The 1st Resurrection, Catching Out of the Saved, or the Rapture – Part 1…
Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, indicated he was going to unveil a mystery of the Old Testament that a lot of the Prophets wrote about, but whose writings were to be made clearer to later generations. Isaiah wrote about the mystery using terms which we, having a completed New Testament, can now comprehend more fully.
Isaiah 26:19 + I Corinthians 15:51,52 + I Thessalonians 4:16,17
[19] Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Paul “showed” or “clarified” the “mystery,” but John tells us when it will be finished.
I Corinthians 15:51 + Revelation 10:7 + I Corinthians 15:52
[51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [7] But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the pro-phets. [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
PAUL “SHOWED” THE MYSTERY – JOHN FINISHED IT!
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
WHEN THE 7TH TRUMPET BLOWS THE SAVED WILL BE CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN FOR JUDGMENT BY CHRIST, AND ALL THAT MAKE UP HIS SPIRITUAL REALM WILL STRETCH FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL THE SAVED OF ALL THE AGES WILL BE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
While the nations on earth are angry because of the seven vials of wrath that are being poured out following the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the time of the dead, who have suddenly been resurrected for judgment before Christ, occurs in this heavenly scene of Revelation 11:18. While the saved are being judged for rewards in heaven, God’s seven vials of wrath are destroying those who are responsible for the destruction of morality on the earth. However you interpret this scripture it paints a heavenly scene where the resurrected dead are being judged for rewards in heaven, and it follows the blowing of the 7th trumpet. It has to be what Paul outlined in II Corinthians as describing Christ judging all the saved after the rapture.
II Corinthians 5:2,3,10 – For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: [3] If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
In Revelation 9:13 we read that the sixth trumpet has sounded, so we know that the next trumpet to sound will be the seventh in a series of seven.
Revelation 9:13 – And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
In the first verse of the following chapter we are introduced to a mighty angel from heaven with tremendous authority from heaven. He is an archangel and may well be the seventh angel who blows the final trumpet in a series of seven.
Revelation 10:1 – And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
He has direct authority from God to speak for Him, and to give an oath in his name. He then tells the reader that the time of the earthly church age of the Gentiles is about to end.
Revelation 10:5,6 – And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, [6] And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
I cannot tell for sure in the Greek of verse seven whether he is referring to himself, or is merely telling us what will happen when the seventh angel blows his trumpet. But, in either case, in this verse we are definitely informed that:
(1) The seventh angel has a voice.
(2) The seventh angel will one day blow his trumpet.
(3) When he blows it the mystery, surrounding the rapture of the saved, will be finished, as it was foretold by the Old and New Testament prophets.
Revelation10:7 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
I believe the voice of the archangel and the trump that is blown in II Thessalonians 4:16 is the same as found in Revelation 10:7 and 11:15.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
I also believe that the last trump of I Corinthians 15:52 is the last in a series of seven that is sounded in Revelation 11:15.
I Corinthians 15:52 – In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
And I am convinced that the dead in this verse are the dead in Christ who are resurrected to stand before Christ’s judgment seat in heaven to be judged for rewards and/or the lack of them.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
I do not anticipate going through the vials of God’s wrath that follow the blowing of the seventh trumpet.
Revelation 16:1 – And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Revelation 6:9-11 – And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
These are the martyred souls of the saints of the ages, and they are very anxious for the mystery of the rapture to be fulfilled, when all their brethren on the earth will be in heaven for Christ’s judgment seat, knowing that after they are judged, they will return to reign with them and with Christ for 1000 years on this present earth. The white robes are the reward for a willingness to die for the word of God and the testimony of Christ they gave from it. It is very important to note when the fifth seal is opened their fellow servants and brethren are still on the earth. Their brethren still on earth will remain there up to the time of their martyrdom before or at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Then both groups will be in heaven after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. White robes are part of the eternal outer garment of the saved that were faithful. The souls under the altar were faithful unto death. There will be many saved men and women who will be faithful unto death in the tribulation period. Some will be faithful, but will not be required to give their lives. They will also wear the outer robe as a garment forever, but the unfaithful saved will not wear the outer garment in heaven. The “little season” they are told to wait in rest is the time left before their fellow servants and brethren come up to join them when the seventh trumpet sounds, after which God will perform their request to “judge and avenge our blood on them (the lost) that dwell on the earth.” Some saved in heaven will not receive a robe because of unfaithfulness.
Revelation 16:15 – Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
“Naked” did not mean completely uncovered to John. It meant to be covered by the inner garment without an outer garment. All the saved will go out on the seventh trumpet, both faithful and unfaithful, and all will be judged in heaven for rewards following it.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Chapter 12 in Revelation is a parenthetical chapter, and the remnant in the midst of the woman Israel, being the remnant of her Son Jesus Christ, will have his testimony and keep his commandments in the Negev. The woman Israel will flee into the Negev wilderness 1260 days prior to Armageddon with her Seed’s remnant in the midst of her, and the Seed’s remnant, the 144,000, will be taken up when the seventh trumpet sounds. The two men who are the witnesses of God will be among the 144,000, but will be caught up immediately before the blowing of the seventh trumpet. They will be among those who “should be killed as they were” in seal five, Revelation 6:11.
Revelation 12:5,6,17 – 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. [6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. [17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 7:4 – And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 11:3 – And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Revelation 11:7-9 – And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:12 – And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Revelation 20:4 – And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL – Part 2…
The Last 1260 Days of Tribulation Begins
Revelation 6:12-14 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
The sixth seal catastrophe begins with an earthquake, and marks the time antichrist attacks Israel, driving them into the Negev and leaving them there for the last 1260 days of the tribulation period. This earthquake is the first earthquake in the book of Revelation, and it opens 1260 days of tribulation before Armageddon. The last earthquake in Revelation is the greatest of all, and it closes the tribulation period at Armageddon. There will be countless numbers of earthquakes of great intensity between these two, but these are the first and the last in the tribulation period, occurring on the sixth seal opening, and the empting of the seventh vial. They will a part of God’s judgment upon both the lost and the unfaithful saved during the seals and the trumpets, but those earthquakes occurring from the seventh trumpet to the last vial will be much greater in intensity because they are a part of God’s wrath on the earth.
Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
The fifth is about to be played out under the throne by the souls of the martyred saints found in Revelation 6:9-11. I would not be surprised at all if the sixth seal opens at some point in time between 2010 and 2015. It will open, but WHEN is just OPINION on my part.
The sixth seal gives John a preview of what will happen when the seventh seal is opened and the seven trumpets begin to sound. I believe that the sixth seal contains a fore view of the events that will occur when the trumpets are blown and the vials are emptied. The opening of the sixth seal sets the stage for the sounding of the first trumpet – and then remains unsealed up to the pouring out of the seventh vial.
When God showed John the events of the end times, he first showed him a generalized picture of what would be happening on earth and in heaven during the period that proceeds the tribulation period, in what Matthew and Mark called “the beginning of sorrows.” This picture was presented in the opening of the first four seals. The fifth seal is a heavenly scene of souls in heaven anxious for God to take action against those who spilled their blood, and for the rapture. When the sixth seal is opened, God gives John a preview of what the last 1260 days of the tribulation period will be like. But it is an overview, and the specifics are not revealed until the seventh seal is opened, all seven trumpets sound, and all seven vials have been emptied. The sixth seal is a broad outline of what God intends to do during the time span from the seventh seal, through the trumpets, and up to the last drop of the seventh vial. The trumpets and vials are the specific events within the broad outline of the sixth seal. The trumpets and vials are interlaced, and picture the same events. Each trumpet announces the beginning of an event, and its numerically corresponding vial closes it. The sound of the trumpet heralds the start of a phase, and when the last drop of the corresponding vial is poured out, the phase is finished. Trumpet number 1 is the judgment of God until it phases into Vial number 1, at which time it becomes the wrath of God. Trumpet number 2 shows the judgment of God until it phases into Vial number 2, at which time is becomes the wrath of God. This sequence is true through all seven trumpets and seven vials. The trumpets represent the judgment of God on both the saved and the lost. The vials represent the wrath of God upon the lost. The sixth seal gives a preview of the trumpets and vials. It first previews the judgments of the phenomena which are going to be unleashed by the trumpets in Revelation 6:12-14, and then gives a preview of the wrath of God that will be unleashed by the vials in Revelation 6:15-17.
Revelation 6:12-17 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. [15] And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; [16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: [17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Verses 12 to 14 are God’s judgment. They basically tell what will be produced during the time of the trumpets. Verses 15 to 17 are God’s wrath. They basically picture what will be produced on mankind by the vials.
God’s wrath will come after the sounding of trumpet 7, when vial 1 of his wrath, which corresponded to trumpet 1, is poured out. Trumpet 7 sounds in Revelation 11:15.
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
God’s “wrath is come” after the seventh trumpet sounds, while the saved are being judged in heaven after being taken up at its sounding, and are at Christ’s judgment seat for rewards for works done during their time in their physical bodies.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
HISTORICAL RAPTURE TEACHINGS – Part 3…
As a young man I developed an interest in certain historical eras of time, especially the period of time associated with the castles of ancient England. In December of 1961, after I had traveled for some three years from north to south and east to west across England, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society published my lengthy discourse on “Forecasting Rain Stratus in the Midlands of England.” During those three years I examined most of the ancient castle earthworks found standing after the rampage of Cromwell across England. England is the land of very old books and the meticulous maintenance of these books is carried out rigorously at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. So if you really want to know for sure when a particular Biblical interpretation first came into print, these two institutions should be the place to begin your research.
From my earliest days I had an avid interest in all publications that interpreted Biblical passages concerning the second coming of Christ. When I first began lecturing in churches, seminaries, universities, and colleges in 1978, I had no idea that my travels would take me to more than 700 of these institutions, and that I would be in the immediate vicinity of most of the major colleges and universities in the U.S. The vast majority of our institutions of higher learning began as small institutions under the control of a church or churches. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most of them individually broke away from their sponsoring churches to become the independent centers of higher secular learning today. The majority of books in colleges and universities in early years were religious books, but after they lost the influence of the sponsoring churches they gradually became more and more secular in their teaching and accredited degrees, so they had to decide what to do with their very large volume of religious books. Some were sold, some thrown away, and some placed in specially created archives. I know I am a sixth generation Missionary Baptist because of the material I collected from just such an archive in Kalamazoo College in Michigan. Its archives documented that Henry McElmurry, of whom I am a direct descendant, was the missionary-pastor of three of our early churches in southeastern Missouri from 1834 to 1839. Some of the books in the archives of these colleges are so old and fragile, that they have a designated person to open the pages for you to prevent the book being damaged.
So why have I labored on so long about old books. I wanted to know when various teachings were published concerning when the Lord would come, particularly in reference to what is called the tribulation period, a period of time that ends with the battle of Armageddon. So, as I traveled, I went to these archives and searched for this information. All of the old books I examined were quite definite that the tribulation period would close with the battle of Armageddon. But the time of the beginning of the tribulation, how long it was to last once it started, and when the first resurrection occurred in reference to it, was quite another matter. The first resurrection, which has taken on the popular title “the rapture,” has been one of the most vigorously debated theological subjects in the Word of God for some 215 years. So, because it still is, I intend to present as accurate a documented history as I am able from my research. I will attempt to show when several beliefs concerning this much debated subject first appeared on the scene in published books.
When Johannes Gutenberg invented the first process of printing from separately cast metal types, used for moveable type, the era of book publishing was soon to begin. By 1450 he had a press in Germany financed by Johann Fust. In 1455 Fust had the first printed Bible in history well under way. Slowly the publishing of books by press immerged. Many of the first books published were interpretative expositions of Biblical scriptures, and among those were expositions of scriptures about the first resurrection. After the 1611 KJV was published, expositions on Christ’s second coming started appearing in books based on the interpretation of passages found in it.
The first printed work that taught a rapture (first resurrection) before the blowing of the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation was published in 1788. The teaching appeared in a book written by a well-known Baptist preacher of the eighteenth century, Morgan Edwards. It was titled “Two Academic Exercises on Subjects Bearing the Following Titles: Millennial and Last Novelties.” The book was published by Dodson and Lang, Second Street between Market and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In my archive search to discover the first printings of various positions held on the time of Christ’s coming, in relation to the end of the tribulation period, I had only found two published positions prior to the War of 1812. The vast majority of all the publications put Christ’s coming at the very end of the tribulation period, and a definite minority placed it at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, just before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth in seven vials. However, Morgan, for the first time in history since books began to be published, taught that a rapture of the saved would occur 3 and ½ years before the end of the tribulation period. There is no record of any printed book historically published prior to 1788, as far as I have been able to discover, that taught a rapture prior to the last 3 and ½ years before the final battle of Armageddon in the tribulation period. I don’t say that such a book or books do not exist, but if they do, they are a drop in an ocean of books.
Dr. Thomas Chalmers, a Presbyterian minister of the Church of Scotland, and the man who first introduced what is known as the “Gap Theory,” had an assistant named Edward Irving. In 1827 Reverend Irving began to teach that Christ would first come for His saints, and then after a period of tribulation, He would come to destroy antichrist and to reign. In 1830 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, a 15-year-old young lady, named Margaret MacDonald, announced that she had received a prophetic vision from God concerning the coming of Christ. Her revelation may be found in a book by Robert Norton entitled “The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets” in the Catholic Apostolic Church, (London, 1861). In his book he declared that from her vision it could be seen that Christians would be taken out before the time of tribulation.
J.N. Darby, a leader among the early Plymouth Brethren, was known to have visited her during the time Margaret was having her visions. The teaching of a 7-year tribulation period came after these visions. The idea of the tribulation period consisting of two 3 and ½ year periods was put in print after John Darby began preaching the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory. Prior to that time you will find no publication was ever printed that showed two boxes joined together to form a 7 year period, with the first box representing a period of 3 and ½ years of peace, and the second box representing a period of 3 and ½ years of tribulation. The 7-year theory was developed by proponents of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory. It was developed by letting the “he” in Daniel 9:27 refer to the antichrist rather than Christ. Before 1788 they taught that the “he” of Daniel 9:27 was Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes, but in view of the new revelation in 1788, it eventually became necessary to justify it, and by 1832 a series of new Scripture combinations began to appear, and they were used to teach what came to be known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Position. It was the grand joining of the “70th Week of Daniel” prophecy with the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory that finally launched today’s popular teaching under a wind filled sail. J.N. Darby taught that the rapture occurs before the last 7 years of the prophecy of 490 years found in Daniel 9:24-27. In Volume 3, page 424, of Darby’s letters, he wrote: “Let it be remembered now that we have no date for the rapture of the church – that the dates BEGIN with a week of Daniel 9, and half a week when the sacrifice is made to cease. But this does not affect the general testimony of Matthew 24, which may begin the week, and be carried on among the Gentiles during the great tribulation at Jerusalem.”
J.N. Darby visited America seven times between 1862 and 1877. Cyrus I. Scofield, minister of a Congregational church, became a student of all the writings of J.N. Darby, and then forever popularized his Pre-Tribulation Rapture position by placing it in the Scofield Reference Bible notes of his 1909 publication. Most of the Bible teachers of Scofield’s day did not accept his new found position, but it was so appealing to religious groups that it spread across the country like wildfire as an exciting new revelation, which taught God’s children would never go into the tribulation period. By the time I was saved in 1944, you were often considered a heretic if you believed anything other than a rapture 7 years prior to the end of the tribulation period.
When I wrote my last two books, Tribulation Triad and Birth Pangs from the Bottomless Pit in the late seventies, I was what was known as a “Mid-Tribber.” In the early eighties I changed my position on when the first resurrection occurs in relation to the end of the tribulation period. Could the Mid-Tribulation Rapture Position be correct? Yes, if God chose to wait some 1788 years after Christ’s birth before letting it first appear in a printed book exposition of Biblical scriptures by a man named Morgan Edwards. Could the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Position be correct? Yes, if God chose to wait some 1830 years after the birth of His Son before letting it first appear in a printed form. To my knowledge, there was never a published printed book prior to 1788, which explained the scriptures found in the Bible about the rapture by advocating a Pre or Mid Tribulation Rapture.
I have read the letters of the early church fathers to see if any such teaching was clearly spelled out in context in their writings on a Pre-Tribulation rapture. And, in so doing, I have searched hoping to find such a reference, but have not found a reference in context that justified such a position with sufficient clarity to be certain.
I did find two that may advocate such a position, but the only thing I can be sure of is that they are more likely to simply refer to the rapture as being pre-millennial, not specifically pre-tribulation. The references were by Irenaeus and Hippolytus, written on scrolls in about 180 AD.
There was also a document reported by advocates of the pre-tribulation rapture position as being genuine and written by Ephraem the Syria in 373 AD. However, the document is classified by the antiquity experts as being Pseudo-Ephraem (Pseudo means false). It was titled “On the last times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World.” But the problem with it is threefold: We can’t be sure that Ephraem wrote it, or if the copier made it up himself, or WHEN he copied or wrote it. I do at least know it was written before 1890, because German Professor Caspari wrote a German commentary on the Latin manuscript in 1890, and he was one of the few who thought it was written by Ephraem.
If you think I didn’t want to find such a reference, you are quite wrong. Failure to agree with the Pre-Tribulation position only gains you great unpopularity with most of the brethren and, being carnal in the flesh, and desiring their acceptance, I certainly hoped to find such a position issued prior to 1788, but found none of which I could honestly state: Yes! This teaches a Pre-Tribulation rapture. Could I be wrong in the position I hold? Certainly! And I will continue to search for the prophetic truth on this subject. I have not changed what I was taught as a youth concerning doctrines on salvation, baptism, the local church, and its two ordinances, but I have changed my mind about the position of the Lord’s coming in reference to the battle of Armageddon and, quite frankly, will change my mind again if I find a better case than the one you find in these BLOGS on the rapture. Any man who is not willing to change his position on the time of Christ’s coming, in relation to the end of the tribulation period, makes it a doctrinal position. There is only one real doctrine concerning Christ’s coming – HE IS COMING. When he comes, in relation to the events stated as occurring in the tribulation period, is a matter of opinion, not a matter of doctrine.
So how do all these different positions affect me? They don’t! In our work we have “first of the weekers,” middle of the weekers,” “last of the weekers,” “seventh trumpers,” “split rapturers,” “triple rapturers,” and “progressive rapturers.” It would be ridiculous for me to make what my brethren believe about the rapture a test of fellowship. The doctrine of Christ’s coming is that He is coming. If you don’t believe that you are a heretic, and I don’t want your fellowship. I have a very simple Biblical principle that I follow to be ready when he does come. I know I will be taken because I am saved. So I daily attempt to be faithful to Him in one of His new testament churches, in order that I will be prepared to stand before His judgment seat whenever He comes.
I do not believe we have a full week of seven years left to fulfill in Daniel’s 70 weeks of 490 years (See 10 Part BLOG series on Daniel’s Prophecy of 70 Weeks). I am persuaded Christ is coming on the blowing of the 7th trumpet in Revelation 10:7, 11:15, and 11:18, but I live my life like it could be today. I am “watching” daily for that time, whenever it is. I have been told that one cannot do such a thing. Well, just hide and watch me! If it does occur 7 years before the battle of Armageddon, then I will be caught “watching” for His coming.
The material contained in this particular BLOG has been taken from many old books I have perused in the U.S. and overseas during my many years of travel, and a portion of it came from the research of John L. Bray, a Baptist Minister who was born in 1921 in Macon, Georgia, and was ordained as pastor of a Baptist church in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 18. He was educated at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, John B. Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and, if he is still living, would be some 87 years in age. By 1990 he had spent 30 years as a pastor of Southern Baptist Churches, and completed 21 years as a full time evangelist. I am indebted to him for the extractions I took from his writings in compiling this update, as well as to others from which some material was quoted.ARE YOU READY FOR THE RAPTURE? – Part 4…
HAVE YOU BEEN SHOWN THE MYSTERY? – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. (I Corinthians 15:51)
ARE YOU READY FOR THE MYSTERY TO BE FINISHED? – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:7)
ARE YOU READY FOR THE VOICE & TRUMP OF ANGEL 7? – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (I Thessalonians 4:16)
ARE YOU READY FOR HIS KINGDOMS ON THE 7TH TRUMP? – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
ARE YOU READY FOR THE LAST TRUMP IN A SERIES OF 7? – In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (I Corinthians 15:52)
ARE YOU READY TO BE JUDGED AFTER THE 7TH TRUMPET? – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)
HIS 7 VIALS OF WRATH COME ON THEM AS WE ARE JUDGED? And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. (Revelation 16:1)
WHEN NO ONE CAN HELP THE ANTICHRIST! – Part 5…
He has returned from Egypt to Israel to set in his command post on the Jerusalem Temple Mount and direct a final attack upon the remnant of Israel in the Negev Wilderness.
Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The inspired word for “tabernacles” is “ohel,” which always means “tents.” The “ohel” in the wilderness was a “tabernacle” that was a huge tent. These tents house the many millions that will have come to Israel for the final onslaught against the small Jewish remnant in the Negev, which the Scripture identifies as the battle of Armageddon. He will issue a call to all the nations of Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to come and join him in this great battle, and the demonic frog spirits of the father, son, and unholy false prophet will influence them to come to this final battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 16:13-16 – And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. [14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. [15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The inspired word for “palace” is appeden, and it appears only once in this particular form throughout the Bible. At the time this Scripture was written all the great kings carried portable command post buildings with them when they went forth to conquer. They included a royal throne, on which the king would set issuing the commands to his troops in the field. This is what an “appeden” is – a portable command post from which the king issues battle directives to his troops in the field.
The king of the north, the antichrist, will set his command post on the glorious holy mountain, which is Mount Moriah, the center hill of the three hills of eastern Jerusalem. This Mount lies between the Mediterranean and Dead Seas. His millions of troops will blanket all of Israel north of Beersheva, with the heaviest concentrations filling the two valleys that join at the Tel of Megiddo, the Plain of Esdraelon and the Jezreel Valley. Most of the incoming troops will disembark at the port of Haifa, then proceed southeastward down the Esdraelon-Jezreel Valley into the Jordan Valley, and hence southward to Jerusalem and the border of the northern Negev. Millions will stand in place and await the command of antichrist to start the attack on the small remnant of Israel in the Negev.
