here did our uplifted western civilization come from? How did we manage as a culture to escape from the barbarism of past ages and less fortunate nations? How were we able as a people to create a nation of freedoms and rights in the midst of a religiously intolerant world? Turn with me to Daniel chapter 7, written in 553 B.C., where world history from ancient to modern times has been portrayed in biblical symbolism. (We use the historicist approach to Bible prophecy and each lesson is illustrated with color drawings).

Four wild animals follow one after the other -- each representing one of the great empires of history. These four wild animals have caused all the wars and bloodshed throughout history.

Notice that the beasts rise from the "sea" of humanity (Isa. 8:7; 17:12; Jer. 46:7). These "waters" are "peoples ... and nations" (Rev. 17:15).

BABYLON (745-539 B.C.): "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings; I beheld till its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it" (Dan. 7:4). NEBUCHADNEZZAR is actually called a "LION" in Jeremiah 4:7 when compared with 25:9. The eagle's wings typify "SWIFTER than EAGLES" (Jer. 4:13). Chaldeans "shall fly like the EAGLE that HASTETH to eat" (Hab. 1:8). Babylonian sculptures of animals that have lion's bodies, feet of an ox, eagle's wings and heads of men are preserved in the British Museum. Lion-eagle creatures were common representations of their deity Bel. The lion is represented on cylinder seals and game boards. A series of weights of the king's standards were in the form of lions. A lion statue guarded the entrance of the sanctuary and a lion stele sat beside the throne. Lions were stamped on the clay bricks for Nebuchadnezzar's buildings. The Lion was frequently represented in the glazed and colored brick walls of temples and palaces. Sixty lion statues lined the Processional Way leading through the famous Ishtar Gate in the capital city, Babylon. Babylonians are described as being like both a lion (Isa. 5:25-30; Jer. 4:6,7,13; cf. 25:9,38; 49:19,22; 50:17,44) and an eagle in many scriptures (Deut. 28:49-53; 2 Kings 25:1-11; Jer. 49:19-22; Lam. 4:19; Ezek. 17:1-5,11-14; Hab. 1:6-8).

MEDO-PERSIA (539-331 B.C.): "And behold, another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had THREE RIBS in the mouth of it between its teeth; and they said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh" (Dan. 7:5). Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. and then appointed Darius the Mede king (Dan. 5:31; 9:1). Just as the ram pushed west, north and south (Dan. 8:4) so BABYLON (539 B.C.) and LYDIA (546 B.C.) fell to Cyrus and EGYPT was acquired by Cambyses (525 B.C.). These were the three empires conquered or the THREE RIBS in the bear's mouth. Notice that the breast and TWO "arms of silver" (Dan. 2:32) correspond to the "ram which had TWO horns" (Dan. 8:3,20) and to the TWO sides of the BEAR. They typify the "Medes and Persians" (Dan. 5:28). The BEAR "raised up ... on one side" (Dan. 7:5) corresponds to the "higher (horn which) came up last" (Dan. 8:3). Persia was a younger nation than Media but more prominent than Media. A bear is a huge, slow-moving, unwieldy, clumsy animal symbolizing a huge army claiming 1 million men taking a longer time to prepare and move but with formidable strength (1 Sam. 17:34; Amos 5:19; Hosea 13:8; Isa. 13:17) since the army was strong and fierce (Isa. 13:15-18). For instance, when Xerxes wished to attack the Greeks, he required over four years to organize his mighty army, numbering 1,700,000 men (Her. 7:60). At the Battle of Arbela in 331 B.C., Alexander the Great conquered Medo-Persia.

