The Beasts

In the Old Testament prophetic Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar was described to have seen a large statue in a dream.  Only the Jewish prophet Daniel was able to interpret the dream.  Later, Daniel himself had a dream about four beasts; his dream paralleled Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  The parts of the statue, as well as the beasts, were found to represent kingdoms or nations upon the earth—the first of which existed at the time, and the remainder of which, eventually, would arise.

In the New Testament prophetic Book of Revelation, John described two other beasts which would arise (see also the lengthy commentary, The Chronology of Revelation).  I believe these latter two beasts will be prominent relatively soon in the future of this world, near the “end of the age.”  Furthermore, I suspect that their identities will be surprising to most.  The beasts represent kingdoms or nations which have had, or will have, domination over the nation of Israel.

The beasts also will be representative of supernatural spiritual entities (also known as “princes”) and human leaders (also known as “kings”) who rule over nations or conglomerates of nations around the world.  The prophesied righteous “seed” has passed through Abraham and the nation of Israel/Judah to the ultimate Messiah, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).  Similarly, an evil “seed” has passed through “beastly” nations and human lineages throughout the ages of human existence.  This “seed,” which has been passed along as the antichrist spirit (1 John 4:3), will proceed into the Antichrist, the human host who eventually will rule virtually all of the known world and will wreak the worst havoc the earth has ever known—until the righteous “seed” (Christ) finally returns again to destroy it, once and for all (Genesis 3:15).

When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream (Daniel 2:1-3), Daniel, the wise prophet and man of God, not only told Nebuchadnezzar what the dream was but also interpreted the dream, because God had revealed it to him (2:26-45).  Nebuchadnezzar had seen an enormous statue; it had a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

Historically, the sections of the statue were represented as follows:

Head of Gold Chest & Arms of Silver Belly & Thighs of Bronze Legs of Iron

Babylon Medo-Persia Greece Rome

606–539 B.C. 539–331 B.C. 331–169 B.C. 169 B.C.–476 A.D.

The final kingdom (the 2 feet and 10 toes of the statue, as an outgrowth of the legs of iron) would be one where “the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay” (Daniel 2:43).  Ultimately, after the destruction of all those kingdoms, “God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed” because it will “endure forever” (2:44).

Daniel later had a dream about four great beasts (Daniel 7:1-14):

• a lion with wings like an eagle,
• a bear raised up on one side with three ribs between its teeth,
• a leopard with wings like a bird and four heads, and
• a terrifying, powerful beast with large iron teeth and ten horns.

While Daniel was thinking about the ten horns, another little horn, with eyes like a man, came up among them, and “three of the first horns were uprooted before it” (7:8a).

These beasts exactly paralleled the sections of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the ten horns of the final beast were analogous to the ten toes of the statue.  The iron legs of the statue (Daniel 2:33), as well as the fourth beast itself (7:7), represented the awesome Roman Empire which, unlike the other empires, was not conquered.  Rather, it declined from world power status by 476 A.D.; however, it still remains, in a fragmented form, even today.

The obvious prophetic question is this:  What are the ten horns of Daniel’s final beast, which are equivalent to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue?  That is, if the Roman Empire ultimately fragmented into ten major parts, what are these parts?  And what does the little horn, arising among them, represent?

Before addressing these questions, we first need to look at, and carefully to analyze,

• the seven heads of Daniel’s four beasts (Daniel 7:2-7),
• the four heads of Daniel’s third beast (7:6),
• Daniel’s fourth beast (7:7), and
• John’s beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1b-8), having ten horns and seven heads (13:1c), as well as other similarities to Daniel’s four beasts.

It is important to look more closely at the collective number of heads of Daniel’s four beasts (Daniel 7:2-7).  It is assumed that all of the beasts have one head, except  for the third beast, which is described as having four heads.

