Biblically Prophetic Beasts Are Rising!

“In the first year of Belshazar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth. And made to stand upon feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake into 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.

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

The great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall rise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgement was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

But the judgement shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.” (Daniel 7: 1-28)

The depiction of the final beasts within Biblical prophecy is a matter of debate within the Christian world. We have heard of many interpretations ranging from the revitalization of the Roman Empire to the fulfilment of prophecy of Cyrus the Great.  Scholars want to be the one who explains to the world who the beast kingdoms are and who will be the ones that fulfil prophecy.

The reasoning for this is a matter of pride or desire for recognition from the prophetic world. The scholar that can accurately depict the beast kingdoms would be world renowned for generations and would be able to shine light onto the most complicated prophetic visions found within the Bible.  Once an assumption is made it is very difficult for the interpreter to possess an open mind unto a different interpretation or a possibility that their interpretation is incorrect or misguided.

The truth is that there is no true answer to the modern world. Most likely the truth will be provided in retrospect, once the events have been completed shining light onto the fulfilment after the completion of the events. All we can truly do is speculate as to what we believe the Scriptures are trying to tell us and to use the symbolism to the best of our ability.

Through the ages, the interpretation of Daniel’s beast kingdoms has remained consistent with the use of a couple world empires or powers at the main focal points. These empires have placed their mark on society and their lasting impression is consistent with the rising of kingdoms that could possess the traits present within the beast kingdoms. The kingdoms used have been the countries of Russia, Great Britain, Germany and the Muslim Caliphate.

The use of these kingdoms can be understood through the imagery used to depict the beasts. For example, the symbolic use of the lion with Eagle’s wings to describe the British empire would make absolute sense. The symbol of Great Britain is the Lion and the powerful country that came from their existence has been the United States that is represented by the Eagle. Considering the United States is never truly mentioned within Scripture leads many to believe in this interpretation to give validity to its existence and presence within the modern world. This belief only leads to the understanding that the United States will not be present during the final empires as according to Scripture, as the eagle’s wings are plucked, or removed from existence.

The use of the symbolic Bear to represent Russia is no surprise either. Russia has used the Bear to represent their nations from its inception and considering its world presence, it only makes logical sense to link Russia with the Bear within Daniel’s vision. The interpretation of the Bear being risen on one side and having three ribs is still a matter of debate. Many believe that considering Russia’s strength is present more on one side of their geographic kingdom shows the lopsided strength of the Bear and the three ribs are either countries they devour during the end times or the rise of cruel dictators throughout its existence. The complete interpretation may not be realized until all events unfold but the symbolism of Russia being the Bear is something most Biblical scholars agree upon.

The use of the Leopard to describe Germany is linked to the use of the Leopard tanks that Germany used to dominate Europe during both World Wars. This symbolism of the Leopard combined with the four heads and four wings and spots only brings light unto this interpretation. As this great empire will rise it will have four heads that are representative of the four leaders/kingdoms that would be present during its history. According to Germanic prophetic teaching the belief is that there will be four different empires or reichs that will rise out of the German people. Three of these reichs have come to pass throughout their history and the rise of the Fourth Reich is not something of science fiction but something that is taught throughout the Germanic people.

The four wings attached to the Leopard are very interesting as they are associated to another kingdom that would be combined with the Leopard during the time of the end. Considering the modern authority present within the European Union and the economic superiority of two members within its ranks, we can see who this second kingdom is. France with their national symbol of the Rooster, combined with their historical three kingdoms would fulfil the combining of the Leopard and its wings. Bringing the Leopard’s spots into the equations fulfils the EU as the rise of the final Leopard as this nation encompasses numerous nations with two countries at its head.

The final beast is the most confusing and misunderstood of all the beasts. Little information is provided except that it is different than the other beasts, uses iron to devour, and feet to stomp, and comprises of ten leaders. This leaves the interpretation of this beast debatable as the most modern and accepted interpretation is the rise of the Muslim Caliphate. Like all the prophetic word present within Scripture, we must use the Bible as our guide to help provide light and understanding unto these prophecies.