GREECE (331-63 B.C.): "After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a fowl; the beast had also FOUR HEADS, and dominion was given to it" (Dan. 7:6). Following their victory over the Persians at Salamis, the union of Greek states was headed by FOUR different states in succession, namely Athens (477-404 B.C.), Sparta (404-376), Thebes (371-362) and finally Macedonia after 360 B.C. The leopard is noted for its speed. After defeating the main Persian army at Arbela on the Tigris in 331 B.C., Alexander pushed on to Persepolis so quickly that he captured the Persian national treasures before Persians had time to remove them. Alexander's whole campaign lasted only eleven years, from 334 to 323 B.C., but in that short time he had conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia, as well as territory as far as India. When the he-goat's "notable horn" (Dan. 8:5) -- Alexander the Great -- died in 323 B.C. at the age of 33, his four generals, CASSANDER (Macedonia), LYSIMACHUS (Thrace), SELEUCHUS NICATOR (Syria) and PTOLEMY (Egypt) took over the empire and divided it into four parts. "The first king ... being broken ... four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation" (Dan. 8:21-22). This is amazing. In 553 B.C. Daniel predicted that over two hundred years later the Greek Empire would be divided into four sections. But it gets even more amazing. Greece had conquered the world in only 13 years, hence the wings of swiftness on a swift leopard. The Roman Pompey captured Syria in 63 B.C.

ROME (PAGAN) (63 B.C.-476 A.D.): "A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ... had great iron teeth (cp. "legs of iron" -- Dan. 2:33); it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had TEN HORNS" (Dan. 7:7). Revelation 12:3 defines this beast as a "great RED DRAGON ... having TEN HORNS." The fourth beast must be the RED DRAGON because both have TEN HORNS. Since sins are represented "as SCARLET" (Isa. 1:18), the Roman Empire was very sinful. Its IRON teeth and BRONZE nails (Dan.7:19) indicate that it occupied both Roman and Greek territory -- referring back to Nebuchadnezzar's statue. But all ten toes were in the western half because they are IRON or CLAY -- not BRASS. All ten horns came from the fourth beast, so must not be located in the territory of the previous three beasts. The dragon's "nails (#2953 "tephar") of brass" (7:19) are defined as "nails (#2953 "tephar") like birds' claws" (4:33) which is why this dragon must have bird claws. The Roman legions marched under the red dragon standard and may have appeared like a long red snake as they marched off to war in long, winding columns. By 46 B.C. Julius Caesar ruled the Roman world. Rome was in fact the fourth empire and it was also the DRAGON which tried to devour Mary's "(Christ) child" (12:4). first using Herod in the reign of Augustus Caesar and second using Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. The empire was divided into two parts in 292 A.D. by Diocletian with Rome and Constantinople as the two capitals. In 476 A.D., the barbarian tribes who had settled in Italy revolted under their leader Odoacer and forced the last Roman Emperor to abdicate.

Who Are the Ten Horns?

The TEN HORNS (Dan. 7:7) or TEN TOES (Dan. 2:41) were the TEN KINGDOMS that the Western Roman Empire was divided into after 476 A.D.: Historian Machiavelli, writing in the fifth century (Hist. Floe. i), without the slightest reference to prophecy, gives the following list of nations which occupied the territory of the Western empire in 476 A.D.: The Ostrogoths (Hungary & Yugoslavia), Visigoths (Spain), Vandals (N. Africa), Sueves (Portugal), Franks (France), Burgundians (Switzerland & South Gaul), Heruli (Italy), Huns (Alemani), Lombards (Austria & Czechoslovakia) and Anglo-Saxons (England). Gibbon in his Decline and Fall also refers to these same ten Latin kingdoms in 1130 A.D. Procopius is a third author who also agrees that these are the ten.

Which Three Were Uprooted?

"While I was thinking about the horns, another little horn, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted by it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth that spoke boastfully.... (It was) "larger in appearance than its associates. I kept looking, and that horn waged war against the saints and defeated them ... and he will try to change the times and the law" (Dan. 7:8, 21, 25).

