Doctrines of Demons, false teachers, and other foolishness. Revelation 3:9

As I mentioned in a previous post, involving yourself with incompetent Bible studies can give you a constant supply of fresh material. In this case, the self-appointed group leader of the morning coffee shop crowd opened with, “I have put several hours into this study of demons, and I believe we need to pursue this theme today.” He continued, there are demons all around us, and it is getting worse.

I feel I need to say; I understand there are demons. I believe they are fallen angels, and I also believe that they have arisen in greater numbers in these last days. We, who follow scripture, are aware that there are four awaiting their release from the Euphrates river in the last days, and they will do substantial and fearful damage. But, this is not them, yet. Satan is not producing more; however, I think that he has recruited people, in many cases, to help him. Is it possible that some of these fallen angels have been held in reserve, maybe? If not, they are no longer holding anything back.

An example of what I speak of could be found in one of my grandsons. This child seemed to be rather ordinary as a toddler. His older brother began to be somewhat relentless in what he thought was spirited humor, and now we are dealing with behaviors that appear to be demonic.

Why say that? To answer that question you need to consider some of Jesus encounters.

With the mad men from Gergesenes. A story you can find in Matthew 8, we find two who would

English: Site of Gadara (Umm Qais), Jordan Français : Vue du site de Gadara (Umm Qeis) en Jordanie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

not allow others to pass anywhere near them. Jesus cast the demons out of them and into the swine that were nearby. (This of course ruined a small economy and prompted them to ask Jesus to leave.) Mark's gospel records a single mad man in the Gadara region, who had been bound on several occasions with no success. It is possible that this is the same story as the first for Jesus also cast the demons into the swine. In Matthew 9:32,33 we see the demons preventing a man from being able to speak. One more and I will move on. Both Matthew 17:15, and Mark 9:22, we see a father bringing his son to Jesus seeking relief because demons were throwing his boy into the fire and water.

What are the commonalities:

• Irrational behavior
• Irrational anger
• Tremendous strength
• Inability to speak
• Diseases

These things can be found in people around us on a daily basis. What if, we have been trying to treat demonic infestations with drugs that merely sedate you?

Ask yourself, did Jesus approach these situations with fear? Not at all, and neither should we. Sadly we will though if we are not prepared to address the situations when they arise.

The leader asked us to first read Revelation 3:9.

Revelation 3:9 NASB 'Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

From this verse, he concluded that Satan has a church. I can tell you that my immediate reaction was a heavy sigh, as I knew there were some there, that will not read their Bibles for themselves, and therefore be taken in by this garbage, especially since he claims to have been a pastor previously.

While most would agree that there is a Satanist church among us today, there was nothing so blatant at the time of John's writing. Therefore, to call this, a Satanist church is clear false teaching. The leader asked the group what they thought of this assertion, to which several of us quickly offered opposing thoughts on the subject.

What do you use to debunk such a statement? The primary response is context.

The NASB categorizes this section of the Bible (Revelation 3:7-13) as being addressed to the “church” in Philadelphia. Because we Westernize the Bible, we take this concept of the church to be the building in which we converted Gentiles gather and that was not the case. While Peter was the one who initially got the invitation to take the message to the Gentiles, he did not follow through wholeheartedly, and therefore we eventually see the former Pharisee Saul, turned Paul, take the message to the Gentiles. The Apostle John, it would seem, did not waste his time on Gentiles, focusing on showing Jews this Messiah they had found. Fortunately, God extended His grace and mercy toward us Gentiles, and we learn of this through Paul's writings.

So, it is a logical assumption that the Revelation was written to the Jewish community. This hypothesis is evidenced by the usage of the term synagogue, which would have been Jewish with minor exceptions; the exceptions would have been converts to Judaism. While not evidence, religious teachers/pastors will tell you outrageous things like the Revelation is written in code to prevent the Roman occupying forces from finding out what God's plans were and therefore prevent an early demise for the church body. This code idea is not the case, for the book of Revelation was intended to be read and understood. Since we are now living at the time of its revealing it would be wise to comprehend what is going on around us.

So what is the purpose of John's usage of the phrase “synagogue of Satan”?

It was an analogy designed to grab attention. It also establishes a divine power or deity

Do not make the immediate assumption that this implies God.

