The Leopard Bear Lion

In chapter 11 of Ellis Skolfield’s book The False Prophet, Skolfield states that the Leopard-Bear-Lion beast mentioned in Revelation chapter 13 is representative of the Muslim nations currently surrounding Israel. Specifically, Skolfield makes the following connection on page 20 of his book:

Lion = ancient Babylon = modern day Iraq
Bear = ancient Medo/Persia = modern day Iran
Leopard = ancient Greece = modern day Syria/Lebanon

Skolfield makes this connection between the beast and the related kingdoms from the prophesy given in Daniel 7. The following is a quote from page 16 of Skolfield’s book. He in turn quotes scripture and inserts his own comments in parenthesis:

Dan 7:3-4 And four great beasts came up from the sea [the
sea is the peoples and nations of the world, Rev 17:15], diverse
one from another. The first was like a lion [The national
emblem of Babylon was the winged lion], and had eagle’s
wings [The Ishtar gate of that city has bass reliefs of winged
lions upon it]: 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 [The Neo-Babylonian Empire, begun under
Nebopolasser, was brought to the peak of its power by his son
Nebuchadnezzar, (606-562BC). Nebuchadnezzar was the most
absolute monarch in all human history], and a man’s heart
was given to it [Also a reference to Nebuchadnezzar, who came
to the Lord late in life, Dan 4:37].

Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear
[After Babylon was taken in 536BC, Medo-Persia became the
dominant world power], and it raised up itself on one side
[The Persians were ”raised up” over and ruled the Medean half
of their empire], and it had three ribs in the mouth of it
between the teeth of it [The Medo-Persians conquered three
other empires: Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt]: and they said thus
unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,
which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl
[Alexander the Great defeated the Medo-Persian Empire at the
Battle of Issus, in 332BC]; the beast had also four heads
[Alexander had four great generals under him]; and dominion
was given to it [After Alexander died in Babylon, 323BC, his
empire was divided between his four generals: Ptolemy,
Selucius, Lycimicus, and Cassander].
Dan 7:7 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 [Rome destroyed
the remnants of the divided Grecian Empire and began to
control the Holy Land in 65BC . The Roman Empire continued
until 476AD]: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns [After Rome fell, it was divided
into roughly ten Eastern and western nations which have
continued to this day.].

The attribution in Daniel between the Lion-Bear-Leopard vision to Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece is of little doubt. Unbelievers generally do not contest this relationship; however many unbelievers doubt that Daniel was written as early as the 6th century BC during Judah’s captivity because of the book’s accuracy in describing the ancient kingdoms. They attribute Daniel’s prophesies to the mid 2nd century or they contend that other, later writers changed Daniel’s original prophesies to line up with history – both of these contentions are an utterly ridiculous attempt to discredit the Bible, but I suppose we’re stuck with Christian scoffers until our Messiah returns:
[see Isaiah 45:23]

It is no coincidence that the Lion-Bear-Leopard beast in Revelation 13 describes the focal point of the world’s attention today. Israel is at war with Hezbollah, which is funded and armed by Iran and Syria. Iraq has been a political disaster for President Bush since the U.S. invasion on March 20, 2003. Is it merely coincidence that Israel is surrounded by its enemies who are bent on Israel’s destruction? Absolutely not. Read Zechariah 12.

Another interesting point that has crossed my mind: take a look at the map above and notice the location of the Valley of Megiddo. Revelation 16: 12-16 states [with my comments in parenthesis]:

12The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan], out of the mouth of the beast[Lion-Bear-Leopard= Islam] and out of the mouth of the false prophet[Mohammed]. 14They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

16Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Are world leaders being gathered in our day to fight in this final battle? Is this final battle going to be fought just south of the Israel/Lebanon border in the Jezreel Valley, in Megiddo as is commonly believed by many eschatologists? The Lion-Bear-Leopard beast is represented by modern day Iraq, Iran, and Syria/Lebanon – this we can prove in Daniel 7. What holds this beast together as presented in Revelation 13 is the religion of Islam, which denies the sonship of Christ. As stated in my earlier post, the Dome of the Rock has blasphemies incribed in it such as: Surely He does not have a Son; Do not say three- cease. (i.e. a reference to the trinity), etc. Don't be deceived by Islam treating Jesus as a wise prophet. He was not/is not a prophet of God- he is the Son of God. Anyone who denies that is the Anti-Christ [I John 2:22-23]

The whole world is watching the Lebanon-Israel conflict and each nation has a stake in its outcome. Don’t believe for a minute that the current cease-fire in Lebanon is going to hold and we will have peace (see 1 Thessalonians 5:3). The “cease-fire” should instead be called a “re-load” because both Israel and Hezbollah are re-arming themselves for further conflict. Debka.com reports that Hezbollah is currently smuggling hundreds of rockets and dozens of launchers into S. Lebanon without interference from UNIFIL (UN troops) or the Lebanese government.

Interestingly, Ahmadinejad has agreed to respond to the UN Security Council tomorrow (August 22) on whether he will accept their incentives package and stop nuclear enrichment activities. We’ve already been told by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday that Tehran will continue to pursue nuclear technology regardless of what the UN does. How is Ahmadinejad going to respond to the UN? Is he planning an attack on Jerusalem as Bernard Lewis, professor emeritus at Princeton University and a renowned Middle East expert, has suggested is possible:

“This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.”

If you’re a Christian, be ready for Christ's return. If you’ve not made a decision to follow Christ – what are you waiting for? The end of this world has already been determined. The only question is when. Bet your life on it!

“By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7