This page is an in depth
look at what prophecy says about Antichrist and what Historic fact has revealed
over time. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says, "Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" We are most assuredly in
the last days. Anyone with a smattering of study into end time events knows
this as fact. If you seek some help in realizing this as today's reality, see
the "People Get Ready" page on this site.
The reason this page is broken down in sections
is because it was originally a sermon series. Each section has a link to the
audio version of the sermon. If you would like to listen in you will need to
use Microsoft Internet Explorer, or a browser that uses the MSIE engine.
Still, we must be careful on how we present these truths God has given us to share. Before investigating the prophetic symbols that describe the characteristics of Antichrist, we need to understand that the Word of God tells us how to define each of the symbols found in the prophetic writings. In fact, 2 Peter 1:20 says that, "...no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." In other words, Christians are told not to give our own private opinion of what we think a prophetic symbol means. We must always allow the Word of God to define it's own symbols. Our private interpretations are useless mainly because the God we worship already defined them in the Bible. We just need to show the people God sends out way where to look.
For example, the term "many waters" in prophecy doesn't mean a large lake or an ocean. And the word "woman" doesn’t mean an actual woman when spoken in the prophetic Word. They are symbolic, or metaphorical images hidden in plain site so as to prevent the wicked from knowing the truth about the times we live in. Reason being is, if they knew what we know, they would be more effective in twisting God's Word to say something else. They do know some of the symbols, yes. And this is why we see false prophecies about secret raptures, a 7 year trib, 1000 years of peace and so on.
Each symbol in Daniel, Revelation, or any other prophetic book are defined in vivid detail all throughout God's Word. If you need concrete evidence of this, I recently finished a three year study in the book of Revelation where I allowed the Bible, and the Bible only to define each and every symbol found in all 404 verses of Revelation. You can find this book on my site at http://www.remnantofgod.org/books/docs/REV/Revelation.htm
Have you ever had an open book test in school? Pretty easy wasn’t it? This is what the Lord has done for us when it comes to the prophecies of the end. The Bible took all the guess work out of knowing this truth for us. This is why the corrupted religious leaders are moved by Satan to rewrite the Bible so often. It seems every year there’s a new version coming out! Satan fears the truths it contains, so he does all he can to muddy the waters. But Jesus said the elect cannot be deceived in Matthew 24:24, so don't let anyone give you their private "opinion" or "interpretation" when preaching such things to you or your family. We must always let the Word define the Word! After all, is not the basic rule of truth covered written in Isaiah 8:20 when it says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Truth is, that's an easy way to expose the false teachers of today. Just hear what they have to say, and then open a Bible to see if what they say actually matches up with what the Lord says regarding a certain symbol. That being said, what does the Word of God have to say about all those symbols that define certain desires, characteristics, and plans of Antichrist? And does History really confirm the prophecy to be authentic? Well, before we can get into the meat of the matter, we must allow Historic record to set the stage. But before doing so, I think it wise that we allow the prophecy to speak first, and then allow the historic records to be addressed. In so doing we can see God glorified in that He truly does see the end from the beginning.
Before starting I must make it painfully clear that this is no weekend crash course in eschatology. Eschatology being the study of Christian prophecy as it pertains to Historic record. It is by no means exhaustive either. Still, I hope to illustrate using the Word of God along with Historic facts just who this man of sin is that we are told the remnant people of God will identify in the end.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-6, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time."
That time is now!
As I intimated earlier, this is no weekend crash course. This series will take quite some time to get through. For those interested, this series will most assuredly be available in video format as well. A message such as this is far too important to just mention in a few sermons. So, what do we find in the prophetic Word of God when it comes to the identity of this man of sin?
- Matthew
24:15, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the prophet,
stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)"
In
A.D.66 when Cestius came against the city, but unaccountably
withdrew, the Christians discerned in this the sign foretold by
Christ, and fled while 1,100,000
Jews are said to have been killed in
the terrible siege in A.D. 70. -Eusebius,
Church History, book 3, chap. 5
Over 1
MILLION men,
women, and children died unnecessarily that day! Each and every one
of them could have escaped certain death easily well in advance if
they just believed in what Jesus prophecied would happen 40 years
prior. He actually told them well in advance how to save their lives
and the lives of their children. Now, think of all the prophetic
fulfillments the church of Christ has seen over the last 2000 years,
or the last few decades for that matter. So many prophecies have been
fulfilled in our generation alone that even the scoffer is feeling a
bit uneasy now. I know, many email me with questions now. Never
before in history have we seen so many bold movements of the hand of
God in prophecy as we see today. Babes in Christ that just started
studying prophecy a year or so ago know more 'first hand' than some
scholars of just a decade ago!- Isaiah
46:9-10 says, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like
me, Declaring
the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"
- Daniel
2:1, "And in the second year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar
dreamed dreams,
wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him."
One night, this king had a very upsetting dream. When he awoke he was unable to remember the content of his dream. However, it still remained in his heart that it was a very upsetting thing that he had dreamed. How many of us have awaken to such a dream as this? You wake up upset, but can’t remember all the intricate details. So of course, like anyone else, the king desired to know what it was that upset him so much. It’s obvious the Lord put it in his heart to dig into this, and as we get to the meat of the matter, it will be easy to ascertain why he was given this dream.
- Daniel
2:2, "Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the
astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to
shew the king his dreams.
So they came and stood before the king."
- Daniel
2:4, "Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king,
live for ever: tell
thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation."
- Daniel
2:9, "But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is
but one decree for you: for ye
have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me,
till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall
know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof."