Three Arian kingdoms that controlled Rome were uprooted -- the HERULI, VANDALS and OSTROGOTHS. Odoacer's HERULI (who had conquered Italy and deposed its last emperor in 476 A.D.) were uprooted in 493 A.D. when the Byzantine Emperor Zeno commissioned the Ostrogoth king Theodoric, to dethrone Odoacer. The Catholic Church gave Theodoric valuable assistance. This then caused Theodoric's Ostrogoths to control all Italy, including Rome. VANDALS in southern Italy, who had sacked Rome once before in 455, were uprooted in 534 A.D. by Belisarius, Justinian's general. Then the OSTROGOTHS were driven north beyond the Po River in 538 A.D. when Justinian ordered his general Belisarius to capture Rome in 538 A.D. All three "barbarian" governments had to be uprooted before the Papacy could have full control of the seat of authority in Rome and become the eighth form of government from Rome. The eighth horn is a continuation of the seven of Daniel 7:20 (mentioned in Rev.17:11). The seven forms of Roman government were: Kings (750-510- B.C.), Consuls (510-498 B.C.), Dictators (498-451 B.C.), Decimvirs (451-443 B.C.), Military Tribunes (443-27 B.C.), Military Emperors (Imperial Caesars) (27 B.C.-284 A.D.) and Despotic Emperors (Diocletian ignored his Senate, creating three other rulers with himself) (284-313 A.D.). It is certainly amazing that Daniel predicted this all in 553 B.C. -- over 1000 years before it occurred.

Even though there have only been eight CONSECUTIVE forms of Roman government (not counting these three barbarian horns uprooted because of hostility between the Catholic church and the barbarians over the Arian heresy which denied the deity of Jesus Christ), there have always been ten CONTEMPORANEOUS states that the papacy has ruled over. There have remained ten through each of the twelve centuries of the prophecy. (Gibbon mentions that the Carlovingians under King Pepin overthrew the Heruli, Goths, and Lombards and in 768 A.D. transferred their territory to the Pope. This became the Papal States. )

Four Kingdoms Lasted exactly 1260 Years

Since the total "time of Israelite insanity" is seven times or 2520 years and since we can subtract 1260 years for the dominion of the Little Horn (Dan. 7:25), that leaves 1260 years for the dominion of these four kingdoms together until the Barbarians conquered Rome and thereby inflicted the "deadly wound" (Revelation 13:3). This wound was healed when the hindrance of Roman Caesars was "taken away" (2 Th. 2:7) so that Popes could rule from Rome. There are a number of different starting points that correspond to a number of different ending points. Notice seven sets now:

Nabonassar became the king of Babylon in 747 B.C. When we add 1260 solar years we come to 514 A.D. when Pope Hormisdas became Bishop of Rome. He reunited the eastern and western churches ending the Acacian Schism.

Tiglath Pileser III conquered Northern Israel (Naphtali) in 732 B.C. bringing Israel under Babylonian law. When we add 1260 solar years we come to 529 A.D. when Justinian's Code of Roman Law was accepted which recognized the Roman Catholic Church.

Tiglath Pileser III was crowned at Babylon in 728 B.C. When we add 1260 solar years we come to 533 A.D. when Justinian recognized the Roman Bishop as head of all the churches and thus "crowned him."

King Hoshea allied with Egypt against Assyria in 725 B.C. causing Shalmaneser to invade Israel (cp. 2 Ki. 17:5). When we add 1260 solar years we come to 536 A.D. when Belisarius, Justinian's general, invaded Italy.

King Hoshea of Israel was imprisoned by Shalmaneser V (2 Ki. 17:4) in 723 B.C. before beseiging Samaria. When we add 1260 solar years, we come to 538 A.D. when Justinian's general Belisarius captured Rome and defeated the Ostrogoths.

In 707 and 706 B.C., Sennacherib captured a number of cities of Judah and transported 200,150 people. He was unable to enter Jerusalem however, in which Hezekiah remained "like a bird in a cage." When we add 1260 solar years we come to Justinian's Imperial Restoration of the Western Empire and his general Narses' Pragmatic Sanction restoring Italian lands taken (554 A.D.). Then in 555 A.D. came the final defeat of the Ostrogoths.

In 651 B.C. there was a fatal alliance of Judah with many other nations (Babylon, Phoenicia, Philistia, Arabia, Chaldea, Elam, Lydia, and Egypt) against Assyria which failed after a two-year siege of Babylon. When we add 1260 solar years, we come to 610 A.D. when Phocas died after making Pope Boniface III the head of all the churches -- another fatal alliance. He was the hindrance "taken out of the way" (2 Th. 2:7).

