There seems to be an obsession today with a revived Roman Empire among most Christians and Bible scholars. I believe Scripture has a different story to tell, in fact, one that meshes with the current trend we see of Islamic migration to every part of the world. Daniel’s Book is being unsealed [12:4] and an important question surfacing on the minds of many who study Bible Prophecy is will the revived kingdom really be Rome? Let’s examine some of the Scriptural evidence beginning in the Book of Revelation.
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 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. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
[Revelation 13:1-3 NASB]
The beast rising out of the sea is the Antichrist and his kingdom as well as a religious system. His kingdom is described as a composite of three previous kingdoms. These kingdoms are Greece – described as a leopard [Dan 7:6], Medo-Persia – described as a bear [Dan 7:5] and Babylon – described as a lion [Dan 7:4]. The Antichrist’s kingdom will consist of a composite of the kingdoms of Greece, Medo-Persia and Babylon.
You might be thinking that the inclusion of Greece in the composite kingdom of the Antichrist leaves the door open for a European Antichrist. Consider this: the Greek Empire is described in Daniel as being the middle and two thighs of bronze of the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream [Dan 2:32, 39]. The middle is Greece at its height in the days of Alexander while the thighs represent the kings of the north and the south, both of whom came out of the broken Greek Empire. Greece was split into four kingdoms upon the death of Alexander the Great. They were Macedonia, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt [Dan 8:8, 8:22; 7:6]. Two of the kingdoms located in the Middle-East went on to war with one another for almost 200 years. These were the kings of the north and south [Dan 11:1-35]. The king of the South is Ptolemy and his progeny. The king of the North is Seleucid and his progeny. I believe Daniel is keeping our attention in the Middle-East by following the action of these two kingdoms in order to give us the the geographic location of the Antichrist’s future kingdom.
All roads do not lead to Rome. The ten horns of the beast represent ten powers in the final beast kingdom. It is the seven heads, however, that are relevant to this discussion. What do they represent? Thankfully, John tells us.
“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
[Revelation 17:9-11 NASB]
The seven heads are seven mountains and are also seven kings. These represent kingdoms as well because a king can’t be a king without one. They are also kingships in that they transcend generations. King, kingdom and kingship can be used interchangeably in this prophecy. History attests to this. It is generally agreed upon for Scriptural reasons that the seven kingdoms, or world empires, written about are:
- Egypt
- Assyria
- Babylon
- Medo-Persia
- Greece
- Rome
- The Antichrist’s Future Kingdom
The 8th king, the Antichrist, will be ruler of the revived kingdom after he steps up to claim it [Dan 7:7-8, 7:23-24].
That’s why he is an 8th king.
John then goes on to say that five have fallen:
- Egypt
- Assyria
- Babylon
- Medo-Persia
- Greece
One is:
6. Rome
This was the king/kingdom in power at the time of John’s writing.
The other has not yet come:
7. The Antichrist’s Future Kingdom
John has just verified that Rome is indeed one of the seven heads or kingdoms. But, is it the kingdom that is to be revived? Let’s skip back to verse eight to find the answer. John writes in Revelation 17:8 that the beast, or the Antichrist, was and is not now.
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
[Revelation 17:8 NASB]
The kingdom in power at the time of John’s writing was Rome. Since John tells us the beast was and is not, we can remove Rome from the list. John is saying that the revived kingdom will not be Rome. It will be one of the previous five – a kingdom that was. I can’t highlight this enough so here it is again: the kingdom that was will come again, not the one that is at the time of John’s writing. He uses the same sort of language to tell us again in Revelation 17:11.
“The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
[Revelation 17:11 NASB]
Again, the kingdom which was in power at this time was Rome. John has just told us that the kingdom that is to be revived existed before Rome. Therefore, Rome cannot be the revived kingdom. Let me take you through this section of Scripture again, carefully, verse by verse.
Revelation 17:8-11 NASB [8] “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
The beast is the future Antichristian king, kingdom, kingship. John says it was, meaning before the time of his writing. He says it is not, meaning it does not exist at the time of his writing. And finally he says it is about to reappear and go to destruction. John then reiterates that the beast was, is not and is to come in verse eight.
[9] “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, [10] and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
The seven heads are seven kings. Five have fallen before the time of John’s writing. They are the kings of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. Remember, these also represent kingdoms (because a king can’t be a king without one) and kingships as well. The one that existed during the time of John’s writing was Rome. This is the one that is. The other that has not yet come is the future Antichrist’s kingdom.
[11] “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Here again, the beast that was and is not is the future Antichrist and his kingdom. which existed before the Roman Empire. It is also an 8th kingdom because of the numerical succession of its appearance. This means that the Antichrist will appear after the 7th kingdom is already created. Now, you may be thinking, if the 7th kingdom is the Antichrist’s kingdom, how can he appear after it and rule an 8th kingdom? Scripture tells us the 7th kingdom will be in power before the Antichrist steps up to rule it [Dan 7:7-8, 7:23-24]. This is what marks the difference between the 7th and the 8th kingdoms. He will make this existing kingdom his own therefore making it an 8th. In fact, he will make it his own so much so that he will hate the harlot, the false religious system that allowed him to become the world ruler, and destroy her [Rev 17:12, 16-18].
