What does the Bible have to say about the Antichrist and his end-time kingdom, symbolically called “Babylon the Great?” What about America? And the true Church?

In searching for Biblical answers to those questions, this booklet in my prophecy series, covers a broad sweep of history's seven world empires, beginning with ancient Egypt and ending with Babylon the Great and its king, the Antichrist.

Daniel, God’s Prophet
In 721 B.C., the Assyrians invaded the northern provinces of Israel, conquering its ten northern tribes and taking them captive King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon then overran Jerusalem and, in 606 B.C., took Judea — the two southern tribes of Israel — into captivity for 70 years.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s Nightmare
It was during Israel’s Babylonian captivity that God raised up among the Hebrews the prophet Daniel. King An interesting prophecy pertaining to world empires came about as the result of Daniel’s interpretation of a nightmare of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, as we learn from Daniel chapter two.

After a period of recurring and disturbing dreams — which he couldn’t remember — the king summoned to his court all the soothsayers, magicians, and astrologers of his realm and commanded them to recall his dream and interpret its meaning. Of course they had no idea what the dream was about. But being too proud and afraid for their lives to say so, they simply flattered the king with some fake interpretations.

Daniel then went before King Nebuchadnezzar. The King asked, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” (Daniel 2:26). Daniel answered, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.” (Daniel 2:27-28).

The Dream’s Meaning
Daniel went on to explain, “But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind” (Daniel 2:30).

The prophet then revealed the dream to the king: “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue. . . . The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. [ . . . ] the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:31-35).

Daniel then interpreted the dream: “You are the head of gold. And after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron . . . and in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay” (Daniel 2:38-41).

Four World Governments
The dream of King Nebuchadnezzar was concerned with world governments. The “head of gold” refers to Nebuchadnezzar and his ancient Babylonian Empire, according to Daniel’s interpretation (verse 38). The remaining three kingdoms, however, are not yet identified, [as they did not exist at that time].

But, in verse 44, Daniel reveals in the interpretation that the Kingdom of God will come and remain forever: “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but I will itself endure forever.”

The identity of the other three kingdoms will be shown to us as we continue our investigation of Scripture. It is helpful at this point to commit information to a chart (Chart 1) then add to it as we progress, so that by the end we will have a concise picture of the relationships among the various prophetic world empires.

Chart 1

Daniel’s Night Vision
In the seventh chapter of Daniel, the prophet himself is given a prophetic glimpse at world empires. In a night vision he saw four great beasts that came up out of the sea. The first looked something like a lion, and had the wings of an eagle. Daniel kept until the beast’s wings were plucked. Th en it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man. And it was given a human mind. Then a second beast was seen by Daniel. It resembled a bear, and had three ribs in its mouth. Then came a third beast — it looked like a leopard. On its back were four wings like a bird’s, and it had four heads. Finally, Daniel saw a fourth beast. It was described as terrifying and extremely strong. It had large iron teeth, and crushed and trampled down things with its feet. It was completely different from all the other beasts (Daniel 7:3-7).

The fourth beast seen by Daniel had ten horns. While he was watching them another horn — a little one — came up among them. Then three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots. The little horn had eyes like those of a man, and it spoke great things about itself (Daniel 7:8).

“I kept looking until the thrones were set up,” Daniel writes, “and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened. Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire . . . I kept looking in the night vision. And behold, with clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:9-11,13,14).

The Interpretation
Daniel was shaken by his night vision: “My spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me” (Daniel 7:15). But then Daniel received this interpretation of his dream from one of the angels who was standing by: “These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and posses the kingdom forever, for all ages to come” (Daniel 7:17,18).

The angel continued, “The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from came up among them. Then three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots. The little horn had eyes like those of a man, and it spoke great things about itself (Daniel 7:8).

The angel continued, “The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of  this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings” (Daniel 7:23—24).

While the kingdoms seen by Daniel in this night vision are not directly identified, we see similarities between the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (iron legs) and the fourth kingdom of Daniel’s vision (dreadful beast); in both symbolisms we see a dreadful empire that will be mightier than the three previous kingdoms.

here also are similarities between the ten powerful individuals of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (toes of clay and iron) and the kings of Daniel’s vision. In both cases, these individuals rise up following the fourth kingdom, and in each instance there are ten of each: ten toes, and ten horns.