One would be inclined to think that the antichrist, with millions of troops behind him, would be absolutely unstoppable, and that God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel, would be killed to the last man by this massive onslaught. That is what makes the last part of this verse so strange, as Daniel states: “yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
I remember that several years ago, a dear departed friend of mine, Dr. I.K. Cross, who was presenting a message at the annual Pastors and Missionaries Conference in Texarkana, delivered a sermon titled “We’re Gonna Win.” And the crux of his message made clear that the reason we were going to win was because of what Christ had already done, was doing, and would do in the future. It is Jesus Christ, returning to the earth with all his power, that will use His earth, atmosphere, and universe to forever destroy the antichrist, his false prophet, and his vast army. I believe the following Scriptures attest to that fact:
Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Zechariah 14:12 – And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL AND THE 7TH TRUMPET
With what you have just read in mind, please consider the following verses.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at THAT time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
The antichrist will sit in his command post on the Holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem and issue the command for his millions of troops to attack the remnant of Israel in the Negev. It is “at that time” that Michael stands up for Israel, and the last trump, the 7th trump of Revelation, sounds to announce the arrival of the 7 vials of God’s wrath. This is when the first resurrection, the rapture of the saved, occurs. Those “written in the book” are from “a book of remembrance” found in Malachi 3:16 to 4:3, with 3:16-18 telling the saved they will return to earth, and 4:1-3 advising them what shape the physical earth would be in at the time of their return.
Malachi 3:16-18 – Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. [17] And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. [18] Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. [1] For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [2] But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. [3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
When antichrist returns to Jerusalem, he will sit on the Temple Mount as Daniel’s abomination of desolation, and the sixth trumpet will blow to begin the second woe. The second woe will end with a great quake that drastically affects Jerusalem. It will cause a reverential fear to sweep across the Israeli remnant in the wilderness, and they will begin to turn to Christ and give glory to his name.
Revelation 11:13,14 – And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. [14] The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
The three woes are the blowing of the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets.
Revelation 11:14,15 – The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. [15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
After the rapture of the saved in Revelation 11:15 they are then judged for rewards in heaven in verse 18 while the seven vials of God’s wrath are being poured out on the earth.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
While all of the saved are being judged in heaven for rewards, Michael is standing up for the remnant in the Negev, and the vials are being poured out on the antichrist and his followers. I suspect this time of absolute terror will last more than one month, but less than two. Believers will not be on this earth when it occurs.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
When Michael stands up, the 7th trumpet sounds, and the saved are delivered up to heaven to be judged for rewards. While they are being judged in heaven, what is happening on the earth in Matthew 24:21,22 corresponds to what is described as the time of trouble that occurs after Michael stands up.
Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should NO FLESH be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
By God’s grace He has elected to bring a small Jewish nation through this brief period. It will consist of Israelis that shall come through this terrible time, still alive in the flesh, to begin to rule over the physical section of Christ’s kingdom during His reign of a thousand years.
Revelation’s Seventh Trumpet Associated Events – Part 6…
I have been asked to give a brief, compact version of the seventh trumpet rapture position, so here it is – For a more thorough dissertation consult Parts 1 to 5 in our previous BLOGS.
The Rapture Mystery is Finished at the 7th Trumpet!
I Corinthians 15:51 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
The 7th Trump is the Last in a Series of Seven!
I Corinthians 15:52 – In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
It is the Last Day in the Flesh for the Saved of this Age!
John 6:39 – And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
It is Their First Day in Glorified Bodies in a Heaven Kingdom!
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
The 7th Trump Sounds Before God’s Vials of Wrath Occur!
Revelation 16:1 – And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
The Saved Will Not Experience God’s Wrath!
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Saved in Heaven Are Judged for Rewards During the Vials!
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
After the Vials They Return to Earth With Christ!
Jude 14 – And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
And Reign With Him in Proportion to Degree of Rewards!
Revelation 1:5-7 – And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [6] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Revelation 2:25-29 – But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. [26] And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: [27] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. [28] And I will give him the morning star. [29] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Revelation 3:21,22 – To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. [22] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
ASSOCIATION OF THE WOES AND WRATH WITH THE RAPTURE
THREE WOES AND THE RAPTURE OCCURS AS THIRD BEGINS
I EXPECT TO BE HERE TO SUFFER WOE BUT NOT TO SUFFER WRATH
THE SAVED WILL SUFFER WOE BUT NOT GOD’S WRATH!
THREE TRIBULATION WOES THAT WILL BEGIN ON THE EARTH BEFORE THE SAVED LEAVE IT IN ADVANCE OF THE WRATH OF GOD ON THE LOST!
Revelation 9:1,2,12 – The First Woe – And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [2] And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. [12] One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Revelation 9:13-15 – The Second Woe Begins – And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, [14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. [15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay THE THIRD PART OF MEN.
Revelation 6:8 – Where Most Deaths Will Occur – And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto THEM over the FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH, to kill with SWORD, and with HUNGER, and with DEATH, and with the beasts of the earth. (“GES” IS TRANSLATED AS “EARTH,” AND IS NEVER ASSOCIATED WITH THE NUMBER OF THE POPULATION KILLED, BUT WITH THE SIZE OF THE PORTION OF THE EARTH WHERE THEY WERE KILLED)
I believe that most of the Tribulation Period deaths will occur in the Eastern Hemisphere to the north, south, west, and east of the Euphrates River zone.
Revelation 11:13,14 – The Second Woe Ends – And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. [14] The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Revelation 11:15 – The Third Woe Begins – And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
I Corinthians 15:51 – The Mystery is Described – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Revelation 10:7 –The Mystery is Finished – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
I Corinthians 15:52 + I Thessalonians 4:16 – [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
AND ALL OF THE SAVED, WHO LEFT THE EARTH ON THE 7TH TRUMPET, ARE BEING JUDGED IN HEAVEN WHILE THE WRATH OF GOD IS POURED OUT ON ALL UNBELIEVERS
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 11:18 + 16:1,2 – [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. [1] And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. [2] And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
THE BELIEVER’S FAITH WILL BE HEAVILY TESTED BY THE WOES. IT WILL MAKE ALL BELIEVERS MORE ANXIOUS FOR CHRIST’S COMING FOR US, AND VERY THANKFUL WE WILL NOT SUFFER HIS WRATH IN HELL OR DURING THE VIALS OF WRATH.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Groundwork for the Many Rapture Positions – Part 7…
When was the Groundwork Laid for them?
When I worked as a meteorologist in England for three years in the late fifties and sixties, I discovered it to be the land of many ancient writings. The Commentary by Theodore Beza, in the 1599 Geneva Study Bible, said the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 were the Messiah, Jesus Christ, rather than antichrist, which reflects the view of the preachers from the first books ever published, and this belief was the majority opinion up to 1900.
The basic groundwork for the many different rapture positions was spaded up by the attacks of the Protestant Reformers on doctrines of the massive Catholic Church. They were so disgusted with most of its teachings, that many proclaimed the Catholic Church itself to be the antichrist prophesied by Daniel and John the Apostle to come in the latter days. Many believed they were living in the latter days. When the Catholic Church met at the Council of Trent in the fifteen hundreds, the bulk of the discussions focused around how to restore credibility to its tarnished authority among the masses by losing its accused position of being the antichrist. One of the ways it lost its undesirable title was through the publication of a commentary on the book of Revelation in 1690 by a Jesuit priest named Francisco.
He is the father of what came to be known as the “futurism” approach to prophetic interpretation. He introduced the idea that the prophecies in the book of Daniel, and the book of Revelation, did not apply to the church, but were only focused on the final seven years of this age. He did not believe in a rapture at the beginning of the seven years, nor did he divide it into two periods of three and one half years. He said the Bible’s warning about the antichrist could not possibly apply to the Catholic Church, but only predicted the appearance of a very evil man who would govern during earth’s final years. John Darby is often identified as the first to teach the rapture doctrine, but Morgan Edwards was teaching it in 1742, some 58 years before John Darby was born into the world. But John Darby, who was an Irish lawyer and Anglican preacher, did develop the method of Biblical teaching in which he included the futuristic views of Ribera. He was perhaps the first to fully describe a rapture seven years before the Second Advent of Christ, in which Christ came in the air, viewed only by the saved he came to take out, and left the lost behind to be ruled by an evil antichrist for a period of seven years. John Darby is also the man who created many of the first diagrams now commonly associated with the seven-year pre-tribulation rapture position. But Morgan Edwards taught only 1260 days of tribulation remained, and that the rapture occurred when it began, 1260 days before Armageddon.
So, in reality, Edwards wasn’t a genuine “first of the weeker,” but what one would call a “mid-tribber” today. Clarence Larkin, a skilled master diagram artist of the World War I era, created the most elaborate series of diagrams and charts on the pre-tribulation rapture up to that time, and most of today’s branch off from his in one way or another.
As far as the first person to ever venture away from a rapture prior to the seven vials of wrath or the absolute end of the tribulation period, I have found no published printed material before Morgan Edwards in 1742 during my research, such that the context allowed me to be sure of it.
You will find more historical information on the rapture, and the view I hold, in Parts 1 to 6 in our Archive Blogs.
The 19th Century Revision of the Time of God’s Wrath
In the early part of the 1800’s, or perhaps even as early as 1742, the tribulation period began to be divided into two sections, each one 1260 days in length, for a total tribulation period of 2520 days. The first half was a time of peace, and the second half a time of trouble, so it was only natural that the last 1260 days came to be known as the “great tribulation.” This interpretation was justified using Matthew 24:21,22.
Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
I certainly agree there will be tribulation during the last 1260 days of the tribulation period, but the intensity time of it being “great” has been shortened, and it will not last for the full 1260 days, but will be confined to the pouring out of the vials of God’s wrath during the latter portion of it, perhaps during a period of some 45 days. I do not believe the archangel Michael stands up for Israel until the antichrist is setting on the temple mount in his palace (appeden – command post) claiming to be God just prior to Armageddon, and that is when the “great” part of the tribulation begins, after which Israel is delivered, every one found written in the book.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
So when does the “great” tribulation come on the earth in the tribulation period? In Revelation 6:12-17 God gives John a preview, an overview, of what will happen from the opening of the sixth seal to the pouring out of the contents of the seventh vial of his wrath. However, the true wrath of God does not begin until the pouring out of the first vial of wrath in Revelation 16:1.
THE PREVIEW OF HIS COMING WRATH!
Revelation 6:12-17 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. [15] And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; [16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: [17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Verses 12 to 14 are the judgments of God upon the earth from the six seal through the seven trumpets.
Verses 15 to 17 are the wrath of God poured out on the lost following the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS COMING WRATH!
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, AND THY WRATH IS COME, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
THE ARRIVAL OF HIS WRATH UPON THE LOST!
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Revelation 15:1,7 – And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. [7] And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Revelation 16:1,2,16,17 – And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. [2] And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Can We Actually Know the YEAR of Christ’s Coming? – Part 8…
Please Consider the Following!
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
When Jesus spoke to his first church during the Olivet Discourse, he made it clear that no one on earth, at that time, was able to know the season of the year, the month of the year, the day of the year, or the hour of the year he would be returning to establish his kingdom.
Matthew 24:36 – But of that DAY and HOUR knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 25:13 – Watch therefore, for ye know neither THE DAY nor THE HOUR wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13:32 – But of THAT DAY and THAT HOUR knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Acts 1:6,7 – When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore AGAIN the kingdom to Israel? [7] And he said unto them, It is not for you to know THE TIMES (phases of the moon that marked the months of the year in their calendar and the time of the feasts) or THE SEASONS (spring, summer, fall, and winter) which the Father hath put in his own power.
All of these Scriptures clearly state that we can never know the hour or day of Christ’s coming, the month of it, or the season of the year he would arrive. But the Greek word for year was “eniautos,” which simply means year, and this word was most assuredly well established, and commonly used by Jesus, at the time of the writing of the New Testament, but it was never used by Jesus when he referred to the time of his coming. It would have been madness for men to guess at the year of his coming until Israel came back into the land after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, and there is no way under heaven it can be positively known at present. It can only be guesstimated at best. But when Israel is attacked from the north, and only one third of its population survives to flee to a place of safety, the year of his coming will be more than speculation, I believe it can be known at that time to occur at some point in the last 1260 days that follow the attack, most likely in the final year of that period. If I am still alive when Israel is attacked from the north to begin the last 1260 days of the tribulation period, and I am still on this planet in a body of flesh and blood, then I will believe the rapture will occur during the last year of that period, but until that time anything I guesstimate as to the year of his coming is pure speculation.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (1260 days).
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But YE, brethren, are NOT in darkness, that THAT DAY should overtake you AS A THIEF.
God’s children are not to be completely unaware, shocked, or surprised when sudden destruction arrives to pre-herald the Lord’s coming. We are not children of darkness, we are children of light, but if we do not study prophecy or have no interest in it, we are unable to read the signs of his coming because we are not enlightened. Children of light will not experience the wrath of the seven vials of God’s wrath, but they will still be on this earth during the trumpets of his judgment.
I Thessalonians 5:4-9 – But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. [5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. [7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. [8] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. [9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Luke 21:34 – And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so THAT DAY come upon you unawares.
Revelation 3:1-4 – And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. [2] Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. [3] Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee AS A THIEF, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. [4] Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Daniel 7:13,14 –I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came WITH THE CLOUDS of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. [14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and A KINGDOM, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I shew you A MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST trump: for THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of THE VOICE of the SEVENTH angel, when he shall BEGIN to sound, THE MYSTERY of God SHOULD BE FINISHED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with THE VOICE of the archangel, and with THE TRUMP of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them IN THE CLOUDS, to meet the Lord IN THE AIR: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Revelation 11:15 – And THE SEVENTH ANGEL SOUNDED; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
THERE WILL BE A RAPTURE ON THE 7TH TRUMPET AND A RUPTURE ON THE 7TH VIAL!
THE 7TH RAPTURE AND THE 7TH VIAL RUPTURE
IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT CHAPTER 14 OF REVELATION IS A PARENTHETICAL CHAPTER. IT SHOWS BOTH THE RAPTURE AND THE RUPTURE.
THIS IS THE 7TH TRUMPET RAPTURE WHEN ONE LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN REAPS THE RIPE WHEAT SOULS FROM THE EARTH
Revelation 14:14-16 – And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. [15] And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. [16] And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Please note in Revelation 14:16 one like unto the Son of man “thrust his sickle ON (epi) the earth,” as one would grasp a handful of wheat at the top and draw his sickle in a horizontal stroke at the base of the wheat to reap it. The Greek word “epi” means ON or UPON – it means the sickle did not go into the earth but across it to reap the “saved” wheat.
But please note that in Revelation 14:19 the angel, which follows the Son of man’s reaping in verse 16, thrusts his sickle INTO (eis) the earth, as if to cut out the roots which nourish the grapes of wrath. The Greek word “eis” means the sickle made a penetration into the earth to end the life of the vine.
THIS IS THE 7TH VIAL RUPTURE WHEN THE ANGEL OF VENGENCE ENDS THE LIFE VINE OF THE LOST OF THE EARTH.
Rev. 14:17-20 – And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. [18] And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. [19] And the angel thrust in his sickle into (eis) the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
PLEASE CONSIDER ARCHIVE BIRTH PANG 16 FROM 2001
THE GREAT WINEPRESS OF GOD
September 28, 2001
Revelation 14:19,20 – And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
This particular angel thrusts his sickle INTO the earth. We are advised in verse 20 as to WHERE the sickle makes its earthly penetration; somewhere in Israel “outside the city,” which is the city of Jerusalem. The word used for winepress is “LENOS,” which means: “a trough dug in the earth, a ditch or canal, or anything shaped like a tub.” The winepresses with which John was familiar were rectangular in shape and made of, or dug out of, the rock of the earth. Blood-red wine was made from grapes. The ripe clusters were carried in baskets and thrown into the press. The winepress consisted of a shallow trough built above the ground, or excavated by chipping it out of limestone rocks in the earth. There were also village and household winepresses, but since the one to which John refers is one in a vineyard field, one made by chipping out a rectangular trough in limestone rock, I will limit my discourse to that type. One end of this type was made lower, such that the blood-red liquid from the grapes would flow into it, after being pressed out by the feet of humans in the shallow end. So both the upper and lower sections of the winepress presented a view of a blood-red trough in the crust of the earth.
John, in his vision, looks down upon the earth and, from this aerial view, recognized the city of Jerusalem, a city he had looked down upon many times from the Mount of Olives. He beheld “without” (outside) Jerusalem, to the east, the greatest winepress ever seen by human eyes. He saw a trough (lenos) in the earth 1600 furlongs (185 miles) in length. The opening of the earth caused by the angel’s sickle had caused blood (haima) to come up “out” (ek) of the winepress to a depth of about five feet (“unto the horse bridles”). The Greek word used for blood is haima, which can mean real blood, or any object taking on a blood red color, or any liquid that has a blood-red hue. The Hebrew word for blood is also used to describe a blood-red liquid rather than body blood, as we find stated in Genesis 49:11 – “Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:” The moon will not turn to real blood in the Tribulation Period, but it will take on a blood-red hue, as is described by the use of the word haima in Revelation 6:12 – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;” Before this Birth Pang is completed I will carefully pull together everything previously stated, and thereby put together a full exposition of Revelation 14:19,20. But for now I must take time to describe one of the most terrifying creations of God in the distant past: a flood-basalt plain.
In the distant past, six major rips in the crust of the earth have produced six great basaltic flood plains. These great cleavages of the earth’s crust occurred in zones along the dashed lines of Figure 3. They represent old magma extrusions associated with the initial stages of continental drift. Dr. W. Kenneth Hamblin, in his standard geological text, The Earth’s Dynamic Systems, states: “Where the rift system passes beneath a continent, the continental crust is split and great volumes of basalt are extruded and spread out over large areas of the continent. These great floods of lava fill the lowlands and depressions in the existing topography.” The rift system that passes beneath the continent from the Gulf of Aqabah northward through Israel is a prime candidate for the sudden creation of a raging flood basalt plain. The following quoted material, concerning flood basalt plains, was extracted from Volcano, volume 2 of A 1982 Time-Life series that examines the workings of the planet earth: “Flood basalts are generated atop the upper mantle. When tension opens fissures in the crust, the fluid magma spurts directly to the surface. The sheer volume of it dwarfs all other volcanic activity: a week long flow can release 360 cubic miles of lava, 10 times the volume of Mount Rainier. Extremely fluid magma suddenly spurts to the surface through a line of hundred of offset dikes, each one as much as 15 miles long and fifty feet wide. The lava from such individual fissures, about five cubic miles per day, is so hot and runny that it speeds down the slightest slope at speeds up to 10 miles an hour, creating a lava sheet as much as 100 miles wide. A standard textbook notes, “sooner or later they must recur.” This liquid rock can hit the surface at temperatures from 2300 to 2900 degrees Fahrenheit. This is double the temperature required to cremate a human body. At these temperatures, the flesh would disappear from the body before it hit the ground, were it directly exposed to the initial air heat flash surge near the crack through which the magna extruded. All that would remain would be a human skeleton. At the same time that the Mount of Olives cleaves in its midst, and all the land in Israel from Geba to Rimmon is lifted up, what follows will happen to the antichrist’s army in the Jordan River Valley, as indicated in Zechariah 14:3-12.
Zechariah 14:12 – And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
At some point in time, near the end of the Tribulation Period, the great rift valley of Israel will suddenly rip open from one end to the other. For a period of time after this ripping a vast flood basalt plain will be created along a 1600 furlough (185 mile) section of the valley. Looking down on it from heaven in his vision it looked like a north-south winepress. It was east of Jerusalem, along the Jordan River Valley, as a long rectangular trough in the crust of the earth filled with blood. Tremendous tectonic changes will completely restructure the entire valley from the Gulf of Aqabah to Lebanon. The fissures will close abruptly at the end of the Tribulation Period from the southern end of the Dead Sea to Lebanon. However, limited volcanic activity will continue south of the Dead Sea, in what once was Idumea, throughout Christ’s Millennial Reign from “generation to generation,” according to Isaiah.
Isaiah 34:8-10 – For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. [9] And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. [10] It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
Now, considering John’s description of the great winepress in Revelation 14:19,20, in light of one of God’s fantastic creations in the earth, let us compare God’s linguistics with God’s science. What John saw looked like a great lenos (trough or ditch or canal) about 185 miles long. I call your attention to Figure 24, Part A, which is an excerpt from a 1970 diagram by Dr. Fruend showing both sides of the Dead Sea Rift. The long dashed black lines that run north and south along both sides of the Dead Sea, from the Gulf of Aqabah through Israel, are great fissures in the crust of the earth. These fissures erratically weave down through the crust of the earth to eventually make contact with great undersea lakes of magma. Part A of Figure 24 gives a picture of these fissures as though you were looking down on them from a satellite, while Part B pictures the same fissures as though you were deep within the earth looking northward, and could see their downward progression into the earth. These fissures are where they should be to comply with the description by John. They are “without the city,” which is Jerusalem. And the word lenos does fit the characteristics of the Jordan River Valley, which is a great trough in the crust of the earth.
John saw haima come up out the lenos to cover an area some 185 miles long. John viewed a blood-red liquid (haima), which we call lava, spread across the great trough (lenos) to fill what we know as the Jordan River Valley. And the blood-red liquid filled the valley to a depth of about five feet (height of a horse bridle). Please note that, on Part A of Figure 24, a lone fissure veers off from the main trough, then extends northwest past the Tel of Armageddon, and finally goes on to Haifa, where it meets the Mediterranean Sea. If you measure northward from the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqabah to the point of departure by the fissure that extends to Haifa, you will discover it is 1600 furlongs, or 185 miles. I believe this 185 mile section of the Jordan River trough is the great winepress that John saw filled with a blood-red fluid as he looked down upon the earth in his vision.
Please observe Figure 25. God, for some time, has brought an unbelievable tonnage of hot flowing rock upward into the Red Sea Fault. As this liquid rock makes contact with the water- cooled Red Sea floor, it solidifies into new basaltic crust. This new crust is forcing two great plates, the Arabian and African, to move away from one another at a rapid geological rate. This particular segment is moving faster than others in the Middle East. Please note that, on Figure 25, while the Red Sea section of the fault is spreading rapidly, the great Rift Fault running up both sides of the Jordan Valley, is locked tighter than a drum. Long ago God pushed together these two great tectonic plates, which are separated only by the Jordan Rift Valley between them. God’s horizontal pressure fused both sides of the valley floor to these plates, like one would push together two pieces of clay. It is this horizontal pressure that locks the fissures in place and prevents magma from spurting to the surface on both sides of the valley. The locked section, (See Figure 26), is held together by a strong tensional force placed there by God. In the Red Sea section of the rift God is generating a force that is in direct opposition to His tensional force that locks the section through Israel. Tensional forces are building in the Gulf of Aqabah, and soon the southern opposing force will end a long struggle by ripping apart the northern section to form a flood basalt plain. It will be sudden, abrupt, and horrifying. God will suddenly create flood basalt plains 185 miles long that begin at the Gulf of Aqabah, and then extend up to the east end of the Valley of Jezreel. On both sides of the Jordan River Valley hot fountains of blood-red liquid, now confined by pressure below the fissures of Figure 27, will suddenly shoot hundreds of feet into the air. And a heat flash will blast toward the west to reach the foothills of the mountains of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and toward the east to smash against the bluffs of the mountains of Moab and Ammon. I believe Figure 28 is what John saw from the air in Revelation 14:19,20. When the angel, who has authority to say when fire is to be released on the earth, tells the angel that has the sickle to stick it into the earth, then as the sickle goes in, the vine of the of the earth (the antichrist’s army) will feel the wrath of God. God does not have to use the creations of man to fulfill his prophecies. As he did in the flood of Noah, he will destroy man “with the earth,” but this time it will be fire from the earth, rather than water on the earth.
