Issued: 11/23/21  Revised: 1/20/24

“There is the deep and wide sea, teeming with numberless creatures, living things small and great.  There, the ships pass through; Leviathan, which you created, plays in it.”

Psalms 104:25-26

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: http://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 and Most High God.  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.

   Having discussed creatures impacting Israel’s past, we now turn to creatures influencing Christendom’s history from Jesus’ crucifixion to end-times.  While Old Testament major and lesser Prophets factually recorded and symbolically predicted Judeo-Christianity’s respective trajectories towards apostasy, Daniel is Revelation’s unequivocal harbinger; for in Daniel, time estimates are given between the reconstruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the coming of the Messiah, his death, and Jesus’ foundational work post resurrection (Daniel 9:24-27).  Verse 27 in particular bridges the gap between the crucifixion and Satan’s burning at Armageddon.  Moreover, Daniel’s terrible “fourth beast” (Daniel 7:7-8) acquires in Revelation 13:1-2 attributes of the first three (Daniel 7:4-6), for which reason we will call it the ‘Chimera-like’ Creature.

   Like the Book of Revelation, Daniel is in need of serious editing:  Clues are all over the place and not always linked thematically as they should.  However, if the Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit as we are told (2Peter 1:20-21), there must be method in the ‘badness.’  As we struggle on, be aware that there are competing explanations for the symbolisms used in these books; and frankly, there is absolutely no way to state definitively what is what.  It is possible to make the case for Jesus’ divinity and his pre-existence as Yahweh Son proxy Angel God on the basis of substantial Scriptural evidence, but prophetic ‘creatures/monsters’ are another matter altogether:  They can be partially understood after historical events have taken place; and only with the aid of Father‘s “hidden wisdom” (Mark 4:11-12↔Isaiah 28:13; 1Corinthians 2:7-14).  May He help us as we proceed.

Daniel’s Monstrous Menagerie

   In Daniel 7:1-8 four huge beasts come out of the sea [Scripture’s symbol for humanity at large].  Recalling the symbolic life forms created in Third and Fifth Days, the “sea beasts” symbolizing Fifth Day creations are our first clue that Daniel’s is dealing with future entities.  Daniel 7:4-5 almost certainly refer to Satan, the Behemoth/Leviathan über alles beast.  He is portrayed as a lion (1Peter 5:8) with eagle’s wings [angel/cherub, “eagles” symbolic of angels↔Luke 17:37; Revelation 8:13, 12:14]; the “plucked off” wings suggesting Satan’s banishment from the heavenly host (Revelation 12:9); and since no longer a high-ranking Cherub but demoted to rule over men, then “man-like” by virtue of his affinity with men’s evil instincts (Ecclesiastes 7:29, 8:11, 9:3; John 8:44).

   Let us then assume that verses Daniel 7:5-6 refer to Medo-Persia and the collective kingdoms of Alexander’s generals, respectively.  The “bear” imagery suggests ferocity; the fact that one side is higher than the other may allude to, if not to the relative population of Medes vis-à-vis Persians, then to the empire’s extent from its founding to its downfall.¹  Cyrus II, who was Alexander’s role model, established the first Persian Empire after defeating the Medes, the kingdom of Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire [the three ribs in the bear’s teeth?]; Darius I ruled the empire at its peak.  If the Medo-Persian empire was Daniel’s “bear,” it had chomped through a lot of human flesh indeed by the time it fell to Alexander circa 330 BC.

   In historical chronology, Daniel 7:6 brings us to the collective territories held by Alexander’s four generals.  This “beast” is a leopard, an animal that, unlike dogs, pigs, or lions, Scripture never allegorizes to comment on human behaviors.  Still it is a predatory carnivore very fast on its legs, speed being perhaps the attribute suggested by the four wings on its back [↔Revelation 12:14].  More germane are the four heads issuing from a common body [the four generals­­—hence a wing for each? Shared ethnicity?].  And that it was “given dominion” is the standard Scriptural declaration that men—even Satan himself—can do nothing unless Father allows it (Isaiah 45:5-7; Lamentations 3:37-38; Daniel 5:25; John 19:11).

