For centuries, the office of the papacy used civil power to enforce its religious teachings.

Both of these sections focus on Rome in its final stage which spreads its influence over the entire world. In earlier chapters, we saw that the fourth beast, the one that conquered Greece, was Rome.

The first prophetic parallel is that both of these sections are preceded by a vivid picture of God’s people being persecuted during the Dark Ages.

The context of today’s verse is just before the return of the Lord. In preparing the way for the Lord’s earthly ministry, John the Baptist was compared to Elijah. Today, at the time of the end (Daniel 11:40, 12:9), there is a call to prepare the way for the Lord’s return. The last-day church is called to fill the role of Elijah in preparing the world.

When Christ returns, the sight of Him will bring indescribable joy for all who chose to abide with Him through the trials and tribulations in the valley of the shadow of death.

That time will come when the King of the Universe knows that even if His mercy extended another year or month or day or hour, no one would be moved from the stance they have taken.