AND CONCERNING THE TEN KINGS....

***Originally written in July 2014, reposted in 2017 and again in April 2018.

"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." Revelation 17:12 NKJV


Who are the ten kings Revelation 17:12 refers to?

Before answering, let me share a few verses from the book of Daniel. Confirming Revelation 17:12, and also showing how the book of Revelation fulfills, and is intertwined with, the book of Daniel, these verses speak of the same ten kings, albeit in a slightly different way:

• In Daniel 2:33, Daniel describes this empire to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, "its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay." 
• In Daniel 2:41-42, Daniel describes this empire further, "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided...And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile."
• In Daniel 7:7b NKJV, Daniel himself had a vision. The part of his vision referring to this empire: "...It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns."  (The 4th beast described by Daniel to Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2:31-43)

These "ten horns" are also known as the Revived Roman Empire, which the aforementioned passage declares will arise at the end of this age, just before the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ! As these verses note and most commentators agree, this empire will likely mix democracies shown as "clay" and dictatorships shown as "iron" together. Today, this is what we see: democratic republics in Europe and dictatorships in parts of the former parts of the Roman Empire, notably Turkey.

And now let's go back to Revelation to show the same Revived Roman Empire yet again since the Bible confirms itself with different passages:

• Revelation 17:10 described seven major earthly kingdoms throughout history. It is widely held that their common thread is that they all oppressed Israel at different periods in history, "There are also seven kings. Five have fallen (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia & Greece), one is (the Roman Empire was presently in power during John's writing of the Book of Revelation), and the other has not yet come (the Revived Roman Empire, aka the 10 Kings of Rev. 17:12-13). And when he comes, he must continue a short time." 
• Revelation 17:11, which can be confusing refers to "the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth". Chuck Missler, in his excellent YouTube teaching on Revelation 17, says that this shows the Roman Empire originally, and in its later revived form. This is a reasonable interpretation and is consistent with related passages. 

How then should we reconcile the four beast kingdoms Daniel describes with the seven kingdoms mentioned in Revelation? First, Daniel combines the two manifestations of the Roman Empire into one kingdom, which is obvious. Additionally, Egypt and Assyria were not part of the four kingdoms noted in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, outlined in the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was the central character in his own dream. Perhaps the Egyptian and Assyrian empires may have been omitted to avoid "offending" Nebuchadnezzar. More likely, perhaps they would not have been considered worthy in the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar since they were in the past so God didn't include them in the King's dream.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE of REVELATION'S TEN KINGS?
The Bible answers this question very simply. In Revelation 17:13, "These are of one mind, and they will give their authority for one hour as kings with the beast."  One hour means a short period of time, which is consistent with Revelation 17:10.  The leaders of these 10 kingdoms will essentially become puppets of the Antichrist, willingly giving their authority to him.

Also, Revelation 17:14 notes, "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) will overcome them..."  


WHERE DOES THE ANTICHRIST FIT IN WITH THESE 10 KINGS?
Revelation 17:13 says these 10 kings give their authority to the beast. Daniel 7:8 notes, "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..."
Revelation 17:11 describes this relationship as the Antichrist being the 8th kingdom, who is also of the 7th, "The beast (the Antichrist) that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition." 

WHEN WILL THEY ARISE? WILL THE USA BE INCLUDED?
Signs of the times seem to point to...soon! My personal thought is no, the USA will not be included, but the USA may be influenced by the Revived Roman Empire of the 10 kings.  The USA, after all, was not part of the original Roman Empire. It seems reasonable this revived empire may arise after the USA's power is diminished. 


WHAT AREAS WILL BE PART OF THIS REVIVED EMPIRE?
    If this is to be a truly revived form of the Roman Empire, we would look to the original Roman Empire's boundaries which included most of Europe and parts of Asia, including Syria. The rise of Isis in 2014 in Iraq and Syria with its violent hostility against Christ and Christians could foreshadow this type of character being present in the Revived Roman Empire. We also see a rising Anti-Semitism in Europe and appeasement of Islam in many parts of Europe. 
   However, J. Dwight Pentecost, in his book, "Things to Come" makes a good argument that the boundaries of the Revived Empire may well exceed the original Roman Empire, including the Americas, as well.

IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE ANTICHRIST?

* Originally written May 8, 2010, revised April 2018.

First a little background, Islam claims to be descended from Abraham. Abraham was the natural father of Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, a “great nation” according to Genesis 21:18. Ishmael was the son of Hagar, Abraham’s wife’s slave girl. Ishmael was the father of 12 warrior or hostile tribes (Genesis 25:13-18).

However, at an old age Abraham finally gave birth to God’s promised son. He was named Isaac from his geriatric wife, Sarai after a long wait. It was through Isaac that the promise of God’s blessing would continue. Isaac is a portrait of God’s grace while Ishmael is a portrait of human effort.

After Isaac was weaned, Ishmael began to mock him. At this, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away by Abraham. It is this conflict, rooted in jealousy, that is the root cause of tension between God’s people and the Muslims even until today. I would maintain that it is probable that just as Jesus Christ came from the line of Isaac so the Antichrist may come from the line of Ishmael. 

