Deeper Commentary
CHAPTER 13
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea-
A position associated with the seed of Abraham in their land. This is the
perspective from which we must view the beasts. The sea shore is on the
earth / land promised to Abraham. John is viewing things from the very
edge of that territory.
And I saw a beast coming up out of the
sea- If the earth is the land
promised to Abraham, from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt, then this
beast arises from the sea of nations and peoples immediately surrounding
it. Iran comes to mind, as does Egypt and Libya, all home to jihadist
Islamists with a sworn hatred of Israel. Turkey is also in view, and we
can expect her to become more deeply anti-Israel.
There is a clear parallel between the four
winds which strove with each other upon the sea, and the four beasts who
came up out of the sea. The impression is that these beasts all exist at
the same time, and their conflict with each other leads to the final
appearance of a beast which represents all of them; and this entity
dominates the earth / land promised to Abraham, and God’s people upon it.
The appearance of this entity will therefore be brought about by massive
conflict within the land promised to Abraham- and this is what we are
seeing before our eyes. The only uniting issue between the powers in that
area is a common hatred of Israel and desire to take Jerusalem. This will
be the basis of the final beast arising. We can perhaps look to the
development of four distinct power groups within the land promised to
Abraham, giving rise to ten ‘kings’ or leaders, the horns of the beast,
the ten toes of the image. The period of conflict between those groups
could be very brief. We need not, therefore, think that the Lord’s coming
isn’t near because we can’t currently identify those four entities or ten
leaders. What we are seeing before our eyes is the winds blowing on the
sea, striving between the peoples of the land / earth promised to Abraham,
leaving millions dead and the entire region in bitter division. And this,
according to Daniel 7, will give rise to the emergence of the final entity
of abuse, perhaps on the pattern of the entity known as the Islamic State.
We should therefore be looking for a group of
four kings / kingdoms, out of which arise ten kings / kingdoms; and out of
them arises one “little horn” in particular. Revelation’s take on the
beasts adds more detail- there are also seven heads, a false prophet
acting as publicity agent for the beast, a whore riding the beast, sitting
on seven hills / kings. The four beasts / kings are initially in conflict,
striving with each other upon the sea, and arising from that comes the
fourth beast entity, the composite beast including elements of all the
previous ones. And from that there arises the ten horns and one little
horn. We should not, however, think of these situations as having to be
chronological developments, i.e. first the four, then the fourth beast,
then the ten horns, then the little horn. It may work out like that, but
not necessarily. The precise details need not concern us ahead of time;
the picture is of a series of leaders and powers involved in the
domination of the land promised to Abraham. The fact is, the beasts will
all exist together in the last days, just as the metals of the image will.
These various entities will “arise” from the land. And this is what we see
happening already- in the last few years there has been what is called the
Arabic, and particularly Sunni, sahwa, ‘awakening’. Powers and
kings have risen up out of the scrubland and desert of the eretz,
united in their hatred of Israel, but bitterly divided against each other.
We are for sure in the stage of the winds /
ruach / Angel controlled nations ‘striving’ with each other- the
eretz is full of conflict as never before, not just between
Israel and her neighbours, but between those neighbours. There are
currently four non-Jewish nations within the eretz- Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. But they exist just on paper as lines on the map;
there are other significant entities within the area, e.g. Kurdistan, the
Islamic State, Gaza, parts of Egypt and Turkey [depending how one defines
the northern border of Israel], parts of Saudi Arabia [depending how the
eastern border is defined]. In total they make ten kingdoms, but the
number ten may not be literal. We would then be awaiting for the “little
horn” to arise- a charismatic, antiChrist leader, or perhaps another very
small entity. For the horn is called the little horn, and yet it
is the most powerful in the very last days. However, the Hebrew and
Aramaic words translated “little” can mean ‘short’ in terms of time as
well as size. The idea may be that it lasts a very short time indeed,
maybe literally days or hours in the very last day, and is the human
representative of the beast / horns who personally challenges the Lord
Jesus and is destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
The empires of Daniel 2 dominate the earth.
The Hebrew eretz can refer either to the entire planet, or to the
land- the land promised to Abraham, the land of Israel, from the Euphrates
to the river of Egypt. The dominion of the four beasts is therefore over
the same area. Daniel saw the beasts arising out of the great sea. This
could be a reference to the laver, which is also called a 'sea' (1 Kings
7:23-26,39). This was a huge circular bowl for washing which was set upon
12 bronze oxen, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. They were arranged
in four groups of three, facing north, south, east and west, in imitation
of the camp of Israel in the wilderness. The beasts therefore arise out of
the territory promised to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rev. 17:15 interprets waters or seas as
"peoples". The beasts therefore arise out of the peoples who are to be
found in the land of the 12 tribes of Israel. The interpretation is
confirmed by the words of the Angel in Dan. 7:17, who says that the four
beasts who arise out of the sea are four king[dom]s which "shall arise out
of the earth / land".
Another possibility regarding the "great sea"
is that it refers to the area of Babylon's dominion. The vision of Daniel
7 clearly parallels that of Daniel 2, which was intended to explain what
would happen after the Babylonians. The arena of the "great sea" was to be
dominated by other kingdoms apart from Babylon. In confirmation of this,
we find the word rab ["great"] used about the greatness of
Babylon ("great Babylon", Dan. 4:30; Joel 2:2,11). But rab is
also translated "master" (Dan. 1:3), "lord", "captain", "chief" (Dan.
2:10,14,48), "master" (Dan. 4:19; 5:11). We could understand the "great
sea" as the sea of nations ruled over by the master, the lord of the sea,
the king of Babylon- and Daniel is seeing this vision in the first year of
Belshazzar king of Babylon (Dan. 7:1). As in the Daniel 2 vision, Daniel
is explaining that the leadership of Babylon will not last, other kingdoms
will arise to also dominate the sea of nations which was then under
Babylon's sole control. This again pushes us towards understanding the
entire vision as specifically concerning the area over which Babylon had
dominion, and not the whole planet.
Having ten horns and seven heads; and on
his horns ten diadems- The beasts of
Revelation are built upon the beasts of Daniel. In the latter day
application, the various beasts are perhaps pictures of various aspects of
the final beast. The beast of Rev. 13:2 was "like a leopard, and his feet
were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion". Here we
see the elements of the various beasts of Dan. 7 and therefore the metals
of the image of Dan. 2 all incorporated into this latter day beast. It is
the equivalent of the image standing complete in the last days. It has
"seven heads and ten horns" (Rev. 13:1)- which is the total number of
heads and horns of the four beasts of Dan. 7. In harmony with this, Hos.
13:7 describes Israel’s latter day invader as a lion, bear, leopard and
wild beast. All elements of the beasts are brought together in the final
latter day invasion. The [singular] beast of Rev. 13:1 arose out of the
sea, but the beasts of Daniel 7 all also arise out of the sea; it’s as if
all those beasts are epitomized in the one beast, just as the image of
Daniel 2 stands complete at the time of Christ’s return, incorporating all
the metals / empires of history. All this is explained further in
commentary on
Daniel 2,
Daniel 8 and
Daniel 9.
The metals of the image of Daniel 2 and the
beasts of Daniel 7 all have dominion over “the earth”, and this has
reference is to the earth / land of Israel. This, I suggest, continues to
be the focus in the visions of Revelation. When we read of various
judgments being poured out upon the “earth”, we are reading about the
situation in the land promised to Abraham. The references to ‘thirds’ of
the earth / land being judged is clearly alluding to the Old Testament
prophetic descriptions of ‘thirds’ of Israel or the population of
Jerusalem being judged, especially in Ezekiel and Zechariah. Indeed Rev.
1:7 opens the prophecy by making the connection between Israel and the
“earth”: “Those who pierced [crucified] Him and all the tribes of the
earth [land] shall wail because of Him”. This is quoting from Zechariah’s
prophecy of how all the tribes of Israel will weep in repentance
because of their crucifixion of their Messiah.
The four beasts of Daniel 7 are replaced in
Revelation by one composite beast, although it is presented from different
aspects. This, I suggest, is because the beast of Revelation specifically
is the latter day beast, which incorporates all the previous beasts.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic
State, said that Muslims should unite to capture Rome in order to "own the
world". The significance of this is that the ten horn entity, the latter
day radical Islamist entity, is seeking to incorporate an element of the
previous metals / beast systems, i.e. Rome. This is what we would expect
if the image is to stand erect in the last days. Source: McElory,
Damien.
"Rome will be conquered next, says leader of 'Islamic State'".
The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
The beasts of Daniel represented empires, but
this beastly empire in Revelation is a composite Leopard-Bear-Lion (13:2).
It isn't just one of Daniel's three empires. It's all three empires rolled
into one. In other words, this new empire is composed of the descendants
of those earlier empires, in the same geographic location. Looking back at
the history of the Middle East, we can now identify this new empire as the
various powers that have controlled the Holy Land whilst the Jews were
established within it.
It’s surely significant that Daniel 7 is
comprised of seven visions- each introduced by the statement that Daniel
‘beheld’. This matches with the series of seven visions we find in
Revelation. I would say that Revelation is therefore a development and
expansion of the ideas presented in Daniel; the basic picture presented in
Daniel will come true, but the outworking of it is developed somewhat in
Revelation.