1. A spirit being inferior to God.
2. Evil spirits messengers, or ministers of the devil.

The KJC translates daimonion as devil 59x and god 1x.

“be partakers” - Greek, metechō. Strong's defines it as: to share or participate; by implication belong to, eat (or drink): - take part in an established prophetic pattern, and, John knew too well that the analogies he was using were familiar, scriptural terms.

Because several of us balked at the leader's opening comments he quickly moved on to the next point he wanted to make, and here is where he directed us to look at 1Corinthians 10:21.

1 Corinthians 10:21 NASB 21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

He quickly tried to make assertions about this passage by saying, “see here, even the demons have a cup of communion.” While that might be true in some twisted sense, it is not even close to what is being said here. A good deal of the time digging a bit deeper into the sentence can help you understand what the Holy Spirit is trying to say. Watch as I take a simplistic approach.

On my first approach, I see two differing assertions: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” This theme is reiterated using an analogy to “the table of the Lord,” which we understand as communion. Since the idea of communion carries great depth and signifies the joining of ourselves into the life and death of Jesus Christ through the symbolic partaking of His body and blood when we eat the bread, whatever form that comes in, and drink the dark red grape juice, which represents His blood. Having retold the act of communion in this manner, I am suddenly and intensely aware that our act of “drinking the cup of the Lord” from the “table of the Lord” is a serious commitment on our part. There is nothing about our simple monotonous routine, at least that is the way we act when taking communion, that would show the world the commitment we have to this life in Christ; unless of course, we are not serious.

The other approach is to look at the words Paul used.

“drink” – the Greek word is pinō.

• Thayer's definitions tell us that the word means: “ figuratively, to receive into the soul what serves to refresh strengthen, nourish it.”
  Strong's concordance adds: to imbibe (literally or figuratively)

“the cup” - Again from Thayer:

1. cup, a drinking vessel
2. metaphorically one’s lot or experience, whether joyous or adverse,

We understand the cup to mean, that which belongs to.

“of the Lord” - Greek: Kyrios, meaning to whom a person or thing belongs

“of devils” - Greek is daimonion

Usage:

3. divine power or deity
   Do not make the immediate assumption that this implies God.
4. A spirit being inferior to God.
5. Evil spirits messengers, or ministers of the devil.

The KJC translates daimonion as devil 59x and god 1x.

“be partakers” - Greek, metechō. Strong's defines it as: to share or participate; by implication belong to, eat (or drink): - take part in.

If I consider the depth in these words, I see a context that has little to do with a cup of communion as much as it has to do with persons who are imbibing in the things of the world, while trying to keep their toes in the waters of the kingdom of God.

Why would that be a problem? It would seem that a love of the world displaces the love of and for the Father, and encompasses everything.

1 John 2:15-16 NASB Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

You should know what God calls this attempt at a balancing act, being lukewarm. You have no passion for anything. This is stated clearly in Revelation chapter 3.

Revelation 3:15-18 CJB "I know what you are doing: you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! 16) So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth! 17) For you keep saying, 'I am rich, I have gotten rich, I don't need a thing!' You don't know that you are the one who is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked! 18) My advice to you is to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be dressed and not have to be ashamed of your nakedness; and eye-salve to rub on your eyes, so that you may see.

But we are not directly talking about love here, are we? We are talking about imbibing, and we naively think this is merely taking a little sip now and then. However, the Greek conveys someone who is gaining their experience, whether joyous or adverse from their indulgences. Not only that, the implication is, they belong to the things to which they have indulged. Since the idea of imbibing is frequently associated with drinking, then you must know that you rarely see anyone “imbibing” with restraint. Since those that drink usually have the goal of inebriation whether partial or wholehearted. These partakers are not just foolishly sipping, they are wholeheartedly indulging in a world that sets itself against God.

Now don't get me wrong, there are demons, which I believe are fallen angels, all around us. I don't have to go looking for them as these fallen angels seem to have a determined purpose of killing or disrupting the lives of those who look like Christ; that happens when you accept Him and make Him a part of your life. The demons also seem to have the generalized job of disrupting God's plan for the salvation of man. These attempts at disruption, unfortunately, impact the lives of innocent children and adults.

