Category Archives: Unfulfilled Prophecy

Watching Changes Behavior: False Christs

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Jesus said there will be many false christs

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.”
Mtt 24:5 WEB

Some religious people act, almost as if there is no such thing as a “false christ” or an “antichrist,” when Jesus says plainly that “many will come … saying, ‘I am the Christ.’” In fact, anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is an antichrist, 1Jn 2:22. Would not any false christ be an “antichrist,” no matter how you define the term, and Jesus does say that there will be many.

Some of these are locals of hidden origin, who soon fade away. Others have longer runs, but none to date have reached the scope of the “beast” described in Revelation 13, who “overcomes” the church, and has authority all who live on this earth, Rev 13:7. Rome NEVER “overcame” the church! Instead the church conquered the mighty Roman empire as prophesied in Dan 2:44, and many other passages, and as happened in history.

False christs are not just “end of the age” things

Many have claimed the “true” son of David. See “Lab Work ” in Prophecy Principles.

My first volume, Prophecy Principles, points that most of European royalty has been for centuries discreetly claiming to be descendants of Jesus Christ through Mary Magdalene! Some of them have also made claims as if they were the “current” “living Christ,” and examples are given in Prophecy Principles. This sure casts a new light on the phrase, “the divine right of kings.” This is not just about a few occult weirdos, even as Jesus also makes clear.

Christ’s Kingdom is NOT of this world!

This is a key point if you are to keep your bearings among the many outrageous claims which are often made.

“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.””
Jn 18:36 WEB.

Rather, it is of the world to come, the new heavens and new earth: heaven. But the false christs are seeking a kingdom in this world. Further, never loose sight of the fact that,

Jesus will never actually be on earth again!

We will meet Him in the air.

“16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, … The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord FOREVER.”
1Thes 4:16-17 WEB emphasis added

You may or may not like these verses, but they not vague. Don’t believe it if they say the Christ is here or there, Mtt 24:23.

“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner chambers,’ don’t believe it.”
Mtt 24:26 WEB

“What I tell you, I tell all: Watch.” Mk 13:37 KJV

Watching changes behavior. You look at events differently. It changes how you act. To not be watching is the caught unawares …

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Watching Changes Behavior: False Prophets

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There WILL BE many false prophets

“But there also arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.”
2Pe 2:1 WEB

Jesus gave us warnings also.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.”
Mtt 7:15 WEB

Some of the false prophets to come will be
incredibly convincing.

Some of the past false prophets and christs of the Christian Age are discussed in detail in Prophecy Principles in the section on “Lab Work.”

Clearly one will come very close to the very end of our age, “whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” 2Thes 2:9 WEB. Also one is called “the false prophet,” Rev 16:13. He is evidently the same one of whom it says “He had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon.” Rev 13:11 WEB. Of this special false prophet it says,

“He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people.”
Rev 13:13 WEB

Some of these will be so convincing they will almost be able to convince those who are chosen of God.

“For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.”
Mtt 24:24 WEB

Yes, some will be dramatically convincing, but it doesn’t seem to speak of such things as a “just at the end” thing, but rather as an age long thing. So this is about things any of us might run into at any point in the Christian Age.

There have been and ARE many false prophets

You see them all along in history, making claims as spokesmen for the Most High God Himself, but teaching things contrary to that which God has already said. At times they have absolutely ruined the church of our Lord in various locales and countries. Sometimes claiming inspiration they have raised arms and money but have been swiftly suppressed. At other times they have been able to command the financing to become world class conquerers, suppressing all opposition wherever they have gone, wiping out the church of our Lord in some places, and leaving the church to lead a hobbled existence for centuries in other places. These are not minor things in history, nor have they been small influences where they have touched the church of Lord.

How do you steel yourself for overwhelming
tests of faith?

How do you make sure you are not among the deceived? How do you cope with attempts to drag you into evil schemes? Running away from overwhelming odds is acceptable.

“But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next …”
Mtt 10:23 WEB

But even going to town requires gas and money. To flee to another country requires some forethought and preparation, or … you will trapped where you are.

“What I tell you, I tell all: Watch.” Mk 13:37 KJV

KJV is the King James Version, 1611

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The World in Prophecy: A World to Come

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The word ai?n of age is also used of the age to come, the world to come, forever.

Ai?n is often used in the sense of forever

“ … For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’”
Mtt 6:13 WEB

Or again when Jesus warns of speaking evil of the Holy Spirit of God, He says,

“but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
MK 3:29 WEB

That is to say, that is a sin that lasts into the age of the ages. Similarly, of Jesus it was said.

