Seems we've got some eschatology to unpack as well as some prophetic details to examine.
I've got the time, and the proficiency. How about if we start with the simple, and progress to the complex.
So
Dan. 2 provides a sequence of world empires which the commentators INSIST is roughly:
1. Gold, Babylon
2. Silver, Medo/Persia
3. Bronze, Greece
4.a. Iron, Rome
4.b. Clay, Revived Rome
However,
2:45 provides the sequence:
Iron, Bronze, Clay, Silver, Gold = 4,3,5,2,1 = FIVE, for which the FIFTH is a "
divided kingdom" exactly as we have today with THREE Superpowers and the United Nations.
And where the dishonest commentators point to
Dan. 7 for a regurgitation of the purported FOUR world empires, I see what we all see in modern geopolitics:
Dan. 2
1. Gold, Babylon
2. Silver, Medo/Persia
3. Bronze, Greece
4. Iron, Rome
5. Clay, "divided kingdom"
Dan. 2 & 7
1. Gold, Babylon
2. Silver, Medo/Persia
3. Bronze, Greece
4. Iron, Rome
-- Clay, "divided kingdom"
-- 5. Lion/Eagle, U.K./U.S.
-- 6. Bear, Russia
-- 7. Leopard (actually a TIGER), China
-- 8. "dreadful", United Nations, -- "was and is not" because it has NO Geography, NO Populous, NO Army
Thus in
Rev. 13 the Lion is the MOUTH, because the U.K./U.S. is proficient in Trade, Science, Technology, and Finance; the Leopard (actually a TIGER) is the BODY because China has the most Population; and the Bear is the FEET because Russia has the most land mass, -- 8M vs 3M each for the U.S., Canada, & China. And the ten horns are the FIVE Current PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP of the Security Council, with FIVE MORE which were NOMINATED to PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP of the Security Council:
Current PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP in the Security Council
1. U.S.
2. U.K.
3. France
4. Russia
5. China
Nominated to PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP in the Security Council*
6. Germany -- Economic Power
7. Japan -- Economic Power
8. Brazil -- Regional Representative for S. America
9. Nigeria -- Regional Representative for Africa
10. India -- Regional Representative for the Near East
* “The Road To Reform: Towards A New Clarity,” U.N. Chronicle, UMI, Vol. 30, Issue 4, December 1993, pp. 45-46
And in
Rev. 17, the five that have fallen include the U.S. which has fallen from pre-eminence; Russia "
is" when it attacks Israel; China is "
yet to come and shall remain a little while" when it spanks Russia; and the "
eight that was and is not" is the U.N. which has NO Geography, NO Population, and NO Army, and this "
eighth" is the '
beast" in
Rev. 13.
Pretty simple and pretty obvious, don't you think?
Bobby Jo