Bifids & Chiasms

THE FALSE PROPHET MUHAMMAD | home

In the Last Trumpet chapter, we determined that time as a natural

phenomenon would come to an end by Revelation 11, and that right

then, we would be ushered into the eternal kingdom of God. But if time

ends in Rev 11, what do we do with the rest of the book? The beasts of

Rev 13 and 17 are obviously fulfilled in the Christian Era, so Revelation

has to be repetitive. But if it is repetitive, where and when do those

repeats appear? It’s important to know, because to understand some

chapters we have to know if it is a repeat of an event or if we are looking

at something new. The answer is hidden in Hebrew poetry.

Hebrew poetry is parallel in nature. A Hebrew poet would say

something one way and then repeat the same idea later on in different

words. These repeats could be a sentence, a paragraph, or even several

chapters long. But how can we identify repetitive prophecies when we

see them? By understanding the Hebrew poetic style in which it was

The most elegant Old Testament poet was Isaiah. In his book we

spot one poetic style very quickly. Isaiah is divided into two almost

equal parts, and these two parts are repetitive.1 Isaiah 1 through 33 is

parallel to Isaiah 34 through 66, not just in a general sense, but in actual

content. The last half of Isaiah contains a different description of the

same subjects that are covered in the first half. Textual scholars call this

1 The liberals see this division and claim that the last half of Isaiah was not written by

Isaiah at all. Missing no chance to discredit the Scripture if possible, they disregard wellknown

Hebrew poetic forms and invent a shadow author they called deutero-Isaiah. There

is no historic nor textual basis for their contention, and Rabbinical scholars have always

attributed the whole book of Isaiah to Isaiah alone.

2 Packer-Tenny-White, The Bible Almanac, 1980, p349.

In the apocalyptic books, particularly in Daniel, the bifid is as

obvious as it can get. Daniel is written in two languages. Dan 2:4

through Dan 7:28 is in High Syriac, while Dan 8:1 through 12:13 is in

Hebrew. Why? God was addressing two different audiences, so He had

the book written in the native language of each audience. The first half

of Daniel (in Syriac) is to and about the Gentiles who will rule in the

Holy Land, while the second half (in Hebrew) is to and about the Jews

during that same time. Both halves of Daniel are about the time of the

In the first half of Daniel, even the chapters themselves form a

parallel, but this parallel is in three steps. Chapters 2 and 7 are parallel,

chapters 3 and 6 are parallel, and chapters 4 and 5 are parallel -- a kind

of poetic stepladder. It isn’t a bifid but a different form and once again

Isaiah has a simple two-step example of this new poetic form:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are

If we were to say that in present-day English, we would say

something like: “Your ways and thoughts aren’t anything like my ways

and thoughts.” But in this Hebrew poetic form it is My-your=your-My,

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,

That AB=BA stepladder is a Chiasm,1 pronounced kee-ah-zum. Chiasms

appear throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. What the

author declares in the steps going up, he repeats in the steps going down.

Here are a couple more chiasms including one that is three-step: a

ABC=CBA. They have been shortened for clarity, but the full text is in

GRAPH NUMBER 27 -- TWO & THREE STEP CHIASMS

Now here is why it is important to understand chiasms: In the

above AB=BA chiasm, there were not four concepts, but two concepts

about the same subject that were repeated in different words. In the

ABC=CBA chiasm, there were not six subjects. There were only three,

about three conditions, and they, too, were repeated in different words.

If Daniel and Revelation are also chiasmic, they would contain

prophecies which are repetitive and parallel. Daniel would be ten

parallel prophecies about the time of the Gentiles (stated in different

ways), while Revelation would be twelve parallel prophecies, primarily

about the Christian Era (stated in different ways). Let’s first overlay

Daniel, and then Revelation, with this little hypothesis, and see if it fits.

1 Packer-Tenny-White, The Bible Almanac, 1980, p364.

In Dan 12:4, the Lord commanded Daniel to seal his book. Then

just five verses later, God states that the book was sealed (Dan 12:9).

Now, Daniel was a godly man who did what he was told, so somehow,

Daniel did something to seal his prophecies between the time those two

verses were written. He could not modify the content of the visions he

had seen, nor change the historic incidents, so he must have done

something else. The question is, what did he do?

