God mercifully revealed the meaning of the dream
to Daniel in a vision at night (verses 19-23).
Daniel then revealed the dream and its' meaning to
the king. Let's
pick up the story in verses 31-44.
"You, O king were watching; and behold, a great
image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent,
stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image's
head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its
belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly
of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without
hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay,
and broke them in pieces.
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver,
and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff
from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them
away so that no trace of them was found.
And the stone that struck the image became a great
mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before
the king. You, O
king are a king of kings.
For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power,
strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell,
or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven,
he has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler
over them--you are this head of gold. But
after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours;
then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule
over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as
iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters all
things; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break
in pieces and crush all the others."
Historically Babylon came first, then came the Persian empire which conquered
Babylon. Then came Alexander the Great's empire, which
conquered that whole section of the eastern Mediterranean
all the way to India. Then came the Roman Empire,
which later on was divided into two sections. The eastern
half ruled from Constantinople, the western half ruled from
Rome, and held in it's power most of Europe, north Africa,
and even the territory of the British Isles.
Daniel lived into the very beginning of the time
of the Persians, but he couldn't have predicted so accurately
the rise and fall of the two other empires to follow the
Persians. Let's read
on. "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly
of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just
as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and
partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and
partly fragile. As
you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with
the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another,
just as iron does not mix with clay. [vs. 44]
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever." The last verse, 44, is a brief description of
the Kingdom of
God conquering
the last resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, represented
by the feet and ten toes of the image. Daniel chapter seven makes this clearer, showing
that the ten toes really do represent the final resurrection
of the Holy Roman Empire. In
this vision revealed by God to Daniel in the seventh chapter
of Daniel, God shows us that the two legs not only represent
the Roman Empire but its' successive resurrections down
through European history. When Daniel chapter seven is added to Daniel
chapter two the complete meaning of the image is revealed.
Daniel chapter seven, just as in Daniel two,
describes in prophetic vision by use of symbols, four main
world-ruling empires. Letting the Bible interpret itself,
these are the same four empires described in Daniel two
but by different symbols. So the first is Babylon,
the second Persia,
the third Alexander and the fourth Rome. This prophecy gets into a more thorough description
of the fourth empire, Rome,
and its' successive resurrections down through history. Daniel 7:1-8, 11-28. "In the first year
of Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions
of his head while on his bed.
Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.
Daniel spoke, saying, `I saw in my vision by night,
and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the
Great
Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea,
each different from the other.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings
[the winged lion was the royal symbol of the Babylonian
Empire]. I watched
till its wings were plucked off; and it was made to stand
on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear.
It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs
in its mouth between its teeth.
And they said thus to it: `Arise, devour much flesh!'
After this I looked, and there was another, like
a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird.
The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given
to it. After this
I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong.
It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking
in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before
it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another
horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in the horn, were eyes like the eyes
of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words...I watched
then because of the sound of the pompous words which the
horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain and
its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their
dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for
a season and a time...(verses 11-28) I, Daniel, was grieved
in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head
troubled me. I came
near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth
of all this. So he
told me and made known to me the interpretation of these
things: `Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings
(footnote: Representing their kingdoms (compare to verse
23)) which arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the
kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and
ever.' Then I wished
to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different
from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth
of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in
pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and about
the ten horns that were on its head, and about the other
horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that
horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words,
whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I was watching; and the same horn was making
war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until
the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor
of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the
saints to possess the kingdom. Thus he said: `The fourth beast shall be a fourth
kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and
break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise
from this kingdom. And
another shall arise after them; he shall be different from
the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend
to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand for
a time and times and half a time [three and a half years].
But the court shall be seated, and they shall take
away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.
Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness
of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to
the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey Him.'
This is the end of the account.
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me,
and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my
heart.'"
