Authored By :
Bill Kochman
Published On :
January 19, 1999
Last Updated :
January 3, 2009
NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.
Three Broken Horns, Prophetic Peaks And Valleys, Conquest Of
Three Horns, Egypt Libya And Ethiopia, Libya Question, Seals
Removed, Wise Shall Understand, Watch And Pray, Keep Busy!
Having now briefly explained to you the recent history of
the Middle East peace process, allow me to address the main
theme of this article. Until recently, I have speculated
that Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan might possibly represent the
three horns which are subdued by the militarily-agressive
Middle Eastern leader referred to as the Beast. If this is
indeed the case, and if we continue to assume that President
Hafez al-Assad currently makes the best candidate for being
the Beast, then he would fulfill his vision of creating a
Greater Syria, similar to the ancient Assyrian Empire. Let
us consider the following verses found in the seventh
chapter of the Book of Daniel which discuss these three
subdued horns, or kings:
"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse
from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten
horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there were three
of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in
this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth
speaking great things...And the ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall
rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and
he shall subdue three kings." (Daniel 7:7-8, 24)
In the above verses, we witness the rise of the Ten Horns,
or ten worldly nations or rulers, from the remnants of the
fourth Beast of iron; that is, the Roman Empire. They are
followed by an eleventh little horn; that is, the one whom
many Christians believe is the final Beast of the Endtime;
who will subdue three of the first Ten Horns. This is why
Daniel states 'three of the first horns'. Notice that these
verses do not say that the King of the North, that is, the
Beast, destroys these three nations; he simply brings them
into submission. That word 'subdue' is derived from the
Aramaic word 'shephal', pronounced shef-al', which means to
be or bring low, or to humble. In other words, it might
represent military defeat, but not total destruction, even
though that is also a possibility. The three horns might
simply come under the domination of the Beast, just as
Lebanon already takes orders from Syria.
Another important point worth mentioning, is that we need to
remember that when the Lord gave the Prophets of old dreams
and visions regarding the future, in a certain sense, it was
similar to looking across a virtual mountain range. While
from a distance, the various peaks, or prophetic events, may
seem to be the same distance away from us, as we draw closer
to them, we begin to realize that some peaks, or events, are
actually in front of, or else behind, some of the others. In
other words, there are actually time gaps, or what we might
refer to as valleys, between the various events. They don't
all happen at the same time.
Thus, when the Prophet Daniel tells us that three of the Ten
Horns are subdued by the Beast, this does not necessarily
mean that they are all conquered at the same time. They may
actually be conquered over a period of days, weeks, months,
or perhaps even years. Consider the way in which worldly
warfare is normally fought. A certain aggressor will expand
his powerbase a little at a time. He will conquer a nation,
consolidate his gains, make it sure by placing good men in
authority whom he can trust, and then move on to the next
target. Only a foolish military leader would spread himself
thin. A wise leader knows that employing such a strategy
would not only make him extremely vulnerable to his enemies,
but it might even result in his total defeat. Clearly then,
to try to eat the whole pie in one gulp is not the way to
conduct worldly warfare. I am reminded of our Lord's own
advice found in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of
Luke, when He was discussing the price of being a Disciple:
"Or what king, going to make war against another king,
sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able
with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with
twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way
off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of
peace." (Luke 14:31-32)
While it is still quite possible that the three horns which
are broken by the Beast represent the three aforementioned
nations of Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, I have discovered that
there is another possible interpretation which finds support
in the Scriptures. It is interesting to note that after he
has informed us that three horns will be conquered by the
Beast, four chapter later, in chapter eleven, the Prophet
Daniel tells us the exact names of three countries which
will not escape the wrath of the Beast; that is, Egypt,
Libya and Ethiopia:
"He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many
countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of
his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children
of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the
countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he
shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans
and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
(Daniel 11:41-43)
In the previous verses, 'the glorious land' is commonly
believed to represent the state of Israel. As you can see,
this is an obvious Scriptural connection. In one chapter,
Daniel tells us that three horns will be conquered by the
Beast, and then four chapters later, he appears to name the
three nations to which he may have been referring. Notice
again that we are not clearly told that Egypt, Libya and
Ethiopia will be completely destroyed; but that they are
only subdued and robbed of their wealth. Exactly what will
be necessary in order to subdue them, is a question which
will only be answered when it actually happens.
It is interesting to note that in the King James Bible, the
words 'shall be' are in italics, in order to show that they
were added by the translators for the sake of making the
verse easier to understand. Not only that, but the phrase
'at his steps' is derived from one single Hebrew word; that
is, the word 'mits`ad', pronounced mits-awd', which means
steps or goings. So in actuality, that verse may indicate
that Libya and Ethiopia are actually steps in his quest to
gain full military and political power over the Middle East.
In other words, the Beast may step on them in a military
sense, so that they become the southernmost, and the
westernmost borders of the New Syrian Empire; assuming of
course, that Hafez al-Assad, or one of his successors, is
the Beast. Again, this is a point which only time will
answer for us.
If we consider the fact that 'mitsad' also means goings,
when we are told that Libya and Ehtiopia are 'at his steps',
it might also mean that they decide to go along with the
Beast, rather than be destroyed, while Egypt does not. Thus
they escape destruction, while Egypt may not. If it turns
out that Saddam Hussein is actually the Beast, and not Hafez
al-Assad, this makes even more sense. As you will recall
from part one, at this current time, there has been a war of
words between Egypt and Iraq due to the December 1998 aerial
attacks on Baghdad. Concerning the possibility that Libya
and Ethiopia may decide to go along with the Beast, I am
reminded of the following verse regarding the Ten Horns,
where we are told that they give their power to the Beast:
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings
one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give
their power and strength unto the beast."
(Revelation 17:12-13)
Concerning Jordan, that is, Edom, Moab and Ammon, as she is
referred to in the previous verses from the eleventh chapter
of Daniel, it may be that she escapes the wrath of the Beast
because she chooses to go along with the invasion of Israel,
despite the 1994 peace treaty with the Israelies. Another
possibility, is that it may have something to do with the
famous rock city of Petra, which I mention in the article
'The Woman In The Wilderness And The 144,000'. I hope you
will take the time to read it.
At this current time, I don't understand why Libya will
suffer the wrath of the Beast, being as she is very much
against the state of Israel. I honestly do not see Colonel
Moammar Kadhaffi changing his views towards the Jews, now or
ever. It it possible that, as I've suggested before, Libya,
Egypt, Ethiopia and other North African nations may suddenly
begin to feel uncomfortable with President Assad's desire
for expansion, and thus break their ties with him. The only
other possibility I can consider at this time, is that the
Libya of the Bible did not occupy the same land area as the
modern-day Libya. This is a common occurrence when trying to
connect ancient names with their modern counterparts. There
is some debate within scholarly circles regarding some of
these issues; such as the proper location of the ancient
Cush and Tarshish, for example.
As you can see, understanding Endtime Bible prophecy is not
always an easy task. At this current time, some things are
clearer to us than others; however, the very fact that we
are beginning to understand it, is a clear indication that
we are indeed living in the Endtime. It appears that the
seals are slowly being removed, and our understanding is
being enlightened, as we approach that Glorious Day of the
Lord's Return. As the Angelic Messenger told the Prophet
Daniel:
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book,
even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased." (Daniel 12:4)
At this point in time, the best thing that we can all do, is
to watch and pray, and to keep our eyes on events occurring
in the Middle East. If we are in tune to God's Spirit, He
will be faithful to open our spiritual eyes as these final
events begin to unfold on the world stage. While we may not
always recognize fulfilled prophecy when it is about to
occur, by God's grace, we will hopefully recognize it soon
afterwards; for as His Word tells us:
"Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be
given him." (James 1:5)
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the
wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
understand; but the wise shall understand."
(Daniel 12:10)
Aside from watching and praying, it is also important that
we keep ourselves busy in the affairs of the Kingdom, until
that Great Day arrives. As Jesus Himself warned us in the
thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we must stay awake
spiritually, and not fall asleep on the job:
"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time
is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who
left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to
every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch
ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
(Mark 13:33-37)
It is because the Lord is giving us the wisdom and the
understanding in these Last Days, that we must be faithful
to share this information with as many others as we can, at
all cost; even if it means sacrificing our lives in the end.
Of course, the most important message we can give them, is
the message of Salvation; because all of the understanding
in the world regarding Endtime prophecy is of no avail, if
one is not even truly saved. Consider the following verses:
"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the
stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that
winneth souls is wise." (Proverbs 11:30)
"And they that understand among the people shall instruct
many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by
captivity, and by spoil, many days." (Daniel 11:33)
At the same time, the fulfillment of Endtime prophecy can
also serve as a great tool to convince those who are of
doubtful hearts, that God's Word is indeed true. If you are
faithful to share these things ahead of time, once they do
begin to occur, it just might instill a seed of faith in
those who found it difficult to believe previously. In
conclusion, keep your eyes on the Middle East; watch and
pray; and feed God's sheep while you can; so that in the
end, when that Great Day finally arrives, He will be able to
say to you:
"...Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast
been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
(Matthew 25:21)
With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!
For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.