Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 Pt 3

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

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We’ve covered several aspects of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 in our last two posts. If we know anything, we know that these two chapters can be complex, largely because they deal with prophetic discourse. However, this doesn’t make understanding them impossible.

Several other chapters in Revelation also deal with and more fully explain the 7 heads, the 10 horns, the 11th horn, along with the situation connected with Babylon – whether it’s an actual city, a system that is the foundation upon which all trade in the world exists over which a “harlot” (or false religious system), dominates, or if it’s both of these things. We’ll have to deal with the possible identities of the 7 heads and 10 horns in another article.

It is difficult to simply pick a chapter here or there of this or that book of the Bible and try to make sense out of it without concerning ourselves with other chapters. This is largely due to the fact that much of the Bible hinges upon other parts of the Bible. There is true interconnection throughout the Bible that God designed when He ultimately wrote all of it. This is why it is extremely dangerous to take a verse or two of Scripture and build a theology or doctrine on it. Many have done this and ultimately shipwrecked their faith (1 Timothy 1:19).

Ultimately, Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 speak of the rise of what I believe to be the final, future kingdom; the fourth beast or Roman Empire of old, to eventually seguing into the revived Roman Empire future. This coming kingdom will, at the very least, be headquartered in the area of what used to be the Roman Empire. In fact, Revelation 17 outlines more specifics of this coming “beast” over which the “harlot” (Babylon) sits. Revelation 16 highlights the last seven judgments of God, the Bowl Judgments which seem to be poured out in quick succession. Revelation 18 describes the final fall of Babylon and how the world reacts to it. Obviously, we are talking about a system of trade here, however, I also believe that Antichrist will revive, to some extent, either the ancient city of Babylon or create another one as his headquarters. Let’s recall that the late dictator, Saddam Hussein, was working diligently on resurrecting old Babylon. He built himself a palatial mansion overlooking the ruins of Babylon and also referred to himself as the “son of Nebuchadnezzar.” I’ve written about that before.

In 1 Peter 5:13, the apostle Peter sends greetings from “Babylon,” which he connects with Rome since that was where he was at the time. We can deal with the details in a later article, but it may well have to do with Rome being a religious center at that time and if we consider the power that the Vatican has now and what this pope is attempting to bring about by connecting Islam with Judaism and Christianity, it makes us pause.

However, for now, let’s continue with Daniel 7, where we left off in our last article in this series. In Daniel 7:9-10, there is a brief parenthesis, if you will. While certain actions are happening on the earth in Daniel’s vision, he also sees what is happening in the throne room of God the Son.

⁹ I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
Its wheels a burning fire;
¹⁰ A fiery stream issued
And came forth from before Him.
A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The court was seated,
And the books were opened.

The above two verses highlight the fact that Jesus is Judge and preparing to mete out perfect justice. The imagery reminds us of the opening verses of Ezekiel. Daniel watches this unfolding of events in the heavenly realms. Then, Daniel’s vision switches back to what’s happening on the earth in Daniel 7:11-12.

11 I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The beast here is not the horn clearly. They are mentioned separately though connected. The horn (Antichrist), rises out of the last “head” of the beast and becomes the sole leader of this beast (the final revived Roman Empire). Daniel is referring to the horn speaking pompously. His arrogance and blasphemous words are due to his hatred of God and for which all God stands. This hatred and arrogance is due to the fact that Satan (as we’ll learn from Revelation 13), gives this horn his own power and authority. If Satan hates God and His Creation, it stands to reason that this 11th horn (or Antichrist), would do the same.

This horn (Antichrist), is Satan’s next to last attempt to overthrow God and he will fail. His final attempt occurs after Satan is released from the bottomless pit following his 1,000 year imprisonment; Revelation 20. However, we are now seeing in 2021 the results of Satan’s efforts as he works behind the scenes, through specific human beings we call globalists, to build the final kingdom over which the Antichrist will rule.