John is telling us, in the book of Revelation, that the Antichrist’s future kingdom will be one of the five kingdoms previous to Rome. Therefore, it cannot be Rome. What this means is that “Babylon”, as it is used in Revelation 18, is not a metaphor for Rome but a geographic clue to the location of the Antichrist’s future kingdom. Rome is in Europe, not the Middle East. This also means that “Babylon” is not being used as a metaphor for anything that did not exist before the time of Rome. This would include both the United States and the Vatican, two popular choices for the beast. Neither of these existed before Rome, which is a prerequisite for the final kingdom.
I believe Scripture’s use of “Babylon” in describing the final beast kingdom is a reference to its geographic location. Currently, the Middle East is dominated by Islam. Considering it is the policy of Islam to convert or kill, it is extremely unlikely that a European atheist will rule from it in the future. But, don’t take my word for it. I encourage you to identify for yourself the true, revived kingdom of the Antichrist.
© P2ALM 2011
P2ALM 
13 responses to “Will the Revived Kingdom Really Be Rome?”
P2ALM, Forgive me for changing the subject but what is your take on the coming 6 eclipses in 2014-15 on Jewish holidays? Could the great tribulation occur between now and then?
i haven’t heard about that until now and i’d have to do more research to see if it was accurate. the magi certainly interpreted star signs to know the time of Christ’s birth and Christ said there would be signs in the stars at the end time [Luke 21:11, 25], but this seems to be more during the tribulation. however, i don’t doubt their will be some manifesting up to then.
we, as Christians, will know when the tribulation starts because a leader in the Middle East will step up and make peace with Israel [Rev 6:1-2]. Christians will know he is the Antichrist at that time, but the rest of the world won’t realize his true nature until he breaks the peace treaty 3 and a half years later [Dan 9:27].
i believe what is next on the prophetic calendar is the formation of the kingdoms of the north and south which are written about in Daniel 11. in fact, they are already forming now. that’s what this Islamic unrest in the Middle East is all about. ultimately, we will see an Islamic Caliphate emerge with Turkey leading. Turkey/Syria/Lebanon is the north kingdom according to Daniel and Egypt is the south kingdom. they will eventually be at odds with each other. when Egypt attacks Turkey, the Antichrist will already be leading the north kingdom [Dan 11:40-45].
Beware the King of the North in Daniel 11
Shalom,
If as you suggest that John saw a scarlet beast with only 7 heads and 10 horns, and the 10 horns of this said beast receive their power only during a season/one hour with the beast (Rev. 17:12) – therefore, the beast only having seven heads and noting that the 10 horns cannot simply float/exist in abstract, but must be attached to one of the 7 heads John saw… then which of the 7 heads are/will the 10 horns be attached to?
Where then is your suggested 8th head/kingdom?
Thanks,
barney
Shalom…
forgive the delay, barney. the 10 horns are attached to the 7th head which Scripture tells us is a revived Islamic Caliphate. this 7th head becomes an eighth head when the Antichrist steps up to rule it because this 10 nation kingdom will already exist when the Antichrist steps up into power to rule it. In fact, we are seeing the Islamic Caliphate being formed right now in the Middle East with all the uprisings. the countries overthrowing their governments will receive shariah Law in their place.
The beast that was and is not is the future Antichrist and his kingdom (the 7th kingdom being formed right now). His kingdom will be one of the seven identified above that was before the Roman Empire. It is also an eighth kingdom because of the numerical succession of its appearance. This means that the Antichrist will appear after the 7th kingdom is already created.
Now, you may be thinking, if the seventh kingdom is the Antichrist’s kingdom, how can he appear after it and rule an eighth kingdom? Scripture tells us the seventh kingdom will be in power before the Antichrist steps up to rule it [Dan 7:7-8, 7:23-24]. This is what marks the difference between the seventh and the eighth kingdoms. He will make this existing kingdom his own therefore making it an eighth. In fact, he will make it his own so much so that he will hate the harlot, the false religious system that allowed him to become the world ruler and destroy her [Rev 17:12, 16-18].
Yes, very interesting. Of interest, converted Muslim to Christian & former terrorist, Walid Shoebat also agrees with your thinking here. I personally am totally on the fence on this as there’s also strong argument on the other side that Rome (7 hills etc) will be the seat of power for the AC. Somehow the Vatican; i.e, the pope will play in this perhaps as the false prophet. ? But anyway great to see your perspective on this. Thank You. God bless, Maranatha!
i’ll tell you what really did it for me. geography. Daniel 11 names the Antichrist as the king of the north. so, where is this north kingdom? From the Arab Spring to Daniel l1’s Kings: What To Look For Next
also, that Islamic eschatology is the exact opposite f Christian eschatology is fascinating. Middle Eastern gentiles excited about the coming of the biblical Antichrist.
Hey, God bless you too!
Let me ask you something, if the lion with wings is Babylon as you say, then how could Daniel see a FUTURE vision of 4 beasts rising out of the sea? Babylon already existed and would fall only a few years later. Please explain to me how he could have a future vision with an almost past kingdom rising from the sea.