   Thus far Daniel 8 follows the same historical pattern embodied in the statue Nebuchadnezzar dreamt about (Daniel 2)—as does Daniel 7—the only difference being transposing areas of influence from large domains to vaster ones.  If this is Scripture’s intention, Daniel 8 should have preceded Daniel 7, for here the “beasts” come out of the sea, whereas in Daniel 8 they come by land.  Historically Babylon was taken over by Medo-Persia; they were conquered by Alexander; and Rome absorbed them all culturally, intellectually, and religiously.  The modern world emerged out of the shambles of the Roman Empire; Europe came into being; and European nations exported worldwide Catholic/Protestant adulterations of Jesus’ Gospel.  What holds Europe together and in fact most of the nations of the world are pacts struck to forestall military engagement and territorial grabs—the mixture of iron [military might] and clay [pacts easily broken and reconfigured] mentioned in Daniel 2:41-43. Please note than Daniel 2:44 prophesies Father‘s suppression of human governance in order to usher in His eternal Kingdom (Psalms 110:1; Ezekiel 21:26-27)—i.e., end-times events.

   Nevertheless, the historical realities embodied in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue hold true no matter whether we are talking about land or sea creatures.  The overall objective here is to differentiate between Jewish and Christian prophecies; plus letting us know that if the prophetic, unnamed King of Babylon is Satan, then all subsequent empires were/are parts of his “body.”  Let us extrapolate from Jesus’ own relationship with his body, the Church.  He is the head ruling the body; and his people are likened to organs and limbs working in unison to accomplish his agenda (1Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 5:23-32).  In similar fashion Satan, the head of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, rules over ‘member’ nations enabling his agenda of destruction and world domination; but whereas Jesus nourishes and cherishes his people, Satan exploits and kills his own (Isaiah 14:20).

The “Chimera-like” Creature and Its Body Parts

   Before we start, the essential thing always to keep in mind is that the Bible focuses only on the fate of Judeo-Christianity.  No other world religion matters in this context; and despite modern notions of ‘inter-faith dialogues,’ Father is not interested in religious eclecticism, syncretism, modern relevance, or being found at the end of non Judeo-Christian ‘roads’ mankind posits lead to Him.  There is only one such road and that is Jesus (John 14:6).

   The only other religion that plays a passing role in Scripture is Islam, the reason being the promise made to Hagar that a great nation would issue from her son, Ishmael (Genesis 21:13,17-21).²  That said, the son of the slave will not inherit with the son of promise (Genesis 21:10-12; Galatians 4:25-31).  Muslims are perfectly entitled to put their hopes on Muhammad, who has nothing to do with Jesus no matter what the Koran says.  Heed Paul’s voice (Galatians 1:8-10); we do know that Jesus sent him (Acts 9:15).  It will all be sorted out on Judgment Day.  Let us move on.

   In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.  Consider the aptness of the name.  Leviathan is portrayed as a fire-breathing monster (Job 41:19-21).  The lion’s head reminds us of 1Peter 5:8:  “Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”; and Paul was hip to that symbolism (2Timothy 4:17).³ But what about the goat’s body?  Is not Satan the goat that will bear Israel’s [the entire Judeo-Christian family] iniquities (Leviticus 16:21-22)?  We need not comment about the serpent’s tail (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 20:2).⁴

   Daniel describes his fourth beast thus:  “It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7).  Here again we find echoes of other Scriptures:  The terrible teeth (Job 41:14); Ezekiel 32:2’s dragon [thrashing] about in your streams, [stirring] up the water with [his] feet, and [muddying] your streams”; Peter’s devouring lion (1Peter 5:8).  This is the self-same sea creature that appears in Revelation 13:1-2, incorporating characteristics of the other three—hence the chimeric epithet:  Resembling a leopard, with bear’s feet, and with a lion’s mouth.  Most significantly, it is animated by the usual culprit:  “The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”

   NOTE:  Because we have no desire to get mired in scholarly debates, what follows is a very brief and tentative explanation for the history that the Chimera-like Creature might symbolize.  All errors reflect the author’s intellectual limitations and lack of historical accuracy.