To recap, Daniel 7 describes
in prophetic vision, by the use of symbols, four main world-ruling
empires, starting with the Babylonian empire and then prophesying
that three more world empires would follow one after the
other. These four main world-ruling empires are represented
as four separate animals or beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard
with four heads and four wings, and a "terrible iron
beast." This last "beast" (the fourth empire)
was predicted to have ten horns representing ten kings. Three of these kings were to be "plucked
up" by a separate "little horn." Now let us look at what history tells us:
1) Including and starting with Babylon,
these four empires were the Babylonian empire, the Medo-Persian
empire, the Greco-Macedonian empire under Alexander the
Great (and later his four generals, represented by the four
heads of the leopard), and the Roman
Empire. They
spanned over 1,000 years of history from 600 B.C. to 476
A.D.
2) Ten kings in the Roman Empire or Holy Roman Empire NEVER
ruled side by side. History
also tells us that three kings (kingdoms) were "subdued"
by Justinian the first real Emperor since the fall of Rome,
thus the ten horns of Daniel 7:7,23-24, represented ten
"restorations" of the Roman Empire,
the fourth beast, "made of iron...dreadful and terrible." This point is really important, because many
Christians don't understand about the succession of Holy
Roman Empires that this prophecy in Daniel predicted.
We have to look to history to see that ten kings
never ruled side by side with three being plucked up.
But history does show us three kingdoms were indeed
plucked up at the behest of the pope, ordering the king
of the fourth resurrection of the Roman Empire, the first
Holy Roman Emperor, to destroy the first three empires that
were ruling in Rome after it's fall.
No mere human, even a righteous one like Daniel,
could have predicted all this and made it come to pass right
down through the centuries.
These events spanned over 2,600 years! This is an
infallible proof of God's Word and of God himself, for Daniel
couldn't have dreamed all this up and then made it come
to pass. He died in the 500's B.C.! And the way the Jews maintain Holy Scripture,
Daniel's writings are verifiable right to the time when
he lived. (An interesting story gleaned from history--Alexander,
on his conquering march through the Middle East toward India was met by the Jewish High Priest outside
of Jerusalem. His was shown the scroll of Daniel and it was
pointed out to him that his empire indeed was the third
empire predicted by God to Daniel, to bear rule over the
entire known world. Alexander was so impressed that he spared the
city and moved on. That
is just one example of the literalness of these prophecies.
Prophecy is history in advance, not intended to be
spiritualized away, as some theologians attempt to do, distorting
God's Word.)
So here are the four main
world-ruling empires, and the restorations of the last empire
listed as they occurred historically:
The
Chaldean Empire (Babylonian) 625-539 B.C.
The
Persian Empire. 539-330
B.C.
Alexander
the Great's Greek Empire.
330 B.C. to 31 B.C.
The
Roman Empire. 31 B.C. to
476 A.D. (in two divisions, east and west).
Restorations
of the Roman Empire:
1-3:
The Vandals, A.D. 429-533. The Heruli, A.D. 476-493.
The Ostrogoths, A.D. 493-554. (These three governments were removed by Justinian in 554 A.D.
at the behest of the pope.)
4:
The "Imperial Restoration" of the Empire by Justinian,
554 A.D.
5. The Frankish kingdom ofCharlemagne. Charlemagne crowned in 800 A.D. His
rule began in 774 A.D. (The
Franks were a Germanic
tribe living in the area of eastern France
and western
Germany.)
6. Holy Roman Empire of Otto the Great. Otto the Great was crowned in 962 A.D. (German Restoration.)
7. Habsburg
dynasty. Charles
the Great crowned in 1520 A.D.
(Austrian Restoration.)
8. Napoleon's
Kingdom. Napoleon
crowned in 1805 A.D.
(Napoleon was of German lineage, ruling over France.)
9. Bonito Mussolini declared Holy Roman Emperor
A.D. 1935
(Italian-German Restoration.)