In a later vision (Daniel 8:3-8), Daniel saw a ram with two horns, which eventually was overcome by a goat with one large, prominent horn.  At the height of the goat’s power, the large, prominent horn “was broken off; and in its place, four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven” (8:8).  The two-horned ram represented the kingdom of Medo-Persia, and the one-horned goat represented the kingdom of Greece (8:20,21)—just as the second and third kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (2:39) and the second and third beasts of Daniel’s dream/vision (7:5,6) represented the Medo-Persian Empire and the Grecian Empire, respectively.

History tells us that Alexander the Great was the “prominent horn” (Daniel 8:5) of the Grecian Empire (1 Maccabees 1:1-8).  With the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C., the prominent horn was broken off and was replaced by four horns—that is, four kingdoms which emerged from the mighty Grecian Empire (Daniel 8:22).  Thus, the Grecian Empire was subdivided into four major sections (represented by the four heads of the beast in Daniel 7:6).  These were:

• Greece (ruled by Cassander),
• Asia Minor (ruled by Lysimachus), composed mostly of present-day Turkey,
• Egypt (ruled by Ptolemy I = Ptolemy Soter), and
• Mesopotamia and Syria (ruled by Seleucus I Nicator).

Therefore, the four beasts (Daniel 7:2-7) of Daniel’s dream/vision had a total of seven (7) heads:

1st Beast (7:4) 2nd Beast (7:5) 3rd Beast (7:6) 4th Beast (7:7)

Babylonian Empire Medo-Persian Empire Grecian Empire Roman Empire Total

1 head 1 head 4 heads 1 head  7 heads

As stated in the previous section (the seven heads of Daniel’s four beasts), upon the death of Alexander the Great (who was described as a “large horn”), four “horns” or kingdoms emerged from the Grecian Empire (Daniel 8:8).  These were the same as the four heads of Daniel’s third beast (7:6).  The modern-day names of these regions are as follows:

• Egypt,
• Syria,
• Greece, and
• Turkey.

In some form or another, all of these have had dominion over and/or a direct affect upon Israel, God’s chosen land.  The Israelites were in bondage for hundreds of years in Egypt, until Moses led them out (Exodus 1:1–14:31).  Eventually, because of Israel’s sins against God, most of the Israelites were taken captive to Assyria (2 Kings 17:1-23).  (Later, those in Judah were taken captive to Babylon—24:1-17).  Greece ruled over the land of Israel in the form of the Grecian Empire, while Turkey’s rule over Israel was during its Ottoman Empire stage.

The fourth beast that Daniel saw in his dream/vision (Daniel 7:7) represented the great Roman Empire.  This beast had ten horns.  The Roman Empire also was represented, in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, by the two iron legs and feet of iron and clay (2:33), which in some way have fragmented into ten parts (“toes”).  Furthermore, as shown to Daniel, in some form or forms it would continue to the end of the age, at which time a supernatural “rock” (that is, Jesus, the returning Messiah) will strike and smash the feet of iron and clay (2:34) and will set up a kingdom which never will be destroyed, because it will last forever (2:44).

The western “leg” of the Roman Empire fragmented into numerous regions, populated by various peoples.  Over time, the Germanic tribes set up new kingdoms: the Visigoths in Spain, the Franks in Gaul (which eventually became France and Germany), the Angles and Saxons in Britain, and the Lombards in Italy.  Through uncountable changes over many centuries, the western Roman Empire has evolved into most of today’s European Union (EU).  By and large, the overwhelmingly dominant power of today’s western “leg” of the old Roman Empire lies with five nations, which I believe may be considered to be the 5 “toes” on one foot of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue:

• Britain,
• France,
• Germany,
• Italy, and
• Spain.

In 293 A.D., the Roman Emperor Diocletian shifted the center of the Roman Empire eastward, to Byzantium.  The eastern “leg” of the empire became known as the Byzantine Empire or the Eastern Roman Empire.  In 326, Constantine renamed Byzantium as Constantinopolis.  Today, this is Istanbul, Turkey.