The four beasts of Daniel 7 clearly are to be
connected with the four separate beasts which we encounter in the book of
Revelation- the dragon of chapters 12 and 20, the sea beast of 13:1, the
earth beast of 13:11 and the beast ridden by the whore in chapter 17. Note
how the four 'evil' beasts of Revelation are a conscious contrast with
"the four living creatures" of God's heavenly throne room (Rev. 19:4 cp.
Ez. 1:5,15). Perhaps the contrast is also to demonstrate how as in Daniel,
the nations on earth have their representative, controlling Angels in the
court of Heaven.
Each of the beasts has some similarities with
the other beasts. Three of them ‘arise’; they all have horns; three of
them have the same number of horns and heads; they all persecute God’s
people, etc. They all exist at the same time- they do not arise in
chronological sequence. They are a different take on the four beasts of
Daniel 7, but they have only outline similarities. The sequence of beasts
/ empires in Daniel 7 was a potential prophetic program, which never came
to complete fulfilment. But the essence of the prophecy is repeated in
Revelation, and will come true in the last days. It could be that we
should not unduly sweat to understand the precise details of the beasts in
Daniel 7, because this was part of a prophetic program which did not come
about- I have written elsewhere about Conditional prophecy in Daniel. But
the essence of the prophecy will come true in the last days, and we find
it fleshed out in Revelation.
We read of "the beast" without any
specification as to which beast is in view (Rev. 19:19,20; 20:4,10). This
is surely because the various beasts are only manifestations of the one
beast, just as the four beasts of Daniel 7 are comprehended in the fourth
beast. The beasts are in a sense separate- thus the beast is put into the
lake of fire before the dragon is (Rev. 20:10). But in another sense,
these entities are all expressing the same reality and principles.
Different aspects of the dominating entity may be destroyed at different
times in different ways- hence the usage of the imagery of more than one
beast.
As noted on 12:3, "seven heads and ten horns"
refers to how groups of seven and ten nations and kings surrounding Israel
are associated with previous dominations of Israel (7= Dt. 7:1; Josh.
3:10; Acts 13:19; 10 = Gen. 15:18; Ps. 83; the ten surrounding nations
starting with Egypt and ending with Babylon of Jer. 46-50; the ten toes of
the image of Daniel 2, the ten horns of the beast of Daniel 7; the ten
invading nations of Ez. 38 headed by Gog). suggestion is that the
seven heads and ten horns on the dragon and beast refer to a quick
succession or co-existence of various peoples, leaders or entities
originating from or around the land promised to Abraham, which will
persecute God's people in the last days. They will all form part of the
coalition of evil known as the beast or dragon, and radical Islam will be
their religion.
The ten horns represent ten kings- the
reference may be to individual leaders rather than to nations (Dan. 7:24).
They arise out of the head of the beast, maybe implying they share the
same overall ideology or thinking. That ideology would be that of hatred
of Israel and a common desire to destroy her- which rather suggests Islam.
That is the only appropriate ideology within the earth / land promised to
Abraham which could be the candidate for the fulfilment of this prophetic
requirement.
The One Beast
|
Daniel 7 |
2 Thess. 2 |
Rev. 13 |
Rev. 17 |
Rev. 19 |
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1. |
Called: |
||||
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The beast |
The beast |
The beast |
The beast |
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Also called: |
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The little horn* |
The man of sin |
The eighth head |
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2. |
Comes out of the sea |
Comes out of the deep (i.e. the sea) |
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3. |
Associated with 10 horns |
10 horns |
10 horns |
10 horns |
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|
4. |
Emerges at end of Gentile times |
End of Gentile times |
End of Gentile times |
End of Gentile times |
End of Gentile times |
|
5. |
Amazing recovery |
Amazing emergence |
|||
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6. |
A mouth speaking great things against
the Most High |
God-defying |
Opens mouth in blasphemy against God |
Full of names of blasphemy |
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7. |
Deceitful signs and lying wonders |
Deceitful signs and lying wonders t |
Deceives them that had received the
mark of the beast t |
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8. |
Given publicity by the beast out the
earth |
Given publicity by the false prophet
(i.e. the beast of the earth) |
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9. |
All deceived who do not believe the
truth |
All that dwell upon the earth worship
the beast, whose names are not written in the book of life |
They that dwell on the earth, whose
names are not written in the book of life, wonder at the revival
of the beast |
||
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10 |
Persecutes and overcomes saints |
Intolerant of all religions |
Persecutes and overcomes the saints |
Persecutes the saints Destroys the
whore |
|
|
11 |
Duration of 3.5 years |
Duration of 3.5 years |
|||
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12 |
The son of perdition |
Goes to perdition |
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13 |
Destroyed by Christ |
Destroyed by Christ |
Destroyed by Christ |
Destroyed by Christ |
Note that the little horn is treated as the
beast (Dan. 7:11).
And upon his heads were names of
blasphemy- The beast of 17:4 was
“full of blasphemous names”. Not only the heads of the Beast (13:1), but
its whole body is covered with them, indicating that the entire empire
sanctioned the emperors’ arrogation of divine titles; such titles could be
found throughout the Roman world, inscribed on public buildings and
monuments. The blasphemy of the last days will be in that the jihadists
consider that they have Divine, even Biblical warrant to execute His
judgments upon Israel and the true Christian church.
As noted many times, we are not to look for a
chronological fulfilment in terms of a sequence of events. These are all
kaleidoscope images of the persecution to be unleashed upon the earth /
land. They merge and morph with each other, and yet re-emerge as separate
entities. The dragon has seven heads and ten horns, with each head
crowned; the beast from the sea has likewise seven heads and ten horns,
but now it is the horns which are crowned; on the heads of the beast there
are "names of blasphemy" (13:1). Their prototype in Daniel 7:20 has ten
horns upon only one head.
The names of the Roman emperors were to be
greatly revered. The cult of emperor worship grew very strongly in the 1st
century. Yet Rev. 13:2 describes the names of the leaders of the beast,
which on one level represented the Roman empire in the 1st century, as “blasphemous
names”. To assign divine titles to the emperor was, to the Jewish and
Christian mind, a blasphemy (Dt. 11:36; 2 Thess. 2:4). This would have
made the Apocalypse an outlawed document in the first century. Consider
too the clear references to the evil of the emperor worship cult later in
Rev. 13: one of its heads. . .is set up as the very
opposite of the true Christ.
13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a
leopard, his feet were as the feet of a bear, his mouth as the mouth of a
lion; and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great
authority- As noted on :1, the beast is the composite of all the
beasts of Daniel 7. The dragon of chapter 12 is also the same ideology
which speaks from the mouth of the earth beast in :11. The dragon may be
damaged or apparently destroyed in political terms by the Lord's direct
judgment, perhaps at the hands of Israeli or Western militia. But the
jihadist philosophy re-emerges in another incarnation, just as has been
witnessed so often in the war against various Islamic terrorist
organizations.
The beast of Revelation 13 has elements of
all the other beasts. And so does the fourth beast of Daniel 7. It had
iron teeth and brass nails (Dan. 7:19), alluding to the brass of the third
kingdom and the iron of the fourth kingdom. It had “eyes of a man” and a
human eye on its horn, (Dan. 7:8,20), just as the first beast, the lion,
had a human heart and stood up like a man (Dan. 7:4). The bear, the second
beast, had three ribs in its mouth, representing its conquest of three
other powers; the fourth beast features a little horn which conquers three
other horns (Dan. 7:8). The bear also ‘devoured much flesh’ (Dan. 7:5);
the fourth beast ‘devours’ the land (Dan. 7:7). The third beast, the
leopard, had four heads (Dan. 7:6), rather like the fourth beast also has
ten horns; and Revelation 13 explains that these are later located on
seven heads. The fourth beast of Daniel 7 is therefore a composite beast;
the other beasts merge into an entity which includes all of them, even
though they still exist separately- for in the final Divine judgment, the
fourth beast entity is destroyed, but the beasts have their dominion taken
away although their lives are “prolonged for a season and time” (Dan.
7:12). This may mean that the final entity is destroyed, but the
individual components of it continue to exist “for a season and time”. The
only other reference in Daniel to a period being “prolonged” is when the
same word is used in Dan. 4:27 regarding the possibility of the king of
the kingdom prolonging his life by repentance; it could be that the delay
or prolonging is in order they repent. This may also explain why the
first beast, representing Babylon, is pictured as having a man’s heart
being given to it after its wings [power] are cropped. The historical king
of Babylon had a beast’s heart (Dan. 4:16), but his understanding [a human
heart] returned to him on his repentance (Dan. 4:34). So this feature of
the first beast may be a hit at a repentance after the pattern of
Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
It’s apparent that the four beasts of Daniel
and of Revelation (dragon, sea beast, earth beast, scarlet beast) are full
of allusion to the cherubim vision seen by Ezekiel- also whilst in
captivity in Babylon, just as Daniel was. The cherubim were likewise four
separate living creatures [beasts] which somehow were also one. The four
beasts of Daniel 7 become comprehended in the fourth beast and in the one
composite beast of Revelation 13, which includes all elements of the
previous beasts within it. Note that the Hebrew / Aramaic for “beast”
means literally a living one- the living creature of the cherubim vision.
The cherubim featured the faces of lion, ox, man and eagle (Ez. 1:10), and
lion, ox and eagle feature in the descriptions of the four beasts; the
‘man’ element is found in that the lion has the heart of a man, and the
little horn of the fourth beast has the eyes of a man. The first living
creature has wings which are lifted up from the earth (Dan. 7:4)- which is
precisely the language of the cherubim wings being lifted up from the
earth in Ez. 1:19,21; 10:16,19. As the first beast is made to stand on its
feet (Dan. 7:4), so the cherubim caused Ezekiel to stand on his feet (Ez.