10. Revived Roman Empire
by 10 rulers or kings under one leader prophesied to come
as the last restoration of the "iron beast" in
Daniel 7. cf. Revelation
13 & 17.)
Now you can plainly see how 9/10ths of
this major prophecy of God through his servant Daniel has
been fulfilled literally.
Napoleon and Adolf Hitler and Bonito Mussilini were
real, just as Charlemagne and Justinian were. Thus the predicted 2nd coming of
Jesus Christ and all the Millennial prophecies about a restored
literal kingdom of God bearing rule over the entire earth--the
wild preditors dwelling with tame animals and children playing
with them, deserts transformed into luscious farmland--all
this must be interpreted literally also. You can't switch in midstream on how you interpret
prophecy. And history
shows us how we are supposed to interpret prophecy by showing
us what has been fulfilled and how.
When Jesus Christ comes
back in all his glorious power with the army of God, he
will subdue this final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire,
and usher in the Utopian World Tomorrow, ruled by the Kingdom
of God. When you see this final resurrection of the
Holy Roman Empire forming in Europe, whenever that may happen,
then you'll know that time is growing short.
Now we can see that over
nine tenths of Daniel's prophecies, prophecies of God given
to Daniel to write down in the Bible, are fulfilled and
part of history. What is scary, especially for non-Christians
and yes even nominal Christians, is that we can get a glimpse
of what a recent Holy Roman Empire was like by looking at the World War II
history of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
It was a cruel and brutal empire in which Adolf Hitler
tried his best to model much of the pariphinalia of the
ancient Roman Empire. Bonito Mussolini was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
in a secret Vatican Concordat in 1935.
It was short lived, but it was a real revival of
the ancient Holy Roman Empires that preceded it.
For our British brothers of the 1800's, Napoleon
was their encounter with a Holy Roman
Empire. The
British of that day viewed Napoleon as much a threat as
Churchill did Hitler.
Revelation 13 & 17,
The Symbolism of the Horns
The ten horns of the beast in Daniel 7 and Revelation
13 symbolize the same thing--the ten stages of government
continuing out of the Roman Empire
after its fall in A.D. 476. The seven heads on the beast
of Revelation 13 stand for all the major Gentile kingdoms
from Babylon to the Roman Empire in the apostle John's day. They count thus: Babylon,
the Persian Empire, Alexander's four kings (this makes six),
and the Roman Empire (seventh head with deadly wound). The ten horns are the same. "John sees the beast (of Revelation 13)
living in the days of its seventh head, the Roman
Empire. And when that head of the beast was suffering
from its deadly wound, his--the beast's--deadly wound was
healed. The horns now reign, one by one.
The Roman empire in Northern Africa was overrun by
the Vandals, who sacked Rome in 455.
Then in 476 Odoacer set up his government at Rome, called the Heruli. But it did not heal the deadly wound, for this
was a government in
Rome. It was not a true Roman government descended
from the past Caesars and Senate, but this was made up of
foreign barbarians. From
493-554 the Ostrogoths ruled, filling the span of time known
as "the transition age" (see Myers' Ancient
History). This period of those three kingdoms, the Vandals,
Ostrogoths and Heruli were a transition between the wound
and the healing. Now
Daniel saw a little horn which came up among these ten
horns, before whom
these first three were "plucked up by the roots"
(Daniel 7:8) That makes seven horns to come. It was this fourth kingdom (symbolized by the
fourth horn of Revelation 13 and Daniel 7), succeeding the
fall of the Roman Empire in 476, which really healed the
deadly wound, and restored the empire.
All succeeding empires were now to be called Holy
Roman Empires. Let's
see why. In A.D.
554, Justinian, Emperor of the East, from Constantinople,
set up his government through an Imperial Legate at Ravenna,
Italy, and brought about what is known in history as the
"Imperial Restoration" of the Roman Empire. He was the acting Emperor of the eastern leg
of the Roman Empire which had not collapsed in 476 A.D. Justinian recognized the supremacy of the pope
and removed these three barbarian kingdoms at the behest
of the ruling pope of his day.