   When Constantine I [a former sun-god worshipper] established Christianity as the Roman Empire’s religion, Western Christianization began in earnest.  Originally Constantine had ruled from Rome in close association with the Catholic Church; he began construction of St. Peter’s basilica in 324 CE and developed associated precincts [housing for clergymen, a marketplace] which were the origins of Vatican City.  When he later moved his capital to Constantinople [dubbed “the new Rome,” formerly Byzantium, today’s Istanbul], Rome became a diminished ecclesiastical center.  Yet in time Vatican Rome played a pivotal role in disseminating Christianity all over the globe.

   A clue that Christianity would spread from the West is given in Acts 16:6-10:  “Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Silas went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.  When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them…A vision appeared to Paul in the night.  There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us.’  So when Paul had seen the vision, [they] immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called [them] to proclaim the Good News to the people there.”

   Why would the Holy Spirit at this point veto the evangelization of Asia if the Gospel needed to be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14)?  To allow room for the emergence of Islam—as per the promise made to Hagar—overrunning Asia eastwards?  To show us, by directing Paul to Macedonia, that the European continent would instead be the springboard for western evangelization as it indeed was?  Take your pick.

   Returning once more to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, Rome [the iron legs] devolved into two feet with ten toes, which correspond to the ten horns protruding from the seven heads, one of the heads having three horns.  Similarly, Daniel 7:7’s creature has ten horns which in Revelation 13:1 protrude from seven heads.  Let us assume that the seven heads symbolize those ‘barbaric’ tribes that shredded the Roman Empire, later coalescing into distinct ethnicities—Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Lombards, etc.  These ethnic groups played central roles in partitioning Europe, so that today’s European nations emerged from territories over which they held sway.  Visigoths settled the Iberian Peninsula [Portugal and Spain]; Franks spread over what is now France; Germany and the Low Countries [Belgium (unified as a state in 1830), the Netherlands, Luxembourg]; Switzerland and the northern part of Italy as far as Rome, but later uprooted by Goths, Ostrogoths, Lombards; and so on.

   Their collective “body” may have included peoples migrating from eastern territories, some of whom may have been remnants of the Greek and Medo-Persian empires.  This may explain why Revelation’s “sea beast” shares animal traits—leopard, bear, lion—with Daniel’s 7:3-6’s “sea beasts.”  If we then follow the logic behind Daniel 8:21, we would assume Alaric I to be the horn on the Visigothic head; Clovis I the horn on the Frankish head; and so on.  Again all this is tentative:  Historical and Biblical scholars are at loggerheads about what/who each head/horn represents.  This type of exact correspondence is rare in Scripture.  Father does not seem as interested in giving His hand away by revealing definitive details so much as He wants to provide a modicum of suggestive evidence that His intended audience will accept on faith, since faith is the key ‘opening’ human understanding.

The “human-like” horn:  The Papacy

   But we run into trouble when we come to the horn of Daniel 7:20-21, a horn “that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others…making war against the holy people and defeating them” (See Daniel 7:21).  This links us to Revelation 13:7 and most significantly to Daniel 8:23-24:  “Toward the end of their rule [nations represented by the seven heads], as the desecrations proceed, an insolent king will arise, proficient at deception.  And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he will cause terrible destruction, and shall prosper and do his pleasure: and he shall destroy mighty men and the holy people.”  Why is this of paramount importance?  Because this horn lacked the military might to destroy anyone on its own.

 Daniel is clearly telling us that the “insolent king” would arise and gain power after a period of great turmoil [as Europe was being shaped?].  Now if this “king” had no armies of his own with which to exert power over nations, this can only refer to the Roman Catholic Church and its “king,” the pope—mind you not any one pope specifically but the office itself:  The Papacy.  As history confirms, the Roman Catholic Church brokered alliances with powerful European monarchs on grounds of religious browbeating:  Be obedient to pope or be slapped with excommunication.

