The 10 Kings of the Beast: They Come From the East

by

Rodrigo Silva

 

In our last article titled European Union: Beast or Best Friend?, we explored the possibility of Western Europe being excluded from the kingdom of the Antichrist and being a coalition of nations that will attack the political and economic capital of the Antichrist. We saw that even though the Roman empire will be part of the kingdom of the Antichrist, only the Eastern section which for the most part dominated the areas of Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – all Islamic nations – will be included in the Antichrist’s political kingdom.

 

The first three beasts of Daniel, namely the lion (Babylonian Empire) the Bear (Medo-Persian Empire) and the Leopard (Grecian Empire) are combined together  into one mega-empire as seen in Revelation 13:1-2. The beast of Revelation 13 has 7 heads which represent the 7 empires that ruled the Middle East and Israel as seen throughout the Bible. These empires are:

 

1 – Egyptian Empire

 

2 – Assyria Empire

 

3 – Babylonian Empire

 

4 – Medo – Persian Empire

 

5 – Grecian Empire

 

6 – Roman Empire

 

7 – Ottoman Empire

 

Many prophecy students teach that the 7th empire according to Revelation 17:10 is a second phase of the Roman empire but the Ottoman empire conquered the Byzantine Roman empire and was the seventh head-kingdom of the beast. The 10 horns are scattered upon the 7 heads of the beast in Revelation 13. This beast is the fourth beast of Daniel 7 which could only be described by the prophet as terrible and dreadful and as we study the maps of these kingdoms, we discover that Rome most likely was not the fourth beast of Daniel 7 because the fourth beast was said to crush all the previous kingdoms. Rome was a Western Empire which extended no further East than Syria, Egypt and Jordan. During its greatest extent, it went as far as the Euphrates River but only for a few months according to some historians. The fourth beast of Daniel 7 was supposed to conquer all the area dominated by Babylon, Persia and Greece. As we study the maps of these three empires, we discover that with the exception of the Babylonian Empire, they extended from Macedon in the West all the way East to Pakistan and Afghanistan, areas which the Roman empire never conquered.

 

The fourth beast of Daniel 7 is a geographical combination of the first three beasts. This is emphasized in Revelation 13 where we read that the beast was like a leopard, it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. This is the description of the Babylonian, Medo Persian and Grecian empires combined together politically and geographically. The 10 kings must be 10 nations that will rise within the geographic location of the 3 empires combined together. Since the 7 heads of the beast represent the 7 kingdoms – Rome was one of the kingdoms – some nations of the Roman empire must be included but only the area that was also  within the confines of Babylon, Persia and Greece since the physical description of the beast in Revelation 13 emphasizes these three kingdoms. The  most  Middle East influential nations  that came out of the Roman empire which were within the confines of the Babylonian, Persian and Grecian Empire are:

 

Syria

 

Turkey

 

Egypt

 

Jordan

 

Lebanon

 

These 5 nations already make for 5 of the 10 kings that were scattered upon the head of the beast. The other 5 most influential Middle East nations that are confined into the geographical combination of Babylon, Persia and Greece are:

 

Sudan or Libya (These are North African countries which were under the dominion of the Persian, Grecian, Roman and Ottoman Empires

 

Iraq

 

Iran

 

Pakistan

 

Afghanistan

 

Here we have a total of 10  Middle Eastern nations that were geographically confined within the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Eastern Roman  and Ottoman Empires. Many great prophecy teachers point to the two legs of the image of Daniel as the East and West divisions of the Roman Empire, thus making 5 kings  Western nations and 5 kings Eastern nations. But if the image of Daniel 2 is parallel to the four beasts of Daniel 7 and the Roman empire most likely was not the fourth beast because it became the composite beast of Revelation 13:2, a combination of Babylon (lion), Persia (bear)  and Greece (leopard), then the legs of Iron of the image in Daniel 2 most likely is not a reference to the Roman Empire either. It must also refer to a political and geographical combination of the three previous metals (gold, silver and brass) together which will bring the same 10 kings represented by the 10 toes of the feet of the image which are a mix of Iron and clay.

 

The seven heads of the beast also include the Egyptian and Assyrian Empires. We will not expand upon this here since Egypt and Assyria were also  confined within Babylon, Persia and Greece.

