Issued: 3/14/25

“They are a nation devoid of purpose and without insight. O, that they were wise to understand this and consider their fate!”

Deuteronomy 32:28-29

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only Sovereign Deity.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

Brief Primer on Biblical Interpretation

   In the Old Testament, it fell to prophets to ‘broadcast’ events and human behaviors that alienated Father and led to tragic consequences—those taking place in their lifetimes and those meant for future generations (Daniel 8:26-27↔1Peter 1:10-12).  Jesus put an end to prophets and religious teachers to free men from human ‘influencers’:  The Holy Spirit would replace them as revealer of future events and the “hidden wisdom” Father’s targeted audience needed to ‘decode’ Scripture (Deuteronomy 29:29; Luke 16:16; 1John 2:27; 1Corinthians 2:7,10-13)—meaning  that those falling short of Father’s standards would not be enlightened [↔Daniel 12:10; 1Corinthians 2:14; 2Timothy 2:25-26].  For good measure, Jesus unequivocally stated that the Holy Spirit Himself conveyed whatever He “heard” from Father (John 16:13), thus confirming Father’s commitment to make His designs known to men before acting upon them (Amos 3:6-7, 4:13).

   But prophecies are not discerned/understood in a vacuum, needing real-time events to signal their beginning and end (2Chronicles 36:20-21↔Daniel 1:1-2, 9:1-2 / Isaiah 45:13↔ Ezra 1:1-4).  On the other hand some prophecies are not clearly demarcated in terms of unfoldment/fulfillment, most notably in Matthew 24:15-21 and Luke 21:28, events prophesying the undated coming of the “abomination of desolation” prior to an unprecedented and never to be repeated undated global tribulation.¹  For his part, Paul referred to this “abomination”  as the “son of perdition” in 2Thessalonians 2:3-4 borrowing from Ezekiel 28:2-19, the “prince” in Satan’s domain who would appear during the apostasy preceding the undated second coming of Jesus. And if by “prince” [i.e., high priest↔Acts 23:2-5] Roman Catholic popes collectively had been intended as Jesus’ presumptuous stewards over Christendom [the “holy place” alluded by Jesus], so had Daniel prophesied their primacy over nations during the Holy Roman Empire (Daniel 8:23-25), counting from the day of Jesus’  undated crucifixion to an undated point in times allotted to Gentiles [↔Daniel 12:11; Luke 21:24; Galatians 3:13-14; Hebrews 8:1-6, 9:15-28, 10:1-18].

   These lead us to conclude that Jesus and Daniel were talking about “abominations” appearing at different times in human history.  Jesus specifically placed his abomination prior to the Great Tribulation, the fall of Jerusalem, the second coming, and world’s end (Matthew 24:14-21; Luke 21:20-28); so the standard scholarly interpretation that these verses refer to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD will not do.  By that time, the Gospel had not begun to be preached outside Israel (Acts 1:8); but Jesus was referring to the time when all the nations of the world had been evangelized (Matthew 24:14)—meaning end times.  Not so Daniel, whose “abomination” would come into being sometime after kingdoms arising from Alexander’s partitioned domain had been conquered (Daniel 8:22-24)—presumably by Rome, under whose aegis Roman Catholicism became of age.  More about this further down.

   Unfortunately prophetic timelines do not work like atomic clocks, but rather provide indicators, correspondences, or what have you which allow comparing written Scripture with historical records—themselves subject to historians’ biases and therefore not always definitive or trustworthy. In view of Revelation 13:5’s “42 months,” it is tempting to factor in Daniel 12:11’s “1,290 days”; so that from the unspecified year Jesus died on the cross at age 33(?) [↔Luke 3:23] when continuous animal sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple could no longer remit sins and up until the “abomination’s” manifestation (Daniel 9:27), a time span of 1,260-1,290 years may have been implied.  Naturally, there is no definitive Scriptural corroboration for this interpretation; so it is presented here as food for thought.  After all, prophetic “hidden wisdom” is discerned spiritually and internally by the enlightened (Proverbs 14:6; 1Corinthians 2:14-15)—an inner conviction that may be talked about but cannot be shared [↔2Timohty 1:12]