Over centuries, the Byzantine Empire also underwent many changes.  Finally, in 1453, the Osmanli, a nomadic tribe in Turkey, conquered the Byzantine capital, Constantinople.  Thus began the Ottoman Empire, named after the first ruler, Osman.  The great Ottoman Empire, essentially, was a continuance of the Byzantine or eastern “leg” of the Roman Empire, and it lasted for almost six centuries, until 1924.  The Ottoman Turks headed one of the greatest imperial powers in history.  The Ottoman Empire was a theocracy, with the sultans dedicated to the advancement of the Sunni branch of Islam through military means.

With the decline of the Ottoman Empire, four dominant states arose: Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt—which were restorations of the four heads of Daniel’s third beast, the Grecian Empire.  The dominant power of today’s eastern “leg” of the old Roman Empire lies with six nations—five of which (and time will tell which five), I believe, may be considered the 5 “toes” on the other foot of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue:

• Egypt,
• Greece,
• Iran,
• Iraq,
• Syria, and
• Turkey.

John described a great beast (Revelation 13:1b-8).  The beast was seen to have “ten horns and seven heads” (13:1c).  Just as with Daniel’s fourth beast (Daniel 7:7), this beast also had 10 horns.  Later, John wrote that the seven heads were “seven hills,” as well as “seven kings”—five of which had fallen, one of which existed at the time, and the other of which had not yet come (Revelation 17:9,10).

The ancient prophet Jeremiah referred to Babylon as a “destroying mountain” (Jeremiah 51:24,25).  From Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, it is seen that the rock (Jesus, the coming Messiah) that will strike and smash the statue will become a “huge mountain” that will fill the earth (Daniel 2:34,35), because it will be the kingdom of God on earth (2:44,45).  Thus, a hill  or mountain can represent a kingdom or king.

Now, it has been shown how Daniel’s four beasts (Daniel 7:2-7), collectively, were four kingdoms or empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and both “legs” or segments of Rome.  All of these, at some point in time, had control over the Israelites.  In addition, prior to Babylon, two other kingdoms also held captive and controlled the Israelites: Egypt and Assyria.  So the five “heads” or kingdoms which had fallen, as seen by John (Revelation 17:10), were:

1. Egypt,
2. Assyria,
3. Babylon,
4. Medo-Persia, and
5. Greece.

6. Rome plus its extension, the Ottoman Empire (an expansion of Turkey).

7. revived Rome, that is the European Union.

Note, from the seven heads of Daniel’s four beasts section, that four of the kingdoms listed—Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Syria (Assyria)—were the sub-kingdoms into which the Grecian Empire fragmented.  Therefore, whichever way it is viewed, I believe the seven “heads” seen by John (Revelation 17:9) were these seven kingdoms/nations:

• Egypt,
• Assyria (modern-day Syria),
• Babylon (modern-day Iraq),
• Medo-Persia (modern-day Iran),
• Greece,
• Rome (modern-day Italy and/or the Vatican) plus Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), and
• European Union and its extensions.

Pertaining to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 2:40-42) and ten horns of Daniel’s fourth beast (7:7), it makes a great deal of sense (as described in the Daniel’s fourth beast section) to believe that the final man-made world kingdom of the future—comprising ten “horns” of Daniel’s fourth beast (Daniel 7:7c) and of John’s beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1c)—will be a composite of nations from Europe and  from the Middle East.  I suspect that the ten “horns” very likely will come from this list of eleven nations—which ten, I believe, only time will tell:

Britain, France, Germany,

Italy, Spain, Egypt,

Greece, Iran, Iraq,

Syria, and Turkey.

Another theory proposes that the great Roman Empire was fragmented into ten (10) geographical areas with the following ten peoples, seven (7) of whom eventually became most of the Europe that we know today:

Anglosaxons (English) Franks (French) Suevi (Portuguese) Visigoths (Spanish) Burgundians (Swiss)

Alamanni (Germans) Lombards (Italians) Ostrogoths (gone after 553 A.D.) Heruli (gone after 493 A.D.) Vandals (gone after 534 A.D.)

This theory says that three of the above—the Ostrogoths, the Heruli, and the Vandals—were wiped out or “uprooted” (Daniel 7:8a), eventually lost their identities, and became nonexistent as those particular groups of people.

