Babylon the great, Mother of harlots. Revelation 17:3

 I am jumping off my commentary on the Gospel of John to point something out.

One of the so-called “watchmen” that goes by “generation 2434” went on a bit of a rant, saying.

“I, 100%, stand against the teaching that “Mystery Babylon” could be Jerusalem because it goes against God’s word.”

He went on to say,

“There are many scriptures that prove this… but here is the short and firm answer.”

“Mystery Babylon is destroyed and will NEVER be a city again.”

If you search for the phrase “mystery Babylon,” you will NOT find it. The closest thing we have to mystery Babylon is Revelation 17:5. Here is the KJV.

(I have intentionally broken up the passage so that aspects could be emphasized.)

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment.”

(Judgment is that which originates from God and, in general, would be deemed “the great tribulation”; once again, this is an inappropriate term.)

“of the great harlot”

(Momentarily, we will see that BABYLON, THE GREAT, and THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS are the same thing, and Jerusalem is included.

Here is a huge assumption: If there is a great harlot, can there be lesser harlots?

Since we know that Babylon is one and Jerusalem is another, there is the possibility of others.)

“who sits on many waters,”

(Waters is representative of the nations.
Telling us that this “great harlot sits on many waters indicates that “she” has influence over multiple locations simultaneously.
If this were a human, this kind of influence could only be accomplished by having others fulfill their wishes; this conversation fuels the idea that this being is demonic.

Remember that Satan took a third of the angels, an uncountable number, to earth in his rebellion. It is the reason that Satan can have such an influence. )

“with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality,”

(Perhaps it is best to think of this harlot as wickedness, evil, transgressions, and general darkness.

The question to ask yourself is, against whom?

The answer is that these acts of evil are generally perpetrated against the masses who can do little to defend themselves.)

“and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

(God is showing John, and subsequently us, the punishment of the harlot and who she has had an impact upon; this is an aspect of God’s wrath. It is important to recognize that by the time we read this, the collapse of their empires and national relationships because of the immoralities associated with the harlot will just about be complete.)

Consider what Revelation 17:3 tells us.

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness;”

(When God showed Abram how committed He was to this covenant that He was asking Abram to follow, the entirety of the dream, although it sounded like reality. What the Apostle John passes on to us is no less vivid and real. In Acts chapter 8, we see the disciple, Philip, run and catch up with an Ethiopian eunuch, who is riding in a chariot while attempting to read the scroll of Isaiah. I have so many questions about this scenario. Having, a few moments later, baptized the Eunuch in some standing water, Philip is translated; perhaps we can say he was carried away in the Spirit.

Did this happen to John? I cannot say, however, that it sounds like John’s experience was more like Abram’s.)

(Wilderness should be a familiar term as we saw Jesus driven into the wilderness – Matthew 4 - to commune with the Father and to be tested by Satan. The wilderness is typically bleak, foreboding, and lacking water.)

“and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names,”

(If I saw anyone riding on a “beast,” I would assume they believed they were in control of that animal. I had an opportunity to ride a horse when I went to Oklahoma. That horse, for the majority of the time, did what it wanted to do. Finally, as the horse was standing in about a foot of muddy water, a man led some young riders out by me and told them clearly to let their horses know who was in control and told them how to do that. Unfortunately, I don’t remember how to do that, but I applied my momentary education to the situation, got the horse out of the muddy lake, and got the horse to run on a sprint. By the way, this is when the ride smoothed out, but the thought occurred to me that this horse could run in front of an oncoming vehicle.)  

(It is the woman’s head that is full of blasphemous names, and she is riding the scarlet beast, and the beast is speaking blasphemies.

Let’s focus on the blasphemous names for a moment.

Blasphemy is the Greek word blasphēmia and carries meanings of slander, defamation, vilification, and verbal abuse against someone. The WSD conveys that it is the wounding of someone’s reputation by evil reports. We are not given the names, but if you can understand what they are intended to do, you can comprehend the focus of those words – they are meant to demean God and those who represent Him.)

