There are few places from bible where God
has left us a clue concerning the identity of Anti
Christ, where he comes from. Let's start with Daniel
9:26.
Daniel 9:26 And after threescore and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and
the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be
with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations
are determined.
"The people of the prince to come"
Many bible scholars have explained this
verse already. In 70 AD, it was the Roman soldiers led
by general Titus destroyed the city Jerusalem. They are
"the people" of "the prince to come". "the prince to
come" is the "he" who shall confirm the covenant with
many in verse 27. He is recognized as the Anti Christ by
many Christians and bible scholars. He wasn't there in
70 AD when Titus ransacked Jerusalem. "to come" means
his appearance is in future. And God is very explicit
where he shall come from. He shall come from Rome,
because it was his people Roman soldiers who destroyed
Jerusalem in 70 AD.
From Daniel 9:27, we learn that Anti
Christ shall confirm a covenant with many nations
including Israel in one week ( 7 years). But in the
middle of the 7 years, he shall cause the oblation and
sacrifice to cease. During the 7 years tribulation,
Israel shall re-institute and restore their daily
sacrifice. But Anti Christ will cause their daily
sacrifice to cease. Moreover, because of his
abomination, he shall also make the land of Israel
desolate. Tragedy shall fall on Israel beginning in the
middle of 7 years tribulation. Where else can we find
this tragedy and calamity besides Daniel 9:27?
Isaiah 47:5 Sit thou silent, and get thee
into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou
shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
6 I was wroth with my people, I have
polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine
hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient
hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God has spoken
one day He would give His people Israel and His
inheritance which is the promised land to a lady of
kingdoms. Not only that she will not show mercy to the
Jews, she shall lay a very heavy yoke on them. This
cruelty echo the act of Antichrist in Daniel 9:27, that
is, to bring tragedy and calamity to the Jews in the
middle of tribulation. According to Zechariah 13:8-9,
2/3 of the Jews shall be killed, while 1/3 shall be led
captive all over the world. To identify this lady of
kingdoms, we find some characteristic of her.
Isaiah 47:1 Come down, and sit in the
dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground:
there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for
thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
The traditional interpretation is these
virgin daughter of Babylon are the people from Babylon
in 6 century BC. Babylon did destroy Jerusalem in 6
century BC, but they are known for their cruelty and
ferocity. God calls these virgin daughter of Babylon
tender and delicate from their beginning. This doesn't
sound right with the cruelty of Babylonian soldiers. It
is clearly understood that God has spoken a different
group of people here.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal:
uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh,
pass over the rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea,
thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I
will not meet thee as a man.
God sees nakedness and shame from these
virgin daughters of Babylon. There is nothing shame
about Babylonian soldiers in 6 century BC because it was
God's purpose to give Judah to them. When God sees shame
and nakedness of a group of people, most of the time God
speaks of a run away religion, a cult, an apostate
religion. And from verse 5 and 6, God has outlined the
identity of these virgin daughters.
5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into
darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no
more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Besides worshiping God and Jesus Christ,
Roman Catholic church also elevates mother Mary to a
co-redeemer position. She has the authority to pardon
sins. This Marian worship is worldwide and has her
statue in every Catholic church. RCC has billions of
followers in the world, and their influence is huge,
even extends to politicians, kings, and many
bureaucracies. The lady of kingdoms is RCC. Mary is "the
lady" in this lady of kingdoms.
Concerning why would God call RCC
followers the virgin daughter of Babylon, we find the
clue in Zechariah 5:5-11.
Zechariah 5:5 Then the angel that talked
with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine
eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 And I
said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that
goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance
through all the earth. 7 And, behold, there was lifted
up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in
the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is
wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah;
and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold,
there came out two women, and the wind was in their
wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and
they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the
heaven. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me,
Whither do these bear the ephah? 11And he said unto me,
To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall
be established, and set there upon her own base.
Zechariah saw a woman move to Shinar,
builds a house there, and sets there as her own base.
Shinar is Babylon, modern day Iraq. God calls this woman
wickedness. Woman is often referred to a church in
scripture, and in this case, this woman is RCC. The
reason God calls her wickedness is because RCC has
become an apostate religion and has led many astray.
They believe salvation is not good enough. To get saved,
they have added "work" which is against Paul's teaching.
They also believe in purgatory which is nonsense,
because once we leave our body, we are presence with our
Lord Jesus.
When RCC moves their church to Babylon,
God changes their title and starts calling them the
virgin daughters of Babylon. They seem tender and
delicate because RCC always speaks of peace.
Concerning the timing of their move, I
place the move during the first half of tribulation
based on Daniel 11:28.
Now that we identify the lady of kingdoms
is RCC, we can conclude that Anti Christ will come from
RCC, and lays a very heavy yoke against Israelis in
middle of tribulation. God has also spoken of the sin of
RCC which leads to her subsequent judgment from God.
Isaiah 47:7 And thou saidst, I shall be a
lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things
to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of
it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to
pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in
thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not
sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of
children:
"I shall be a lady for ever"
This time God has changed the focus to the
leader of lady of kingdoms/RCC.
AC thinks himself to be so great, and
nothing can bring him down.
"I am, and none else besides me"
He thinks he is in a supreme position, and
none else can sit equal as him.
"I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall
I know the loss of children"
To explain this verse, we need to know
that Catholic priests practice celibacy. They don't
marry nor bear any children, so that they would not
suffer the loss of children, nor become a widower. But
God says they shall suffer the pain as the loss of
children, as a widower does, in one day.
9 But these two things shall come to thee
in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and
widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection
for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great
abundance of thine enchantments.
"in a moment, in one day", their judgment
shall come.
What kind of judgment shall God unleash on
them?
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the
fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
God shall consume them with a fire, which
occurs in a moment, in one day. We also find this
judgment on the city Babylon where the whore dwells in
Revelation 18.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice
from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven,
and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward her
even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled
fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified
herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and
sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and
mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned
with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
"Therefore shall her plagues come in one
day", "and she shall be utterly burned with fire".
The whore receives the same judgement from
God, in one day, utterly burned with fire. This is the
same judgment upon the lady of kingdoms. Basically, the
whore in Revelation 17,18 "is" the lady of kingdoms in
Isaiah 47. Dave Hunt used to have a book "The woman
rides the beast" in which he identifies the woman as
RCC.
Let's do a parallel of the sin of the
woman in Revelation 17-18 and the lady of kingdoms in
Isaiah 47.
Revelation 18:7 for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no
sorrow.
This is the same sin we find in Isaiah
47:7 and 8.
Isaiah 47:7-8 I shall be a lady forever, I
am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow,
neither shall I know the loss of children:
"I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall
see no sorrow" In Revelation 18:7 is the same sin as "I
shall be a lady forever, I am, and none else beside me;
I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the
loss of children" in Isaiah 47:7 and 8. They both point
to the pride and haughtiness of the Pope from RCC.
My summary. Some Christians who go by the
traditional interpretation, believe the lady of kingdoms
is the Babylonian army who captured Jerusalem in 6th
century BC. But when we examine the characters God has
spoken regarding the lady of kingdoms, we find
discrepancy between Babylonian soldiers and the virgin
daughters of Babylon . We also find the same sin and
same judgment on the lady of kingdoms in Isaiah 47 when
we compare to the woman who rides the beast in
Revelation 17,18. Isaiah 47 is a prophecy against the
lady of kingdoms which is RCC. Anti Christ shall come
from RCC. Together with his organization the lady of
kingdoms, Anti Christ shall lay a very heavy yoke on
Israel, beginning in the middle of tribulation.
Ray