Finally, Nabonassar revolted against Assyria and drove the Assyrians out of Babylon in 625 B.C. and the Neo-Babylonian Empire was established with a Chaldean dynasty by Nabopolassar in 624 B.C. Babylon possessed Palestine for 90 years, from 624 to 534 B.C. Medo-Persia for 200 years, from 534 to 334 B.C. Greece for 304 years from 334 to 30 B.C. and Rome for 666 years from the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. to the Saracen (or Arab) conquest in 636 A.D. Now 90 + 200 + 304 + 666 = 1,260 years. When we add 1260 solar years, we come to 636 A.D. when Arabs drove Romans out of Jerusalem. Just as the Gentiles "tread under foot" (Rev. 11:2) the physical Jerusalem for 42 months (1,260 days), so also Papal Rome was to continue for the second 1260 years (Dan. 7:25).

Little Horn Persecutes Saints for "a time, and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25)

The second half of the seven times or 2520 years is occupied by a "little horn" on the Roman dragon. A "little horn" is a very small kingdom at first. But it became larger than the other horns. This horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth that spoke boastfully.... (It was) "larger in appearance than its associates. I kept looking, and that horn waged war against the saints and defeat them ... (and this horn) will try to change the times and the law" (Dan. 7:8, 21, 25). The "eyes" suggest an "overseer" or bishop -- the "Holy See." The NT Greek word translated "overseer" or "bishop" is 'episkopos" which literally means "one who looks diligently" (Young's Concordance). The "mouth speaking great things against God" suggests boastful blasphemy. The Papacy has blasphemed and did change the time for the Sabbath law from Saturday to Sunday and the time for Passover from Nisan 14 to an Easter celebration the Sunday following the full moon after spring equinox. The saints were "given into his hand until a time, and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25). The Papal Inquisition (1481-1808) and the massacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholemew's Day (1572) are examples. "Power was given unto him to continue "forty and two months" (Rev.13:5) after a "deadly wound" by the Barbarians was healed (Rev. 13:3) and the hindrance of Roman Caesars "taken away" (2 Th. 2:7). In other words, 1260 years. There are a number of different starting points that correspond to a number of different ending points. Notice seven sets now:

From the accession of Pope Hormisdas (514 A.D.) who reunited eastern and western churches (519 A.D.) ending the Acacian Schism we add 1260 solar years. This brings us to 1774 A.D. when Louis XVI ascended the French throne and caused the schism of the French Revolution where he later lost his life and Pope Clement XIV banished the Jesuits from the Church and the world.

From 529 A.D. when Justinian's Roman Law Code was accepted we add 1260 solar years. This brings us to 1789 when the French Revolution began and Roman law was rejected.

From 533 A.D. when Emperor Justinian sent a decree to Pope John, which became part of the Roman Civil Law, acknowledging the Roman Bishop as head of all the churches, Greek as well as Latin, we add 1260 solar years to get 1793 when the French Revolution's "Reign of Terror" occurred. Sunday was eliminated and churches closed.

From 536 A.D. when Justinian's general Belisarius invaded Italy to install the Papacy, we add 1260 solar years. This brings us to 1796 when Napoleon invaded Italy and defeated the Papal troops and threatened the Pope.

In 538 A.D. Justinian's general Belisarius captured Rome and defeated the Ostrogoths (3rd horn of the three), freeing Rome of barbarian rule. (Ostrogoths were not defeated however. Instead they reconquered Italy. Pope Vigilius traveled to Constantinople and begged the the emperor to deliver Italy.) Adding 1260 solar years brings us to 1798 A.D. when Napoleon's general Berthier captured Rome and Pius VI and Vatican gold. Napoleon issued a decree that the Papacy was dead and no further Papal elections would occur. Pius VI died in France.