“having seven heads and ten horns.”

(If you search for “seven heads,” you will only find the phrase in the Revelation.)

- Revelation 13:1 TLV  Then I saw a beast rising out of the sea that had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten royal crowns, and upon his heads were slanderous names.

(I am constantly reminding you that our Biblical study is concentrated on Israel and the Mideast; with that in mind, these ten horns and seven heads are defined in Daniel 7 as ten kings. In Daniel 7, he desired an explanation.) The passage that follows is one of those responses.

- Daniel 7:23-24 BSB says ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.  24  And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them, another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings.

(Question: Of the nations in the Middle East, how many are NOT Muslim? Not many.)

The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

The description conveys that the participants are motivated by wealth and comfort. Soon, they will be subject to God’s wrath, and their money won’t do anything for them.

And on her forehead, a name was written, a mystery,”

Before we go any further, I want to explore this word mystery. I am NOT an expert in English grammar; I pay dearly to have my work edited by “Grammarly’s” document editor. With that said, I noticed that the word mystery ends with a comma. This indicates that there is a pause worthy of contemplating, in this case, the context of the paragraph. While the implications involved with Babylon are significant, we are not given this information for us to be confused because the name Babylon is a mystery.

The word mystery, as used in Revelation 17:5, is the Greek word mustḗrion, and it carries the implications of a person initiated into sacred mysteries. The word mustḗrion is a derivative of the Greek word muéō (G3453) and means to initiate, learn a secret, or some esoteric knowledge. It also denotes something hidden or not fully manifest.

If you are familiar with the Free Masons or the Illuminati, you are already acquainted with the terminology used to describe being initiated into the sacred mysteries.

The prophet, Daniel, revealed this piece of information, somewhat deflating the mystery.

“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” Daniel 12:4 NASB

(God has seen fit to open the eyes of those who have an interest in end-times prophecy.)

And this is what was written upon her forehead.

“BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Revelation 17:5 NASB

You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that the description seen on the harlot’s forehead is the mystery. It is also an analogy to the centralized system progressively taking over the world.

In an attempt to understand what this mystery is, let’s look at what Revelation 17:18 says.

“And the woman that you saw is the great city exercising kingship over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:18 TLV

God calls Babylon the great city, but the problem is that Babylon is no longer there. To add to the confusion, Jerusalem is also called that great city. There are multiple references to the destruction of Babylon in the Old Testament and Revelation. Jeremiah 51:8 is one of our examples.

With all that history, God still has the initiative to use the term suddenly.

“Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed.” Jeremiah 51:8 NASB

We find the beginnings of Babylon when we find Nimrod and the tower of Babel. It is from this that Nebuchadnezzar brought about his Babylonian kingdom.

An excerpt from www.worldhistory.org.

“Babylon was founded at some point prior to the reign of Sargon of Akkad (the Great, 2334-2279 BCE) and seems to have been a minor port city on the Euphrates River until the rise of Hammurabi (r. 1792-1750 BCE), who made it the capital of his Babylonian Empire. After Hammurabi’s death, his empire quickly fell apart. The city was sacked by the Hittites in 1595 BCE and then taken by the Kassites who renamed it Karanduniash. The earliest mention of the city comes from an inscription from the time of Sargon of Akkad. It was briefly ruled by the Chaldeans (9th century BCE), whose name became synonymous with Babylonians to later Greek writers (notably Herodotus) and biblical scribes, and then was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912-612 BCE) before being taken by Nabopolassar (r. 626-605 BCE), who established the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Babylon fell to the Persians under Cyrus II (the Great, r. c. 550-530 BCE) and was a capital of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE) until it fell to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE. It continued as a trade center under the later Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE), Parthian Empire (247 BCE to 224 CE), and Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE) but never attained the heights it had known under Hammurabi or the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605/604-562 BCE). The city declined after the Muslim Arab conquest in the 7th century CE and was finally abandoned.” (https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/#:~:text=Babylon%20was%20founded,was%20finally%20abandoned.)

