Continuation -The four Beasts

The Four Beasts The book of Daniel is a great place to study what is prophetically called "the time of the Gentiles," the seven kingdoms represented by the seven heads of the red dragon, through which the Mother of Harlots pollutes the nations. Now the role of dominating the Mediterranean had already passed from the kingdom of Egypt to Assyria and then on to Babylon by Daniel's time. And because the book of Daniel addresses the prophetic future it does not go into the past history of Egypt and Assyria but rather concentrates on revelation concerning the empires of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the kingdom of the Antichrist. These last five empires are addressed many times in different ways in Daniel with each vision adding to our understanding of God’s kingdom timetable. For clarity sake we should start with the vision of Four Beasts in Daniel, chapter seven. The prophet Daniel had a vision during the reign of Belshazzar king of Babylon in which he saw four great beasts, each different from the other, coming up from the sea, the Great Sea, meaning the Mediterranean Sea. The first was a lion, the second a bear, the third a four headed leopard, and the forth a ten horned beast. " Then we see a "little horn" with "the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots."
	The Bronze Greek Empire was the fifth head of Satan. Alexander the Great was the fifth fallen gentile king. "And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come" "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power."
The interpretation of the vision is recorded for us in scripture. "Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth." Kings reign over kingdoms, so the term king and kingdom are here used interchangeably. The first beast is Babylon, the second Media-Persia, and the third Greece, and the Fourth Rome. The four heads of the Grecian beast represent the division of Alexander’s kingdom into four kingdoms after his death. "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." This is a good characterization of the Roman Empire which ruled from Scotland to Syria. "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom." The little horn shall "subdue three kings," and "speak pompous words against the Most High," and be given the saints into his hands to persecute for "a time and times and half a time." A "time" is a year in prophetic terms, so this is just another way of saying three and a half years, 42 months, or 1260 days (prophetic months are 30 days long). The ten horns are the same ten kings mentioned in Revelation, chapters 13 and 17. And the "little horn" discussed here is none other than the Antichrist of the book of Revelation. The rise of the little horn out of the fourth beast is another view of the rise of the Beast out of the sea, the fallen angelic prince Apollyon released from the bottomless pit and his human host the Antichrist. Notice that in Daniel 7, verse 21-22, we are told that Christ will return to defeat the little horn and set up His everlasting kingdom. There are many false doctrines that incorrectly claim that God's kingdom was established in 70 AD, or in the nineteenth or twentieth century. But these verses in Daniel give us a specific marker from which to properly recon the return of the Lord to establish His kingdom from the Temple Mount. The Lord will not return until the days of the ten kings and the Antichrist in the last days, and not before. This point is reemphasized with Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the great image in the second chapter of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar’s Great Image The king of Babylon had a scary vision and he wanted an interpretation from his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans, the wise men of the kingdom, without even revealing the vision to them. When they failed and where about to be put to death Daniel stepped forward and with the help of God told the king his vision and the interpretation. Daniel revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar his vision of a great image:
	Daniel 2:32-35 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
The interpretation which comes straight from God to Daniel and then on to us through Daniel's book is: 1. "You (Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) are this head of gold." 2. "But after you shall arise another kingdom (Media-Persia) inferior to yours." 3. "Then another, a third kingdom of bronze (Greece), which shall rule over all the earth." 4. "And the fourth kingdom (Rome) 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." 5. "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided (East and West, and then a federation of ten nations such as we see with the European Union); 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." 6. "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. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone (Christ) was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold – the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." From this we know for certain that Christ will return after the Roman Empire has been split into two kingdoms as depicted by the legs of the image, and in the days when the Roman Empire is characterized as a federation of unequally yoked nations such as we now see with the EC.
	The Iron Roman Empire was the sixth head of Satan. The sixth king Rome's Emperor reign in John's day. "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."