Daniel scrambled his prophecies. He put them out of chronological

order. This is easy enough to prove because Daniel dated most of his

chapters. When Daniel shuffled his prophecies, his book was sealed until

the Lord wanted it opened. Now, let’s see what that shuffling

accomplished. Look at the graph of the chapters in the order in which

they now appear in the Bible. The chapters with the (*) are the ones that

Chapter 5 was actually written after 8, and Chapter 6 was written

after 9. Look at the subject column to the right. In the order the subjects

now appear, a three-step chiasm has been formed. Isn’t that grand?

GRAPH NUMBER 28 -- DANIEL IS OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

1 Both chs.6 and 9 were written in the 1st year of Darius. The dating of ch.6 after 9 can

be determined by the address form Daniel used when a new king ascended the throne of

Babylon. In ch.9 the correct introductory form for Darius is used, while it is omitted in

ch.6. Daniel was a master of court protocol, so it is unlikely that he would have ignored

it here. The dating of ch.5 after 8 is evident from within the text itself.

As an aside, the Lord has not permitted the author to fathom what the book means

when it is put back into its correct chronological order. However, I sense there is a

If Daniel had not put his book out of order, there would be no

ABC=CBA chiasm in his book. Something as complex as a chiasm

doesn’t happen by accident. It was deliberate, but what does it mean?

Well, chiasms are repetitive, so it appears that the Lord did this to give

us a clue that Daniel is a series of repetitive prophecies. When viewed

in its entirety, the message of Daniel’s 1st chiasm appears to be:

During the time of the Gentiles there will be four major empires

-- and their descendants -- who will rule in the Holy Land.

During that time, God’s people will suffer great persecution.

But at the end, God will judge those nations that have made His

land a desolation and made captives of His people.

There are two types of messages in Daniel: prophecies and historic

incidents. So what are these historic incidents doing in an

apocalyptic book? The prophecies of the Gentile kingdoms in Dan 2

and 7 are straightforward enough and easy to understand, but do the

historic incidents also have prophetic implications? Well, as Graphs 18

and 29 and the chiasms themselves indicate, it now appears that the “firy

furnace” and the “lions den” are also proph-ecies of the time of the

The 1st chiasm was primarily to and about Gentile nations, while the

second is about the future of the Jews during the 2500 years since the

fall of the Babylonian Empire. The second chiasm is an AB=BA, and its

After the Jews return from captivity, there will be two major

empires, and their descendants, who will rule in the Holy Land

into the far distant future. During that time Messiah will come

to earth and be killed. The temple will also be desolated, but at

the end of it all, the destroyer will go to final judgment.

GRAPH NUMBER 30 -- DANIEL’S SECOND CHIASM

Now that we understand the pattern, let’s go to Revelation. The

following summary is not intended as a full exegesis of that book. It is

only an outline and study guide, but it is a foundation that will help

students of prophecy understand almost every verse. Some of the

figurative language is still sealed. Maybe the Lord has left them for you

In Rev 5:1, God the Father holds a scroll sealed with seven seals. It is

written on both sides. This was very unusual in the time of John the

prophet, 95AD. Most 1st Century scrolls were written only on one side,

and there is a reason for this two-sided scroll. Rev 5:1 And I saw in the

right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the

Rev 5:5-6 (excerpts) . . . In the midst of the throne . . . and in

the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, And

he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat

Careful study shows this “little book” to be the book of Revelation

itself. It is a picture of the whole Christian Era and it was given to the

Lord Jesus after the cross. Jesus opens the Seven Seals, the Seven

Trumpets, and the Two Witnesses. Before the seventh trumpet blows,

the Lord tells us what He is going to do with the part of the book He has

not read. In the verse quoted above, the book was sealed, but in the verse

Rev 10:1-2 And I saw another mighty angel come down from

heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head,

and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right

foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.

As used in Revelation, “angel” can refer to several different kinds

of beings. He can be one of God’s angelic messengers, a fallen angel,

Satan, a human messenger, the Holy Spirit, or the Lord Jesus Himself.

