The Fourth Beast
The fourth beast is the only one that represents an animal that isn’t found in nature. To me, that equals a man-made or Satan-made invention. The fact that a metal is also introduced as a physical feature shows me that its power doesn’t come from God. Remember that the other three beasts are all found in nature. Also, their power was innate (the lion pride/strength of Babylon) or supported by God (the bear was given a command and the leopard was given dominion).
On the other hand, the beast has teeth made of metal. Though iron is God-made, the beast’s use of it is perverted. Honestly, as I journaled this, all I kept hearing in my spirit was “machine, machine, machine.” I believe this fourth beast, as it concerns end times, is a machine and as such, will be devoid of any human quality. I think about how, in our world today, everything is computerized and heading towards AI and robots. Sure, the Bible doesn’t say, “Information Age!” “Technology!” “AI!” “Robots!” But for all who are willing to simply see what’s right in front of them, it’s pretty clear that the Bible was spot on about the arising of a mechanical beast devoid of anything that points back to God as its maker.
The Bible calls this beast “dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly.” I believe we need to take the Bible at its word. We haven’t seen dread and terror yet. We think police brutality is terror but no, worse is coming (read Matthew 24:21). Christians have a terrible habit of lightly esteeming the Bible. I’ve been guilty of the same. We hide under “God is loving, He would never allow x,y,z!” BUT JESUS HIMSELF IS TELLING YOU HOW BAD IT’S GOING TO BE. If you can’t take Him seriously, are you even a Christian? Matthew 24:21 tells us that the end is going to be worse than chattel slavery, all the wars this world has ever see, racism, etc.— put together. Think about it. If you can’t imagine how extreme that is, you’re on the right track because you CAN’T. It means we should probably start preparing our minds NOW.
Continuing….the beast had “Great iron teeth. It devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it.”
Teeth crush food into a size that allows comfortable passage into the throat. It then travels down the esophagus and into the stomach where it is further broken down to extract life-giving nutrients. But the beast is a machine (I’m going to keep repeating this); it doesn’t need to eat to sustain life. That means that its only purpose then is to destroy life. This proves true as its next set of actions are described as “devouring and braking in pieces” and “stamping the residue with the feet of it.” So its plan and purpose is total annihilation of all it comes in contact with. There is no mercy (because it’s a machine). We see clearly that this beast is from the devil because its characteristics are right in line with its maker—kill, steal and destroy.
A word on the feet of clay and iron and “tolerance.”
On iron and clay:
One thing I keep going back to is the feet of the statue in Daniel 2:43. “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”
My opinion: I know that prophetically, the feet of iron and clay are the ten kingdoms that arose after the fall of the Roman empire. However, every time I read this verse, all I think is “remnant.” As it relates to the repetition of history and end-times, I believe that this clay is the remnant who will refuse to mingle with iron, because machines and humans are different kinds. God is very particular about “kinds” not mixing (Genesis 1:24 – 24, Genesis 6:1 – 4 & Jude 1:6). I won’t dive into the sons of God procreating with human women (and producing anomalies/half-demons like Goliath as offspring) but do know that there are people who walk this earth that are not fully human, though they look like you and I.
Again, I believe that the inability of the clay and iron to cleave is speaking to the resistance of the saints. The iron (the machine) will indeed “mingle” through a number of different ways (sex outside of marriage—many of you are having sex with demons—robots, the RFID chip implant, the latest gadgets, man-made disasters engineered to help you relinquish rights you never had to begin with, TELEVISION AND THOSE DEMONIC SHOWS YOU LET YOUR KIDS WATCH, mind control, etc.) but it will not be able to cleave (adhere firmly and closely).
Now this “mingling” doesn’t feel forceful to me for some reason. As I pondered this verse, I kept thinking “subterfuge.”
Subterfuge means “deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal.”
Merriam Webster’s definition for mingle is interesting. It says, “to bring or mix together or with something else usually without fundamental loss of identity.”
Therein lies the danger of mingling. You’re fundamentally still human (eyes, lips, nose, face, body) but mingling always changes the things that aren’t easily seen like thought, belief, mindset, etc. We also have to remember what the Bible said: that though the iron will mingle with the seed of men, it shall not cleave one to another. We are not to cleave to the iron (the beast) in ANY way, no matter how gentle or mild and later, forceful its propositions and persuasions are. God purposely made sure that the clay would be uncleavable. Let us not forfeit our identity as children of God in any way in these last days.
On tolerance
In my last post, I shared how tolerant Greece and Rome was.
As as we head into this iron kingdom, we will see tolerance yield to tyranny. We will see the necessity of absolutely picking one side or the other side — God or Satan. The iron kingdom won’t allow anyone not to pick a side. Neither will God. I read something on patheos.com that said that though Rome was tolerant, they hated Christians because they refused to participate in Roman culture. No matter if it was as small as burning incense, those early Christians refused. In short, Christians wanted no parts of Roman culture (thus passing the test of compromise), and that made Rome feel threatened and angry. So, martyrdom.
[But let’s remember that God is not like that. Following Christ demands total surrender and allegiance as well as a transformation of the mind.]
I continue.
Verse 7
“And it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it has ten horns.”
My opinion:
-This iron kingdom will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen. It will have nothing on North Korea (I don’t know why I said North Korea, but perhaps the comparison will bring soberness).
-The beast had 10 horns and the 10 horns represent 10 kings. A little horn is introduced and pulls up 3 of the first horns by the roots. This little horn has the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.
From the Bible, we have learned that animals do not speak. A speaking animal is either a perversion of the natural order (the serpent in the garden of Eden) or a decision made by an external, supernatural force (Balaam’s donkey), usually to prove a point.
The little horn has eyes to see and a mouth to decree and declare but where did it get these things from?
I see strong deception here. Remember, the little horn arises from the fourth beast. The beast is a machine. Machines don’t have human characteristics. So this little horn is not only an inanimate object, it has somehow acquired eyes and a mouth. I believe it does this to appeal to people who will accept “almost right.” This blog stated that human beings have a talent of happily accepting things we should see as abnormal and strange. But hey, if we can tolerate a cop kneeling on a man’s throat for 9 minutes, they know we’ll tolerate a world that will eventually look like Minority Report.
The fact that the horn chose eyes and a mouth I believe, is telling. For contrast, let us recall that the lion representing King Nebuchadnezzar was given a man’s heart; again, an action by an external, supernatural force (ie. Jehovah) to prove a point. The horn gave itself eyes and a mouth. I noticed it had no ears. Perhaps the beast doesn’t intend to receive feedback or input. It cannot hear protest or prayer because it was not designed for communion. It was designed for tyranny.
So who was the little horn back in history and who is it now? Many Christian churches say that back then, it was Antiochus Epiphanes. Now? I don’t know. What was the source of the little horn’s power, ie, the beast? Many Christian churches say that it is the papacy or America. I’ve heard other theories as well.
Only time will tell. Till then, be alert and sober-minded. I believe that we are headed into Rome, that is, American tyranny, and it will be much more sophisticated as the Internet of Things , or “tech” and “smart devices” is/are employed. Martyrdom won’t be Christians thrown to the lions but it will be just as gory and calculated.
Repent, watch and pray.