Jeremiah 51:37 also speaks to the cessation of Babylon, a place where no one will ever live again, much like the coming prophecy against Damascus.

Not that long ago, I watched an archaeologist as he visited the site of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. The foundations that mark the perimeter of Babylon still exist, but no one, to this day, lives within those boundaries.

“Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.”
Jeremiah 51:37 NASB

Consider this: Babylon, acting on behalf of God, in time, took the majority of Israel captive. It is possible that the prophets Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and Obadiah were taken captive alongside Daniel.

One of the ways we can look at the original Babylon is to see it as a protective force.

Did everyone obtain untouchable protection?

No, and we see an example of this when we read about King Zedekiah, the King of Judah (the Southern kingdom. Read Jeremiah 39:1-9), but others, such as Daniel and the other three young men that were taken captive, enjoyed God’s protection.

If you read about Daniel, you learn that he was thrown into the lion’s den for maintaining his routine of worship. King Darius, who had been tricked, fought to save Daniel, but his own edict was against him. Daniel came out of this sure death unharmed. Read all this in Daniel, chapter six.

Since we can understand that Babylon is gone, this discussion about Babylon, which is deemed a mystery, has to be more spiritual in nature and in the future. Needless to say, that future is now.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
Revelation 11:8 NASB

When God talks about the two witnesses who stand in the streets of Jerusalem, He refers to Jerusalem as that great city, merely clouding the issue.

So, when I or anyone else talks about false teachers and how they can lead you astray, someone speaking authoritatively can drag you into confusion by insisting that Babylon must be rebuilt. Clearly, that is not the case. To combat that happening, you must become a student of the Word of God; that means you read and write with the express purpose of gaining insight into how God thinks and feels.

The deception will be great. Matthew 24:3-5.

 

Doesn't this title have a familiar ring to it? 

What was Jesus' first response when the disciples ask Him these questions?

“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.” (Matthew 24:3-5 NASB)

As you noticed above, the NASB used the term "mislead." 

Do you realize that any magician, "worth his salt," is a master at misdirection? The words are similar, but if you look up the simple word mislead, you will find the Greek word planaō. 

The first thing Strong's concordance says in the definition of planaō is “to (properly cause to) roam.” 

Roam, in my mind, lends itself to the results of someone misleading you. 

To roam is to stray or wander, among a few other words. Alternative words that explain planaō are "seduce or deceive."

Imagine this scenario if we used the word seduced to convey what the false prophet will do.

We associate seduction as typically being between a man and a woman who are NOT married to each other. If you were the spouse of one of these people, your reaction to what they are doing may not be so cordial or mild.

Why say all that?

Because we read things like the NASB translation of Matthew's account and we glance over a simple word like mislead and completely miss the depth of passion that God was trying to convey.

• He (the false prophet) will also be the enforcer of Sharia;.

  This coincides with the tribulation becoming even more deadly, especially for the Jews in Israel.

  "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8 NASB)

Considering what we have seen, how could tribulations become greater unless it is in the number of killings and the associated violence?

Islam and the caliphate that will arise will aggressively begin killing anyone who is not a Muslim.

Allow me to refresh your memory about who we are talking about.

• and it spoke like a dragon

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Simply stated, the dragon is Satan; therefore, the human empowered by the dragon speaks like Satan – the deceiver. Let that sink in.

The false prophet presents himself as peaceful, almost like Jesus, but he speaks like Satan. It is NOT the tone of voice, it is the words that make him like Satan, and Satan is a deceiver. So the false prophet will, at some point, speak with the express purpose of deception.

Rabbi Baruch Kahane

Perhaps the knowledge that the Jewish religious council had selected a man to be the high priest in the “new” temple when it is built, and they have already trained him. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, but if you do a search for the high priest in Israel, you will find that the Rabbi stepped back from the position as he did not feel the timing was appropriate.

And, in case you hadn't noticed, Satan does not present himself like the grotesque images we see in movies; he is subtle and seductive. Eve found that out - that is, until Satan goes into fury mode.

