In part one of this series on the Beast of Revelation we saw that both the Prophet Daniel and the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzer had dreamed about four powerful empires that would greatly affect the world from the seventh century until the return of Jesus Christ.  The focus of this series is on the fourth Beast which, though not recognized by the Institutional Church, determines who is and who is not a child of the Biblical God in this age.  As the reader will see, the vast majority of church people obey the dictates of the ancient Beast which are diametrically opposed to the commands of the Biblical God.  The apostles began warning the church about this phenomenon soon after her founding on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.  God’s true ministers still warn religious people today and will do so until they go into the Great Tribulation.  Just prior to the beginning of that horrific period God will take His tiny, peculiar, rejected, obedient church–His “little flock” (Lk. 12:32)–to “her place” (Rev. 12:14) where she will be protected and provided for over the next 3 1/2 years while the world around her suffers unimaginable horror.  Throughout that time God’s two witnesses will remind sinful mankind of why they are being tormented (Rev. 11:3).  The following is an historical outline of the four empires seen in Daniel and Nebuchadnezzer’s dreams.  The  outline will tell the reader where our ancestors have been, where we are now and where we are going in terms of the spiritual and physical powers that have ruled mankind for the past 2000 years, who continue to rule mankind today and who will continue to rule mankind until Christ returns to clean up the mess man has created.  By far the most deadly mess involves religion.

Having introduced the four Biblically-identified empires that have played, continue to play and will continue to play significant roles in the lives of human beings, we will now look to secular history to learn who they were, where “one (#4) is” at the present time, where it will later be and, in general terms, when it will arrive on the scene and what will take place as a result of its arrival.  The first all-powerful kingdom to exercise its military muscle over the masses was the Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire depicted as a lion in Daniel’s vision and as the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzer’s dream.  This golden empire ruled from 625 to 539 B.C.  Next came the Persian (Medo-Persion) Empire (bear-silver) that ruled from 558-330 B.C.  Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire (brass-four-headed leopard) began in 333 B.C.  Alexander’s empire was short lived because of his untimely death at an early age.  The four heads represented his four generals who, following his death, split up his empire among themselves and ruled their respective domains.  The fourth power was the Roman Empire that ruled from 31 B.C. until 476 A.D. when it fell under its own weight of sin and corruption.  Biblically, this downfall is described as a “deadly wound” which the empire received in 476 A.D., but would be “healed” in 554 A.D.

In her prime the Roman Empire, greatly influenced by the Catholic Church, was by far the most powerful military force the world had ever seen.  However, due to internal decay it received the aforementioned “deadly wound” and, over several generations, was replace by a series of lesser rulerships which I will list in order to add clarity to the remainder of this series as we follow this Beastly governmental/religious entity unto the present time and on into the immediate future.  The Book of Revelation allows us to see that future in advance.  For brevity’s sake I will use the following format to name the various lesser kingdoms that replaced the Roman Empire between its fall in 476 B.C. and the unknown future.  Those kingdoms are: the Vandals (429-533 A.D.), the Huruli (476-493), the Ostrogoths (493-554 A.D.).  At this point Catholicism came to dominate the area once ruled by the Roman Empire.  One of its leaders–Justinian–brought about the empire’s “Imperial Restoration”–the “healing” of the  “deadly wound”–in 554 A.D. by uniting the two “legs” of Nebuchadnezzer’s dream statue.  Because of the church’s unification of the two “legs” of the defunct Roman Empire, Catholicism came to be recognized as the only true church.  Following the unification of the two legs and their unification with the church, the church-dominated “Holy” Roman Empire regained much of its former glory and maintained dominance throughout the region where it ruled supreme for several generations, though under a variety of names connected to the nationality of the people in charge.  First came the Frankish Kingdom which began in 774 A.D., the Holy Roman Empire which began in 962 A.D. (called “holy” because of the powerful influence of the Catholic Church), the Hapsburg Dynasty which began in 1520 A.D., Napoleon’s Kingdom which began in 1805, the Italian Kingdom which began in 1n 1870 and lasted until 1945 when it ended with her defeat.  Beginning in 554 A.D. the empires became and remained devoutly Catholic.

This brings us to the present day and into the future.  During the unknown amount of time between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Great Tribulation the ten toes/nations/horns of Nebuchadnezzer’s statue, having been cast into a “bottomless pit” (Rev. 9:2,11; 11:7; 17:8) disappeared from view.  During the middle of the 20th century this scattered, war-weakened group of European nations came back together and formed what was billed as a commercial enterprise.  That trading group has now become a political, economic and military powerhouse.  There is coming a time, very soon, when this new version of an ancient Beast will arise, become the world’s most powerful commercial and military nation and, from that position of power, will sink the world into the Great Tribulation/World War III.  This resurrected Beast will be comprised of ten nations (“horns”/”toes”), each headed by a “king” (president/prime minister) who will be controlled by the Dragon (Satan) of Revelation 13:2,4.  These “toes” (horns/nations) will form the resurrected Holy Roman Empire and will torment the world’s people for 2 1/2 years under the direction of its god–Satan.  This political/religious Beast is described in Revelation 17:1-5.  This all-powerful government/religious system will be headed by two men.  One is described as being a smooth-talking politician who will gain the top role in the Beast system by “flatteries.”  The other is called the False Prophet–a religious leader who will cause the world to worship the Beast and its “image.”  More on this later.

Following Satan’s political/religious Beast-inflicted Tribulation period, God will come forth and for one year–the Day of the Lord– He will punish mankind so horribly that it will make the Tribulation they will have just experienced pale by comparison.  During this time He will punish to the fullest the Beast system and the whore who “rides” (directs) its activities (Rev. 17:1-5)  Why will He send the world into the Great Tribulation where Satan will be allowed to torment mankind for 2 1/2 years?  Why will He Himself then do the same thing to those same people, only much worse, throughout the following year?  BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF MANKIND.

For the past 2000 years the merciful and loving God has warned man repeatedly about consequences of disobeying His Law.  He has spoken to man using such “voices” as sickness, pandemics, plagues, wars, floods, droughts, famines, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, financial disasters, invasion, social upheaval, etc. in an attempt to get man’s attention.  He has also blessed man with miracles in an attempt to draw him away from the false religions of the world such as Institutional Christianity, Hinduism, Mohammadism, etc. and to Himself.  He has sent His ministers to tell the world the truth about Himself and His Word.  But man, including so-called “Christian man,” has ignored His “voice,” choosing rather to listen to and obey the voice of Satan.  At present there are on earth over two billion unwitting servants of Satan who “know” they are saved, born again, etc.  The airwaves are filled with their leaders’ Satanic “only believe,” “I’m O.K., you’re O.K., we’re all O.K.,” “have it your way” messages.  Few, Jesus warned in Matthew 7:13,14, will hear His “My way only” voice from out of His Holy Bible and follow it.  Many will be called to do so, but few, He warned, will answer His call (Mat. 22:14).   L.J.