One can see on any Biblical map that Cush borders Egypt. Isaiah describes the destruction of Egypt from the Aswan Dam (Syene) to the borders of Cush: “Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia,” (Ezekiel 29:10).
If Egypt borders Cush, and is also adjacent to Sudan, then Cush could definitely be the nation of Sudan.
THE KINGS OF THE EAST QUESTION
Some scholars think China is “the Kings of the East,” with its 200 million-man army invading Israel. This conclusion is based on one verse: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared,” (Revelation 16:10).
This interpretation, of course, isolates the text without exploring the rest of Scripture regarding literal nations from the east. In all of Scripture, not a single passage connects “Kings of the East” with China. The real connection is rarely considered. “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,” (Matthew 2:1). We know that these wealthy kings of the east were from the regions of Babylonia and Persia. Why not consider this option? Westerners argue that the reason the Kings of the East in Revelation come from China is the staggering number of soldiers—a 200-million-man army. But Islam can easily muster this if you consider Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia east of the Euphrates with several kings. Why do so many apply Revelation’s prophecies to a future attack upon Israel by Russia or China? The rise and conquest of Christian nations by Islamic warriors for the past 1,400 years was recognized as literal fulfillment of Bible prophecies by the great majority of Bible commentators of previous centuries, including Martin Luther and Sir Isaac Newton. Many correctly suggested that the 200-million warriors described in Revelation 9:16 were figurative and inclusive of all Islamic warriors and sympathizers throughout the centuries-long war against non-Islamic territories.
Others surmise “Sinnim” or China (note Isaiah 49: 12) by referring to those people living in eastern most part of the known world. However, Isaiah 49:12 does not refer to any wars, punishments, or tribulation against that country, but rather the return of the Jewish people from there to Israel. “Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim,” (Isaiah 49:12). This is not evidence that China is destroyed. If Sinnim is indeed China, then the Chinese Jews will have a phenomenal homecoming party!
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Western Misconceptions The Key To Unlocking Symbolism
Surely we have considered much evidence for God’s war on Islamic terror, and used literal references to prove it. Now we can apply that evidence that we have discussed to the allegorical passages in Scripture in order to form a clear and complete image from this vast prophetic puzzle. But before we do that, we need the key that unlocks the meaning behind the allegorical words and helps us understand biblical symbolism.
The Bible is the finest, richest literature imaginable. It has been shaped and enlivened by the same oral and written traditions that humankind has used since Adam and Eve. It is filled with dazzling figurative language, poetry, prophecy and historical allusions. Trained Bible scholars must possess an array of tools, including knowledge of metaphor, simile, allegory, personification, and symbolism, as well as a thorough knowledge of the times in which the Bible’s authors lived. Otherwise, attempts at interpreting the Scriptures can be likened to those of the lazy student who simply says, “The poem means whatever I want it to mean.” No—the poem means what its author intended it to mean. Even worse are those who approach a poem and claim it isn’t actually a poem, but rather a science manual or a historical narrative.
His conclusions will be atrocious.
The purpose of studying the Bible is to properly understand the meaning of any passage as the author intended it to be understood. The Bible is God’s Word and He means for us to understand what He says, not what we would like Him to say.
We do not wish to come away from the Bible with our own ideas about the future, but rather we hope to learn what God is telling us. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,” (II Peter 1:20).
The Bible is constant and does not change meaning with every altering wind. For the last 500 years, the prevailing wind within the Protestant Church has suggested that the Antichrist will come out of the Roman Catholic Church or that we are somehow moving toward a One-World-government.
While there are indeed satanic forces that would like to unite the world for their own purposes, a close examination of the Scriptures tells us that Satan will not succeed. This theory of Antichrist controlling the whole world is completely wrong—God intervened in the Tower of Babel, during Satan’s first attempt for control of the world. This story will repeat itself when Christ intervenes and comes down to stop the Antichrist from establishing a One-World Government—an Islamic Caliphate. He intervened in the Tower of Babel, and He will intervene in Armageddon.
We must allow the Bible to speak its own language, so let us look at the main symbols and decipher the keys to unlock the puzzle:
1. MOUNTAINS AS KINGDOMS
Many of the symbols used during Biblical times are still commonly understood in many cultures today, but they are not easy for many Westerners. Thus, we need a little background information. The Bible often uses mountains as a symbol representing a kingdom or an empire: “It shall come to pass in the Last-Days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,” (Isaiah 2:2-4). In other words, God’s Kingdom will be over all other kingdoms, this is pretty simple.