Upon evaluation of the beasts present within Daniel’s vision we must understand that all prophetic authors and scholars are speculating as to what the correct interpretation represents. The fact of the matter is that we truly don’t know or understand what Scripture is trying to tell us. We, within the prophetic community, can only use the information provided and present the most educated guess as to what the symbolism means. Daniel tried to provide a framework for us to follow and guide us the best he could, as he didn’t even understand fully what he was seeing. Keeping this in mind, we must be open to other interpretation and ideas on how to interpret Daniel’s vision and we must use the Bible as our guide to help define what Scripture is trying to tell us.

Other interpretations present within the prophetic community have led many to believe that the first beast represents Babylon, the second the Media-Persian Empire, with the third representing Greece and finally the fourth showing the revitalization of the Roman empire. This interpretation is possible also and shows the extent of interpretations present associated to the prophetic word. True understanding may only be present after events are fulfilled but they all point to the fulfilment of a one world government. To determine what we must know, we must use Scripture to help define what we are meant to understand.

Daniel helps provide insight into these final kingdoms through his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream:

“Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the vision of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightiest know the thoughts of thy heart.

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breasts and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 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. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; 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.

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s 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.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” (Daniel 2: 25-47)

Within this vision we are shown by the prophet Daniel, the evolution of the fourth beast.  We are told that the kingdom would start with the Babylonian empire and would follow its lineage until the final evolution that would mix the kingdom of iron and clay. The amazing truth about this vision is that history allows mankind to follow this kingdom evolution to reveal who is this final beast.  History provides the landmark that we can follow to name the beast that will be like no other.  Not only can history be used subjectively to provide the answer to this question, but the book of Daniel also provides the exact names of the empires that would arise after the fall of the Babylonian empire.

History provides information that the Babylonian empire ruled from 605BC until 539BC. The fall of the Babylonian empire was due to the rise of the Media-Persia empire that ruled from 539BC until 331BC. The two arms of the statue represent the joint power present with the Media-Persia empire. The Media-Persia empire would then be conquered by the rise of Alexander the Great and the empire of Greece.  Miraculous enough both the Greek and the Media-Persia empires were given to the prophet Daniel in another vision:

“In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me as the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And His power shall be mighty, but not by his owner power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many, he shall also stand against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” (Daniel 8 1-27)

This vision within Daniel miraculously names the two empires that will follow the Babylonian empire. History follows this interpretation without hesitation and there is no debate as to the validity of the evolution of these empires. This vision demonstrates the unfolding of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision and paves the way to see who the kingdom represented by the legs of iron will be. Following the end of the Bronze Age and the fall of the Greek empire, history shows that an empire rose at the beginning of the Iron Age.  This empire would be named Rome.

The history of the Roman empire is heavily documented and imbedded in our modern teachings. No-one can graduate from American High School without studying the rise and fall of the most prolific empire the world has ever seen. This empire was also ruling during the life and death of Jesus Christ and the Rise of Christianity.

Rome had conquered the entire modern world and the stories of Christian persecution is something every church has taught about and the New Testament was written about. You cannot study the New Testament without understanding the Roman Empire.  History taught us that the popularity of Christianity continued to rise within the Roman Empire and the conversion on Emperor Constantine paved the way for the Church to become mainstream. No longer would Christians have to fear for their life by worshiping their God.

The acceptance of the Christian church would be the intermingling within the toes of the statue spoken of within Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The final empire that would rise would be the Holy Roman Catholic Church.  We know this as Scripture tells us that the Iron empire would be mixed with Potter’s clay.  Scripture describes Potter’s clay as: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isaiah 64: 8), and: “The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!” (Lamentations 4: 2).

The Christian Church are the descendants of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the Jews are represented as the potter’s clay. They intermingled with the pagan Roman Empire to become the Roman Catholic Church. History shows the evolution of the empires without hesitation and interprets the prophetic vision without complicated interpretation. Many studies have been completed showing how the intermingling was completed and how the ten kings rose, with three being subdued with the conclusion of the Papacy rising as the little horn. This teaching is accepted by many scholars and is nothing new within the prophetic community.

