DIFFERENT LEGS IN DANIEL 2!

Excerpts of the book “The Coming Bible Prophecy Reformation” By Rodrigo Silva

(Below is a map of the Seleucid Empire (King of the North) and the area from which the Antichrist will rise)

Below is a map of the Ptolemaic Empire (King of the South) which will in the latterdays be at war with the Antichrist.

These two kingdoms will exist in the last days under different names just as the nationsof old have different names today such as Persia being Iran, Babylon being Iraq, Tyrebeing Lebanon, Philistia being Gaza and so forth.Technically we don’t have a modern official map of these two kingdoms but as we shallsee, they exist and are on their way to fulfill their prophetic destinies. The book ofDaniel was sealed and wouldn’t be understood until the time of the end and as weapproach the end, these things will become clear to those of us who have eyes to seeand ears to hear although many who claim to study biblical prophecy will remain blindto what is taking place before their very eyes, due to repeated traditional teaching.We see in Daniel 2 that the two legs of iron that will bring forth the feet of iron and clayare a continuation of the two thighs of brass, which represented the early form of theSeleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms of the Grecian empire. (see image of the statue ofDaniel 2 above) Below is a map of the Shiite (green) population of the Middle East as compared to the

Sunni (blue) population.

Now compare this map to the maps of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms above andsee that although not identical in territorial coverage, they show a major divisionbetween north and south of Israel. The territorial coverage does not have to be identicalas in ancient times. The fact that the territorial coverage of today is larger than inancient times could mean that as iron is stronger than brass as seen in the metal image ofDaniel 2, the latter version of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms could occupy largerterritories as they would be stronger in the last days. If all that is being written here istrue, the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms have slowly come back to life since the riseof Islam as the Sunni and Shiite division. Shiite Islam will fulfill the latter day role ofthe Seleucid kingdom and Sunni Islam will fulfill the latter day role of the Ptolemaickingdom. Although Sunni Islam may cover other areas that were not under Ptolemaicrule, the areas that matter are the areas that must fulfill biblical prophecy such as Egypt,Libya and Sudan (See Daniel 11:40-45) and these were under Ptolemaic rule in thepast and are under Sunni rule today.To summarize, the latter day kingdom that Daniel saw to give rise to the Antichristwould be:

Seleucid Kingdom – Shiite Islam

Ptolemaic kingdom – Sunni Islam Since the Antichrist will be the last king of the north in Daniel 11 which was theSeleucid division of the Grecian empire, he might be a Shiite Muslim. If this assertion is correct (some might object to that), we shall see the Antichrist riseout of the Shiite world northeast of Israel. Both the old Seleucid empire and the Shiiteworld included exactly what we know today as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran and if youare familiar with the beast of Revelation 13, these are the very nations hidden in thebeast symbolism because the leopard represented the Grecian kingdom, morespecifically the Seleucid division which is parts of Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, the bearrepresented Persia which is Iran and the Lion represented Babylon which is Iraq. The prophetic puzzle when put together seems to point to the Shiite division of Islam asthe area where the Antichrist will rise and I personally tend to believe that the Bible pinpoints which Shiite nation will give rise to the man of sin. That nation is Iraq because in Isaiah 14:4 we read that the Antichrist will be the king of Babylon and laterin Isaiah 14 the king of Babylon is referred to as the “Assyrian” and the heart of ancientAssyria is also within the confines of modern day Iraq.

THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET Many people assume that the beast that looked like a leopard, had the feet of a bear andthe mouth of a lion is the person of the Antichrist. This beast does not represent a personor the antichrist as assumed by many but the kingdom or the empire that will begoverned by the Antichrist.The second beast of Revelation 13 carries human attributes as mentioned above and wecan assume it is a person since he performs miracles and is called the false prophet. In 2

‘’ And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him (political powerbesides spiritual power), and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein toworship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.’’(Revelation 13:12)

This false prophet exercise political power. Besides being a spiritual leader, he is ahead of state, a governor, a king. He also exercises military power because the beastkingdom also wages war as we also read in Revelation:

‘’ Who is like unto the [first] beast (the end times empire)? who is able to makewar with him?’’ (Revelation 13:4)

The first beast is a confederacy of nations that will wage war and because the falseprophet exercises the power of the first beast, he will also wage war. He will be a headof state, a military general and a cleric or religious leader. Daniel 11:36-39 says hewill honor a god of war and promote this god, thus confirming his religious office. THE AYATOLLAH The term "Ayatollah" literally means "sign of Allah", "miracle of Allah", or "token ofAllah. “It is a term given to Shiite clerics of Islam who become scholars in Islamic law.It is interesting to note that the false prophet and the man of sin will perform signs andwonders;

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracleswhich he had power to do in the sight of the beast...(Revelation 13:14)

[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power andsigns and lying wonders... (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

Thessalonians 2 the man of sin also performs miracles and it appears that the falseprophet of Revelation and the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2 are one and the same. Thefalse prophet is also a political leader because we read in Revelation 13 that the secondbeast exercises the authority of the first beast which is political or civil authority overthe nations of the coming empire.