The harvest of the wheat is one of withered wheat that should have already been harvested before the rapture. The Greek word translated ripe in Revelation 14:15 is “exeranthe”, which means “dried up,” or withered. These are the last gleanings of an unfaithful generation.
THE RAPTURE OF THE RIPE (Withered) GRAIN
Revelation 14:15 – And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
THE RUPTURE OF THE FULLY RIPE (Come to the full) GRAPES OF WRATH
Revelation 14:18 is the destruction of overripe grapes fitted for destruction on an ungodly vine. The grapes are not plucked off because they are unfit for eating. They are destroyed with the vine that produced them. The Greek word translated FULLY RIPE is “ekmasan,” which means “to come to the fullness.” This is the destruction of mankind which has come to the fullness of its iniquity. These are the lost like the Amorites of Genesis 15:16, who God waited more than 400 years to destroy because they had not reached “the fullness” of their iniquity. They are the ones of the last verse in Revelation 11:15,18.
Revelation 14:18 – And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are FULLY RIPE.
Genesis 15:15,16 – And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. [16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites IS NOT YET FULL.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; AND SHOULDEST DES-TROY THEM WHICH DESTROY THE EARTH.
For what it is worth, the word translated “DESTROY” in Revelation 11:18 just happens to be translated as those who have “CORRUPT MINDS” and are destitute of the truth in I Timothy 6:5. The last phrase in Revelation 11:18 may legitimately be translated as “them which CORRUPT the earth,” without violating the KJV translation.
I Timothy 6:5 – Perverse disputings of men of CORRUPT minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
THE RAPTURE AND SECOND ADVENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT – Part 10…
Isaiah 26:17-21 – Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. [18] We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. [19] Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. [20] Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. [21] For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Isaiah 26:17 – Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
Israel has, is, and shall experience Birth Pangs. She has experienced them ever since she became a nation by way of Jacob’s offspring in Egyptian bondage. She felt birth pangs under Roman bondage when Jesus came at his first Advent as her God-sent Messiah.
Isaiah 26:18 – We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Israel had the physical appearance of a woman with child, but all that came out of her was wind. She rejected her Messiah as an unloving mother would reject her own child. She was to bring forth deliverance to men, but she rejected the one sent to bring it. The inhabitants were to fall, to succumb, to her testimony of the living God, but Israel’s actions had wrought no deliverance in the earth. And even the great majority of Israelis failed to see the deliverance in Christ at his First Advent. Very few residents of Jerusalem recognized the baby Jesus as the one who would bring deliverance to Israel and the other inhabitants of the earth, the Gentiles.
Luke 2:25-38 – And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. [26] And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, [28] Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, [29] Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; [32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. [33] And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. [34] And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; [35] (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. [36] And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; [37] And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. [38] And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Soon he is coming again at the First Resurrection, the “catching out,” the “rapture” of the saved, which will occur on the sounding of the last trump in a series of seven, returning again later at his Second Advent when the last of God’s seven vials of wrath have been poured out on the earth.
Isaiah 26:19 – Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
This is a first resurrection, a rapture of the saved, because the body of Isaiah is to be among them. It is a song of rejoicing as the souls of the saved are reunited with their new glorified, sinless, resurrected bodies. Bodies arise from the dust, to which they returned at physical death, as spiritually glorified bodies for union with their saved souls. Like crystal clear, pure condensation drops of dew on herbs suddenly appear on herbs at sunrise, as if from nowhere, so will the new resurrected bodies also appear when they are cast out of the earth by the power of God.
Isaiah 26:20 – Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
“My people” refers to Isaiah and the nation of Israel, who are advised to hide in a suitable place to protect themselves from both enemies and the terrible shaking to come on the earth.
The “little moment” refers to either the last 1260 days of the Tribulation Period or the time when the seven vials of wrath are poured out on the earth during the latter portion of the 1260 days. The final battle of Armageddon will terminate on the last day of the 1260 years, at which time “the indignation” will be past.
Isaiah 26:21 – For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
This is Christ coming out of his heavenly seat as high priest to pass judgment on the earth’s unsaved inhabitants, during the later portion of the Tribulation Period, for their great iniquities. The “slain” in verse 21 are the “saved” dead, who the earth cast out in verse 19 before God’s wrath began in the pouring out of his seven vials. The earth no longer covers them when the seven vials of wrath are poured out. All the saved, both living and dead, are caught up on the sounding of the seventh trump, and are not here when God’s wrath occurs, but are being judged in heaven for rewards or the lack of them.
The earth’s blood (her blood) is not human blood it is the blood of the earth herself. There is no “haima” or “dam” liquid human blood left in the earth. The Greek word used for blood is “haima,” which can mean real blood, or any object taking on a blood red color, or any liquid that has a blood-red hue. The Hebrew word for blood is “dam,” which is also used to describe any blood-red liquid rather than only body blood, as we find stated in Genesis 49:11 – “Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:” The moon will not turn to real blood in the Tribulation Period, but it will take on a blood-red hue, as is described by the use of the word haima in Revelation 6:12 – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;” (See the BLOG we issued at noon on January 7, 2009 for more information on the usages of “haima” and “dam,” as well as the Tectonic Chaos Series in our Prophecy Update Archives).
Revelation 11:15 is the “casting out” of the dead in the earth to be “caught up” to heaven (Isaiah 26:19). For the first time in history, all of the “saved” are in heaven to be judged, such that the spiritual kingdoms of the earth have become the spiritual kingdoms of the Lord.
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 11:18 is the judgment of all those “saved” caught up in Isaiah 26:19, whose bodies are no longer covered on earth, since they are being judged in heaven while the blood red liquid lava pours out as the blood of the earth, along tectonic plate boundaries covering thousands of miles on the earth’s surface.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Isaiah 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Acts 2:19 – And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
A Line by Line Exposition of Ezekiel 38 – Part 1…
OUTLINE OF GENERAL EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CORRELATION OF EZEKIEL 38 AND 39 WITH DANIEL 12 AND REVELATION 12.
Ezekiel Chapter 38 deals with the initial attack of Gog the Antichrist against Israel at about the same time the earthquake of Revelation 6:12 occurs in the Jordan River Valley of Israel. When the attack occurs some three and one-half years remain until the battle of Armageddon ends the Tribulation Period.
Revelation 12:6 represents the period of three and one half years between Chapters 38 and 39 in Ezekiel, when Gog drives Israel into the Negev Wilderness, and leaves her there for some three and one-half years, by-passing the Negev and driving across the northern Sinai to conquer Cairo and all Egypt. Gog remains there and establishes a vast Islamic Caliphate from Morocco to New Guinea.
Daniel 12:40-43 represents the initial attack against Israel just described and Gog’s three and one-half year Caliphate reign from Cairo. Daniel 12:44,45 represents his return to Jerusalem to call all the old world nations to come and assist him in finally destroying the Jews. The land of Magog (Russia) comes down to join him and the 39th Chapter of Ezekiel begins with attack against Israel at Armageddon and ends with fire coming down on Magog (Russians) as described in Ezekiel 39:6 and also in Revelation 16:16-21.
Ezekiel Chapter 39 deals with the final attack of Gog against Israel in the Negev Wilderness after he drove her there some three and one-half years before. This is the time when he asks the people of the land of Magog (Russia) to come down and help him utterly destroy Israel at Armageddon. The Chapter then continues on into the Millennial Reign events following Armageddon, beginning with the burial of the millions of the bones of Gog’s army scattered across Israel, amounting to 5/6 of his great army.
Ezekiel 38:1,2 – And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
Gog (high extension) appears for the first time in Ezekiel. He is the Antichrist of who so much has been written. Please note that he is identified as the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Many commentators, especially in the last 100 years, have not identified him as the Antichrist, but have identified him as the ruler or chief prince of the land of Magog, which I do not believe Scripture justifies. Before the 20th Century, most identified him as the Antichrist.
In verse 2 Ezekiel is told to set his face against two separate things, a person and a place. The person is Gog (Antichrist), and the place is the land of the descendants of Magog where it existed in Ezekiel’s day. If we do not locate the territories of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal as they existed in Ezekiel’s day, then we can have no idea as to where the Antichrist will soon rear his head, or the area from which his attack will be launched. More than 2500 years have slipped by since Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, and the bloodlines of all three men been distributed across the entire planet. In order to correctly identify the area, from whence the Antichrist will attack Israel, we must identify where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were residing in 500 and 600 B.C. Why? Because the Antichrist is not the chief prince of Magog, he is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. He will come from the area where their descendants were settled in 500 and 600 B.C.
I will attempt to use two different sources to locate where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were clustered at the time of Ezekiel’s writings. The first is found in the 27th chapter of Ezekiel, and the second is from the Assyrian monument stones of that period. Ezekiel 27:3 – “And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.” Tyrus (Tyre) was a seaport on the southern coast of what we know today as Lebanon, which is directly north of Israel. Tyrus built its first great sea wall to protect its harbored ships more than 3000 years ago, and was a thriving seaport in Ezekiel’s day. Its ships carried merchandise from the countries of the east across all the Mediterranean, and even as far north as the shores of the English Channel. Zidon (Sidon) was also a sea port, and less than 20 miles separated the two cities. The wise men of Tyrus were the navigators of the ships, and the men of Zidon were the deck hands, as portrayed in Ezekiel 27:8 – “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.” Now, bearing all this in mind, let us look at Ezekiel 27:13 – “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” Meshech and Tubal were warlike tribes, who often took their captives (persons of men) and the vessels of brass they had captured, or hammered out themselves, and carried them to the NEAREST seaport for trading. The captives were, of course, loaded on the ships and sold as slaves in foreign ports of trade. Why the NEAREST seaport? Because, in Ezekiel’s day, travel was by foot, donkey, camel, and horse. People always carried their trading goods to the nearest port, particularly slaves. Therefore, I conclude that Meshech and Tubal must have roamed in the area we know today as Syria, Lebanon, northwestern Iraq, and southern Turkey. Meshech and Tubal are the Mushki and Tabali of the Assyrian stone monuments. In the time of Sargon and Sennacherib (700 B.C.) the territory of Tubal adjoined southern Cilicia, while that of Meshech filled the highlands to the east of Tubal. Considering the locations derived from the Bible and stone tablets, it appears that the Antichrist, as the chief prince of the area once occupied by Meshech and Tubal, is likely to arise, and eventually to attack Israel, from Syria or Lebanon. And, since Lebanon is virtually controlled by Syria, it appears Syria is the best guess for his homeland.
Part 2…
Ezekiel Chapter 38 deals with the initial attack of Gog the Antichrist against Israel at about the same time the earthquake of Revelation 6:12 occurs in the Jordan River Valley of Israel. When the attack occurs some three and one-half years remain until the battle of Armageddon ends the Tribulation Period.
Revelation 12:6 represents the period of three and one half years between Chapters 38 and 39 in Ezekiel, when Gog drives Israel into the Negev Wilderness, and leaves her there for some three and one-half years, by-passing the Negev and driving across the northern Sinai to conquer Cairo and all Egypt. Gog remains there and establishes a vast Islamic Caliphate from Morocco to New Guinea.
Daniel 12:40-43 represents the initial attack against Israel just described and Gog’s three and one-half year Caliphate reign from Cairo. Daniel 12:44,45 represents his return to Jerusalem to call all the old world nations to come and assist him in finally destroying the Jews. The land of Magog (Russia) comes down to join him and the 39th Chapter of Ezekiel begins with attack against Israel at Armageddon and ends with fire coming down on Magog (Russians) as described in Ezekiel 39:6 and also in Revelation 16:16-21.
Ezekiel Chapter 39 deals with the final attack of Gog against Israel in the Negev Wilderness after he drove her there some three and one-half years before. This is the time when he asks the people of the land of Magog (Russia) to come down and help him utterly destroy Israel at Armageddon. The Chapter then continues on into the Millennial Reign events following Armageddon, beginning with the burial of the millions of the bones of Gog’s army scattered across Israel, amounting to 5/6 of his great army.
Ezekiel 38:1-3 – And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Please note that in verse 3, that “the land of Magog” is omitted. It is not mentioned again until verse six in chapter 39, when we are told God sends a fire down on the troops from the land of Magog at Armageddon. I do not believe the land of Magog and his descendants will be involved in the events of Chapter 38, but will be coming down some three and one-half years to join the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in his final battle with the Jews at Armageddon. The descendants of Magog are not mentioned in Chapter 38.
Ezekiel 39:6 – And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
In Part 1, we established, from the Scriptures and the Assyrian stone monuments, that the descendants of Meshech and Tubal at the time Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, were primarily located in what we know as Syria and Lebanon. We also established that the prophecy is against a person, Gog (Antichrist), and against a land, the land of Magog. I am convinced that the Antichrist will attack Israel from Syria. What about the “land of Magog?” Where were the Magogites located at the time of Ezekiel’s writings?
Noted Jewish historian Flavius Josephus makes the following statements concerning the Magogites in Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter VI, under the title, HOW EVERY NATION WAS DENOMINATED FROM THEIR FIRST INHABITANTS: “Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons.” “They called the nations by their own names.” “Magog founded those that from him were called Magogites, but who by the Greeks were called Scythians.” The Greek writers of the Classic Age said the Scythians occupied the area which today we identify as stretching from Moldova eastward across the Ukraine, southern Russia, and into Kazakhstan, then southward into Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan – Roughly the area north of the Black Sea, between the Black and Caspian Seas, and the area northwest, north, and northeast of the Caspian Sea. I do not believe the nations in this area will join in the initial attack against Israel, but I am certain they will come down for the final battle of Gog’s war, which is the Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon, found in Revelation 16:16, is the final battle in Gog’s war, which began 3 and ½ years earlier.
Verse 3 fails to include the “land of Magog,” and is a message directly pointed, and personally addressed, against the Antichrist Gog, who once again is identified as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Popular writers in the last century brought a teaching into play that is simply not true. They said the word “chief” was “rosh” in the Hebrew language, which is true. But they said it meant “Russian,” which is not true. The Russian and Hebrew language have never overlapped in history to support such a claim. He is not a Russian prince. He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, most likely having a Syrian father. The word “rosh,” in the KJV, is translated as “chief” 90 times, as “head” 349 times, as “top” 75 times, as “beginning” 14 times, as “company” 12 times, as “captain” 10 times, as “sum” 9 times, as “first” 6 times, as “principle” 5 times, as “chief man” 4 times, and as “ruler” on two occasions. At no time, in all of history, could it legitimately be identified as someone who is a Russian.
I am convinced this chief prince of Meshech and Tubal will come on the scene from northwestern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, or southern Turkey, but I will be very much surprised if his father is not a Syrian. He will be the leader of a multilateral Arab force that will carry out a surprise attack against Israel from the north. I believe this is spoken of in Revelation 17:12,13 – “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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”
Parts 1 and 2 have involved a line-by-line exposition from Ezekiel 38:1 through 38:3. I have established a case to show that the Antichrist is most likely to arise in Syria, but could arise in a country bordering on Syria.
Although he will have the support of ten Arab nations, I believe the nations directly involved in the initial attack will be Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran from without, and the Palestinians from within. I believe the other nations, which will then immediately become involved in the Jihad, are most likely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.
Ezekiel 38:4 – And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.”
This portrays a man overtaking a fleeing beast, putting hooks into its jaws, then turning and pulling it back along a path the man desires to lead it. The Antichrist will have no choice in this matter. God will create political and economic circumstances whereby he must come down at exactly the appointed time. I protest the efforts of some commentators to take the weapons of Ezekiel’s day, and attempt to carry them into our day and time. Suppose God had inspired Ezekiel to write 1020 Russian tanks, 923 MIG JETS, 3283 katyusha launchers, 50,000 katyusha rockets, 723 SAM shoulder held anti-aircraft launchers, 4673 mounted SAM’s, 2073 flamethrowers, and 7,218 shoulder held anti-tank missiles. The readers of Ezekiel’s day would surely have laughed him to scorn. I am persuaded that God meant for our final generation to picture a great, mighty, army, fully armed to the teeth with all the known modern weapons of warfare.
Ezekiel 38:5 – Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Verse 5 names three of the peoples from which the Antichrist will draw his initial attacking horde: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:” Persia was basically the peoples east of the Euphrates, which today would be Iran and Iraq. Libya corresponds with the location of modern day Libya. And Ethiopia in Ezekiel’s day was made up mostly of what we call Sudan today. Once again the point is made that they will be fully armed for all out war. I do not believe this attack will occur prior to 2003, but I am of the OPINION it will occur before 2015, with the most likely time being 2010 to 2015. Again, I emphasize, this is an OPINION based on the events in Israel since 1967, and it may be totally incorrect. The Scriptures clearly teach it will occur, and my GUESS is that it will be before 2015.
Ezekiel 38:6 – Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Verse 6 continues to name the peoples of Ezekiel’s day from which he will draw his support, and by knowing where they lived at that time, we can at least attempt to identify those nations that occupy these areas today: “Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.” Quite frankly, I have searched, and researched, the writings of many historians, both ancient and modern, and, in the end, knowing that honesty is the best policy, I can only say that there is a wide diversity of opinion. Up to this point, as regards the locations of Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Libya, and Ethiopia, I have presented a case from both the Scriptures and historical records, which I believe is substantial. But in the case of Gomer, and the house of Togarmah, as to where they were settled in Ezekiel’s day, I can only give a rough approximation. The house of Togarmah and the descendants of Gomer were sandwiched between the Magogites (Scythians) to the north, and Meshach, Tubal, and Persia to the south. They stretched from west to east across modern day Turkey into the area south of the Caucasus Mountains, and through extreme northern Iraq and Iran.
It can be stated with great certainty, that when the book of Ezekiel was written, the descendents of those listed in verses five and six occupied what we call the Middle East today. They occupied the same area from which the toes and horns of Daniel 2 and 7 are prophesied to come, because the ten horns and ten toes are the same people. Both Daniel and Ezekiel were in Babylonian captivity when they wrote.
We concluded Part 3 with an exposition of Ezekiel 38:6, which had been continuous from Ezekiel 38:1. We will now continue our exposition, beginning with 38:7.
Ezekiel 38:7 – Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
This is a statement God makes as an ironical gesture to Gog the Antichrist. He is saying “be thou a guard to them,” ironically, “IF you can.”
This is a specific warning to Satan and his antichrist to get set, to be ready, and to be prepared to protect his armies as a guard or big brother. This is the showdown between God and Satan at the end of the age of the Gentiles, and God is literally saying, “This is it! You had better be ready.”
Ezekiel 38:8 – After many days thou shalt be visited: in THE LATTER YEARS thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
The “after many days” have piled up to some twenty-six hundred years since Ezekiel wrote these words. “Thou” refers to Gog, the anti-Christ. “Be visited,” means to muster, or to be called to arms. The rest of the verse identifies the general time, the place of the battle, and the people he will attack. The time (latter years) represents the closing years of the age of the Gentiles. The land is the restored nation of Israel that has been “brought back from the sword” (that has been restored from war). “And is gathered out of many people” refers to the residents of the land that is “brought back from the sword,” which have been gathered out of many nations across the face of the earth. “Against the mountains of Israel, which have always been waste” gives a topographical description of the land of Israel into which the anti-Christ will plunge southward. “Which has always been waste” refers to the hundreds of years between A.D. 135 and 1948 that the land of Israel was, compared to her former years of productivity, virtually a barren wasteland. “But is brought forth out of the nations” is exactly how the present nation of Israel was formed – by Jews brought forth from virtually every Gentile nation on this planet. Thus far, I am confident that all this has already been fulfilled. However, the last expression in verse eight has yet to be fulfilled, but I am convinced it is very likely to occur before 2005. The last phrase in verse eight, “And they shall dwell safely all of them,” has not happened since the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Israel has not had a single year since she became a nation in 1948, during which she has not had the constant possibility of war or the conscious awareness of a terrorist act at any given moment. They have most assuredly not dwelled “safely all of them.” In many of my previous Blogs, which you may scan back trough in our Blog Archives, I have detailed what I believe will cause peace to finally come to the Mid-East, in spite of what is currently going on in the region. But it will be a false peace, and of short duration. It will abruptly end with the forces of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey Iraq, and Iran pulling off a surprise blitzkrieg attack from the north. Palestinians will attack Israel from within at the same time and Israel will be forced to withdraw into the Negev. There will be five other Islamic nations involved in the peace of deceit, but the five aforementioned nations, Hamas, the PA, and Hizbullah will provide the bulk of the force.
We concluded Part 4 with an exposition of Ezekiel 38:8, which had been continuous from Ezekiel 37:1. We will now continue our exposition, beginning with 38:9.
Ezekiel 38:9 – Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
This describes the suddenness of the blitzkrieg attack of Gog the antichrist against Israel from the north. It compares the attack with the rapid development of a cumulonimbus cloud when it first comes quickly toward the observer as a rumbling thunderstorm, and then rapidly covers the land where he or she stands from horizon to horizon. This will be the manner the bands and many people supporting Gog will abruptly spread southward across Israel.
Ezekiel 38:10-12 – Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, [12] To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
Take a look back at previous Part 4 in our Blogs, and the exposition of the last phrase in Ezekiel 38:8, which is: “And they shall dwell safely all of them.” This phrase is directly tied to the “evil thought” that comes into the mind of the antichrist concerning the purpose of the false peace he has led them into by deceit. Verse 11, in the terminology of the people of Ezekiel’s day, painted a picture of people at peace with the other peoples around them. Believe it or not, in spite of what is currently going on around, and in, Israel, I believe that before 2015 you will see Israel lulled into a false sense of security by agreements with the Palestinians, Lebanon, and Syria. The arrangements, whether by voluntary free will choice, or by force, or by a little of both, will cause Israel to have truce security with all the nations that touch her borders, and terrorists that exist within her. But they will be agreements of deceit by Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinians. The Islamic leaders, and the leaders of the terrorist groups they support, are now becoming aware they can never defeat Israel by their present tactics, and that what is going on now, and what has been going on since 1948, can never accomplish their objective of driving Israel out of the choice northern part of her domain. In order for Israel to believe they have what every leader of Israel since 1967 has said they must have, that is, A TRUCE WITH SECURITY, TRUCE WITH SAFETY, the terrorist groups must temporarily cease their activities for a reasonable period of time, so that a well coordinated plan of blitzkrieg attack can be formulated between Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and the terrorist groups behind closed doors.