In 554, Justinian's Imperial Restoration of the western Empire occurred. General Narses' Pragmatic Sanction, also in 554, restored Italian lands taken away and the final defeat of the Ostrogoths occurred in 555 A.D. Adding 1260 solar years brings us to 1814 when Allies victoriously entered Paris and deposed Napoleon. When he later retook power he was defeated in 1815 at Waterloo.

In 606 A.D. Emperor Phocas made Pope Boniface III head of all the churches. In 610 A.D. Phocas died and thereby was "taken out of the way" (2 Th. 2:7). If we add 1260 solar years to these dates, we come to 1866 when Italy crowned its first king, Victor Emmanuel, and when Venetia (1866), Tuscany (1870) and Rome (1870) fell to Victor Emmanuel who was a type of Christ. Also the Battle of Sadowa occurred in 1866 where Papal Austria was overthrown by non-Roman Catholic Prussia. Roman Catholic Spain expelled her Jesuits and Roman Catholic Royal Family. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. In September 1870, Italian troops entered Rome and made it the capital of Italy, independent of Papal rule. November 1st, 1870, the Italian government passed a decree abolishing the political authority of the Holy See.

This dragon "was, and is not, and yet is" (Rev. 17:8). It "was" pagan Rome, destroyed in 476 A.D. so "is not", then "is" resurrected as "Holy Roman Empire." Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453 A.D. If we date the rise of the Papacy from 514 to 610 A.D. then its dominion should end 1260 years later from 1774 to 1870 A.D. This is the era of the French Revolution and its aftermath. France, who had been "the eldest son of the church," threw off the Papal yoke. The revolutionaries turned 40,000 churches into stables, massacred 24,000 priests, exiled another 40,000, and guillotined thousands of Roman Catholics, including their Royal Family. In the next twenty years, revolution and war overturned the thrones of the Roman Catholic world and drenched the Latin nations in blood and fire. In 1798 the Pope was dethroned and led away captive by Napoleon's soldiers; the Papal States and Rome were conquered; the Vatican palaces and convents were robbed of their fabulous wealth.



ROME (PAPAL) (554-1814 A.D.): The Imperial Restoration of the empire by Justinian came in 554 A.D. He recognized the supremacy of the pope and submitted to him. The seven heads of the dragon in Revelation 12:3 are the same as the seven heads of the beast ridden by the woman in 17:3. All are therefore "seven mountains on which the woman sitteth" (Rev. 17:9) or seven successive "Holy Roman Empires." (Justinian 527-565, Charlemagne 800-814, Otto the Great 962-973, Frederick Barbarossa 1152-1190, Charles V 1520-1556, Louis XIV 1661-1715 and Napoleon 1804-1814.) From 554 to 1814 these "holy Roman emperors" ruled for 1260 years (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 12:6; 13:5). In 257 A.D. Cyprian first expressed the idea of salvation depending upon acceptance of Roman doctrine. Then 1260 years later Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittemberg Church door in 1517 A.D. Also, in 533 A.D. Justinian decreed the Roman bishop pre-eminent. Then 1260 years later in 1793 the French Revolution occurred and the Roman Catholic religion was abolished in France. In 538 A.D. Justinian united church and state. Then 1260 years later in 1798, Napoleon's General Berthier took Rome and imprisoned Pope Pius VI. In 596 A.D., a Benedictine monk "St. Augustine" came from Rome and landed at Thanet in England. He converted the English King Ethelbert, baptising him with 10,000 of his English subjects in the river Swale. Then 1260 years later in 1856 A.D., and from that time onward, Bible revivals spread across Britain and America. In 606 A.D. Constantinople's emperor Phocas decreed Roman pope Boniface III head of all Christian churches (confirmed by two Latin historians: Paulus Diaconus and Anastasius). In 610 A.D. Phocas was "taken out of the way" (died) (2 Thess. 2). Then 1260 years later in 1866 Garibaldi overthrew the Papal States in stages: Venetia fell in 1866 and Tuscany in 1870. This woman (church -- Eph. 5:23) is "full of names of blasphemy" ("Holy Reverend Father," "Vicar of Christ," "Infallible," "Mother of God") and "arrayed in purple and scarlet" (Roman bishops wear purple; cardinals wear scarlet), "having a golden cup in her hand" (Babylonian doctrines -- Jer. 51:7), "full of abominations" (idolatry -- Isa. 44:19). She is "the eighth (form of government -- papacy), and is of the seven (forms of government: kings, consuls, dictators, decimvirs, military tribunes, military emperors and despotic emperors)" (Rev. 17:11).