- Daniel
2:10-11, "The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said,
There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter:
therefore there
is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician,
or astrologer, or Chaldean.
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none
other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose
dwelling is not with flesh."
- Daniel
2:12, "For this cause the king was angry and very furious,
and commanded
to destroy
all the wise men of
Babylon."
- Daniel
2:19, "Then
was the
secret revealed unto
Daniel in a night vision.
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven."
- Daniel
2:27-30, "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and
said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men,
the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
But there
is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,
and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what
shall be in the latter days.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As
for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what
should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh
known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is
not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living,
but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the
king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart."
Daniel 2:31-35, "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
The main features of the image in the dream were as follows…
- Head of Gold
- The chest and arms of silver
- The belly and thighs of bronze
- The legs of iron
- The feet mixed of iron and clay
- The stone breaking the statue, then becoming a mountain
- Head of Gold
- The chest and arms of silver
- The belly and thighs of bronze
- The legs of iron
- The feet mixed of iron and clay
- The stone breaking the statue, then becoming a mountain
- Daniel
2:36-38, "This is the dream; and we will tell
the interpretation thereof before
the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven
hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over them all. Thou
art this head of gold."
- Isaiah 14:4, "That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!"
- Jeremiah 51:7, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad."
- Revelation 17:4-5, "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
As we move down the image we find something rather interesting. Historic fact is, the Babylonian Empire was overthrown by the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. The Medo-Persian monarchy lasted 208 years, from 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. The prophet Daniel actually witnessed the overthrow of Babylon in his lifetime. Do you recall last week how Daniel 2:32 said of the images that “his breast and his arms were made of silver?” History proves the Medo-Persian kingdom was indeed not as rich, and no where near as beautiful as Babylon was. In fact, the prophecy touches on this in the next verse…
- Daniel
2:39, "And after thee shall arise another
kingdom inferior to
thee…”
- Daniel
2:39 “…and another third
kingdom of
brass,
which shall bear rule over all the earth."
Moving down the image we find in…
- Daniel
2:40, "And the
fourth kingdom shall
be strong as iron:
forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as
iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise."
- Daniel
2:41, "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided;
but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay."
After its fall, ten smaller nations were formed in its place. Just like the ten toes of the statue in the king’s dream, these nations were exactly ten in number. Seven of the ten are still around today, but under different names. All ten originated in European nations, but three of these nations disappeared completely thanks to the "little horn" Daniel speaks of in Daniel chapter 7. Prophecy does in fact declare “how” they disappeared as well. But that historic fact, as well as who the little horn represents will be covered a little bit later in this series.
So, how was Rome’s kingdom divided after it fell?
1. The Saxons, originating the English nation.
2. The Franks, originating the French nation.
3. The Alamanni, originating the German nation.
4. The Visigoths, originating the Spanish nation.
5. The Suevi, originating the Portuguese nation.
6. The Lombards, originating the Italian nation.
7. The Burgundians, originating the Swiss nation.
8. The Heruli, were annihilated by the little horn..9. The Vandals, were annihilated by the little horn.10. The Ostrogoths, were annihilated by the little horn.
Moving on we find in …
- Daniel
2:43, "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they
shall mingle themselves
with the seed of men: but they shall
not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay."
Yes, it does appear that in some ways, today the Pope of Rome was able to get the majority of the European nations under one ruler. It is called the European Union. (EU) However, the nations of the world have spread much farther than they were in days past. It’s no longer based on that one continent. Peoples from each of those ten toes depict a much larger geographical area. In other words, the civilized world has grown much larger today than it was in Nebuchadnezzar’s, or even Caesar’s day due to simple migration. In fact, the United Sates of America is a good example of how far it spread. Everyone in America have ancestors from that European continent with the exception of native American Indians. This scattering abroad is what caused the need for the “Club of Rome” to form in 1968. If you are a loyal student of prophecy, you know that prophecy does declare they will need to gather under one ruler so as to enforce the mark of the beast before all is said and done. This is exactly what they are trying to do right now. This is why you see all the Constitutions changing from nation to nation now as well. It’s also why you see talk of a New World Order in almost every mainstream News broadcast. These are exciting times for God’s people because we know we are soon to see our precious Lord and Saviour in the Eastern Sky. So… what are the plans of the newly formed “Club of Rome” you ask? This may shock some of you that are new to the Seventh Day Remnant movement. You may have never known of this because preachers and teachers in all the other churches out there simply don’t share this.
Adaptive
Model of the Global World System
“The Club [of Rome] had its beginnings in April of 1968, when leaders from ten different countries gathered in Rome…The organization claims to have the solutions for world peace and prosperity...The Club of Rome has been charged with the task of overseeing the regionalization and unification of the entire world... “The Club’s findings and recommendations are published from time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the power-elite to be implemented. On 17 September 1973 the Club released one such report, entitled Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System… The document reveals that the Club has divided the world into ten political/ economic regions, which it refers to as ‘kingdoms.”
