True Christianity for Real Believers
Summary: Written/Published Sept. ’24: Scripture speaks of three different prophetic characters that will wield civil/political power in the end times to the detriment of Israel’s best interests and safety. The study of bible prophecy is about God’s government of the world and centers around Israel. At this time His government is not direct from heaven above, but what we acknowledge as providential control and oversight, mysterious and hidden as it so often is. The hindering/restricting of the full ripening and display of Satanic power is by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the true church still on the earth (2 Thess. 2:3-8). But the removal of the body of Christ from the earth (the rapture event) will end God’s providential restraint, and evil powers, both religious and political, will quickly ripen to their full extent. Satan will bring forth three evil characters in the tribulation time. This article is the first of three concerning this topic.
Note: These characters of evil described in these articles will be found in the future tribulation. The saints will be raptured before the tribulation begins. God’s purpose for the warnings involving evil in His prophetic word is so believers may understand the final form/results it will have and therefore be spiritually wise as to the growth and ripening of evil today, both in the world and in Christendom. Rest assured, we can be confident the Lord will come for those who are “in Christ” and are His, before the full ripening of evil is manifest (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
It is a given that everyone has heard something about a future Antichrist. Most people have come to believe he will be the head of a future singular global government centered in Europe in the last days. But we have shown from Scripture in a previous article that there will be a Caesar as head of a revived Roman Empire in Europe (in the east) and distinct from him, an Antichrist as king/ruler over Israel (in the west). Here is the link to that article – [https://www.reintgenchristianbooks.com/prophecy-fundamentals-antichrist/ ]
We will not repeat here all the content of that previous article. However, we will list for you the scriptural references we may use to identify and separate these prophetic end time characters. There are three which Scripture speaks of: the Caesar as head of a revived Roman empire, the Antichrist as a kingly power in Palestine/Israel, and the Assyrian, the king of the north, from the area of present-day Turkey. This article will deal with the revival of the ancient Roman empire along with its emperor/Caesar.
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the glorious image in Daniel two and Daniel’s visions of the four beasts coming out of the Great Sea in Daniel seven are similar to each other in that both prophecies speak of the progression and relative unity of four Gentile imperial world powers — Babylon, Mede-Persia, Greece and Rome. By the time Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem there was a Caesar as head of the empire ruling in Rome. The empire itself is represented symbolically by the two legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2:33, 40), and later by the fourth beast in Daniel’s vision (Dan. 7:7, 19, 23). In John’s vision in Revelation twelve, Satan himself takes this symbol as god of this world when seeking to devour the Woman’s male Child, the one destined to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:1-5). The Woman is Israel, and the Child is Jesus Christ.
These prophetic symbols found in Scripture representing the Roman empire all have features indicating a revived form rising in the last days before Jesus returns (rising during the future tribulation). In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream this revived form is “the feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (Dan. 2:33, 41-43). In Daniel’s vision the empire’s future revival is depicted by its ten horns and the distinct understanding of a little horn coming up to overcome three, while the other horns then give their power to him (Dan. 7:8, 11, 20-21, 24-26). The existence of ten horns on the beast is also found in John’s visions recorded in the Revelation (Rev. 13:1, 17:3). The horns point to the empire’s future revival because they have never existed in the empire’s previous history and will be part of the beast when it is judged and destroyed in the future (Dan. 7:11, 24-26). This characteristic is confirmed in John’s vision (Rev. 17:12-14). In the vision of Revelation thirteen the ten horns have ten crowns, indicating their concurrent ruling as part with the beast during the last years of the future tribulation.
Two phrases describing the Roman beast in the interpretation the angel gives John of his vision in Revelation seventeen provides even more evidence of the future revival of the Roman empire. “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition,” and “…when you see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present.” (Rev. 17:8) The Roman empire existed in the past, does not exist at this present time, but will revive back into existence at a future time. “The ascending out of the bottomless pit” phrase means this future form of the empire will be the full ripening of satanic deception and evil in the last days (Rev. 13:2, 5-6). Because it is the last of the beasts given empire-type dominion, “the going into perdition” phrase references God’s final judgment of Gentile civil/political power before He establishes His kingdom on earth at the beginning of the millennium.
We must remember that Daniel’s vision of the Roman beast preceded John’s visions by hundreds of years. For John the Roman empire was already in existence and with intimidation ruling the known world. By the time we see the beast in the last book of Scripture it has seven heads (Rev. 13:1, 17:3, 7). The heads have a two-fold interpretation. First, they mean seven hills/mountains – this is the geographical location of the city of Rome, the city of the seven hills (Rev. 17:9). The beast represents the civil power of a revived Roman empire. The angel goes on to tell John the seven heads also mean seven distinct forms of ruling power that characterized the history of the empire: 1.) kings 2.) consuls 3.) dictators 4.) decemvirs 5.) military tribunes These five were fallen (Rev. 17:10). 6.) emperors This was the “one is” or the present form of power in the lifetime of John. The seventh had yet to come and will be transient (continuing a short time).