There are at least two problems with this theory:

1. There were other important groups of people within the Roman Empire besides these ten (such as the Allemanni, the Suevi, the Bavarians, the Moors, and others).
2. These groups of people composed only the western portion of the Roman Empire, while the eastern portion of the Roman Empire (the other iron “leg” of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue) is completely ignored.  It makes a great deal more sense to consider 5 significant “toes” on one foot and  5 “toes” on the other foot.

Yet another theory is that the European Union (EU) is the revived, and revised, modern-day Roman Empire.  The two main problems with this theory are that there now are many more than ten members of the EU.  Plus, these nations comprise only the western “leg” of the Roman Empire, thus completely ignoring the eastern “leg.”

the eleventh horn: Antichrist

After describing the fourth beast and its ten horns (Daniel 7:7c), which are the same ten horns of John’s beast (Revelation 13:1c), Daniel described a little (eleventh) horn which came up among the original ten and before which three of the first horns were uprooted (Daniel 7:8a).  Presumably, the “eleventh horn” also is the “eighth king” described by John (Revelation 17:11a).  Commonly, this is the person known as the Antichrist, who will be not only a substitute for the real Christ (Messiah), but also against  the real Christ.

There have been countless attempts to identify whom the Antichrist is or will be.  Most presumed identifications have resulted from illogical assumptions or fantastic imaginings.  I believe that it may be possible to be certain of the Antichrist’s identity only or after the time that he “will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’...” (Daniel 9:27a), thus commencing the 70th Week (which may have begun, with the onset of the European Neighbourhood Policy).  There are a few scripturally-based theories, however, which have been proposed.

Many prophecies in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, have more than one instance of fulfillment.  Often, the last—and most profound—occurrence is in the future, at the “end of the age,” during the period known as the Day of the Lord.  An example of this may be the use of the term “Assyrian” by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 10:5).  This passage can describe a time in Israel’s past when the Israelites were taken into captivity to Assyria (2 Kings 17:1-23).

The same passage (Isaiah 10:5) also can describe a future period when the devastation of Israel may be led by a future Assyrian (or Syrian), as the formidable Antichrist, who will set out to destroy and put an end to many nations (10:7) and pridefully will plunder their treasures (10:13).  Isaiah indicated how the Assyrian will be “crushed” in Israel, which is where the Antichrist will meet his end, at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:19-21).  Isaiah further noted that this is part of a plan determined for the whole world  (Isaiah 14:24-27), not being limited merely to Israel.

It seems evident, from Revelation 17:1-7, that the kingdom of the beast (Antichrist)—the western and eastern sections of the revived Roman Empire—will be united under one religion.  If the future Antichrist is an Assyrian (or Syrian) or has Assyrian ancestry, then it could be that he will attempt to unite the western and eastern sections of the former Roman Empire under Islam, whose allegiance is to Allah.

Both of the main branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia, seek the absolute destruction of Israel.  I believe it is entirely plausible that the forces of Gog/Magog will be one branch of Islam and the forces of the Antichrist another branch, both vying to capture the ultimate “prize”: Israel.

Larger View

The majority of the eastern portion of the former Roman Empire already is Islamic, and Islam could qualify as the “woman” riding the beast (see the woman and the beast), as seen by John (17:1-6).  Radical Islam has set out to take over the entire world.  Islam presently has great influence over many nations in the EU and is the fastest growing forced  religion in Europe (see “Religion of Peace” Demonstration), if not the entire world.

Another theory, espoused primarily by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, is that the beast will be united under Catholicism.  I personally do not  subscribe to this belief.  However, I will present it here, for various reasons, one of which is that I do accept the premise that Saturday, not Sunday, is the proper Sabbath.

The belief is that the “eleventh horn” (Daniel 7:8) is Vatican City (officially recognized as its own nation, located inside of Rome), and that the horn’s “eyes of a man”—the “eighth king” (Revelation 17:11a)—represent the Pope or the papacy.  The Apostle John seemed to indicate that the “spirit of the antichrist” would be present in the world then and would have a continual presence into the future (1 John 4:3).