Context is the key to his identity. A study of the description of the Lord

Jesus in Rev 1 and elsewhere shows the angel of Rev 10:1-2 to be the

Lord Jesus. The Lord then gives this little book to John.

Rev 10:10-11 And I took the little book out of the angel’s

hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and

as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto

me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and

Believe it or not, those verses explain it all. The little book is now

open because the Lord has broken all the seals. Then He tells John, “you

must prophesy again!” In other words: “Listen here John, turn this twosided

book over and read the other side. Repeat in different words what

I have read in the Seven Seals, the Seven Trumpets and the Two

Witnesses.” The little book was written on both sides because the Lord

willed to read one side, and He wanted John to read the other. “Out of

the mouth of two or three witnesses . . .” But prophesy to and about

what? The above verses tell us exactly: the 2nd chiasm, Rev 12 - Rev 20,

is about “peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

The seventh and last trumpet blows in Rev 11:15, which begins the

eternal kingdom of God. Since it is all over in Rev 11, plain as day, the

Lord is telling John to go back to square one, and tell about the Christian

Era again. Revelation 12 - 20 is a repeat of Rev 1 - 11. That is why the

Lord told John, “You must prophesy again!” Revelation is bifidic!

If Revelation is like Daniel, it should also have a chiasm in both

halves. It does, and here are the parallels: chs.2-3 are about churches,

and so is ch. 11. Ch. 6 is about Seven Seals, and chs.8-9 are about

Seven Trumpets, both of which are symbolic pictures of conditions on

earth during this era. The first half of ch.7 is the Jewish saints, the

second half the Gentile saints. We again have a perfect ABC=CBA

GRAPH NUMBER 31 -- REVELATION’S FIRST CHIASM

As was true in Daniel, Revelation has messages hidden within the

chiasms. The 1st chiasm is about the spiritual world while the second is

primarily about what is taking place in the visible

material world. The 1st chiasm is primarily about the Church, and it

details the role of God’s people in a rebellious world. It is completely

allegorical and can be understood only by extensive cross-referencing

with other passages of Scripture which use like language. The central

During the Christian Era there will be seven different church

periods and seven different kinds of churches. The Jews and the

Church will be God’s Two Witnesses on Earth. Trials, plagues,

famines, tribulation, and wars will take place. But the saints,

both Jew and Gentile, will be saved out of it, and in the fulness

of time, God will set up His eternal kingdom.

(A-A) The Seven Churches and the Two Witnesses: Rev 2-3, Rev

11. In the seven churches of Rev 2-3, the Lord tells us what the Church

will be like during the whole Christian Era, sometimes good, sometimes

fair, and sometimes very bad. In Rev 11, God has placed His Two

Witnesses on the Earth to stand against the enemy and preach the gospel.

Throughout the Christian Era the Church and the Jews will be in great

tribulation, but they will also be victorious. The record of the persecution

of the brethren during the Christian Era is unassailable.

Though mighty empires have fallen around it, the true Church of

Jesus still stands. Graph 32 shows how the seven churches of Rev 2-3

parallel church history in the Christian Era. At the end of the time of the

Two Witnesses, 1948AD, the Church and the Jews were to lose their

spiritual power, and so it has come to be. There will always be a faithful

remnant, but in the last days Jesus will spit the lukewarm churches out

of His mouth, and the enemy will destroy them (Rev 3:16 and Rev 11:7).

(B-B) The Seven Seals and the Seven Trumpets: Rev 6, Rev 8-9.

During the Christian Era, God will pour out His wrath upon unbelievers.

It doesn’t have to be that way, and because of His Two Witnesses, the

world is without excuse. To bring the unsaved to repentance, many

terrible things will happen. Anarchy, wars, famines, and natural disasters

will abound (Rev 6:1-8). At the end there will be a mighty war with

200,000,000 horsemen fighting, Rev 9:16. Not until this generation

could we field armies of that size. Man will hide in the caves in the

ground and under mountains. But he will not repent of his rebellion and

his sorcery and his idolatry (Rev 9:20-21).1

(C-C) The 144,000 and the Great Multitude: Central to it all are the

redeemed. They are those from this great tribulation whom the Lord

Jesus has reconciled to the Father through His own shed blood. They are

the physical seed of Israel (Rev 7:4-8) and the Gentile church (Rev 7:9).