In 70 A.D. Rome was not divided but united into a single mighty empire at the height of its power. So any doctrine that says Christ returned in the first century is pure stupidity. It is a historical fact that Rome split into Eastern and Western Empires during the reign of Emperor Diocletian in about 293 AD. The Western Empire with its seat in Rome was overrun by barbarians by 500 AD. But the Eastern Roman Empire seated in Constantinople remained in power until 1453 AD when it finally succumbed to the black plague of Islam. The fall of Rome and Constantinople were metaphorically speaking a mortal wound to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire ceased to be a military power in the Mediterranean. But Romanism never really died. It managed to live on influencing kings and nations in other ways. Nearly every country on earth today uses some form of Roman law and system of government. And the spiritual fornication of Mystery Babylon and the Roman Empire are kept alive in Roman Catholicism. So if Nebuchadnezzar's image is a timetable of kingdoms we are past the legs, the division of the Roman Empire into West and East, and will soon enter the days of the ten toes. All of the founding members of the European Union come from the provinces of the old Roman Empire. They are cleaving together but they are weaker not stronger because of their bickering. Diversity brings weakness, not strength. The situation in the Middle East with Jews and Arabs is a perfect example of how iron and clay don't mix. In the days of the toes, the ten horns and the reign of the Antichrist mentioned in Revelation, Christ will return to crush all nations gathered to attack Israel and set up His kingdom on earth. The Roman Empire is different from all others. Rome is the fourth beast of Daniel chapter seven which will last in one form or another from the time of Christ two thousand years ago until His second coming in the near future during the days of the ten horns on the beast. The division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western are clearly depicted in the legs of Nebuchadnezzar's great image. And the ten toes represent the future revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist. Rome, revived as a federation of nations from the old Roman Empire under the control of the Antichrist will be the last Gentile kingdom on earth. Now with this information you can see that the old Roman Empire is the sixth head of the red dragon and the revived Roman kingdom of the Antichrist is the seventh head of the dragon. Rome is represented in two of the seven heads or seven Gentile kingdoms empowered by Satan. That is why Rome is always described as being different from all other kingdoms. Seven Mountains I would now like to get to the key point of this study, the identity of the Mother of Harlots and her seat of power in the last days. I have already shown that in one sense Mystery Babylon is Satan's false gospel. It has taken many forms as it passed down though history riding one kingdom after another. But make no mistake about it the Mother of Harlots was there deceiving people during the reign of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and she is alive and well today. But God purposefully intends for us to get a double meaning from this prophetic symbol of MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATION OF THE EARTH and the "seven mountains" she sits upon mentioned in the seventeenth chapter of the book of Revelation. In verse 9 we read, "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads (of the beast) are seven mountains on which the woman (Mystery Babylon) sits." In verse 15 we read, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues." From these two verses we learn that the seven mountains on which Mystery Babylon sits and the seven heads of the red dragon Satan are one and the same. These two prophetic symbols represent the succession of world power from one kingdom to another through which Satan spreads his false gospel to the nations. Now in verse 18 we read, "And the woman whom you saw IS THAT GREAT CITY WHICH REIGNS over the kings of the earth." This important verse gives us a second revelation from the woman on seven mountains. Now we are told that the woman is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. And where does she reign from? We have already been told that she reigns from on top of seven mountains. This one verse clearly links the past with the future. It reveals to us that the seat of the Mother of Harlots in the last days will be located in the same city where she reigned in the Apostle’s day, which is none other than the city of Rome. So here is what we know about the woman and the seven mountains: 1. The Mother of Harlots, Mystery Babylon, is a great city of iniquity. Babylon means much more than a city in Iraq. It is true that Babel is where the mysteries were formalized and exported around the world. But the word Babylon is also widely used to label a city as a place overcome with sin and indulgences where there is no right and wrong, just money, power, and experimentation in forbidden human behavior. Like a whore Babylon was all painted up on the outside, full of mystery and something to behold, but rotting away with sin on the inside. 2. The woman represents a great city which reigned in John's day. The angel used the present tense, "which reigns" to make an important point that the woman was a great city in the first century that reigned over kings in John’s day. This could only be a reference to Rome! 3. The woman represents a great city in John's day that reigned over the kings of the earth that will still be reigning in these last days. Only one city has ever blossomed into an empire and retained its identity as the seat of power for that empire and that is Rome. The Roman Empire eventually split into Eastern and Western Empires in around 293 A.D. as foretold in the two iron legs of Nebuchadnezzar's image. The West lasted until about 500 A.D. and the East until 1453 A.D. when Constantinople fell to the armies of that "peaceful religion" Islam. But Rome has continued to exert authority over the kings of the earth through the Papacy and Roman Catholicism. 4. The great city that reigns over the kings of the earth sits on seven mountains. For over two thousand years there has been only one city know the civilized world over as the "city on seven hills" and that city is Rome.
