39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whoever acknowledges [him] he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
he shall act against the strongest of fortresses – the war of the Beast in the Crusades, was against the strongest fortresses of the world. The forces of the Beast were ultimately defeated.
These fortresses are described at crusader-castles.com.
“the armies of the First Crusade on their way to Jerusalem between 1096 and 1099 encountered the most advanced fortifications of the time: Constantinople (now Istanbul), Nicaea (now Iznik), Kaisariyya (now Kayseri), Mar‘ash (now Kahraman Maraş), Tarsus, ‘Ayn Zarbā (now Anavarza), Rāwandān (now Ravanda Kalesi), Tall Bāshir (now Tilbaşar Kalesi), Edessa (now Şanlı Urfa), Antioch, Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘mān, Ṭarṭūs, ‘Arqā, Tripoli, Tyre, Acre, and finally Jerusalem. All of them were surrounded by double, if not triple walls, protected by ample moats. Their gates were commonly entered through indirect access ways.”
he shall act with a foreign god – as described, in Rev 13:15, the false prophet caused the image of the beast to speak, and those who did not worship the image were even killed.
he will give honor to those who acknowledge him and cause them to rule of the many – here we can refer the rule that was given to the Kings in Rev 17:12, who “received authority as kings with the beast.”
and divide the land for gain – the Catholic Church would become the biggest landowner in the world, and “the merchants of the earth became rich by her indulgence (Rev 18:3).”