From a more detailed web page with lots more links. Best viewed there.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/the_beast.htmBest to background with "Daniel's Four Beasts" first.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=11.0Daniel's
lion, bear and leopard kingdom "beasts" discussed
in Daniel's prophecy, reappear together in scripture only one more time - in Revelation Chapter 13 - but combined into a composite "beast" - kingdom.
Revelation 13:2
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Daniel
assigned the masculine gender to kingdom beasts)
This beast was to continue
42 months. The seats of the ancient successive kingdom beasts of lion, bear and leopard - Babylon, Medo-Persia & Greece - that Daniel prophesied of, are occupied today by the countries of Iraq, Iran, and Syria/Lebanon. The dragon in the verse above is Satan.
While these countries and sects of Islam may have differences, and some with national sovereignty, they are united spiritually through following the false prophet Mohammed, and by their holy book the Quran. As a result they are filled with the spirit of antichrist because their belief that God has no Son, or "shirk", is the most important element in Islam.
Bible prophecy is ethnographic and therefore is largely about the Middle East. Terms like "whole world" are likely not about Peoria Illinois. "that deceiveth the whole world" - Strong's explains: 3625 oikoumene {oy-kou-men'-ay} 1) the inhabited earth 1a) the portion of the earth inhabited by the Greeks, in distinction from the lands of the barbarians 1b) the Roman empire, all the subjects of the empire
The sketch map above is an excellent illustration of the seat of the Islamic Empire "beast", and the countries that compose that seat today. But the Lord's interest isn't likely to lie in the artificial boundaries of men, but rather in the spiritual condition of mankind. The spirit of antichrist, in this case. Each of Daniel's successive kingdoms conquered the whole known world (Middle East area) in its turn.
Below are maps of the succession of kingdoms that Daniel wrote of, that ruled the Middle East.
There is broad consensus on the identity of these beasts. As we learned on the prior page, Daniel defines a beast as a kingdom when used in the figurative language of a dream or vision in prophecy.
BEAST = KINGDOMLion - BabylonBear - Medo-PersiaLeopard - GreeceDaniel's 4th "dreadful" beast - Roman Empire
Not included in John's leopard-bear-lion beast description.
Below is a map of the composite leopard-bear-lion "beast" (kingdom) and the spiritual condition of the Middle East today.
Leopard-Bear-Lion - Islamic EmpireWhile some Muslims may be unaware that
other Muslims mark the Quran with the number 666, former PLO terrorist Walid Shoebat also said that the moment he saw the GREEK symbol for 666, he read it as the ARABIC symbol for "Bismillah", or "in the name of Allah". There are ISLAMIC web sites that discuss how the number 666 demonstrates the perfection of the Quran, and that the Quran "is the 666". This number association of 666 was prophesied in Scripture 500 years before Mohammed was born and is explored more completely on this page.
Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.On this link are videos of Muslims who have come to know the love of God.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/the_beast.htm[edit add 2-3-13]
Rev 13:1
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 10 horns = 10 caliphates?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate#End_of_the_Caliphate.2C_1924History
1.1 Rashidun, 632–661
1.2 Umayyads, 7th–8th centuries
1.2.1 The Caliphate in Hispania
1.3 Abbasids, 8th–13th centuries
1.4 Fatimids, 10th–12th centuries
1.5 Shadow Caliphate, 13th–16th centuries
1.6 Ottomans, 16th–20th century
1.7 Sokoto, 19th century
1.8 Ahmadiyya Caliphate, 1908-Present
1.9 Khilafat Movement, 1920
1.10 End of the Caliphate, 1924
[end edit 2-3-13]