Revelation 13:6 ESV "It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven."

Satan can and does become furious. The idea of making war on "her" offspring will be developed as we go.

Revelation 12:17 ESV "Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea."

• It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. 

The first beast is a man. We were told that he emerges from the sea, so we know that he is NOT a Jew. This man does NOT sustain a bullet wound to the head, die, and rise again. Daniel 7:8 tells us that this man will have a mouth uttering great boasts. The word "boasts," italicized, indicates that it was added for clarity. In this, it seems inappropriate because the Aramaic word translated as “uttering great boasts” is rabrab and also means domineering.

This is a timing issue, and it is difficult to be precise.

What does it mean to be precise when you are God, the creator of time?

We know that there will be a seven-year period of destruction upon the earth, and the clock seems to start with the removal of the church from the earth (the rapture). There seems to be an immediate entrance of a “world” leader. Islam calls him the Mahdi, the 12^th or hidden Imam, the leader of the global Islamic caliphate. We call him the Antichrist or the first beast.

This entrance of the second beast - the one that has horns like a lamb – seems to be at the midpoint of the seven-year period.

Why say that?

Because there is a rapid escalation of events at the mid-point and our false prophet, who has operated quietly in the temple, suddenly gives himself over to this Mahdi, performs the signs, and steps up as the enforcer of this disgusting and bloody sharia law.

Everyone seems to know that the Antichrist will sign a peace treaty. We keep saying it will be with Israel, but scripture says, is that it will be with many. That may not include Israel. When I first wrote this, I guess that none of us would have thought that Russia and China would be in Syria fighting against Isis. Russia believes that defending Bashar Assad is key to defeating Isis, while President Obama is set on removing the Syrian President from power. (There are many good theories on what this is all about, and most have to do with the Federal Reserve Bank.) So, while the Antichrist may be juggling aspects of his worldwide deception, this second beast steps up and handles the enforcement aspect for him.

• and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

This Jew turned Muslim - temple priest turned desecrator, and a deceiver on a grand scale, makes all the earth worship the first beast.

I need you to consider the description of the beast once again.

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it, the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.” (Revelation 13:1-3 ESV)

Multi-headed, with ten horns and seven heads, it looks like a leopard, a lion, and a bear. However bizarre this thing seems to be it is given a mouth; in other words – a spokesman - the Antichrist.

In the world of clues, this is huge,

“One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed,”

First, there is no such animal; second, Daniel plainly defined the Babylonian empire as the first of these heads. Historically we know that the Medo-Persian empire was the second, and the Grecian empire was the third. Since we now know, we are looking at empires and not a human as the head, what one empire fits this description better than any other? The answer is the Ottoman empire, and the world thought they were finally killed off in 1924.

Guess what? 

They came back to life in 1979 with the Iranian revolution.

The beast you saw. Revelation 17:8

 I used to watch a Saturday morning cartoon called Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties. Virtually every show would end with his girlfriend Nel, tied to the railroad tracks by Dastardly Dan, and Dudley would come to her rescue in the nick of time.

That is how this post feels to me because the last post on Revelation 17 left you hanging with, “Why do you wonder?” I explained that the word wonder is a Greek word that means to stand in awe.

How could John possibly be in awe of a woman who is drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses?

And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
(Revelation 17:7 NASB)

If I read this from Wilbur Pickering’s New Testament, I get the closest translation to what the Strong's concordance tells us.

“So the angel said to me: “Why are you impressed?”

John is about to get an explanation straight from heaven.

Revelation 17:8 NASB) "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

Let's try to break this down.

First, I will tell you that I looked at Dr. J. Vernon McGee's commentary. I like him because I never heard him brag or speak about his earned Theology Doctorate, and he comes across like an old country pastor when you hear him on the radio. But, when it came to Revelation 17:8, he did what I despise and fell back on a traditional theory – that this was referring to the revised Roman Empire, and it is not.