   However, we do know that the “42 months” during which the beast was allowed to persecute and kill the saints (Revelation 13:5-7↔Daniel 7:8,21,25-26) translates to Hebrew calendar months of 30 days x 42 = 1,260 prophetic days; but ultimately using Ezekiel’s conversion factor  of 1 prophetic day = 1 factual year (Ezekiel 4:6), yielding 1,260 factual years.  This is important in terms of identifying papal Rome’s historical longevity, unmatched by other Christian enclaves like Constantinople, Avignon and even its offshoot, Protestantism; which in turn leads us to Rome’s army-less and unholy alliances/intrigues with European kings during the Holy Roman Empire—down to its preordained destruction by Father at end times (Daniel 8:23-25↔Revelation 17:16-18, 18:1-8,20-21).

   The two beasts of Revelation 13 embody nations influenced by a “dragon” (Revelation 13:2,11) that incontestably symbolizes Satan (Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2).  The seven-headed, ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-7 is a different ‘animal’ than the two-horned beast of Revelation 13:11-16:  The former rises out of the sea [where the rivers of all nations empty and therefore a symbol for multiplicity of peoples if not the world↔Psalms 104:26-27; Jeremiah  51:7,13; Revelation 17:1-2,15, 18:9-19]; whereas the latter rises from land, indicative of specific national territories with shared histories, cultural heritage/norms, possibly comparable systems of government and similar political agendas [the common body?].  While many may argue over which kings/nations in particular are represented by heads and horns in either case [as we have done on occasion to the best of our ‘enlightenment’], there is no question that centuries separate the beasts, so that the former belongs to the past and the latter to present times.  Why?  Because allusions to modern technologies like space weaponry and computers are implied in Revelation 13:13,16-17 with respect to the two-horned beast.

   Here we are fortunate that Scripture depicts a comparable ‘animal’ in Daniel 8:20, a ram whose two-horns symbolized the superpowers of their time, Medes and Persians, two nations merging into one empire with a shared ethnicity and imperialistic agenda [the common body?].  That one horn was higher than the other and later grew higher still (Daniel 8:3) tells us that the smaller horn represented the Medes and the taller horn the Persians—inferring at the same time the ruler whose military agendas, like Alexander’s, caused the greatest harm: Darius the Mede (Daniel 9:1) and Cyrus II the Persian (Daniel 6:28)?

   This correspondence between horn and ruler is exemplified by the male goat in Daniel 8:21, whose “large horn” signified Alexander the Great; and whose empire, upon his dead, was divided into four lesser kingdoms by rival generals and later parties (Daniel 8:22) who became mired in wars of succession between 323 BC, the year of Alexander’s death, until roughly 64 BC when Pompey squashed all opposition.  Another “little horn” (Daniel 8:9), possibly referring to the modest beginnings of the Roman Empire, extended “south toward the glorious land”—an obvious reference to Israel—as it conquered Mediterranean territories.  Thus we see here the same progression of empires as depicted on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue:  From Medo-Persia (chest and arms of silver), Greece (belly and thighs of bronze), Rome (legs of iron), down to European nations which came into being following the fall of Rome and established alliances amongst themselves (feet of clay↔Daniel 2:43).²

   Therefore it follows that the two horns of the latter beast are not counted amongst the ten horns of the former; for which reason they must represent Western, modern superpowers, since the Bible has never focused on Far Eastern nations where the other comparable superpower, China, lies.  This leaves us with the United States and Russia—neither complicit in Holy Roman Empire egregiousness.

