Beasts - More From Jack Van Impe in Daniel
Hello People:
It seems I am getting into the habit of sending out Jack Van Impe's
newsletters. This one is not really his regular newsletter - but it
is something that I believe we need to be aware of.
This is not only Jack Van Impe - but much of the world. They do NOT
SEE the FIFTH BEAST as Papal Rome. With all the talk of the One
World Government - Globilization - etc - I think that we need to fully
understand the TEN TOES. We also need to understand WHICH WOUND IS
HEALED. IS IT THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE or IS IT PAPAL ROME???
It would be a very GOOD STUDY.
Here is what Mr. Jack has to say:
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE
This chapter introduces us to two beasts. The first one, commonly
known as the Antichrist, is unveiled in verses 1 through 10, while the
second beast, known as the false prophet, is revealed in verses 11
through 18. The first beast is political; the second is religious.
Both, however, are energized by the power of Satan, and thus
constitute an unholy trinity-the devil, the Antichrist, and the false
prophet. Remember, Satan is the great imitator. The incarnation of
himself in these two villains is his final attempt to wreak havoc upon
earth. Knowing that he has but a short time left, he makes an all-out
move to usurp God's position and authority through his two allies- the
beasts of this chapter.
Verse 1: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up
out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
As stated earlier in our study, Bible chapters and verses came into
existence in the 1500s. They are very helpful in locating passages,
but they are not inspired. At times they even cloud the information
being presented. Actually, verse 1 of chapter 13 should have been part
of chapter 12, for the subject is Satan and his persecution of earth
dwellers. Therefore, according to the original Greek manuscript, the
personal pronoun should be he instead of I, because he pictures Satan
standing upon the sand of the sea. Accordingly, this portion of
Scripture should read, "And the dragon was wroth with the woman...and
Satan stood upon the sand of the sea."
Satan standing upon the sand of the sea pictures his control over
earth's teeming millions at an appointed time (chapter 17, verse 5,
and chapter 20, verse 8). This control is established through the two
satanically-inspired beasts who come out of the sea and the earth. The
first beast (the Antichrist) rises out of the sea and has seven heads
and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns. He is a literal man, but
demon-possessed, for he (or his power) comes out of the abyss, for the
beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit (chapter 17, verse 8).
The seven heads, loaded with blasphemy, also portray the five kings
who had ruled up to John's day; the sixth king who was in power at
that time; and the seventh king who will reign as the Antichrist
during the Tribulation hour.
Chapter 17, verse 10 confirms this: And there are seven kings: five
are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh, he must continue a short space. Likewise, the ten horns also
picture ten nations over whom the beast or Antichrist rules. The scene
before us pictures the final, or seventh, world leader ruling over a
confederation of ten nations during the end time.
In order to understand that the ten horns are actually ten Western
nations-each of which was part of the old Roman Empire-one must study
the prophecy of Daniel in chapters 2 and 7 of the book bearing his
name. Let's digress for a moment and investigate.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon in Daniel's day, had a dream. When
he awakened, however, he could not recall the dream. Therefore, he
called his magicians, astrologers, and soothsayers together,
requesting that they both recall the dream and explain its meaning.
Not one of them was able to do so, even under the sentence of death:
And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they
sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel went in, and
desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would
shew the king the interpretation. Then was the secret revealed unto
Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven
(Daniel 2:13, 16, 19).
Next we find Daniel in the presence of the king, explaining God's
vision to him in verses 27 through 36. This is one of the most
important texts in the entire Bible because it reveals the history of
the world from that time to our present day. Daniel answered in the
presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath
demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the
soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that
revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what
shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head
upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into
thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that
revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as
for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have
more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the
interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts
of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and
the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His
legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till
that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing
floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth. This is the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished as his dream was revealed, and shocked
as its interpretation was given. Daniel told the king that he
(Nebuchadnezzar) as the leader of the Babylonian empire was the head
of gold and that the two arms of silver (representing the Medes and
the Persians) would soon overthrow him. Next the stomach and thighs of
brass (Greece) would defeat the Medes and the Persians.
Eventually the two legs of iron (the Roman Empire headquartered at
Rome and Constantinople) would conquer the Greco Empire. These events
occurred exactly as God had revealed them to Daniel and as he, in
turn, told Nebuchadnezzar.
Now notice something extremely important. The ten toes of iron and
clay never destroyed the legs of iron-the Roman Empire! Why? Rome fell
through internal corruption.
This historical fact is the subject of Edward Gibbon's great book, The
History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Therefore, we see
that the final world power is a union of ten Western nations
represented by the ten toes of the great image. The iron tells us
these nations were part of the old Roman Empire, whereas the clay
speaks of a deterioration as the empire weakened over the centuries.