Verse eleven describes Gog’s evil plan to attack a nation he has deceived with a false truce agreement. Verse 12 tells us he will break or betray the agreement (“turn thine hand”), and that he will take the spoils of war from the nation of Israel. The “spoils” are identified in terms the readers of Ezekiel’s day would understand (“cattle and goods”), but to us they are to mean all the national wealth and high tech resources of modern Israel. I firmly believe that in spite of what appears to be a state of never ending conflict between Israel and the other descendants of Abraham in and around her, soon a false truce will come to exist between them. And it will be followed by an attack against Israel, a nation in unbelief, as a sudden blitzkrieg from the north.
Israel does not live inside the long security wall they have built, the Palestinians do. Think of the significance of this! This security wall, hundreds of miles in length, is a wall around two gigantic enclosing all the Fatah villages in central Israel, and all the Hamas villages in southwestern Israel, while the Israelis live outside the wall, having no walls surrounding their individual towns.
So the Israelis live without the wall, making all their villages to meet the Scripture requirement of being “unwalled” villages.
When Israel is driven into the Negev, God will finally get her attention drawn to her true Messiah.
Romans 11:25,32 – For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [32] For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
Lord willing, I will continue the exposition of Ezekiel 38 in Part 6
Part 6…
We concluded Part 5 with an exposition of Ezekiel 38:12, which has been done continuously from Ezekiel 38:1. We will now continue this exposition, beginning with Ezekiel 38:13
Ezekiel 38:13 – Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Verse 13 mentions three other descendants which were not mentioned previously as being among the horde that attacked Israel, namely, Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish. Sheba and Dedan settled in the land we know as Saudi Arabia, later colonizing across the Red Sea in the horn we know today as Ethiopia.
Tarshish is much harder to nail down to a specific location. The descendants of Tarshish were sea merchants who became the peoples of the Mediterranean Sea coast. The headquarters of the descendants of Tarshish is now generally accepted by most biblical authorities as a district in the south of Spain where the city of Tartessus once existed. The merchants of Tarshish scattered their descendants in village settlements along most of the coastal sections of Europe. I am persuaded that Europe represents the descendant offspring of Tarshish. It is quite possible that God may look upon the rest of Western Civilization as being the offspring (descendants) of Europe (“the young lions thereof”).
The countries of the New World became the “melting pot” of Europe. It is very interesting what Saudi Arabia, Europe, and the rest of Western Civilization have to say to Gog about his attack on Israel: “Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” This is no more or less than the perfect description of a diplomatic protest to Gog’s actions.
When the anti-Christ and his armies roar south into Israel in a blitzkrieg lightning strike, the rest of the free world will protest, protest, protest – and do nothing about it. The anti-Christ will take Jerusalem within a week of his initial strike in the north, and within three weeks most of Israel will have fled into the Negev south of Beersheva, where she will remain for some three and one-half years. Jerusalem will fall and only one-third of Israel’s population will make it safely into the Negev. A truce will be declared, and it will hold from almost three and one-half years,
Zechariah 13:8 to 14:2 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Lord willing, we will continue expositing in Part 7on the remaining verses in the 38th Chapter of Ezekiel
Part 7…
We concluded Prophecy Update Number 6 expositing on Ezekiel 38:13, which we have done continuously from Ezekiel 38:1 for some time. We will continue this exposition, beginning with Ezekiel 38:14.
Ezekiel 38:14 – Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
The question of verse 14 is directed personally by God to Gog . It is a question to which both know the answer, as attested by “shalt thou not know it?” Gog will be well aware of it, because he will have made the truce agreement allowing Israel to dwell in safety. And this will be one of the reasons the antiChrist’s blitzkrieg attack will be so successful. It will catch Israel by surprise.
Ezekiel 38:15 – And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Verse 15 reveals some very important new information when it states: “And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts.” When Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, the expression “the north parts,” to those who read it in those days, meant the area we call Syria and Lebanon today. I am certain that the Antichrist will arise to power as the head of some country which satisfies the requirements of being from “the north parts” as they were identified in Ezekiel’s day. Antichrist may arise in southern Turkey or northwestern Iraq, but in Ezekiel’s day “the north parts” encompassed the area occupied by Lebanon and Syria today. His army will be composed of troops from ten Arab nations. The initial attack will be conducted primarily by Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, but others will participate in various ways. When the Scripture says: “all of them riding upon horses,” it is picturing to the readers of Ezekiel’s day what would be a “fully equipped” army. His army will be equipped with all of today’s modern weapons to meet this requirement.
Ezekiel 38:16 – And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
We are advised that the character of the attack will be like a lightning blitzkrieg strike. His armies shall move south across the land like a fast moving thunderstorm cloud races across an area, leaving havoc in its wake. It is to occur in “the latter days” of this Gentile age. We are advised that God, not Gog, will determine when the attack occurs. When the conflict is finished God will be set-apart (sanctified) in the eyes of all nations as having used Gog for the setting apart of Israel in the Negev to await God’s deliverance some 1260 days later. God is in charge! He will determine the time of the attack by putting it in the minds of the attackers. These 10 Arab nations will surrender their power to Gog, but after Israel has suffered in the Negev for some 3 and ½ years, Christ will then return with the saints to end the Battle of Armageddon, and God will the sanctified (set-apart) in Christ as the all powerful King of kings.
Revelation 17:12-14 – 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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
It will be highly advisable to watch the efforts of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon to reconcile their political and military differences during the coming months. They, along with the terrorist groups, after continuing attacks by the terrorist groups they control, will come to realize that in order to come up with a plan to meet their common objective, the end of the Jewish State, they must fully cooperate and coordinate with one another. They all want to get Israel out of the land from Dan to Beersheba. The continuation of terrorist attacks, no matter how numerous or violent they become, will never accomplish their objective. If they will stop the terrorist attacks, and settle for whatever they can get in concessions for the Golan Heights and the West Bank, Israel can be led into a false sense of security after a few years of what seems to be a genuine truce. Then and only then, can Israel be driven into the Negev by a blitzkrieg attack from “the north parts.”
There can never be a true and lasting peace in the Land of the Bible until Jesus returns to reign on this planet. However, out of this ungodly act of infamy by Gog, there will eventually come a brief period of calm, and many will believe it will be genuine and lasting. But the terrorist groups will only hold off their activities for a short period of time, and they will do this only as a ruse to lead Israel, and the rest of the free world, into a false sense of security. But this brief period of calm will be broken by a blitzkrieg attack from the north of Israel.
Lord willing, we will continue our exposition of the 38th Chapter of Ezekiel in Part 8.
Part 8…
Ezekiel 38:17,18 – Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? [18] And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
God makes it plain that Gog is a man he has warned Israel and the world about by Israel’s prophets since Genesis. Since Ezekiel indicates he is the chief prince of the descendents making up the tribes of Meshech and Tubal at the time Ezekiel wrote, it may may be one of his parents descended from Meshech and the other from Tubal. But I admit that is speculation on my part.
Genesis 10:1,2 – Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. [2] The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Verse 18 proclaims that God is about to cut loose on an unbelieving world His fury. God’s creation is about to be shaken from one end to the other by geological upheavals associated with God using his own creation, the earth to fulfill his own prophecies by the fury of his own power. His fury will begin with the earthquake in Revelation 6:12, which will trigger a tectonic beginning of earthquake demonstrating his fury across the earth in repeating chains for some three and one-half years. Verses 19 to the end of Ezekiel 38 describe the chains of quakes and volcanic eruptions during this period. The last, and greatest earthquake since God made man ends the 1260 days of great tribulation, closes the Tribulation Period and the Age of the Gentiles at the final battle of Armageddon. This last great earthquake also occurs in the same Jordan River Valley where the Revelation 6:12 earthquake occurred to begin the 1260 day period of tectonic chaos. This last earthquake is in Revelation 16: 16-21. The results of this earthquake are described in Ezekiel 39.
Ezekiel 38:19 – For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Verse 19 gives a general statement of what will happen in Israel. It will be the greatest shaking the Israelites have ever experienced. The Arabah Fault will shake from Lebanon to the Gulf of Arabah.
Ezekiel 38:20 – So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Verse 20 lets us know that the great shaking will not be limited just to Israel with its local Arabah Fault line – it will occur on a worldwide basis along all the thousands of interconnecting fault lines, both on land and on the sea floor.
Ezekiel 38:21 – And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
Verse 21 describes the effect that the great worldwide upheaval will have on mankind – in a word, total mass confusion as to foe or friend, amidst fantastic casualty rates.
Ezekiel 38:22 – And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Verse 22 paints a picture of the destruction that God will reign down upon Gog and his Islamic army. It describes the fantastic array of pyroclastic associated materials, which will shower down on the antichrist’s army out of the volcanic activity unleashed.
Ezekiel 38:23 – Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Verse 23 confirms that God has a purpose in all this geological upheaval and destruction – it should leave no doubt as to who is God and who is antichrist.
Part 9…
Ezekiel Chapter 38 deals with the initial attack of Gog the Antichrist against Israel at about the same time the earthquake of Revelation 6:12 occurs in the Jordan River Valley of Israel. When the attack occurs some three and one-half years remain until the battle of Armageddon ends the Tribulation Period.
Revelation 12:6 represents the period of three and one half years between Chapters 38 and 39 in Ezekiel, when Gog drives Israel into the Negev Wilderness, and leaves her there for some three and one-half years, by-passing the Negev and driving across the northern Sinai to conquer Cairo and all Egypt. Gog remains there and establishes a vast Islamic Caliphate from Morocco to New Guinea.
Daniel 12:40-43 represents the initial attack against Israel just described and Gog’s three and one-half year Caliphate reign from Cairo. Daniel 12:44,45 represents his return to Jerusalem to call all the old world nations to come and assist him in finally destroying the Jews. The land of Magog (Russia) comes down to join him and the 39th Chapter of Ezekiel begins with attack against Israel at Armageddon and ends with fire coming down on Magog (Russians) as described in Ezekiel 39:6 and also in Revelation 16:16-21.
Ezekiel Chapter 39 deals with the final attack of Gog against Israel in the Negev Wilderness after he drove her there some three and one-half years before. This is the time when he asks the people of the land of Magog (Russia) to come down and help him utterly destroy Israel at Armageddon. The Chapter then continues on into the Millennial Reign events following Armageddon, beginning with the burial of the millions of the bones of Gog’s army scattered across Israel, amounting to 5/6 of his great army.
In Part 8 we continued our exposition of Ezekiel 38:1 that began some time ago, finishing with the last verse in chapter 38. This exposition will continue in chapter 39.
Ezekiel 39:1 – Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
In Parts 1 through 8 the 600 B.C. location where Meshech and Tubal’s descendants were settled was thoroughly covered, and a case was made to prove that Gog is most likely to come out of Syria. The location of Magog’s descendants was also outlined in these Prophecy Updates. Once again, we are advised that Gog is the enemy of God.
Gog has ruled as Antichrist in Cairo for more than three years following the war described in Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 11:40-44. He returns to Jerusalem to issue a call to all the nations of the Old World, including the land of Magog (Russia), to come and help him finally end the “Jewish Problem” in the Negev Wilderness forever, once and for all. They come down, but none can help Gog or the nations of the Old World, because God is about to cut loose on them with the greatest earthquake which has occurred since God placed man on the earth. It will destroy five-sixths of God’s army in the Jordan River Valley and upon the mountains of Israel from Dan to Beersheba.
Ezekiel 39:2 – And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
In the time frame this book was written, the expression “the north parts,” was taken to mean what we identify today as Syria and Lebanon. It is important to understand that God will do this without the help of man. He says: I will turn, I will cause, and I will bring. What he is about to unleash is the greatest geological upheaval Israel has known up to that time. It will destroy 5/6 of Gog’s mighty horde (See Birth Pangs 15 and 16 with their associated diagrams).
Daniel 11:44 to 12:1 – But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. [45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Ezekiel 39:6 –And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Revelation 14:19,20 – And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Zechariah 14:12-14 – And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. [13] And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. [14] And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Ezekiel 39:3 – And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
This verse paints a picture of men abandoning their weapons in horrifying fear. The earthquakes and volcanic holocaust will so frighten the men of war that all thought of combat will be erased from their minds. They will drop their weapons as they flee for their lives.
Ezekiel 39:4 – Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
There won’t be any flesh left to pick on those soldiers of God caught in the Jordan Valley from the Gulf of Aqabah to the entrance of the Jezreel Valley (See Birth Pangs 15 and 16 with their associated diagrams). But there will be gobs of flesh on the bones found in interior hills of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.
Ezekiel 39:5 – Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Verse 5 reaffirms the principle of “I will” in verses 2 and 3. It confirms there is no way all this can be changed. Why? “For I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. We have short-changed the power of God ever since man began to develop weapons of massive destruction. I assure you that, by the end of the terror of the Tribulation Period, we will have seen how puny what we have developed is in comparison to God’s mighty arsenal.
Part 10…
This is the last Part of the Line by Line Exposition from Ezekiel 38:1 to 39:16
Ezekiel 39:7 marks the end of the battle of Armageddon and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. A massive cleanup of millions of human remains begins across Israel during the early stage of Christ’s reign beginning in verse 9.
Ezekiel 39:7 – So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
Now, let’s take a look at the aftermath of this attack after God has destroyed Gog’s army by the greatest geological holocaust that has ever occurred in the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:8-16 – Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. [9] And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: [10] So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. [11] And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. [12] And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. [13] Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. [14] And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. [15] And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. [16] And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Verse 8 informs us that the day of the Lord is done. The events daily appearing in the Middle East are presently leading us to that great day of the Lord. Finally, it will be over – God’s wrath will have passed – and a remnant of Jews still in physical flesh will dig themselves out of the ashes of the Great Tribulation Period. They will begin to build a new millennial world with their Messiah, Jesus Christ, as their King.
Verse 9 pictures these Jews gathering the war weapons of Armageddon and smelting them with fire into weapons of agriculture and commerce. It will be seven years before the metals have all been recycled into materials to be used by a nation in peaceful pursuits.
Verse 10 advises us that wood will not be used to provide the fire necessary for smelting the metal in the weapons of war. They will take the oil of the Arab nations that spoiled them in the Tribulation Period. They will use their oil to produce the fire that fires the metal into useful peacetime products.
Verse 11 describes the massive cleanup of the millions of corpses from the Battle of Armageddon that still clutter the hills of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. They will bury them in a valley they will name “the valley of Hamon-gog.” Hamon-gog means “multitude of Gog,” and Gog is the Antichrist, so this valley can be referred to as “the graveyard of the Antichrist.” The exact location is unknown. We are merely told it will be to the east of the Dead Sea. You will not find directions listed as being anything other than north, east, west, and south in the Old Testament. Any direction from NE to SE was referred to as east, SE to SW as south, SW to NW as west, and NW to NE as north. So this burial zone could be anywhere from northeast to southeast of the Dead Sea. I rather suspect it will be to the southeast of the Dead Sea near Petra.
Verse 12 gives the length of time required to cover and bury the countless numbers of exposed bodies – seven months. However, many bodies will be buried under massive landslides associated with earthquake activity, and it will be necessary to continue to search for bodies for a much longer period of time.
Verse 13 tells us that all the Israelites will take their turn during the seven-month period of massive burials. It may be that each Israelite will be required to do one months service during the period. By the end of the seven-month period they will have buried most of the bodies.
Verse 14 advises us the compulsory graveyard service of all the Israelites will end after seven months, but that a new system will be instituted to continue the search as long as is required. It may work something like this: the nation of Israel will take some of its men, employed in other aspects of continuous nation rebuilding, and divert them to a full-time job of overseeing and performing the removal of the remaining bodies from the land. These full-time body disposers will work together with other Israelites (passengers) that travel routinely through the land.
Verse 15 describes how the full-time grave providers and passengers will work together toward a common goal. After seven months only skeletons will remain, so when a traveler happens across a skeleton, in his normal daily pursuits, he will stick up a clearly visible marker by it. When the full-time grave providers see the marker, they will carry the bones to the Antichrist’s graveyard for burial.
Verse 16 informs us there will be so many grave provider personnel that a city named Hamonah will spring up by the Antichrist’s graveyard. Since the name Hamonah means “multitude,” it is only natural to assume the city is named in memory of its permanent residents.
Part 11…
One or Two Wars before Armageddon?
As a young man, living in the pre-Hal Linsey books age, I was taught that only one war occurred during the “latter days” before Armageddon. It was a war that began in the Middle East when the antichrist attacked the nation of Israel, and ended some 3 and ½ years later with the final battle of this age – Armageddon. But I now find myself surrounded by a large array of preachers and teachers who are convinced that the war led by Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and found in Ezekiel 38 and 39, occurs before the war that commences some 3 and ½ years before the battle of Armageddon, and that the antichrist is not Gog, but comes out the war led by Gog, and then leads 10 European Union nations against Israel. They teach that when Gog and his armies come against Israel they will be slaughtered, and that Israel will be absolutely successful in thoroughly routing them. Perhaps I overlooked it, but in all my years of looking in many old musty religious archives, I never found a manuscript published before 1812 that taught there were two back-to-back wars just before the battle of Armageddon. It would seem to me that the arrival of Napoleon in Europe set the stage for a shift from bringing the antichrist out of the southern flank of the old Roman Empire to a new scheme of bringing him out of the northern flank. This shift necessitated the invention of two wars. I do not believe the shift should ever have been made. I believe the attack of the antichrist is found in the following Scriptures, and I believe the attack occurs 1260 days before the end of this age at Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38:10,11 – Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Daniel 7:24,25 – 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. [25] 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.
Daniel 11:41 – He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
Micah 5:5 – And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Revelation 13:5,6 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. [6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Revelation 17:12.13 – 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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
I believe that the following names all apply to the antichrist: He is Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in Ezekiel 38 and 39, the eleventh horn in Daniel 7, the king of the north in Daniel 11:40, the Assyrian in Micah 5, the seventh wounded head on the beast in Revelation 13, and the eighth head on the beast in Revelation 17.
The 3 and ½ year war in all the accounts follows a certain pattern from start to finish.
(1) The initial attack occurs, and is successful.
(2) After Jerusalem falls, the Lord begins to fight for Israel.
(3) The Lord fights for Israel for 3 and ½ years.
(4) God protects Israel in the Negev during that period.
(5) The Lord leaves most of the enemy bodies on the hills of Israel at the final battle of Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38:8,9 (1) – After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. [9] Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
Zechariah 13:8 (1) – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Zechariah 14:2,3 (2) – For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. [3] Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Daniel 7:25 (3) – 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.
Revelation 12:6 (4) – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Ezekiel 39:1-5 (5) – Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: [2] And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: [3] And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. [4] Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. [5] Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Revelation 19:17-21 (5) – And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; [18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Ezekiel 38:1,2 – And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Gog is a person, the antichrist. Magog is a land, the land of Magog. God tells Ezekiel to set his face against a person, Gog, and against a land, Magog, which is Russia. Gog is NOT the chief prince of Magog (Russia). He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. At the time of Ezekiel’s writings the descendants of Magog were settled in Russia, while the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were settled in Syria. The antichrist will come out of Syria to launch the initial attack. Some 3 and ½ years later Magog (Russia) will come down to join him at Armageddon.
To make a long story short – I believe there is only one war, the war that begins when Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, attacks Israel, and ends three and one-half years later when Magog (Russia), along with all of Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, comes down to join him against Israel at the final battle of Armageddon – Only to find the bodies of their great armies end up as buzzard bait on the hills of Israel.
BUT AM I PREPARED TO BE WRONG? CERTAINLY! WHAT WILL I DO IF THERE ARE TWO WARS? WELL, I WILL JUST SAY I WAS WRONG, AND WAIT FOR ANTICHRIST TO COME OUT OF THE FIRST WAR, THAT IS, IF I AM STILL HERE.
BUT WHAT IF THERE IS ONLY ONE WAR? WELL, ONLY ONE THIRD OF ISRAEL WILL SURVIVE, JERUSALEM WILL FALL, ISRAEL WILL BE DRIVEN INTO THE NEGEV, AND YOU WILL BE WAITING FOR AN ANTICHRIST THAT IS ALREADY ON THE SCENE, THAT IS, IF YOU ARE STILL HERE.
My advice is to be prepared for either eventuality, even one that may be quite different from how many of these verses are commonly interpreted. I think that falls under the category of “watching.”
Mark 13:37 – And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Part 1…THE OLD WORLD BIBLE BEAST IS TODAY’S FINAL MIDDLE EAST BEAST!
TODAY’S BEAST IS A HISTORICAL UNION OF SEVEN BEAST KINGDOMS THAT ALL AFFECTED GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL!
Before 1951 all I knew about Islam was what I had been taught in history classes. I knew there had been a vast historical Islamic Caliphate begun by Muhammad, and the history of the chain of European Crusades against it. I also knew about a death blow struck against it by the great Mongolian Empire. I had been taught about the Islamic Caliphates expansion into southeastern and southwestern Europe, and how the last small Turkish Caliphate became “the sick man of Europe.” But I knew nothing about the Islamic faith, had never touched the Koran, or met a Muslim in my 19 years on the earth.
All that began to change in 1951 when I began to meet Muslims in USAF-IHL’s. I was introduced to their cultures and beliefs through personal contact with those who came from Islamic to study in Military Schools. In 1952 I was assigned duty in the Holy Land in Islamic countries. I was raised in an environment where Christian teachers taught me a great deal from the Bible. I have been amazed over the years as I have studied the Koran how it matches perfectly what the Bible describes as the very spirit and essence of Antichrist. After I retired from the USAF-NSA in 1971, I then graduated from Little Rock Missionary Baptist Seminary and Arkansas Tech University in the seventies.
I never taught what you are about to read outside Dardanelle MBC until 2008. I am now 76 years and believe I will soon stand before Christ to be judged for the things I did in my life. I do not want to be found guilty for something I was supposed to teach, but failed to do so. Based on the many things I have learned from the Muslim faith and the Koran over the last 56 years, none of which I believe, I believe both the Antichrist and False Prophet will be of the Islamic faith. Before this series is over, Lord willing, you will see precisely why I believe what I have just stated. So please, no questions or arguments until the series is finished.
REVELATION 13:1 – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
The Sea is the Mediterranean, on which the great Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman ships of the past have sailed.
The beast is a combination of the evil kingdoms of man associated with this sea that have affected the people of Israel since God began to raise them as his people in Egypt.
The seven heads represent the seven evil kingdoms of man under which Israel has been, is, or will be affected since God delivered her from an Egyptian bondage. The seven kingdoms in chronological order are: the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Roman, and Islamic Kingdoms.
The ten horns are ten Islamic kings that will join with the Antichrist in the final Islamic Kingdom to attack Israel and drive her into the Negev for some three and one-half years. Their ten crowns represent their power which will be surrendered to the Antichrist.
There are seven Koine Greek letters in the New Testament name for the anointed one, the Messiah, the CHRIST (CH)(R)(I)(S)(T)(O)(S), one letter for each head, and antichrist claims to be God, which is the ultimate blasphemy.