Pretty
amazing isn’t it? The prophecy says there will be ten kingdoms in
the end, and here we see Rome doing exactly as prophecy says they
would do. Still, as clay cannot mix with iron, these leaders will not
“cleave one to another” as the prophecy predicts. It may look as
if it’s working for the most part today; but when this finally goes
global, as students of prophecy, we will know this is a major sign
for the end as we know it. All eyes in the Universe are about to see
this event take place! For it will result in the literal and
absolute END OF THE WORLD
simply
because once this New Word Order is set in place, the mark of the
beast is not too far behind it. As history has always proved,
absolute power corrupts absolutely. Soon, all
governing nations of mankind will cease to exist forever on this
earth. Only the Kingdom of Heaven will
rule from that day forth. And for the first 1000 years, it won’t
even be on planet Earth as some false prophets predict. (For
evidence of that fact, see my 1000 years explained page on the site)
The planet must lay "fallow" or have it's "Sabbath
rest" before the Lord brings New Jerusalem down from the
Constellation of Orion to be placed on Earth for all eternity. Again,
that too is yet another study all onto itself.“The Club [of Rome] had its beginnings in April of 1968, when leaders from ten different countries gathered in Rome…The organization claims to have the solutions for world peace and prosperity...The Club of Rome has been charged with the task of overseeing the regionalization and unification of the entire world... “The Club’s findings and recommendations are published from time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the power-elite to be implemented. On 17 September 1973 the Club released one such report, entitled Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System… The document reveals that the Club has divided the world into ten political/ economic regions, which it refers to as ‘kingdoms.”
Quickly Summarizing the dream, we see 5 points right off…
- Head of gold
Babylonian Empire 606BC to 539BC - Chest and arms of silver
Medo-Persian Empire 539BC to 331BC - Belly and thighs of bronze
Greek Empire 331BC to 168BC - Legs of iron
Roman Empire 168BC to 476AD - The 10 kingdoms
476AD until today
- Daniel
2:44, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break
in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
Basic reality is this, if we don't study, our fate we be the same as the non-believers in 70A.D. that saw death in a very horrific manner! They could have easily escaped all harm by simply studying prophecy like we do today.
So, what happens next?
- Daniel
2:45, "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the
stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands,
and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the
silver, and the gold;
the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
sure."
- Acts 4:11, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."
- Ephesians 2:20, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;"
- 1 Corinthians 10, "...And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. "
When Jesus Christ returns, hopefully in our day, all eyes will see with amazing clarity the fulfillment of this final event in this prophetic dream right before their very eyes. All nations on earth will literally crumble to dust at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is plainly written…
- Daniel
2:45, “… the dream
is certain,
and the interpretation thereof sure."
Daniel
makes all doubt disappear in the king’s mind that this dream is a
definite fact. And for those of us that live today, we can see that
Daniel was given 100% accurate understanding of this dream. For it
has indeed come to fruition with supernatural accuracy. Absolutely
every aspect of this prophecy has been proven to be true by simply
reading a history book! Even the non-believing historian admits this
plain and simple reality. They may not believe it, or even hope to
understand it, but they cannot deny it is based on historic fact.
Now,
before closing for this week, I must share a bit more in regards to
the “Club of Rome” that I mentioned earlier. Daniel does say they
will attempt to corral the worlds nations into ten kingdoms under one
ruler. As I also stated earlier, it’s always good to have another
basis of fact in the prophetic Word to further illustrate the Truth
as it is written. The Club of Rome did say in that article that they
split up the world’s nations into “ten
political/economic regions, which it refers to as ‘kingdoms.’ And
Daniel
did say there were ten toes on that image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his
dream. But where you also aware John the apostle also had a vision of
this very same time? He said in Revealtion…- Revelation
17:12, "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten
kings,
which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one
hour with
the beast."
The
Ten Kingdoms of the New World Government
|
Kingdom
1: Canada
and the United States of America
Kingdom 2: European Union - Western Europe Kingdom 3: Japan Kingdom 4: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and Pacific Islands Kingdom 5: Eastern Europe Kingdom 6: Latin America - Mexico, Central and South America Kingdom 7: North Africa and the Middle East (Moslems) Kingdom 8: Central Africa Kingdom 9: South and Southeast Asia Kingdom 10: Central Asia |
- Daniel
2:44, "And in
the days of these kings
shall the God
of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break
in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand for ever."
In
our last gathering on the subject of the man of sin we discovered in
Daniel two how a dream of king Nebuchadnezzar was of a prophetic
nature given him from our God so as to help God’s people, then and
now understand not only prophetic symbolism, but to get an
understanding as to what time it is in any given generation. Daniel
the prophet was blessed of God due to his desire to not only
understand God’s will, but to be obedient as well. With this
blessing Daniel was able to show the king what his dream meant due to
a vision the Lord gave Daniel after he prayed for help. This Sabbath
I would like to discuss another vision Daniel had that confirms
Nebuchadnezzar’s dreamed as being prophetic. This vision given
Daniel was many years later of course. Daniel 7:1 says it was …"In
the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon
Daniel
had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed:
then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters."
-Daniel 7:1.
Nebuchadnezzar
was of course dead and gone by now, and his son Belshazzar was now
king of Babylon. It wouldn’t be long before the next kingdom
depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was about to reign. Perhaps this
is why the Lord repeated this truth in the form of this second vision
Daniel had that night. So, what was it Daniel saw in this vision?
- Daniel 7:2, "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea."
Looks
like a violent scene doesn’t it? It also appears to be a global
situation as all four winds of heaven are involved in this vision.
Looking at this passage on the surface, or physically, we can see
that wind upon the sea does depict violence. Looking at it
symbolically, with the understanding that the angel gave John in
Revelation 17:15, where he said “The
waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
We can see that it will be all about the people of the world, and the
rather violent ways their leaders bring about their rule upon them.
But does this global rule assumption agree with that which is
written? Daniel 7:3 says, "And four
great beasts came up from the sea,
diverse one from another." Does this not remind us of the 4
kingdoms of the dream Nebuchadnezzar had? That being the case, what
do beasts mean in prophecy?