WORLD GOVERNMENT (Gentile) (604 B.C.-1917 A.D.): "And I stood upon the sand of the (Mediterranean) Sea and saw a beast (kingdom -- Dan. 7:17,23) rise up out of the sea ("peoples ... nations" -- Rev. 17:15), having seven heads (Babylonian lion, Medo-Persian bear, Greek leopard with four heads and Roman dragon) and ten horns (kings -- Dan. 7:24) (on the dragon's head -- Rev. 12:3) (After 476 A.D. the Western half of the Roman Empire was divided into ten groups: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Sueves, Franks, Burgundians, Heruli, Huns, Lombards and Anglo-Saxons.) ... And the beast ... was like a leopard, and his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat (throne) and his great authority. And I saw one of his heads as though it were wounded to death (Heruli king Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus -- the Roman head -- on 22nd August, 476 A.D.) and his deadly wound was healed (Justinian's Imperial Restoration in 554 A.D.) ... and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (after the wound was healed: 554-1814 A.D.) (Rev. 13:1-5). In 496 A.D. Clovis, King of France, subjected his sovereignty to the Bishop of Rome; and his example was followed by the rest of the ten kingdoms. By the decree of Justinian (533 A.D.) and the decree of Phocas (606 A.D.), the Bishop of Rome became universal pope with "great authority." Popes wore the tiara (triple crown)as well as the mitre. They were emperors as well as bishops. But the total existence of this mixed beast was for "SEVEN TIMES" (Lev. 26:28) "of the gentiles" (Luke 21:24). (7 x 360 = 2520 years.). "Mene (1000 gerahs), Mene (1000 gerahs), Tekel (or Shekel -- 20 gerahs -- Ex. 30:13; Num. 3:47), Upharsin (or Peres's -- 500 gerahs)" (Dan. 5:25) is 2520 gerahs. "Let seven times pass over him" (Dan. 4:16) -- Nebuchadnezzar -- whose statue of himself personified all four gentile empires. In 604 B.C. the seven "TIMES of the Gentiles" began. Ferocious, merciless, aggressive gentile empires began to rule the world for 2520 years (Dan. 4:32; 7:17; Luke 21:24) after Israel was taken captive. Nebuchadnezzar was crowned king of Babylon. Babylon (the lion) lasted from 604 to 538 B.C. Then Medo-Persia (the bear) from 538 to 331 B.C., then Greece (the leopard) from 331 to 63 B.C., then Pagan Rome (the dragon) from 63 B.C. to 476 A.D., then Papal Rome (the dragon ridden by the harlot) from 554 to 1814 A.D.

By the end of the First World War (1917 to 1918 A.D.) these same gentile empires were all devastated and fell: Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey, Russia and Italy. "I beheld till the thrones were cast down" (Dan. 7:9). Along with the Bolshevik Russian Revolution, the Czar Nicolas and his family were executed and the Greek Orthodox Church fell to atheistic tyrants. On March 1, 1924, Mustapha Kemal demanded the abolition of the Caliphate and two days later this throne was cast down. Kaisar Wilhem's Germany defeated. All of Queen Victoria's relatives throughout Europe were deposed. This Babylonian image had been smitten by the British Empire and the United States who together formed that "STONE" that "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:35).