REVELATION 13:2 – And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
First, John works backward to the kingdom from which Daniel was writing while in captivity, the Kingdom of Babylonia. John is writing during the time of the sixth head, the Roman Kingdom, the strange fourth beast of Daniel 7 with iron teeth and brass feet, so he does not mention it, but goes back to the Grecian Kingdom (leopard) crushed by the brass feet of the Iron Roman Kingdom Beast, then proceeds back to the Persian Kingdom (bear) the Grecian Kingdom overran, and finally gets back to the time of Daniel’s writing in the Babylonian Kingdom (lion).
The dragon (Satan) also has seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns, which represent the same things as the beast of Revelation 13:1.
Revelation 12:3 – 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.
The Devil’s kingdom has been located in the great Tigris-Euphrates River Valley since Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 10:6-11 – And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. [7] And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. [8] And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. [9] He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. [10] And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. [11] Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Genesis 11:1-4,8 – And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. [2] And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. [3] And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. [4] And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. [8] So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
EVIL KINGDOMS OF HISTORY HAVE SURROUNDED HIS SEAT.
BEAST’S ATTACK WILL COME FROM SATAN’S SEAT IN THE MIDST OF HIS DEMON KINGDOM OF FALLEN ANGELS LED BY KINGS AND PRINCES
Daniel 10:12,13 – Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. [13] But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. [20] Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Revelation 13:1,2 – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. [2] And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, AND HIS SEAT, and great authority.
Revelation 16:10-16 – And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, [11] And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. [12] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. [13] And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.[14]For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Daniel 2:32-34,42-45 – This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, [33] His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. [34] 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 [42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. [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. [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. [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.
Part 2…
THE OLD WORLD BIBLE BEAST IS TODAY’S FINAL MIDDLE EAST BEAST!
TODAY’S BEAST IS A HISTORICAL UNION OF SEVEN BEAST KINGDOMS THAT ALL AFFECTED GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL!
THE RESURRECTED BEAST AND ITS HEAD!
REVELATION 13:3 – And I saw one of his heads as it were WOUNDED TO DEATH; AND ITS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED: and all the world wondered after the beast.
The seventh head on the beast actually represents two Islamic Kingdoms separated by hundreds of years, both were started by the same false prophet and are the very essence of the spirit of Antichrist, so they are considered as the same head on the beast, but are identified as the seventh and eighth kingdoms in Revelation 17:9-13.
Revelation 17:9-13 – And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mount-ains on which the woman sitteth. [10] And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. [11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. [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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
The seven heads represent the seven kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and Islam.
The seven kings represent the lines of kings which are associated with the seven kingdoms. But the last king is “thought” to be the resurrected king of the first Islamic kingdom known as the 12th Imam or al Mahdi, the Islamic Messiah.
Revelation 17:10 – And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
The five lines of kings that were fallen when John wrote Revelation were the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian king lines – The “one is” was the Roman line which was still alive when John was writing – The one that had not yet come when John was writing was the Islamic line, which Muhammad brought in long after the New Testament was completed. The last king in the Islamic line of Kings with a DNA link back to the founder of Islam was the 12th Imam, and he only continued a short space before he went into what Shiites call “the occultation.” According to their teachings he has been hidden in deep caverns in the earth until it is time for him to rise again. At which time he will return as the al Madhi, and as the Islamic Messiah, lead them to world conquest. So, the 12th Imam would be the last King of the kingdom destroyed by the Mongolian kingdom’s sword, as well as the current Islamic Kingdom being resurrected from ashes of a dead kingdom.
Head seven is the same Islamic kingdom separated by hundreds of years with the same king.
12th Imam – Muhammad al-Mahdi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
According to Twelver Shi’as Imam Hujjat al-Mahdī (or Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn Ali) is the twelfth Imam and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of humankind. Other Shi’a schools adhere to different Imam successions and do not, along with Sunnis, consider ibn-Al-Hassan the Mahdi. Twelver Shi’as believe that Mahdi was born in 868 and has been hidden by God (referred to as the Occultation) to later emerge to fulfill his mission.
Birth and early life according to Twelver Shi’a
Twelver Shi’as believe that Mahdi was born in 868 AD as Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn Ali. His mother, Narjis (Melika), was a Byzantine princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia. His father, Hasan al-Askari, is believed to have been the eleventh and penultimate Shi’a Imam. Shi’as believe that his birth was kept a secret due to the persecution that the Shi’a were facing during this time at the hands of Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid Caliph.
To support Mahdi’s claim, Twelver Shi’as quote the following Hadith: “I and `Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from `Ali’s descendants are my grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-Husayn’s descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa’im and Mahdi.” (These Hadiths are not recognized as authentic by Sunnis)
The eleventh Shi’a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi’ al-awwal, 260 AH) and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi’as to be the Imam, appointed by God, to lead the believers of the era. The most popular account of al-Mahdi in Shi’a literature is taken from his father’s funeral. It is reported that as the funeral prayer was about to begin, al-Mahdi’s uncle, Jafar ibn Ali approached to lead the prayers. However, al-Mahdi approached and commanded, “Move aside, uncle; only an Imam can lead the funeral prayer of an Imam.” Jafar moved aside, and the five-year-old child led the funeral prayer for his father. It is reported that it was at this very moment that al-Mahdi disappeared and went into ghaybat, or occultation.
Significance of the Twelfth Imam
Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of the prophet Muhammad.
A hadith from the Shi’a text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, as well as a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in which Muhammad speaks of Twelve Successors.
From Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, “There will be twelve Muslim rulers (who will rule all the Islamic world).” He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, “All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish.”
In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,
Even if the entire duration of the world’s existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.
The Occultation
Main article: The Occultation
Shi’as believe that, for various reasons, God concealed the twelfth and current Shi’a Imam, al-Mahdi, from humankind.
The period of occultation (ghaybat) is believed to consist of two parts:
Ghaybat al-Sughra or Minor Occultation (874-939) is the shorter of the two periods, during which deputies of the Imam maintained communication to the rest of the world.
Ghaybat al-Kubra or Major Occultation began 939 and is believed to continue until a time decided by God, when the Mahdi will reappear to bring absolute justice to the world.
Minor Occultation
Main article: Minor Occultation
During the Minor Occultation (Ghaybat al-Sughra), it is believed that al-Mahdi maintained contact with his followers via deputies (Arab. an-nuwāb al-arbaʕa). They represented him and acted as agents between him and his followers.
Reappearance
Twelver Shi’as cite various references from the Qur’an and reports, or Hadith, from Mahdi and the twelve Shi’a Imams with regard to the reappearance of al-Mahdi who would, in accordance with God’s command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world. Mahdi is reported to have said: “During the last times, my people will be afflicted with terrible and unprecedented calamities and misfortunes from their rulers, so much so that this vast earth will appear small to them. Persecution and injustice will engulf the earth. The believers will find no shelter to seek refuge from these tortures and injustices. At such a time, God will raise from my progeny a man who will establish peace and justice on this earth in the same way as it had been filled with injustice and distress.”
Shi’as believe that al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Mecca, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Mecca. At this time, al-Mahdi will come wielding God’s Sword, the Blade of Evil’s Bane, Zulfiqar (Ar, the Double-Bladed Sword.
Part 3…
THE RESURRECTED BEAST AND ITS HEAD!
REVELATION 13:3 – And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered AFTER THE BEAST.
II Thessalonians 2:3 – 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;
II Thessalonians 2:8 – And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Revelation 19:15,19-21–And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.[20]And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
REVELATION 13:4 –And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
II Thessalonians 2:9-17 – Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, [10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. [11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: [12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had plea-sure in unrighteousness.[13] But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren be-loved of the Lord, because God hath from the be-ginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: [14] Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. [15] Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. [16 ]Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, [17] Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
REVELATION 13:5 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to CONTINUE FORTY AND TWO MONTHS.
Revelation 17:11-13 – And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. [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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Daniel 7:24-27 – 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. [25] 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. [26] But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
REVELATION 13:6 – And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
John 1:14 – And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt (skenoo) among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
SKENOO – To live in a tabernacle or temple
Colossians 2:9 – For in him dwelleth (katoikio) all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
KATOIKIO – To live fixedly in a place
II Thessalonians 2:4 – Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor-shipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Temple – NAOS
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 79
August 3, 2002
WILL THE TEMPLE BE REBUILT IN JERU-SALEM?
I long ago lost count of the number of men and women who have reminded me that the temple MUST be rebuilt before Jesus returns. A majority of believers are certain that it must be rebuilt because antichrist must set in it “showing himself that he is God.”
As a young man I believed that it would be rebuilt before Jesus returned. But as I studied the Greek language in Seminary, I began to say it would “probably” be rebuilt. I now do not believe it will be rebuilt until the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Why?
Much of what follows is quoted primarily from the “New Testament Greek-English Dictionary of the Complete Bible Library,” Volumes 13 and 14.
In the New Testament the word “hieron,” translated as “temple,” is found ONLY in the Gospels, in Acts, and in I Corinthians 9:13, where Paul’s ONLY use of the word appears as “temple.”
I Corinthians 9:13 – Jerusalem’s Literal Stone Temple
Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple (hieron)? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
“Hieron” refers to the entire temple including its precincts and the temple hill or, in a limited sense, any portion of the temple, such as the court of the women (Luke 2:37) where Jesus stood before the altar after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:11), the court of the Gentiles out of which Jesus drove the money changers (John 2:15), or the temple proper where the veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Matthew 27:52). “Hieron” is ONLY used in a literal sense in the entire New Testament. This is in very sharp contrast to its closely related term “naos,” which is used both literally and figuratively in the New Testament. It is used figuratively at times to refer to the human body or a local church body.
I Corinthians 6:19 – The Human Body – Naos
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
I Corinthians 3:16,17 – The Local Church Body – Naos
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
(All the “ye’s” in this verse are plural, and the “in” of verse 16 may be translated with equal validity as being “among” you, because “you” is plural.)
Now, let’s take a look at the word “naos,” translated as “temple” in the New Testament. “Naos” denotes the “dwelling place of a god.” Consequently, the “naos” was the inner “sanctuary” of a temple where the image of the God was placed, or where he dwelled. It is frequently translated as “temple,” but the association with the word “sanctuary” should not be overlooked.
The following verses contain ALL the uses of the word translated “temple” in the writings of the Apostle Paul.
TEMPLE – HIERON – I CORINTHIANS 9:13
Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
(This is absolutely referring literally to the great temple of stone in the city of Jerusalem)
TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
(This is absolutely referring to the body of someone who has experienced the new birth as figuratively being a temple)
TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 3:16,17
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
TEMPLE – NAOS – II CORINTHIANS 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(All the “ye’s” and the “them” and “they” are plural, and the two “in’s” may be translated as “among”)
TEMPLE – NAOS – EPHESIANS 2:21,22
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
(The “ye” in verse 22 is plural)
It is perfectly obvious in the verses in the two books of Corinthians and Ephesians that Paul was not referring to the literal temple in Jerusalem, and it is also equally obvious he knew the distinction between “hieron” and “naos.” That is why his ONLY other use of the word “naos,” occurring in I Thessalonians 2:4, is so puzzling. I am convinced that if he meant the literal stone temple in Jerusalem, then he would have used the word “hieron.”
TEMPLE – NAOS – II THESSALONIANS 2:4
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.
The precise meaning of “naos” in this verse is uncertain. I believe Paul pictures the antichrist sitting on the temple mount in a sinful body of flesh, with his inner soul and spirit claiming he is God to prove it to himself, and to show the world he is God. This would parallel his use of the word “naos” in I Corinthians 6:19. In any case, I Thessalonians 2:4 falls far short of proving that the temple must be rebuilt before the return of Jesus.
The companion Old Testament Scripture often used to link with I Thessalonians 2:2 to prove the temple must be rebuilt is Daniel 11:45.
Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
However, the word translated “palace” is “appeden.” It is never translated as “temple” in the entire Bible. So it means, in the context of this verse, that antichrist returns to Jerusalem just before the battle of Armageddon, and puts up a command post palace pavilion on the temple mount, from which he plans to sit and direct the final battle. The tents (tabernacles – ohel) are the tents of all the troops from Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa which have poured into Israel in answer to his call, and he will direct their final attack against Israel in the Negev from his “appeden” on the temple mount. I have heard about the rebuilding of this temple for some 54 years. For better or for worst, I do not believe the temple will be rebuilt until Jesus returns.
Part 4…
TODAY’S BEAST IS A HISTORICAL UNION OF SEVEN BEAST KINGDOMS THAT ALL AFFECTED GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL!
REVELATION 13:7 – And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Revelation 12:5,6 – 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. [6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 7:4 – And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 12:15-17 – And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. [16] And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. [17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
REVELATION 13:8 – And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 73A
USE OF THE HYPERBOLE IN PROPHECY
June 23, 2002
THE WORD HYPERBOLE COMES FROM THE GREEK – IT MEANS “TO DELIBERATELY THROW OUTSIDE OR INSIDE A MARKED LINE FOR EFFECT, MAKING THE AREA LARGER OR SMALLER THAN IT ACTUALLY IS, EXAGGER-ATION FOR EFFECT, NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY, EXAGGERATING OR DIMISHING BEYOND THE FACT, EXCEEDING THE TRUTH.” IT IS USED AT TIMES IN PROPHECY TO IDENTIFY A SMALL AREA AS ONE THAT IS MUCH LARGER. IT IS NOT A LIE BECAUSE THE HEARER OR READER IS ACQUAINTED WITH THE USE OF HYPERBOLE AS AN EXAGGERATED STATEMENT. THE EXPRESSIONS “THE WHOLE EARTH, ALL THE WORLD, WHERESOEVER MEN SHALL DWELL ON THE EARTH, ETC. ARE, AT TIMES, NOT REFERRING TO THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE EARTH FROM POLE TO POLE AND AROUND ITS EQUATOR. I BELIEVE THIS HAS CAUSED MANY TO EXAGGERATE THE SIZE AND STRENGTH OF THE FINAL EMPIRE OF ANTICHRIST.
WE KNOW THAT NONE OF THE FOLLOWING EMPIRES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT EVER DOMINATED WHAT WE IDENTIFY AS THE WORLD OF TODAY.
Daniel 8:5,21,22 – And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west ON THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. [21] And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. [22] Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
Daniel 2:32-34,38,39 – This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, [33] His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. [34] 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. [38] 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. [39] And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule OVER ALL THE EARTH.
Daniel 7:3,23-27,11-14 – And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. [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. [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. [25] 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. [26] But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. [11] I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. [12] As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. [13] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. [14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Please note that his millennial empire of Christ will take in everything “UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN.” This expression would include the earth as we know it today.)
I BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURES CON-TAIN HYPERBOLE THAT MEAN THE KNOWN WORLD OF JOHN’S DAY, NOT ALL THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.
Revelation 13:1,2,5-12,16,17 – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. [2] And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. [5] And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. [6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. [7] And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and nations. [8] And ALL THAT DWELL UPON THE EARTH shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [9] If any man have an ear, let him hear. [10] He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. [11] And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. [12] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth THE EARTH AND THEM WHICH DWELL THEREIN to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. [16] And he causeth ALL, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: [17] And that NO man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Revelation 17:12-18 – 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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. [15] And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. [16] And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. [18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.
AS INDICATED PREVIOUSLY, SCRIPTURES THAT USE THE HEAVENS TO DESCRIBE THE AREA OF THE EARTH INTENDED TO BE CONVEYED TO US, MEAN THE WHOLE EARTH AS WE PRE-SENTLY KNOW IT. THESE THREE SCRIPTURES WHICH FOLLOW ARE OF THAT TYPE:
Daniel 7:27 + Matthew 24:31 + Mark 13:27
[27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. [31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. [27] And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the UTTER-MOST PART OF THE EARTH TO THE UTTER-MOST PART OF HEAVEN.
BUT THE FOLLOWING FOUR SCRIPTURES MEAN THE WORLD AS IT WAS KNOWN WHEN JOHN WROTE THE BOOK OF REVELATION.
Romans 1:8 + Colossians 1:5,6 + Acts 19:27 + 24:5
[8] First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD. [5] For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; [6] Which is come unto you, as it is IN ALL THE WORLD; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: [27] So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom ALL ASIA AND THE WORLD WORSHIPPETH. [5] For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
Revelation 12:9,17 – And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth THE WHOLE WORLD: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Daniel 2:39-44 – And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule OVER ALL THE EARTH. [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. [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. [42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be PARTLY strong, and PARTLY broken. [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. [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.
The conclusion that I draw from all these Scriptures is as follows:
The Antichrist will only dominate the known world of John’s day.
His empire will be weak because of a composition of nations that don’t hold together well.
When an expression is used referring to the size of his empire in Revelation it is used as a hyperbole, and does not refer to the entire world as we know it today.
I do not believe the mark of the beast will be put on residents of the western world.
I do believe it will be put on in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, and parts of Asia.
The antichrist will certainly have influence in the nations of the western world, but he will not dominate them.
I am certainly prepared to be wrong in my belief of the size of his empire and in the degree of his domination. In other words, I know the popular teachings of many men and women on this subject, and I am prepared for their antichrist, but they are not prepared for mine?
Most of the believing world is prepared for an antichrist that arises in Europe and dominates the entire world as we know it today. The area of the size of his empire, as it is taught today, arose in the early 19th century, and was solidified by most writers in the 20th century.
Revelation 13:9,10 – If any man have an ear, let him hear. [10] He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Hebrews 11:36 to 12:4 – And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: [37] They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; [38] (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. [39] And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: [40] God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. [1] Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. [4] Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Luke 18:7,8 – And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? [8] I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Part 5…
THE FALSE PROPHET WE KNOW AS JESUS!
Revelation 13:11 – And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
I have taught for many years that this second beast was the false prophet who would be the Pope of Rome, but I believe I was wrong. I have always taught the Antichrist would be a Muslim coming out of Syria or Lebanon, but one of the problems I had was linking the Pope up to a religion that did not believe Jesus was the Son of God. I have been very comfortable with the woman on the beast in Revelation being the Catholic Church, but I was never really comfortable with the Pope being the false prophet. It was my time among the Muslims and what I learned about the Islamic faith that caused me to believe the beast in Revelation was an Islamic beast, and the ten horns were Islamic kings of the Middle East. I knew that as early as 1967. But after I continued to study the beliefs of Islam, I came to change my mind about the beast of Revelation 13:11. He fits the description of one of the main figures in Islamic belief.
Revelation 13:11 – And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesus in Islam (Īsā) is a messenger of God who had been sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā’īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl (gospel). The Qur’an, believed by Muslims to be God’s final revelation, states that Jesus was born to Mary (Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Allah). To aid him in his quest, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles, all by the permission of God. According to Islamic texts, Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but rather he was raised alive up to heaven.
Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjāl (lit. “the false messiah”, also known as the Antichrist). Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim, as he preached for people to adopt the straight path in submission to God’s will. Islam rejects that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, stating that he was an ordinary man who, like other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God’s message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing the notion of God’s divine oneness (tawhīd). Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur’an, such as al-Masih (”the messiah; the anointed one” i.e. by means of blessings), although it does not correspond with the meaning accrued in Christian belief. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter’s coming.
Muslims believe that Jesus will return at a time close to the end of the world.
According to Islamic tradition, Jesus’ descent will be in the midst of wars fought by the Mahdi (lit. “the rightly guided one”), known in Islamic eschatology as the redeemer of Islam, against the Antichrist (al-Masīh ad-Dajjāl, “false messiah”) and his followers. Jesus will descend at the point of a white arcade in Damascus, dressed in yellow robes – his head anointed. He will then join the Mahdi in his war against the Dajjal. Jesus, considered in Islam as a Muslim, will abide by the Islamic teachings. Eventually, Jesus will slay the Dajjal, and then everyone from the people of the book (ahl al-kitāb, referring to Jews and Christians) will believe in him. Thus, there will be one community, that of Islam.
After the death of the Mahdi, Jesus will assume leadership. This is a time associated in Islamic narrative with universal peace and justice. Islamic texts also allude to the appearance of Ya’juj and Ma’juj (known also as Gog and Magog), ancient tribes which will disperse and cause destruction on earth. God, in response to Jesus’ prayers, will kill them by sending a type of worm in the napes of their necks. Jesus’ rule is said to be around forty years, after which he will die. Muslims will then perform the funeral prayer for him and then bury him in the city of Medina in a grave left vacant beside Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and Umar (companions of Muhammad and the first and second Muslim caliphs respectively).
Jesus is described by various means in the Qur’an. The most common reference to Jesus occurs in the form of “Ibn Maryam” (son of Mary), sometimes preceded with another title. Jesus is also recognised as a prophet (nabī) and messenger (rasūl) of God. The terms wadjih (”worthy of esteem in this world and the next”), mubārak (”blessed”, or “a source of benefit for others”), `abd-Allāh (servant of God) are all used in the Qur’an in reference to Jesus.
Another title frequently mentioned is al-Masih, which translates to “the Messiah.” This does not correspond to the Christian concept of Messiah, as Islam regards all prophets, including Jesus, to be mortal and without any share in divinity. Muslim exegetes explain the use of the word masīh in the Qur’an as referring to Jesus’ status as the one anointed by means of blessings and honors; or as the one who helped cure the sick, by anointing the eyes of the blind, for example. Qur’anic verses also employ the term “kalimatullah” (meaning the “word of God”) as a descriptor of Jesus, which is interpreted as a reference to the creating word of God, uttered at the moment of Jesus’ conception; or as recognition of Jesus’ status as a messenger of God, speaking on God’s behalf.
Islamic texts regard Jesus as a righteous messenger of God, and reject him as being God or the begotten Son of God. This belief, according to Islam, is tantamount to shirk, or the association of partners with God; and thereby a rejection of God’s divine oneness (tawhid). The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is similarly rejected in Islam. Such notions of the divinity of Jesus, Muslims state, resulted from human interpolations of God’s revelation. Islam views Jesus as an ordinary human being who preached that salvation came through submission to God’s will and worshiping God alone. Thus, Jesus is considered in Islam to have been a Muslim, as with all prophets in Islam.
Muslims believe that Jesus was a precursor to Muhammad, and that he announced the latter’s coming. They base this on a verse of the Qur’an wherein Jesus speaks of a messenger to appear after him named Ahmad. Islam associates Ahmad with Muhammad, both words deriving from a root which refers to praiseworthiness. Muslims also assert that evidence of Jesus’ pronouncement is present in the New Testament, citing the mention of the Paraclete whose coming is foretold in the Gospel of John. Muslim commentators claim that the original Greek word used was periklutos, meaning famed, illustrious, or praiseworthy – rendered in Arabic as Ahmad; and that this was substituted by Christians with parakletos.