   One final point before we move on.  Solomon argued that men never change or learn from past experiences (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11↔Psalms 14:2-3). In this sense historical particulars do not repeat themselves as much as the fact that similar, historical outcomes are the result of men’s enduring inclination to do evil [↔Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29, 9:3]. And the reason for this is quite simple:  While men live once, die, and never again partake of human affairs (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Hebrews 9:27), Satan lives from age to age acting through generations of like-minded humans (John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2; 2Thessalonians 2:11-12).

   This notion of having ‘been there, done that, will do so again’ is crucial to the understanding of prophecy; one of Father’s ways of showing how successive generations heedless of warnings choose to double down on their pigheadedness and are put time and again through the wringer [Nehemiah 9:30↔Jeremiah 7:25-26; Ezekiel 20:21; Zechariah 7:11-12]—as everyone living now will learn much too late [↔Luke 17:26-30].

Back to the Present

   Before we start, readers are exhorted to keep abreast of daily news, for they have become today’s prophets, dealing with words and deeds of people at all social levels which help us gauge their relative ‘goodness’ or outright ‘badness’—a necessary distinction since no human being on earth is truly sinless or wholly righteous (Psalms 53:2-3; Romans 3:10-12,23; Ecclesiastes 7:20).³  Jesus taught us to differentiate between both groups by their words and deeds (Matthew 7:15-20; Luke 6:45), a sort of ‘profiling’ James concurred with while singling out the human tongue as channeling hell itself (James 3:6-12).

   In the sense that only the Judeo-Christian faith reconciles men with Father (Genesis 21:1↔Galatians 4:28-30; John 14:6; Acts 4:11-12), the Bible focuses on Judeo-Christian events mirroring mankind’s future behaviors, deeds, and eventual fate; using Israel as a whole [i.e., Jews] and later Judah alone [i.e., Christians↔Hebrews 7:14] to map their respective trajectories from election to apostasy.  One easy example is the Jewish Exodus under Moses’ guidance from Egypt into Canaan, which mirrors the liberation of the Judeo-Christian nation [Micah 5:8; Revelation 5:9-10] from Satan’s world-domain [Ezekiel 29:3↔Revelation 12:9, 20:2; 1John 5:19] into the Promised Land under Jesus’ leadership (Micah 2:12-13).  Another is Israel’s spiritual condition prior to disaster (2Chronicles 36:14-16; Zechariah 7:9-14), which mirrors worldwide apostasy prior to the Great Tribulation and the second coming of Jesus (Matthew 24:14,21; 2Thessalonians 2:2-3).

   The Timothy verses bear repeating:  “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to knowledge of the truth and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”  Since nothing happens on earth unless Father allows it (Isaiah 45:7, 46:10; Daniel 4:35), He is ultimately responsible for the ‘entrapment of opponents’; and Paul tells us as much in 2Thessalonians 2:11-12.  There is no duplicity on Father’s part:  He has struck covenants of obedience with men wherein defaulting on it leads to penalties meted out by Satan.  Hence all those terrible ‘curses’ befalling the disobedient, most notably in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, which Father foreknew Satan—given his homicidal nature (Isaiah 14:20; John 8:44)—would deploy against defaulters but for which Father accepts total responsibility because Satan can do nothing He does not permit. 

The Scoop on Politics

   Though the Bible deals primarily with the dangers organized religion [henceforth, church] poses to the souls of men, there are also political subtexts warning us of the dangers governments [henceforth, state] pose to life and well-being.  Consequently, both state and church are singled out for excoriation (Isaiah 3:12; Ezekiel 22:26-27; Zephaniah 3:3-4); oftentimes being complicit in the persecution/elimination of the righteous and the exploitation of the masses (1Kings 18:4, 19:1-2; Daniel 7:19-23, 8:23-24↔Revelation 13:2-8, 17:12-14; John 7:32, 18:3,28-31, 19:6; Acts 23:13-15).  Needless to say, neither state nor church could do these things unless enabled and abetted by underlings beholden to them (Jeremiah 5:28-31; Ezekiel 22:29-30; Mark 14:55-56, 15:11-15).