Now, notice verse 5 of Revelation 13.
Power was given to this beast, once healed, to "continue
forty and two months".
In the prophecies pertaining to the times in Israel's
punishment, each day represents a year in actual fulfillment
(see Ezek. 4:4-6, Numbers 14:34). Thus the healed beast is to continue 1260 years.
Following the healing, in 554, came the Frankish
kingdom (French-Germanic), the German (under Otto the Great),
the Austrian (under the Hapsburgs), and Napoleon's kingdom
(French). But when Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the
healed beast continued no longer.
Even West's Modern
History recognizes this, when West wrote, "So closed
a government that dated from Augustus Caesar".
This government went into the abyss, so to speak.
And from 554 to 1814 is exactly 1260 years!
At that time, eight of the horns of Daniel 7 and
Revelation 13 have passed. The ninth horn, we shall see from history was
the Hitler-Mussolini combine that swept Europe.
Hitler made it a point to copy Roman regalia down
to the finest details in banners and various paraphernalia.
Even the Hitler salute was a copy of the ancient
Roman hand solute for the Emperor.
Heil in German means Hail.
The Roman hand solute was followed by a "Hail
Caesar". "Heil
Hitler" is just a copy of "Hail Caesar". Mussolini also was crowned Roman Emperor in
a secret Vatican Concordat in 1935.
So in reality, this tiny resurrection of the Holy
Roman Empire lived from 1935 to 1945, when Hitler and Germany
fell.
Now here is the key to
the two beasts mentioned in Revelation 13 and 17. The beast of Revelation 13 identifies with the
beast of Daniel seven, in that it has the body of a leopard,
the feet of a bear and the head of a lion, so the seven
heads represent the empires in Nebuchadnezzar's image, 7
heads on this lion headed, leopard bodied, bear footed beast
(no pun intended). These
seven heads are Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, the Persian Empire,
the four heads of Alexander's Empire, and then the Roman
head add up to seven. But in the beast of Revelation 17, all this
beast's seven heads are ridden upon by a scarlet woman,
who is called a whore. She symbolizes a great false church. No such church of one same religion rode over
Babylon, Persia, Alexander's four separately ruled governments
(after his death) or that of Roman.
The seven heads of Revelation 17 are the same then
as the seven horns on the 4th beast of Daniel
7 and the ten horns on the beast of Revelation 13.
Since in the 17th
chapter of Revelation the woman rode on all seven of the
heads of the beast pictured there, and since she rode none
of the heads but only on the last seven of the horns of
the 13th chapter beast, it follows that the seven
horns of the "healed beast" of the 13th
chapter form the seven heads of the beast of the 17th
chapter.
Notice
at the time John saw the beast, five are fallen, one is,
and one is yet to come (Rev. 17:10).
The five that are fallen are the five during the
1260 years in which power was given, by religious authority,
for the healed beast to continue [these five being Justinian,
Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Charles the Great and Napoleon]. The one that "is" is the kingdom that
existed from 1935 to 1945 under Hitler and Mussolini. It was a frightening sample or foretaste of
the next revival of the Holy Roman Empire to come. John speaks of it as the beast that was, and
is not, and shall arise once more out of the bottomless
pit.
The
seventh head with its ten horns, in the 17th
chapter of Revelation, will be, as the 17th chapter
explains, the revival of the beast, the Roman Empire "out
of the bottomless pit." It will be a federation composed of ten nations
(ten kings). The
ten horns on this seventh head represent ten kings.
Revelation 17:9-10, 12 states, "And here is
the mind which hath wisdom.
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the
woman sitteth." (Seven
of the ten horns were ruled over by the authority of the
pope in Rome, these horns correspond to these "seven
mountains, or kingdoms".)