	The Seven Hills Of Rome 1. Aventine 2. Caelina 3. Capitoline 4. Esquiline 5. Palatine 6. Quirinal 7. Viminal
Some "prophecy experts" say a hill is not a mountain, so Rome is not the city on seven mountains. But to say Rome is not the city referenced in Revelation 17:18 is deceptive as well as intellectually disingenuous. The truth is anyone alive within hundreds of years before or a thousand years after Apostle John wrote down the term "city on seven mountains" this was an unmistakable reference to the city of Rome. Today you can go anywhere on earth and say "the Big Apple" and people know you are referring to New York. So it was in John’s day when people said the city on seven mountains or seven hills. Everyone knew they were talking about Rome. To say that Rome is not the city on seven mountains because it is situated on seven hills is like saying New York is not the Big Apple because it does not look like an apple. The point being the root word here could be translated into hills or mountains. And technically speaking a mountain is just a hill over 500 feet in height. No city on earth is built on seven tall mountains. The word "mountain" alone is meaningless. But the city that reigned in John's day and today and sits on "seven mountains" is an unmistakable reference to Rome. Ten Horns and Ten Toes Ten horns and ten toes are used in prophecy to denote the final Gentile kingdom on earth under the control of the Antichrist. Unlike the Roman Empire of the first century this last empire will be comprised of a federation of nations. Ancient Rome was unified and strong as iron. But this federation will be weakened by bickering and disunity of its member states. We know from prophecy that this federation will be comprised of nations that were once part of the Roman Empire. This is a perfect characterization of the European Union. Although there are more than ten members of the EU today the old Roman Empire is well represented. They have one EU passport, one currency, a court of law, EU bank, and EU laws. In ancient times Roman citizenship was used like a carrot and stick. Citizenship was the prize everyone in the empire valued because it brought certain advantages. But step out of line and you would soon feel the big stick of the Roman army. Today EU membership is valued but not like Roman citizenship was in ancient times. Italians are always Italian first and the French consider themselves French first and Europeans second. This is what makes the EU weaker than ancient Rome.
	The European Union represents a revived Roman Empire, a kingdom of ten toes of iron and clay and ten kings, the deadly wound to East and West healed, the seventh head of the great red dragon. The Antichrist will be the seventh gentile king. "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. "And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
Some might ask, where is the EU mentioned in prophecy? Without a doubt the nations of the European Union are the sprouting of the ten horns rising out of the fourth beast, the old Roman Empire, in Daniel chapter seven. The EU is also shown as the ten horns of Satan the great red dragon in Revelation chapter twelve, and the ten horns of the Antichrist beast in Revelation chapters thirteen and seventeen. Additionally, the nations of the EU are the ten toes of clay and iron described in Daniel chapter two.
