Just Who Are the Bad Guys in the End?

     Almost all apocalyptic theologians focus on Rome and the Roman Catholic Church as the political and spiritual "Babylon" of the tribulation period. For those who are not theologically savvy, "the tribulation" is a seven-year period when those who have converted to Christ are persecuted in the last half. Without making the distinction between when the rapture occurs,. those Christians during that time will be tested.
     "The rapture" is when the dead and living are caught up with Jesus. It is either before the tribulation (pre-trib), during (mid -trib), or after (post-trib). Regardless, of what is the time period for tribulation, their will be a building-up of iniquity which will reach a crescendo at the tribulation period.
     I believe the government and religion of the tribulation is in formation right now! Globalism at it's peak will usher in the leader - the Antichrist. The social gospel and liberation theology is ushering in the Church of the Apocalypse. "Apocalypse" is looking forward to future events; in theology the "end of days".
     With that said, who will be the Antichrist and who will be the religious leader? It is useful to understand the place of all the apocalyptic action! Theologians always place Rome as its epicenter, and the Pope as the Antichrist. Although, the Pope has, over time, empowered himself just as Nebuchadnezzar did, his theology is more like he Church at Thyatira (Rev 2) which still had an element of faithfulness. I believe the end of time religion will be one of syncretism - having another god besides God. Likely, that "god" will pretend to be Messianic but be a spiritual mess!
     It's not the Roman Catholic Church which will go awry but the "Church" in general. What is the Church? It is the universal body of those who claim to be believers. Because the Church is God's "threshing floor" where He separates the good grain from the chaff, that implies that there are strangers to God in the Church - those to whom He will say, "I never knew you!" (Mat 7:23). The end of time Church are those who portend and pretend to be Christians, but don't really know God! In other words, they are Catholics and Protestants. They all will be fooled by the false prophet.
     There are clues as to the who, what, and where of the apocalypse. Daniel saw many things in his visions:

Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 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.

     Let's first look at the first of the four beasts: The lion represents Babylon because of its power. The question is: what place in modern times is this "Babylon"? Is it Rome, the United States, or even the entire world?  A clue lies in verse 2. Daniel saw "a great sea". In those days that referred to the Mediterranean sea whose name means "center of the earth". I believe the focus is on the mid-east as the location of this new age corrupt government. The question remains: Is it Rome, Greece, or somewhere else?

     The bear would be the Medo-Persian Empire. By reason of God's Plan, that is on the same soil as Babylon. Moving on, the leopard represents the Greek, and the fourth, the Roman Empire whose political center was both Rome and Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Thus, is Rome the focus, or the eastern empire? It could be either. The epicenter of the Babylonian Empire was Babylon which was in Iraq.  Alluded to is an offshoot of the of the fourth beast, the "little horn". The horn represents power and kingship. Theologians believe the little horn is the Antichrist.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.   

     "The woman" appears to be the harlot Babylon. Usually theologians take this woman to be Europe with the seven hills of Rome and the ten countries in the European Union. That may be some anti-Catholicism showing!  However, why would world events switch from "Babylon" to Europe? "They" say it is because of its wickedness. That is not convincing. What, then, are the ten horns? I agree, they are nations.  John agrees also:

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 

Likewise, John defined the seven heads: 

Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

     Again, "the woman" would be the harlot Babylon. "The sea" is the Mediterranean, and the nations would be in that proximity.  What ten nations make up a specific area? Not by coincidence, it is the Promised Land:

Gen 15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19  The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21  And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

     These ten kingdoms make up the land between Egypt to Turkey from the sea to the Euphrates. That includes Babylon and most of the Babylonian Empire! Let's look at who these people were: 

• Kenites - Moses father-in-law was a Kenite. They lived in and around the area of Canaan. Kenites were named after Cain.
• Kenizzites - In the area now Syria. Descendants of Kenaz.
• Kadmonites - Means "ancients" and occupied the area now Israel.
• Hittites - Modern Turkey and Syria. Descendents of Heth.
• Perizzites - Lived around Hor and the Negev adjacent to Israel.
• Rephaims - East Jordan. Giants.
• Amorites - Syria and southern Mesopotamia.
• Canaanites - Phoenicans (Philistines). Means "low, humble, subjugated".
• Girgashites - Lived in western Palestine. Chaldean word meaning "clay" because they dwelt in clayey soil. 
• Jebusites - Inhabited Jerusalem. Early name of Jeruslalem was Jebus. Palestinian Arabs claim to be descended from them but erroneously so.

     By now the reader should have noticed that those nations of peoples are indeed much of Babylonian Empire and may be the ten nations of "iron" bound together by "clay" (the  Gurgasites). We know of the extreme hardship as the Hebrew people overpowered those nations which were truly "iron". 

     I contend that the area of focus for the events of the apocalypse should be the old empire of Babylon.

     Babylon is the whore of Revelation:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

     Why would Rome be Babylon when Mesopotamia always was?  Theologians believe that the Roman Empire is a type of Babylonia. Indeed it is, but in apostolic times Rome was mostly the empire of Babylon. In modern times, the Holy Roman Empire is confined only to a small are of territory called the Vatican. However, since the Pope has allegiance all over the world and he is Pontificus Maximus, the Pope is the spiritual leader and traditionally has been supreme over kings. It looks like he is a candidate for the Antichrist but I believe the Pope and Roman Catholicism are mere tools of Babylon. Most of Europe is no longer even Catholic!
     Babylon must include Jerusalem. The City of God is the one most nations seek to control. Many of the events of Revelation are in the City of Zion which is the City of David (2 Sam 5:7). In modern times that great city is Jerusalem. Babylon stole the City of God for their false gods: Marduk, Nebo, and Nebuchadnezzar Later it was stolen for Allah! Apocalyptic "Babylon" will fight for the same City, not only the one on earth but in Heaven.
     Traditionally, ancient wars were fought to demonstrate whose gods are the most powerful. All the gods of those ten nations have always sought to show that their gods are stronger than Jehovah God. All of those "nations" were in land now controlled by Islam, at least before Israel gained independence in 1948. . In older times Babylonia was an Islamic Caliphate: Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman. Until Charles Martel stopped their expansion, much of Europe was part of the Caliphate. In other words, Babylon had become an Islamic Caliphate. Recently, ISIS attempted to restore that caliphate, recapturing much of  the old empire of Babylon.
     However, there is a problem: the city of Babylon no longer exists. It and it's sister city of Nineveh were destroyed by God. They were the Sodom and Gomorrah of that time! The capital of the Harlot Babylon is destined to be Jerusalem because that's where religions fornicate against God. Those pagan religions of Babylon desire to make Jerusalem their "whore" because their own whore has died of spiritual disease!    The ultimate goal of Islam is to have a worldwide caliphate. At the present time, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is trying to establish a global government whose religion is Islam, whose government is Sharia Law, and is ruled by an Islamic religious figure - one caliph who is a successor to Mohammad. That is not "radical Islam"; it is the strategy of Islam! Pan-Islamists have a stated goal: "to challenge, and ultimately conquer, the West." [James Brandon (May 10, 2006). "The Caliphate: One nation, under Allah, with 1.5 billion Muslims". The Christian Science Monitor. Amman, Jorday.] Of course Allah is their god but the Imam is their false prophet. In their own words from commentary on the Quran and the Haddeth:

We implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake. I praise Allah, except whom there is none to be worshiped, who is the Ruler of the world. He is innocent and pure free from all blemishes, defects, flaws, or shortcomings. He gives refuge and sustains all. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-does-quran-hadeths-say-having-caliph-khalifa-part-ibrihim/).

     Because Islam wants Allah to be "Ruler of the World" it follows that they desire, no demand, that Islam be the worldwide global government of the world! 
    Islam has their own "Jesus". He is a prophet named Isa. 

That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- (Quran Chapter 4 The Women سورة النساء - An-Nisa: Verse 157.)

They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will forbid him the garden (my note: Jerusalem), and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help. (Quran Chapter 5 The Table Spread سورة المائدة - Al-Maeda: Verse 72)

When Jesus (Isa) came with Clear Signs, he said: "Now have I come to you with Wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) on which ye dispute: therefore fear Allah and obey me. (Quran Chapter 43 Ornaments of Gold سورة الزخرف - Az-Zukhruf: Verse 63.)

Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus (Isa), and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (my note: in Islam). (Quran Chapter 2 The Cow سورة البقرة - Al-Baqara: Verse 136).

     It is clear that Isa is indeed their "Jesus", and the Christian Church's "Antichrist".  It is written that all shall bow to Allah, and that Isa (their Jesus) is not the Christ, the son of Mary. Who is he then? Their prophet, the Antichrist of the apocalypse! With the aid of their religious leader, another false prophet, perhaps an Imam, Isa will be proclaimed "God", or in their terms "Allah".
     The Pope and the Catholic Church have a part as well: in the first three-and-a half years, the Antichrist is loved. With the tolerance of the modern Catholic Church leaders, they will be easily duped! The Antichrist will be the master of deception. The biggest piece of that cunning is that Islam is a peaceful religion. We've heard that many times! Catholics have been deceived by that, and not to be outdone with tolerance, liberal Protestant denominations have as well. The acceptance of Islam is not a Catholic Problem but a problem with the modern Church.
     Overall, the modern Church is Laodicean in nature - not hot or cold but lukewarm. It confesses Jesus but their practices defile God's Name horribly! The worst of the worst of those are the Unitarian-Universalists. They are easily duped and consider all "gods" as equals. They will be the first for God "to spew out of his mouth" because of their fornication with other gods!
     The Christian Church will still be the true Church. However, just as the Jews have always fornicated with other gods (until they learned their lesson by Babylonian destruction), the Christian Church will at the end of days!
     We think of Church as sanctuary from the world but it's the "threshing floor". That invisible organization is where God's conviction is accepted or rejected. In the last days, 144,000 Jews will be converted to Christianity then threshed by God who allows the Antichrist to give them a choice:

Rev 20:14 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

     What is peculiar about this verse? It is a government policy of "convert or die"! Until Islam was cleaned up after 9/11, history painted Islam as a violent religion. God converts by offering peace (in the heart), but Mohammad converted by the blade. Chances are if you are a modern-day Muslim, you are because a Muslim zealot held a sword to your ancestor's throat! (See the 1890's book, Religions of the World). Muslim grew rapidly because of fear of decapitation. In modern times, it is fear which causes western people to bow to Islam!
     In the passage preceding, God allows the Antichrist to judge the Jews just as Nebuchadnezzar judged the Jewish people. Many heads were lost in Jerusalem as Solomon's Temple was destroyed by a quasi-type of the Antichrist! Modern-day Muslims are "children" of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar. God allowed "Neb" to test the faithfulness of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and the threat of decapitation is the same. If they take the Antichrist's number by kneeling to him, their penalty is fiery Hell. In Babylon, God saved his children from the fire, and in the end of days, his many children will too be saved when they reject the number of the beast (Dan 3)!
     What is the beast's number? Six-Six-Six, the same as Nebuchadnezzar's. Numerologists have identified the number of the beast with many tyrants over the years. They turned out not to be the Antichrist. Many Popes have been so designated as well as Napoleon and Hitler. Who admits that is their number?  Islam! (See http://motheofgod.com/threads/sacred-numbers-666-and-19-in-islam.5847/ and http://www.universalunity.org/6.html);

"The truth is that This Quran is the 666 , The Book from The Lord of the Universe. "

"GOD made His Messenger [Muhammad] a witness with the letter Qaf and the number 666. "