The seal on the heads of the 144,000 is the name of God the Father (Rev

14:1). The fifth seal (Rev 6:9) describes the brethren who have gone

before us. They are clothed in white robes (the righteousness of Christ)

and stand beneath the cross (the altar in Heaven is a symbol of the

cross). They do not cease to cry, “how long, Oh Lord, how long?”

Rev 7:13-17 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me,

What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence

came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said

to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and

have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of

the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and

serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the

throne shall dwell among them. For the Lamb which is in the

midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto

living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears

Now that we understand the chiasmic pattern, the last half of

Revelation is quite open. Most of these later visions can be related to

world history. It is not the author’s intent to belabor the chiasmic form,

but it is one of the major tools to show that Revelation is repetitive in an

organized way. It contains 12 concurrent prophecies about the history of

Israel and the Christian Era. Remember in Daniel, how half of that book

was to Gentile nations, while the other half was to the Jews? Though the

1 Throughout Scripture, angelic hosts are depicted as horsemen (2Ki 2:11, 2Ki 6:15-18,

2Ki 7:6; Zec 1:8, Zec 6:2-6; Rev 6:2-8, Rev 9:16, Rev 19:14). Consequently, a major

portion of the 200,000,000 horsemen of Rev 9:16 may be unseen spiritual forces. If that

is correct, then we may not see vast human armies massed in the Middle East for this final

audiences are different, the pattern in Revelation is the same. The central

There will be seven major kingdoms throughout history. They

will be ruled by Satan. Concurrent with those visible kingdoms,

God will have a spiritual kingdom on Earth composed of the

Jewish people and the Gentile church. In the fullness of time,

Jesus will return to reward the saints and judge the wicked.

We have already seen that the first chiasm of Revelation is to and

about the Church’s spiritual role. This second chiasm is about kingdoms,

both earthly and spiritual. The Jews and the Church are the Lord’s

spiritual kingdom on earth, while the beasts and Babylon are various

aspects of the enemy’s satanic kingdom, both seen and unseen. Babylon

centers on the world socioeconomic system, while the beasts are

governmental. In fact, the beasts may be Satan himself, and he appears

1. As the Scarlet beast he is the embodiment of the sin which is

in the world, and he again goes forth to deceive the nations as

2. Through Leopard-Bear-Lion he displays his control of the

kingdoms of the Middle East, where lies the seat of his earthly

Sometimes man’s chapter breaks are in the wrong place, or don’t

belong in the passage at all because they interfere with the flow of

Scripture. This last half of Revelation is an example. Rev 13 through15

appears to be all one prophecy, while Rev 17 through 19 appears to be

another. This 2nd Chiasm shows us both godly and satanic kingdoms

and the final outcomes for both. The rejoicing of the saints is the subject

of Ch 15, while God’s wrath on the kingdoms that have rejected His Son

is the subject of Rev 16. This ABC=CBA structure is a little complicated,

and there are alternatives ways to view it, but careful study

GRAPH NUMBER 33 -- REVELATION’S SECOND CHIASM

(A-A) Israel and the Church: Rev 12, Rev 20. Straight allegory. The

Woman with Twelve Stars, and the reign of Christ. Many take Rev 20

literally, the so-called millennium, because it appears to use literal

language. The last trumpet, the chiasm, and the context make that view

very difficult to support. More likely, this is the whole body of Christ,

all the redeemed, Jew and Gentile alike. From the time of Moses, Israel

has been the caretaker of the oracles of God (Rom 3:2). Israel was the

line through whom the Savior of the world would come. After Jesus was

glorified, Israel and the Church (the spiritual kingdom over which the

Lord now reigns, Rev 20:4), would be persecuted but not destroyed.

Satan would be bound so as not to deceive the nations during the

Christian Era (Rev 20:2, Mat 12:29, Joh 12:31).1 At the end of the

Christian Era, Satan would be released for a little season (Rev 12:12-13

and 20:7). Jesus is the first and only resurrection. There is no other.

Blessed, indeed, are those who have part in Him as born-again believers.