Some would see this picture I have painted, as a hopeless and impossible life to live. It is, however, the opposite, for we are endowed with power; which is the life of Christ and His infinite power. We have been given a hope of a life filled with peace, as well as a love we have never experienced here on this earth; and, He has given us authority over the defeated foe, called Satan, through the name of our risen King, Jesus. Merely having this knowledge and accepting it gives me the reason to keep my feet out of the mire that is called the world, and walk through this land as a prophet and warrior king. I pray that this becomes your reality in Jesus name.

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To not walk in darkness. A series. Part 4

A constant irritation

One of my life's irritants is the consistent preaching from the standpoint of guilt and shame. How about instead of focusing on things that tend to promote sinning, perhaps focusing on things like: 

1 John 3:4-6 NIV Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (5) But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. (6) No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Let's be honest; guilt producing expositions (and it does not just come from pulpits) are meant to control and manipulate people. Sure, there may be the motivation to encourage a moral life but the truth is the one speaking is usually the one who is most torn by what they are saying and they do not trust God's ability to do what he said, therefore they feel the need to control you. 

Do you not understand that the Holy Spirit of God lives in you. That happened on the day you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, understanding that he died and rose again to give you a new life and hope. 

1 John 2:20-21 NIV But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. (21) I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.

Don't get all bogged down in that word anointing, just understand that the moment he saw your acknowledgment and acceptance God poured out his life on you. You might have felt different, (I have heard it described so many ways, such as, it felt like a huge weight came off me.) but I know that over the course of time, and for many that was just hours later, most of the world seemed the same to you. People were still just as lousy as they were before, and for most of us there was no dramatic change in our language; we still had the ability to cuss like a sailor.

None-the-less God placed his spirit inside of you and that same Holy Spirit leads you and guides you into all truth and holds until the day of his return, that moment in which we hope. For some his return comes earlier through their passing from this life. 

But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. (2 Corinthians 2:14 ISV)

In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope, (Ephesians 1:13 BBE)

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30 KJV)

Far to many struggle over the trinity, so let me give you a heads up. 

We all seem to grasp that there is a God who created the universe, and yet John's gospel tells us Jesus was that Word and that Jesus was God. We are not allowed to exclude the Holy Spirit and yet do. Give the creation some serious thought and you come to realize that the Holy Spirit was there also. 

Jesus told the guys (120+ of them) that he was going back to the Father but would not leave them. How? By sending the Holy Spirit, the comforter. The Holy Spirit is God, no less than Jesus was. 

So make it easy on yourself, all three are God, God's representative, aspects of God, and each has its own character, and methods of interacting with us. The power and purpose are the same, to magnify the Father, God.

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. (John 14:26 AMP)

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To not walk in darkness. A series. Part 3

Archaic terms

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12 KJV)

The King James seems to be the most archaic in terms of colloquialisms, but is a great place to start if you are digging for life. If you use a modern version you can bypass some of the odd words like “followeth”. Let's try that and see if it helps.

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world.

He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark,

but will have the Light which is Life. (John 8:12 AMP)

But what are the implications when Jesus uses a word like follow and walking in the same sentence? (remember, I said there was life in the words, so that is what I am looking for).

The dictionary explains the word follow as:

1. To go after or behind; to walk, ride or move behind, but in the same direction.

2. To pursue; to chase; as an enemy, or as game.

3. To accompany; to attend in a journey.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic examples can be seen the Lord Of the Rings as Samwise Ganji followed Frodo Baggins to Mordach and middle earth. 

Thayer's definition states: to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple.

The implications are that Jesus is asking for more than just a casual relationship.

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Some quick thoughts on hearing the voice of God.