- Daniel 7:17, "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth."
- Daniel 7:23, "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."
So,
a beast means a kingdom, or a nation in prophecy, what does wind
represent?
- Jeremiah 25:31-33, "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground."
- Jeremiah 49:36-37, "And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:"
So,
wind represents a whirlwind, commotion, war, strife, scattering,
confusion, etc.
- "The strife and commotion which produces all this destruction is called a great whirlwind. That winds denote strife and war is then evident from a consideration of the vision itself; for as the result of the striving of the winds, kingdoms arise and fall; and these events are accomplished through political strife." –Uriah Smith ~ Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, p. 116.
It
is rather fitting I think that these global kingdoms are depicted as
beasts. When we look at how violent their wars are and how unloving
their methods can be. They are indeed beasts by definition. So, what
was the first beast like? Daniel says "The
first was like a lion,
and
had
eagle's wings:
I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up
from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's
heart was given to it." –Daniel 7:4 History also declares…
- “The first of these beasts evidently intends the Babylonian monarchy, and is described as a lion with eagles' wings." --Cottage Bible.
Just
like today’s nations, kingdoms back then can be depicted by animals
of prey. This lion with eagle's wings can be seen to signify the
rapidity with which Babylon performed its conquests while
Nebuchadnezzar was king. Even Habakkuk, when speaking of Babylon in
chapter 1:8 depicts them as an eagle in flight. He says, "Their
horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than
the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and
their horsemen shall come from far; they shall
fly as the eagle
that hasteth to eat." Problem is, after Nebuchadnezzar’s death
this kingdom no longer flew like an eagle upon its prey. The wings
were obviously plucked out. The bravery and fortitude of the lion
were clearly gone under Belshazzar. In fact, if you read Daniel 5 you
will see Belshazzar was a weak man who was mostly pandering to the
pleasures of the flesh. This of course was bound to be as we recall
in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would definitely fall
where another, less glorious would rise after it. Belshazzar made
this task much easier as history proves.
- Daniel 7:5, "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh."
- "This was the Medo-Persian empire, represented here under the symbol of the bear. . . . The Medes and Persians are compared to a bear on account of their cruelty and thirst after blood, a bear being the most voracious and cruel animal. The bear is termed by Aristotle an all-devouring animal; and the Medo-Persians are known to have been great robbers and spoilers.
"As in the great image of chapter 2, so in this series of symbols, a marked deterioration will be noticed as we descend from one kingdom to another. The breast and arms of silver were inferior to the head of gold. The bear was inferior to the lion. Medo-Persia fell short of Babylon in wealth and magnificence, and the brilliancy of its career. . . . The three ribs perhaps signify the three provinces of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were especially ground down and oppressed by this power." --Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, pages 117, 118.
The
reason for the ribs of course was to represent the death of the three
provinces of Babylon, Lydia and Egypt which historic record reports
as the victims of the Medo-Persian empire. But why was the bear
lopsided? Why was he “raised up” on one side. Another historic
fact is, between the two, the Persians were actually much stronger
than the Medes. Hence the lopsided bear. Moving on in the vision we
come to…
- Daniel 7:6, "After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."
Some
old SDA
authors
and historic records reveal some facts about the symbols in this
vision that match perfectly with the dream Nebuchadnezzar had
regarding the next kingdom in the vision.
- "This bear having disappeared, the prophet saw an extraordinary "leopard" rise up in its stead. This was the emblem of the Grecian, or Macedonian empire, which for the time was the most renowned in the world." --Scott, on Daniel 7:6.
- "Two wings, the number the lion had, were not sufficient. It [the leopard] must have four; and this must denote unparalleled swiftness of movement, which we find to be historically true of the Grecian kingdom. The conquests of Grecia under Alexander have no parallel in historic annals for suddenness and rapidity." --Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, page 118.
- "Alexander, in less than eight years, marched his army upwards of seventeen hundred leagues [or more than fifty-one hundred miles], without including his return to Babylon." --Rollin's Ancient History, b. 15, sec. 2.
Every
notable historian to date agrees that Alexander’s speedy ability to
conquer was unquestionable. The four wings of this beast was
perfectly accurate without a doubt. However, the beast also had four
heads. What does this mean? Do you recall in Daniel
2:38 that the Lord told Nebuchadnezzar that he was a, "ruler
over them all. Thou
art this head of gold."
Alexander was not only a swift conqueror, he had great magnetism, or
people skills as we call it today. When he died at a very young age
his generals were unable to keep the kingdom together under one ruler
as Alexander did. They fought and bickered until finally these
generals split the kingdom into four nations and ruled each one
respectively.
- He (Alexander) had great charisma and force of personality, characteristics, which made him a great leader. This is further emphasised by the inability of any of his generals to unite the Macedonians and retain the Empire after his death – only Alexander had the personality to do so. - Green, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, pp. 24–26.
- "'The beast had also four heads. The Grecian empire maintained its unity but little longer than the lifetime of Alexander. Within fifteen years after his brilliant career ended in a drunken debauch [323 B.C.], the empire was divided among his four leading generals. Cassander had Macedon and Greece in the west; Lysimachus (LYSIMAKUS) had Thrace and the parts of Asia on the Hellespont and Bosporus in the north; Ptolemy (TOLEMY) received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Coele-Syria in the south; and Seleucus (SELUCUS) had Syria and all the rest of Alexander's dominions in the east. These divisions were denoted by the four heads of the leopard." --Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, page 119. See also Cottage Bible notes on this prophecy.