 Papal ‘insolence’ was three-fold:  Claiming to be Jesus’ representative on earth (Ezekiel 28:2↔2Thessalonians 2:4); presuming a spurious pedigree as Peter’s successor; and professing to be infallible when promulgating church dogma from his throne [“ex cathedra”; literally “from the chair”].  Needless to say these claims were all false.  As only Teacher Jesus did not appoint substitutes on earth (Matthew 23:8); he forbade his Apostles to assert superiority over one another (Matthew 20:26); he had in fact eliminated priestly classes by offering to send the Holy Spirit and assuming a High Priesthood in Heaven (Luke 16:16; John 15:26, 16:13; Hebrews 5:5-6, 7:22-28, 10:19-22); he had appointed Paul, not Peter, as spiritual guide to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; Galatians 2:8-9);⁵ and “infallibility” proved to be a con over centuries of egregious double-dealings, intrigues, abominable religious practices, and blood-spilling copious enough to keep Dracula sated without leaving his coffin.⁶

   Which is how Revelation 17:5-6 portrays the Roman Catholic Church:  “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth…drunken from the blood of the holy ones, and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.”  Why mother?  Because pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism was the mother of all future Christian-based denominations, all of them “harlots” for having assimilated Roman Catholic dogmas into their liturgies, be it priest-like hierarchies, Sunday worship, idolatry, Marian worship, celibacy, dietary restrictions, and the like.  Since these dogmas run contrary to Father’s mandates, they must come from demonic sources (1Timothy 4:1-3); hence abiding by their rules constitutes the “spiritual fornication” Revelation abhors and the Old Testament was at pains to eradicate.

   Are we being fanciful in talking about demons?  Not according to Revelation 18:2:  “Babylon the great…became a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird [fallen angels symbolized as eagles].”  Which is not surprising since Jesus told us that Satan’s throne⁷ is in a Christian church where her priests are willing to damn people for lucre, as Balaam did (Numbers 22:5-32, 31:8; Joshua 13:22), and to fornicate with idols (Revelation 2:13-14).  It is a pity that Scripture does not provide explicit clues to the identities of Antipas and the Nicolaitans.⁸

   Nevertheless, Ezekiel 28:2:3 comes to our rescue:  “Tell the prince of Tyre…Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas’; yet you are man, and not God, though you did set your heart as the heart of God…there is no secret that is hidden from you.”  We have seen that Satan is the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19), so his prince must be a human being [“you are man”] pretending to be God [Jesus’ ‘vicar’] amongst humanity [“in the midst of the seas”].

   In Biblical parlance, who are princes?  Jesus, for one, is Messiah the Prince and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 9:25), Yahweh Father’s heir; the Archangel Michael, second-in-command of the angelic host (Daniel 12:1); anyone administering the affairs of provinces (1Kings 20:14); but most significantly, high priests (Acts 23:5).  And this is exactly what popes are:  High priests in Satan’s church.

   Is the Papacy “proficient at deception”?  Papal historical intrigues and damage control tactics have been nothing but.  Which leads us to Daniel 8:25:  “Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper by his influence, and he shall be great in his own mind, and without warning he shall destroy many.  He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be shattered, but not by human hands.”  How did the Papacy “stand up” against Jesus?  Through persecutions, tortures, auto-da-fés, inquisitions, sanctioned executions, and wholesale repression of the faithful who would not bow to priestly authority [↔Acts 5:27-40]; so that Revelation 17:6’s profiling does fit the Roman Catholic Church to the proverbial “T.”  And to establish her unequivocal identity and extent of power, these specs:  “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits…The waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:9,15).

   We all know about Rome’s seven hills; in fact, throughout its long history, the city proper has shifted over its hilly surroundings while always encompassing seven hills at the end of each territorial shift.  But the fact that the “harlot” sits over all the heads of the Chimera-like beast can only point to a period in history when the “harlot” ruled over them by their own choice (Revelation 17:13) to further shared agendas of conquest and domination.  Only one historical candidate meets all the specs:  The Holy Roman Empire.