     In other words, to Muslims, "666" is Allah's number! Just as Isa is their prophet and is our Antichrist, the number of their Quran is the number of our fearsome "beast".
     The Beast surely arises from the Euphrates since the "four angels" which were bound there will be loosed. There is a reason that Nebuchadnezzar was a type of Antichrist. Babylon was on the Euphrates. It seems that all evil at the end of days comes out of Babylon, and goodness refers to Zion. Thus, it seems to be a great spiritual war between Babylon and Jerusalem, fought some on the earth and at least watched from Heaven. Those "angels" are surely spiritual beings, or dark angels who are called forth to destroy a portion of the righteous, and are Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Roman deities of sorts.
     We've examined the place - Babylon, the beast - Isa, the ten horns - the ancestors of the Muslims - and now we need to look at the "seven heads" which is interpreted seven mountains:

Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

     There are seven pillars of  Ismailism, and early Islamic majority. Since then, time has reduced them to Five Pillars of Islam. The Quran mentions five holy mountains of their religion. Not mentioned were Golgotha and Mt. Hermon which both were holy mountains to Jews and Muslims. There seems to have been seven holy mountains of Islam. They may have been reduced to five because of direct mention. Islam places importance on their holy mountains:

Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs?  (Quran, 78:6-7)

     The pillars of Islam are "pegs" or mountains which are the tenets of Ismailism - once the largest branch of Islam in Shiism. (Ismail was the oldest son of Abraham and is claimed to be the lineage of most Muslim people. Those "pegs" were pillars and are identified from Wilkipedia "Seven Pillars of Ismailism":

1. Guardianship (Walaya)
2. Purity (Tahara)
3. Prayer (Salat)
4. Charity (Zakah)
5. Fasting (Sawm)
6. Pilgrimage (Hajj)
7. Struggle (Jihad)

     The bottomless pit" is the  "Well of Souls" in Islam - the place of the Holy of Holies in Judaism and Christianity. Beneath the rock of Ornan's Threshing Floor is where Solomon's Temple once stood and the Dome of the Rock (Islamic Temple) now stands. "Well of Souls" derives from a medieval Islamic legend that at this place the spirits of the dead can be heard awaiting Judgment Day." (Wikipedia) That fits in quite well with where those dead who are not Christians, await judgment. It is handy for them that Isa will have a place of torment for those he kills!
     Above the Well of Souls is the rock itself, the very place on which Abraham was said to have been willing to sacrifice Isaac. It is called "the foundation stone" by the Jews. "the Stone marks the center of the world and serves as a cover for the Abyss (Abzu) containing the raging waters of the Flood." (again, from Wikipedia; "The Well of Souls". 
     Ironically, this place of the dead was where the waters of life flowed forth and killed evil people, excepting Noah and his family. There is so much more that points to Islam as the false religion of the tribulation, and their Isa as the Antichrist. Not much has been said about the global government - an Islamic Caliphate - whose rule is by Sharia Law. That fits quite well with the rule of the Antichrist. 
     Not to be forgotten is progressivism in the government and the Church. The modern Church with its social justice has become more Marxist than Christian! Liberals are the useful idiots which Islam uses to propagate their immigration. The West will not be defeated by Islamic War (Jihad) but immigration as they arrive and refuse to assimilate. By the time discerning people get wise to the Islamic/Progressive coalition, it will be too late! Suddenly, during the last three and one-half years, communism with it's cruelty and Islam with its, shall join forces. There is little difference between  communism and Sharia Law!  Look at the cruelty of the "ten kingdoms" - the ten Babylonian/Muslim kingdoms - as they administer their law:

Dan 7:35 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 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. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

     Can I prove this? It is hypothesis but is based on Scripture and Islam's own holy writings. The French Republic created their own "god" - the God of Reason - and the French Church just caved. Before long, Libertas (Liberty) was fornicating in the Cathedral of Notre Dame as the clerics denied Christ and joined in on the pleasure. It are the free things and such which will attract even the elect to the false doctrine of the end-of-time church and the seemingly nice government of the Antichrist!