In Daniel’s vision, however, a new element is introduced: the little horn of Daniel 7:8, 11, 20 - 26. And as in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the final kingdom is the kingdom of God (Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14, 22, 26, 27).

Our chart is now expanded:

Chart 2

Daniel’s Second Vision
As we move into chapter eight of the book of Daniel, we find two missing pieces to this puzzle of world empires. In this chapter, Daniel describes a second vision he received, and the interpretation of it. In the first part of the chapter, Daniel sees a ram with two horns butting its way to the west, to the north, and to the south (Daniel8: 3, 4).

Then, in Daniel 8:5-12, Daniel sees a male goat with one large horn. This goat charges the ram, breaking off the two horns of the ram. Having destroyed the ram, the goat becomes mighty. But for no explained reason, its big horn is broken off and in its place there appear four more horns. Out of one of those four horns there grew another horn, “a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land” (Daniel 8:9).

The angel Gabriel then appeared to Daniel and gave him the interpretation of the vision: “Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation (see verses 11-14); for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia. And the shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. And the broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power” (Daniel 8:19-22).

The first powerful king of Greece was Alexander the Great, thus he was represented by the large horn on the shaggy goat. At Alexander’s death (broken horn), his empire was divided into four parts (four horns that arose in place of the broken horn).

In verse nine, you will recall, a smaller horn grew out of one of the four horns. This is to say that still another king came to power following the four kings which rose to power after Alexander’s death.

Antiochus IV Epinphanes and Antichrist
Suggestions on the identification of this smaller horn vary among Bible scholars. This is because, in the passage of Daniel 8:23-26, some see the description of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the dreadful enemy of the Jews who became king in the Seleucid Empire (one of the four divisions of the Greek Empire after the untimely death of Alexander). But this passage also brings into view the Antichrist of the end times. Herein lies the point of controversy.

Some students of Bible prophecy believe that the Seleucid Empire of Antiochus IV Epiphanes correlates with the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2 (Nebuchadnezzar’s statue) and Daniel 7 (Daniel’s fourth beast). They err in their assumption that the little horn of Daniel 7 (Antichrist) is the same as the smaller horn of Daniel 8 (Antiochus). Antiochus came from the Seleucid Empire of Greece, which is the third Empire of Daniel 2 and 7. Antichrist — the little horn of Daniel 7 — rises along with ten kings who come after the fourth empire (Daniel 7:23,24.

G. L. Archer, a noted authority on Bible prophecy, gives this explanation: “There can be no question that the little horn in [Daniel 8] points to a ruler of the Greek empire, that is, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The critics, therefore, assume that since the same term is used, the little horn in chapter seven must refer to the same individual. This, however, can hardly be the case, since the four-winged leopard of chapter seven clearly corresponds to the four-horned goat of chapter eight; that is, both represent the Greek empire, which divided into four after Alexander’s death. The only reasonable deduction to draw is that there are two little horns involved in the symbolic versions of Daniel. One of them emerged from the third empire, and the other is to emerge from the fourth.” (1)

If Archer is correct in identifying the leopard with the goat, then the third kingdom in our chart is Greece and the second one is probably Media-Persia. But what about the fourth empire?

The Last World Empire
According to Scripture, the fourth kingdom and the ten kings and the other king (Antichrist) will be in existence and will be judged when God establishes His eternal kingdom (Daniel 7:23-27). Daniel makes no mention of any world empires between the fourth kingdom and the coming kingdom of God. Daniel has in sight here the last Gentile power that will rule on earth prior to the coming of Jesus Christ and the ushering in of the kingdom of God.

Some Bible scholars today believe that the fourth kingdom represents both ancient Rome and also a revived Roman empire (end-time Babylon). But this is conjecture, and ancient Rome may not be in view here. I rather tend to believe that the third empire could actually be what we refer to today as the Greco-Roman period, including the Grecian empire and its succeeding world power, ancient Rome.

A number of those scholars use 1 Peter 5:13 to argue that Rome is the end-time Babylon. But it is most likely that Peter was simply characterizing Rome as Babylon. He was not expounding the view of a revived Roman empire called Babylon the Great.

To summarize this difficult section, Antiochus IV Epiphanes rose to power out of the third empire, Greece. Antichrist, though he bears many similarities with Antiochus, does not rise through Greece, but rather through the fourth and final world power. That empire will be replaced by the kingdom of God . ... We can conclude that the fourth kingdom either exists now or will come into existence sometime in the future. Antichrist will come from that kingdom, which will eventually be destroyed by Jesus Christ at His second coming.