In the east, this language is common. But western misconceptions and lack of understanding have caused much confusion. In the West, many are waiting for the Catholic Church to arise to power. Rome, after all, is the city of seven hills (Mountains). But listen to Ahmadinejad of Iran in one of his “I have a dream” speeches: “Do not doubt, Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountain tops of the entire world.”9 The mountaintops Ahmadinejad is speaking of are the great kingdoms and governments of the West—Great Britain and America. This is the proper eastern allegoric usage for the word “Mountain”. Many passages in the Bible confirms the usage of this word “mountains” as kingdoms: “My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them,” (Ezekiel 34:6).
God’s sheep, the Jews, were scattered in the Diaspora into many different nations. The word “mountain” is symbol for a nation, empire, or kingdom: “Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, says Jehovah, which destroys all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain,” (Jeremiah 51:25).
Here, God rails against the Babylonian Empire—the “destroying mountain,” which he will make into a “burnt mountain”.
And in Daniel 2: “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth,” (Daniel 2:35).
From the stone (Messiah) will come the “great mountain” which is the Kingdom of God. The mountain will fill the whole earth. In other words, the Kingdom of God will rule over all the earth. “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts,” (Psalms 46:2-3, 6). If one reads these passages replacing the word mountain with kingdom and waters or seas with peoples, tribes, and different ethnic backgrounds, then it is easy to understand
the picture. In verse 6 above, the Bible even gives the explanation—mountains falling (v. 2) are kingdoms falling (v. 6).
Christ spoke of having the faith of a mustard seed, that we can move mountains. Are these literal mountains? No. These are governments and kingdoms. Exactly what the disciples and the first believers did. They eventually changed the Middle East which was all converted to the faith.
2. WATERS ARE MIXED ETHNIC GROUPS.
In addition to mountains symbolizing nations, Revelation 17:5 tell us that “waters” and “rivers” represent peoples: “And he says unto me, The waters which thou saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
The primary source for understanding the meaning of a word or symbol is always the text itself. Sometimes, a passage may not be properly understood unless one understands what has been made clear in another text elsewhere in the Bible. “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” (Daniel 7:14). “He Shall Have Dominion Also From Sea to Sea, and From the River Unto the Ends of the earth,” (Psalm 72:8).
These two passages actually are saying the same thing. While Daniel specifically says that Christ will rule over “people, nations and languages,” the Psalm refers symbolically to “waters, seas, and rivers.” But they are both, in fact, declaring the same message.
As we move on, we will see many other common Biblical symbols used. Once you begin to understand these symbols, the passages actually become fairly clear, and their message is always consistent. Now let’s examine Isaiah 64:1-3: “Oh that thou would rend the heavens, that thou would come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burns, the fire causes the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.” “Waters to boil” means the nations will rage.
“I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools” (Isaiah 42:15).
Interpretation: He will waste “the rivers islands, and…will dry up the pools” tells us that peoples, tribes, and tongues will cease to exist. We can now apply some of these symbols to this passage from Isaiah.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when you walk through the fire (war), you shall not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon you,” (Isaiah 43:2).
Interpretation: When you Israelites “pass through waters” face the people against you, and you will prevail. And when you walk through fire (the agonies of war and hate) and they declare war against you, you will not be hurt; you will prevail.
3. A HEAD IS A KINGDOM
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings,” (Revelation 17:9). We already know that a mountain is a kingdom; a head also is a Kingdom. A kingdom is obviously ruled by a king: “they are also seven kings.” One cannot have a kingdom without a king. “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed,” (Revelation 13:3). One of the kingdoms is destroyed and comes back to life. One cannot isolate the kingdom from the king. The death of the head is the ending of the kingdom.
4. WOMAN IS A SPIRITUAL ENTITY WITH A LITERAL KINGDOM AND CAPITAL
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17) This is the kingdom of Israel with its capital, Jerusalem.
A woman could also be the kingdom of Christ, even prior to its establishment as the Bride of Christ with a capital in Jerusalem, which later becomes the heavenly Jerusalem.
Also, a woman, in the case of the harlot, represents followers of a false religion as John saw in the desert. “Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns,” (Revelation 17:3). “…The woman which thou saw is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” (Revelation 17:18).
This city rules this literal kingdom spiritually, much like Jerusalem, which is the center of Judaism. Jews would say, “Am Yesrael Chai.” The word “Am” means nation. Islam uses the same language: “Umma-t Al-Islam,” the Nation of Islam. This unites Muslims under one spiritual kingdom with the capital in Mecca.
Bear in mind that the above verse is in Greek, and a “city” in the Bible doesn’t always denote a single place. For instance, today the nation of Israel is called Medinat Yesrael in Hebrew. In Aramaic or Arabic, the word Medinat is “a city.” In the ancient context, for example in Jeremiah, Gilead actually speaks of all of Judah as one city. The same is true for “house”, which is not a single house but all the people of Judah. “For thus Says the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.” Judah itself will be a wilderness like cities devoid of their people. (Jeremiah 22:16)
5. BEASTS ARE EMPIRES LED BY KINGS
A common assumption is that “the beast” of Revelation is a man. However, it is clear from Scripture that a single entity does not necessarily represent a single being. For instance, in Revelation 19:7, we read, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready.” Just as the wife (bride) of Revelation 19:20 represents many people from different nations, tribes and different tongues, the beast of Revelation 19:7 represents a nation or an empire—a collective group of many people. The metaphorical use of the beast and the bride is consistent with use of figures of speech throughout Scripture. Every instance of the word beast in Daniel 7: 5-7, 11, 19, and 23, is a reference to an empire—with rulers or kings represented by horns. These rulers are represented also with the word “beast” when they come out of the earth. “These great beasts (empires) are four in number are four kings (horns) who will arise from the earth.”
A beast always represents a group of people from every nation, tribe, and tongue that follows a false religion and its leader (horn). So, when the beast is taken and the “false prophet” with him, we understand that the empire and its leader (the horn) are removed. We know from Scripture that Satan seeks to be like God, to rule the earth, to have his own kingdom. With this in mind, we see that an Islamic revival is quite plausible as Satan attempts to woo followers.
Jesus, our Messiah, desires His Bride (the saints) for love, forgiveness and reconciliation, and Satan desires his kingdom for destruction—parallels at opposite ends of the moral spectrum.
Just as the Bride awaits the coming Bridegroom, Islam is waiting for the leader they call the Mahdi, who will lead them in the footsteps of his predecessor Mohammed. Thus, we see the beast of Revelation 13:3 waiting and determined to follow the previous beast whose “deadly wound was healed.”
6. A NAME IS A DECLARATION OF FAITH—A CREED
When Psalm 83:16 states, “That they may seek your name O Lord,” the Bible is not giving us the literal name of God but the definition Him—Emanuel is a name which means “God with us.” “His name shall be called wonderful, counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” No one accepts the names of the true God except the ones who believe in His attributes—that Messiah is Almighty God and the God with us. We need to think more deeply when we study Scripture. Names in the east always regard the creed, attributes, descriptions and the titles of the person they signify.
In the same way is the name of the beast a blasphemous declaration that puts in God’s place someone else other than His son.
This is crucial for us to understand, for the harlot of Revelation has names (creeds) of blasphemy on her forehead, and so do the followers of the Antichrist. The followers of Antichrist would then have a creed of blasphemy on their hands and foreheads, which is exactly what we see many Muslims do in our day.
7. FISH ARE FOLLOWERS
Jesus wanted us to fish (gain followers). Similarly, the Antichrist will have his fish. “But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales,” (Ezekiel 29:4).
With our understanding of the meaning of water, it is easy to understand the rest: I will make you to fall into a trap like a fish caught on a hook, and your followers (all the fish) of thy rivers (the different ethnic backgrounds of peoples and languages) will follow you and fall. The rest of the verses is easy: “And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shall fall upon the open fields; thou shall not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven,” (Ezekiel 29:5).
Interpretation: You will fall in the desert (wilderness) with all your people (fish of thy rivers), and you will not be redeemed (not be brought together, nor gathered).
Jesus uses a similar metaphor as He had His followers catch fish, saying they will be “fishers of men.”
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