2:2; 3:24). The second creature had a “side” which was “lifted up” (Dan.
7:5), as the cherubim likewise had ‘sides’ which were ‘lifted up’ (Ez.
1:8,20). The third beast had four wings as each of the living creatures /
cherubim did (Dan. 7:6; Ez. 1:23). The first and fourth beasts / living
creatures have feet (Dan. 7:4,7) as the cherubim do (Ez. 1:7). The
description of how these living creatures / beasts will be judged by the
Lord Jesus includes language also used in Ezekiel’s cherubim visions- One
seated upon a throne, wheels of burning fire (Dan. 7:9).
Ezekiel’s vision was surely well known to
Daniel and John. The connection is surely that throughout the course of
human history, especially the course of Gentile domination of the land of
Israel, the glory of God shone through it all, it was all going according
to His purpose; and the various beasts were in fact manipulated by the
living creatures of the Angel cherubim. Daniel 7 says this in different
terms by opening with the statement that the four spirits / Angels of
Heaven were responsible for the uprising of the four beasts (Dan. 7:2,3).
Events were not just taking their course, with everything spinning out of
control; but rather, God through the Angels was powerfully in control. And
His glory shone through the apparent cruelty, shame and randomness of the
events that appeared to be happening to His land and people.
13:3 And I saw one of his heads as though
it had a mortal wound; but its mortal wound was healed- This
significant head is to be associated with the little horn of Daniel 7 and
8. See further commentary
here and
here.
The little horn represents the beast; the persecution of the saints by the
horn is therefore also by the beast:
|
The Little Horn |
The Beast |
|
"Diverse" (Dan.7:24) from
others
|
"Diverse" (Dan.7:23) from |
|
"A mouth speaking great things”
(Rev.3:5) |
"A mouth speaking great things" |
|
"He shall speak great words
|
"He opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God" (Rev.13:6) |
|
"The same horn made war with the
saints, and prevailed against them (Dan.7:21). |
"Make war with the saints, and
to overcome them" (Rev.13:7) |
Thus Dan. 7:11 speaks as if the beast and the
little horn are interchangeable: " I beheld then because of the voice of
the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was
slain”. Rev.13:5 says that the beast makes war with the saints (AVmg.) for
3.5 years- as does the little horn in Dan. 7. The beast was "like a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the
mouth of a lion" (Rev. 13:2). Again we see the elements of the various
beasts of Dan. 7 and therefore the metals of the image of Dan. 2 all
incorporated in this beast. It has "seven heads and ten horns" (Rev.
13:1)- which is the total number of heads and horns of the four beasts of
Dan. 7. In harmony with this, Hos. 13:7 describes Israel’s latter day
invader as a lion, bear, leopard and wild beast. All elements of the
beasts are brought together in the final latter day invasion.
One of the heads receives a deadly wound, but
this is described as the beast receiving a deadly wound, thus identifying
the beast with one of its particular heads (Rev. 13:3,12). The overall
picture presented by the descriptions of the horns is of conflict with
each other, whilst at the same time dominating the earth / land of Israel.
The little horn ‘subdues’ [to abase / humiliate / degrade] three of the
horns, and according to Rev. 17:16, the ten horns hate the whore, the
individual riding the beast entity, and bitterly destroy and burn her. And
the fortunes of the entire entity ebb and flow- one of the wounds has a
deadly wound but revives, the beast itself has a deadly wound from a sword
but revives (Rev. 13:3,12,14), the beast was, is not and yet is (Rev.
17:8), and we are beginning to see this ebb and flow of the fortunes of
the entity developing in the land / earth. This is precisely the picture
that has more recently unfolded in the land promised to Abraham- a series
of increasingly powerful and aggressive leaders and powers, morphing
together from the perspective of Israel and God’s people into a
system of abuse such as has never been seen and never will be. And yet
from another viewpoint, they are bitterly divided against themselves.
The tendency is to want to clearly identity
each of the ten toes / ten horns of the fourth beasts, the wings of the
lion, the three ribs in the mouth of the second beast, the four wings and
four heads of the third beast, the three horns who are plucked up by the
little horn of the fourth beast, and then in Revelation we have seven
heads found on the beast, as well as the ten horns, who in Revelation
“hate the whore” and burn her; and the whore who rides the beast sits on
seven hills or kings. Each of these attributes [toes, horns, wings, heads]
refer to kings / kingdoms. Looking at the scenarios through half closed
eyes, as it were, not sweating the details, we have the impression of a
latter day entity dominating the earth / land promised to Abraham, which
is comprised of a bewildering array of smaller powers and charismatic
leaders who are often pitted against each other. This is exactly the
position we see developing in that geographical area. We don’t need to
interpret the fine details ahead of time- that is not how prophecy
functions. When it all happens, then it will be clear. What we are seeing
is the general picture developing- an array of aggressive powers, some
strong and some weak, broadly grouped into four groups, matching the four
beasts who will exist in the last days. They are all united around a
desire to dominate Israel. It’s not hard to imagine how they will destroy
each other, which is God’s preferred method of judging His people’s
enemies.
The changing of times and laws by the
antichrist figure of Dan. 7:25 sounds like the radical Islamist desire to
impose the Islamic calendar and sharia law in the land promised
to Abraham, which they see as their caliphate; and for sure, if Israel
becomes part of an Islamic state, then the keeping of the Jewish calendar
will be outlawed. The implementation of sharia law and changing
legal structures to reflect it, is a major theme in their program. It’s
clear that the three and a half year domination of Jerusalem and changing
of the Jewish law and calendar had an initial fulfilment in the abuses of
Antiochus Epiphanes, who desecrated the temple. There was a three and a
half year period from the edict of Antiochus in June 168 BC to the
rededication of the temple in December 165 BC. The little horn of
Daniel 8 comes out of the Greek kingdom, but the horn of Daniel 7 out of
the fourth kingdom. I suggest that this is because the prophecy could have
been fulfilled totally at the time of Antiochus- Messiah could have come
and destroyed him. But the various required preconditions weren’t met, and
so there was another possibility of it coming true out of the Roman
kingdom [another possibility is that the four beasts and metals refer to
Babylon-Media-Persia-Greece rather than Babylon-Medo Persia-Greece-Rome].
Revelation uses the same imagery to describe the antiChrist of the last
days, who will incorporate some elements of the previous historical
fulfilments of the little horn in men like Antiochus Epiphanes.
The entire vision of the beasts of Daniel 7
is summed up in Dan. 7:1: "the rosh of the words" (AV "sum of the
matter"). And the rosh surely refers to the individual of Ezekiel
38:2 who will lead the latter day armies against Israel. The whole system
of beasts is summed up in an individual rosh or leader, just as
the metals of the image in Daniel 2 are in the form of a man with the face
of Nebuchadnezzar. The little horn of Daniel 7 is actually called "the
beast": "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" (Dan. 7:11).
And the whole earth marvelled as they
followed the beast- One feature of
the presentation of the beasts is that both John and "the whole earth /
land" wonder at it and at the whore riding it (Rev. 13:3; 17:6,7). This
matches with the stress in Daniel 7 that the fourth beast is strikingly
different from all the other beasts. The world will be in shock and awe at
the entity which will suddenly develop- and we see the beginnings of that
with the awe and fear inspired by the jihadists. This speaks not only of
the fear inspired by the entity in its enemies on the ground, but implies
a watching world onlooking in awe and fear, unable to do anything against
it
Let’s not get caught up with the idea that
Israel shall survive and defeat the invaders in her own strength. The
beast must dominate Israel. Jerusalem will be taken. Dan. 7:7,21 speaks of
how the beast made war with the saints and prevailed against them- Israel-
until the Ancient of days came; in Dan. 7:23 he devours the whole
land [as a beast] and shall tread it down. The beast of Revelation is so
powerful in the earth / land that "the world" wondered at it and at the
whore riding it (Rev. 13:3; 17:6,7), feeling unable to make war with it.
This of itself requires the demise and degrading of America, Europe and
the West generally. Dan. 11:41,45 are likewise clear about the latter day
King of the North: “He shall also come into the glorious land… He shall
plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy
mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him”.
As the entire image was "terrible" (Dan.
2:31), so the fourth beast system is described with the same word (Dan.
7:7). As the image appeared “excellent” (Dan. 2:31), so the strength of
the fourth beast was ‘excellent’ (s.w. Dan. 7:7). Dan. 7:7 emphasizes that
this final beast is altogether more aggressive than any previous beast /
dominator of the land: "Dreadful, terrible, strong exceedingly... it was
different from all the beasts that were before it". The original word
translated “dreadful” suggests whoever sees it slinks away in fear- its
strength and advantage over others is “exceeding”. This is the same awe we
find in Rev. 13, where the world looks on at the beast, marvelling at this
entity and feeling that nobody can even begin to make war with him. This
speaks of an entity that is more aggressive and fear-inspiring than the
aggressive Babylonians, Assyrians or abusive Nazis. It implies too the
eclipse of the West as the dominant world power block and power broker.