In Daniel 9:24-27, we learn of the exact event that starts the clock ticking for the final “week” (seven years), called the Tribulation. That event is when Antichrist (the prince; small “p”), brokers a deal with Israel and surrounding Arab nations. Revelation does not talk specifically about this agreement or covenant in the first seal of Revelation 6 (though it is certainly implied), but does specifically mention the coming man on a white horse who brings “peace” (obviously a temporary, fake peace), and breaks that peace treaty himself three and a half years into it.

But, what is interesting to me is that the Tribulation starts with this first seal opening, but Daniel records that it is the actual signing of the peace deal with Israel and Arab nations that begins the seven year Tribulation. Here’s my point in the form of a question: Is it possible that Antichrist arrives on the world’s scene but it takes a while of using political intrigue to gain a following, so to speak, and after a matter of time, he finally brokers the deal for peace in the Middle East? When he does, then it will become clear to believers that he is the guy who will head up the final beast kingdom. We know from Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians that the Antichrist is “revealed” when he desecrates the Temple (2 Thessalonians 2). This “revealing” will be for the Jews especially since he will be pulling the wool over their eyes initially, getting them to take him into their confidence. Unbeknownst to them, he does it solely so that the Temple can be rebuilt and so he can desecrate it by claiming to be God while sitting in the Holy of Holies (the Abomination of Desolation; Matthew 24).

To the globalists (the 10 kings/horns), the Antichrist will not be part of their inner circle of 10. The Antichrist as we saw last time, will rise up outside of their circle as the 11th. He will then pluck up three of the 10, which leaves seven, and he himself will become the 8th. Interestingly enough, this 8th horn will rule by himself and the remaining seven horns will promise their loyalty to him. What a kick in the teeth after they’ve done all the grunt work in laying the solid foundation for this final revised Roman Empire, in which they were convinced they would rule!

Getting back to Daniel 7:11-12, quoted above, please note several other facts:

• the beast is slain
• body destroyed; given to the flame (Lake of Fire)
• the remaining seven beasts were not destroyed but lost their kingdoms
• their lives were preserved for a short while (season and a time)

Most conservative Bible scholars believe the reference to the beast being slain and rising again has to do with one of the “empires” equaling one of the “heads.” We will have to get more into this in an upcoming article in this series. However, it appears that the beast who is slain ties in with Revelation 17:8, where this same beast is mentioned again as the one who “…was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.” This is likely referring to the Antichrist who actually manages to resurrect the ancient empire of Rome. The Antichrist is connected to the future revived Roman Empire. Because of this, the wording can be a bit confusing but if we consider that Antichrist is the one who brings the Roman Empire back from the dead, he is inextricably connected to that future empire, much like Caesar was connected with Rome. When Caesar was mentioned in ancient times, the connection to the Roman Empire was instantly also recognized. Caesar was Rome and mentioning either one meant the other. So it will be with Antichrist, who will, because of his gifted supernatural powers, actually recreate the old Roman Empire and people throughout the world will marvel at that feat. What will his name be? No idea until we see him, but it will be thoroughly connected with the empire that he raises from the dead. In the future, his name will be synonymous with his resurrected empire.

How they have tried to make the EU work, but it is splintered with countries leaving and wanting to leave. When Antichrist resuscitates the old Roman Empire, the world will be absolutely astounded. One future man will do what many have tried and failed to do (including the UN). He will not simply revive it, but will empower this “beast” (revived Roman Empire), with tremendous substance. The rest of the world will look on in wonder, probably wanting very much to be part of it.

While some commentators have stated that the Antichrist will die and rise again, imitating the death and resurrection of Jesus, it seems more likely to me that the coming Antichrist will have the miraculous ability to recreate the old Roman Empire that was but is not, and will be, modernizing it with supernatural miracles and today’s technology. Again, since the four beasts of Daniel 2 were all centered in roughly the same geographical area of the world, including the current EU, this future Roman Empire will also most likely be centered in that same geographical area and could ultimately include the entire world. I could probably spend three more articles on just this subject, but that would get tedious.

Next time, we’ll deal with the possible identities of the 7 heads and 10 horns before moving on. As you can imagine, there are numerous attempts to identify them. The connection with the 10 toes to the 10 horns is interesting. Of course, what I’m going to present are theories, so again, readers will need to continue to research and make up their own minds.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective