The Last Days | Four Beasts in the Book of Revelation

The Beasts Beside | Part 4

Often…I can’t see what’s right before my eyes. Like my web browser, stagnantly stuck upon the same page, I need to hit the Refresh button to see the world anew.

Update our vision, O LORD!

There were two disciples on the road to Emmaus that suffered the same Refreshlessness. Overcome with grief at their Master’s crucifixion, they were blinded to the new facts-on-the-ground. Blind to the Answer, Himself, striding right beside them. Easily within reach. It wasn’t until the veiled Jesus broke the bread that the spell of sightlessness was likewise sundered.

Similarly, we need our stiffened speculations…our stale conjectures…our intransigent traditions about the End Times refreshed. Could it be the answers are, too, easily in reach? And the four Last Days beasts prowl behind our every step?

Let’s hit Refresh.

The Lion—at one time the sun never set upon her empire. Her treatment of the Jews during and following the Second World War marked the diminishing of her global reach. Still, though, she is a Queen of finance and seeks to project her power into the affairs of the Mideast and Israel. She is formidable despite the violent removal of her American Eagle Wings (Daniel 7:4). And according to Revelation 13:2, despite Brexit (Britain’s vote to leave the European Union), she will not escape the clutches of globalism, and will one day be the Mouthpiece of the worldwide beast.

The Bear—continues to devour much flesh. Stalin, Lenin, and Trotsky killed tens of millions of Russians in the last century, and the tradition of murder and mayhem lives on in Russia’s eradication of over 250,000 civilians in the Chechen wars, not to mention the tens of thousands slain in Syria and millions displaced. The Russian Bear is “raised up on one side” as its demographics have rapidly changed: 40% of Russia’s military is Muslim, and by 2020 it is estimated the 1/6th of the entire population will be Islamic. At some point in the near future, the Bear will maul three countries: “three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth” (Daniel 7:5). The Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—are prime candidates for Russia’s predation. Notice that these three line the side of the European continent like ribs.

The Leopard—four heads…four countries, heretofore enemies…have aligned themselves against Israel and the United States. These are Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. In unprecedented moves of cooperation and comingling interests, these four gain dominion in the vacuum left by ISIS, and as prophesied in Ezekiel 38, stealthily stalk the borders above and beside Israel. It is unclear at this point who are the “four wings like those of a bird” attached to the Leopard’s back (Daniel 7:6). But these are likely other nations aligned with them—but not attached geographically. Qatar and Yemen are two sets of “wings” to keep an eye on.

I will write on the fourth beast in the next article—for it is different and more terrible than the others. And both it and the blaspheming little horn that will rule it are yet to emerge. Nonetheless, with refreshed vision, we will see how this last beast might emerge overnight.

American will not play part in the schemes of these four beasts. And already we see the kingdoms of this world aligning themselves against Israel and the Wings of the Great Eagle.

It’s happening now.

Read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the end times series by Mark Priest here!

To connect with the author, please visit Mark Priest’s Facebook page!