Rev. 17:11
“And the beast that was, and is not, himself also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.”
Thus, the angel’s interpretation fixes the heads, not only in connection with the geographical location of a Roman seat, but to the distinct and complete changes of the empire’s ruling powers, indicating that the last is the eighth, and one of the seven previous ones. The eighth will be a revival of the imperial powers invested in an emperor. At its very end, this form of government will characterize the last leader of the empire, a likeness of the Caesars. This will be the form of ruling power from the past, from the time of Jesus and John, which will return to life as the eighth head, causing the world to marvel and follow the Roman beast (Rev. 13:3).
Scripture also distinguishes between the Roman Empire as a beast and the last Caesar as its ruling/controlling head.
Daniel 7:7-8
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
“I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
In Daniel’s visions there were four beasts that came out of the sea in secession – out of the Gentile peoples. They would be empires that God would allow to rule the known world. The first three in order were Babylon, Mede-Persia and Greece (Dan. 7:1-6). The Roman empire succeeded Greece and is the fourth beast. It existed and ruled when Jesus came at first. However, it doesn’t exist today – it “is not” according to John’s vision and the language of the angel’s interpretation in Revelation seventeen. Regardless of its present absence, the ten horns will be part of the revived empire during the future tribulation (Dan. 7:24, Rev. 17:12). The little horn becomes the ruling power of the revived Roman beast (Dan. 7:8, 20-21, 24-25). Part of what characterizes him will be his having “eyes like the eyes of a man” — he will be well known for his extraordinary intelligence and human insight (Dan. 7:8). The other part is his pride and audacious blasphemies (Dan 7:8, Rev. 13:5). Obviously, the little horn of Daniel seven is a human personage. He is the reason the fourth beast is destroyed by divine judgment and given to the burning flame at the return of the Son of Man from heaven (Dan. 7:11-14, 20-22, 24-26).
God’s judgment of the fourth beast is direct and destructive. This is different from the first three beasts — they lost their dominion when the next one in order came up taking its place. This succession was the providential control/action of God. But the judgment of the revived Roman beast in the future tribulation will be distinctive — “I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame (Dan. 7:11). This fulfills and brings to an end “the times of the Gentiles” the Lord spoke of (Luke 21:24). It means the end of all Gentile world power that we saw in these empires. God will set up His kingdom on the earth in and through the glorified Son of Man.
In the 70-week prophecy in Danial nine, the last Caesar of the future revived Roman empire is “the prince who is to come,” who makes a seven-year agreement (the future seven-year tribulation) with unbelieving Israel (Dan. 9:26-27) – “Then he shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week.” It’s a 7-year agreement he makes which allows animal sacrifices and Jewish worship to be restored in a future temple in Jerusalem. This prophecy identifies this future prince as associated with the people who would destroy the city and temple (v. 26). The Romans are those people — they did this in 70 AD. This fact confirms that the prince who will come and make this future agreement, will be the Caesar ruling over a revived Roman empire. But after 3 ½ years, he will break this agreement and institute idolatry – “But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations…” Abominations always refer to idolatry.
In the book of Revelation there is no little horn symbol. Rather, in these visions the individual who rules the beast is seen as the beast himself.
Rev. 17:12-13 (NKJV)
“And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”
This verse confirms that the ten horns refer to a future time. They are ten kings/kingdoms in the west (Europe) who merge to form this resurrection of the empire. They are ten individuals who give their power and authority to another individual, here referred to as the beast. This individual is the emperor/Caesar. This chapter exposes an interesting event destined to take place in the future tribulation, one involving the ten horns and the Caesar. God will uses them to destroy the harlot. [the harlot is apostate Christianity in the future tribulation time. Her capital is also the city of Rome — “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” Her overwhelming influence is Roman Catholicism. God will have put it in the hearts of the ten kings and the Caesar to destroy the harlot — “These will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire (Rev. 17:16-17).] This is the judgment of apostate Christendom after the rapture of the true church before the tribulation begins.
Rev. 19:19-20 (NKJV)
“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet…These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
The beast mentioned here is also not referring to the empire, but the individual head, its Caesar. Whomever this person is, when Jesus returns, he will be thrown alive into the lake of fire as his place of eternal judgment.
The last vision we will consider of the Roman beast is in Revelation thirteen (Rev. 13: 1-8). The first part is about the general character of the empire: it is from the Gentiles (out of the sea), it will have ten horns (formed by a conglomerate of European nations), and its form of government will be the revival of imperial powers in an emperor (the mortally wounded head being healed, v.3). But, when it says he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, we must be speaking of a person, the ruling emperor (v. 5). He will be profoundly atheistic and like many of Rome’s previous Caesars, accepts worship of himself as a god (v. 4). His activity will last for forty-two months – the last 3 ½ years of the 7-year tribulation (v. 5).