“and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his kingdom.”
Lk 1:33 WEB

There will be an End to this Present Age

That was described the last post on “The World in Prophecy: This World will Pass Away.” In the parable of the tares/weeds in Matthew 13, Jesus says,

“The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.”
Mtt 13:39 WEB

So also He says.

“As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.”
Mtt 13:40 KJV

Matthew 24 is among other things, in part about the end of this world, this age of wickedness.

“ … the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?””
Mtt 24:3 WEB

And there is a world to come

“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.”
Mtt 12:32 WEB

When in Hebrews chapter one the author describes man finally achieving rulership over ALL things, says,

“For he didn’t subject the world to come, whereof we speak, to angels.”
Heb 2:5 WEB

No, it is to be subject to forgiven and saved and glorified mankind. There is an age to come. If you loose something here because of serving Christ, do not worry about it.

“but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life.”
Mk 10:30 WEB

That is to says, age unending life. This is commonly called “Heaven.”

A key to reading many prophecies

Is that a prophecy about this present earth? Or is that a prophecy about “… new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.” 2Pe 3:13 WEB

Many confuse prophecies of the new heavens and the new earth, with this present earth, and come up with a heaven on earth which will never be.

And Jesus will be with His own all the way.

“ … “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Mtt 28:20 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The World in Prophecy: This World will Pass Away

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Entropy, described in the previous post on “The World in Prophecy: Ruined by Rebellion,” assures that this will finally happen.

Peter says it will happen this way

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
2Pe 3:10 WEB

Man’s situation will be in the end intolerable, and Jesus will intervene.

“7 … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 giving vengeance to those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus,”
2Thes 1:7-9

Isaiah gives us more details

No one will be able to escape, unless God is with him.

“17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are on you, O inhabitant of the earth. 18 It shall happen, that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he who comes up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.”
Isa 24:17-18

The earth will be moved out of its place, and torn apart in this final phase of the universe passing away.

“19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is torn apart, the earth is shaken violently. 20 The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway back and forth like a hammock; and the disobedience of it shall be heavy on it, and it shall fall, AND NOT RISE AGAIN”
Isa 24:19-20 WEB (emphasis added)

Psalms prophetically tells us this universe will be
put away like an old coat

“25 Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure.
Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.”
Psa 102:25-26 WEB

“Wear out like a garment.” Yes, entropy. Then the new will come. This of course is also quoted in Hebrews 1.

The prisoners will gathered together

“21 It shall happen in that day, that Yahweh will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. 22 They shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be visited.”
Isa 24:21-22 WEB

Jesus tells us that,

“31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ”
Mtt 25:31-32 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: Mystery Babylon

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life. Now Mystery Babylon the Great is first seen by John in a deserted place in Rev 17:4. Despite that, her operations come to be centered in a particular city, called “the great city,” Rev 16:19, etc.

Yes, Mystery Babylon is a false religion

She is evidently a “mystery religion,” a special type of religion that is either secret or semi-secret. See the earlier post on “Mystery Religions: An Overview.”

Yes, Mystery Babylon is very rich

So rich that she can make kings or other merchants rich, Rev 18:3, and she is dressed in the most expensive finery that can be imagined, Rev 17:4.

Yes, Mystery Babylon is very nasty

She drinks from a golden cup filled with the filthy fluids of fornication, Rev 17:4.

Yes, Mystery Babylon is drunk with the
blood of the saints, Rev 17:6

Yes, Mystery Babylon is ALSO a business entity

Such a success is she, that she can make others rich, as has been shown. I call her a religio-commercial entity. When she falls it says,

“11 The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more; 12 merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, bodies, and people’s souls.”
Rev 18:11-13 WEB

Yes, Mystery Babylon evidently was working
in the first century of our age

Yes, Babylon is in existence until near
the end of our present universe

Mystery Babylon and the beast work together to “overcome” Christianity near the end, Rev 13:7. Then the beast and ten kings work to destroy Mystery Babylon completely within history, Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

Then, the beast is personally destroyed by Jesus Second Coming and thrown alive into hell, Rev 19:20.

So Mystery Babylon exists and works and sells, all through the Christian Age, until very near the end of our present universe.

Yes, evidently many Christians evidently have worked
for Mystery Babylon, age long

Scripture does not seem to indicate that many Christians are part of the Satanic Mystery of Lawlessness. But it does indicate this of Mystery Babylon. I don’t think it is indicating necessarily that they are all part of the secret cult, but rather that they work for her businesses and do not realize of what they have become a part.

Christians are commanded to come out of
Mystery Babylon the Great

“4 heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues, 5 for her sins have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities.”
Rev 18:4-5 WEB

Scripture is here assuming that Mystery Babylon is recognizable, and that we can come out of her … unless we are in the dark!