A good starting point is Judges 9:1-6,22-23; though the focus is on the Abimelech of antiquity [henceforth, old Abimelech], he is Scripture’s poster-ruler for modern counterparts the world over. And since we are dealing here with what lies ahead for mankind, it is important to be mindful of correspondences amongst old Abimelech and his American and Russian ‘namesakes’ who presently pose the greatest dangers to the stability and well-being of the Western Hemisphere.

Like old Abimelech, his American counterpart craved for control of his nation; relied on the financial support of like-minded minions to secure power; used ‘us vs. them’ tactics to divide the people; and mapped an agenda to get rid of the opposition—more or less the ‘playbook’ followed by the Russian Abimelech. Though both present-day Abimelechs can be classified as amoral given their behaviors on record, old Abimelech went to the extreme of murdering his seventy half-brothers on the paternal side in order to become sole and undisputed ruler.

The American Abimelech is not known to have spilt human blood [the Russian Abimelech excels at it], but his xenophobic, socially disruptive, anti-environmental, anti-health and blatantly aggressive foreign policies stand to imperil the lives and well-being of millions at home and abroad. We will not expand on these policies: They appear in daily newscasts; do your homework. But in passing we mention the factoid that the name Abimelech means “my father is king”; a descriptor befitting ruling ‘sons’ [↔John 8:44] throughout Satan’s global domain of death (Isaiah 14:5-6,16-17,20; Luke 4:5-6; Hebrews 2:14; 1John 5:19).

A further case can be made that purging Gideon’s seventy sons—who unlike his more Christian-inclined progenitor [Judges 8:23↔Matthew 20:25-27] set themselves to govern Israel (Judges 8:30, 9:2)—is not essentially different from paring down government agencies so that the ‘mission-aligned’ stay put to implement regime agendas.  As an added strategy, old and present-day Abimelechs cultivated “worthless and reckless” people willing to act violently against dissidents if need be.  For fringe elements, validation by religious/secular powers that be incentivizes their commitment to do the dirty work in name of God and country—a ploy used in the Crusades, the Inquisition, Nazism, communist countries, and dictatorships everywhere.

   In such a state of affairs, morality becomes collateral damage to truth-telling, the gist of Proverbs 29:12, “If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked”—Scripture’s equivalent of “birds of a feather flock together.”  In old Abimelech’s case, Jotham was the persecuted truth-teller (Judges 9:7-21). American Abimelech’s consistent reliance on falsehoods has become standardized amongst ‘mission aligned’ appointees, cronies, mainstream/social media abettors, and admirers abroad—not to mention reprobates from all social strata who resort to flattery and ‘spins’ to feed his ego and curry his favor.  That being said and no matter the age, prioritizing self-serving agendas over morality and truth has been the MO for both state (Exodus 1:8-14, 5:5-19; 2Samuel 16:20-23, 17:1-4,7-12; 1Kings 12:1-14, 21:5-13; Esther 3:1-15; Daniel 3:8-21, 6:1-9; Jeremiah 38:1-6) and church (John 11:47-53).

   Boiled down to essentials, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego’s ordeal was prompted by xenophobia and anger that foreigners were taking away Chaldean jobs (Daniel 3:8,12).  In Daniel’s case and appealing to Darius’ ego, a new law was contrived and enacted to get rid of a conscientious, competent, incorruptible but alien public servant (Daniel 6:6-9).⁴   Both Jeremiah and Jesus fell victim to an age-old nationalistic ploy:  They were branded as traitors while neither had said or done anything to overturn the rule of law.  In these, they were exemplifying a principle argued by Paul in Romans 13:1-2:  No human being, for whatever cause or ideology, could oppose authorities established by Father because doing so amounted to resisting Him⁵—though “established” in this case meant allowed by Him even when authorities would betray His original intent (Romans 13:3-7).