Seven Years of Madness Were an Analogy

Just as Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean acted like a wild beast for seven literal years and then was given his sanity back, so Israel of Chaldean stock became like a wild beast for seven figurative years -- or 2520 years -- before becoming a civilized nation. Specifically Nebuchadnezzar ate grass like an OX and his hair and nails grew long like EAGLE'S feather's and like EAGLE'S claws (4:33) and he behaved like a LION with a MAN'S heart (7:4) from 570-563 B.C. This is a description of a SPHINX or CHERUB represented so often in Babylonian art. FOUR ANIMALS combined in one. In the same way, Israel of Chaldean stock was represented by a LION, EAGLE, MAN and OX according to the flags or emblems of her encampment (Gen. 49) and became like four wild beasts for 2520 years. Notice that they are the same four animals as the SPHINX or CHERUB. Israelites roamed the world for (seven) "times of the gentiles (or nations)" (Luke 21:24) or 2520 years (7 x 360) without God's guidance because they had adopted Assyrian-Babylonian pagan ideas instead. They looked like a SPHINX spiritually. The nations of Israel drank Babylon's wine, "therefore, the nations (of Israel) are mad" (or insane) (Jer. 51:7). They followed Babylonian customs rather than God's laws. Remember that God said to Israel, "If ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you SEVEN TIMES for your sins. And I will break the PRIDE of your power; and I will make your heaven as IRON and your earth as BRASS" (Lev. 26:19). This is very similar wording to what we find stated in Daniel: "Those that walk in PRIDE he is able to abase ... leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of IRON and BRASS ... let SEVEN TIMES pass over him" (Dan. 4:37). This shows that Nebuchadnezzar typified Israel's punishment in type. Daniel 4:32 says, "SEVEN TIMES shall pass over thee (Nebuchadnezzar)" (2520 days). This is what was meant by "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" (Dan. 5:25). Mene is stated twice indicating "the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass" (Gen. 41:32). Since a Mene is 1000 Gerahs (Ez. 45:12) and a Tekel is 20 Gerahs (Ex. 30:13) and a Upharsin is 500 Gerahs, this phrase "Count, count, and weigh before dividing wages to the workers" adds up to 2520 gerahs or years. Then Israelites will be given their sanity back as the saints who will rule the world. It's like the modern phrase that carpenters use: "Measure twice and cut once." "Count, count, weigh and then divide." But when did Israel discard Babylonian ways and become civilized again? Around the ti8me of the Protestant Reformation. Israelites were represented by a LION of Judah (Gen. 49:9), OX of Ephraim (Deut. 33:17), EAGLE of Dan and MAN of Reuben (Ez. 1:10) before they lost the kingdom to the Assyrian-Babylonian Empire. The symbolic animal representing the Assyrian-Babylonian Empire was the Winged Bull or Winged Lion with a human head, called a SPHINX or CHERUB. Which nation is represented by a LION and an OX today? Great Britain. The so-called "Unicorn" was most probably the ox having two horns, but seen in profile as only one horn (Deut. 33:17). Which nation is represented by an EAGLE and a MAN today? The United States. Uncle Sam and the American bald eagle. Yes, we have been given back our national sanity and are discarding the Babylonian customs of our SPHINX-like insanity. These nations took the lead in the the Protestant Reformation. Just as Nebuchadnezzar stood upright and regained his sanity after 2520 days (7 x 360), so the United States and British Empire have emerged as civilized, intelligent nations after a history of world savagery and bloodshed. Our policy is not conquest and plunder, but to liberate the oppressed peoples of the world and spread the Bible. Uncle Sam does not walk on all fours. His conduct is based on Constitutional Law, the Bill of Rights and the Bible.

Ethnic Israel Composed Each of the Five Empires

The Jewish rulers of Jerusalem were taken to Babylon, hence the "king of beasts" -- the lion -- has a gold head of Daniel 2 (2 Kings 24:14-17). Israel was given the mind of a wild animal for "seven times" because of refusing to obey God. These four symbols became blended and fused together in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon which was portrayed as a LION with EAGLE'S wings that stood on its feet like a MAN after eating grass like an OX to typify Israel's punishment -- in other words, a SPHINX or CHERUB. The ten northern tribes of Israel were taken to the cities of the Medes (2 Kings 17:6), hence a powerful bear or the silver breast and arms of Daniel 2. Therefore, when Medo-Persia conquered Babylon, Israelites were still dominant but with a "mind of a wild animal." When Greece conquered Medo-Persia, the Spartans were all Israelites. First Chronicles 2:6 says Darda was a son of Zerah of Judah. Darda built Troy before the Exodus from Egypt. Josephus Antiquities 12:4:10 and 1 Maccabees 12:21 say the Trojans were of Abraham's lineage, but without knowledge of Moses' law, so were a brass kingdom. Rome, the iron kingdom, was originally founded by the Greek Aeneas, a Trojan prince who descended from Darda and his Israelite followers referred to themselves as Dardans in Virgil's Aeneid. Then the grandson of Aeneas was Brutus the Trojan who founded London in 1184 B.C. His oldest son became the king of England and his youngest son the king of Scotland according to Geoffrey of Monmouth 4:2 and Nennius 10.

