a reply to:
infolurker
You might like to check these identifications of the Four Beasts:
In Daniel 12:4, Daniel is told to shut up the [meanings of] the words, and [to] seal the book until the time of the end .
The recent revelations of the meanings of Daniel's visions is proof that we are actually living in End Times.
The Image of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the Four Great Beasts are traditionally identified as being the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and
Roman Empires, with the Revived Holy Roman Empire still expected to come.
These traditional identifications fail to meet the criteria of these visions, so they can't be right. In the vision of the Image, a ‘rock cut
without hand’ strikes the Image on its feet and the WHOLE of the Image crumbles from this blow. How would anything striking an empire that is still
to come, cause the demolition of all of these ancient civilizations? They are already long-gone and dead.
In the vision of the Four Great Beasts, the fourth Beast is slain and the three former Beasts continue on for a year and a season , yet without their
former dominion. If the former Beasts are the ancient civilizations of Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and/or Roman, then how can they continue for
a set period when they are already a part of history?
No, there is another far more relevant identification that fits all the Biblical criteria which will affects all of us today! The fact that there is
revelation and the unsealing of the Book of Daniel proves that these are End Days. It is not based on a geo-political scenario but is based on
religious nations, specifically those that use the Bible.
The first Beast is described as "The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted
up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." (Daniel 7:4 RAV)
The lion is an expression used in the NT where the Son of God is described as the ‘Lion of Judah' . While the expression ‘eagle's wings' is used
to describe how God led the children of Israel out of Egypt. So here the Messianic Son as the Lion of Judah is described as the ‘eagle's wings' of
God's plan of Salvation for mankind.
With this being the case, how has the lion been made to stand in an unnatural stance, how have these wings been stripped from the lion and how has a
man's heart has been given to it? There is only one case in the whole of the history of mankind where has such a thing been done and that was at the
Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
This was an historic meeting where effectively Christianity was separated from Judaism by the non-Biblical changes in the day of worship from Saturday
to Sunday, worship from God the Father to God the Son Jesus Christ, and the religious festivals from the Biblical festivals of Leviticus to Christmas
and Easter. In effect, changes were also made to the timing and purposes of the religious seasons.
"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth
of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." (Daniel 7:5 RAV)
Christianity in around 1015 AD divided into two camps; the Eastern and Western Churches. Today we would know these as the Greek Orthodox and the Roman
Catholic Churches and they finally split over the addition of the word ‘filioque' to the creed, which changed ‘the Holy Spirit proceeding from the
Father' to ‘the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son'.
This emergence of the Roman Catholic Church is the Bear described by Daniel. The Roman Catholic Church defines Mary as ‘Co-Redemptrix' of the world.
In other words, she is recognized as Co-Redeemer of the world along with her son, Jesus Christ and this is the lop-sidedness of Daniel's Bear; the son
being elevated slightly higher than the mother or vice versa, depending on how you look at it and who you venerate more.
The three ribs which denote devouring much flesh are shorthand descriptions of the three Inquisitions; Papal, Spanish and Universal.
"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 RAV)
The word ‘Leopard' means ‘mutant lion' which shows that this Beast is a mutated or watered down version of the Lion which is the Greek Orthodox
Church. This Beast is the Protestant Church which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation in 1517 AD. It effectively
has four heads or four mainstreams; Calvinism, Lutheran, Anglican and Anabaptist or Wesleyan (Methodist). This last one is depending on which source
you use.
The Fourth and most terrible Beast is not identified as a particular animal because this last Beast will consist of the worst traits of the first
three combined. The Beast from the Sea (the Antichrist) is described as appearing to be a Leopard , with the mouth of a Lion and the feet of a Bear.
This means that we can quickly identify the elements of the Image of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream as the Head of Gold being the Jewish faith, the
silver the Greek Orthodox, the bronze as the Roman Catholic Church and the Iron legs as Protestantism. Each subsequent metal being inferior.
The feet are of clay and this is not made of the same material as the previous ones, so we know we're not looking at a religious organization as such.
However, recognition and identification of these feet of clay come from a different Biblical source.
The Fourth Beast in Daniel 7 is described as having ten horns and a Little Horn comes up and plucks three of these ten horns; so it could be said that
this Little Horn is the eighth [horn] and is of the seven [other horns], which is exactly the Biblical description used to describe the
horns/heads/kings of the Scarlet Beast in Revelation 17:11.
From the clues given in Revelation chapter 17, this Scarlet Beast is euphemistically identified as ‘Rome', which is the Roman Catholic faith but
identification of seven heads in particular usually fails because there has been such a long line of popes.
A little recognized fact is that only the last eight Popes have been crowned as the royal and sovereign kings of that tiny kingdom known as the
Vatican City. These are the seven kings which are also the seven hills on which this city sits. There are actually eight hills, if you count the
Janiculum and there is also an eighth King who is going to perdition [destruction], who is the Antichrist and Satan gives the Beast from the Sea [aka
the Antichrist] ‘… his power, his throne, and great authority’. Revelation 13:2
This COUNTRY is the feet of clay because it forms a secular power-base, so that the Pope as Sovereign of that nation, is on level-par with the leaders
of other Protestants and Orthodox countries, and as Pope he also rules over and can call upon the leaders of Catholic countries to rally to his cause
supporting Jesus Christ; which ultimately will be the Battle of Armageddon.
It also ties in with my previous post on this same topic about the identity of the Antichrist.