http://www.beholdthebeast.com/daniels_four_beasts.htmIn Daniel's chapter 7 dream we find: Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Daniel 7:4
The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings...Daniel 7:5
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear...Daniel 7:6
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard...Daniel 7:7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly...In the verse below we learn that in the figurative language of a vision or dream in prophecy, a "beast" is a kingdom or empire.
Daniel 7:23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.BEAST = KINGDOMThere is a broad agreement among Jewish and Christian scholars that the kingdoms represented by Daniel's
lion,
bear and
leopard, are the successive ancient kingdoms of
Babylon,
Medo-Persia and
Greece, followed by the fourth "terrible" beast, that is understood to be the Roman Empire. Even in quotes the first three "babylon medo persia greece"
produce over 17,000 hits.This conclusion is reached within the traditional
continuous-historic context of prophecy. This is simply the view that bible prophecy is fulfilled steadily, as the era about which it is written gradually unfolds. This is the context in which virtually all Christians and Jews understand Old Testament prophecy.
Below are maps of these successive kingdoms. Each of Daniel's beasts conquered the whole known world in it's turn.
Daniel 7:4
The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings...lion - Babylon
Daniel 7:5
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear...bear - Medo-Persia
Daniel 7:6
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard...leopard - Greece
Daniel 7:7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly...fourth "dreadful" - The Roman Empire
Daniel's lion, bear and leopard kingdom "beasts" as the successive kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece, reappear together in scripture only one more time - in Revelation Chapter 13 - but combined into a single 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's beast is "his")
The reverse order was perhaps because Daniel was forward looking at these kingdoms while John was looking backward at their fulfillment. This leopard-bear-lion beast was to continue 42 months. The seats of the ancient successive kingdom beasts of lion, bear and leopard that Daniel prophesied that we understand are
Babylon,
Medo-Persia and
Greece, are occupied today by the countries of
Iraq,
Iran, and
Syria/Lebanon. The dragon in the verse above is Satan.
While these countries and various 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 fundamental in Islam.
Iraq 97%, Iran 98%, Syria/Lebanon 90%/60% Islamic.
Sura 19:88
They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!" 89 Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=56.0Bible 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 illustration of the seat of the Islamic Empire "beast", and the countries that compose that seat today. However 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 is a map of the composite leopard-bear-lion "beast" (kingdom) and the spiritual condition of the Middle East today. (from a map at Wikimedia Commons)
Percentage of Islam by country: (scroll to bottom of this
link page for % by country largest to smallest %)
Leopard-Bear-Lion beast - The Islamic Empire
While 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. Revelation 19:20
And the beast [Islam]
was taken, and with him [kingdom/beast is a "his" in Daniel]
the false prophet [Mohammed]
that wrought miracles [see Strong's below]
before him, [in the Greek this means in the presence of the beast - Islam - Muslims]
with which he deceived them [Muslims]
that had received the mark [666]
of the beast, and them [Muslims]
that worshipped his image. [today's Islam and second Jihad in the image of the first Jihad. Jihad is holy worship in Islam]
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.http://www.66619.org/thequran.htmRevelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast [Islam]
and the false prophet [Mohammed]
[are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Here is a link to a verse by verse of Revelation 13.
miraclesNew Testament Greek Definition:
4592 semeion {say-mi'-on}
from a presumed derivative of the base of 4591; TDNT - 7:200,1015; n n
AV - sign 50, miracle 23, wonder 3, token 1; 77
1) a sign, mark, token
1a) that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from
others and is knownThe Quran certainly qualifies.
beforeNew Testament Greek Definition:
1799 enopion {en-o'-pee-on}
neuter of a compound of 1722 and a derivative of 3700;; prep
AV - before 64, in the sight of 16, in the presence of 7,
in (one's) sight 5, in (one's) presence 2, to 1, not tr 2; 97
1) in the presence of, before
1a) of occupied place: in that place which is before, or over against,
opposite, any one and towards which another turns his eyes