Revelation 13:12-18 – And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. [13] And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, [14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. [15] And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. [16] And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: [17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. [18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
If he has all those killed in his kingdom who will not worship the beast, it will cause all who remain in his dominion, if they want to buy or sell to do one of three things: (1) exhibit his mark, (2) be named as one of his, or be numbered as one who follows him.
Food shortages in his vast African, Middle East, and Southeast Caliphate Kingdom will be in full sway by the arrival of the mark of the beast on the scene following the seals and trumpets.
Revelation 6:6-8 –And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. [7] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. [8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell follow-ed with him. And power was given unto THEM OVER THE FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH, TO KILL with SWORD, and with HUNGER, and with DEATH, and with the BEASTS of the earth.
Revelation 9:14-19 – Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. [15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. [16] And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. [17] And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. [18] By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. [19] For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Part 6…
TODAY’S BEAST IS A HISTORICAL UNION OF SEVEN BEAST KINGDOMS THAT ALL AFFECTED GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL!THE WOMAN IS THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOME OF THE PROTESTANT HARLOTS TO WHICH SHE GAVE BIRTH.SHE RIDES THE RESURRECTED BEAST BY SUPPORTING HIS CONQUEST OF THE JEWS, BUT HER RIDE IS A TEMPORARY ONE, AND IN THE END THE ISLAMIC BEAST WILL BURN ALL HER BUILDINGS AND CHURCH REPRESENTATIVES WITH FIRE.Revelation 17:1-6 – And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: [2] With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. [3] So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. [4] 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: [5]And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. [6] And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.The “many waters” on which the “whore” (Satan’s bride) sits are identified as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” This great religious prostitute from the truth is identified and geographically located in Revelation 17:18 as “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. In John’s day that city was Rome. Today, the most widespread religious organization in the world has its tentacles spread across the earth from its headquarters in Rome.
The kings of all the earth have had continuous dealings with the great Vatican government of Rome down through the ages. The history of the Catholic Church has long been one of political involvement in the affairs of nations and kings. Many nations and kings have been intoxicated with her religious wine that dulls the conscience of lost souls.
In verse three John sees the “woman” setting on the back of a “scarlet colored beast.” This is the same beast described in previous chapters as having “seven heads and ten horns” – It is the Antichrist. But here, in Chapter 18, he has a new color – he is “scarlet colored.” Why has he changed colors between Revelation 13 and 17? Because, when we saw the first beast in Revelation 13:1, he had not been “wounded to death” – he was still alive – he was still a non-resurrected man. But now, here in Revelation 17:3 we seem him as counterfeiting Christ in shedding his blood. He claims his wound by a sword was the shedding of his blood for his religious world followers, but that he had now risen from the dead to be their eternal king. He is the blood colored Lamb of Satan. Satan is going to counterfeit the real Christ so well that only those who really know the truth will recognize his counterfeit. I worship the blood stained Lamb of God – They will worship the scarlet colored beast of Satan.
Verses four and five are perfect illustrations of all the wealth, pomp, power, ritual, and ceremony associated with the Catholic Church and world religion today. Verse six requires little comment – hundreds of volumes have been amassed by countless writers attesting to horrible killing and torture of true believers by the Catholic Church before and during the Reformation. One day she will answer for all long trail of blood of the saints.
The “woman” represents the great apostasy from worship in spirit and in truth. She rides on the Antichrist because he will support her after she confirms his resurrection as genuine. When he is resurrected the leader of the apostate church will recognize his resurrection as a true miracle, and the followers of this apostate church will believe it. The world religious leader will be the false prophet described in the previous chapter. After this all the great world religious leaders will fall into line one by one. Only the third part of Israel driven into the Negev, of which the 144,000 sealed Israelites are a part, and true believers, will fail to accept him as being the Messiah sent by God. The woman is the bride of Satan whose destruction is reported by John in Revelation 17:15-18.
Revelation 17:15-18 – And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. [16] And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. [18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The ten horns are ten Arab kings who will soon come against Israel led by the Antichrist, who is the eleventh horn on Daniel’s fourth beast.
Daniel 7:24-28 – 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. [25] 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.
The ten Arab kings will accept the Antichrist as their leader “for God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” The Prophet Mohammad loudly proclaimed he was God’s prophet, and he was supposedly called by the angel Gabriel. Today some 400 million followers of Allah are scattered across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe, and they believe that Allah is God. Allah is a word compounded of the article “al” and the word “ilah,” which means “the God.” I believe the Catholic faith will accept the Antichrist as a messenger from Theos” (the God), and the Islamic faith will accept him as Allah’s messenger. Most of the many faiths would love to have a flesh and blood man to lead them, one they thought returned from the dead. Many different faiths across the earth have multiple gods – some sects in India have hundreds of gods – but each sect always has one god who is more powerful than all the others. All the religions, both small and great, will believe that the beast represents the most powerful god in their worship system.
Unfortunately for the “woman,” the Arabs have always hated religious Christianity, and near the end of the tribulation period they will vent their full religious zeal on the religious woman of Rome. John attests to the woman’s final destruction by the sons of Allah in verse sixteen – “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”
THE RESURRECTED BEAST AND ITS HEAD!
REVELATION 13:3 – And I saw one of his heads as it were WOUNDED TO DEATH; AND ITS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED: and all the world wondered after the beast.
The seventh head on the beast actually represents two Islamic Kingdoms separated by hundreds of years, both were started by the same false prophet and are the very essence of the spirit of Antichrist, so they are considered as the same head on the beast, but are identified as the seventh and eighth kingdoms in Revelation 17:9-13.
REVELATION 17:9-13 – And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. [10] And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. [11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. [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. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
The seven heads represent the seven kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and Islam.
The seven kings represent the lines of kings which are associated with the seven kingdoms. But the last king is “thought” to be the resurrected king of the first Islamic kingdom known as the 12th Imam or al Mahdi, the Islamic Messiah.
REVELATION 17:10 – And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
The five lines of kings that were fallen when John wrote Revelation were the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian king lines – The “one is” was the Roman line which was still alive when John was writing – The one that had not yet come when John was writing was the Islamic line, which Muhammad brought in long after the New Testament was completed. The last king in the Islamic line of Kings with a DNA link back to the founder of Islam was the 12th Imam, and he only continued a short space before he went into what Shiites call “the occultation.” According to their teachings he has been hidden in deep caverns in the earth until it is time for him to rise again. At which time he will return as the al Madhi, and as the Islamic Messiah, lead them to world conquest. So, the 12th Imam would be the last King of the kingdom destroyed by the Mongolian kingdom’s sword, as well as the current Islamic Kingdom being resurrected from ashes of a dead kingdom.
Head seven is the same Islamic kingdom separated by hundreds of years with the same king.
12th Imam – Muhammad al-Mahdi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
According to Twelver Shi’as Imam Hujjat al-Mahdī (or Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn Ali) is the twelfth Imam and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of humankind. Other Shi’a schools adhere to different Imam successions and do not, along with Sunnis, consider ibn-Al-Hassan the Mahdi. Twelver Shi’as believe that Mahdi was born in 868 and has been hidden by God (referred to as the Occultation) to later emerge to fulfill his mission.
Birth and early life according to Twelver Shi’a
Twelver Shi’as believe that Mahdi was born in 868 AD as Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn Ali. His mother, Narjis (Melika), was a Byzantine princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia. His father, Hasan al-Askari, is believed to have been the eleventh and penultimate Shi’a Imam. Shi’as believe that his birth was kept a secret due to the persecution that the Shi’a were facing during this time at the hands of Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid Caliph.
To support Mahdi’s claim, Twelver Shi’as quote the following Hadith: “I and `Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from `Ali’s descendants are my grandsons al¬-Hasan and al-¬Husayn, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-¬Husayn’s descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa’im and Mahdi.” (These Hadiths are not recognized as authentic by Sunnis)
The eleventh Shi’a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi’ al-awwal, 260 AH) and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi’as to be the Imam, appointed by God, to lead the believers of the era. The most popular account of al-Mahdi in Shi’a literature is taken from his father’s funeral. It is reported that as the funeral prayer was about to begin, al-Mahdi’s uncle, Jafar ibn Ali approached to lead the prayers. However, al-Mahdi approached and commanded, “Move aside, uncle; only an Imam can lead the funeral prayer of an Imam.” Jafar moved aside, and the five-year-old child led the funeral prayer for his father. It is reported that it was at this very moment that al-Mahdi disappeared and went into ghaybat, or occultation.
Significance of the Twelfth Imam
Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of the prophet Muhammad.
A hadith from the Shi’a text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, as well as a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in which Muhammad speaks of Twelve Successors.
From Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, “There will be twelve Muslim rulers (who will rule all the Islamic world).” He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, “All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish.”
In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,
Even if the entire duration of the world’s existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.
The Occultation
Main article: The Occultation
Shi’as believe that, for various reasons, God concealed the twelfth and current Shi’a Imam, al-Mahdi, from humankind.
The period of occultation (ghaybat) is believed to consist of two parts:
Ghaybat al-Sughra or Minor Occultation (874-939) is the shorter of the two periods, during which deputies of the Imam maintained communication to the rest of the world.
Ghaybat al-Kubra or Major Occultation began 939 and is believed to continue until a time decided by God, when the Mahdi will reappear to bring absolute justice to the world.
Minor Occultation
Main article: Minor Occultation
During the Minor Occultation (Ghaybat al-Sughra), it is believed that al-Mahdi maintained contact with his followers via deputies (Arab. an-nuwāb al-arbaʕa). They represented him and acted as agents between him and his followers.
Reappearance
Twelver Shi’as cite various references from the Qur’an and reports, or Hadith, from Mahdi and the twelve Shi’a Imams with regard to the reappearance of al-Mahdi who would, in accordance with God’s command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world. Mahdi is reported to have said: “During the last times, my people will be afflicted with terrible and unprecedented calamities and misfortunes from their rulers, so much so that this vast earth will appear small to them. Persecution and injustice will engulf the earth. The believers will find no shelter to seek refuge from these tortures and injustices. At such a time, God will raise from my progeny a man who will establish peace and justice on this earth in the same way as it had been filled with injustice and distress.”
Shi’as believe that al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Mecca, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Mecca. At this time, al-Mahdi will come wielding God’s Sword, the Blade of Evil’s Bane, Zulfiqar (Ar, the Double-Bladed Sword.
REVELATION 13:3 – And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered AFTER THE BEAST.
II Thessalonians 2:3 – 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;
Revelation 2:8b – These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
II Thessalonians 2:8 – And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Revelation 19:15,19-21–And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.[20]And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
REVELATION 17:12-18 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. [13]These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. [15] And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. [16] And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. [18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS
Revelation 18:1-24 – And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. [2] And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. [3] For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. [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. [9] And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, [10] Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. [11] And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: [12] The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, [13] And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. [14] And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are de-parted from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. [15] The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, [16] And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! [17]For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, [18] And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! [19] And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her cost-liness! for in one hour is she made desolate. [20] Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apost-les and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. [21] And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. [22] And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; [23] And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. [24] And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Part 1…
Since I hold to the prophetic interpretation all the publications prior to 1760 put forth concerning the “he” in Daniel 9:27, I am concerned that a lot of believers are going to be in shock when tribulation suddenly begins to occur without a prolonged period of an antichrist arising in Europe, without a written peace treaty that lasts three and one half years, and without a lot of other prophetic interpretations by TV prophetic experts which give the impression we have a long time before fearful things begin to happen. I am concerned about this to the extent that I am going to repeat what I believe about Daniel’s Prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years. I hope you will consider it, even if you don’t believe it. If it is correct, then it would be beneficial to you when it happened. What follows is Part I of a six or seven part series that will be coming out in Blogs on the Web Site during the next week.
THE 70 WEEKS OF DANIEL’S 9:24-27 PROPHECY! Part 1
God revealed to Daniel that Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity, which would accomplish the desolation of Jerusalem, had a secondary interpretation involving a much longer period of time.
Daniel 9:1,2 – 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; [2] 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.
Then, from 9:24 through 9:27, Daniel unveils the events of a lengthy time period that would affect Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem for 490 years (7 X 70 years). He understands each year of Jeremiah’s prophecy to be equal to seven years, and identifies each period of seven years as one week.
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.
The contextual subject of this entire discourse involves the activity of “the Messiah the Prince,” Jesus Christ, up to the time of his cutting off in the midst of the last week, and the events which will again involve him as the last part of that week is set in motion when Daniel’s clock begins to tick again. The Holy City will again be overrun from the north by the troops of the antichrist, as it was by Titus in AD 70. I have never found any pre-1760 commentary on the Bible that identified the “he” of Daniel 9:27 as the antichrist. They were unanimous in identifying the “he” as Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes, and I am convinced that Jesus Christ is the correct interpretation.
During the prophetic period of 490 years, Daniel predicted the following events would be carried out by “the Messiah the Prince” of 9:25.
(1) Messiah finishes believer’s condemning transgression against God.
(2) Messiah ends believer’s condemning sins against God.
(3) Messiah completes believer’s reconciliation to God for iniquity.
(4) Messiah brings in everlasting righteousness.
(5) Daniel’s vision of 9:22-24, and its prophecies, would be completed as the 490 years ended at Messiah’s Second Advent.
(6) The Messiah’s anointing would end the period of 490 years.
Four of these events have already been fulfilled by Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ, and the last two will be completed at his Second Advent. These events, and Scriptures associated with their fulfillment follow:
(1) Messiah finishes believer’s condemning transgression against God.
John 19:30 + Isaiah 53:12 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. [12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
(2) Messiah ends believer’s condemning sins against God.
I Peter 2:24 + Isaiah 53:10 – Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. [10] Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
(3) Messiah completes believer’s reconciliation to God for iniquity.
II Corinthians 5:19 + Isaiah 53:11 – To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. [11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
(4) Messiah brings in everlasting righteousness for believers.
Romans 4:3-8 + Isaiah 55:3-5 – For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. [8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. [3] Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. [4] Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. [5] Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
(5) Daniel’s vision of 9:22-24 will be completed as the 490 years end at Messiah’s Second Advent.
Daniel 12:1-4,8-10 + Revelation 11:15,18 & 16:16,17 – And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. [2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. [4] But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. [8] And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? [9] And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. [10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. [15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
(6) The anointing of the Messiah, the most Holy One, ends the period of 490 years.
Ezekiel 39:7,9 – So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. [8] Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. [28] Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. [29] Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
(7) And this is the anointing of the Holy of Holies by the most Holy Anointed One, Jesus Christ, as he enters the Millennial Temple.
Ezekiel 43:1-7 – Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: [2] And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. [3] And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. [4] And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. [5] So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. [6] And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. [7] And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, the Evangelical Protestantism Movement emerged in Britain in the 1730s. The conversion of John Wesley in 1738 is often regarded as the start of the evangelical movement. Wesley was forced to preach out of doors and to eventually develop an organization of his own. From 1740 to 1800 the evangelicals were drawn into the movement primarily from Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, nonconformist Protestant bodies such as the Congregationalists, and from the Baptist groups. By 1800 the Evangelical Movement had spread to the Church of England.
Within the Evangelical Movement a different viewpoint arose in the teaching of Prophecy, particularly in the interpretation of Daniel 9:27. I have diligently searched for any commentary published before 1740 that indicated the three “HE’S” in Daniel 9:27 were the antichrist, and have not found a single one. I am not saying one does not exist, but I have been looking for years, and have never found one. All publications before 1740 clearly identified the three “HE’S” as Jesus Christ, “the Messiah the Prince.” It has stunned me as to how much of our teaching today about the antichrist is all tied back to the belief that the antichrist is the one referred to in Daniel 9:27. I beg of you to take a good look at the series on the 70 Weeks of Daniel exposition I am now presenting in 10 parts. Even if you think it is hogwash, please carefully read Parts 1 through 10. If it is correct, it will help you to understand what is going on when the coming antichrist does not follow the pattern currently taught in most religious circles. If it is wrong, it will have done you no harm, but please read it. I have no ulterior motive for gain in presenting it to you. My motive is a simple one. I am an old man who is seven years past his allotted threescore and ten years, and I am very concerned that many are going to be confused when prophetic events suddenly conclude in a manner quite different from what they expect. For better or for worse, I believe the religious world took a wrong turn in prophetic teaching in 1740, and that many believe what is erroneously tied back to antichrist representing the three “HE’S” in Daniel 9:27.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
I fully exposited on Daniel 9:24 in our AM Blog on June 20, establishing how Daniel had learned, from Jeremiah’s writings, that seventy weeks of years were determined upon the people of Israel and their holy city Jerusalem. Under Daniel’s formulation for the period, each one of Jeremiah’s seventy years was equal to seven years, and he identified each seven year period as one week of years (So 7 X 70 = 490 years or 70 weeks of years). In Daniel 9:25 he gives us a starting point for his prophetic clock to begin ticking toward a countdown of 490 years or 70 weeks of years.
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 490 year time clock would start ticking when “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” was issued. However, there were four different proclamations issued by three Persian kings:
1. The Decree of Cyrus in 536 B.C.
2. The Decree of Darius Hystaspes in 519 B.C.
3. The first Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C.
4. The second Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 B.C.
The Scripture indicated that FROM the time the commandment (decree) was issued UNTIL the Messiah the Prince arrived, would be 69 weeks of years or 483 years (7 weeks + 62 weeks = 69 weeks of years) ( 7 X 69 = 483 years)
Now, some problems arise in the establishment of historical dates that begin at “FROM” and end at “UNTIL” – Are these prophetic years or calendar years? – How are they affected by corrections to the Gentile calendars by Rome? – And how are they affected by the lunar calendar used by the Hebrews? All these things make it difficult to decide which one of the four decrees applies to Daniel 9:25. Was Daniel indicating solar years of 365.25 days or prophetic lunar years of 360 days? Most likely he meant years of 360 days.
Which one of the four decrees was the one that Daniel indicated in his prophecy? The decree of Cyrus in 536 B.C. was limited to the building of the Temple. The decree of Darius Hystaspes was also limited to the building of the Temple. The first decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C. demonstrated a larger range of granting authority to carry out all that needed to be done, much more than the two decrees before it. His second decree in 445 B.C. is also very specific in its instruction and authority to rebuild Jerusalem. So, we are able, because of the lack of reference “to restore and to build Jerusalem” in the first two decrees, to say that it must be one of the two issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B. C. and 445 B.C.
If Daniel’s prophecy is based on our present calendar year, which I doubt, then FROM the time Artaxerxes first decree was issued in 457 B.C. until the baptism of Jesus the Messiah in 27 A.D., would be 483 years or 69 weeks. This was the viewpoint held by the great Baptist Bible expositor B.H. Carroll in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. But Dr. Carroll makes this statement in his writings on Daniel 9:25, when dealing with prophetic years of 360 days: “”Hengstenberg, on the other hand, while agreeing with the second decree of 445 B.C., controverts the theory of a year of 360 days, and contests the date usually accepted (445 B.C.). By an elaborate historical argument of great plausibility he seeks to prove that the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus falls on the date 455 B.C. and then, by adding 483 years, Hengstenberg puts Christ’s acknowledgment by His Father, at His baptism, as the true coming of Messiah the Prince.” Sir Robert Anderson has two books on Daniel, “The Coming Prince” and “Daniel in the Critic’s Den.” He uses the usually accepted debt of 445 B.C. and articulates a strong time sequence to prove his conclusions.
Now, please allow me to state my conclusions. I was taught certain things about Daniel 9:24-27 by many old preachers who are now at home with the Lord. Many of them were born in the 19th century and lived into the thirties, forties, and fifties of the 20th. In northern Arkansas where I was raised, these old fellows read after the leading Baptist theologians of their day from books they had procured from old book stores or the libraries of older preachers when they died. Some of these books were written in the late 18th and early 19th century, and they finally just worn out and fell apart from constant use. They didn’t have opportunity to attend a seminary, but they were diligent in reading the works of the Baptists who did. These are the men who first taught me prophecy many years before I graduated from seminaries, colleges, and universities. In the weeks to come, Lord willing, I am going to pass on to you what they taught me, and you may be surprised. Now, in all honesty, before God and man, I believe it was 483 years “FROM” the decree “UNTO” the baptism of Jesus, when he began His earthly ministry. I accept it by faith in God’s word. The problem is not with the Word of God, it is with the human setting of the time of the proper decree.
My main reason for writing such a lengthy discourse was to show how difficult it is to absolutely fix the precise date the proclamation was issued to which Daniel referred. BUT I AM DELIGHTED TO TELL YOU THAT WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT CAN BE PROVEN BY A SINGLE WORD, THE WORD “AFTER” IN DANIEL 9:26A.
Daniel 9:25,26A – 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. [26] And AFTER threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: (The 7 weeks is understood in Hebrew literary style to also be added to the 62 in verse 26 so as to avoid redundancy in a flowing chronological sequence of events, i.e. AFTER 69 weeks. Otherwise, Messiah would have been cut off before he was born.)
The Hebrew word used for “AFTER” is “ACHAR,” which means, in context, “AFTERWARD.” This same word “ACHAR” is used in the following Scriptures.
Jeremiah 31:33 – But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; AFTER those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Joel 2:28 – And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Hosea 3:5 – AFTERWARD shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
Hosea 6:2 – AFTER two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
The vast majority of prophetic expositors today claim that Messiah was cut off, crucified, to END the 69th week, bringing the hands of Daniel’s clock to a standstill, and that we have a full week of seven years waiting to be fulfilled when it begins to tick again, but that cannot be true since Christ was crucified AFTER the 69th week during the 70th week, leaving less than seven years to be fulfilled.
The significance of the placement of “AFTER” in Daniel 9:26A cannot be overemphasized. Why? Because it definitely states that Messiah would not be cut off to END the 69th week, but would be crucified “AFTER” it, at some time in the 70th week. The clock of Daniel stopped ticking at some time in the final 70th week. So when was Jesus cut off by crucifixion in the 70th week? The answer is of the utmost importance. I know we have less than seven years once the clock starts to tick again, but how much less do we have? It has to be less than 2520 days, but more than 1260 days? We will proceed into verses 26 and 27 in a future update to find the answers to these questions, Lord willing.
Part 3…
Daniel 9:24-27 – 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. [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. [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. [27] 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.
The SUBJECT of this entire discourse in Daniel is not “the people of the prince that shall come,” nor is it “the prince that shall come.” They are both subordinate to the subject. The contextual subject of these four verses can only be the Messiah the Prince, who is Jesus, the anointed holy one, the Christ of the living God.
Prior to the Evangelical Movement of the mid 18th century, the belief among Bible expositors was that the three personal pronouns signified as “he” in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the sub-topical prince in 9:26, but rather to the main topical subject of each verse, that is, the Jewish Messiah who was to come. We were advised in verses 25 & 26 that, AFTER 69 weeks of years (483 years), that is, DURING the final 70th week of seven years, the Messiah would be cut off (crucified). Please allow me to exposit these verses as they were exposited by mainstream prophetic teachers up to the mid-18th century. After doing extensive research, I was not able to find anything published prior to 1760 that indicated the “he” in Daniel 9:27 was the future antichrist. Most taught that the “he” in Daniel 9:27 was the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and some thought it had already been fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BC, but I have been unable to find any prior to 1760 that believed it was the antichrist we are awaiting today.