The Ten horns of Papal Rome bring us to the late 1700s and 1800s. At this point in time at the end of 2520 years we should expect to find the saints (or Israel) in prominence once again under the same four national symbols as they take their kingdom back. What happened in the 1700s and 1800s? How did the saints take possession of the kingdom? From 13 original colonies in 1776 to the purchase of Alaska in 1867, Uncle Sam has increased his territory and influence. In the same way, the British Empire has expanded from the first British settlers coming to Australia in 1793, the first British settlers coming to South Africa in 1795, and to New Zealand in 1840, to the Confederation of Canada in 1867. Notice that all these dates begin just when Papal Rome's throne is "cast down." "The saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom (British Empire & United States)" (Dan.7:18) ... and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom" (7:22). "Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High" (7:27). The British were given the mind of a man when the King James Bible was translated in 1611 and the United States was given the mind of a man at the time the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were ratified (1783).

This "STONE" kingdom is revealed in other "SEVEN TIMES" intervals also. In 745 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser forced Menahem to pay tribute (2 Ki. 15:10-20). Then 2520 years later in 1776 A.D. Americans no longer paid tribute. In 742 B.C. Tiglath Pileser invaded Israel in Pekah's reign (2 Ki. 15:20) and took two-and-a-half tribes away (1 Chr. 5:26). Then 2520 years later in 1781 A.D. the thirteen colonies were united by the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. From 721 to 718 B.C. Shalmaneser beseiged Samaria three years in the reign of Hoshea (2 Ki. 17:3-5) and took the land of Israel. Adding 2520 years we arrive at 1800-1803 A.D. Spain gave France the Louisiana territory in 1800 A.D. Thomas Jefferson purchased it from Napoleon in 1803. The year 1800 A.D. was also when England, Scotland and Ireland united to become "Great Britain." These Ephraimites and Judahites had been divided in 721 B.C. In 677 B.C. Esar-Haddon invaded the remnant of Israel as well as Judah (2 Chr. 33:11) and replaced them with Samaritans (2 Ki. 17:24; Ezra 4:2). Adding 2520 years we get 1844 A.D. when the Sultan of Turkey was forced to give religious liberty to the Jews. In 1844 the United States annexed Texas territory which included large parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma as well as what is known as Texas today. Americans displaced Mexicans. In 604 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army took tribute from Jerusalem. Then 2520 years later on November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration gave Jews the land of Palestine and on December 9th British General Allenby liberated Jerusalem from the Turks. In 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Then 2520 years later in 1924 A.D. the Caliphate was abolished and Turkish power and influence ended. In 586 B.C. the Temple was destroyed and Zedekiah taken captive (Jer. 39). Nebuchadnezzar "carried away all Jerusalem ... to Babylon" (2 Ki. 24:14-17). Then 2520 years later we get 1935. With the ascent of Hitler to power in Germany (1934), a new type of Jew began emigrating to Palestine. Daniel 7:27 says, "And the kingdom and dominion shall be given to the people of the saints if the Most High." (British, Americans and Jews)

There will be an end-time Gentile world government for seven literal years when an actual human leader (such as the pope) will receive a "deadly wound" and then be resurrected and blasphemously claim to be the Messiah (Rev. 13:6). He will enslave the United States, the British Empire and the Jews just as the historical anti-type did. Then the Messiah will return.

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