On Monday of this week I got off early from work and went to the market. I was on the hunt for apples, particularly the ones that come in a bag, but this market seems to think that is beneath them. Whatever! Within a few seconds a lady wearing an apron comes around the corner and so I asked her if she knew anything about apples in a bag. Nope, but hey, stick around, we giving away a free paring knife in about five minutes, and she gave me a ticket to claim my free knife. You know I stuck around, besides I had just started my minimal shopping adventure. The knife demonstration began. Although they are impressive, and the paring knife is part of the package, I no longer wished to wait here anymore.
Now this is where the voice of the Lord part comes in. As I decided I no longer wanted to play this knife game anymore I hear this thought; take the aisle behind you, you can slip away quicker and fewer people will notice you leaving. I heard this twice, but since I am trying to learn to be less concerned with what people think about me I opted to merely make a quick left and walk away in front of everyone.
I made it about 10 feet when I hit a puddle of water that I did not see, slipped and slammed down upon my left knee. I ended up laying that puddle of water and probably had everyone looking at me.
Is there a point to this, oh absolutely. Listen to the voice, even if you think it your own. Tuck the foolish pride away in your back pocket, because you do not know what God/the Holy Spirit is trying to spare you from. BTW: That fall hurt a lot, but nothing is broken, I think.
When I was a wee bit younger, I chose to practice hearing God's voice. As I left church one night (I lived in a semi-rural area with a lot of orange groves around) I felt strongly that I was go over to this lady's house (I was trying to gain her attention and she was pretty). I argued with the voice/God about how stupid I felt about this idea but chose to go anyway. I had heard him say to me, "she will be there when you get there". I was fighting with God about this and not paying attention to the road. Suddenly I realized I was about to shoot past it, slammed on my brakes, and spun the car into the long drive way. She was right behind me and pulled immediately next to my car. I told you I was not paying attention. I apologized for scaring her and told her what God had just said to me.

While the conversation was less than productive, I think the point was God was trying to teach me something. I could not tell you that most of this sounded like much more than thoughts in my head, so you have to learn to make the distinction. I think that as you practice trusting him and responding to the sane voices you too will learn to do the right thing; I wish I had that day in the market.
Consider that there is a day coming soon in which a trumpet blast will call us away. I am practicing so that I can hear that call. I have every confidence that I will. I will let you in on a little secret; it sounds like a shofar. I so desire for you all to join me as I meet the one I have longed for, in the air. Turn your life over to the one who gave his life, for your life. That is essentially the ticket, and his name is Jesus Christ.
Have a blessed day
Oz

A response to the "Short Course on Revelation"

The paper, A Short Course on the Book of Revelation, was intentionally brief, and no where close to being a scholarly dissertation. I am just a lay person, like many of you, but I am of the belief that Revelation does not have to be that difficult, especially when you break it down into segments.

The segments consist of:

• Identification and understanding of who the book is about – Jesus, the Jews, the nations, and the saints.
• The church age.
• The time of wrath.
• The thousand years of peace under the reign of Jesus and the resurrected saints.
• The grand finale where after Satan is released for a brief time he deceives the nations, again, they rise up in war against God and his people, God destroys them and throws Satan permanently into the lake of fire. All the non-believing dead will be raised for judgment, and surprisingly many are shown mercy.

I printed The Short Course on the Book of Revelation and took it to the bible study group I meet with. One man in particular shows an interest in such things and so I handed it to him. The “leader” of the group began to look at it, he is attempting to create a long, detailed, explanatory thesis on Revelation, and so the man I gave that copy to immediately lost his copy. I had a backup and gave it to the man. This next time I saw the leader he had critiqued it.

I do not agree with his beliefs on end times events and their timing, but he claims he is interested in learning. One of the things that might make his learning a little skewed would be his lack of interest in reading the old testament. I find Jesus the Messiah in every book. You must understand that this bible of ours is a very Jewish book, and that the old testament is the foundation of almost everything in the new testament, especially the Revelation. The books of Daniel, Ezekiel, as well as others not only painted the picture that we see in the Revelation, but the terminology was repeated with precision, and in many cases much more defined by several of the prophets of the old testament.

In his critique the leader dissagreed with several points, one of which he kept going back to the same theme over and over. As I do not crank these papers out in an evening, I will attempt to answer his questions and perhaps yours over the next few weeks.

Issue:

"The rise of Islam. Technically we are dealing with a resurrected Ottoman empire.

This word resurrected takes on a whole new meaning when applied to the ‘beast’ whose head was wounded. (Check this out at your leisure in Revelation 13); "

Response:

This is an attempt at responding to the first of your challenges.