The current Islamic jihadist movement may develop into an entity which
fits this bill- a reign of terror involving cutting off children's heads
and parading their actions on videos, live crucifixion of any who don't
agree with them, but with a stranglehold advantage over any critics... The
same radical difference between this final beast and all previous ones is
brought out by the way in which John, after all he had earlier seen, was
in shock at the way the beast drunk the blood of the saints, i.e. the
people of God, Israel in their land (Rev. 17:6). The whole world likewise
is in shock horror at this beast (Rev. 13:3; 17:8). Dan. 12:1 puts it this
way: "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was" for God's
people, and they will be saved from it by the standing up of Jesus for His
people, the resurrection of the dead and the destruction of the "king of
the north". The "time of Jacob's trouble" from which he shall be saved
(Jer. 30:7) must be understood in the context of how the phrase "time of
trouble" is used in the Bible to describe times of Israel's invasion and
suffering at the hands of their neighbours (Is. 33:2; Jer. 2:27,28; 8:15;
11:12,14; 14:8,19; Ez. 7:7). "There shall be a time of trouble such as
never was" therefore suggests a time of abuse of Israel such as has never
been seen. And this includes the Nazi holocaust, the death camps of
Europe, the Babylonian and Assyrian atrocities... It's purely wishful
thinking to hope that the IDF and Israel's military technology will stave
this off. It will not. Jerusalem is to be taken and the women raped (Zech.
14:2). The beast is to dominate the earth / land of Israel.
13:4 And they worshiped the dragon,
because he gave his authority to the beast- The dragon may be
politically off the scene, but the jihadist philosophy continues. Or it
may be that we are simply seeing in these visions different aspects of the
same entity, in a kaleidoscope of images wherein some of the images
overlap; and the connection between dragon and beast would then simply be
that overlap, as it were.
And they worshiped the beast, saying: Who
is like to the beast? And who is able to war with him?-
This will be the world's reaction to the jihadist beast of the last days.
They worship him because they feel he is invincible, and have not paid
attention to the continued reminders in Revelation that all power,
authority and strength is not with human empires but with the Lord Jesus.
Seeing that the West has nuclear weapons, this could imply that the beast
either deprives them of their weapons (a Muslim dominated and more
politically powerful UN or EU could achieve this), or that a new paradigm
of weapons, worse than nuclear, are possessed by the beast and used to
hold the rest of the world to ransom.
The language is based upon the prototype of
Goliath the Philistine / Palestinian, who likewise had a mouth speaking
great things against Israel and Israel's God. That similarity is continued
by the description of the small, finally repentant remnant of Jews who
overthrow the beast as being like David (Zech. 12:8). This is not to say
that there will not initially be opposition to the beast- the horn
recovers amazingly from a "deadly wound" which could likely refer to some
form of Western operation against this entity (Rev. 13:3). Likewise the
beast was, is not, and yet will be [Rev. 17:8- i.e. it will be revived
after apparent destruction]. But the final picture is of the beast having
free reign in the earth / land promised to Abraham. We must look,
therefore, to Zion being forsaken of all her lovers, America particularly
pulling out of supporting Israel. We already can see the beginnings of
such a situation developing. The West will either collapse, perhaps
financially, and become impotent; or will come to a policy position which
refuses to support Israel nor get involved in on the ground operations
within the land promised to Abraham. Their impotence is however described
in terms of their 'worshipping' the beast and therefore fearing
to make war with it (Rev. 13:4). The Greek for 'worship' can mean to cower
or fawn before a person; the West may be forced to this position by
Islamic elements within their own nations, by an oil and energy embargo,
or something similar. Another option is that the 'world' spoken of in Rev.
13 is specifically the world around Israel; but in our days of a global
village, that would still require that the West is left impotent to
intervene. It has been their background support of Israel which has kept
the current situation in balance so far. But Rev. 9:14 speaks of the
hordes of enemies being bound at the Euphrates River, and then being
released by Angelic action. This restraint which is released could well
refer to an Angelically-orchestrated removal of the West's restraining
power. With no such power broker in the region, the forces of Islamic
jihad will without doubt burst forth over the Euphrates, the boundary of
the land promised to Abraham, and surge towards Israel.
However we interpret the beast and its horns,
the point has to be accepted that it is radically different to any entity
or empire which has ever dominated the earth / land of Israel before. It
was "terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong... it devoured and
broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different
from all the beasts that were before it" (Dan. 7:7). It is this same beast
which led John in Revelation to be staggered and amazed. For such an
entity to dominate Israel in the last days, the current geopolitical
situation must change. The West will be powerless to stop it. The
historical support of Israel by the West, and their continual involvement
on the ground in the Middle East to avert catastrophe and protect their
interests there... will end. This could be because of their financial
collapse, or an oil / energy stranglehold over them, or the uprise of
domestic forces allied with Islam which leave them powerless to get
involved; or maybe they genuinely turn against Israel.
Or perhaps the beast entity is in possession
of military technology, just as Goliath was, which leads to the sense that
nobody can make war with this beast: "Who is like unto the beast? Who is
able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:4). And if 'all' that is required for
peace is to let these guys have their way with Israel... well, that will
be a price which will seem cheap compared to the unleashing of nuclear,
germ, chemical or some other kind of technology against the West. "Who is
like unto the beast?" suggests that it is felt that nobody is comparable
with the beast in order to make war with it; there is a superiority of
military ability which is perceived which results in recognizing that this
entity cannot be challenged. The language is very much of David and
Goliath. The current dependency of Israel upon military technology to
maintain the upper edge over their enemies must therefore come to an end.
All those scenarios are well on the way to development. Nuclear technology
is already in the hands of Iran, and can spread easily to irresponsible
hands. It would also be typical of Russian foreign policy to spite the
West by arming the West's enemies with such technology. Without the West
as the power broker in the Middle East, such an entity will surely arise.
The release of the restrained horsemen on the banks of the Euphrates may
refer to this restraining influence being removed (Rev. 9,16). The growth
of the IS shows the potential for it, if nothing else. So the very
prediction of such an entity arising in the land promised to Abraham has
some radical implications for the West.
Judah’s invasion by the Babylonians is
clearly a type of the latter day invasion by the Islamic jihadist entity
or state. The Biblical record emphasizes Judah’s sense of betrayal, in
that her lovers and friends [i.e. other nations] had not come to her aid
as they had promised and as she had hoped (Lamentations is full of such
language). This has its counterpart today, in that Israel depends upon the
West to be the power broker deflecting any major strike against them by
the Islamic powers around them. But that factor will be removed, the
promises and undertakings will not come true- because the Biblical picture
is of a huge state in power over Israel without opposition.
If we are looking for a power or ideology
within the land promised to Abraham which focuses upon the destruction of
Israel, then we do not have far to look. Radical Islam explicitly
encourages Muslims to attack Israel and force Jews to either convert to
Israel or be killed: Consider these passages from the Hadith: "You will
fight against the Jews and you will kill them until even a stone would
say: Come here, Muslim, there is a Jew (hiding himself behind me); kill
him" (Book 41.6981). Book 19.4366 likewise: "I will expel the Jews and
Christians from Arabia and will not leave any but Muslim". The 'Arabia'
here is often interpreted as the Arabian Peninsula, but that was probably
not in Mohammed's perceptual geography. By 'Arabia' he meant 'the lands
where the Arabs live', and that area includes Israel, inhabited as it is
by several million Palestinian Arabs.
13:5 And there was given to him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies- The suggested allusion
is to David overcoming the Palestinian Goliath, who all else feared to
make war with as he spoke his blasphemy against God and Israel- exactly
the language of Rev. 13:4-8. Then shall come to pass the word of
Zech. 12:8: "He that is feeble among them [s.w. Dan. 11:41 about how many
in the land of Israel will be overthrown or made feeble] in that day shall
be as David".
The idea of being given a mouth is taken from
the Olivet prophecy; in the last days of AD70 and the final last days, the
witnessing believers will likewise be given a mouth (Lk. 21:15). They will
be empowered to speak against this evil system. All the mouth and
authority of this system will be given it from above, just as was the case
with the Lord's sufferings at the hands of the Roman and Jewish systems.
And there was given to him authority to
continue for forty two months- The
point of Revelation is that all authority and power in their utter
totality is with the Father and Son. The persecution of God's people, both
in the last days and historically, has been allowed and even empowered by
them. The idea that the dragon empowered the sea beast is only true from
an earthly perspective, and is not at all Heaven's view. And the purpose
of Revelation is to help us perceive that. Historically, this might refer
to periods like Nero's persecution (Nov. 64 - June 68). But the 42 months
is the time, times and a half, the 1260 days, the three and a half years
of the Elijah ministry, the period of witness by the two witnesses and the
hiding of the infant Jesus in Egypt.
13:6 And he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, to blaspheme
His Name and His tabernacle, even those that dwell in the heaven- The
42 months of the Jihadist beast's prolonged persecution of Israel is also
aimed specifically at God's "tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven"
(Rev. 13:5,6), i.e. the temple (1 Kings 8:30 cp. 2 Sam. 15:25; Heb. 7:26;
2 Chron. 30:27; Ps. 20:2; 11:4). The figurative 'temple' is therefore the
faithful of the last days (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21). The
earthly temple in Jerusalem has been judged and marked out for destruction
in chapter 11. God's tabernacle is in the hearts of the believing
Christians of the last days. John is seeing a vision of the heavenly
throne room, where all on earth has Angelic representation. In this sense
those who are in heaven can be blasphemed and persecuted on earth.