Chart 3

Beast Out of the Sea
We now turn to the New Testament and Revelation chapters 13 and 17. Here we find more information about the progression of world empires, which were symbolically revealed as the great statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmare, Daniel’s four beasts, and Daniel’s ram and goat.

As early in the Bible as Daniel 7:2 and 3 we are told by the prophet that, “the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts were coming up from the sea.” Correspondingly, in Revelation 13:1, the Apostle John writes that he stood on the sand of the seashore, “And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.”

The beast that John saw seems to have had all the characteristics of the four beasts seen by Daniel: “And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion” (Revelation 13:2).

Daniel’s four beasts represent world empires. And now here in Revelation 13, John’s single beast, which possesses all the characteristics of the beasts of Daniel, is seen as a man. In Revelation 13:5, John writes, “And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies.” And for the next several verses which follow we clearly see that this beast is a man; he is the Antichrist.

The book of Daniel describes the empires, while the Revelation tells of the spirit of antichrist which has prevailed in those empires, and which, in the end times, will be manifested in a single person, the Antichrist.

In both Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 the beasts are seen coming up out of the sea. The sea is a metaphor that is explained in Revelation 17:15; it represent peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The symbolism is explained in Isaiah 57:20: “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud.” The symbolic sea therefore stands in contrast to the “land,” which is Israel: the sea represents the non-Jewish or wicked nations.

It is interesting to note that the beast of Revelation 13 has seven heads and ten horns. What do these represent? As we turn to Revelation 17, we find the final missing pieces to the puzzle of world empires.

Prostitute Among Nations
A new symbol is introduced in Revelation 17: the harlot (prostitute). This harsh description applies to the corrupt character seen in the people and governments of the world’s Gentile empires, and especially characteristic of the last world empire. For this reason, she is given the title on her forehead: “Mystery Babylon the Great the Mother of Prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth” (Revelation 17:5 — NIV).

Babylon is the great city that reigns as a kingdom above the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18). Under the reign of Antichrist, she will persecute Christians: “And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Revelation 17:6 — NIV).

Babylon is a commercial giant among the nations, greatly endowed with treasures and wealth: “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls” (Revelation 17:4).

But the people of Babylon are spiritually corrupt. Once worshipers of God, they now have become materialistic in their affluence, and through the influence of this once proud nation other countries of the world fall spiritually — victim to her wanton lust for material things. With her, “the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality” (Revelation 17:2). Virtually all of Revelation 18 reveals Babylon’s past adulterous relations in commerce with the merchants and kings of the world.

The Scarlet Beast
The relationship between this prostitute and the world’s empires is symbolized by the Apostle John’s vision of the prostitute sitting on a scarlet beast. This beast has seven heads and ten horns. Remember that the beast of Revelation 13 also had seven heads and ten horns; so does Satan, according to Revelation 12:3. No doubt the beasts of Revelation 1, 17 are one and the same.

The beast is the spirit of antichrist and also the end-time manifestation of the Antichrist. In Revelation 17:11 we are told that the beast is to be a king. His political rise to dictator and his open war against Christians are discussed in Revelation 17:11-15. Then, in Revelation 17:16-17, we read how Antichrist brings economic ruin upon the nation of Babylon.

The Seven Heads
The seven heads of the beast [of] Revelation 13, 17 are explained in Revelation 17:9,10: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings.”

The word, “mountains,” is a Biblical symbolism for empires. Babylon is actually called a destroying mountain in Jeremiah 51:25. Among the many passages that use the mountain to symbolize empires are Daniel 2:35, Isaiah 2:2, and Isaiah 41:15.

Revelation 17:9-10 also describe the seven heads as seven kings: “Five have fallen” — that is, they no longer existed at the time the book of Revelation was written in the first century, A.D.; “one is” — this was first century Rome; “the other has not yet come” — this is the end time Babylon, the seventh and final form of Gentile power.

Now that we know the seven heads represent seven empires, we must attempt to find the identity of those empires. We know from Daniel the identities of four of the world empires - Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Babylon, the last Gentile power before the establishment of the kingdom of God. The ancient Roman Empire is no doubt the kingdom referred to in Revelation 17:10 — “one (kingdom) is (was existent in the first century A.D.).”