Now
we come to the fourth and final kingdom in the vision and how it was
represented.
- Daniel 7:7, "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns."
In
Daniel two we found the fourth kingdom represented Rome. Knowing Rome
as we do today; the final kingdom of Antichrist, it will always
display the exact opposite of Christ’s gentle and loving ways. Rome
did defeat many, and for hundreds of years ruled with an iron fist.
- A fourth beast. -- "The Roman empire, which destroyed the Grecian empire, and became mistriss of the world." --Bagster, in Cottage Bible.
- "The fourth kingdom, symbolized by the fourth beast, is accurately represented by the Roman power." --Barnes, on Dan. 7, page 321.
- "This 'fourth beast' evidently accords with the legs and feet of iron, which were seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his visionary image, and which were at length divided into ten toes. . . . This was doubtless an emblem of the Roman state." --Scott, on Dan. 7:7
- "This is allowed on all hands, to be the Roman empire. It was dreadful, terrible, and exceeding strong; . . . and became in effect, what the Roman writers delight to call it, the empire fo the whole world." --A. Clarke on Dan. 7.
Still,
this beast also had ten horns. Do you recall the ten toes of the
image in Nebucahdnezzar’s dream? They represented the nations that
would come as a result of this final most dreadful nation’s fall.
Do these horns depict the same prophetic fact? Are these horns
leaders of ten different nations? And do any of these horns do
anything out of the ordinary?
- Daniel 7:8, "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
Firstly
I would like to touch on what this horn does that seems a bit odd in
comparison to the rest. Here we see that its arrival forces the
plucking of three of the ten horns. But is this horn, or any of the
tens horns a representation of a kingdom in prophecy?
Daniel
7:24, "And the
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:
and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
first, and he
shall subdue three kings."
So
yes, those ten horns also depict the kingdoms of the ten kings from
the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. However, here we see a little more
detail being added regarding the little horn where Daniel 7:8 says he
plucks three out and verse 24 says he subdues three kings. So it’s
easy to see that this horn is a kingdom unto itself and the other ten
horns, as well as the three uprooted are also kingdoms. But does any
of this pan out historically, and if so, who did these things?
- “the opposition of the Arian powers to the doctrines of the Catholics, especially to that of the Trinity. These opposing powers were rooted up, the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Qstrogoths in 538.” See "Student's Gibbon," pp. 309-319.
- "It is a remarkable fact, that the popes to this day wear a triple crown,-- a fact that exists in regard to no other monarchs. . . The papacy [is] well represented by the 'little horn'. . . In fact, this one power absorbed into itself three of these sovereignties." -Barnes's Notes on Daniel, page 327.
- "This evidently points out the papal supremacy, in every respect diverse from the former, which, from small beginnings, thrust itself up among the ten kingdoms, till at length is successively eradicated three of them." --Bagster, in Cottage Bible.
So
there you have it. Historic records declare the Popes of Rome did
what Daniel said the little horn was to do. But the prophetic
descriptions don’t stop there! When Papal Rome was formed, it stood
not only as a State, it was a church as well. This granted it
absolute power over all facet of society. Does prophecy speak of
this?
- "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws:and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
On
my words of a beast page I have quite a few quotes where the pope
calls himself "the vicar of Christ." Leo X actually claimed
to be "The lion of the tribe of Judah." Leo XII demanded he
was called "The Lord our God." In 1858 the Pope claimed to
be “God on earth.” Pope Pius V stated “the Pope and God are the
same.” Pope John XXII was called “Lord God the Pope” in his
day, in 1895 the Pope claimed to be “Jesus Christ himself.” It
goes on and on from there. So yes, they do indeed “speak great
words against the Most High” God we worship. But how has the papacy
worn out the saints? In march of 2000 Pope John Paul II admitted the
Roman Catholic church killed hundreds of millions of Christians
during their prophesied reign as those that would “wear out the
saints.” But no one described it better than John Foxe in his book,
Foxes book of martyrs where he actually declared the total dead was
at least 500,000,000. I have his complete book on the site if you
need to read it. So yes, this little horn also did as Daniel said
when it came to wearing out the saints. In regards to the change in
times and laws. Rome admits in many documents all over the world the
following…
"The
authority of the church could therefore not
be bound to the authority of the Scriptures,
because the Church had changed
the Sabbath into Sunday, not
by command of Christ,
but by its own authority." Canon and Tradition, p. 263
"It was the Catholic church by the authority of Jesus Christ, which has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic church." - Mgr, Segur Plain Talk about Protestantism of today page 213
"It was the Catholic church by the authority of Jesus Christ, which has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic church." - Mgr, Segur Plain Talk about Protestantism of today page 213
The
law of God was changed by Rome, as was the time mankind was commanded
to worship God. It’s actually more in depth than most realize
however. I used to teach Roman Catholic doctrine and I know they
removed commandment #2 regarding statues, and they are also the ones
that changed the calendars hundreds of years ago. This is why the
dates are all messed up when it comes to BC and AD. Still, this act
of Rome changing the law, and the times further confirms Daniel’s
description of the little horn. The law was changed by removing
commandment #2 as well as changing commandment #4, and the times were
changed by forcing Christians to worship on day one instead of day
seven, which is of course the Sabbath. The calendars were also
changed forcing a confusion in historic record. Another basic fact
most miss is, the Bible clearly says in Genesis chapter one we see
the Lord declaring a new day comes when the Sun sets. This is why we
keep Sabbath from Sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday. But, look at
your watches, computers or cell phones. The date always changes at
midnight. That is actually based on Roman time. But what of the last
descriptive element of Daniel’s prophecy of the little horn?