	Revelation 17:12-17 12 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. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 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. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Notice that the ten kings hate the whore and burn her with fire. In every Mediterranean kingdom, from Egypt to Rome, the monarchy reached a point in time in which they wanted to be worshiped as a god. And any religion that did not embrace the new emperor worship was stomped on. Such will be the case with Roman Catholicism. All religions will be replaced with beast worship during the final forty two months of the reign of the Antichrist and the ten kings. God will punish Catholicism for its whoredom by using the forces of the Antichrist to burn the Vatican to the ground. The Pontifex Maximus, the High Priest of Rome and Roman Catholicism have become to Christianity today what Judaism and the High Priest of Jerusalem were to Christ in the first century. For example, it has just become public knowledge that at least one priest out of every five has molested a child. To address the problem the Pope has declared that only repeat child molesters will be put out of the clergy. So according to this self-ordained mouthpiece of God sitting in Rome it is okay for Catholic priests to molest children as long as they don’t get caught doing it more than once. Those are the words of the Whore of Babylon, not God. Summary In this study of Mystery Babylon we uncovered the dual meaning of the seven mountains in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation. First, the seven mountains are used symbolically as are the seven heads of Satan the great red dragon to represent seven Gentile empires upon which Satan's false religions have been carried down throughout the ages. God allows these kingdoms to rise and fall because it serves His purpose. But Satan perverts kingdoms and uses them to spread idolatry, particularly the false gospel of Mystery Babylon. Secondly, the seven mountains reveal the identity of the city which serves as the seat of power of the Mother of Harlots in the last days, which is none other than Rome. Mountains have always been used as a symbol of God's thrown and mountain tops as a meeting place between God and man. Moses went up the mountain to speak with God. The tower of Babel was built to reach upward to heaven. Pagans placed their alters in high places to keep them lofty and above humanity. Ancient cities were built on high ground. And kings set their thrones up high so they could look down on their subjects. All of this speaks to the power and authority associated with being above everything else, like God. The power of kingdoms is imbodied in their rulers. That is why we are given the prophecy of "seven kings" in Revelation. "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." The five fallen kings are those of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, and Greece all of which had passed away by the first century when John received the vision. The sixth king was the Emperor of Rome, noted as the "one" that "is," in other words that was ruling in John's day. There is one more gentile kingdom and king to come. And that kingdom will rise up out of the nations that comprised the old Roman Empire. The sprouting of this last kingdom can be seen today in the European Union. This federation will throw their power behind the Antichrist and eventually destroy the seat of the Mother of Harlots in the last days. The Antichrist will destroy the Vatican and all other religious institutions, no matter how corrupt they have become, to make way for his one world religion of Beast Worship. It is interesting to note that all of the kings from Pharaoh to Alexander the Great to the Emperor of Rome elevated themselves to godhood and forced their subjects to worship them as gods or be put to death. So will it be with the Antichrist, the king of the seventh kingdom. In Apostle John’s day the Roman Emperor invaded Israel, burned the Temple on the Mount putting an end to the daily sacrifices, totally destroyed Jerusalem, killed the Jews and sold the survivors into slavery, and turned God’s Holy City into a center for worshiping pagan gods, including Emperor worship. In our day the Antichrist, a future head of the European Union and figuratively a revived Roman Emperor, will invaded Israel, stop the daily sacrifices in the newly rebuilt Temple, set up his image in the Holy of Holies, and force the world to worship him as a god. But Jerusalem will never be totally conquered or destroyed by an invading army again. A remnant of the city will be preserved through the reign of the Antichrist. The armies of the world will gather to invade Israel under the direction of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. When the power of Israel is completely broken and all seems lost then our Lord and God Jesus Christ will return to fight for His people and His Jerusalem. The two great cities of Rome and Jerusalem played important roles in prophecy two thousand years ago. Sometime in the near future history will repeat itself once again, but with a different outcome this time. Rome will be burned to the ground and Jerusalem will be lifted up as the seat of God's kingdom on earth where our Lord and Savior will rule the world. The Roman Empire is the sixth head of the great red dragon Satan, the sixth gentile kingdom and Caesar the sixth king of prophecy. The European Union, a revived Roman Empire, is the seventh head, the seventh and last gentile kingdom, and the Antichrist the seventh king. But make no mistake about it