While Scripture does not name the first two of the seven kingdoms, most commentaries suggest that they are Egypt and Assyria, respectively.

Our expanding chart of world empires now takes into consideration seven kingdoms, including the identification of ancient Rome as one of them, and the possibility of Egypt and Assyria as the first and second kingdoms.

The ten horns and the Antichrist have not appeared in history’s first six kingdoms, so they are still future. They are described in Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:11,12 as rising out of the seventh empire.

Chart 4

Is Antichrist a Roman?
The Antichrist will descend from the people who once populated the territories governed by ancient Rome, or possibly upon whom Rome’s legacy has fallen. In Daniel 9:26 we read that the people who invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the second temple of the Jews are the ancestors of Antichrist. This prophecy was literally fulfilled in the year 70 A.D., when the armies of the Roman Emperor Titus overran Jerusalem, burned the gold-gilded temple, and virtually tore it down stone by stone in search of melted gold. Though this people’s kingdom is gone, their descendants remain scattered throughout the world, and the legacy of Rome is to be found in the “western” world.

Antichrist will be a descendant of that ancient Roman Empire. But the fact that Scripture is so specific about his origin prompts us to believe that he actually may be from one of the geographical areas that once were part of the Roman Empire. He could very well be Italian, French, Spanish, German, Dutch — or any of the nationalities that once were Roman. Or, he could descend from a country like America which has inherited the Roman legacy.

The Spirit of Antichrist
The Spirit of Antichrist has been in the world for a long time. It was present during the first century A.D. And Revelation 13, 17 show that it has been present in all of the great world empires. This is explained by the symbol of the Scarlet Beast with seven heads. But that spirit has only been manifested — possessing the body of a person — but once before ‘in history, [in the person of Antiocus IV Epiphanes, of the Seleucid empire.

Antiocus was the terrible persecutor of the Jews in the second century B.C. In fact, as we discussed previously, Antiochus is considered to foreshadow the end time Antichrist. Their characters and deeds are so closely paralleled that it is hard to distinguish between them in many places in prophecies in the book of Daniel. Only by consulting history to confirm those prophecies which have been fulfilled in Antiochus can the distinction be made. And to complicate things even more, many characteristics of Antiochus will also be displayed by the end time Antichrist.

Now in the end time the spirit of antichrist will again become manifested — in the person of the king of Babylon, the Antichrist. He will not be a reincarnation of Antiochus — there is no Scripture to support this [speculation].

The Head with the Healed Wound
In Revelation 13 we read that, “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed” (Revelation 13:3 NIV).

Some Bible scholars say this refers to Antichrist who is physically wounded in the head, subsequently dies, and then miraculously comes back to life. Those who take this view usually hold that the wounded head is also symbolic of the fallen empire of ancient Rome, which in the end times is revived in the form of ea ten-nation confederacy (usually identified with the European Common Market) [now European Union].

What It All Means
So Antichrist will rise to power through end time Babylon, which is [neither] modern Greece nor Rome. Ten powerful individuals will elevate Antichrist to be dictator. Antichrist will bear great resemblance to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the second century B.C. enemy of the Jews. Like Antiochus — who left; his mark in the annals of Jewish history — the end time Antichrist will leave his mark on the souls of unsaved people in the end times.

Please pray and share.

Frank Allnutt

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Notes:
1 Hal Lindsey, There’s A New World Coming, Vision House, p. 180.
2 Benito Mussolini, “The Doctrine of Fascism,” Encyclopedia Italianna,1932,
Vol. 14 p. 847.
3 Adolph Hitler, Mein Kamph, 1934, p. 434.
4 Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, 1848.
5 Rus Walton, One Nation Under God, Third Century Publishers,
6 Marx, Introduction to a Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Rights, 1844, p. 57.
7 Gary Allen, None Dare Call It Conspiracy, p. 34.
8 The Nation’s Business, May 1974.
9 Los Angeles Times, Aug. 24, 1974.
10 Willard Cantelon, The Day The Dollar Dies, Logos Books, 1973 p.136.
11 Rus Walton, ibid, p. 104 quoted from California Assembly Daily Journal,
July 7, 1971, p. 6468.
12 Los Angeles Times, Dec. 17, 1973.

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Copyright
"The Beast of Babylon" by Frank Allnutt © 2021 Frank Allnutt, excerpted from Kissinger: Man of Destiny? ©1976 Frank Allnutt. All rights reserved.

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