13:7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to
overcome them, and there was given to him authority over every tribe and
people and tongue and nation- The concept of the court of Heaven is a
major key to understanding the book of Revelation. Events on earth are
described in terms of their connection with the Angelic system in Heaven
which has arranged them. “The accuser of our brethren” being cast out of
Heaven (Rev. 12:10) would therefore refer to how in the court of Heaven,
an Angel represents the system who accused the brethren on earth. This
isn’t to say that the Angel representing the accuser is sinful. “It was
given unto” the beast to have power to persecute the saints, just as the
Lord had perceived that His persecutors only had the power that was
“given” unto them [thereby associating the saints’ final time of trial in
the last days with the Lord’s sufferings]. But the power was “given” by
the Angels in the court of Heaven, empowering people on earth to carry out
what they permit.
The overcoming of the saints [a term
appropriate to both natural Israel and the true Christians of the last
days] is spoken of in the murder of the two witnesses in chapter 11. They
did not love their lives unto death (12:11); these are the "saints" who
are overcome by the beast in Dan. 7:25. Many will be slain, although some
will be miraculously preserved by being snatched away, or even literally
up into the sky (see on 11:12 and 12:5).
The tribes, peoples etc. who give him
authority are primarily those in the area of his provenance over the earth
/ land promised to Abraham, upon whom Babylon sits (17:15). But it is out
of these very tribes, peoples etc. that some will convert to Christ, and
they are singled out for especial notice and praise because of this (5:9);
for it is they to whom the Gospel is preached in the very last days
(14:6).
13:8 And all that dwell on the earth
shall worship him, every one whose name has not been written in the book
of life of the Lamb that has been slain from the foundation of the world-
All inhabitants of the land promised to Abraham worship this entity; with
the sole exception of those who shall be saved eternally, the true
Christians in that area. This means that on the territory of what is today
Syria, Israel, Iraq etc. there will emerge true Christian converts.
Jihadists insist upon conversion to their form of Islam on pain of death.
Hence the totality of support for them in this area.
13:9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear-
The inhabitants of the earth / land consider the beast invincible and
permanent, and therefore they worship him (see on :4). They have not paid
attention to the continued reminders in Revelation that all power,
authority and strength is not with human empires but with the Lord Jesus.
This is the reason for this appeal, to 'hear' the words of this prophecy
and to not assume that the beast is ultimately powerful, permanent nor
invincible.
13:10 If anyone is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If anyone
shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the
patience and the faith of the saints- This speaks of the final
desolation of Israel by the beast in terms of 'leading into captivity',
associated with the beast having power over "all kindreds, tongues and
nations" in the earth / land promised to Abraham. The remaining Jews will
be taken into captivity in those areas; and the attitude of the Islamist
jihadists, ever seeking as they are to incarnate Israel's historical
enemies, is such that this scenario is now quite imaginable.
To resist his captivity and killing with the
sword is "the patience and faith of the saints" (Rev. 13:7,10). The beast
leading saints into captivity and death sounds like ghettos and
concentration camps- our persecution may well be through our having to
suffer along with natural Israel. Those who openly proclaim themselves to
be spiritual Israel will be treated the same as the Jews. For this reason,
the distinctively Jewish aspect of our hope should be appreciated by us
now in this our time of spiritual preparation. The mad intensity of the
beast's persecution of the saints in the last days has not yet been seen
by us.
Goliath was the Arab "champion" (1 Sam.
17:51), using the Hebrew word 'Gibbor'. This connects with the description
of Messiah as 'El-Gibbor' in Is. 9:6, and shows that the latter day Arab
powers may well be headed up by one charismatic individual, who sets
himself up as a pseudo-Messiah. The Hebrew word used for "champion" in 1
Sam. 17:4 literally means 'the man who goes between the two camps', again
pointing forward to the mediatorial office of the true Messiah. The root
meaning of 'Goliath' is 'to lead and to go into captivity', which fits in
with his wager that the Philistines would go into Jewish captivity if they
killed him, and vice versa. This may be the basis of Rev. 13:10 concerning
the little horn and mouth of the beast: "He that leadeth into captivity
shall go into captivity" (AV). This power having "a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies" (Rev. 13:5) certainly corresponds with Goliath's
loud-mouthed blasphemy. "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And
it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them"
(Rev. 13:6,7) is Goliath exactly (cp. his blasphemy of the Angels in 1
Sam. 17:26). "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him" (Rev. 13:8)
recalls Goliath's charisma, indicated by the Philistines fleeing once they
saw that he was dead. "He that killeth with the sword must be killed with
the sword" (Rev. 13:10) nicely concludes this set of allusions- Goliath
was killed with his own sword. These parallels indicate that Goliath is a
prototype of the latter day 'mouth' or personal figurehead of the 'beast'.
Note in passing how Gen. 12:3 may have hinted at this figure right at the
start of God’s purpose with Israel: “Him that curseth thee will I curse”
(RV). The method of persecution will be by leading into captivity and
killing with the sword (13:10)- the house churches of the latter day
"earth" herded into cattle trucks and hauled away to mini prison camps,
sharing the sufferings of natural Israel? Once again, the account of the
beast here is underpinned with hints of out Lord's sufferings (13:10 = Mt.
26:52; 'he that leads into captivity' recalls Jesus being led away by
Judas and the soldiers; 13:7 cp. the disciples being 'overcome' in
Gethsemane).
13:11 And I saw another beast coming up
out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon-
The beast of :1 arose from the sea, the area adjoining the earth / land
promised to Abraham. This one specifically arises from within the land
promised to Abraham. The beast of 13:1 was empowered by the dragon, and
this next beast also speaks as the dragon. The same teaching or philosophy
is being taught. But he has horns like a lamb. Lambs, newborn sheep, don't
have horns. Goats do. So the idea is that this beast has two horns,
perhaps two leaders or entities associated with it, which claim to be
Christian, or perhaps claim to be as Jesus. Islam also believes in a
return of Jesus, so perhaps these are false prophets, false Christs within
the radical Islamist system, who claim to be the returned Jesus.
It’s worth mentioning that the Koran teaches
that the final punishment of the Jews will involve faithful Muslims
becoming as a beast of the earth to Israel: “And when the time for the
fulfilment of our word against them will come, we shall bring forth for
them a beast from the earth who will speak to them because people did not
believe in our Sign” (Sura 27.82). Perhaps Mohammad was again getting his
Bible references garbled (note how the Koran assumes Haman and Pharaoh
lived at the same time, Sura 28:6); perhaps he actually had in mind “the
beast arising from the earth” of Rev. 13:11 which has a mouth speaking
great things against Israel. Radical Islamists seek to fulfil the Koran as
literally as possible; but because it contains so many fragments of Bible
prophecies, they are effectively striving to fulfil latter day Bible
prophecy!
The beast of the earth must look back to the
common phrase "beast of the earth" in Genesis (e.g. Gen. 1:25). The
serpent is an epitome of the bestial desires found in the beasts, and is
thus the prototype 'beast' of later prophecies. The serpent being the
greatest of the beasts (Gen. 3:1,14) points to the latter-day beast being
supreme over the other nations. The most basic principle behind the
symbolism of the beast is found in Gen. 1:28, where man is told to "have
dominion over" (Heb. 'to break to powder', cp. Dan. 2:35) the beasts.
This was to teach him the need to dominate the bestial instincts of the
flesh. Thus the beasts are set up as representative of the flesh. It is
therefore understandable that the devil (sin), the beast and the serpent
are linked in Rev. 12:9, and that Prov. 28:15 parallels "a wicked ruler"
with a wild bear or lion; the beast epitomizes the sinful person who
controls it.
As the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, so the
beast will deceive the Jews and weak Christian believers of the last days.
The serpent/beast in its first century Jewish manifestation is described
as seducing the saints through the subtle reasoning of the Judaizers (2
Cor. 11:3). These people used many "fair speeches" (Rom. 16:18 cp. Jude
15), suggesting that their prototype, the serpent, persuaded Eve to eat
the fruit after a lengthy series of discussions, albeit unrecorded. "Yea,
hath God said..." (Gen. 3:1 AV) implies the continuation of an unrecorded
conversation. The beast's agents of the last days will likewise use the
tactic of extended public speeches using superficially deep
arguments. Their political arm will be doing the same to destroy the
morale of natural Israel, after the pattern of Rabshakeh's speeches to the
Jews during the Assyrian invasion. Being an apostate Jew he may possibly
have a latter-day equivalent in a Jewish leader, who deserts to the Arab
cause, urging Israel to capitulate. Likewise there may be a specific "man
of sin" who similarly tempts spiritual Israel. The description of him in 2
Thess. 2:3 is framed in terms of Judas - implying that he will be an
apostate Christian?
The judgment of the serpent was by the voice
of God (cp. Christ, the word) walking through the garden, summoning the
sinful parties to judgment. This easily looks forward to Christ's second
coming, and the judgment by Him in His role as the word made flesh (Rev.
19:13; Gen. 3:8). The beast has always been associated with a
pseudo-spirituality, an aping of true God manifestation; the four beasts
of Dan. 7 and Revelation (dragon, sea beast, earth beast and scarlet
beast) are a pseudo-cherubim. There is a connection between the beasts of
God manifestation and the cherubim in Rev. 4:7; indeed, the Hebrew word
for 'beast' seems to be the equivalent of the phrase "living creature"
used in Revelation concerning the cherubim. The beast and beasts therefore
represent systems which falsely claim that they are the vehicle of God
manifestation. This most clearly fits the claims of jihadist Islam. With
all this in mind, it must be significant that Is. 14:29 speaks of Assyria
as a "cockatrice" born out of "the serpent's root", i.e. she was the seed
of the serpent. "His fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent" is the
language of Isa. 6:2 concerning the seraphim. Thus the Assyrian seed of
the serpent is associated with a pseudo-seraphim, and a false God
manifestation. The Assyrian invasion is the prototype of the traumas of
the last days in Israel.
