Understanding the End Times

He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. (Dan 12:9 NASB)

Daniel in trying to understand his own prophecies is told by God that they are concealed and sealed until the time of the end. The time of the end is the tie when man’s government is surrendered unto the Kingdom of God.

Let’s begin by understanding the nations that will be revealed in the end times. These are key powers that ultimately oppose God and then surrender to Him.

Turn to Daniel 7:2-8

 Daniel said, "I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. "And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. "The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. "And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!' "After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. (Dan 7:2-8 NASB)

We will analyze these closely but let’s go to verse 9:

"I kept looking until thrones were set up, 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. "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. (Dan 7:9-12 NASB)

This is a power transition from the “beasts” or man-centered political kingdoms to the Kingdom of God. This gives us an insight into the final composition of “beasts” or man centered political powers and the timeline of the end of days. Their dominions are taken away and Messiah begins the 1000-year rule.

Prior to this Daniel tells us in verse 11, the worldwide rule of the “horn” who speaks boastful words against God who is the antichrist. As we will see the antichrist has many names. He is the horn in Daniel, the antichrist in Revelation, the man of sin, son of perdition, the beast. He comes out of a kingdom of 10 nations, which involves the rising of 3 nations and then His worldwide rule.

Daniel tells us that the antichrist will be thrown into the burning fire. Revelation 19:20 states:

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.(Rev 19:20 NASB)

This tells us that the antichrist will also be accompanied by a “false prophet”, a religious leader who convinces the world to worship the antichrist, a political leader. This combination of religion and politics will mark the end times.

Verse 12 is a biblical time key. "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. (Dan 7:12 NASB).

This verse tells us that there will be nations who are part of the government of the antichrist who will lose their dominion but NOT their lives. These nations will continue to exist into the Millenium. There will be unsaved people who will live and die in their natural identities even with the rule of Messiah Yeshua.

Now if we can discern who these nations are then we can know that we are in the period of the return of Yeshua. Daniel tells us that these beasts will arise at the time of the end:

'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. (Dan 7:17 NASB)

Let’s look at first eight verses and see if these nations, beasts are in the earth today.

"And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. "The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. (Dan 7:3-4 NASB)

A lion with the wings of an eagle. First, let’s discuss the lion. Is there a nation today whose national symbol is the lion? The first is the lion, which is Great Britain. The modern-day symbol of Great Britain is a lion. Great Britain came into being officially in 1707. Great Britain was once the major world power, having power over 1/5 of the world’s population. At their height, they were the largest empire in the world and held power for over 100 years. They were known for having a superior navy.  But then their zeal to conquer and colonize the world waned and they went from being a voracious lion to having the heart of a man, which is more sensible and restrained.

"And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!'  (Dan 7:5 NASB)

The bear is the second beast which arises after the lion. A bear is a modern-day symbol of Russia. When the Berlin Wall came down, modern-day Russia was reborn in 1991. However, it is really a rebirth of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic originally birthed in the October Revolution of 1917. Russia is well known for its ability to devour much flesh as leaders like Lenin and Stalin killed several million people. The bear is raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth. These three ribs may be the nations the final end-time Russia will conquer in an attempt to gain back former Soviet republics that it once held, such as Ukraine and two unknown others. So we can predict that Russia is on the move to take two more former Soviet republics which will cause a great deal of tension with the West.

"After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. (Dan 7:6 NASB)

So how can one learn who the leopard is? We have to look more closely at the passage. It says this leopard has four heads. So there must be four distinct kingdoms within this one kingdom. It also says it has the wings of a fowl. Therefore, another kingdom is associated with it.

Germany seems to fit best as being the leopard because of their ferociousness at war like a leopard on the hunt. Interestingly, Germany has a modern tank is called the Leopard. The four heads are the four reichs (German for “empires”) of Germany. The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire first ruled by a Frankish king Charlemagne (800 – 1806). The Second Reich was the German Empire under Otto Van Bismark (1870 – 1919). The Third Reich was Adolf Hitler’s rule (1933 – 1945).  The Fourth Reich seems to be the European Union (1958 – present), an entity almost entirely held up and controlled by Germany and France. The Germans have a strong alliance with the French as the key players of the European Union. France’s national symbol is a rooster, hence the wings of the foul prophecy is fulfilled when these two nations come together.

All of the reichs were/are attempting to unite Europe under one government and religion. They are attempting to recreate the original Holy Roman Empire which held so much power for over 1,000 years. The fall of the Berlin wall united East and West Germany into one nation again (and incidentally created modern-day Russia). This resurrection of Germany was prophesied in Revelation as the head that had the mortal wound but lived. Rev 13:3 KJV And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Germany was mortally wounded as a nation and was thought to never recover after WWII, uniting East and West Germany. But we know that it did happen which created the New World Order.

"After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Dan 7:7 NASB)

What are the 10 horns. Verse 24 tells us.

“‘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 humble three kings.” (Dan 7:24, NASB)

The New World Order, when fully grown, I believe will unite the West (Europe in particular) with the East (Russia in particular) under the banner of Socialism for “forty and two months” (Revelation 13:5) through the United Nations.  This is the final dreadful beast that the Antichrist will rule. Europe right now is being prepared to choose between Islamic invaders and terrorists or Russia. Both “radical” Islam and Russia are evil, but they will choose what they deem to be the lessor of the two evils. They will choose Russia to help push back “radical” Islam. Revelation 13:1 says a single beast will rise up having seven heads. That tells me the lion, bear, and leopard beasts, which historically may have been in opposition to one another, will unite to create the Antichrist Kingdom – the final dreadful beast. In other words, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Russia will unite for a short time with the newly revised United Nations. It is no wonder all the world will wonder after the beast and say, “Who could make war against it?” Through the new U.N., ten world leaders and the antichrist will claim to have a plan to save us from calamities they will have generated.

What are the calamities that the iron beast will save us from? Yeshua described it:

Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. (Luk 21:10-13 NASB)

This is the hour we live in and we should embrace it as we are on the verge of the kingdom of God, the new age for mankind.

One final and very important piece of the end time word powers, the United States. Where are we? Let’s go back to the lion and look closely:

"The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. (Dan 7:4 NASB).

The wings of the eagle that are plucked out of the lion. What nation has the symbol of the eagle and came out Great Britain. None other than the US. Think about that. Over 2500 years ago God prophesied not only England but the United States. We will see as we go deeper into the end times how and why the US is and what our part can be.

Activation: End Times.