As I included my original statement above, it should be easy to recognize that I used terminology that allows for logical thought instead of merely stating, “this is what John was saying here.”, for I stated, "This word resurrected takes on a whole new meaning when applied to the beast". The reader is welcome to assimilate this information in any manner they wish.

I referenced Revelation 13, but this particular challenge, and I quote, “*beast - “rising up” #1, “coming out of” #2 not resurrected....” initially made no sense to me. Apparently you were referring to verse 1 of chapter 13. The problem with this is that the passages here are chronological and you have jumped backward in time.

I do not have an issue with the terminology “rising up” as used in verse 1 for it can also be stated proceeds from. Verse one of chapter 13 is in a sense the birth of the beast, but even that is not a correct assumption for that which empowers it is a spirit and has shown it’s ugly head through several representatives throughout the ages.

1 John 2:18 KJV Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Seeing as the term antichristos denotes anyone that is against, opposes, or is instead of Christ, therefore we can include those who assume the guise of Christ.

He, the beast, is not coming out of a body of water like some sea serpent, he merely comes out of the masses of people upon the earth. And yet we can learn with reasonable certainty where he comes from, and it is NOT Rome.

Resurrection – is from the Greek word anastasis and means: a standing up again, that is, (literally) a resurrection from death (individual, general or by implication (its author)),Strong’s concordance

We are rather free in the usage of this type of terminology for we even apply it to baseball teams, when after multiple strings of losses they begin to win with vigor.

I would like to point out that we are not necessarily looking for a man here, although that is possible, but when you apply the concept of resurrection to a religious ideology that was shut down by world domination and has seemingly made such an overwhelming come back, then it makes more sense.

A brief historical look at the Ottoman Empire

 With Constantinople as its capital and vast control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries.

After the international recognition of the new Turkish parliament (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) headquartered in Ankara, by means of the Treaty of Lausanne signed on 24 July 1923, the Turkish parliament proclaimed on 29 October 1923 the establishment of the Republic of Turkey as the new Turkish State that succeeded and formally ended the defunct Ottoman Empire, in line with the treaty. The Ottoman Caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924; the Caliphate's authority and properties were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph ('successor')" (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa, Turkish: Hilafet), refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the leader's unity of the Muslim Ummah (community)" Wikipedia

To my understanding the Caliph, operated strictly under Sharia law, is a Totalitarian state. Non-compliance is not tolerated except under the laws of Dhimini, which demand that the non-believer pay extortion money to exist there, and it does not exclude you from further demands, torture or death.

It is no coincidence that the Ottoman empire covered much of the same territories as the rulers in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 2:29-35), and the 4 beasts that Daniel saw. (Daniel 7:7-8; cf. Revelation 13:3; 17:3, 17:7. In Revelation 13:1-18 and Revelation 17:1-18 the beast is the world ruler, whereas in Daniel n7:1-28 the little horn on the beast was the world ruler. Bible Knowledge Commentary)

The feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, the last beast, the leopard with bear paws, and a lion's mouth are all one in the same. These are the beast described in Revelation 13.

13:2 This Antichrist seems like a combination of the four beasts that Daniel had seen centuries earlier in a vision (Dan_7:4-8), combining the characteristics of a leopard, a bear, and a lion. In Daniel’s vision, the lion with eagle’s wings represented Babylon with her swift conquests (statues of winged lions have been recovered from Babylon’s ruins).. Life Application New Testament Commentary

Take it upon yourself to compare maps. Look at the territories that Alexander’s empire covered, then look at the Roman empire. The Ottoman empire was the last in this region and covered much, if not more of the same regions. This is where your beast will come from.

Let’s look at the passage that I started with.

Revelation 13:2-8 NIV The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. (3) One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. (4) People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?" (5) The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. (6) It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. (7) It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. (8) All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

If I, like the Apostle John, use the terminology “seemed” you have to assume that I am relating how the scene appeared me. Why would I say fatal unless it appeared that it was dead? One does not bring someone or something back from the dead without people noticing, therefore the world was filled with wonder, but this is what makes the Revelation such a mystery. Either we have looked for the wrong thing, or we have been duped into looking for something that is 180 degrees in opposition to the truth. Like a magician, deception causes us to look at something else while the reality happens right under our noses.