Dt. 32:24 connects the 'beasts' of the
surrounding nations with the Genesis serpent: "I will also send the
teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust" (cp.
Gen. 3:14). There is also a connection between the serpent and beasts in
Is. 30:6. "The teeth of beasts" coming down upon Israel will be finally
fulfilled in the jihadist desolation prophesied in Joel 1:6,7, where the
Assyrians of the future (Joel 1:15) are described as having Israel between
their "cheek teeth" tearing the bark off the Israeli vine and fig (cp. Is.
9:12 concerning the Philistines / Palestinians).
Israel being the sheep of God's pasture is a
common Bible figure. Whenever their shepherds were negligent
over a prolonged period, the figure was extended to describe the 'wild
beasts' of the surrounding nations invading the land and mauling the
flock. Hos. 13:6-8 is typical of those passages which speak in these
terms. Verses 7 and 8 liken these nations to the lion, leopard and bear,
all of which are nations mentioned in Dan. 7, which are constituents of
the huge system of Arab domination described in Dan. 2. These three beast
nations are all part of one "wild beast”, as the nations of the image in
Dan. 2 are all part of the same latter-day confederacy headed by
'Babylon': "I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard... as a bear...
the wild beast". Likewise Is. 56:9,10; Jer. 30:16 and Ez. 34:5
feature the beasts of Babylon and the surrounding nations as preying on
the flock of Israel due to their sleepy shepherds. After Israel's
spiritual awakening they will become like a beast among the
'sheep' of the jihadist nations (Mic. 5:8), continuing the theme of the
Jews doing to the Arabs as they did to them. It is possible that Dt. 28:26
also refers to the beasts of the surrounding nations: "Thy carcase shall
be meat... unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away"
(AV). This alludes to the fowls being frayed away while the covenant was
made to Abraham. Thus while Israel abode in the covenant, the neighbouring
nations surrounding them were kept away. Similarly Ez. 34:25 associates
the making of the covenant with Israel in the last days, with the "evil
beasts" leaving the land. Time and again Israel's neighbouring enemies are
likened to "wild beasts". The list of references is impressive: Hos.
2:12; Ez. 5:17; 14:15; Ps. 80:13; Jer. 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 19:7; Dt. 7:22.
Job's Sabean invaders are called "the beasts of the earth... the beasts of
the field" (Job 5:22,23). It is possible that "beasts" in these passages
can be read as an intensive plural - i.e. 'the great beast', which
symbolizes all of Israel's various enemies. This equivalence of the
multitude of these enemies with a singular beast is seen in Ez. 34:28,
which parallels "the heathen" (enemies of Israel) with "the beast of the
land" (singular). Rev. 17 similarly exhibits the (singular) beast
as comprising a number of nations (heads/horns).
Ps. 74:19 RV asks God not to deliver His
people “unto the wild beast”. This is one of the Asaph Psalms, written in
the context of the restoration. The ‘beast’ threatening to destroy Judah
then was a confederacy of her surrounding neighbours. Ps. 73:13,14 likens
these enemies to a many headed dragon. Another such Psalm, Ps. 83, asks
for protection against a confederacy of 10 such nations. In all this we
have a remarkable type of the last days after the pattern of Daniel and
Revelation-a beast with 10 horns, seeking to devour the recently returned
people of God from off their land.
There is repeatedly the theme that Israel’s enemies are confederated
together under one confederacy which has one leader. Ps. 118 can be shown
to be relevant to Hezekiah at the time of the Assyrian invasion (see
George Booker, Psalm Studies). He speaks of how “all nations
compassed me about”, i.e. the surrounding Arab nations confederate with
Assyria. And yet Hezekiah speaks about them as if they are really headed
up by one individual: “Thou [you singular] didst thrust sore at me” (Ps.
118:13). The beast is to punish people by beheading them (Rev. 20:4)- and
it's only Islam at the moment which legally practices beheading as a form
of execution.
The symbology of the beast was particularly
used concerning Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's king, was given a
beast's heart and lived with them (Dan. 4:16) to show his personification
of the beast. "The beasts of the field, i.e. the surrounding nations, were
given into his control (Dan. 2:38), thus they constituted part of the
beast of Babylon, " the noisome beast" of Ez. 14:21. Babylon's army is
likened to "beasts" in Jer. 34:20,21. As God gave power to Assyria and
Babylon to achieve His will (Is. 10), so He will to the latter-day beast
(Rev. 13:5,7). The description of the beast leading people into captivity
(Rev. 13:10) shows another connection with Assyria/Babylon, whose trains
of captives were well known. The beast causing men to worship
it (Rev. 13:12) recalls Nebuchadnezzar's decree concerning the statue on
the plain of Dura (Dan. 3:1,5). The historical "beast of the field" was
associated with the wilderness (Is. 43:20), as the beast of Rev. 17:3 is a
wilderness power.
13:12 He exercises all the authority of
the first beast in his sight. He makes the earth and those who dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose wound had been healed- The
earth beast demands worship for the wounded and healed sea beast, and to
"the image of the beast". The beasts may destroy themselves by infighting,
or by temporary victories against them by Israel and the West. But they
continue reincarnating, repeating the ideology of the dragon system of
chapter 12. The beast is identified with its notable wounded horn. Just as
the dragon loses power but somehow continues in influence, so the sea
beast is down but not out; for the earth beast operates "in his sight" or
presence. This could refer to a very fast sequence of Islamist entities
dominating the land in the last days. Or it could be that again we have a
kaleidoscope of images, and the images revealing different aspects of the
beasts overlap with each other as they rotate. All Daniel's four beasts
must exist in the last days, just as the four beasts of Revelation
co-exist with each other (dragon, sea and earth beasts and scarlet beast).
Those who dwell in the earth / land are
forced to worship the first beast. The idea of forced worship fits exactly
with the jihadist way of enforcing conversion to their brand of Islam.
Babylon and the beast with which it is
associated is said to have power over the nations of whole earth / land
(Dan. 7:23; Rev. 13:12). This is referring back to the way in which
historical Babylon was praised by the whole earth / land (Jer. 51:41), and
had an army which included men from "the whole earth", the territory
promised to Abraham (Jer. 34:1). As Babylon of the last days will
influence all nations of the earth with her wine, so Babylon of old is
spoken of in the same way (Jer. 51:7 cp. Rev. 17:2,4). Thus several
prophecies speak of how Babylon's fall had effects on the whole earth
(e.g. Jer. 50:46); and latter day Babylon likewise (Rev. 18:9,10). If we
are correct in interpreting "Babylon" as a radical Islamic power of the
last days, based on the prototype of historical Babylon, then we must look
for a nation like Iran or Iraq to gather together the surrounding powers
for an assault on Israel, and to somehow bring the whole world under the
control of this confederacy. An Muslim-dominated UN [or Muslim-fearful] or
other global political power could bring this about. "The Charter of
Allah" makes it clear that Islam aims for world domination, within which
"co-existence is possible with other religions, but only on Islamic terms
and under Islamic domination". Thus the control of the other peoples
within the earth / land, and even of the rest of the world may not be as
difficult in practice as it may seem; if, for example, the Pope makes some
suitable deference to Islam on behalf of all 'Christians', such a
situation would come into existence.
13:13 And he does great signs, that he
should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the
sight of men- The beast makes fire come down from heaven, just as
Elijah did. The inference is that the latter day miracles of the Elijah
ministry will be matched, to some degree, by the false claims of the
beast. The miracles performed at Israel's deliverance from Egypt were
likewise mimicked by the persecutors of God's people. The beast acquires a
puppet beast (or "publicity agent" in the words of Peter Watkins) who does
"great wonders" (miracles) which deceive many (13:13,14; 19:20). These
miracles must be impressive, seeing that they result in all that
dwell on the earth / land, except the faithful, receiving the mark, of the
beast. It is hard to make this prophecy of such impressive false miracles
have a significant fulfilment in the past. Miracles of the credibility
described here have not been seen since the first century. Again, remember
that the Olivet prophecy describes false miracles being done in the last
days, which almost convince the very elect. They must therefore really be
something very impressive.
13:14 And he deceives those that dwell on
the earth by reason of the signs which were given to him to do in the
sight of the beast, saying to those that dwell on the earth, that they
should make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword but lived-
"The sight / presence" of the beast refers to the first, sea beast; see on
:12.
The two beasts of Rev. 13 appear to
effectively operate as one, just as the beast is identified with its horn
which is mortally wounded and yet revives (the same language is used of
the beast- Rev. 13:3 cp. 12,14). It seems that the beast has publicity
agents- another beast which appears to be a lamb but speaks as the dragon.
Perhaps the idea is that a religious entity like the false Christian /
Catholic / Orthodox Church seeks to get people to worship the Islamic
beast under colour of some compromise. There will be apparent miracles
which encourage people to believe these entities have credibility. Rev.
13:14,15 speaks of an image being made to the beast and the image
speaking. It was common in the first century to claim that statues could
speak; the Simon Magus of Acts 8:9 is recorded in extra-Biblical history
as being able to do this (see G.E. Ladd, A Commentary on the
Revelation of John p. 184). God will ‘allow’ this to happen, in line
with His way of deceiving the deceivers and confirming them in the way
they wish to go. The bringing to life of an image recalls the way that God
created Adam and then gave him the breath of life. The claim will be that
resurrection and new life are in the power of the new entity and its
leader; perhaps there will be a claim to be the resurrected Mahdi figure
of Islam or something similar. And God will “allow” this, or give real
power to make it appear that these miracles have really happened.