Antichrist Spirit

One interpretation is that the antichrist spirit would pass through some or all of the papacy line.  There are presumed evidences pointing to the latter.  For one thing, the primary motives of the Popes during the Crusades of the Middle Ages were for political and territorial domination and for the expansion of their rule in the world, not for the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Rampant persecution was a part of this (Revelation 13:7, which I personally believe has fulfillment yet in the future), and it became the prerogative of the officials of the Catholic Church to decide who was a heretic and who was a saint.  The belief is that these Popes were a succession of the antichrist spirit and were the very antithesis of Jesus, whose teachings they pretended to represent.

Persecution 1 Persecution 2

John described the beast as uttering “proud words and blasphemies” (Revelation 13:5).  Now, at least twice, Jesus (who was and is God—see Was Jesus God?) was accused of blasphemy.  Once, after Jesus had healed a paralytic, He told him that his sins were forgiven—for which Jesus was accused of blasphemy, since “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7).  Another time, many wanted to stone Jesus, accusing Him of committing blasphemy for having claimed to be God (John 10:30-33).

Jesus Forgives Sins Jesus Claims to be God

Thus, acting in the role of Christ or God (such as in claiming to forgive sins), and being portrayed or portraying oneself as equal to Christ or God, fulfill the definition of “blasphemy”—traits which some attribute to the Catholic clergy and the Pope.

Forgives Sins 1 Forgives Sins 2 Forgives Sins 3 Forgives Sins 4 Forgives Sins 5 Forgives Sins 6

Equal to Christ/God 1 Equal to Christ/God 2 Equal to Christ/God 3 Equal to Christ/God 4 Equal to Christ/God 5 Equal to Christ/God 6

One of the things Daniel indicated about this personification of the “eleventh horn” is that he would “try to change the set times and the laws” (Daniel 7:25).  It is believed, by some, that certain things done by two different Popes qualify as changing the times and changing the laws.  For instance, in 1582 A.D., Pope Gregory changed the calendar:  Friday, October 5, became Friday, October 15.  At that time, the Julian Calendar was changed to the Gregorian Calendar, which we follow today.

Changing Times and Laws

Pertaining to the changing of laws, the Ten Commandments are accepted widely by Christians (both Protestants and Catholics alike) as irrevocable laws for mankind, written in stone by the hand of God and given to Moses to pass onto the Israelites.  However, the list of Ten Commandments differs for Protestants and Catholics.

Protestants see Commandment #2 (Exodus 20:4,5) and Commandment #10 (Exodus 20:17) as distinct, valid commandments.  In the Catholic Catechism, however, Commandment #2 has been absorbed nebulously into Commandment #1, and Commandment #10 has been split into two commandments:

• #9: forbidding the coveting of your neighbor’s wife, as distinguished from
• #10: forbidding the coveting of your neighbor’s possessions or goods.

Ten Commandments

Some believe that, due to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, Christians no longer are bound by the laws defined in the Old Testament.  Although this is true for ceremonial and ritual laws, it is not  true for the Ten Commandments.  Here are brief commentaries on the subject by Billy Graham and John Wesley:

Billy Graham on the Law John Wesley on the Law

God is Unchanging God’s Law vs. Moses’ Law Similarities Between God and the Law

Now, consider specifically Commandment #4 (Exodus 20:8-11).  Someone’s “official seal” contains these three items:

1. the person’s name,
2. the person’s title or office, and
3. the territory or area over which the person has jurisdiction or rule.

Interestingly, we see the “official seal” of God “stamped” onto Commandment #4 (Exodus 20:10,11):

1. the Lord, or the Lord your God (YWVH)
2. Creator or Maker
3. the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them

This commandment, concerning the observance of the Sabbath, is the only commandment in which is contained God’s “seal” or “mark.”  It can be argued that this is what gives the Ten Commandments validity and authority.

The “seventh day” is Saturday, the last day of the week.  In numerous languages, the word “Saturday” incorporates into it the word “Sabbath” or some form of it:

“Saturday” in Various Languages

The tradition of worshipping on Sunday in the Church (both Catholic and Protestant) has been widely accepted for centuries, mostly because Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1-6), a Sunday.  Also, in one case, Paul and those with whom he was traveling came together on the first day of the week to break bread, and then Paul spoke for hours to those who attended (Acts 20:7).