If this view happens to be the correct one, the 10 kings of that are scattered upon the 7 heads of the beast are:

 

King #1 Egypt

 

King #2 Sudan or Libya

As mentioned above, these two African nations were under the Persian, Grecians, Roman, and Ottoman Empires

 

King # 3 Lebanon

 

King # 4 Syria

 

King # 5 Turkey

 

King # 6 Jordan

Jordan holds custody to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and must be an important player in the kingdom of the Antichrist. Perhaps this is the reason why it escapes the Antichrist’s military attacks to conquer the other 9 nations as seen in Daniel 11:40-45

 

King # 7 Iraq

 

King # 8 Iran

 

King # 9 Afghanistan

 

King # 10 Pakistan

 

It is interesting to not that almost every single one of these nations is mentioned in the Bible as coming under the judgement of God.

 

Egypt is judged by God in Isaiah 19

 

Egypt, Sudan (Ethiopia), Libya (Put),  and Arabia are judged by God in Ezekiel 30:5, Isaiah 18

 

Syria (Damascus), Iraq (Babylon), Iran (Elam) are judged by God in Isaiah 13-14, 17 and Jeremiah 49-51

 

Turkey (Magog, Meshech, Tubal and Gomer)  is judged by God in Ezekiel 38

 

Iran (Persia) is judged by God in Ezekiel 38

 

Lebanon (Tyre) is judged by God in Ezekiel 27-29, Isaiah 23

 

Jordan (Moab, Ammon and Edom) Isaiah 15, Jeremiah 49

 

Why do we insist that the beast is a confederacy of European nations when all the prophets other than Daniel mention all these nations by name? The problem is that most prophecy teachers only base their conclusions on the book of Daniel especially chapters 2 and 7, but totally ignore the rest of the information God gave us in the Bible concerning the nations that will be part of the kingdom of the beast.

Compare the maps of the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Easterrn Roman and Ottoman Empires with the map of the Middle East below. You will notice that this entire area starting with Turkey in the West going East to Pakistan is identical to the maps of the five empires combined. Click each empire name to view maps

Afghanistan and Pakistan might be the kings of the east mentioned in Revelation 16:12, not China as most prophecy teachers claim. The East in the Bible is a reference to the  region East of the  Euphrates River in Iraq and this area was ruled by both the Persian and Grecian Empires which extended their dominion all the way East to the Hindus River, the border between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, therefore, the East must be confined within the kingdoms mentioned in the Bible, not the far East which had no influence in biblical history whatsoever. Prophecy teachers connect the 200,000,000 creatures of Revelation 9:16 with the kings of the east of Revelation 16:12 – something I also used to believe – in order to come up with a Chinese army. The problem with this teaching is that the 200,000,000 creatures are released during the sixth trumpet judgement which apparently takes place during the first three and a half years of the tribulation whereas the kings of the east belong to sixth bowl judgement which takes place close to the end of the second three and a half years of the tribulation. Besides, these 200,000,000 creatures whatever they are they are connected with the area of the Euphrates River (Revelation 9:14) which again, points to the Middle East, not to the far East.

 

Since the region of  Saudi Arabia was not under the dominion of any of the above empires, we have excluded it here but since Saudi Arabia is the heart of the Islamic religion which will play the major role is this political kingdom, Saudi Arabia might replace one of the 10 kings. Or it will not be one of the 10 kings because in Ezekiel 38:13 , Saudi Arabia as Sheba and Dedan seems to oppose (at least diplomatically) the Magog invasion which some great prophecy teachers believe is not a reference to Russia, but to the Antichrist himself coming from Turkey. On the other hand we have Saudi Arabia as the Ishmaelites joining the Arab confederacy that seeks to destroy Israel in Psalm 83. It is really hard to conclude wether Saudi Arabia will be one of the 10 kings or not. It might only offer the religion that will dominate the political policy of the beast.

 

In my article titled The Kingdom of the Antichrist: An Alternate View I explored the possibility of Western Europe being included in the kingdom of the Antichrist and mentioned some European nations as some of the 10 kings. But as I examine the maps and the possibility that Rome was not the fourth beast of Daniel 7 which becomes the composite Babylonian, Persian and Grecian Beast of Revelation 13, I begin to realize that this political mega-empire will be  a Middle East centralized kingdom totally excluding the West from it. It might have diplomatic relations with the West as we see with the formation of the Mediterranean Union, but it will ultimately be confined within the Islamic-Arab nations of the Middle East.

 

It is interesting to note that the Islamic Messiah known as Imam Al-Mahdi signs a 7 year peace treaty with Israel more specifically through a Jewish priest according to Islamic eschatology which will be mediated by a Roman (a Western political leader). This kind of thing  has already taken place when Bill Clinton, a Western leader mediated the Oslo Peace Accords signed between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. The same thing happened when Bill Clinton also mediated a peace plan between Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan known as the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.