It should be noted that Ishmael was the father of the Arabs per Genesis 21:13. Islam came through the false prophet, Mohammed. Most Arabs are Muslim, but not all, noteworthy are the Coptic Christians in Egypt.

In addition to the historical roots, there is also a fundamental religious connection. I John 2:22 states, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.” This is the essence of Islam, denying the divinity of Jesus Christ.

MORE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE ANTICHRIST

* Originally written June 10, 2010 and revised May 6, 2018.

Many American Christians, seeking to “keep things peaceful” or “dialogue” with Muslims, gloss over the truth about Islam because they would offend Muslims (who get offended at the truth) and/or such “Christians” are effectively “antichrist” themselves by denying the Bible's truth. This information goes a long way to explain how and why the Antichrist will gain such widespread global acceptance. God will empower the Antichrist to be able to deceive; he will be a judgment on humanity. II Thessalonians 2:9-12 notes, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives that who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been loudly heralding the Islamic Mahdi (Note that Iran is a predominately Shia Muslim nation). The Mahdi could very well be the “Messiah” for those who hate truth, i.e. the Antichrist. This could include not just Muslims but Hindus, Buddhists, secular humanist liberals, members of “Christian” cults, and lukewarm, apostate or appeasing Christians. The book of Daniel confirms that the reign of the Antichrist will be a reign of deceit. Daniel 8:8:12b, referring to the horn symbolizing the Antichrist, notes “It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.” Daniel 8:25 adds, “He will cause deceit to prosper.”

The following other evidence and facts point to an Islamic-Antichrist connection:

● Revelation 18:2, set in the End Times and during the reign of the Antichrist, refers to “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!...” Babylon, is sometimes thought to be a figurative reference in this passage to the United States but a literal interpretation would be the literal city of Babylon, which is in Iraq, a Muslim country.
● Accompanying the prior point, is the fact that it appears that the Antichrist will hail from Syria (which included Iraq and Iran in ancient times) per Daniel 7:6 and 8:5-12, among other passages. Syria is part of Alexander the Great's Greek Empire of old. Again, Syria or a greater Syria, including Iran and Iraq, are predominately Islamic areas.
● Islam is the only global religion that practices beheading (see.raptureready.com, “Understanding the Antichrist – Part II” article by Jerry Robinson). Revelation 20:4 refers to Christian martyrs who were beheaded because “…they had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands…” This type of Islamic extremism happens today when Muslims behead hostages.
● As noted previously, the fundamental antichrist nature of Islam is noted in I John 2:22 but I John 4:1-3 also is enlightening. That verse notes, “…but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
● Islam has a strange affinity with secular liberals per I John 4:4-6. Both seem to despise Christianity. This seems apparent with the Obama Administration. Mr. Obama bowed to the Saudi king but barely acknowledged the National Day of Prayer in 2010. Obama has also argued strongly that the USA is not a Christian nation when this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and even today a strong majority of Americans profess to be Christians. If Obama visited a nation with a similar percentage of professing Muslims as the USA has Christians, I am confident he wouldn’t hesitate to term that nation a “Muslim nation.”
● Back to Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he refers to the current year 2010, in terms of 1300 and something, most likely marking times in terms of Mohammed instead of Jesus Christ. I would note that this again is consistent with a policy which will be pursued by the Antichrist (possibly Ahmadinejad’s hero) according to Daniel 7:25 NIV, “He will speak against the Most High and oppress the saints and try to change the set times and the laws.”
● Deceit is honored in Islam, even encouraged if done against an infidel. The Bible says in Daniel 8:25 that the Antichrist will “cause deceit to prosper.” Barack Obama deceitfully hid his Islamic roots but his conduct as President shows where his true loyalties lie.
● Some Muslim leaders claim Islam is a monotheistic religion, deceitfully trying to show it is aligned with Judaism and Christianity. However, it violently hates both religions and their adherents. This can be witnessed by the exclusion of Christians and Jews (infidels according to Muslims) from the allegedly “holy” city of Mecca. Even, Swissair’s planes are banned from the air space over Mecca because they display a cross. Allah is not the true God, he is the moon god. Allah is strikingly similar to Baal, the Philistine’s false god of biblical times. Muslims claim that the true biblical prophets were prophets of Allah which is a blasphemous lie. They claim that their “liberation” of peoples early on in the life of Islam liberated them from the corrupt Persian and Byzantine Empires (a Christian Empire). Nonsense!
● Islam says the greatest sin is to associate anyone with “Allah”, i.e. like a Trinity. They claim that Islam is a courageous ‘faith” because Islam supplanted a rampant paganism. Actually, they supplanted polytheistic paganism with monotheistic paganism. This “greatest sin” against Islam is a feeble attempt to supplant the truth of Christianity with a different form of false truth.
● The woman sitting on the scarlet beast mentioned in Revelation 17:3 could represent Islam or an Islamized Christianity, such as an apostate Roman Catholic Church. Revelation 17:6 notes, “I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.”’
● In short, Islam is a deceitful and evil religion. Those that are likewise deceitful and wicked, such as secular liberals in America and Europe today are spiritual cousins of Muslims. Both are children of their father, Satan.

See www.whenthepiecesfit.org for another perspective on the Antichrist-Islam link.