Thus, the final world power will not be communism but a confederation
of ten Western nations under the first beast, or the Antichrist.
The ten toes also coincide with the ten horns of the beast in the
verse under consideration. In the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's
dream (2:36-44), Daniel described the toes as kingdoms, concluding
with the statement, And in the days of these kings [ten of them, as
pictured by the ten toes] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
For centuries Christians have prayed Matthew 6:10: Thy kingdom come.
During the Tribulation hour, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists of
Revelation 7:3-8 will preach the gospel of the kingdom-the good news
that the King is about to return. Can you hear them shouting this
exciting information in the streets? "The King is coming! The King is
coming!" Finally the King is seen returning in chapter 11, verse 15,
and chapter 19, verse 16, and this event of the ages takes place when
a final confederation of ten Western nations has been established upon
earth. Could the present European Union be a part of this picture? I
believe it could be! Oh, Jesus is coming soon!
At this point we need to consider another extremely important fact.
Ireland and Denmark-present Common Market members-were never part of
the old Roman Empire. This apparent problem, however, is quickly
resolved when one considers the information presented in Daniel,
chapter 7. Here we discover that, following the establishment of a
ten-nation confederacy, another world leader arises. He takes control,
ousts three nations, and replaces them with two others and his own.
Specifically, Daniel says, I considered the horns [ten of them], and,
behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom
there were three of the first horns [original members] plucked up by
the roots (7:8). This coincides perfectly with Revelation 13:5.
Daniel continues in verses 24 and 25: And the ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after
them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue
three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High.
Here we not only see the world leader overpowering three kings and
replacing them with original members of the old Roman Empire-we also
observe him fulfilling the prediction of blasphemy described in our
text.
There is no doubt about it. A confederacy of ten Western nations will
be formed. Then another leader will appear, remove three nations,
replace them, and rule as the Antichrist until the King of kings
returns to earth and destroys his evil empire. Thus, the Common Market
will grow to thirteen nations, and these thirteen could eventually
control all nations and finally be reduced to ten at the end when this
ten-toed, ten-horned confederacy is destroyed. This is the event
described by Daniel as a stone cut out without hands [breaking] in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold.
Then Daniel 2:44,45 occurs: And in the days of these kings shall the
God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the
king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and
the interpretation thereof sure.
Yes, King Nebuchadnezzar's dream has come to pass throughout hundreds
of years of history, and the present alignment of Western nations in
the form of the European Union may well be the final piece in the
puzzle. Prepare to meet thy God (Amos 4:12).
Verse 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.
We have already discovered that (1) Babylon, (2) Medo-Persia, (3)
Greece, and (4) Rome constitute the last four empires of world
history. We have also learned that the revived Roman Empire,
originating in 1948 in the form of a final ten-nation confederation,
becomes the end-time power block. Daniel 7 pictures these four empires
as (1) a lion, (2) a bear, (3) a leopard, and (4) a beast who is a
combination of the previous world powers he has conquered. The beast's
empire contains a portion of each preceding empire. Actually, the only
difference between the descriptions of John and Daniel is that the
order is reversed in the Book of Revelation. The reason for this is
simple: John is looking back to the beginning while Daniel is looking
forward to the conclusion. Putting it all together, the message of the
ten horns, the ten toes, and the four beasts is one and the same from
different vantage points and all picture a world dictator governing
ten nations at the time of the end! This ten-nation confederacy
constitutes the revival of the fourth power- the old Roman Empire-as
typified by the fourth monstrous animal or beast.
Verse 3: And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and
his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the
beast.
The wounding of the beast is mentioned three times in this
chapter-verse 3, 12, and 14. The wound produces death, but restoration
to life follows. Some commentators think that this statement
represents the fall of the old Roman Empire and its restoration
through the ten-nation confederacy. Others believe that it speaks of
the resurrection of Judas Iscariot, for he and the Antichrist are the
only ones ever called the son of perdition (John 17:12 and 2
Thessalonians 2:3). God alone knows.
A third possibility would be that the Antichrist is assassinated or
killed midway through the Tribulation hour (See Daniel 11:45). Such an
event would give the great counterfeiter, Satan, the opportunity to
perform a resurrection. This would prove invaluable to the prestige of
the Antichrist, since the deity of the Lord Jesus was affirmed by His
resurrection 2,000 years before (see Matthew 12:39, 40). Remember that
the Antichrist proclaims himself God and even sits in the Temple in
Jerusalem during the Tribulation (see 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Matthew
24:15). Thus, a counterfeit resurrection would assure the world that
he is all he claims to be. I personally believe this to be the correct
solution, because when it happens, all the world [wonders] after
[him]. Mankind is literally overwhelmed by the Antichrist's power and
authority.