"And there are seven kings: five are fallen
[Justinian through Napoleon], and one is [Hitler-Mussolini],
and the other is not yet come: and when he cometh, he must
continue a short space...and the ten horns which thou sawest
are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet: but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast (verse 12).
So we see by comparing the two beasts of Revelation
13 and 17, and with comparison of the beast in Daniel 7
with the one in Revelation 13, the beasts of Daniel 7 and
Revelation 13 are identical.
Their horns both represent the continual reign of
revived Roman Empires that span from the fall of Rome in
476 A.D. This represents
the legs in the image of Daniel 2.
The beast in Revelation 17 is similar but the seven
heads represent the seven restorations of the Holy Roman
Empire from 554 (Justinian) to 1814 (Napoleon) and then
through Mussolini-Hitler, and the ten horns (verse 12 of
Rev. 17) represent ten kings who do rule side by side and
make up the seventh head or restoration of the Holy Roman
Empire--yet to come. Many evangelical denominations don't understand
this point and think the ten horns throughout the beasts
mentioned in Revelation 13 and 17 and Daniel 7 are all the
same and appear in the final empire predicted to come on
the scene. They make
this mistake in interpretation by not putting the beasts
and their descriptions side by side and accurately comparing
them and matching them to history.
I sincerely hope this error is recognized so that
we can all proceed, speaking the same thing with one strong
voice as the end approaches.
What follows are two separate charts listing the
Beast of Revelation 13 and the Beast of Revelation 17. The chart listing the beast of Daniel 7 has
already been given in this text.
Beast of Revelation 13
Revelation 13:1-5, "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
[Alexander's Empire], and his feet as the feet of a bear
[Persian Empire], and his mouth as the mouth of a lion [Babylonian
Empire], and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat,
and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded
to death [fall of Roman Empire in 476 A.D., so the heads
are the successive Empire heads from Babylon, Persia, Alexander
(four heads, his four generals), and the Roman Empire, which
makes seven heads in all]; and his deadly wound was healed:
and all the world wondered at the beast [Justinian restores
the Roman Empire as the Holy Roman Empire, at the request
of the ruling pope in 554 A.D.
Justinian was the 4th of the ten horns
which were revivals of the Roman Empire, seven of which
are Holy Roman Empire revivals.]
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto
the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blashemies; and power was given unto him
to continue forty and two months."
[Day for a year principle, 42 x 30 = 1260 years (Hebrew
months being 30 days long). 1260 + 554 A.D. = 1814 A.D., the year Napoleon
was defeated.]
Beast of
Revelation 13:1-5,
THE SEVEN
HEADS:
1. Babylonian
Empire, (head of a lion)
2. Persian
Empire, (feet of a bear)
3-6. Alexander's
Empire with it's four heads.
(When Alexander died his empire was divided between
his four generals.) (body of a leopard)
7. The Roman
Empire, 31 B.C. to 476 A.D. (seventh head wounded)
Ten Horns:
1.
Vandals
2.
Heruli
3.
Ostrogoths
4.
Justinian,
554 A.D. [removed the three prior "horns" fulfilling
a request of the ruling pope of the day and re-installed
the Roman Empire, now as the first of a succession of Holy
Roman Empire's, each major succeeding king being crowned
by the ruling pope of the time.
This healed the wound of the seventh head.]
5.
Charlemagne
[crowned 800 A.D.] [Frankish king (Franks were a tribe of
Germans living in western Germany and eastern France).
6.
Otto the
Great [crowned 962 A.D., German head]
7.
Hapsburg
Dynasty [Austrian head, Charles the Great crowned 1520]
8.
Napoleon
Bonaparte [thought to be of German origin living in Corsica,
crowned 1805, French head]
9.
Mussolini-Adolf
Hitler [Italian-German revival, Mussolini crowned by pope
in 1935 by secret Vatican Concordat.
This revival lasted from 1935-1945.]