- Daniel 7:25 said the little horn would attack God’s people for, “…a time and times and the dividing of time."
- Revelation 12:6 says the church will hide from the Pope, "… a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
- Revelation 13:5 says the Pope will do this, "…forty and two months."
Revelation
13:5 speaks of this time as forty two months. These forty two months
of Rev 13:5 and the "time, and times and dividing a time"
of Daniel 7:25 equal the exact same thing. 42 months actually equates
to 3½ years. Looking closely, one can see this, A
"time (one year) and times (+ two years) and the dividing of
time, (+ half a year ) That's a "time" + "times"
+ "dividing of a time", which equals 3½ years,
or forty two months. (12+24 + 6 = 42 months) Revelation
12:6 confirms this calculation when it says that the church of Jesus
would hide in the wilderness for exactly 1260 days. 42 months, or 3½
years equals 1260 days. And we know prophecy defines a prophetic day
as a year in reality.
- Ezekiel 4:6 "I have appointed thee each day for a year..." & Numbers 14:34 "...each day for a year, "
Now
that we have a definite time frame to work with, can prophecy be that
accurate?
- "Vigilius...ascended the papal chair (538 A.D.) under the military protection of Belisarius." -History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 327
Historical
records reveal the papacy began its reign in 538 AD upon Emperor
Justinian's decree, and under the military protection of Belisarius.
And the Bible says the beast will rule for EXACTLY 1260 years before
receiving a mortal wound. Now it's just a matter of simple
mathematics. It is also a grand method by which to see the Lord
glorified. If the prophecy is correct, 1260 years after 538 AD the
Beast must receive a mortal wound. Did this happen? Well… If you
add 1260 years to the beginning year the Roman Catholic church had
"absolute" power as a church and state in 538 AD, you will
arrive in the exact year 1798 AD. So, according to the prophecy we
are told the first reign of the Beast will last until the year 1798 .
So, did it end in 1798?
- "In 1798 General Berthier made his entrance into Rome, abolished the papal government, and established a secular one." -Encyclopedia Britannica 1941 edition
General
Berthier was under the command of Napoleon. This is why to this day
Napoleon is touted by the Vatican as Antichrist because of what he
did to their power. For them to be pulled from power in 1798AD proves
the prophecy fulfilled! That's Exactly 42 prophetic months, or 1260
years, or a time, and times, and dividing a time after the Papacy
began its powerful reign that the Pope received his mortal wound.
This not only confirms the "day for a year" issue, it also
glorifies the Lord like no other prophecy can. It's that accurate!
In
our last three studies we discovered the time prophecies of Daniel
chapter 2 & 7 and how they brought us all the way from Daniel’s
time to present day. In this next study we will look into the time
prophecies of Daniel chapter 9. Some that are knew to our humble
little church may be asking themselves as to why we study prophecy as
we do. Well, Revelation 1:3 gives us the reason why. It says…
- Revelation 1:3, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."
Not
only does one learn of the Truth as well as the character of this
Mighty God we serve by studying His prophetic Word, we are also
blessed by reading His Word daily with the advance knowledge He
grants us of the more perilous days ahead of us. Studying Bible
Prophecy has been a blessing to me and my family over the years.
There is also nothing to compare with seeing the Word of Prophecy
coming to light in the eyes of complete strangers when they hear such
things for this first time. So.. let’s see what we can see today…
- Daniel 9:1, "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;"
As
historic facts prove, the events spoken of in Daniel chapter 9 took
place in 538BC shortly after the Chaldeans (Babylon) were
conquered by the Medes and the Persians. Daniel studied the book of
Jeremiah and realized that the last 70 years of slavery for his
people was coming to an end according to prophecy.
- Daniel 9:2-3, "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"
Babylon
had fallen. It was now time to concentrate on the reconstruction of
Jerusalem. Daniel understood the prophecy declared that this was
next. So, he set his face towards the Lord and went to the Creator
God in intense prayer and fasting. By the way, this is something you
don't see too often in today's world. Many Christians today have
totally forgotten about such powerful prayer methods as this. I
rarely hear of anyone in any denomination outside the Remnant church
that knows of the power and blessings associated with praying as
Daniel did. Three times a day. Every Christian needs to realize they
would be blessed with the hand of the Lord moving far more frequently
in their lives if they too would pray as His prophets of old prayed.
Continuing…
- Daniel 9:4-5,18 "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies."
What
a beautiful prayer! All that Daniel saw was accurate, and he knew it.
Even looking upon his people he saw that their sins had caused them
all their national grief. However, he thought because of their sinful
rebellion, the construction of Jerusalem was being delayed. This is
why his prayer is concentrating on forgiveness for his sins, and the
sins of his people.
- Daniel 9:20-21, "And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation."
Right
in the midst of this prayer, the angel Gabriel once again appeared to
Daniel. If you study Daniel’s past you will see that thirteen years
prior, this same angel gave Daniel a vision describing a 2300 year
period of time. This 2300 year panoramic view of many prophetic
events is extremely important, and this is why I chose to share it in
the three previous sermons of this series. For now, we will
concentrate on the 70 weeks within that time period. So, continuing
in Daniel…
- Daniel 9:22-23, "And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."
If
you recall in the eighth chapter of Daniel, he was unable to
understand the vision. He was given no clue as to the starting-point
of the 2300 days because Gabriel only shared a partial explanation.
As the terrible scenes of persecution upon the church were unfolded
before Daniel’s eyes, all physical strength gave way. He could
endure no more. So the angel had to leave. It said back in Daniel
8:27 that, "I
Daniel fainted,
and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's
business; and I
was astonished at the vision,
but none understood it." However, Gabriel was commanded to “Make
this man to understand the vision.” That commission from the Lord
Himself had to be accomplished. In obedience to the command, Gabriel,
years later returned to Daniel to give him the “skill and
understanding;” so as to “understand the matter, and consider the
vision.” There was only one point in the vision of years earlier
that had been left unexplained. That was of course the period of the
2300 days. Gabriel then dwells exclusively upon the subject of time.
- Daniel 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..."
The
word "determined" here in this verse comes from the Hebrew
word, chathak {khaw-thak'} (See Strongs 02852) The word chathak
literally means to "divide" or be "marked out."
In other words, the angel is telling Daniel that 70 weeks had been
cut off, or marked out for the people of Israel in the coming days.
How do you cut off or mark out 70 weeks? You would have to do so from
a larger period of time of course. The 2300 year prophecy is what the
angel is referring to here. He is about to illustrate a period of
time that is "cut out" of a longer period of time that is
"marked" specifically for the people of Israel.
- Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem..."
The
angel tells Daniel here WHEN
to start the prophetic period of time he’s speaking of. Daniel now
knows that it will begin the very moment a king declares it is time
for the people of Israel to go forth to build Jerusalem. When was
this command given?
- Ezra 7:8,11,13,20 "...in the seventh year of the king. ...this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe... I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house."
In
the seventh year of king Artaxerxes' reign, he made a decree unto the
people of Israel to go forth and rebuild the temple. The seventh year
of this king was in fact 457BC. So, looking back at Daniel 9:25 we
see…
- Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."
The
prophecy then declares that there will be 69 weeks (7 + 60 + 2) until
Messiah arrives. So, what does 69 weeks mean in prophecy? As students
of prophecy we know Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 both declare a day
equals a year in Bible prophecy.
- Numbers 14:34, "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise."
- Ezekiel 4:5-6, "For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."
Some
wonder why Gabriel didn’t just say 70 weeks. Why did he break it up
and say seven
weeks, and threescore and two weeks?
|
|
|
By
the way... Don't
make the same mistake I made when I first calculated this prophetic
fact some years ago. I completely forgot about the fact that there is
a YEAR 0 to contend with. I kept coming up with a calculation that
was ONE YEAR OFF when trying to place Jesus Christ’s baptism in
27AD. I kept seeing Him baptized in 26AD instead! …So... does the
Word confirm that Jesus was baptized in that very year of 27AD or
not?
- John 4:25-26, "The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."
- Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
The
word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word, "Mashiach,"
which in Greek is translated as "Christos," which means
“ANOINTED ONE.” Here we see plainly that the New testament
Scripture does in fact declare Jesus to be, the Messiah," "the
Christ," "the Anointed One." Does history confirm this
as well? Remember? Prophecy tells us that in 27AD we will see Messiah
anointed. Does this happen? First of all we need to answer an
objection that is bound to spring up in some minds. Scripture
declares...
- Luke 3:21,23 "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,"
Why
is it the Bible says this occurred in 27AD, and it also states Jesus
was about 30 years of age when it happened? When the calendar time of
this occurrence was first calculated there was an error of 4 years
made as many of us today are now aware. Satan no doubt had his hand
in this error to try and hide what happened this year, and how Daniel
predicted the exact year. It's obvious that Christ could not have
been born in 1AD because that would not make Him to be "about 30
years of age" now would it? Plus, Herod was still alive when
Christ was born as everyone is also aware. As Matthew chapter two
confirms, Herod did all he could to kill Jesus at that time when the
Wise men refused to tell him were Messiah was located. Herod killed
all the baby boys 2 years old and younger in Bethlehem that day,
which fulfilled the prophecy of…
- Jeremiah 31:15, "Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not."
History
records Herod’s death to be in 4BC. After the error was realized,
historic fact became clear. Jesus was truly born in 4BC, and then
baptized in 27AD at the age of 30 just as the vision Daniel had long
before prophecied! Jesus even confirmed this when He declared that
the time was "fulfilled" after He was baptized.
- Mark 1:9,14,15 "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
Jesus
understood Bible prophecy! He knew that the Autumn of the year 27AD
was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel. So, continuing in Daniel
we see what is prophesied to happen next. It says…
- Daniel 9:26-27, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off... And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
Getting
back to the 70 weeks. Here we see that in the middle of the 70th week
something is to occur. Prophecy is stating that the Messiah shall be
"cut off." It also states that when this occurs, it will,
"cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." The middle
of the week means 3.5 years. (7 years divided by 2) By adding 3.5
years to the autumn of 27AD, we come to the Spring of 31AD. What
happened in the Spring of 31AD? Prophecy says...
- Daniel 9:26-27, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:... And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease..."
- Matthew 26:27-28, "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
The
"covenant with many" is what actually happened when Jesus
Christ sealed the covenant when He started His public ministry
in 27AD and then shed His blood on that cross and died. He died for
all those that sinned even though He Himself knew no sin. He did this
for the salvation of all those that would accept His sacrifice for
the remission of their own sins.
In
the middle of the week of Daniel we see that Jesus hung on the cross
but “but
not for Himself.”