Understanding Daniel’s visions allows modern man to see that the final of the four beasts mentioned conclude with the rise of the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. This teaching is not to condemn Catholics or to demonize those that believe in Christ thru their Catholic faith. Many dedicated followers of Christ have come from the Roman Catholic Church but Scripture is very clear that the son of perdition will arise and shall deceive many.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12)

Many shall debate that the Pope will not be a deceiver of many or the man of perdition as the Catholic Church follows Jesus Christ. This debate will be ongoing until the coming of our Messiah but we are instructed to use Scripture to define Scripture and to not allow our personal emotions or thoughts to cause our heats to go astray.  None of us want to see anyone be deceived or to know that we ourselves may not fully understand what is going on.  We all want to follow our Lord, giving Him praise and proving ourselves worthy of His eternal blessing.

We must be honest with ourselves and understand that what we have been taught may not be correct. If Scriptures depicts a great deception so severe that even the elect may be deceived, then it is not up to us to say if something is possible or not:

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24: 23-24)

These words spoken by Jesus Christ himself depict the extent of the delusion that will engulf the entire world. Jesus told his followers to watch for his second coming but also said that many will come and say He has arrived and they will be lying to the masses. The deception will be great and we must be on guard for anyone who may mislead or misguide Christ’s followers during the end of the age!

Scripture continues to explain the role that these final beasts will play during the Great Tribulation. We are told that the time of the end will be like no other time in history and that these empires will play a very sinister role against the inhabitants of the Earth:

“And I stood upon the sand and 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 beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was giving unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world.

If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly would was healed.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they shall make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 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.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13: 1-18)

Again, we can use Scripture to find further information as to what will happen with the final empires of the world and how they will impact society. We see the same symbolism found within the book of Daniel present within the book of Revelation.  This time three of the beast have joined together to form one large and powerful beast.  Understanding modern day symbolism of the Lion being Great Britain, the Leopard being Germany and France, and the Bear being Russia, we can see that there will be a final empire that will join all these separate empires into one world empire.  This empire will have been wounded, most likely by war, but will survive and the entire world will marvel at its power and authority.

We are also told of the Dragon that will give power to the beast. We are told within Scripture that the Dragon is Satan (Revelation 20: 2) but staying consistent with modern symbolism, there is only one country that uses the symbol of the Dragon as their national symbol.  That country is China. This would mean that China would give power and authority to this beast comprising of Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia!

We are told that this empire would speak great blasphemies against God and His tabernacle. Considering God’s tabernacle is (or will be) located in Israel, we can conclude that the beast empire will be against the nation of Israel, concluding with the overcoming of God’s Church or the saints. This empire will encompass the entire world causing all nations to succumb to its power.

Scripture then tells us that another beast with two horns shall arise joining forces with the first beast. This beast shall have two horns and shall speak like the Lamb.  Understanding that Christ is regarded as the Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) we can understand that is beast shall speak in authority mimicking the authority of Jesus Christ.

Using the evolution of Nebuchadnezzar empirical vision as a basis we understand that the Roman Catholic Church plays a role within the end times. Considering the other empires joined to create the first beast of Revelation, it can be concluded that the Roman Catholic Church would have to make up the second beast.  Understanding Catholic Church history, we can see that in 1054AD the Great Schism occurred with the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church.  This split caused the Catholic Church to separate in two with one currently located in Rome (Roman Catholic Church) and the second located in Moscow (Russian Orthodox Church).  How the Eastern Orthodox Church became located in Moscow only illuminates the conflict currently waged between Russia and Ukraine as it was originally located within Ukraine.

Again, history and modern evolution of prophetic language illustrates who the players will be during the end of the age. These empires or beasts will continue to play their part until their destiny is fulfilled.  Understanding that everything has been told to God’s people a long time ago, as a warning, helps us understand the love that God has for His people.  He wants us to understand what is going to transpire so that we can see His power and His love.  That is why understanding the prophetic word is so incredible.  By studying God’s Word, we are told exactly what will happen, before it actually comes to pass!

“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: 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 colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, 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, MYSERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE 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 the 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 the 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.

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 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. 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 saweth 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.

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17: 1-18)

Clinton Kowach

12/1/2018