   This unpalatable reality is clear from Jeremiah 21:9, 27:17 and 38:2-3, where the divine demand was not to fight Babylonian invaders but to submit to their rule—or else!  God or no God, Jewish nationalists would have none of that:  They would fight to the bitter end which was bitter indeed (Lamentations 2).  In the musical chairs game of human governance, men may choose leaders Father allows Satan to dangle before their noses; but when they prove to be despotic or pursue outright anti-Christian policies, they cannot be rebelled against:  As far as Father is concerned, men are free to make their bed of nails but must lie on them.  Getting rid of such leaders—if and when deemed necessary—is left entirely to Father’s discretion (Judges 9:22-24,53-56; 2Samuel 17:14; 1Kings 22:20-23; 2Kings 9:6-7, 10:11).⁶

   When it came to Jerusalem’s fall to the Romans in 70 AD, it was a replay of the Babylonian experience: Resistance was met with divine rejection despite non-stop holocausts at the Temple pleading for Father’s assistance. As warned (Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11, 14:12; Lamentations 2:17; Ezekiel 8:18; Micah 3:4), His ears were deaf to Jewish pleas.  By then Jews had crucified Father’s Deliverer, so Satan had carte blanche to raze everything down and usher in the prophesied Jewish Diaspora (Deuteronomy 28:64; Jeremiah 9:6; Ezekiel 20:23, 22:15).  The heart of Judaism, the Jerusalem Temple, would never rise again because the times allotted to Jews to make good had come to an end;⁷ and for the remainder of the time of grace allotted to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:8; Jeremiah 13:16; Zephaniah 2-3; Revelation 16:17), Jerusalem would “be trampled on” until its downfall at end times (Luke 21:20-28).

   The defining event took place in 1Samuel 8:1-22:  Jews chose human over divine leadership to be like other nations; just as Christians would later regard leaders of state [i.e., monarchs] and church [i.e., popes] as divine appointees—even when Jesus had specifically proscribed lording it over others (Matthew 20:25-26).  For someone rejecting political involvement (John 6:15) on grounds that world governments had been given over to his archenemy (Luke 4:5-6; John 14:30-31) and his Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), Jesus taught that powers that be claiming to serve him as Lord were nothing of the kind.

   In either case Judeo-Christians would not be dissuaded.  OK by me, said Yahweh Son, but your leaders will send your children to war in order to maintain power; will exploit your assets to line the pockets of their cronies; and no one or anything meaningful to you will be spared their predations.  Music to our ears, responded the people, bring it on!  The rest, to paraphrase the idiom, is Biblical history—though none of it was new under the sun (Deuteronomy 31:16-23,29; Isaiah 22:12-14, 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31-33; Hosea 13:6 / Luke 17:26-30, 21:34).

Further Thoughts on the Two-Horned Beast

   If it is true that the two-horns represent the United States and Russia, it follows that as in the case of Medo-Persia, the horns also stand for each of these nations’ most prominent leader.  Because in his preaching Jesus was not in the habit of mentioning proper names, we have followed his example here and used ‘American Abimelech’ and ‘Russian Abimelech’ to refer to the leader of either country—since they have basically copied old Abimelech’s ways.  The last thing we want is to be ensnared in polemics or give the impression there is a partisan agenda behind this essay.  What we are doing is giving an interpretation based on the written evidence [↔Isaiah 8:20] and for the purpose stated in Ezekiel 33:1-9.  Readers are free to reject or give further thought to our arguments.  Be that as it may, we exhort all readers to pray to Father for enlightenment (Jeremiah 33:3; Luke 11:13; James 1:5) and never ever rely exclusively on what any human being has to say.