If we are talking about a man then where is this guy. It is certainly not our former President Kennedy, for he is still dead. Does this eliminate a man in the future? No, but with all the ramifications this would have to be quite an event, especially since all the world follows this beast.

(The phrase “all the world” is not to be taken literally. If he is alive today I for one am not following him, as I am sure that would seal my fate as a worshiper of the beast. Although the influence will be wide-spread, to say all the world is an over generalization. Look at a CIA map and you will be able to see all the nations that are Islamic controlled and those that have a high percentage of Islamic influence. There are really only a few left that have not fallen under such control. Those nations that are Islamic controlled are operated under strict sharia laws, and those that are majority Islam generally have a free reign to brutalize Christians with no repercussions. Even here in America we are already experiencing Muslim men performing brutal “honor killings’ and attempting to get the courts to uphold their religious right to do so. England has Sharia run courts and such cases are tried in those, giving sadistic murderers the freedom to operate in accordance with the teaching of Islam, regardless of civility.)

Now place this same characterization upon a religious ideology, especially one that was declared abolished, and considered dead. Give it the name Islam with it’s goal of a global caliphate, and then take note of how vast it’s influence has become and the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together rapidly.

If we consider the image that Daniel saw.

Daniel 2:32-33 KJV This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, (33) His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

Head – breast and arms – belly and thighs – legs of iron.

Three are clearly defined by history. They are kings in the earth and this was explained by the angel in Daniel chapter 7. What did not seem so clear are the legs of iron and then the feet.

The head of gold represented the Babylonian empire, of which Nebuchadnezzar reigned. Daniel spelled that out for us, so there is no question. We really should have no questions as to where to begin in our understanding of end times events. If there had been an unexplained crown of platinum then maybe.

The following is from: The Bible Knowledge Commentary;

The second portion of the statue, the chest and arms of silver, represented the rise of the Medes and Persians (cf. Dan_5:28; Dan_6:8; also cf. Dan_5:31). The Medo-Persians conquered the Babylonians in 539 b.c. Though that kingdom lasted over 200 years (539-330 b.c.), the Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to it, as silver compared with gold.

The belly and thighs of bronze represented the third kingdom to arise. This was the Grecian Empire (cf. Dan_8:20-21). Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persians between 334 and 330 b.c. and assumed authority over its peoples and territory. By Alexander’s conquests he extended the Greek Empire as far east as the northwestern portion of India ― an extensive empire that seemingly was over the whole earth.”

At this point we have covered the three known empires when you include the Babylonian empire. To some degree these all encompassed similar and yet growing territories. All these nations are representative of Ishmael and Esau. And they are now representative of Islam. The range of nations was from the Baltic region south and along the coast of northern Africa.

Look at all those nations today and you will find the demographic to be the same, Islamic.

Many would attribute the fourth empire to the Romans but there is an aspect that few pay attention to. By 69 AD conscript troops outnumbered those of Roman origin by a ratio of 5:1. Josephus tells us that there were as many as 6 legions in Jerusalem by 69AD with levels rising to approximately 60,000 by 70AD when the temple was destroyed. These conscripts were pulled from Arabia and Syria according to Josephus, and had no lack of hatred for the Jews.

Because the tradition is to use Daniel 9:26 as the basis for attributing the antichrist’s rise out of Rome, we have ignored a real and growing possibility – The beast is a middle easterner and a Muslim.

Misconceptions and tradition attributed the destruction of the temple in 70AD to Titus, a Roman, but history, through the pen of Josephus, records that a runner was sent to Titus to alert him that a fire had been started in the temple. Titus made all haste, dressed as he was, running to the temple, shouting orders and waving his right hand to indicate to the troops present that they should make all effort to extinguish the fire, for he perceived that it could presently be put out, therefore maintaining order. His commands were quickly weighed by those who hatred for the Jews outweighed the commanders decision to put out the fire, and they provoked the fire even more.

Effectively what we have is not Rome burning the temple, but Syrians and Arabians. If the destroyer that is to come, comes from those that destroyed the temple then he is coming from Syria or Arabia. Did it ever occur you that one of his names is the Assyrian. Even if we cannot pinpoint this man as coming out of these people, we can certainly say that he is coming from this region, and this region of the world is dominated by Islam.