These prophecies are pertinent to the ENTIRE Christian age

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: The Man of Lawlessness

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life.

A World Wide Revolt against ALL authority must happen
BEFORE the Second Coming

We should not be shook up as if the Second Coming has already happened, 2Thes 2:2. A great revolt against God must happen first, 2Thes 2:3. The Greek word is apostasia, and its main meaning is a defection, a revolt. Louw & Nida in their Greek-English Lexicon … 1989, UBS, NY, says it means “to rise up in open defiance of authority, with the presumed intention to overthrow it or to act in complete opposition to its demands …” (emphasis added). It is a much stronger word than the English word “apostasy,” or the KJV “falling away.” Translations that right on target in this instance include the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New English Translation Bible (NET), both of which translates it as a “rebellion.”

A special “man of lawlessness” will be worshipped

as the one and only “god,” 2Thes 2:4

He will be accompanied by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” 2Thes 2:9 WEB. The whole world, all of the unsaved, will worship this man, and God Himself will help this man deceive the lost, 2Thes 2:10-11 WEB.

This man will be destroyed BY THE
SECOND COMING of Christ, 2Thes 2:8

So this is talking about things just before the end of our present universe.

Nothing this big has EVER happened.

No king, no revolutionary, no president, no religious leader, has ever been this big … so far! But Jesus says Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35. This man is called “the beast” in Revelation. It says of when John is writing the book of Revelation, that this man,

“… was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. …”
Rev 17:8 WEB.

Then here is the Clincher:

There is a Mystery Religion that “already works”
in the first century of our age.

and which will work

until it seats this “god,” 2Thes 2:7

There have been, and there are, continual attempts throughout the Christian age to seat such a man as the “true” and one-and-only “god” of this world. You and I have read of such men in history, often without realizing the ultimate objectives.

Prophecy Principles describes some of the false christs of the Christian Age in the section called “Lab Work.”

Some of the men who have claimed the be current “savior” are reviewed in my book Prophecy Principles, in the section called “Lab Work, What does all of this mean to me?” The Christian age has been filled with false christs.

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.”
Mtt 24:5 WEB

If it will mean eternal destruction to worship this final false “god” in history, how much worse would it be to be sucked in by one of the many failures down through history, not realizing of what we have become a part.

There is even a competition among various occult groups world-wide, to see who will be able to produce the “real” “beast” of Revelation.

These prophecies are pertinent to the ENTIRE Christian age

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: The Second Coming

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life. It was shown in the previous posts that this is true even of everyday things in life. Also it is also true of the outstanding powers and events of our age. Know and believe these prophesies, and it will change your conduct! In fact knowing these things is necessary for changing our conduct for the good.

Jesus is coming again, to judge the world

“For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2Cor 5:10 WEB

He will come in flaming fire, 2Thes 1:7; and,

“… there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known.”
Mtt 10:26 WEB

“10 But the day of the Lord will come

“as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore since all these things are thus to be destroyed, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy living and godliness,”
2Pe 3:10-11 WEB

The prophecies themselves beg their own importance to our future … and if believed will radically alter our conduct. Really that is true of all prophecy. Isaiah 13 describes it this way.

“10 For the stars of the sky and the constellations of it shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. 11 I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity: and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
Isa 13:10-11 WEB

And what is the penalty?

“9 who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed …”
2Thes 1:9-10 WEB

Remember! You and I will be there … somewhere!

We may be on the ground looking up as the saints arise to meet Jesus. Or we may be among the saints rising to meet Jesus in the air, and

“… who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.”
2Thes 4:17 WEB

But on the ground or in the air, we will be there, for it says,

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.”
Rev 1:5 WEB

Prophecy is never just a theoretical exercise.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: Our Jobs

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life.

You might say, It is just a prophecy.

“ 23 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
Col 3:23-24 WEB

Paul tells us to do certain things. These are commands. In fact, these commands even apply to Slaves. In the verse just before these, it says,

“Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.”
Col 3:22 WEB

But the word translated a “Servants” here (and also in the KJV) is really the Greek word dulos, or slave. So these commands even apply if you are a slave. Also it includes a good reason for the command.

Prophecy is NEVER pointless sayings
about the future.

Paul says that the reason you should do good work, even if you are a slave, and act in good conscience not just as men-pleasers, is because you “will receive the reward of the inheritance.” Even if you are a slave, the present reality is that “you serve Christ.” These verses promise a heavenly reward for good service in your “secular” job.

And it goes beyond what we might do that is right.

“But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.”
Col 3:25 WEB

It is talking about what we “will” receive. It is like the prophecy in Romans 2.