Nevertheless, there is no clear basis in Scripture for worshipping on a Sunday rather than on a Saturday, the latter clearly being the Sabbath.  Worshipping on a Sunday merely is an ongoing tradition of the Church, both Catholic and Protestant.

Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 1 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 2 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 3 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 4 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 5 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 6 Sunday vs. Sabbath Worship 7

Jesus said that He was the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8).  Being Jewish, Jesus went to the synagogue and often taught on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16,31, 13:10),  which was the seventh day of the week, Saturday.  There also are numerous cases of Paul’s entering the synagogue and teaching on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14,44, 16:13, 17:1,2, 18:4,11):

Paul and the Sabbath

Finally, a title of the Pope is said to be “Vicarius [or Vicarivs] Filii Dei” or Vicar of the Son of God.  (“Vicar” means one serving as a substitute or agent.)  Taking the Roman Numerals (I, V, L, C, and D) of that title and adding together their numerical equivalents, the result is 666, which is the “number of the beast” (Revelation 13:18).

Number of the Beast: 666

In the 12th Century, St. Malachy O’Morgair, the Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, prophesied a sequence of Popes to come.  Here are St. Malachy’s names for the final five Popes:

1. Paul VI (1963-1978): Flos florum, which means “flower of flowers.”  Paul VI’s coat of arms bore the image of three lilies.
2. John Paul I (1978): De medietate Lunae, meaning “of the half of the moon.”  John Paul reigned for about a month—from half a moon to the next half moon.
3. John Paul II (1978-2005): De labore Solis, or “from the labor of the sun.”  John Paul II was born during a partial solar eclipse (May 18, 1920).  There also was a rare “hybrid” eclipse on the day of his funeral (April 8, 2005).
4. Benedict XVI (2005- ): Gloria Olivæ, or “glory of the olives.”  St. Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the age, his Order, known also as the Olivetans, triumphantly would lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil.  This Pope has indications that he may be a peacemaker, and the olive branch is a symbol of peace.
   
5. Final Pope: Petrus Romanus, or “Peter of Rome.”  It was predicted that this Pope would reign during a time of extreme persecution of the Church.  He would feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the end of which the city of seven hills (seemingly, Rome) would be destroyed, and then the formidable Judge will judge His people.

Some believe that an end-time combination of Islam and Catholicism is a possibility for the domination of world power.  It is pointed out that Catholicism already has incorporated certain aspects of ancient Babylon into its system of worship, such as

• making Sunday the day of worship (as it was in ancient times for the sun god, Sol), rather than the Sabbath, Saturday, as was stipulated by Commandment #4 (Exodus 20:8-11);
• considering idols and images as objects of veneration and worship;
• “goddess worship” (with Mary essentially being equivalent to the Queen of Heaven); and
• requiring the priesthood to be unmarried.

A potential scenario has John’s first beast (Revelation 13:1b-8), the Antichrist, coming out of the area contained within the ancient Assyrian Empire, with John’s second beast (13:11-17), the False Prophet, coming out of the European Union (specifically, the Vatican in Rome).  It is interesting to note that the second beast (False Prophet) is described as having “two horns like a lamb” (Revelation 13:11).  Seemingly, this could represent a Christian or Christian-like entity (such as the Pope), since Jesus was referred to as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29,36).

It has been said that the final Pope will be a “defector” from the Christian faith.  Since Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) adhered strongly to Church doctrine and dogma, and Benedict XVI appears to have done the same, it raises the prospect that a successor may abandon basic Catholic/Christian tenets and move the opposite direction: toward embracing those of ancient Babylon instead.  As such, he could be more likely, than any previous Pope, to point to a non-Christian leader—perhaps al Mahdi of Islam—as the best hope for peace and salvation for humanity, causing the whole world to worship the leader of that beast (Revelation 13:8,12) as the Messiah.