Over them the second death has no power (Rev 20:6). In the culmination

of all things on this present Earth, there is Armageddon (Rev 12:17 and

20:7-9). Please notice how the account in Rev 12 parallels Rev 20, and

1 The Greek ÷ßëéïé (chilioi) Strong’s No. G5507, is an indefinite plural form of ÷éëéÜò

(chilias), the word for a single thousand. This indefinite chilioi is the only word translated

“thousand” in Rev 20, so it cannot be proven that the “thousand” in Rev 20 represents

only one thousand years. Instead, this chilioi could be referring any number of thousands

of years. Rev 20:1-6 can be a pictorial representation of the whole Christian Era,

the many parallel verses indicate that they are about the same time and

(B-B) The Beast with Seven Heads, and the Leopard, Bear, Lion:

Rev 13, Rev 17. Straight allegory. Throughout history there will be only

seven major empires, and their descendants, who will rule in the Earth.

They will be satanically empowered (Rev 17:3) for they are in his

domain (Luk 4:6). Out of the Middle East came an empire that is the

combination of three ancient ones, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.

That geographic area is Iraq, Iran, and Syria, headquarters of the radical

Shiite Moslem world. They are combined by a common religion and

have a satanically inspired hatred for the Church and Israel. They will

always be at war with the spiritual kingdom of the Lord Jesus (Rev

The 144,000, the Eternal Gospel and Babylon: Rev 14-15, Rev 17-

19. Straight allegories. All the servants of the Lord are compared with

servants of the enemy. After the Cross, the Old Testament saints sing

about Jesus.1 For them it is a new song (Rev 14:3). Then the eternal

gospel is preached to the Church (Rev 14:6). The trials of the Christian

Era are foretold, followed by the Lord coming in the clouds to reap the

Earth of the saints (Rev 14:14-16). In the Grapes of Wrath, more is told

about Armageddon (Rev 14:17-19). The battlefront will be 200 miles

long, from Jerusalem northward. Knowing that the prophecies in

Revelation are parallel makes this a lot easier. The various little pieces

at the end of each prophecy, about a great battle, are about the same

Mighty Babylon falls (Rev 18). She is the haunt for every evil beast

and bird and creeping thing. Who is she? Since every death on Earth is

attributed to her, from the prophets of the Old Testament to the saints of

the Church, Babylon is far broader than one single empire or city, no

matter how great and long-lasting. Babylon is every unsaved and

rebellious person, land, and empire, that has ever existed on Earth.

1 That the 144,000 are the Old Testament Israelites is provable by comparing their identification

as “first-fruits” (Rev 14:4) with Jer 2:3 and other Scriptures.

Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of

saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Babylon began when Cain shed the blood of his brother Abel and

continues until the last Christian is impaled or beheaded in some

spiritually dark and human-snake infested concrete jungle. Babylon

means confusion. Satan is the author of confusion. Babylon is Satan’s

world. We have been commanded throughout Scripture to separate

ourselves from her. We haven’t listened very well, so the Lord reminds

Rev 18:4-5 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,

Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,

and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached

unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Soon the light of the Word will be heard in her no more, nor the

voice of Jesus the bridegroom, nor the witness of the bride (the Church

is the bride of Christ), and Babylon will be no more...

Rev 18:23, 19:1 And the light of a candle shall shine no more

at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride

shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the

great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations

deceived . . . And after these things I heard a great voice of

much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory,

and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God.

(C-C) The Songs of Moses and the Lamb and the Return of the

King: Rev 19. Straight allegory. In the return of Jesus and in the song of

the redeemed, the Lord closes the doors on the great beasts of

Revelation. For the world it is all over. As is true in the rest of

Revelation, a dual address is made to distinguish between the Old

Testament saints and the Church. The song of Moses is sung by Israel,

while glory to the Lamb is sung by the Church.

The Seven Bowls: Rev 16. Straight allegory. The judgment of the

bowls is a terrible intensification of the seven trumpets. The plagues are

similar. The fifth bowl is directed at one geographic location, the throne

of the beast. Spiritual in nature, this bowl tells us of the spiritual

darkness which now engulfs the Middle East and that it will intensify.