I stated that this was a resurrection of the Ottoman empire, and that this was the head that sustained the wound. Based upon region, ethnic makeup, and religion, we know that it covered the same territories.

I already spelled out the demise of the Ottoman empire and that it operated under an Islamic caliphate. Since that was done away with, how is it that Islam has gained such a tremendous foothold? Clearly it was the head, the small horn, that has risen again.

Islam is not an overnight sensation, it has been a smoldering ember kept alive in tradition and fueled by Satan himself. It’s rebirth seems to have been ignited with Islamic revolution in which the American Embassy was taken hostage.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream the statue had aspects of the iron in the feet, but the clay made the feet very unstable and breakable. How does this relate to Islam? 1. Islam is run by two rival sects, the Shia and the Sunni’s. Although they both have Mohamed as the central core, many other aspects have driven them to fight viciously against each other. Though no longer making the news because the United States withdrew it’s troops, Iraq was a vivid demonstration of Islam’s internal struggles as they would car and suicide bomb each other. The only thing that I see giving them any stability is their hatred of Christians, people of the book, and Jews. Their primary purposes on this earth is subjugation of those who do not worship Allah and the killing of the Jews and Christians who will not convert.

Again I wish to say that the intent of the paper “A Short Course on the Book of Revelation” was to present a brief overview of the Revelation. There is no way I could present a defense of every aspect without turning it into a 600 page thesis. There are some things in this life that you just have to research.

In my own life I chose at some point to consider possibilities outside of tradition. In all honesty, that requires some stability because at your core, you need to have a strong relationship with Yahveh, or you stand a chance of becoming not so much lost, but a nut case like so many others. I will give you a heads up here: God has demonstrated that he is a God of prosperity, but what does that mean. Abraham, like so many others that we look to, was a shepherd. Prosperity does not mean you drive around in a diamond encrusted car. I suspect it means that you have enough to help others when the time arises. One of the things that comes to mind as I write this was Abraham’s ability to mount an army from his hired hands and rescue his nephew Lot, on one occasion.

Some of those authors that recently opened my eyes are: Joel Rosenberg, Joel Richardson, Brigitte Gabriel, and Jonathon Cahn. I have a bible with commentaries by Finis Jennings Dake which I use all the time. I primarily appreciate that he extensively leads you back to other scripture references, and of course his commentaries (although I do not agree with him wholeheartedly.)

Allow me to recommend a book, “The Mideast Beast”, by Joel Richardson. This book has changed my thinking from the traditional fallacies that religion has taught me. Yes, I have to choose to be open minded, but Joel does a very good job of making his scriptural case. I am reminded that “out of the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing shall be established”. I apply to scripture as well. If someone, or I presents a change from the norm, it behooves me to produce at least two witnesses. I prefer not lean toward grabbing two verses from say Ezekiel, but if I find that God has spoken to various authors along the same theme then I have corroboration, and a foundation for truth.

Even in a paper like this there may be those that read it without understanding. That can all change so quickly for you if you will choose to make the Messiah king, Jesus Christ the risen one, the Lord over your life. Ask him to make himself real to you and he will; he has never refused anyone. The Holy Spirit of God will come into and give you clarity as you choose to understand.

This is not about hatred, nor is it a call to rise up in anger. You can get angry but you need to react appropriately, in prayer. As a believer we have the right and authority to stop the enemy and the avenger. 2Thessalonians 2:6 tells us that something is holding back the enemies full force, and that is the praying believer. Get direct, be specific, call out against those entities that have names; those things that are trying to take control of your life, your families, your community, your nation, and put a stop to it.

There is no doubt in my mind that the rapture is merely months away, but what of those that must survive the onslaught coming once the restrainers are gone. They have a hope as well, they just do not know it yet. God will send to prophets who will stand in the streets of Jerusalem and proclaim not only the good news that you can still come to Jesus Christ and have a life in him, but they will prove the power of God that you have denied all your life. Follow their ways and their words. Turn to God with all that is within you. You will have an overwhelming presence of peace as the world around you gets turned upside down. Use the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God like a tool and he will part waters for you. Be prepared unto the death, but don’t worry, God will raise you up again; I promise.