Hi Elle and thanks for asking.
when we look at the text it says Daniel had “a dream and vision in his mind” [Daniel 7:1]. Verse 2 calls it a “vision by night”. Verse 7 calls it a “night vision”. Verse 13 calls his experience “night visions”. In verse 15 he calls them “visions in my mind”. Verse 28 says it was a “revelation”. none of these verses use the word “future”, so it is not limited to only future events. it was a vision, a dream, a revelation.
Daniel’s vision was from his moment in time – the kingdom he was living in – to the end when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom on earth. for whatever reason, God chose to show these kingdoms as beasts rising from the sea. Daniel was shown the spiritual origin of Babylon to the time of its end – its future – and also the biblical world kingdoms that would come after. it’s also helpful to know that the beasts describe a king/kingship/kingdom.
A beast is a king, or a man. It is also a kingdom because you can’t be a king without one. It is also a kingship since kingdoms are often multigenerational and the seat of power changes from one king to the next over the years. In addition, consider, in the Book of Revelation, the beast that John sees is also a fallen angel, a spiritual being [Revelation 9:11].
here’s a simplified guide to the four beasts that may also help.
Thank you for replying. That may be, but why then did the angel tell Daniel “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, (which) SHALL arise out of the earth.”? Shall is future tense. Whatever the case may be, I’m with you on the 10 toed/horned beast being Middle Eastern in origin. Oh, by the way they are depicted as rising from the sea because “sea” is a symbol used for gentile nations, earth and heaven are symbolically used for Israel, not always mind you. In the Daniel passage above, it says the 4 beasts arise out of the earth. Earth can also be translated “land”, as in that particular area. There have been more than 4 kingdoms on the whole earth, but only 4 that count for that particular region. Assyria would not count, because they were their own kingdom outside of Babylon, but do count as one of the 7 heads because they did rule over Israel.
i appreciate your critical thinking. in my opinion, that’s really the only way to get to the bottom of these things if we can at all (and with the help of the Holy Spirit). Consider that Revelation does say that Babylon will rise again and be utterly destroyed this time [Rev 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:2, 18:10, 18:21]. i believe this to be another geographic clue pointing to the Antichrist’s kingdom being in the Middle East because that’s where Babylon was/is.
i have been trying to wrap my mind around why God describes kingdoms in the way He does. it seems that often times, God describes kingdoms in His Word in a spiritual manner; as singular historical entities spanning the entire time of their existence on the earth. why does He do this? perhaps it’s because God resides outside of time and sees them as a whole, beginning to end (extra-dimensional?). God knows what they will do as though they have already done it. it’s as though He looks at them as an immaterial/spiritual record of their actions based upon their relationship with Him or lack thereof and describes them accordingly. He often speaks directly to them as well. i’m still trying to develop this idea if it has any merit at all.
here’s something interesting, also. i actually believe that the sea the beasts rise out of is an actual sea – the Mediterranean. here’s why… it is referred to in Scripture as “the sea” or, as in Daniel, the “great sea”. Isaiah 21:1 refers to Babylon as “the wilderness of the sea”. the wilderness refers to the area of the Middle East that is by the Mediterranean Sea. more geographic clues.
Isaiah 21 Reveals the Geographic Location of the Antichrist’s Kingdom < it's a short read that better explains what i'm talking about.
and Job seems to suggest that the Abyss from where the Antichrist will come is under the waters of the sea. i'm still researching this.
all very interesting.
i am in full agreement with your assessment of Assyria. this all important fact that these 7 Biblical World Kingdoms have and will actually rule over Israel is often overlooked. because of this, people come up with all sorts of ideas like the Vatican or America being Babylon, neither of which existed BEFORE John’s vision:
the kingdom in power at the time of John’s writing was Rome. since John tells us the beast “was and is not (meaning at the time of his writing)”, we can remove Rome from the list. John is saying that the revived kingdom will not be Rome. it will be one of the previous five – a kingdom that “was”. therefore, it cannot be Rome. what this means is that “Babylon”, as it is used in Revelation 18, is not a metaphor for Rome but a geographic clue to the location of the Antichrist’s future kingdom (especially when we consider it was not totally destroyed because God says He will destroy it again at the end). Rome is in Europe, not the Middle East. this also means that “Babylon” is not being used as a metaphor for anything that did not exist before the time of Rome. this would include both the United States and the Vatican, two popular choices for the beast. neither of these existed before Rome, which is a prerequisite for the final kingdom.
i generally hold all of these things with an open hand so as not to believe i am always correct, but i do sometimes wish people would just read the words on the page and think about them (that’s not directed towards you, Elle). i think a great deal of confusion could be cleared up if they did as in the case of Genesis 1, for example.
i truly believe that when we eliminate the West as having anything to do with Bible prophecy, it really opens up to us. think about this one simple fact that is also overlooked: there’s an Islamic mosque on the temple mount in Jerusalem! that’s an amazing fact! it’s not a Catholic Church. it’s not a United Nations headquarters. there’s a territory war for Israel going on between Jews and Muslims.
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