Dear Donna and Doves,

 

Having read Donna's reasoning that the kingdom of the sea Beast might be an Islamic one, I write to say that I think not.

 

First, we know that the iron of the two legs of the Great Image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream represent Rome. This should help us identify the iron of the ten toes--it has to be the iron of Rome, otherwise the unity of the imagery comes undone. The clay suggests common humanity mingled with regal iron--democracy, the most recent (and some would say enlightened) development in human government.

 

Sometimes looking at the original language too closely can throw a red herring in our way. Even if "mingled" is the English translation of the Hebrew "arab," it does not necessarily follow that the mingled population is Arabian.

 

Hold on to your hats over the next year, folks. I believe the radical Islamic problem is going to be solved in a most horrendous fashion, paving the way for a ten nation confederacy that is mostly European--(it's already in existence, btw). I suspect it will get very nasty before the dust settles.

 

With hope in Christ alone,

Matt in Hayward