“9 oppression and anguish, on every soul of man who works evil, on the Jew first, and also on the Greek. Rom. 2:10   But glory and honor and peace to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.”
Rom 2:9-11 WEB

Naturally this has to be talking about the future, and it is. For this is surely not a present reality in this present evil age, is it? No, clearly in context this is speaking of the final “day of wrath,” Rom 2:5.

And it applies to Masters also

“Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”
Col 4:1 WEB

Notice that in context it implies that even a slave can be mistreated, something many down through history would not acknowledge. Still it is all in the context of coming judgement and rewards or punishments, and clearly indicates that any master who mistreats his slave, servant or employee will be in for judgment for his actions in the end! Many other passages speak of the same. Compare for instance James 5:1-6.

All of this is of future reality which SHOULD
alter conduct in the present

Prophecy has never been a neutral entity,

Test it. See if what I have told you is so.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: Evangelism

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life.

We must acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord,
and declare His word to men.

“9 that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Rom 10:9-10 WEB

Sometimes we reduce this command to a formal acknowledgment of Jesus at our baptism, but that is not how it is stated here. It is true that we must be prepared to acknowledge Jesus as Lord from the time of our entering the body of Christ, the assembly, the church, Eph 1:22-23.

That word “confess” in Rom 10:9 is the Greek word homologe?. It has the sense of acknowledging, admitting, agreeing, or yes, even the King James Version sense of confessing that Jesus is our Lord.

This is also really a very personal prophecy of what “will be” for “you” and for me, given certain conditions. If we “will” acknowledge Jesus before men, and believe in our hearts that He is that special One of God who was raised from the dead, THEN “you will be saved.” That is a statement of future condition, depending and what we will do or not do.

This is all about FUTURE RESULTS OF WHAT WE DO NOW. We believe this, or not. We think it is so and try to do it, and do it or do not.

Acknowledging Jesus is also in other passages.

“32 Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Mtt 10:32-33 WEB

Yes it is that same Greek word homologe?. IF you will, then He will, it predicts, it promises, it prophesies.

“I am with you to the end of the age.”

“19 Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mtt 28:19-20 WEB.

A statement of Christ’s being with us, even in the future, even to the end of the age. If we believe it, then we may have the courage to do as He has commanded.

If we are ashamed of Jesus?

“For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.””
Mk 8:38 WEB

Is this not ALSO prophecy of what will be.

How can anyone say all prophecy has been fulfilled. How can anyone say that a prophecy of what will be, does not matter!

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Why Types Can Confuse: So much is Missing.

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Exaggerated language, hyperbole, overstatements, are all over in prophecy. Quite often these things indicate that the immediate subject is a type of more distant fulfillments.

Take some of the kings of all the earth.

First let us take Nebuchadnezzar. God told him.

“37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.”
Dan 2:37-38 WEB

This heading does qualify the rule give to Nebuchadnezzar as being to all of the inhabited world. Even so that is open to question (not meaning to question God you understand, but to try to understand what He meant). For there were many lands that were inhabited which Nebuchadnezzar did not rule. That included India and China, and what we now call Russia. Nor did he rule Rome or Greece, which soon come up.

Then it says of the Medo-Persian Empire that it “shall bear rule over ALL the earth.” Dan 2:39 WEB. Once again, not so, at least literally and completely, even though to those of the Mid-East it did seem as if he ruled over everything. You can almost hear the discussions in Bible classes. How can the Bible say that. Really that is not true!

And going on to other rulers.

There is a vision of four empires as four beasts in Daniel 7. The first, ancient Babylon, was like lion with the wings of an eagle, Dan 7:4. The second was like a bear, evidently indicating Medo-Persia, Dan 7:5. The third was like a leopard with four wings on its back, and in context clearly indicates Greece. Fourth was a beast with iron teeth, indicating Rome. I cannot pretend to say that I know all of the inferences that are involved but some observations can be made.

Clearly ancient Babylon is symbolic of Mystery Babylon
the Great of Revelation.

Clearly Mystery Babylon will have a world-wide commercial empire and she is one who “reigns over the kings of the earth.” Rev 17:18.

It says of the “beast” and his empire,

“The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. …”
Rev 13:2 WEB

Is this saying Satan’s final empire is like Greece, and Medo-Persia and Babylon … all rolled into one?

Jesus assures us,

“… not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. ”
Mtt 5:18 WEB

The “contradictions,” the exaggerated language, the things which just don’t fit,

… those things would be the key to whether the immediate subject is symbolic of some distant fulfillment. The we start thinking and searching. Where does the symbolic fit into what is clear?

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901