10. Revived Roman Empire, ruled by 10 rulers under one leader.
These ten rulers may represent 10 nations in a supranational
federation. Have
to wait and see.]
Beast of
Revelation 17: I want to make one point
very clear. In the
Bible symbolism, a woman usually represents a church, or
it can represent a nation. Remember in Isaiah or Ezekiel (I can't remember
which, getting old I guess), where the Lord said he was
married to Israel and Judah, his two wives?
There, Israel and Judah were referred to as two women,
sisters, married to the Lord.
But in Revelation 17 we see a woman depicted, and
most believe she represents a great false church. If this is so, then the symbolism of the woman
in Revelation 12 could also represent a church. Many Christian denominations are divided on
this, some interpreting the women mentioned as being the
nation of Israel. Other's say she represents the true church,
as opposed to the scarlet women who represents the false
church riding the beast.
But most believe the woman in Revelation 17 does
represent a great false church who will guide this beast. Now lets read Revelation 17:1-12.
Revelation
17:1-14, "And there came one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon many waters [waters is symbolic
of the peoples of the world]: with whom the kings of the
earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of
the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness:
and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full
of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having
a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness
of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written,
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
saints, and with the blood of martyrs of Jesus: and when
I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst
thou marvel? I will
tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath seven heads and ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall
ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:
and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names
were not written in the book of life from the foundation
of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is..." Now verse 9 gets into explanations. Verses 9-12, "And here is the mind which
hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains [mountain in Bible symbolism
represents a nation or kingdom], on which the woman sitteth."
[So this false church is sittingon seven kingdoms.]
"And there are seven kings: five are fallen
[Justinian, Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Charles the Great,
Napoleon], and one is [Hitler-Mussolini], and the other
is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a
short space. And
the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and
is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,
which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power
as kings one hour with the beast.
These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast.
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of
kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen,
and faithful."
The beast
of Revelation 17:
The Seven
Heads:
1.
Justinian, 554 A.D.
2.
Charlemagne, 800 A.D.
3.
Otto the Great, 962 A.D.
4.
Charles the Great, 1520 A.D.
5.
Napoleon, 1805 A.D.
6.
Bonito Mussolini (and Hitler), 1935 A.D.
7.
Revelation 17:12, Federation of ten kings giving
their support and authority to one leader.
These ten kings represent the ten horns, Rev. 17:12.
Now let's get a peek into what's coming around
the corner, prophetically speaking.
The following is quoted from Chuck Missler's "Personal
UPDATE." But I want to say this before you read this.
One has to be very careful about speculating who
"That man of sin"--this great leader who is to
rule over ten dictators--is to be.
Current events may prove certain things fit prophecy,
but one must wait and see before jumping to conclusions
or embellishing on the prophecies, as Mr. Walvoord warned
against, interpreting these prophecies in a dramatic and
contemporary style. And
the setting of dates is just as dangerous and unproductive
spiritually as well. While we may be close, it is far more important
to be concentrating on the job Jesus gave us all to do (Matthew
28:18-20). What follows
is one of those "contemporary styles".
It may prove accurate, or it may not.
One thing is for sure, this super-state will come
out of Europe, somewhere, somehow, sometime.
That is all we can know for sure.
The rest is speculation, at best.
"...An
Emergent Empire?
The Bible generally presents history--both historic
and prophetic--through the "lens" of Israel. Notable exceptions occur in Daniel Chapters
2 and 7, which summarize the Gentile
empires that are to transpire between the Babylonian empire
of that time until the final empire [Holy Roman Empire]
that will be interrupted by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
There are to be four: the Babylonian, the Persian,
the Greek, and the Roman...
For
centuries, Biblical scholars have been anticipating the
re-emergence of this 4th empire in its final
form.
New EU President
The entire European Union's 20-member commission
resigned in March [1999] due to extensive corruption scandals. The Council of Ministers unanimously voted to
appoint the former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi as
the new president of the commission.