Allow me to show you what tradition does. The story goes like this.

The family meets for their yearly Christmas dinner, and the ladies gather in the kitchen to prepare the meal. As they had done for years, one of the women laid out the ham and trimmed off the ends. After a few moments passed, the question was asked: why do we always cut off the ends of the ham? Great-grandmother responded, oh, that's easy; I did it because the oven was too small for the ham to fit, and we have been doing it that way since, without question.

Before I go any further, you need to understand something: the church will NOT be on earth to see this beast, and here is why. “And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.” This only applies to those choosing to not heed the warnings from the prophets – which is simply those giving testimony for and to Jesus, nor did they heed the scriptures. Because of their lack of action and the choices they made, the rapture came, and they were left. 

Mind you, after the church is caught away, many will come to know the Lord and will choose to lose their lives for Jesus rather than follow after the antichrist beast. The bold type above tells us that it is only those NOT written in the Book of Life that will stand in awe of this stupidity. 

If you want a clear understanding of why this is not the Roman Empire revisited, I would advise you to read Joel Richardson's books, The Islamic Antichrist and The Mideast Beast.

Breaking down the passage a bit at a time.

• “The beast that you saw was,”

  I admit that for a moment, I was a little bewildered by this and, therefore, began to look at some commentaries. Albert Barnes had this to say, “before this, it had an existence.” I stopped reading right there as the Holy Spirit began to speak to me.

  Of course, it had a logical, physical existence, but what did that look like?

  The answer to what that version of the beast looked like lies in what Daniel saw. In Daniel chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. Under a blanket penalty of death, Daniel not only told him what the dream was but what it meant. It might be easier to show you than to tell you.

The first two kingdoms are clearly defined in scripture: the Babylonian and the Medo-Persian empires.

These two empires share a commonality in that they are both deemed to be Assyrian. 

Under the rule of Alexander the Great, the Grecian empire is not outlined so clearly, forcing us to associate the symbolism and timing of Alexander's entrance into the picture. Nevertheless, the Grecian empire is third.

The fourth kingdom, and the one we are dealing with in Revelation 17, is defined if you do your research, much like we had to do with Alexander.

In short, after Alexander's death, the Grecian empire modified and slowly diminished under the rule of two of Alexander's generals, Ptolemy and Seleucid.

Note how the bronze waist transitions to legs of bronze and then iron, indicating that purpose and itinerary do not change. However, power is now partitioned and diminished, and yet, in time, its character is no longer Grecian but Assyrian and controlling the same territory that the Grecian empire possessed. 

The Roman Empire never extended to the boundaries of the Grecian Empire. It is said that Trajan, the Roman general, made it to the eastern boundary but, hearing of trouble to the West, turned around to go back and died shortly thereafter.

The feet of the statue have toes that are mixed with clay. The Hebrew word for mixed is arab; for some, this should be an eye-opening moment.

Every aspect of this statue, from the girdle of bronze to the feet of iron and clay, all are a part of the freakishness that makes the fourth beast of Revelation 17:8. 

The bronze initiates the idea of strength but has an artistic quality that asserts intelligence. Iron also exudes strength, but there is brutishness to it, and it has little in terms of artistic attributes. 

In my opinion, having the legs split is indicative of the transition to the two remaining Grecian generals and the beginnings of the weakening of the Grecian empire. The conversion from bronze to iron demonstrates a dramatic shift in leadership. The goal and intention, which we saw in the bronze portions, was global dominance, and that still remains, but the methods have now shifted.

As I noted above, the assimilation of the Grecian empire, much like when Balaam told Balak how to destroy Israel, has happened from the inside as the statue has taken on Assyrian qualities once again. 

The final point to make here is the clay integrated into the toes. The toes give the body the ability to balance, which the statue, symbolic of human rule, demonstrates the fact that the entire structure is now unsound.

I have spoken of Islam's insertion into the world on multiple occasions and how they have become a negative and deadly source of irritation ever since. Those who abide by the tenets of Islam are merely the sons of Abraham through Ishmael and Esau. Concerning Ishmael, God said, you will be like a wild donkey, and you and your descendants will do little more than fight among themselves.

