The rapid rise of ISIS sees the self-named Caliphate now reaching into an area from Algeria to Afghanistan
The interesting thing about the speed at which this group have spread reminds me of the description of the Beast in Revelation.
Revelation 13:2
The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
Notice that it resembled a leopard, the same description for the Grecian Empire in Daniel’s vision.
Daniel 7:4 The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle’s wings… = Babylon
Daniel 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear… = Media Persia
Daniel 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard… = Greece
The leopard is a fast animal and Alexander The Great conquered the known world faster than anyone before him and after him. Look at the description of Alexander in Daniel 8:4-8 who is symbolised here as the goat with the Persians symbolized here as a ram:
4 I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself.
5 While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
6 He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath.…
7 I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power.
8 Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly
Notice that the goat did not touch the ground and it rushed at the ram with his mighty wrath. What is described here is the speed and swiftness of Alexander’s conquests and history bears this out. The Beast that rises out of the sea as described in Revelation has all the features of the beasts mentioned in Daniel. Perhaps the Beast in Revelation is talking about all the beasts as one Beast. Seven heads and 10 horns. After all, we know there will be seven kingdoms/empires.
Revelation 13:2
The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
So the beast is quick and swift like a leopard, has big feet like a bear to trample on, and a mouth of a lion so that it speaks great things. This Beast is given Satan’s throne and has great authority. So where is Satan’s throne?
Revelation 2:12
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell… where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.’
Pergamum is in Turkey which is where Emperor Constantine relocated the capital of the Roman Empire and named after himself. It was the seat of the Byzantine period of the Roman Empire as well as the seat of government for the Ottoman Empire. Further, Turkey was actually part of every head of the Beast from Egypt through to the Ottoman Empire.
Below is a map showing the swift spread of ISIS to date. It seems that the Middle East is like dry straw and Islamic fundamentalism is the spark. If nothing substantial is done to stop the spread of ISIS, it should find fertile ground in many more areas in the Middle East. If it gets big enough, it could well become the next empire in the region.
Next is a map showing the Ottoman Empire at its height.
The Ottoman Empire In 1683
Perhaps ISIS could grow and become the eighth kingdom mentioned in Revelation. If not, it could easily be some other Islamic Empire that involves Iran for example.
There is a clue in Revelation 17:10-:
10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.
11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
The sixth kingdom was Rome and one more was to arise after that. However, there is also an eighth kingdom and it is of the seventh. From Babylon to Rome each kingdom was succeeded by the next. Rome itself was succeeded by the Ottoman Empire which would place it as the seventh kingdom that was to come in John’s day. It was an Islamic Caliphate that lasted for around 500 years and ruled over large swathes of the Middle East and Europe. It finally died just after WWI. However, it looks like it may be coming back to life. If ISIS or another Islamic Kingdom arises in the Middle East, then it could be said that it is the eighth and of the seventh and we know that one of the heads of the Beast received a deadly wound and then comes back to life.
So far with the spread of ISIS we have seen great oppression, torture, murder, crucifixions, and beheadings. This has all the hallmarks of heading into the Tribulation period spoken of by John.