Romano
Prodi is known in his own country for bringing down inflation
and unemployment rates.
He has also enthusiastically endorsed the rooting
out of corruption within the ranks of the 17,000 employees
of the European bureaucracy, and has garnered praise from
the members of the European Parliament for his strong statements
regarding reform.
However,
according to conservative members of the British Parliament,
Prodi's appointment may be more of a nightmare than a dream. [The British, understandably, are always looking
over the European horizon for signs of future fanatical
dictatorships.] It
appears Prodi is an ardent federalist, who is ready, willing
and able to expedite the formation of the EU superstate.
Prodi has stated in no uncertain terms that he is
in favor of giving the EU more power and curtailing the
rights of the member nations' veto power. He has also advocated the creation of an European
defense force, calling for a new treaty to make this possible. He has said in speeches that he sees no other
way for Europe to effectively handle foreign affairs without
a military option. In
addition, Prodi has called for the union to commit itself
to further expansion into central and eastern Europe and
to expedite the process by setting dates for the admission
of new members, a move that is resisted by the heads of
the EU government.
Prodi
has applauded the progress made by the European Monetary
Union in introducing the new super-national currency, the
Euro. He said in
an interview with the Financial
Times that the Euro currency was "not just a bankers'
decision or a technical decision.
It was a decision that completely changed the nature
of the member states."
NATO Redefined
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was
formed in 1949 as a defensive alliance in which each member
was pledged to come to the aid of any of its members which
were attacked militarily. However, at the 50th Anniversary
Summit in Washington on April 23-24, 1999, NATO redefined
itself in terms which appear to be a startling impetus toward
the creation of a major new trans-global alliance...NATO is now an ideological construct which
is now prepared to use force to impose its concept of world
order on its neighbors and beyond.*
The
new definition states:
The security of the Alliance remains subject to a wide variety
of military and non-military risks...These risks include
uncertainty and instability in and around the Euro-Atlantic
area and the possibility of regional crises at the periphery
of the Alliance which could evolve rapidly.
Some countries in and around the Euro-Atlantic area
face serious economic, social and political difficulties.
Ethnic and religious rivalries, territorial disputes,
inadequate or failed efforts at reform, the abuse of human
rights, and the dissolution of states can lead to crises
affecting Euro-Atlantic stability, to human suffering, and
to armed conflicts. Such
conflicts could affect the security of the Alliance by spilling
over into neighboring countries, including NATO countries,
or in other ways, and could also affect the security of
other states.
And,
if that does not give NATO a wide enough scope for military
intervention in the affairs of its neighbors, the new strategic
definition adds:
Alliance security interests can be affected by other risks
of a wider nature, including acts of terrorism, sabotage
and organized crime, and by disruption of the flow of vital
resources. The uncontrolled movement of large numbers of
people, particularly as a consequence of armed conflicts,
can also pose problems for security and stability affecting
the Alliance.
National
Sovereignty Obsolete
The New strategic concept virtually declares national
sovereignty obsolete. It
is not just the sovereignty of the neighboring states that
is threatened, but the individual members as well.
The intention is to reduce the number of decision-making
voices within NATO from 19 (and growing) to 3 or 4.
To
prevent the re-nationalization of defense policies, military
structures are to be integrated for:
...collective force planning; common funding; common operational
planning; multinational formations, headquarters and command
arrangements; an integrated air defense system; a balance
of roles and responsibilities among the Allies; the
stationing and deployment of forces outside home territory
when required; arrangements, including planning, for
crisis management and reinforcement; common standards and
procedures for equipment, training and logistics; joint
and combined doctrines and exercises when appropriate; and
infrastructure, armaments and logistics cooperation.
These will tie each member state to the corporate
whole and, ultimately, a single
European voice on defense matters.
"All European Allies should be involved in...the
progressive framing of a common defense policy...as called
for in the Amsterdam Treaty."