The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers."(Genesis 16:11-12 NASB)

Daniel saw another rendering of the same beast in chapter seven of his writings. Look at how Daniel described the fourth beast.

"After this, I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong, and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7 NASB)

The iron is still there, so don't get lost simply because you don't see legs. The ten horns are an analogy to the ten toes, so this is the same beast.

"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.(Daniel 7:8 NASB)

This little horn is the person that Charles, Prince of Wales, referred to in his speech before the COP 26 climate summit. And, it is the antichrist that everyone knows of; and he is also called a beast.

“We need a vast military-style campaign to marsh the strength of the global private sector, with trillions at his disposal.”

Daniel wanted to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, and this is how he expressed the question.

"Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet,(Daniel 7:19 NASB)

Different? Our first consideration is that this is an Aramaic word, which some have indicated was Chaldean. 

Why is that important? 

It is important because Daniel wrote to be understood. As a “prisoner” of Babylon and now the Chaldeans, he was NOT writing in code, as some have indicated that John did with the Revelation.

The word different is sh^enâ', and its primary usage in scripture is change. It also means to alter or be diverse – different. The Word Study Dictionary says, “It refers to a difference that has become evident.”

You would have to look intently at the previous empires (The Babylonian, Chaldean, and Medo-Persian) to determine the dramatic differences. A couple of clues: The Babylonian empire came out of the mind of one man, Nimrod.

"The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca, and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Genesis 10:6-10 NASB)

Ham was the one who looked upon his father's nakedness (this is infested with some intense darkness) and was cursed for his actions. A few of Noah's descendants were Ham, Cush, and Nimrod. How did Nimrod become one of the Nephilim? We don't have a definition of how that happened, but what we do have is Nimrod creating a town called Nineveh. Everything associated with Nimrod played itself out in some horrendous and deadly attempts at killing off the inhabitants of Judah and Israel. 

This takes us to Jonah and why he thought it best to commit suicide instead of going to Nineveh to preach a message of destruction. Jonah had a serving of fame because he prophesied that the borders of Israel would be rebuilt.

"In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria and reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-Hepher." (2 Kings 14:23-25 NASB)

Fame, it seems, is typically short-lived and we have nothing to explain that anyone knew or remembered Jonah; thus we get the book of Jonah where he tries to do anything but deliver God's message because he knows God will show them mercy.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:1-3 NASB)

Notice where Jonah is sent, Nineveh, the town established by Nimrod. These people were a part of the Assyrians and held no esteem with Israel, just as Hitler's Nazi party holds with the Jewish community today. 

Could you affirm some possible causes of this difference that Daniel 7:23 speaks of?

The explanation given to Daniel begins with Daniel 7:23.

Daniel 7:23 NASB "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it."

• While it is the fourth kingdom, in virtually every assessment, we demonstrate that we are assuming when we say we know, especially when we say that it is the Roman Empire. It is definitely a kingdom, much like the Ottoman Empire was a kingdom.

• It will be dramatically changed from the previous kingdoms. Part of our assessment above should include punishment from God for ignoring the seventh-year Sabbath rest on the land.

• And, as we see in 7:23, it will devour the whole earth. No kingdom has done that or been able to, however, there is one that despises artistry, music, and any mention of anything other than Allah; and that is Islam.

The fact that it will be a fourth kingdom on the earth is not new news to us. But what we do is assume that this fourth empire is the Roman empire. The bronze belly and thighs might be the Roman empire if it were not for the legs of iron and the toes mixed with clay. The Roman Empire never covered the same territory that the Assyrians did, or further yet, the Islamic caliphates. I cannot see how I can say that the Roman Empire devoured the whole earth when their rule was limited to Europe and a portion of the Mideast.

"'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom, ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings."