   Thus, Daniel’s and Revelation’s Chimera-like Creature prefigures not individual nation-states sowing mayhem but to a conglomerate of nations beholden to the Roman Catholic Church.  Their unholy Empire made mulch of countless millions over the centuries, with popes sanctioning unleashing the dogs of war against any form of resistance—be it Christian or non.  When exactly it came into being and ended is debatable, but the mayhem and bloodshed it caused worldwide is graphically recorded between the bookends of one of history’s darkest periods.

   One last prophecy bears examination:  “The ten horns are ten kings who will rule that empire. Then another king will appear; he will be very different from the earlier ones and will overthrow three kings.  He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall oppress the holy ones of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and [the holy ones] shall be given over to him until a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:24-25).

  In no particular order, what does “time and times and half a time” mean?  Thinking in algebraic terms, “time” is the unknown variable.  Let us assume that time = 120 years of Genesis 6:2.  Why this particular number unless it has some specific significance, since 120 years, as per Yahweh’s stated intention, does not delimit every human being’s lifespan?  Expressed algebraically: If time = 120, then 120 [“time”] + 9 x 120 [“times”] + 60 [“half a time”] = 120 + 1,080 + 60 = 1,260.  And if we apply Ezekiel’s conversion factor of 1 day = 1 year, then 1,260 days = 1,260 years,

   And where have we seen 1,260 before?  In Revelation 13:5:  “The beast was allowed to speak arrogant and blasphemous things, and it was given authority for 42 months.”   According to the Hebrew lunar calendar observed in the Bible, 42 months = 1,260 days (42 x 30) = 1,260 prophetic years, which allows us to identify the “beast” from the perspective of historical longevity and as Daniel’s “horn” different from other kingdoms in terms of lacking armies but nevertheless mowing down Father’s “saints” (Revelation 13:7).⁹

 As to changing the “times and the law,” Roman Catholicism has been an editorial trailblazer.  The holy days Father demarcated as sacred to Him (Ezekiel 22:26) have been substituted by feast days consecrating pagan gods in the form of Catholic “saints”; Sunday as a more venerable day of worship than the Jewish Sabbath; and even a Gregorian calendar which, while more scientifically accurate, obfuscates the relationship between the Hebrew lunar calendar and the prophecies pegged to it:  All of Daniel’s time estimates are rendered meaningless if based on Gregorian time divisions.  Finally, in terms of the changing the “law,” if this refers to the Ten Commandments, Roman Catholicism chopped the Second in order to justify idolatry and did away entirely with the Fourth, the Sabbath of rest.  But we know how these two excisions entrap souls, do we not?  “For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10).

   The horn uprooting the other three in Daniel 7:24 may refer to the outcome of the notorious papal schism lasting from 1378 to 1417.  This divisive, power-grabbing, shameful display of anti-Christian behaviors by Jesus’ ‘vicars’ was settled at the Council of Constance (1415).  Under pressure from Sigismund [Holy Roman Emperor (1368–1437)], a) Pope John XXIII was deposed; b) the Roman pope, Gregory XII resigned; and c) the claims of the Avignon pope, Benedict XIII, were dismissed.  That series of events opened the way to the election of a new pope, Martin V: One horn uprooting three horns of its own kind.

  Pope Martin V then proceeded to misrepresent Jesus and to fit prophecy’s papal profiling.  In 1425 he threatened excommunication for Christian slave traders, yet scant months later anathematized anyone selling Christian slaves to Muslims [they could otherwise be legitimately sold] and forced Jews to wear a “badge of infamy” to deter them from trafficking Christians.  Being a fan of colonial expansionism, Martin issued a bull (1441) sanctioning the Portuguese slave trade, since slave labor was vital to that nation’s economic growth.  In gratitude ten African slaves were presented to Martin.