(The Amsterdam Treaty, signed in June 1997, was a
revision of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, and
one of the most controversial elements concerned the strengthening
of the European Union's role in defense matters.)...
Having totally bypassed the U.N., NATO has now
become the self-appointed policeman of the world. Stand back and watch the global events move
us inexorably toward the grand climax which the Bible has
laid out in such detail.
It is, indeed, time to do our homework.
Behold ye among the nations, and regard, and wonder marvelously:
for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe,
though it be told you.
Habakkuk 1:5
·
Much of this has been excerpted from publications
of Intelligence International Ltd., The Stoneyhill Centre,
Brimpsfield, Gloucester, GL4 8LF, UK
For an expanded
description of this subject which will affect everyone on
this planet, you can order Chuck Missler's briefing package
(on cassette tapes), titled: An Empire Reborn? Order online at: http://www.khouse.org
, or call 1-800-KHOUSE-1 or write: Koinonia House, P.O.
Box D, Coeur d' Alene, ID
83816-0347. (advertised at $14.95.)
It answers such questions touched on above, such
as, "What is really happening in Europe?
Is the re-emergence of Europe Biblically relevant
and leading to the "Revived Empire" Bible scholars
have been predicting for centuries? What impact does the re-definition of NATO have
on the future of the United Nations and the world? Such questions and more are answered in "An
Empire Reborn?"
The following is excerpted from Dr. Mark Eastman's
"Creation by Design" and answers a vital question
many non-believers have once they have seen God's existence
in Scripture and seen his Word in Scripture proven beyond
a doubt. Many may
wonder, what next? What
should I do with this vital information?
"How
to Become a Christian
First
of all you must recognize that you are a sinner. Realize that you have missed the mark. This is true of each of us. We have deliberately crossed the line not once,
but many times. The
Bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God" (Romans
3:23). This is a
hard admission for many to make, but if we are not willing
to hear the bad news, we cannot appreciate and respond to
the good news.
Second,
we must realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross for
us. Because of sin, God had to take drastic measures
to reach us. So He
came to this earth and walked here as a man.
But Jesus was more than just a good man.
He was the God-man--God incarnate--and that is why
His death on the cross is so significant.
At
the cross, God Himself--in the person of Jesus Christ--took
our place and bore our sins.
He paid for them and purchased our redemption.
Third,
we must repent of our sin.
God has commanded men everywhere to repent.
Acts 3:19 states, "Repent
therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence
of the Lord." What
does this word repent
mean? It means to
change direction--to hang a U-turn on the road of life.
It means to stop living the kind of life we led previously
and start living the kind of life outlined in the pages
of the Bible. Now
we must change and be willing to make a break with the past.
Fourth,
we must receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives.
Being a Christian is having God Himself take residence
in our lives. John
1:12 tells us, "But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
the children of God." [Read also John 14. Jesus and the Father dwell in us by the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit.] Jesus
said, "Behold,
I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will
come in..." (Revelation 3:20). Each one of us must individually decide to open
the door. How do
we open it? Through prayer.
If
you have never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life,
you can do it right now.
Here is a suggested prayer you might even pray.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I am sorry
for my sin. I turn
and repent of my sins right now.
Thank You for dying on the cross for me and paying
the price for my sin. Please come into my heart and life right now. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to
be Your disciple. Thank
You for forgiving me and coming into my life.
Thank You that I am now a child of Yours and that
I will receive Eternal life.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
When
you pray that prayer God will respond.
You have made the right decision--the decision that
will impact how you spend eternity.
In the meantime, find peace and the answers to your
spiritual questions.
If you become a Christian, it is recommended that
you find a Christian church to fellowship in and grow spiritually
in. You are now part of the body of Christ. You are a young
Christian needing spiritual food to grow on. Fellowshipping with other Christian brothers
and sisters is also an essential part of Christian growth
and life. It is therefore recommended that you find some
evangelical Christian church that you feel comfortable attending.