Perhaps all those living in the earth / land
will be forced to make or have some image to the beast, some physical item
which demonstrates their allegiance; perhaps worn as a necklace or ring.
This would then have the mark of the beast upon it; see on :16-18 where we
suggest this is the seal of Mohammed.
The beast of the earth in Rev. 13:11-18 seems
to have some first century application to the cult of emperor worship
which became so popular throughout the Roman empire: it speaks in the
voice of the dragon (:11), from whom it receives its power; and like the
first Beast, it attempts to mimic the Lamb (:12, 13). It seems to be a
personification of an Antichrist embodied in the pagan priesthood, which
endeavoured to draw all men to the cult of the emperor. In these thoughts
we see just how radical was the Apocalypse in its first century context.
“The image to the beast” (13:13) would refer to representations of the
divinized Roman emperors. “The wound of the sword” (13:13) is possibly an
allusion to the mortal wound Nero inflicted upon himself in ad 68. Nero
was perceived to live again in the persecutor Domitian (Tertullian,
Apol. 5). Note how it is “the beast” who appears to have died or been
wounded and then revives (17:8)- and yet these are references to what
happened to Nero. The symbolism correctly perceives how the empire was
incarnated in one man, the emperor.
13:15 And he was permitted to give breath
to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast should speak,
and cause to have killed as many as would not worship the image of the
beast- I suggested on :14 that each person dwelling in the earth /
land will be forced to make this image to the beast. He is "permitted", by
God, to make these images of the beast appear to have real life. This will
then be the great example of God confirming people in their misbelief, by
allowing these images to have some kind of apparent life and power. Any
who would not worship it would then be killed. 13:10 has said that
he who kills [s.w.] with the sword shall be killed with the sword; and
this will come true at the Lord's return (19:21). So the killing is by the
sword or dagger / knife, which is typical of how jihadists kill those who
refuse to convert and obey them.
The beasts of Revelation seem to be
described in terms of the Kingdom of God, and the descriptions link within
Revelation to the descriptions of God's Kingdom. The point is being made
that these beasts, both over time and in the last days, are fake Kingdoms
of God.
|
Beasts |
The Kingdom Of
God |
|
The dragon has Angels (Rev. 12:9) |
As Christ |
|
He figuratively comes from heaven to
earth (12:10) |
" |
|
Speaks of us day and night before
God's throne (12:10) |
" |
|
Has a name in his forehead (13:2) |
" |
|
Given power, throne and authority
(13:13) |
" |
|
Does great miracles and signs (13:13) |
" |
|
Faithful followers have mark in their
hands and foreheads (13:17; 20:4) and are " sealed" (13:16) |
Ez. 9:4; Rev. 7:3 |
|
All the world worships the beast
(13:12) |
All the world will worship God (15:4) |
|
Followers as numerous as sand on the
sea shore (20:8) |
As the seed of Abraham |
|
Their followers have one mind (17:3),
and are world-wide |
How it should be amongst us |
|
The woman clothed with a blood red
robe and a cup (17:4) |
Cp. the sacrificial office of Christ |
|
The beast is, was and will be
(17:8-11); an allusion to the Yahweh Name |
God is, will and will be (16:5) |
The beast systems, as Babylon and Assyria
before them, were false Kingdoms of God. The beast has the power to give
pneuma to the image / body of the first beast (Rev. 13:15)- an
evident mimicry of God’s creation of Adam. They appear to offer, here and
now, the things of the Kingdom, and the fleshly-minded are persuaded by
them. This is all playing out the drama of Eden again; the serpent offered
equality with God, the wisdom of God, when it was actually the wisdom of
the serpent. Adam and Eve grasped for what was offered, unlike the Lord
Jesus, who refused to grasp at equality with God (Phil. 2 is full of
allusion to the events of Gen. 3). What happened in Eden is in essence the
epitome, the prototype of all temptation and sin (1 Jn. 2:16 = Gen. 3:6).
Every one of our temptations has an element of this; we are tempted to
grasp for what looks like the Kingdom here and now. Pentecostals are an
evident example of this; they think they can obtain the full healing and
physical ecstasy of the future Kingdom here and now. And on a more common
level, there are many of us who reach out for the supposed fulfilment of
hobbies, the supposed peace and 'security' of a nice home and bank
balance, when these things are actually a false fulfilment, peace and
security, the peace and security of Satan's Kingdom which is a counterfeit
of the spiritual fulfilment, peace and security of Christ's Kingdom. A
very evident example of this is found in Rabshakeh's offer to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'If you reject Yahweh as your God, the King of
Assyria will give you a Kingdom where you will "eat every one of his vine,
and every one of his fig tree" ' (Is. 36:16); in saying this, Rabshakeh
was quoting the very words of Mic. 4:4 concerning the Kingdom of God. The
Jews were faced with the choice of God's Kingdom, or Satan's Kingdom,
couched as it was in terms of God's Kingdom. Likewise, the world around us
isn't passive. It is actively seeking to deceive. There is a tension
between us and this world, including the apostate 'Christian' world, which
is vital to recognize if we are to share the salvation of God's Kingdom
and avoid the condemnation of Satan's Kingdom. There can be no half way
position.
Those who will refuse to worship the beast
will be killed (Rev. 13:15); but those (responsible) who try to avoid this
death will themselves be tortured to death by the Lamb, because
they worshipped the beast and did not openly testify to their faith
(14:9-11; 16:2). See on Mt. 3:11.
13:16 And he causes all, the small and
the great and the rich and the poor and the free and the bondservant, to
be given a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead- The
beast system will insist that all people receive the mark in their
foreheads (Rev. 13:15,16; 14:11). This was an allusion to the way slaves
were branded with a mark of ownership. And so in the very last days it
will intensely cost to have the stigmata, the marks / brand, of being true
servants of Jesus. It will cost and hurt to really believe His words, that
we cannot serve two masters. This is why those who are slaves of others
are pictured here as all becoming slaves of this beastly coalition.
We either receive the mark of the beast and ultimately face torture and
the wine of God’s wrath; or we refuse it and face Babylon’s wrath (Rev.
13:16,17; 14:9,10). Now is the time for self-examination.
13:17 So that no one should be able to buy or to sell, unless he has
the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name- This is
very much the language of how those excluded from the synagogues were
treated for accepting Jesus as Christ (Jn. 9:22). The figure of 666 (:18)
is only found in the Bible concerning Solomon's Israelite kingdom. This of
course was but an incipient fulfilment of the final terrorizing of Jews
and Christians by the jihadist entity. Likewise it has been shown that in
Nero’s time it was forbidden for Christians to use Imperial coinage, with
its images of Caesar as Lord. It was in this sense impossible to buy or
sell unless one was willing to accept the mark of the beast- exactly as in
Rev. 13:17. The next verse goes on to identify the number of the beast /
man as being 666. And yet this is the sum of the Hebrew letters in ‘Neron
Caesar’! Whatever other application these verses may be seen to have to
Catholic persecution, there can be little doubt that their first century
context applies to the persecution of the early converts. Later, Domitian
demanded that he be worshipped as Lord and God, "Dominus et deus noster"
(Suetonius, Domitiani Vita, 13.4). John records how Thomas called
the Lord Jesus “my lord and my God”, in active opposition to this kind of
thinking (although Domitian came after Thomas). One couldn’t worship
Caesar and the Lord Jesus. The Lord Himself had foreseen this when He
warned that His followers couldn’t serve two masters. Domitian demanded to
be called ‘Master’, but this was impossible for the Christian. Indeed,
much of Revelation seems taken up with this theme of the first century
refusal to worship the Caesars and deified Roman empire on pain of
persecution (Rev. 13:4; 14:9,11; 16:2; 19:20). “Following the Neronian
persecution, being a Christian was tantamount to being part of a criminal
conspiracy, and Christians (unlike other religious groups) were punished
simply for being Christians (Tacitus Annals 15.44.5; Pliny
Letters 10.96.2-3). Their crime was an unwillingness to worship any
God but their own, an exclusiveness the Greeks labelled "atheism." The
refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods and on behalf of deified emperors was
perceived as a threat to the harmonious relationship between people and
the gods” (J.L. Mays, Editor, Harper’s Bible Commentary, (New
York: Harper and Row, 1988). Although in many parts of the 21st century
world the tension between the believer and the beast is not articulated so
starkly, the essential realities of the conflict remain, and must be felt
by us.
13:18 Here is wisdom. He that has
understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number
of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty six- The first
beast, representing Babylon, had "the heart of a man" (Dan. 7:4). It was
the embodiment of an individual person- Nebuchadnezzar. The latter day
Babylon likewise will be centred around a person- the antiChrist figure of
the last days, who in turn will profess to be the incarnation or
embodiment of the false prophet Mohammed. Nebuchadnezzar in his madness
became as a beast- with a body like a beast, hair like an eagle, and nails
like those of a beast (Dan. 4:33). This language is all used about the
beasts in the later prophetic parts of Daniel's prophecy. They had
features of eagles (Dan. 7:4), bodies of beasts (Dan. 7:11), and
remarkable nails or claws (Dan. 7:19). Nebuchadnezzar became like such a
beast because the latter day beast would be the embodiment of him, just as
the image of Daniel 2 had the face of Nebuchadnezzar and was in the form
of a man. The beast is epitomized by a man- "the number of the beast... is
the number of a man" (Rev. 13:18).