   On 1 March 1420, Martin issued a bull exhorting unity amongst Christians to unite in a crusade against the Wycliffites, Hussites, and other “heretics”—the war against resistors of papal rule had resumed with a nuclear option.   Also in 1420 Martin extended indulgences against anyone crusading against the rising Ottoman Turks, to be led by someone to whom he owed payola:  Sigismund.   Martin’s indulgences [an euphemism for license to kill] may have been inspired by Cistercian abbot, papal legate and inquisitor Arnaud Amaury [Amalric], who having incited a crusade (1209) against the Cathars [Albigensians] urged crusaders to kill when in doubt of religious orientation, for “God would sort them out.”  Though Cathars were exterminated [lots of assets to be plundered off them], the other crusades failed.  Alas, there was no Gamaliel [↔Acts 5:34-39] to temper ‘religious’ zealotry contrary to divine designs.

   Martin’s untrustworthiness as Jesus’ steward surfaced in other ways.  Through Sigismund Jews obtained several bulls from Martin reaffirming previous privileges and toning down rhetoric from anti-Semitic friars; in later years he repealed some of these ordinances [so much for infallibility of judgment].  Canon law (17, 25 and 29 forbade usury, as did the Bible (Exodus 22:25-27), but to skirt these prohibitions annuities were paid—in effect interest if not in name.  When Martin declared annuities to be lawful (1423), they became part of commerce, whereupon they were used to raise compulsory loans from citizens—with hefty donations diverted into papal coffers.  A squeeze called by any other name would stink as fleece.

The Two-horned Land Beast

   So much for the Chimera-like beast of Revelation; let us move unto the second.  “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.  And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.   He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.  And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.  He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.  He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:11-17).

   This is not a beast from the past:  It is an end-times one gestating as we write.  It will rise as the period of grace expires and the night when no one can work is upon us.  Who its two-horns exactly represent no one knows until prophecy becomes fulfilled; but that the horns share a common body would seem to suggest a Western rather than Eastern provenance/heritage, since they are in league with the first beast which, as we have seen, embodies European powers.  Muslim enclaves and Asiatic countries have never been nor will ever be the focus of Biblical prophecy:  Western nations contaminated by adulterated Christianity exported from Europe are.

   Two observations point to technological capabilities, which would imply that these horns are superpowers.  One is the deploying of fire from heaven, possible thanks to orbiting satellites armed with destructive capabilities; and the other is the branding of all classes of men with the mark of the beast, which implies computer intervention.  It is no feat of the imagination to extrapolate from facial recognition technologies used against citizens in godless, repressive nations to keep them under surveillance, and software determining their purchasing power or lack thereof.

   As stated before who these superpowers will be are a moot point; but the way things are going suggest two candidates that will remain nameless here.  It is always wise policy, as Scripture clearly teaches, to abstain from naming names; and as Sherlock Holmes wisely remarked, it is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts.  When and if this unholy union manifests itself, the faithful among us will know who they are.  The faithless will be their committed supporters until their mutual obliteration.

¹ Under Xerxes I, one million square miles, larger than any previous one in history.

² Pay attention to detail.  Father hears Hagar’s plea but it is Yahweh Son proxy Angel God who dialogues with her (Genesis 21:17; John 5:37).

³ It might be coincidence, but is this another way in which Scripture illustrates Satan’s obsessive need to usurp Jesus’ titles?  After all Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Genesis 49:8-10; Revelation 5:5); and lions are kings of all beasts of the earth. Another application of Ecclesiastes 3:18?

⁴ This is not to say that Greek mythology was part of Scripture.  But if as early as Enoch Jesus’ Second Coming was being preached (Jude 1:14-15); and Noah’s sons engendered post-Flood humanity (Genesis 10:5), snippets of Scripture may have been CRISPR-ed into world mythologies—the reason, for example, why Flood versions are common to them all.  And though this is only speculation, the same may be true of fire-breathing dragons (Job 41:19-21); flying god serpents (Isaiah 14:29, 30:6); and cannibalism, the notion of absorbing a person’s essence by eating his flesh and drinking his blood (Matthew 26:26-28).