both kingdoms are Roman, the new kingdom a transformation of the old kingdom. It is a very important fact that Rome is tied to the sixth and seventh gentile kingdoms and kings. This point is made clear in prophetic visions described in Daniel and Revelation: In the seventh chapter of Daniel four beasts representing four kingdoms rise up out of the Great Sea, the Mediterranean. Babylon is described as a lion, Media-Persia as a bear, Greece as a leopard, and Rome as a ten horned beast with iron teeth. We are told that the ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this fourth kingdom. And another shall rise after them, a little horn, the Antichrist, and subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High and persecute the saints for a time and times and half a time, or three and a half years. But we are then told that the Ancient of Days, Jesus Christ, will come and slay the little horn and fourth beast. Likewise, in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation we see that Apostle John was given the same general vision as the prophet Daniel. John describes a beast rising out of the sea, the Mediterranean, it has seven heads and horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. The beast John saw is one and the same as the fourth beast in Daniel’s vision. Daniel describes the rise of the old Roman Empire and John the rise of the last days revived Roman Empire we know as the European Union. Daniel was looking forward into the future so his vision describes the order of kingdoms to come starting with Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and finally Rome. These are described as a lion, bear, leopard, and ten-horned beast respectively. John sees a beast with seven heads and ten horns that looks like a leopard, bear and lion. Notice the order starts with the horns and ends with the lion. This is because John’s description takes us backward from the fourth beast to Babylon the lion. The seven heads show that Rome incorporates attributes of the previous gentile kingdoms, is empowered by Satan and his dark princes, and supports Mystery Babylon the Mother of Harlots. Both John and Daniel speak of a big mouth blasphemous horn (the Antichrist) that is given authority for forty two-months or a time and times and half a time. These time references, along with three and a half years and 1,260 days, are just different ways of saying the same thing. They all refer to the duration of the absolute reign of the Antichrist and his kingdom during the Great Tribulation. Both John and Daniel tell us that the Lord will return to defeat the little horn. What is the significance of this? Today we have the rise of the ten horns as fulfilled by the European Union. Next we will see the rise of the little horn, the Antichrist. And the kingdom of the Antichrist will be the last Gentile kingdom on earth. Rome is the common denominator between our time and the time God shed His blood for our sins. Rome, the capital of both Italy and the Vatican, is the city on seven mountains identified as the seat of Mystery Babylon. It is true that our sins put Jesus on the cross. And no one took His life. Jesus willingly went to the cross to atone for sin. But lets us not forget that Pontius Pilot under the authority of Rome and Annas and his son-in-law Caiaphas, high priests and false prophets, sent Jesus to the cross. No amount of hand washing and blood money will remove what waits for them on judgment day. These men had their soldiers scourge, beat, spit on, and mock God. They put God on a cross, driving iron nails through God’s hands and feet. And while the Creator of the whole universe hung there in excruciating pain they gambled for the Lord's only earthly possession, the cloths on his body. Knowing that prophecy says not a bone of the Messiah's body will be broken the wicked high priest asked the Romans to break Jesus' legs, thinking this would prove that Jesus was not the Messiah. But the Roman soldiers found Jesus already dead. So they thrust a spear into His side, thus unknowingly fulfilling another prophecy. God is not done judging Rome for this wicked act. The military might of the Roman Empire split into two legs, East and West, and eventually transformed itself into a religious empire under the banner of Christianity. The power of the Caesars was then transferred to the Popes. In the name of God nations were conquered and kings set in place. It is a historical fact that no Roman Emperor ever welded such absolute and far reaching power as the Vatican. And this institution that once spread the gospel to lost souls became corrupt and played the harlot. More Christians were put to death by Popes for not accepting such false doctrines as the transubstantiation than were murdered by all the Caesars combined. The Roman Catholic church has transformed the truths of the gospel into the false doctrines of Mystery Babylon. Throughout history we see examples were God used an evil empire to extract judgment upon a backsliding people. The Assyrians and Babylonians were used to judge Israel and Judah. So will it be when the Antichrist destroys Rome. A few years after Roman Legions destroyed Jerusalem sailors at sea watched from a distance as Pompeii was destroyed in less than an hour. This was just a shadow of things to come for Vatican City. The nations of the old Roman Empire have already joined together. The little horn will be here soon. Judgment is at the door for the Great Whore sitting on seven hills. In our next study we will examine the Roman Catholic Harlot and discuss her successor the False Prophet and his one-world religion, "beast worship."