The little horn takes a stand against the
Prince of princes and then is destroyed “but not by human power” (Dan.
8:25), i.e. he will be destroyed by the stone [Jesus] cut out without
human hands. This is just the language of 2 Thess. 2, of how the
Antichrist will be destroyed by the Lord’s sudden return. Micah and Isaiah
call this individual “the Assyrian” (Is. 10:5; 14:25). We have shown
elsewhere that the description of Lucifer being thrown out of heaven can
be read as describing the fall of a future King of Babylon in the last
days. The most comfortable understanding of antiChrist as being an
Assyrian / Babylonian is that he will be an Assyrian / Babylonian, and
ruler of those areas. A leader of Iraq would ideally suit this. And their
leadership shows every sign of the aggression, megalomania and
anti-Semitism which will characterize the antiChrist. Note too that Gog is
the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal- areas identified by some as being
in present Iran / Iraq. The number of the beast is the number of a man
(Rev. 13:18); he becomes personally identified with the system that
persecutes the saints and Israel in the last days.
The black flags carried by the jihadists have
a roughly drawn circle with a brief summary of the Muslim creed: 'There is
none other God than Allah and Mohammed is His messenger'. The circle is
roughly drawn because it is a replica of Mohammed's seal which he attached
to his decrees and communications. To receive the mark of the beast may
well refer to receiving such a stamp or carrying such an insignia, perhaps
literally on the forehead. Because pictures of jihadist fighters show them
with this symbol on their foreheads. The seal of Muhammad was held
to have magic qualities, and the loss of the seal amounted to the loss of
the caliphate and the loss of unity among Muslims. Now, the Islamists are
popularizing the seal again, announcing a caliphate and urging Muslim
unity- a unity which will ultimately be focused against Israel. The false
prophet and beast are Biblically associated with false miracles, so
something to look for would be the claims of false miracles or magic, as
was once associated with the seal- see Muhammad Zafrulla Khan,
Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1980
(chapter 12). The jihadist flag has a name, just as the British flag is
called 'the Union Jack', the Canadian flag ‘the maple leaf’, the French
flag is called the tricolour and the American flag ‘the stars and
stripes’. It is called The Black Banner or Black Standard, also known as
rāyat al-`uqāb "the banner of the eagle". The final enemies of
Israel are described as coming upon her "as swift as the eagle flies" (Dt.
28:49). Babylon is spoken of as an eagle in Jer. 48:40; Dan. 7:4; Hab. 1:8
and Ez. 17:3,12, as is Assyria (Hos. 8:1) and as are the Ammonites (Jer.
49:16) and Edom (Obadiah 4). The Islamists flying the banner of the eagle
therefore associates them with being a reincarnation of Israel's
historical enemies.
The mark of the beast is to be worn on the
hand, yet the Greek word for "hand" is the same as for "arm". Jihadist
fighters are wearing this symbol, the seal of Mohammed, on rings and
armbands- and we can expect this to become what they demand of their
subject peoples too. We could expect the coinage and other symbols of any
such beast entity to include it too, so that literally one could not buy
or sell without it, in the earth / land under their control. The mark of
the beast in the forehead is clearly intended to be understood as the
inverse of the “seal of God” which is in the forehead of the believers
(Rev. 9:4). The word sphragis used there definitely means a seal,
and it is matched by the “mark” of the beast. That mark can be understood,
therefore, also as a seal- and what more likely than the seal of Mohammed?
It may be that signet rings are used to stamp documents, or it forms part
of an insignia without which no business can be done in the land- e.g. on
the coins and gold of the earth / land under their domination. The Koran
itself speaks of how true Muslims will have the mark of Mohammad on their
foreheads as a sign that they worship: “Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful
among themselves. Thou [O Muhammad] seest them bowing and falling
prostrate [in worship], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] acceptance.
The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration”
(Surah 48.29). In Revelation 14:9,11, having the mark of the beast is
connected with worshipping him. The Islamic jihadist movement set to take
over Israel is a highly religious movement, seeking to strictly obey the
Koran. They are highly conscious of these verses.
The Biblical data concerning the mark of the
beast suggests that this will be used by "the beast" and will be enforced
upon those who "dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 13:14,17). "The earth"
Biblically refers to either the whole planet, or the land- the land
promised to Abraham, from the Nile to the Euphrates. This promised land is
the focus of the Bible. The beast of Revelation is another take on the
beast of Daniel 7, which in turn is an amplification of the fourth empire
of the image of Daniel 2. The empires or kings of Daniel 2 all refer to
those entities who reigned over "the whole earth / land"- of Israel, as
discussed further in my exposition of Daniel 2. The same earth / land is
in view here in Revelation. The latter day Islamic entity can therefore be
expected to gain control over that territory and to enforce the acceptance
of Islam there. The mark is specifically the mark of a man (Rev. 13:18)-
and that man is clearly Mohammed, seeing that the ensign of the jihadists
is the seal of Mohammed. And according to some usages of gematria [whereby
each letter in the Hebrew or Arabic alphabet has a numerical value],
Mohammed in Greek, Mahomet, (Μαομετιςhas) has a value of 666:
Mu
Alpha Omicron Mu Epsilon Tau Iota
Sigma
40
1 70
40 5
300 10 200
TOTAL: 666
Don't dismiss gematria too quickly. The Bible
itself uses it here in Rev. 13:18. There, the number 666 is not written as
it would normally have been, as a number, but rather as three Greek
letters, chi xi stigma; which between them add up to 666 by
gematria. So it would seem that we are being invited to work out the
riddle through the use of gematria. There are some connections in form
between the letters of the Greek and Arabic alphabets, just as there are
between the letters of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets (e.g. 'R' in the
Latin alphabet is the inverse of 'я' in the Cyrillic). When those three
Greek letters are turned on their side, they read exactly as the Arabic
letters which spell Bis'm Allah- "In the name of Allah", which is
the credo of Islam and the jihadists. This appears to be another
connection between Islam and the mark of the beast.
We note too from Rev. 13:14 that the beast
system does apparent 'miracles'; and the seal of Mohammed was historically
supposed to be able to perform miracles. We could expect such false claims
to be made within the territory dominated by the latter day Islamists
also. The Islamic State has already demonstrated how they dealt with areas
they conquered- all economic life was controlled by them and people were
forced into submission to the new system. Nobody will be able to buy and
sell in the territory of the earth / land promised to Abraham without
displaying the mark of loyalty to the jihadists- the seal of Mohammed.
The book of Revelation, like all Bible
prophecy, will have particular and acute relevance to those who live in
the very last days before Christ comes. There is a particular blessing
repeated for those who refuse to accept the mark of the beast. That brave
and tiny minority will be comprised of those Jews who refuse to convert,
and instead convert to Jesus Christ in their desperation. And for them,
the book of Revelation holds out particular blessing (Rev. 14:9-11; 15:2;
20:4).
The little horn of Daniel 7 is the beast of
Revelation 13:
|
Daniel 7 |
Revelation 13 |
|
"... a mouth speaking great things"
(verse 8) "And he shall speak great words against the most High
..." (verse 25) |
"And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies . . . And he opened his
mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his
tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (verses 5,6) "And it
was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them" (verse 7) |
Notice that the little horn of Daniel 7 is
actually called "the beast": "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" (Dan. 7:11).
The little horn is also to be connected with
the “King of the north” of Daniel 11, which is based upon Antiochus and
the leaders of the northern part of the Greek empire, from Syria. The fact
the current jihadist leadership has emerged from Syria is maybe
significant in this context:
|
Daniel 7 |
Daniel 8 |
Daniel 11 |
|
|
1. |
The little horn |
The little horn |
"The king" |
|
2. |
At the end |
At the end |
At the end |
|
of the times |
of the times |
of the times |
|
|
of the Gentiles |
of the Gentiles |
of the Gentiles |
|
|
3. |
Very aggressive |
Very aggressive |
Very aggressive |
|
4. |
"A look more stout than his fellows" |
Magnifies himself |
Magnifies himself |
|
5. |
A mouth speaking |
Speaks marvellous |
|
|
great things against |
things against the |
||
|
the Most High |
God of gods |
||
|
6. |
Makes war against the saints and
prevails |
Destroys the holy people |
|
|
7. |
Destroyed by the |
Destroyed by the |
|
|
Ancient of days |
Prince of princes |
The first beast, representing Babylon, had
"the heart of a man" (Dan. 7:4). It was the embodiment of an individual
person- Nebuchadnezzar. The latter day Babylon likewise will be centred
around a person- the antiChrist figure of the last days, who in turn will
profess to be the incarnation or embodiment of the false prophet Mohammed.
Nebuchadnezzar in his madness became as a beast- with a body like a beast,
hair like an eagle, and nails like those of a beast (Dan. 4:33). This
language is all used about the beasts in the later prophetic parts of
Daniel's prophecy. They had features of eagles (Dan. 7:4), bodies of
beasts (Dan. 7:11), and remarkable nails or claws (Dan. 7:19).
Nebuchadnezzar became like such a beast because the latter day beast would
be the embodiment of him, just as the image of Daniel 2 had the face of
Nebuchadnezzar and was in the form of a man. The beast is epitomized by a
man- "the number of the beast...is the number of a man" (Rev. 13:18).
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