And why does it say He is cut off by “not for Himself?” Jesus
died for the sins of you and me. He was that sinless Lamb of God and
the perfect sacrifice for sin. He was not on that cross for any sin
He committed. Just like of old when the Jewish nation brought forth a
lamb to be slaughtered for their sins; it could NOT have any
"blemish" upon it because the Messiah that lamb represented
was to have absolutely no sin in Him.
- Exodus 12:5, "Your lamb shall be without blemish…”
- John 14:30, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
To
further confirm that this occurred. At the very moment "The Lamb
of God who taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) died
on that cross; the temple veil ripped from top to bottom therefore
signifying that the "lamb sacrifice" for sins of the nation
of Israel was at an end! Or as Daniel put it, the "oblation
ceased." At the exact moment the Lamb of God died for our sins,
all sacrifice for sin was complete.
- Matthew 27:50-51, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;"
Exactly
3.5 years AFTER Jesus stepped into the river Jordan the Messiah was
cut off but not for any sins He committed. He died for those that had
sins, who also needed to have them "atoned" for by bringing
a lamb for sacrifice. In the exact year 31AD this sacrifice occurred.
By
the way, there is another way of finding Messiah was "cut
off" 3.5
years after He begins His ministry. Directly after Jesus is anointed
by God in the river Jordan, Luke 3:23 told us earlier that "Jesus
himself began to be about thirty years of age"
when He "began" His ministry. So now all one needs do is
count the amount of Passovers that follow from this time until Jesus
is "cut
off"
and you will see that 3.5
years
have passed by. I have this broken down in box #18 in the room if
you’re interested.
(Read
John chapter 2 through chapter 13. Specifically John
2:13,23...6:3,4...13:1 (passover,
1-2-3)
PASSOVER
#1
|
PASSOVER
#2
|
PASSOVER
#3
|
| John 2:13,23 "And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did." | John 6:3-4, "And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh." | John 13:1, "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." |
- Daniel 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."
To
further confirm what happened in the “midst of the week,” when
Jesus died the prophecy said He made “an end of sins” as well as
reconciled all those that believed in Him; which in turn brought the
righteousness of Christ upon His followers from that day forward. To
finish this “week of Daniel” as many call it, after the death and
resurrection of Christ there was still 3.5 years left in the
prophecied 490 years afixed to the Jews to accept Jesus Christ as
Messiah. So, the apostles had to preach to the Jews another 3.5 years
to finish off the week. Did they do this?
- Luke 24:46-47, "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
To
finish off the week of Daniel, as well as finish the final years left
in the 490 years of probation for the Jews, the Apostles were
specifically targeting the Jewish nation in their Gospel preaching
campaign. Prophecy said that after Messiah would be "cut off"
for our sins, there would still be 3.5 years left for the Jews to
hear the message of the Gospel. The Apostles did exactly that. They
preached exclusively to the Jewish nation. So, when did the "week
of Daniel" end?
- Acts 7:56-58, "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul."
In
the Autumn of the year 34AD, exactly 3.5 years from the time “Messiah
was cut off” the Jewish leaders openly rejected the Gospel message.
They made an open declaration of that rejection by the stoning of the
first martyr, Stephen. A stoning that was wholly approved by the
leaders of Israel. Further biblical fact can be found in a prophetic
utterance, and then a prophetic confirmation...
PROPHECY:
|
FULFILLMENT:
|
| Hosea 2:23, "And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God." | Acts 13:45-46, "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." |
Sadly,
the prophecy also speaks of a tragic event.
- Daniel 9:26-27, "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. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
Was
Jerusalem destroyed after the Jewish nation rejected the Gospel
message?
In
A.D.66 when Cestius came against the city, but unaccountably
withdrew, the Christians discerned in this the sign foretold by
Christ, and fled while 1,100,000
Jews are said to have been killed in the terrible siege in A.D. 70.
-Eusebius,
Church History, book 3, chap. 5
Notice
this...
The
first part of each verse speaks of Messiah and His works, the
second part
of each verse speaks of the end results for Jerusalem and its people. |
FIRST
PART
|
DANIEL
9
|
SECOND
PART
|
| Seven weeks and 62 weeks until Messiah |
Verse
25
|
How Jerusalem will be rebuilt |
| Messiah to be "cut off" |
Verse
26
|
Jerusalem and the Sanctuary will be destroyed |
| The covenant and the sacrifice of Messiah |
Verse
27
|
The abomination of desolation in Jerusalem |
Because
this prophecy is so accurate, Satan used four methods to try and hide
it. #1, he caused Rome to change the calendars thereby confusing the
truth in the minds of many. #2, he convinced the Jews of old to
proclaim to this day that Daniel was a false prophet. (They said this
because he predicted their probation ending in the Autumn of 34AD)
#3, he used Cyrus Scofield in 1910 to create a gap theory that
allowed many to adopt a seven year tribulation theory that used the
week of Daniel out of chronological order to make it appear the week
comes at the end of time, instead of in 27AD. All those that claim
this prophecy speaks of a 7 year tribulation at the end of time can
only do so by declaring what happened at Calvary was a lie. This week
of Daniel is far too easy to prove fulfilled between 27AD to 34AD.
Which leads us to Satan’s fourth and final attack on this prophecy.
Most churches, including the SDA church have stopped teaching
prophecy to their members so as to prevent the people from
discovering the false prophecies of today are just that, false. This
bold attack on Christian prophecy proves it is in fact something
Satan fears in a big way. Now do you see why the remnant people are
hated? We are prophesied to be the only people on earth that
perfectly understand it.
http://www.remnantofgod.org/manofsin.htm
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