I had posted a very long analysis of Daniel & Revelation on another thread. Think I’ll do a few “typo tweaks” to it and post it on the religion page. That should get the Jihadists’ panties in a bunch.
Thanks. I've been digging into Revelation and doing some comparisons with Daniel. The Beast - I believe - may very well be the "12th Imam" the Iranians are talking about. Let me offer some support for this starting with the book of Daniel (Old Testament): “In my vision I saw myself at Ulai Gate. I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later. I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow.” Daniel 8:2-4 (GW) Later in this chapter, the angel tells Daniel who the "ram" is: it's the Medo-Persian Empire and the two horns are the last 2 kings of the empire. “As I was watching closely, I saw a male goat coming from the west. It crossed the whole earth without touching it. This goat had a prominent horn between its eyes. The goat was coming toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the gate. It furiously ran at the ram. I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram's horns. The ram didn't have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat's power.” Daniel 8:5-7 (GW) The goat is Greece and the "prominent horn" was none other than Alexander the Great, who conquered the Medo-Persian Empire. “The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kingdoms of Media and Persia. The hairy male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king. The horn broke off, and four horns replaced it. Four kingdoms will come out of that nation, but they won't be as strong as the first king was.” Daniel 8:20-22 (GW) Upon Alexander's death, the Greek Empire was divided among four successors. The largest and most prominent of these subdivisions of the Empire was the Seleucid Empire, which included "central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan." (Cited from Wikipedia. Click the link below to see the four subdivisions of the Greek Empire and their geographic areas.) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Diadochen1.png We'll come back to this in a few paragraphs. It's critically important to understanding the true threat. Daniel continues: “In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power. He will become very strong, but not by his own strength. He will cause astounding destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy those who are powerful along with some holy people. He will cleverly use his power to deceive others successfully. He will consider himself to be great and destroy many people when they don't expect it. He will oppose the Commander of Commanders, but he will be defeated, though not by any human power. The vision about the {2,300} evenings and mornings that was explained to you is true. Seal the vision, because it is about things that will happen in the distant future.” Daniel 8:23-26 (GW) Here we have Gabriel's revelation of "the Beast" to Daniel. This is the same Beast prophesied in Revelation 13: “I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns on its horns. There were insulting names on its heads. The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear's feet. Its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The serpent gave its power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority to the beast.” Revelation 13:1-2 (GW) This passage, along with our knowledge of the makeup of the Seleucid Empire tells us - at the very least - from where the Beast will come. The "sea" mentioned in this passage refers metaphorically to many nations and peoples. This is born out by the next sentence which describes kings and kingdoms metaphorically as "heads, horns and crowns" (the same language used in Daniel to describe the kings of Medo-Persia and Greece). Note, too, Daniel 8:24 says this man (a supreme leader) "will become very strong, but not by his own strength." This is repeated in Rev 13:2: "The serpent gave its power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority to the beast." (The serpent is Satan himself, described as a "serpent" in Genesis 1). If you've made it this far, hang in just a little longer! There is one more piece to the puzzle! Notice this phrase again from Revelation 13:2: "The beast that I saw was like a leopard." Where else have we seen a kingdom or an empire described as a "leopard." Look at the following passage from Daniel 7: “After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. Daniel 7:6 (KJV) In this passage, the leopard is often interpreted to be the Greek Empire after Alexander's death with the four heads each representing one of its sub-divided kingdoms; one of which would be the Seleucid Empire. Quoting Wikipedia again: "The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan." Looking at these seven regions (see map linked above), we can find their modern-day equivalents: Iran, central Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today, those “seven heads” (regions) and “ten horns” (kingdoms), are each either under Islamic (Sharia) Law or heavily influenced by Islam which is blasphemous to God and violates the first of His Ten Commandments: "I am the Lord, thy God. You shall have no other gods before me." I believe the revived Empire people speak of in relation to this Beast is not the "revived Roman Empire", as so many pre-trib scholars believe, but a revived Persian Empire which - by the way - also covered all the lands described above before Alexander conquered it. All you have to do is look at the comments made by Iran's leaders regarding Israel (vows to destroy it), look at Iran's pagan religion (Islam) and understand that Persia has conquered Israel before, to understand why they hate the Jews so much. And given that Iran may soon have nukes (if it doesn’t already) and that Pakistan (which may fall to the Taliban after Obama pulls us out of the region) already has nukes, and you can certainly see why - given current events - it makes more sense to ascribe the Beast to a revived Persian Empire than to a European confederation or the U.N., as some others have suggested. Next time you crack open Daniel, read the prophetic passages in it through Jewish eyes under Persian rule and see if what we're seeing now doesn't make a whole lot more sense, even when interpreting Revelation. Daniel’s prophecies occurred under the Babylonian and Medo-Persian diasporas (captivities). In Revelation 13, we're also told about the "mark of the Beast." "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16-17 (KJV) American bible scholars, seeing virtually everything through the lens of "American Eschatology" (they spend more time trying to find us in scriptures than the truth) often ascribe this mark to some new-found technology or social security number. But what if it's more simple than that? Sura 48 (The Victory) verse 29 from the Koran may have the answer: "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. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel - like as sown corn that sendeth forth its shoot and strengtheneth it and riseth firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers - that He may enrage the disbelievers with (the sight of) them. Allah hath promised, unto such of them as believe and do good works, forgiveness and immense reward." To bow before Allah may indeed, at some point in the not too distant future, gain you the whole world. But it will also cost you your soul. I leave you with one final thought: what's keeping this revived Persian Empire from reforming now? We're smack dab in the middle of it fighting these bastards. But what does the Bible say about that? “In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power." Daniel 8:23 "For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety‘; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (KJV) In other words, when the rebellions (wars) in these areas have ended; when there is "peace", then sudden destruction shall come on them because it's a false peace delivered by a false god and his satanic servant. And when will that "peace" begin to happen? "Don't let anyone deceive you about this in any way. {That day cannot come unless} a revolt takes place first, and the man of sin, the man of destruction, is revealed. He opposes every so-called god or anything that is worshiped and places himself above them, sitting in God's temple and claiming to be God.
Don't you remember that I told you about these things when I was still with you? You know what it is that now holds him back, so that he will be revealed when his time comes. The mystery of this sin is already at work. But it cannot work effectively until the person now holding it back gets out of the way. Then the man of sin will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will destroy him by what he says. When the Lord Jesus comes, his appearance will put an end to this man.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 (GW) Please bear me a moment of unbridled speculation here. Watch what happens when we leave the region. The lefties have already been saying our presence there is "prohibiting peace." "Peace" under the sword of Islam is - as we have seen - no peace at all. Christ's return to save the Jews and defeat the Beast and Satan at the “end of days” is precisely what the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation are all about.