A Beginning
A year or date. I started with the most famous number 666. In Daniel 9:2 number refers to years. From Wikipedia AD 666 we find the Byzantine Empire a Christian empire that would last a thousand years. What we don’t find is they were about to be attacked by a new religion, Islam. A closer look is warranted.
A Fourth Beast of Daniel
a second beast of the Apocalypse. The “ten horns” tell us that. Is the third beast of Daniel the first beast of the Apocalypse? Let’s see if it fits. Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Islam were all problems for the temple. Rome and Islam were problems for the Christians. So far a fit. Just need to identify the seven heads and ten horns to be sure.
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A Temple
a holy place. Don’t mess with the temple. Only a beast would. Only two temples but four beasts. The first destroyed the first. The second desecrated the second. The third destroyed the second. The fourth is preventing the third. The abomination of desolation. The Dome of the Rock is in the holy place.
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A Beast of Daniel
a beast of the Apocalypse. What can Daniel tell us about beasts? What makes a beast a beast? What do all the beasts of Daniel have in common? The Temple. At least three of the four. Babylon destroyed the first temple. Greece desecrated the second. Rome destroyed the second. Islam is preventing the third. Sounds like a beast.
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A Number
a connection with prophecy and with other parts of the bible. The “ten horns” of Daniel helps us understand those of the Apocalypse. Both tell us the horns are kings. Most likely dynasties. A beast or empire with only ten kings cannot be significant. Counting dynasties makes more sense. See if that fits.
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A Prophecy Fulfilled
a numerical fit with history. The Byzantine Empire is a good start but does it fit with the other numbers 666, ten horns, seven heads etc.? We shall see but first we should check Daniel for the word number. In Daniel 9:2 number refers to years. Does the number 666? Historians do a fine job of staying away from that year but we do know that about that time Islam was getting ready to attack Constantinople the capital of a Christian empire that lasted a thousand years.
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A Holy Place
a daily sacrifice shall be taken away. What is in the Holy Place now? Daniel has three references to abomination. The first is “he” and most agree he was Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The second is “they” shall place the abomination which is a better fit with the Dome of the Rock that is preventing the daily sacrifice.
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A Caliph
a sultan, and a perfect fit with Saladin if you know how to count caliphates, sultanates, or dynasties and can tell the difference. Islam can and they counted ten as in ten horns and they shall hate the whore. A connection between Daniel and the Apocalypse. A little horn reinforces the belief that horns are dynasties.
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A Translation Problem
a commander or another interpretation problem if you are looking for the king of the north. There are eight different words in 52 different translations: princes 24, commanders 10, officers 7, officials 5, generals 2, leaders 2, principalities 1, subordinates 1. The word prince suggests a family member unlike the other seven words which have a similar meaning. Makes you wonder about words used in other parts of the bible. These are major differences in words used before you get to the problem of interpreting them. Reader beware.
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A King of the South
a king of the north. A fit with Fatimah, Mohammed, and Muawiyah. A fit with Daniel 11:6; the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north. The dynasty started by Muawiyah built the Dome of the Rock which prevents the third temple. It is the abomination of desolation mentioned by Jesus. A fit with Daniel 11:31: the abomination that maketh desolate.
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apocalypse 