 

When this takes place again, and the peace treaty is signed for 7 years, a very prominent Muslim leader will sign a peace treaty with Israel  which will be mediated by a Western leader, perhaps from the United States or perhaps from the European Union. The Secretary General of the Western European Union Javier Solana has recently offered to be a peace broker between Israel and the Arabs in order to put an end to the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. Supposing for a moment that this takes place next year just for the sake of illustration with Javier Solana mediating a 7 year peace treaty between Israel and a Muslim leader, the Christian world will point to Javier Solana as the Antichrist (if the Rapture does not take place before) when in fact it is the Muslim leader who signed the peace treaty with Israel who will be the Antichrist and will be given authority by the 10 Islamic nations mentioned above according to Revelation 17:10 – 12.

 

Most Bible prophecy teachers today point to Europe as the kingdom of the Antichrist and to the Antichrist as a European political leader. This is what I also used to believe until not long ago, but as I keep studying Bible prophecy and comparing it to Islamic eschatology, everything seems to fall into place perfectly. The Antichrist will definitely be a Muslim leader to rise to power in the Middle East and will be supported by 10 Islamic nations when he breaks his treaty with Israel and invades Jerusalem to make it the capital of his kingdom (Caliphate) as desired by the entire Islamic world.

 

I recommend reading an excerpt of Joel Richardson’s book entitled Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah for a more in-depth understanding of Islamic eschatology and how it is  related to end time Bible prophecy. I also highly recommend reading Joel’s new book co-authored with former Palestinian terrorist Walid Shoebat entitled God’s War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible for further information regarding the role of Islam in the end times and how it will bring the Antichrist to power in the Middle East.

 

 

One thing that must be addressed here is the view that the Antichrist will not rule just the Middle East, but the entire globe. We usually point to Revelation 13 where we read:

 

»and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.» (Revelation 13:7b)

 

We often make the mistake of over-emphasizing a Bible verse in order to make it mean whatever we want it to mean. The same is true with this verse. We have concluded that the Antichrist will rule the entire planet based on this passage. Again, I had to correct my view on this one too. The kindreds, tongues, and nations that are in view here are Middle Eastern nations. The context of the passage is talking about a Middle Eastern political kingdom. Remember that the Beast was like a leopard, had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion and that it had 7 heads? This explains that the beast  geographically points to:

 

Leopard: Remnants of the Grecian Empire – Turkey, Syria and Egypt (Daniel 11)

 

Bear: Persian Empire – Modern day Iran

 

Lion: Babylonian Empire – Modern day Iraq

 

The seven heads are:

 

Egyptian Empire – Mostly Egypt today

 

Assyrian Empire – Northern Iraq today

 

Babylonian Empire – Mostly Iraq today

 

Medo- Persian Empire –  Mostly Iran, Kurdistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan  today

 

Grecian Empire – Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties which are mostly Syria and Egypt today

 

Eastern Roman Empire – Mostly Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan today

 

Ottoman Empire –  Turkey and the rest of the Middle East

 

 

These are the nations that the beast is given power over to according to the context. I Daniel 2 we read that God gave power to King Nabuchednezzar over all the earth, but he only reigned the region of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.The Greek word translated »earth» in Revelation is ge and one of the definitions of the Strong’s concordance describes it as:

 

a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, region

 

This and the context of Revelation 13 that points to the Middle East geographically show that the dominion of the Antichrist will be a regional dominion, not a global one. He desires to bring the whole world under his dominion but God will raise up a group of nations to oppose his rise to world dominance and the European Union is in my opinion the league of nations that God has allowed to come together in these last days to be one of his tools against the Antichrist and his political kingdom.

 

 

Conclusion

 

The 10 kings of Revelation 17 which will give their authority to the beast will be within the confines of the 7 kingdoms of biblical history which ruled over the Middle East and Israel. It will be a regional kingdom, not a global one as we have been taught in the past. The more I study this subject, the more I feel the need to go back and correct my views. Some might say that there is contradiction in my articles but I say they are not contradiction, they are just further corrections. I personally believe that we have to be humble enough to accept the fact that we have been wrong and be willing to correct our views. Unfortunately this is not a virtue possessed by many prophecy students and scholars out there. I love what Chuck Missler has to say about this:

 

‘‘The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it.»

 

Chuck Missler

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Editor’s note – The book of Daniel chapter 7 says that after the 10 kings rise to power in the Middle East, an eleventh horn-king will rise after them. Rodrigo believes this eleventh horn will be a new Assyria to become an independent state in Nothern Iraq which will be the nation of the Antichrist.

For more information, read the article titled Assyria: The Nation of the Antichrist

 

God bless you!

 

Rodrigo Silva

8/30/08