(Daniel 7:24 NASB)

“ out of this kingdom, ten kings will arise.” Again, we go to Charles, Prince of Wales, as he spoke about ten sectors responsible for climate damage at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow. It may be possible that these ten sectors may have ten rulers and, therefore, fit into the idea of ten kings. On the other hand, there may be ten Islamic leaders, many of whom have come and gone.

“ arise, and another will arise after them.” This is the antichrist.

"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.
(Daniel 7:8 NASB)

Antichrist is the first of twelve names given to this person.

Note the other titles:

1. "the king of Babylon" (Isa_14:4);

2. "the Assyrian" (Isa_14:25; +**Mic_5:5 note);

3. "Lucifer, son of the morning," in opposition to "the bright and morning star" (Isa_14:12);

4. "the Prince that shall come" (Dan_9:26);

5. "the king of fierce countenance" (Dan_8:23);

6. "the vile person" (Dan_11:21);

7. "the willful king" (Dan_11:36);

8. "the man of sin" (2Th_2:3);

9. "the son of perdition" (2Th_2:3);

10. "that wicked (or lawless) one" (2Th_2:3; Rev_13:18);

11. "the beast with ten horns" (Rev_13:1);

12. "the little horn" (Dan_8:8)

Daniel 7:24 NASB 'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.

• Ten horns = ten toes, which in turn equals ten kings.

  Kings - meleḵ: An Aramaic masculine noun meaning king. This very common word is equivalent to the Hebrew word melek (H4428), meaning king. It is used to speak of the top government official.

  
  

  We are told, “another will rise after them, and he will be different from the others and will subdue three kings.” I do not think that Charles, Prince of Wales, will be expecting this man that they are looking for to do that.

  Subdue - š^ep̱al: An Aramaic verb meaning to humble, to subdue. It describes figuratively the bringing down or making humble the prideful person.

  Which global influences would volunteer to be humbled?

Daniel 7:25 NASB "'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."

Again, this is the man that Prince Charles is looking for. This should not be surprising because God is no longer desired in the New World Order of things.

• This man will speak out against the Most High (God)

• And wear down the saints of the Highest One.

Ask yourself, when is this all taking place?

Since we know that this “he” person does not show up until after the church is gone, then this is happening during the time of wrath (the tribulation.)

So, who is being impacted when we see him wearing down the saints?

All those people who have had changes of heart and will now turn wholeheartedly to the Lord. My wife and I have befriended a Salvation Army bell ringer; he is a Mormon who goes to a local temple but is likable. I pray that God opens his eyes, which will happen now or in the near future, because scripture tells me that the veil will be lifted from the world at the church's catching away. 

Does that mean all will turn to Him? 

Hardly, but it will be an uncountable number. Saints also apply to those who decide to take a stand against these Socialist regimes that are trying to take over the world, and this may apply directly to those who refuse to bow to Allah. This last one could be a source of contention, as many are telling you that what I am saying is hate speech and will do their best to turn you away from looking at Islam as a future problem. If you don't comprehend this, pay attention. Islamic followers are ordered by the Quran to kill the infidels and Jews at every opportunity. When our governments fall, and this will happen with the entrance of the antichrist, Islamic followers will unleash their numbers in every manner possible worldwide.

If you think I am wrong, then tell me, who is speaking out against the Most High?

Daniel 7:25 NASB "'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."

Oh, and note something else, “he will intend to make alterations in times and in law;” 

This is what Islam intends to do - make alterations in law. These alterations consist of the installation of Sharia law. Try walking the streets of some UK communities; you will answer to Sharia law there, and the same goes for much of Michigan.

Daniel 7:26-27 NASB 'But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. (27) 'Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'

I do not know who or what the court is, but I assure you that the antichrist and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war." (Revelation 19:11 NASB)

This is Jesus Christ, and it is awesome, but watch what happens next.

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him, the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21 NASB)

The fourth kingdom, which has been active and in pursuit of its goal since the days of Nimrod, is about to come to its climax and end.

Folks, the church is about to be removed from this earth, and the antichrist is about to be revealed. Are you ready?