It is only speculation and conjecture (I may be wrong) that the false prophet could be aShiite ayatollah, given the fact that he will claim to be god. Shiites believe that theMahdi, the awaited Islamic Messiah, will be a divine being possessing the attributes of

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Allah, hence the "miracle or sign of Allah" (Ayatollah).The idea that the Shiite Mahdi will be a divine person is even disputed by a Sunnileader who writes: ‘’The Shia are those who elevate the status of Imam Ali (and his descendant Imams)similar to Christians who elevate the status of prophet Jesus and worship him. . .TheShia believe Imam Ali and his descendants were sinless, similar to the prophets. Theybelieve the Imams have a divine mission to rule the Muslims and be God’srepresentative on Earth. They believe Imams receive divine revelations, similar toprophets. Shia believe their Imams have extra-ordinary abilities and attributes." He continues:"The Imams have full knowledge of the past, present and future. Before being sent toearth, the Shia Imams used to be made of light. . . . Shia are waiting for their 12Imam called Al-Mahdi whom they expect will appear before the day of judgment andwill bring the original Quran. Shia believe that Imam Mahdi will kill Sunni scholars,persecute the Sunnis, and will resurrect what they perceive as their enemies such asProphet Muhammad’s companions and Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Omar, and ProphetMuhammad’s wife, Aisha, and will punish them severely.’’ It may not be a coincidence that both the Shia version of the Islamic Mahdi and the falseprophet of revelation claim to be divine and perform miracles. In his knowledge ofprophetic scriptures, Satan may have twisted the prophecies concerning be falseprophet/antichrist of the Bible so Shiite Muslims will be victims of a strong delusionand believe that their Imam Al-Mahdi is on the good side. Notice the Muslim authorsays that the Shia Imam Al-Mahdi will persecute and kill Sunnis. This might explainwhy the antichrist wages war against his neighboring Sunni countries such as Egypt,Libya and Ethiopia as seen in Daniel 11:40-45. He will be waging war against thenations that don't accept his beliefs and denomination.As we read Daniel 11:21-45,we learn that the future king of the Seleucid Shiite regionof the Middle East will enter the stage as someone who had been denied any politicalpower but who will come in PEACEABLY or PROSPEROUS and obtain the kingdomby flatteries (false promises) vs 21. In verse 22 we read that with the ARMS of a floodshall they (his opposition) be overflown from before him. The Hebrew word for arms(Strong’s H2220) refers to political and military strength. In other words, he will enterthe stage in his country with a political and military force that offers his country peaceand stability from the rebels when come to the full (nearly consume themselves throughwar) as seen in Daniel 8:23. Then he will enter into a league of some kind, perhaps a

political agreement with those of the opposition in his country and will become strongand popular with a small people (not many supporters as he advances politically) vs 23.Then he will play the socialist leader by distributing the wealth among his supportersand will fiercely face the opposition in vs 24.In vs 25 we see that the ancient wars that took place between the former kings of northand south will again take place, as he starts to wage war against the Sunnis in the south,who will not be able to stand against his military might and will be destroyed. In vs 27he will sit with the leader of the Sunni world and both will speak lies to each other andit is at that time that his heart will turn against the holy covenant of the Jews in Israel.As time goes by, he will again wage war against the Sunnis in the south but ships ofChittim (Western navies) will oppose him. This will cause him to become furious andwill turn his fury against the newly rebuilt Jewish sanctuary in Jerusalem. In thefollowing verses we read about his indignation against the Jews in Jerusalem and willsend an army to capture the city and pollute the Jewish sanctuary, promote his god ofwar (Allah) and demand to be worshiped as god (Allah come in the flesh). As wementioned above, the Shiite Messiah known as Imam Al- Mahdi is believed by Shiitesto have divine attributes as Allah does and knowing this, the Antichrist will demand tobe worshiped as Allah, as he promotes the religion of Allah (Shiite Islam). WHERE ARE WE NOW? Those of us who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear will start to realize thatthe Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms exist today under different political and religiousbanners. The Shiite division of Islam covers the main regions of the Seleucid empireand the Sunni division of Islam covers the main regions of the Ptolemaic empires andDaniel 8 says that in the latter times of their kingdom, meaning the last days, a king offierce countenance will arise, wage war against his Sunni counterpart and later destroythe mighty and the holy people. There are those who insist this passage refers to theancient Greek king Antiochus Epiphanies, who ruled the Seleucid kingdom but thepassage clearly points to the time of the end, when this wicked king will stand upagainst the Prince of Princes, Jesus Christ himself at his second coming. If a Shiiteleader is what the Bible refers to as the Antichrist, we will witness the rise of a radicalAyatollah who will be both a Muslim cleric and a political leader from the Shiite sectof Islam, enter the political stage in in the Middle East by making false promises toobtain the kingdom (political rule) by flatteries and become strong politically andmilitarily soon after. He will revive the ancient wars between the north and the south,the Seleucids and the Ptolemaics, only this time it will be wars between the Shiites andthe Sunnis. As he faces opposition from the West, Israel who is an ally of the West will

face the consequences of his fury as he sends an army to capture Jerusalem and pollutethe newly rebuilt Jewish sanctuary (Temple?) on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Thiswill be the beginning of the next world war. Shiite Muslims are expecting the return ofImam Al-Mahdi and they believe he will appear in Iraq and will make Iraq the center ofhis Islamic government. Watch a video entitled The Coming is Upon Us produced bythe Iranian government and learn what Shiite Muslims expect in the coming years. As we saw in a previous chapter, the Antichrist will make Iraq (Babylon) the capital of hisgovernment. I don’t think there is a coincidence that both the Antichrist and the IslamicMessiah will choose Iraq as the center of their government. The expected IslamicMessiah might be a religious leader from the Shiite region of the Middle East, Northand East of Israel and will cause the beginning of the next world war as prophesied inthe Bible. I would just like to add that I could be wrong about the antichrist being a Shiite Muslimand that he could end up being a Sunni Muslim but either way he will be a Muslim. "If the antichrist turns out to be a Shiite Muslim in the person of Imam Al-Mahdiawaited by Shia Muslims, as we have proposed in this chapter, he will most likely setup an Imamate, not a Caliphate. This Imamate may rule over a previously establishedSunni Caliphate which will cause the Sunni-Shia wars of the tribulation period, as theShia King of the north wages war against the Sunni king of the south."