   The purpose of “making fire come down from heaven” (Revelation 13:13) may be either to suppress rebellious factions through force or as a demonstration of might to enforce submission/compliance.  In any case, this fiery deployment is not indicative of nuclear war:  It will not happen!  Not only has Father reserved for Himself the exclusive right to incinerate things and souls He has created at Armageddon a good ±1,000 years into the future (Deuteronomy 32:35↔Psalms 68:2; Amos 9:5; Micah 1:4; Nahum 1:5; Matthew 10:28; Hebrews 10:27,30-31; Revelation 20:7-9); but tyrants resort to ‘saber-rattling’ to instill fear in weaker nations.   A perennial bluff, really:  Tyrants are too fond of lording over it over people and enjoying possessions to settle for bones and ashes.  Both American and Russian Abimelechs know this and use the threat of WWIII to stoke up fear while syncing out of public scrutiny to consolidate each other’s domains.

   Likewise, control over purchasing power (Revelation 13:17) is another way of keeping people in check.  What is singular here is that both strategies are aimed at forcing people to worship the beast whose identifying name—where letters in the name have numerical values—adds up to 666 (Revelation 17:18).  Given all the other Scriptures pointing to Roman Catholicism, the language in question must be Latin, which is that church’s official language.  As to where the ‘666’ comes from, readers are directed to our essay entitled The Great Pretender, Part (IVb); we have no time to go into all that here.

   Why would both nations, neither particularly Christian-minded given their bloodsoaked histories and track record, care to enforce submission to Rome, for centuries not the powerbroker it once was?  Rome has no natural resources to exploit, no territories inviting annexation, no troops to contribute—let alone that in his tactful way Francis, Bishop of Rome, has been critical of both superpowers.

   Paul gives us a clue in 1Thessalonians 5:3:  “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape”; and given the fact that Father denies men their ever illusive dream of world peace (Jeremiah 12:12; Ezekiel 13:10-15), we must consider events out of either Abimelech’s control which will destabilize global social orders and economies.

   And for that we must consider natural upheavals, not only prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:25-26, but predicted in Scriptures like Psalms 18:7, 60:2; Isaiah 20:24; Amos 8:8-10; Revelation 16:8-9,17-21.  While Matthew’s are characterized as the “beginning of birth pains” [Matthew 24:8↔compare to Paul’s inescapable “labor pains on pregnant woman” (1Thessalonians 5:3)], Luke’s catastrophes are caused by the “shaking” of heavenly powers (Luke 21:26), which corresponds with Father’s decision to pull the plug on human shenanigans (Revelation 16:17↔Isaiah 42:14-16; Jeremiah 6:11-13).

   Not a day passes that ‘prophetic’ news items deal with the consequences of climate change:  rising seas and loss of territory if not whole nations; melting ice that causes the earth’s crust to bounce up, contributing to increasing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from rising magma once kept under pressure; the disappearance of animal species vital for crosspollination and emergence of destructive ones endangering food supplies; the rise of new pathogens due to rising temperatures plus the return of diseases once eradicated; algal blooms starving oceans of oxygen and thus decimating sea life—the list goes on and on.  Is it possible that these unfolding disasters are allowed by Father as punishment for having contaminated His creation, so that the earth is figuratively ‘vomiting’ mankind (Leviticus 18:25)?

   It would only take one or many catastrophic, natural disasters in the United States to bring the country to its knees, which would prevent it from backing up Israel’s egregious acts against Palestinians and lead to repercussions by Arab armies [↔Luke 21:20] no longer fearful of American reprisals.  Could something similar happen in Russia?  Obviously, both American and Russian Abimelechs will have to resort to martial law and repressive measures to enforce order and stay in power.  Why not the next self-serving step?  Given their worldwide gravitas, propping up pope and Roman Catholic Church as a ploy to divert attention from state failures to the hope of heavenly assistance?

   By no stretch of the imagination can either American or Russian Abimelech be considered Christian; though in pursuit of the power Jesus proscribed, one regards a failed assassination attempt as a political endorsement from Heaven, and the other has used Russian Orthodox priests to sanctify weapons of mass destruction.  Just as certain American evangelicals have enabled and abetted the anti-Christian stances of their Abimelech, the Russian Orthodox Church has become a propaganda tool for theirs.  We have gone back full circle to when rulers seeking to dominate and exploit surrounding nations conscripted deities favoring their military objectives.