Daniel 9:25,26 – 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. [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.
It was generally accepted that Jesus began the confirmation of the Abrahamic covenant by offering the Davidic Kingdom promise to the nation of Israel. He began to offer it to them after his baptism by John. His baptism marked the beginning of the 70th week. We know that his offering of the Kingdom lasted more than three years, but less than three and one-half. So he was cut off (crucified) in the MIDST of the final 70th week. In reality, we are not waiting for the 70th week to start, we are actually waiting for the later part of it to be fulfilled. Let’s take it verse by verse, phrase by phrase.
Daniel 9:25,26 – 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. [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.
Jesus arrived as the Messiah the Prince, and was baptized by John 483 prophetic years after one of the decrees of Artaxerxes Longimanus. His Father’s approval at his baptism marks the beginning of his ministry of three plus years.
Matthew 3:16,17 – And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: [17] And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
John was preaching that the Messiah was coming to bring in the Kingdom of David, which would confirm the Abrahamic seed covenant. Then Jesus came to him, and John identified him as the Messiah. Then, when John was imprisoned by Herod, Jesus began to preach the same message of the Davidic Kingdom.
John 1:32,35,36 – And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. [35] Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; [36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
Matthew 3:1,2 – In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, [2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mark 1:14,15 – Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, [15] And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Christ came to fulfill the Davidic Covenant as the Son of David and the seed of Abraham through the virgin Mary, the daughter of Heli. Mary had a double lineage from David through the man Zerubbabel, whose lineage on both sides was from David.
Genesis 15:18 + 22:17,18 + Galatians 3:16 – In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: [17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; [18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. [16] Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Then the covenant was expanded through God’s mercies to David to all the nations. The covenant of Daniel 9:27 was first confirmed, and then fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the Messiah. It is the kingdom covenant found two chapters before 9:27.
Daniel 7:13,14 – I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. [14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Messiah the Prince Confirmed the Davidic Covenant of the Kingdom!
II Samuel 23:1-5 + Psalm 89:2-5,27-29 + Romans 4:6-8 – Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, [2] The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. [3] The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. [4] And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. [5] Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an EVERLASTING COVENANT, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. [2] For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. [3] I have made A COVENANT with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, [4] Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. [5] And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. [27] Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. [28] My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and MY COVENANT shall stand fast with him. [29] His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. [8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Malachi 3:1,2 – Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of THE COVENANT, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. [2] But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope:
John was the messenger of the Messiah, and Jesus was the Messiah, the messenger of THE COVENANT.
And this is THE COVENANT Jesus confirmed for seven years, but was cut off in the MIDST of the seven years, between the third and fourth year.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
Jesus completed more than three years into the fourth week, and was crucified to eternally confirm the sacrifice of sinless blood and flesh for the sins of all who will receive him. His final cleansing of the temple in righteous indignation against a nation that had turned His Father’s house into a house of merchandise, rather than a holy house of prayer, was the final “overspreading of abominations” that made it spiritually “desolate” toward God. Messiah’s act caused God to abruptly “cease” honoring their “sacrifices and oblations” until the consummation of this present age, at which time those desolate of God’s Spirit, because of unbelief, will experience a time of trouble like man has never known.
Matthew 23:37-39 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
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.
Jesus was cut off (crucified) for the sins of others because he possessed none of his own. As predicted in Luke 21:24, Titus, a Roman Prince, showed up 40 years later with his army and destroyed the city and the sanctuary. In the final attack his troops came in like a raging flood, overrunning and setting fire to the Temple Mount. The war raged on for almost three years after that, during which determined desolations were carried out by the legions of Rome. They are recorded in the writings of Josephus, the Jewish historian. It could well make you sick at your stomach to hear the grisly desolation details. The final battle was for Masada, where the encircled Jews committed suicide rather than be carried into slavery.
Luke 21:24 – And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
The early church fathers, followed later by noted theologians such as Theodotion, Havernick, Hengstenberg, Barnes, and B.H. Carroll, held that the three personal pronouns (HE) in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the prince of verse 26, but to the subject of all the verses, that is, “the most Holy” (v.24), “Messiah the Prince” (v.25), and “Messiah” (v.26), who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince.
As you have observed, I do not believe we have a full week of years left in Daniel’s final 70th week. So how much time do we have left when Daniel’s clock starts ticking again? The Israelis will begin to think they finally have “peace and safety,” and Daniel’s clock will soon begin to tick again for Israel and Jerusalem.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Part 4…
.Daniel 9:24-27 – 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. [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. [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. [27] 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.
I made a case in the three previous Blogs to prove we do not have a full week of seven prophetic years (360 days per year) left to be fulfilled in Daniel’s 70 weeks of years. The personal pronoun “HE,” which appears three times in 9:27, does not refer to the topic subordinate “prince that shall come” in verse 26, but to topic dominate “Messiah” in the same verse. The topic dominate of the entire discourse is the Christ, the One Anointed of God to be King of Israel. Christ is “the most Holy” in verse 24, “the Messiah the Prince” in verse 25, “the Messiah” in verse 26, and the triple “he” in verse 27. Messiah is the topical, contextual, figure of this entire discourse, not a coming antichrist from Rome or Europe. In fact, some forty years after Messiah was cut off, this scripture was fulfilled when Titus, the Roman prince, came down and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple with a flood of troops, and desolations continued until the final battle of that war was fought at Masada.
The early church fathers, followed later by noted theologians such as Theodotion, Havernick, Hengstenberg, Barnes, and the revered Baptist theologian B. H. Carroll, held that the three personal pronouns (he) in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the prince of verse 26, but to the subject of all four verses, that being: “the most Holy” (v.24), “Messiah the Prince” (v.25), and “Messiah” (v.26), who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince.
The various figures shown at the end of this Blog will help you to better understand the narrative discourse that is to follow.
We know that Jesus, from his baptism, had a ministry of more than three prophetic years (1080 days), but that it fell short of three and one-half prophetic years (1260 days). He was “cut off” at some point in the “midst” of the seven prophetic years, that is, in the “midst” of the fourth year. We know that Christ’s first Passover after his baptism is found in John 2:13, his second in John 5:1, his third in John 6:4, and his fourth in John 13:1. So that accounts for three prophetic years totaling 1080 days. Now, let’s look back at the time that expired from his baptism to his first Passover. First, he was tempted for forty days. After that he called his first disciples ((John 1:35-51), performed his first miracle in Cana (John 2:1-12), had his first stay in Capernaum (John 2:12), and then traveled to his first Passover in Jerusalem (John 2:13). I contend this probably took 65 days. And this, when added to the 40 days of temptation, totals 105 days. And this, added to the 1080 days between the Passovers, gives us 1185 days, which linguistically qualifies as being in the “midst” of Daniel’s 70th week in the fourth year. So I contend that Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince, has already fulfilled the first 1185 days of the last week of Daniel 9:27, and that instead of 2520 days remaining, we only have 1335 days left to be fulfilled. When Daniel’s clock begins to tick again to finally complete the Age of the Gentiles and Daniel’s 70th week, it will only have to tick for 1335 days.
Daniel’s prophetic clock stopped ticking when Messiah was crucified. Messiah started confirming the seven year covenant at the time of his baptism, fulfilling promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David in the final 70th week. But he was cut off (crucified) after finishing 1185 of the final 2520 prophetic days. At this point the clock stopped when he made the temple spiritually desolate, thereby causing the acceptance of the sacrifice and the oblation to cease being acceptable to God. And it will continue to be so until the consummation of this age when he returns and, at that time, the spiritually desolate will have his wrath poured upon them.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
Matthew 23:37-39 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
It will be helpful to look at the figures on the end of this prophecy update to understand the following narrative.
Once Daniel’s clock begins to tick again it will be as if it never stopped. It will start to tick when the Israelis believe they have peace and safety. From the time it begins to tick, until it closes Daniel’s 70th week, with its final tick at the end of the battle of Armageddon, will be 1335 prophetic days. It will be 1290 days after it starts to tick that the Abomination of Desolation appears on the Temple Mount. It will be about 75 days after it begins to tick that Israel will be attacked by a confederation of Islamic nations that were once a part of the old Roman Empire. I believe the seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth during the 45 day period that occurs between the 1290th day, when the Abomination of Desolation is set up, and the coming of Christ with the saints on the 1335th day. The initial attack of the antichrist, 75 days after peace comes, will drive Israel into the wilderness for the remaining 1260 days left in the 1335 days.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
If these numbers 1260, 1290, and 1335 seem strange, please consider the last three verses in the book of Daniel, where he is told he will be standing in his inheritance when the 70th week closes.
Daniel 12:11-13 – And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. [12] Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. [13] But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Romans 11:25-27 – For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. Daniel, along with all the other Old Testament saints of Israel, will return to rule and reign with Christ at the end of the battle of Armageddon, which closes “the end of the days” of the Age of the Gentiles.
The world will see Israel flee into the Negev for 1260 days after some 75 days of false peace. The 1260 prophetic days are found expressed several different ways in the Scripture. At times it is identified as 42 prophetic months (30 days per month). It is also referred to as time, times, and half a time, where a time is equal to one prophetic year, times to two prophetic years, and half a time to one-half a prophetic year, making a total of three and one-half prophetic years (360 days per year).
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Daniel 7:25 – 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..
What a Difference a “He” Makes!
More than 35 years ago I accepted the Pastorate of Dardanelle MBC, while still a Seminary student. I attended the University of Arkansas in Little Rock and Arkansas Tech University during the summers of my time in Seminary because it did not offer summer courses. I graduated from the Seminary in 1975 while enrolled full time at Arkansas Tech University, from which I graduated and began teaching at Dardanelle High School in 1977. I have not changed my beliefs on any of the things I was taught in Seminary concerning salvation, security of the believer, the two church ordinances, or the local identity of the church. However, there are many things I once believed in prophecy that I am no longer able to teach with any conviction. I came to Dardanelle MBC like Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail, believing I was ready to teach prophecy. As I studied the doctrines of salvation, the church, and the church ordinances I discovered realms of Scripture to validate what I had been taught, but when I began to search for Scriptures that would fit all the diagrams from which I was teaching prophecy, I found very few I did not have to distort. I retired as a synoptic analyst in the National Security Agency, and I know quite well how to put the pieces of a puzzle together to form a whole premise. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are called the Synoptic Gospels, and they can be pieced together synoptically into a Harmony of the Gospels. All the pieces of the salvation-church-ordinances puzzle came together and formed a perfect picture of conformity, but the many pieces of the prophecy puzzle simply would not mesh together, unless I symbolized or spiritualized to a massive degree. I found that in our work there was harmonious agreement on the doctrines of salvation, the two church ordinances, and the church itself, but in prophecy I found “first of the weekers,” “mid-tribbers,” “seventh trumpers,” “last of the weekers,” split rapturists,” and “progressive rapturists” – Or Pre, Mid, Seventh Trump, Post, Split, and Progressive positions. I knew there had to be a reason for these great divisions, and was hopeful that perhaps the answer might be found in a historical search to see if all of them have always existed and, if not, when did each one arise. What I found brought back a lot of memories from my earliest teachings when I was a teenager. Before 1827 only three positions were taught – The Last of the Week, the Seventh Trumpet, and the Mid-Tribulation positions – And the Mid-Tribulation position was born in 1788 (See Updates 74A and 73D). During all my research I also discovered something that shocked me with memories of a position I had also heard as a teenager – Before 1800 the vast majority of Bible expositors believed that the “HE” in Daniel 9:27 was not the antichrist, but the true one, Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes. I am convinced they were correct.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
I was fully aware of all this by 1992, but out of cowardice as to what I knew I would face from the bulk of my brethren, I would only teach it at Dardanelle MBC. My cowardice certainly did not lead me to lie to the brethren – I simply stopped talking about the first three and one-half years of Daniel’s 70th week in my lectures, stopped presenting the worldwide antichrist empire that is taught today, and honed in on the last 1260 days of the tribulation period. I have firmly believed the Seventh Trumpet position since 1982, and taught the “HE” of Daniel 9:27 was Jesus since 1992. Knowing that I must soon face my Savior, and give account of all I have taught from his Word, I decided to publicly declare what I truly believe about Daniel 9:27, for better or for worse. Many of the men who taught me prophecy, whom I love and deeply respect, may well denounce me and regret ever having known me, but I will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and, in all conscience, I cannot continue to keep this to myself. I was taught synoptic analysis in the AWS and NSA, and contextual analysis in the Seminary. The synoptic subject of the contextual discourse in every verse of Daniel 9:24 to 27 is the Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ. In verse 24 Jesus is “the most Holy” who is anointed. In verse 25 Jesus is “the Messiah the Prince.” In verse 26 Jesus is identified as “Messiah” who is cut off. And in verse 27 Jesus is the “he” who confirmed God’s blood covenant at his death in the “midst” of the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks of years. Jesus has already confirmed most of the first three and one-half years of the last week of seven prophetic years. The prophet Isaiah, who wrote some 150 years before Daniel, whose writings were probably in Daniel’s possession when he wrote during Babylonian captivity, wrote of the one who would fulfill the “covenant” of Daniel 9:27.
Isaiah 42:6 – I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
How did the Jews look at Daniel 9:24 to 27 at the time of Christ’s birth? Were any of those in the Middle East expecting his coming on the scene to be near? Henry H. Halley, in his well known “Bible Handbook” of 1927, wrote the following concerning the expectation of the Messiah: “Josephus, Tacitus, and Suetonius state there was general expectancy over the East that the time for the Messiah to appear was at hand. It was based, partly at least, on Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27). By the popular interpretation at that time, the 70 weeks was understood to mean 70 sevens of years, that is, 490. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem, from which they were to be reckoned (Daniel 9:25), was issued in 457 B.C. Hence the time was about up. The Son of God was about to appear.”
Simeon clearly revealed Jesus as the one who had come to fulfill the covenant to his people Israel, and as a light to lighten the Gentiles.
Luke 2:25-32 – And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. [26] And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, [28] Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, [29] Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; [32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
The word “he” in Daniel 9:27 does not refer back to the “prince that shall come” in Daniel 9:26 – That prince has already come, and the ones he led destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The “he” refers not to a coming antichrist, but to the contextual subject of each verse from 24 to 27 – Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ. I am not waiting for an antichrist to destroy a sanctuary that was destroyed in Jerusalem more than 1900 years ago. I am waiting for the return of a Messiah who was cut off for my sins in the “midst” of Daniel’s last week after having fulfilled most of the first three and one-half years of it. The covenant was finished when the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and a token sign of its fulfillment was manifested by resurrection of many of the Old Testament saints, who came out of their graves after his resurrection.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Matthew 27:50-53 – Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. [51] 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; [52] And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, [53] And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
You will find a thorough verse-by-verse exposition of Daniel 9:24 to 27 in our Prophecy Archives in Parts 1 through 4, but I will, in this Update, exposit on verse 27 as it relates to Christ.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
“He” is used three times. In each case it pertains to Jesus the Messiah. ”He” began to “confirm the covenant” with the “many” who would believe he was the one sent to confirm it when he was baptized in water by John, and he completed the covenant when he was crucified in his baptism by fire at Golgotha in the “midst” of Daniel’s 70th week, some three and one-half years after his water baptism. His water baptism pictured what would finish the covenant some three and one-half years later when he died, was buried, and then resurrected to complete the covenant. I am of the opinion he fulfilled the covenant during the first 1185 days of Daniel’s last week, and that the remaining 1335 days will begin when Israel actually believes it has “peace and safety.”
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
“He” caused “the sacrifice and oblation to cease” being acceptable to his Father when he became the true sacrifice that made void all the offerings, which had only pictured what he would do to confirm the covenant.
“He” made the Temple and its offerings spiritually desolate because of “the overspreading of abominations” he had twice cleaned out of it. The Temple had become a den of thieves and those who ministered in it had turned into blind guides.
Matthew 23:37,38 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matthew 21:12,13 – And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, [13] And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matthew 23:23,24 – Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. [24] Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
“He” has made the Temple and all its sacrifices “desolate, even unto the consummation” of this present age. They will not be restored until Jesus returns at his Second Advent.
Matthew 23:38,39 – Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
The “consummation” of this present age comes to pass when “that determined will be poured upon the desolate” men and women of this present age of the Gentiles who are spiritually desolate, having not the Spirit of Christ. And that determined will be poured out on the antichrist. He will be in a position where no one can help him, as well as his false prophet, and both will then be cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. The battle of Armageddon is the consummation of this age, and the last days of the tribulation period will see Michael the Archangel deal with the forces of evil during the pouring out of the vials of wrath.
Romans 2:28,29 – For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: [29] But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Matthew 24:21 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Revelation 19:19,20 – And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Daniel 7:11 – I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
Daniel’s 70 weeks of year’s clock stopped ticking when Jesus the Messiah was cut off in the “midst” of the last week. The Hebrew word “midst” in a seven year week could mean any time between the end of the third year and the beginning of the fifth year, in other words, at any time during the fourth year. I believe Jesus fulfilled the first 1185 days of the 2520 days in Daniel’s 70th week, and only 1335 days remain. When the Israelis truly believe they have “peace and safety” enough to actually “say” it, then the clock will start to tick again, and they will shortly thereafter be attacked some 1260 days before the final battle of Armageddon.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 11:2 – But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Revelation 13:5 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
I was astounded to discover how much of our prophetic teaching about the antichrist’s reign, the tribulation period, the time of the rapture, and a multiplicity of all things related to prophecy, are all tied primarily to the interpretation that the “he” of Daniel is the antichrist. I have made my choice – I believe the majority of the prophetic teachers before 1800 were correct – I believe the “he” is Jesus. This has been a hard choice for me to make – what a difference a “he” makes! (See also Archive Prophecy Update Number 102)
Part 6…It is absolutely amazing how the great majority of our prophetic teaching on the antichrist, and all the events associated with his arrival and departure during the last seven years of the Age of the Gentiles, is based on Daniel 9:27, and the understanding that the three “he’s” in it refer to the antichrist. All of the prevailing positions on the rapture, so widely differing among the brethren, the pre, mid, pre-wrath, post, split, and progressive positions are all based on the three “he’s” being the antichrist. All of our charts and diagrams are based on the antichrist being the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27, showing two boxes, each one three and one half years in duration, which are supposed to be the final seven years of the Gentile Age. I seriously doubt if most of the men and women, who are teaching prophecy in 2009, realize how much of what they are teaching being correct is dependant on the first HE in Daniel 9:27 being the antichrist. Quite frankly, I am acutely aware of what they teach, and am prepared for it if it is correct, but some of them have never looked at what was taught about the HE in Daniel before 1740 by all expositors, and are not prepared for what I believe about the HE.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
There are times a part of me wishes I had never gone back in time to see what was believed, and what was taught, about the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27. In all my years of research on publications prior to 1740, I have yet to find anyone publishing what is routinely taught today. The first expositors of the Church Age on the Old Testament all held in their writings that the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 were Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes. The idea that the “he’s” might represent a future antichrist failed to appear in any of their writings. Among the best known writers of the first four centuries, who believed the “he’s” were Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes were: Hippolytus, Clement of Alexander, Julius Africanus, and Eusebius.
The Catholic writers of the Dark Ages continued to state this belief in the Sargis DOAberga document and, in this period, Theodore Beza, Arnold of Villanova, and Pseudo Aquinas all continued to proclaim that the “he’s” were indeed Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes. I could find no writer among them that identified the “he’s” as referring to a future antichrist. The vast majority believed it was Jesus Christ, and a minority believed it was Antiochus Epiphanes, but none believed it to the future antichrist.
In Protestant Reformation times both Martin Luther and Melanchthon firmly believed the “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 were the Christ, not antichrist. Melanchthon dated the 70 weeks of Daniel from the second year of the great Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus, with 69 weeks to the baptism of Christ, and placed the crucifixion of Christ in the midst of the 70th week, three years after Christ’s baptism. This is the position I hold today. I believe Christ fulfilled the covenant during his ministry in the first part of the last seven years, and we are waiting for the second half to be fulfilled following the attack of antichrist against Israel. Other Reformation writers who held the three “he’s” were Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes were Georg Nigumus, Johann Funck, Jacques Cappel, John Tillinghast, Joseph Mede, and Heinrich Bullinger. And, once again, I was unable to find a single writer during the Protestant Reformation that identified the “he’s” as the future antichrist. I am not saying one did not exist, but I could not find him.
In the Post Reformation period Isaac Newton, Cocceius, Johann Petri, William Wilson, Heinrich Horch, Jahann Bengal, and the Belenburg Bible, all identified the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 as being Jesus Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes. And, once again, I could find no writings in this period that stated the “he’s” were the future antichrist.
From the Post Reformation period to 1740, I could not find a writer that identified the three “he’s” as being the future antichrist. Among American expositors who identified the “he’s” as being Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes were Samuel Langdon, John Davenport, Ephraim Huit, and Samuel Osgood. Among the Old World expositors, during this period, who held the “he’s” were Christ or Antiochus Epiphanes, were Bishop William Winston, William Hales, Louis Gaussen, Archibald Mason, and Edward Bukersteth. Calvin, in his exposition of Daniel, clearly identifies Christ as the “HE” in Daniel 9:27.
So, the question I have been forced to address is a very simple one. Were they all wrong up to 1740? Should we have changed the teaching that the three “he’s” refer to Christ, and made them apply to the antichrist? I have made my choice – the old fellows were right, it is Christ! This teaching lasted well into the 20th century, and is still held by a minority in this present century. I was exposed to it as a young man many years ago, and I now believe it. One of the greatest Baptists of history, B.H. Carroll, who was born in the 19th century, carried this teaching into the 20th century. It began to decline in popularity after John Darby began to popularize the Pre-Trib Rapture position in 1827, but it was still the majority belief until the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909, after which it became more and more of a minority belief.
There was a very popular song in my youth titled “What a Difference a Day Makes!” I assure you, that the title I ascribe to Daniel 9:27 is a most profound one – “What a Difference a ‘HE’ Makes.” The Age of the Great Evangelical Prophecy Revisions involves the three “HE’s.”
As I mentioned in Part 2 of “The 70 Weeks of Daniel,” the time of the great evangelical age began in the 1730’s, and the conversion of John Wesley in 1738 is often said to be the beginning of it. I have, for clarity of purpose, marked the Evangelical Movement as beginning in 1740. The minor changes in prophetic teachings began in 1760, but the major revisions began in 1827, and accelerated up until 1912, by which time most of the prophetic teachings of today had been established with all the associated charts, graphs, theology, and eschatology. The movement marked a gradual shift from the importance of the local church to huge masses of assemblies of believers and great camp meetings. It has now reached its zenith, with biblical teachers and teachings on many types of communication media being pictured and spoken to the invisible masses on the receiving end of the high tech communication blitz. They send out their high tech transmissions to what they consider to be a universal church made up of all believers.