   In the retelling over centuries, the original meanings were lost and/or refashioned to suit tribal preferences.  Of course, if this was the case, we know who was behind the spins.

⁵ The Scripture used to justify papal authoritarianism is Matthew 16:19:  “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  At a simple glance, bestowing such power upon one individual is exactly what Jesus forbade in Matthew 20:26; and Jesus cannot contradict himself.

  Let us look at this from two perspectives.  The “you” Jesus used may refer to Peter specifically or to all the Apostles collectively.  The notion that all the faithful are granted degrees of power similar to Jesus’ occurs in 1Corinthians 6:13 [despite Jesus being Father’s sole appointed Judge]; and Revelation 2:26-27 [despite Jesus being Father’s sole appointed ruler over all nations↔Psalms 2:8↔1Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:20-22]. Whether in terms of judgment or ruling, Jesus supersedes all; but those empowered to judge or to rule in their diminished capacities are appointed by Father (Matthew 19:27-28, 20:23).

   The most satisfactory answer, however, is that as Jesus was the chief cornerstone of Father’s human-bricked Church (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1Peter 2:5), Peter was recognized as the first laid “brick” next to Jesus’ cornerstone—hence the change of name from Simon to Peter [Greek Petrus, Aramaic Cephas, “rock”].  This recognition was due to the fact that Peter was the first Apostle to channel the Holy Spirit by stating Jesus to be Father‘s Son, the Messiah (Matthew 16:17).  This did not grant Peter exclusive rights as the sole conduit of a Spirit promised to all the faithful, via which Father makes His “hidden wisdom” known to them without need of human teachers (1Corinthians 2:7-13; 1John 2:27).

   In such a system, any spiritual guide, be it pope, priest, pastor, minister, prophet, elder or what have you, is a vector for Satan; and because in defiance of Jesus’ instructions, anti-Christian to boot.  And the greatest proof of their spiritual bankruptcy lies in the apostasy now pandemic throughout Christendom.

⁶ To his credit, but a little too late, Pope Francis has gone on record as saying popes have been and can be wrong.

⁷ The papal throne is at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.  The so-called ‘Satan’s throne,’ or Cathedra Petri, is at St. Peter’s.  This allegation should not be taken at face value.  Scripture’s intention is to tell us that as Yahweh dwelt in Jerusalem, Satan dwells in Vatican Rome, which is what Revelation 18:2 suggests.  ‘Throne’ in this sense is not so much an object than a sphere of influence.

⁸ Could the sale of indulgences have been the Balaam-like hated doctrine practiced by the Nicolaitans? The selling of indulgences was a medieval Roman Catholic scam whereby absolution from past sins and/or release from purgatory [which does not exist↔Hebrews 9:27] could be bought for the appropriate fee.

⁹ The same nomenclature works for Daniel 9:24-27.  Seventy weeks = 7 x 70 = 490 days = 490 years.  From the royal decree to rebuild Jerusalem (under Artaxerses I circa 457-458 BC) to the coming of the Messiah, 69 weeks (69 x 7) =  483 years (457 BC to 30 AD), thirty being Jesus’ age when he started his earthly ministry after being “anointed” with the Holy Spirit in the Jordan River (Luke 3:21-23).  In 9:27, Daniel further states that, “the Messiah shall make a firm covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease.”

 This “week” comes at the tail end of the 69 “weeks,” during which Jesus would make a firm—new and everlasting—covenant with many; with his crucifixion in the middle of that “week” [Jesus was then 33 years old], he would invalidate the Mosaic Covenant requiring continuous animal sacrifices and assorted rituals for the remission of sins (Acts 15:28-29; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:15-16; Hebrews 9:10).  For the remaining 3 “days”/years after his resurrection, either on earth (the 40 days of Acts 1:3) or from Heaven, he interacted with the Apostles, founded his Church, and launched Western evangelization.  Thus we arrive at the overall total of Daniel’s 70 x 7 days/years:  483 [or 69 x 7] + 7 [or 7 x 1]] = 490 days/years.