   How all of this will play out is anybody’s guess:  We are not given detailed sequences of events nor it has never been Father’s intention to do so.  But we were explicitly warned that between now and then disasters will take place incrementally if not exponentially until mankind is brought to task (Ezekiel 7:25-27):

“When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. Disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will be lost from the priest and counsel from the elders. The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.  According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them.  And they will know that I am the LORD.”

¹ Father has reserved specific days and hours for Himself.  Not even Jesus is privy to this information; so even as the anointer of the Holy Spirit Who knows “the deep things of God,” he cannot convey this information to any human being—an important reminder for those who fall prey to doomsday predictors and apocalyptic calendars of pagan nations (Mark 13:31; Acts 1:7; 1Corinthians 2:10).

² The reference to nobler metals devolving into clay may suggest not only the grandeur but the ethnic homogeneousness of each empire.  Babylon and Medo-Persia, like their metal counterparts, were resistant to external influences; whereas Greece and Rome were ‘debased’ by customs imported from conquered peoples.  The strength of the metals may also indicate empires’ ruling styles—Rome’s iron-hand being the most brutal and repressive.  But all of this is mere conjecture without Scriptural confirmation.

³ Who the Bible calls ‘righteous’ is not someone with a halo orbiting over his/her head:  It is anyone who recognizing his/her evil condition takes steps to correct it in order to reconcile with Father and merit inclusion in His Kingdom—if obedient to Him above any men (Acts 5:29) and if embracing His vision for humanity (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 1:10, 4:1-6) rather than men’s (Galatians 1:10; James 4:4).

⁴ Unlike the historical power/glory hungry king of Babylon who is Satan’s symbol in Scripture (Isaiah 14:4-6,13-20), Darius regretted having acted unknowingly against Daniel, tried to walk back his decision, but gave in to peer pressure (Daniel 6:14-15).  Like his unholy master, Nebuchadnezzar only cared about being exalted (Daniel 3:12-19).

   Please note that the Isaiah verses highlight Satan’s homicidal ruling style [Isaiah 14:20↔John 8:44, Hebrews 2:14]; his being cast out of Heaven [Isaiah 14:15↔Revelation 12:7-9]; his chaining atop the rotting corpses of the unrighteous post Last Judgment [Isaiah 14:11↔Jeremiah 25:33]; and the redeemed in Heaven looking down upon him throughout the Millennium of rest (Isaiah 14:16-17).

⁵ Re-enacted during the attack on Congress on January 2021, when evangelicals knelt to thank Father in the aftermath of disobeying Him.  Though Paul tells us that by their actions attackers will be brought to task one way or another (Romans 13:1-2), some egregious participants were pardoned by the instigator of the revolt who evangelicals had rallied behind [↔2Corinthians 11:15].

⁶  It will be seen that in some of these verses, Satan, as an envoy of Yahweh Son, was permitted to play a role in the downfall of his followers—as he will do again during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 9:1-11) and their annihilation at Armageddon (Revelation 20:7-10).   

⁷ Because Judeo-Christianity would evolve from local to global religion, anything related to Father’s worship was relocated to Heaven (Hebrews 8:1-5, 9:8,11-12,23-25, 10:19-22), thus eliminating the need for pilgrimages to Jerusalem in order to expiate sins (Deuteronomy 12:4-5,11,13).  We see too that elements of the earthly cult prefigured their spiritual counterparts in the heavenly cult—to wit, salt (Leviticus 2:13; 2Chronicles 13:5↔Matthew 5:13; Colossians 4:6), incense (Exodus 30:34-38; Psalms 141:2↔Revelation 5:8) and even the sacrifice of some righteous to sanctify the nation (Exodus 24:6-8↔Hebrews 9:21-23; 2Timohy 4:6; Revelation 6:9-11).