I have not been able to find a single commentary, published prior to 1740, that identified the three “HE’s” of Daniel 9:27 as the future antichrist, which the world is expecting soon to arise. So the question I poise is a simple one – Were all prophetic teachers wrong before 1740? And if they were right, how does that affect what is taught today? Is there a radical difference?
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
What are some of the ramifications to prophetic teaching today if the “HE’s” in Daniel 9:27 are not the future antichrist? Are the changes drastic? Yes, indeed they are! What are some of them?
1. We would not have to have a peace treaty signed between antichrist and Israel.
2. The antichrist would not have to be a Jew.
3. The antichrist would not have to be a Roman prince or come out of Europe.
4. We would not have seven full years left to be fulfilled in Daniel’s prophecy of 490 years.
5. There would not be TWO 1260 periods left to be fulfilled in the tribulation period.
6. The antichrist could strike suddenly without three and one half years of peace occurring, leaving only 1260 days before Armageddon would end the tribulation period.
7. The temple would not have to be rebuilt for the antichrist to occupy prior to Christ’s coming for his saints.
8. The “first of the week” rapture position, seven years before the 2nd Advent, would not be correct.
9. Is it possible that the following Scripture could be applicable to some aspects of today’s teachings based on Daniel 9:27?
II Timothy 4:3,4 – For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Could it be that the recent outpouring of fictional books advocating the whisking away of all believers before the tribulation period might be more fable than fact? Could it be that tickling the ears of the masses by telling them what they want to hear is much more acceptable to them, and much more profitable to the writers and teachers, both financially and in acceptance and popularity?
II Corinthians 5:10,11 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Which position is correct? I could care less personally, because I am prepared for something that might fool us all. How is that possible? I just WATCH! I both practice, and advocate to the church I pastor, to do the following:
Mark 13:34-37 – For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. [35] Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. [37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Age of the Prophecy Revisionists
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
The vast majority of preachers today do not realize the major revisions to prophetic teachings that were brought in during the age of the great revisionists from 1760 to 1920. I do not accept the majority of the revisions that were made during this period.
I challenge anyone reading this to produce a pre-1740 book on prophecy, based on Biblical interpretation, that shows a diagram dividing the tribulation period into two sections, each one 3 and ½ years in length, with the first resurrection occurring at the beginning of the first 3 and ½ year period.
I would also like for someone to show me a published book before 1740, based on Bible interpretation, showing a diagram dividing the tribulation period into sections, each one 1260 days in length, with the first resurrection occurring at the beginning of the second period of 1260 days.
For that matter, I would also like to see a published book before 1740, based on Biblical interpretation, teaching that the rapture would occur at the middle or the beginning of the tribulation period.
It is possible that a pre-1740 published book does exist somewhere that shows the tribulation period divided into two sections, each one 3 and ½ years in length, but I have looked long and hard for it in many ancient, musty, religious book archives in the U.S. and abroad, and I have yet to find it.
Prophetic teachers of this generation have lived with the two division diagrams so long they think they came over on the Mayflower. But basically these diagrams were a product of the first of the week rapture position, which is such an ingrained part of prophecy teaching today. The so-called “first of the week” position, as well as what is known as the “middle of the week” position, cannot be found in existence in any published book about the Bible before 1740. In fact, it is the term “week,” appropriated by the revisionists, that is largely responsible for the mass exodus from orthodox prophetic teaching, which occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The bulk of all prophetic teaching of today is based, directly or indirectly, on the revisionist teaching on Daniel 9:27, which, to a large extent, was accelerated with the initial appearance of the “first of the week” position in the early 19th century. If the teaching on Daniel 9:27 by the revisionists is incorrect, then much of today’s prophetic teaching is in error. I believe this is the case, and I have been labeled as a revisionist myself because of it. I am certain that the great Bible expositor B.H. Carrol, who continued to believe the pre-1760 teachings until his death, was correct in what he taught concerning Daniel’s 70th week. For you see, before 1827, the majority of orthodox prophetic teachers were convinced that the “he” in Daniel 9:27 was Jesus Christ, not the antichrist – THEY WERE RIGHT. We are not waiting for a “week of seven years” to be fulfilled! Why not? – Because Jesus has already fulfilled most of the first 3 and ½ years. We are facing a tribulation period of the last 3 and ½ years, preceded by a much briefer period of peace than many are expecting.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
According to the vast majority of popular Protestant prophecy teachers today, the first half of Daniel’s last “week” (the seventieth) will be 1260 days of peace following a peace treaty between Israel and the antichrist. This teaching came into existence at some point in time between 1740 and 1830 when, for the first time, preachers began to teach that the three “HE’s” in Daniel 9:27 represented the end time antichrist. Prior to that time the vast majority of preachers taught the three “HE’s” represented Jesus Christ, and a minority believed it had already been fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, but I have yet to find anyone who said it was the end time antichrist, which is what most preachers are sure the “HE’s” represent today. In 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes occupied the city of Jerusalem, entered the Holy of Holies, desecrated the sanctuary by offering unclean animals upon the altar of burnt-offerings, polluted the whole building by sprinkling it with water in which flesh had been boiled, dedicated the Temple itself to Jupiter Olympus, erected a statue of deity to Jupiter, and plundered the temple treasures. But Messiah of verse 26 was not cut off (crucified) before 168 BC, nor did Antiochus ever confirm a covenant with Israel. The three HE’s of Daniel do not represent Antiochus or the future antichrist – they represent Jesus.
This period of 1260 days of peace is adamantly taught as fact by many today. Please look at the following Scriptures and see if they present three and one-half prophetic years of peace. In every case they represent a 1260 day period that will be fulfilled during the last 1260 days of antichrist prior to the Second Advent of Christ.
Revelation 11:2,3 – But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot FORTY AND TWO MONTHS. [3] And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREESCORE, clothed in sackcloth.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREESCORE DAYS..
Revelation 12:14 – And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for A TIME, AND TIMES, AND HALF A TIME, from the face of the serpent.
Revelation 13:5 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue FORTY AND TWO MONTHS..
Daniel 7:25 – 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.
Every time the capitalized phrases in these verses are used, they always refer to the last 1260 days, never to the first 1260 days. I contend this is because Christ fulfilled the first half of the week before he was cut-off (crucified). We will not have the advantage of three and on-half years of peace to reveal the antichrist to us.
One of the most interesting facets found in interpreting Daniel 9:27 is that it is not directly quoted by specific content in the New Testament. And, equally interesting, is the fact that any inferred reference taken from it is by indirect inference to a period of time that happens to match the one-half of one of Daniel’s weeks of 2520 days, or three and one-half years of 360 days in length. Even more interesting, in all cases it refers strictly to the last half of the 2520 day period by expressions like “42 months,” “1260 days,” and “time, times, and half a time.” I do not believe the first half of the seven year period is specifically detailed for those of us living in the last days because it has already been fulfilled by the Messiah the Prince, and only the later portion has yet to come to pass before Armageddon.
I implore you to take a look at what was taught by most orthodox prophetic teachers before 1827 about Daniel’s 70th Week. It is fully exposited in our Prophecy Archives on Updates 230B, 231, 231A, 231B, 232, and 232A. Also please scan Updates 73D, 74A, 76, 78A, 82A, 114A, 144A, 144F, and 219B for the pre-1760 Rapture Position.
I am not concerned about the position believers hold on the rapture unless it is taught to be as firm a doctrine as salvation by grace, but the recent massive publications of books that have come out of the “Left Behind” series is staggering, and some have come to believe it is one of the great doctrines of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I am only anxious that the massive numbers of believers on this planet realize the very distinct possibility that they may have to go through part of the tribulation period, which I believe is in the not too distant future. Many believers have never even heard any other position than the first of the week and, if they do hear there is, the one telling them usually tells them it is most certainly incorrect. The every day believer-on-the-street has no idea of what was believed before 1740, only what began to be taught after that, principally since 1827. I am not looking for a group of people to believe what I teach about the rapture and Daniel’s 70 weeks of year, I am simply trying to advise believers to be aware what many routinely teach today as fact was not taught before 1740. I am certainly not looking for followers – for McElmurryites – I am looking for “considerers.”
Part 8…
For many years I have challenged anyone to produce a book published as a commentary on the Bible prior to 1740 that taught or showed the following:
1. The “HE” in Daniel 9:27 as representing the future antichrist.
2. The “rapture” occurring at, or before, the “first of the week.”
3. The “rapture” occurring in the “middle” of the week.
4. A “last of the week” diagram divided into two 1260 sections.
I am not saying that 1 to 4 do not exist. I am saying I have searched diligently for many years, and have never been able to find such books or publications before 1740. So what will I do if someone ever answers the challenge and does present such a legitimate published document?
I will simply ask this question – Why is this book the only one floating in the midst of a sea of publications that teach otherwise? One of the strongest natural instincts in the human nature we brought out of our mother’s womb is “ACCEPTANCE.” And anyone who is blind to the effect that it has on their way of thinking in a society based on religious, social, and group ACCEPTANCE, is indeed blind to what could be the greatest motivation factor in what they teach, and why they teach it. I was made ACCEPTABLE to God by grace through faith some 65 years ago, and now I persuade men to be well pleasing (ACCEPTABLE) to him rather than to men. To be ACCEPTABLE (well pleasing) to God does not always mesh with being ACCEPTABLE (well pleasing) to man.
Ephesians 1:6 – To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us ACCEPTED in the beloved.
II Corinthians 5:9-11 – Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be ACCEPTED of him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
There are two different inspired words translated as “accepted” in these two Scriptures. The one in II Corinthians means “well pleasing.”
Colossians 3:23-25 – And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; [24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. [25] But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
THE PROPHESIED DESOLATIONS OF JERUSALEM!
What Did the Jews Know from Daniel 9:24-27?
Daniel 9:1,2 – 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; [2] 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.
They knew that the 70 weeks of years (7 X 70 = 490), during which the desolations of Jerusalem would occur, were to begin as stated in Daniel 9:25.
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 490 years were to begin when the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued, which some thought was the Artaxerxes Longimanus commandment issued in 457 BC.
And they knew it would be 483 years when Messiah the Prince arrived to fulfilled the last 7 years (7 + 62 = 69 weeks of years = 69 X 7 = 483 years).
However, after completing the 484th, 485th, and 486th years, he was cut off (crucified) by the Jews between the 486th and 487th years, that is, in the “midst” of the seven year period, between the third and fourth years. The word AFTER in 9:26 is a continuous running narration of 9:25 and, as such, is understood to contain the seven weeks without repeating them, hence the Messiah was to be cut off AFTER the 69th year DURING the 70th week of years.
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.
According to the preponderance of the evidence, Jesus was born in 4 BC, and came as the Messiah the Prince to be baptized by John in 27 AD at age 30, which was the age a man could be a priest in the line of Aaron, and it was this event that marked the beginning of the 484th year since the 457 BC commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem had been issued. Jesus began the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks when he was baptized. He completed more than three years of it, but less than three and one half years, probably leaving some 1335 days to be completed before the final desolations of Jerusalem were completed.
Daniel 12:12 – Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
The completion of the 1335 days marks “the end of the days” in Daniel’s 490 year prophecy, and Daniel will stand on this earth in his resurrected glorified body at that time.
Daniel 12:13 – But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel 9:2 – 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.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
All three of the “HE’s” are the Messiah the Prince, who was cut off (crucified) between the 486th and 487th years of Daniel’s 490 year prophecy.
FIRST DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (SPIRITUAL)
The first desolation of Jerusalem occurred when the Messiah the Prince declared it to be spiritually desolate just before he was cut off from Israel by crucifixion.
Matthew 23:37-39 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
SECOND DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (PHYSICAL)
The second desolation of Jerusalem, which followed the rejection of the Messiah the Prince, occurred in 70 AD when Titus destroyed the Temple and the City.
Luke 21:24 – And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
THIRD DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (PHYSICAL)
The third desolation of Jerusalem occurred in 135 AD when Hadrian finished the desolation of Jerusalem and gave it the name of a Roman city.
FOURTH DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (PHYSICAL)
The last desolation of Jerusalem will occur when the antichrist overruns it, sits on the temple mount, even “showing himself that he is God.”
Daniel 11:41 – He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
II Thessalonians 2:4 – 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.
Zechariah 14:1,2 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
The attack of antichrist will mark the beginning of the last three and one half unfulfilled years of Daniel’s 490 years, and the 490 years will be completed at the Second Advent of the Messiah the Prince.
Luke 21:25-28 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
I Peter 1:18-21 – Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
RESTORATION OF JERUSALEM (SPIRITUAL & PHYSICAL)
Isaiah 62:1-12 – For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. [2] And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. [3] Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. [4] Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. [5] For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. [6] I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, [7] And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. [8] The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: [9] But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. [10] Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highways; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. [11] Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. [12] And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
Isaiah 12:1-6 – And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. [2] Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. [3] Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. [4] And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. [5] Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. [6] Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Part 9…
In the many years I have studied this subject, I have found it to be one of the most difficult prophecies I can be precisely accurate in expositing, and yet it is one of the easiest to interpret within prescribed limits. And so, after considering the many different ways of counting the time from “the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the prince” by many different men, which you have read in the previous eight updates, I freely admit there are only two things of which I am certain. After all the glitter and calculations have been considered, only these two conclusions can I consider to be valid without question, and I will state them later in this final Update of the series.
Daniel 9:24-27 – 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. [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. [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. [27] 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.
The reasons one cannot be exactingly precise are numerous. The errors made in calendar adjustments between Oriental and Western calendars based on the movements of different astronomical movements of two different heavenly bodies, the actual birth date of Christ appearing to be 4 BC, assorted other shifts in time keeping by the ancients, and whether the years listed are supposed to be 360 or 365 and ¼ days, have combined to make it impossible to take an oath any one of the many sets of calculations is absolutely accurate. However, it is a situation that can be narrowed down to one of two proclamations issued to rebuild the city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity, and a sufficiently accurate outcome by applying 360 day prophetic years to one, while applying 365 and ¼ days to the other proclamation, which have led me to say that one or the other must be correct. Since I have described the calculations by B.H. Carroll and others, as applied to the third proclamation, which were based on 365 and ¼ days, please allow me to quote directly from a book by John Urquhart, who bases his calculations on proclamation number four, and uses 360 day prophetic years. The following quote is taken directly from “The Wonders of Prophecy,” by John Urquhart, Charles C. Cook, Fifth Edition.
BEGIN QUOTE FROM “THE WONDERS OF PROPHECY”
“That third edict has very generally been regarded as the decree ‘to restore and to build Jerusalem’ – a view in which I formerly concurred. But a closer examination of the terms of the edict does not support that conclusion. Those terms are most explicit. Ezra is empowered to convey the treasure contributed by the king and his counselors, from Babylon to Jerusalem, to receive other voluntary offerings, to expend the funds, and to appoint magistrates and judges. But there is no mention whatever of building and restoring Jerusalem; and, if that task had been assigned to Ezra, it would be hard indeed to explain why, in an edict fully transcribed and elaborately minute in regard to everything else, no reference whatever is made to that important undertaking. When we turn to the fourth degree, however, we meet for the first time, language which is in significant accord with the description of “the commandment spoken of by Daniel. Nehemiah tells us that, when Artaxerxes asked ‘For what dost thou make request,’ he replied: ‘If it please the king, and if thy servant hath found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, that I may build it.” He also begged a letter to ‘Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.’ Here we have in explicit terms an authorization to Ezra to build the city of his fathers’ sepulchers; and the fourth decree is consequently ‘the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.’
To apply these results, we have first of all to inquire what those 483 years are. Are they years in every respect like the years of our own calendar? There are clear indications in Scripture that the Hebrew month, like that of Babylonia and of Egypt, consisted of 30 days. The year consequently contained 360 days; multiplying those 483 years by 360 so as to find the entire number of days, we divide by 365.25 and so change them into calendar years. The result of this rough and ready, but sufficiently accurate, method is that 483 prophetic years are found to be equivalent to 476 years of our ordinary chronology of today.
We have to ask next to what special point in the past we have to stretch it onward into the future. The narrative in Nehemiah furnishes a perfectly clear reply. We are told that the concession was made ‘in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the King.’ He began his reign in the year 465 B.C. He was now in the twentieth year of his reign: in other words 19 years of his reign were completed and the 20th year was in progress. Deducting these 19 years from 465, we are brought to 446 B.C. – the year in which the edict was issued ‘to restore and to build Jerusalem.’
‘A word or two will now complete our demonstration. Applying the 476 years of the prediction to this point (446 years before the birth of our Lord) we find that they bring us down to that event and leave 30 years over. That is the year 30 A.D. is specified as that of the Savior’s cutting off in his crucifixion. While everyone will feel how amazing that the year and the very month – the month Nisan – of our Lord’s death should have been fixed centuries beforehand, some may imagine that there is, nevertheless, a slight inaccuracy. We are told (Luke 3:23) that Jesus entered upon this ministry when he was about 30 years of age. The year 30 A.D. would, therefore be the year when his ministry began, and not the year of his crucifixion. But the Scripture is absolutely accurate. When the division between the time B.C. and the time A.D. was made, the year 1 A.D., was really the year 5 A.D.; and the year 10 the year 14 A.D.; and the year 30 the year 34 A.D. And thus the year 30 A.D. in our chronology was really the year of our Lord’s death. The chronology was in error, but there was no error in the Scripture; and that sacrifice, which will be remembered and celebrated throughout eternity, was offered at the appointed time.”
END OF QUOTE FROM “WONDERS OF PROPHECY”
What follows is my summary of Parts 1 through 8 of the 70 weeks – In the Agency there were times when reams of information, collected from all over the Soviet Union, would be piled on the desk of an analyst, day after day, week after week, perhaps month after month, and from it all he or she was expected to present conclusions as to how it did, or did not, or might, or could, present a scenario that would of future benefit in confrontations with forces and peoples of other nations. In all analysis work there are times when one feels completely helpless because the evidence usually cannot be molded into a concrete pattern of certainty. I am thankful for my training as an analyst because, at times, there are things you can know FOR SURE, others of which you are reasonably certain, some that are fifty-fifty, a high percentage of those in the “definite maybe” category, and some that leave you setting all alone not having the foggiest idea what it all means, if anything.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
So let me present to you two things that I know FOR SURE, and these two are quite enough to make my point, because more than 95 percent of the world’s prophetic teachers today are in complete disagreement with them. Ironically, all of the world’s prophetic teachers before 1740 did agree with them, and a majority of them considered then to be true into the beginning of the twentieth century. The beginning of the Great Evangelical Age in 1740, the beginning of the popularization of a pre-tribulation theory in 1827 by John Darby, and the publishing of the Scofield Bible in 1909 pushed the following two teachings into antiquity by the middle of the twentieth century. And the very popular twentieth century book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” which was followed by the “Left Behind” series of publications during the present century, has almost eliminated the possibility of anyone ever hearing these two conclusions or even knowing they once existed. But I AM SURE the following TWO conclusions are correct.
(1) The three HE’s in Daniel 9:27 are NOT a future antichrist.
(2) There are NOT 7 years of Daniel’s 70TH week waiting to be fulfilled.
They are quite enough because so many other prophetic teachings are based on them being a lie. I would say that more than 95 percent of the prophetic teachers today are teaching that that Daniel 9:27 represents the antichrist, and that we are waiting for the entire last week of seven years to be fulfilled. In the previous eight updates I have listed a bevy of great Bible preachers who believed the two things listed above. I am acutely aware that what I have presented has, and will continue to cause a wide variety of emotions among those who have taught, and do teach, that these two things are not true. But I ask those who have the most violent reaction – did you know what was taught before the teaching of Daniel 9:27 arose that has dominated the last 100 years of prophetic teaching – Did you know it before you starting teaching what you teach today? I had been exposed to the teaching of it as a youth in the forties by old Missionary Baptist preachers, but I did not know where it came from, or the history of it, until I studied it for myself. Have you ever studied it for yourself? Please don’t attack the personal integrity of all those men of God prior to 1740, as well as the majority who held it into the early twentieth century, to prove your position. I attempt not to attack the personal integrity of any man’s character to prove any case, interpretation, or point I am attempting to draw from the Scriptures, and diligently try to make my case on what I believe the Bible teaches. I spend a great deal more time asking myself why I teach it, what my real motive is in presenting it, and invariably I find myself asking myself – are you presenting it to please men or God, are you teaching what God wants them to hear or what they want to hear? I spend so much time in judging my own motives in teaching something that it does not leave me with much time to think about the motives of others. However, I do not think I am out of line or out of God’s will to ask others to do the same. I concentrate on following Jesus as he leads me along the path he directs me to follow, which doesn’t leave me much time to think about what he has chosen for other men to do in his fields of labor.
John 21:21,22 – Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? [22] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
One really does not have to go back before 1740 to find the teaching that the HE’s in Daniel 9:27 represent Christ. Here are just a few of many authors published after 1827 who were not swayed by the new teaching of the HE’s representing a future antichrist.
1. The Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary on Daniel by Robinson, Section XXXVI, “The Last Week and It’s Employment.”
2. The Layman’s Commentary on Daniel by Charles John Elliott. D.D.
3. An Interpretation of the English Bible by B.H. Carroll.
4. Halley’s 1927 Bible Commentary by Henry H. Halley
5. The Prophecy of Daniel by Edward J. Young, 1949
6. Commentary on the Whole Bible by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
7. Great Prophecies of the Bible by Ralph Edward Woodrow, 1971
8. The Book of Daniel by Curtis Mitchell, 1968
9. The Wonders of Prophecy by John Urquhart
10. The Seer of Babylon by Clarence H. Hewitt, 1948
11. The Pulpit Commentary, Volume 29, 1896
Have you ever gone back and checked to see what was taught before 1740? Did God choose not to reveal the truth about Daniel 9:27 until after 1740? Did he choose the Great Evangelical Movement as the time to reveal the truth about Daniel 9:27? Did he wait to popularize the truth of the Pre-Trib Rapture by John Darby in 1827? Did he wait to spread the Pre-Trib position across the country and world by Scofield in 1909? Certainly, the answer to all these questions is an individual matter between you and God. I have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to answer for everything I have taught, so I persuade men of what I believe about the Second Coming of His Son. I would be a spiritual fool to do otherwise.
II Corinthians 5:10,11 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Colossians 3:23-25 – And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; [24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. [25] But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
I do not question your motives in what you teach or why you teach it, that is a very personal matter between you and God, and something you alone are capable of doing. I only know it is something God wants all of his children to do. I hope my motive for presenting this series is made manifest in your consciences.