Rev 16:13-14 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come

out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the

beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the

spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the

kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the

battle of that great day of God Almighty.

The only other threefold enemy the Lord mentions in Revelation is the

Leopard-Bear-Lion, so these three unclean spirits, like frogs, are

probably the satanic princes who spiritually control those lands,

Muhammad being the false prophet. Though these spirits have remained

in the Middle East throughout the Christian Era, the malignant poison of

Islam is now spreading throughout the world. As is true of the other

prophecies which tell us of man’s final rebellion, this one, too, ends with

We can now see how the Lord planned the Christian Era. All along,

there have been Two Witnesses, the Jews and the Gentile church. The

Lord never did forget His chosen people, and through the Gentile church

untold numbers of Ephraim have unknowingly returned to the Lord.

Through bifids and chiasms we can now understand that both Daniel and

Revelation are repetitive in an organized way. Since the time of the

Gentiles was over in 1967, Daniel, for the most part, is fulfilled. Using

the same bifidic and chiasmic style as Daniel, Revelation continues

where Daniel left off. With 12 parallel prophecies in two chiasms,

Revelation reviews the Old Testament Era and amplifies what Daniel

told us about the time of the Gentiles. Then the Lord expounds on the

satanically controlled empires of the world and finally identfies the final

enemies of his Two Witnesses. Revelation then closes with a brief

description of the glorious eternal kingdom of God.

Daniel 8:17-19 declares that the last half of the vision of the Ram

and the He Goat is a vision of the time of the very end, so we should

The angelic being who was speaking to Daniel was not battling

some mere mortal. Those were satanic princes, as Dan 10:20 points out!

At the end of time, out of the area controlled by those princes, a little

horn -- a wicked ruler -- will arise who will lead the enemy’s forces at

Armageddon, but he will be brought to ultimate defeat when Messiah

“Finally,” you say, “there is your Antichrist. I knew all along that

one was coming.” Not at all. This will undoubtedly be another political

or military leader, but this one will be coming from the Middle East. The

“little horn” of Dan 8 could be Hafez al Assad of Syria, Arafat the

Palestinian, Libya’s Maummwar Khadaffy, Hussein of Iraq or one of

those deranged mullahs from Iran. He could be someone acting behind

the scenes that we don’t think is very important, like the hidden Ali

Akbar Mohatashimi or Hassan al-Tourabi, secret leaders behind Islamic

DAN 8:9-11 And out of one of them came forth a little horn,

which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the

east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to

the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the

stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

DAN 8:23-25 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the

transgressors come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and

understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power

shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy

wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy

the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he

shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify

himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall

also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be

This is the vision of the end (Dan 8:17 and 19), and this little horn

does not come out of the Roman Empire, but out of the lands once ruled

by Greece (Dan 8:21). The Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great

covered the whole Middle East. Notice that this final ruler is going to

1 Many try to identify the little horn of Dan 8:9-11 and 8:23-25 as Antiochus Epiphanies,

the Greek king who desecrated the temple in 168BC. The problem with that interpretation

is that 168BC was not “the time of the end” v.17, or “the appointed time of the end” v.19.

Scripture declares this to be an end-time vision, so it appears to be unfulfilled as yet.

use peace talks to put people off their guard. Sound familiar? Read the

There is so much Scripture for the location and behavior of the final

enemy of the Jews and the Church that it is difficult to avoid duplication.

All end-time prophecy points to these countries. The final enemy of

God’s people will come from the Arab world.1 However, from what we

now know about Ten-Horns of the Scarlet Beast, the Muhammadan

states won’t be in that war by themselves. They will have help from the

rest of the world. But at the very end, it won’t be man’s weaponry but

1 There is no reason to believe that we will be able to recognize the “little horn” of Dan

8 after he appears, any more than we were able to recognize Adolf Hitler as the “little

horn” of Dan 7 until after Nazi Germany fell and Hitler was killed.

2 Included in the prophecy of the Ram and the He-Goat is a time period of 2300 evenings

and mornings (Dan 8:14). From Scripture and history, we know that evenings and

mornings are not days, and not times. The Lord has given us a day for a year, and a time

has been identified, with some certainty, as 1000 years. The author confesses that he is not