The Middle and Far East
Our focus in this study is the entire Middle East and most of Asia south of Russia. This area encompasses 33 nations: China, Mongolia, North and South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.
There is not one Christian nation among them. That is not to say we should hate them for that reason, but there seem to be so many Christians who look for the enemy among Christianity. For example, some people think the Beast of Revelation is in Rome, and they call the Pope the antichrist. How ridiculous! Look for the Beast in the east. To help us understand that Beast, there is another beast here in Asia, and this time it's...
In the previous satellite image I intentionally cropped out certain parts
to make the trunk and legs more obvious, and I highlighted the eye. The top of
this elephant is difficult to see, so here's another look using a map, this time
making use of political borders:
Granted, it's very artistic, but keep in mind, some of these nations have their own symbol, so to put together all of those individual symbols, and still be able to see an elephant, is really quite remarkable. I believe there are two main points we should grasp from it: (1) it encompasses virtually all of non-Adamic Asia, and (2) it's carrying Russia on its back. Why would this beast be carrying Russia? It makes me think of Revelation 12:
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars:
Let's call her mother Israel. Most of her
children worship the Son of God (symbolized by the sun), and only they 'conquered' the
moon (it was under their feet literally). Russia did not.
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in
birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in
heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and
seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of
heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of
iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.
This child was Jesus Christ (19:15-16), so we know this refers to the Adamic seedline. This dragon is virtually the same as the Beast of chapter 13, but the events in verses 3 & 4 above happened in the world that was (2nd Peter 3:6), whereas those of chapter 13 are happening now - same pattern, different time. So here we learn that the dragon deceived a third of the Adamic family. I believe they are the descendants of Esau (Obadiah :1-4), and thus of Russia. That the dragon used his tail is quite interesting when you notice that our elephant's tail has been cut off. I think most of it belongs to Japan.
The Beast or dragon is simply a large, global government - slow and inefficient - under the direction of Satan. This is how he deceives and manipulates the nations in his vain attempt to oppose our heavenly Father. A definite clue where to look is the fact that dragons are worshipped in the east. But a dragon isn't real, so we need to look at the creatures we have at hand to help us understand it. The elephant does a very nice job. It's huge, adults have no natural enemies (Revelation 13:4), and it can carry large loads (like Russia). I don't want to make it sound like I think the Beast is only in the east. It's not. It's global. But by far, the majority of the governments it represents are in the eastern hemisphere. We discussed some of these things in the study of Antarctica.
The elephant also reminds me of the Behemoth in Job 40:
15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he
eateth grass as an ox. 16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is
in the navel of his belly. 17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his
stones are wrapped together.
Only a dinosaur has a tail like
this. I like to think of it as an elephant in reverse, or one with his tail on his face.
18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are
like bars of iron. 19 He is the chief of the ways of God: He That made him can
make His sword to approach unto him. 20 Surely the mountains bring him forth
food, where all the beasts of the field play. 21 He lieth under the shady trees,
in the covert of the reed, and fens. 22 The shady trees cover him with
their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. 23 Behold, he drinketh
up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his
mouth. 24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
I thought it very interesting that the Jordan River was mentioned because notice where it's located on the next map (highlighted in blue):
It's in the elephant's trunk! as though he is trying to draw it up, and put it into his mouth.
Now let's take a look at the Asian elephant's eye that is the Aral Sea. This sea is shrinking dramatically; the change is noticeable over just one year as shown in the following satellite images:
"The yellow line superimposed on the scenes reveals the full extent of the Aral Sea in 1970, while the red line represents the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Aral (which is actually a lake) is drying rapidly because the two main rivers that fed it--the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya--had most of their water diverted in order to transform a desert area into cotton and rice plantations" (from NASA's Earthobservatory).
The eye of this beast is drying up.
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