ZION MINISTRY - BIBLE PROPHECY
THE BEAST OF DANIEL
The Great Image and the four beasts of Daniel describe events for
our day. There is much confusion over whom they represent. Many people have
attempted to offer opinions. Some have claimed that Rome and Europe will
fulfill these prophecies. But the Bible is the final authority on revealed
prophecy, and it is the Bible that makes known the answers to all prophecy!
You will be shocked and amazed to learn to whom and what these prophecies
refer! All your current expectations will be shattered as the Bible reveals
all!
By Neville V. Stevens
New International Version used throughout unless otherwise
specified
The Book of Daniel deals with
a period that started with Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. This period of
prophecy began after the Assyrian Empire had come and gone and passed
into history. Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar rebelled against the
Assyrians who ruled over all of the Chaldees (Babylonia). Historians believe
that Nabopolassar was a general in the Assyrian army in charge of the
divisions in Babylonia. It's known that he trained and equipped a formidable
army, and in an alliance with the Medes and the Scythians he rebelled against
his Assyrian overlords. In BC 626 he utterly defeated them. In a series of
campaigns over a period of 14 years he took control of the whole territory,
and in BC 612 he finally conquered the capital of Ninevah. The Assyrians were
taken captive and enslaved (predominantly by the Medes), and the spoils of war
divided. The Iraqis claimed recently that there are about 10,000 of the
descendants of the ancient Assyrians still living in northern Iraq.
After the conquest of Assyria,
Nabopolassar turned his attention to Egypt, the former allies of the
Assyrians. In BC 606, the young prince Nebuchadnezzar joined his father in the
battle, and led his troops to decisive victory over the Egyptian army at
Carchemish. Following his father's death in BC 605, he secured his throne and
expanded his territory to include Syria and the Holy Land. The territory of
Judah was, at that time, a vassal state of Egypt, and was ruled by Jehoiakim.
Jehoiakim quickly agreed to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and handed over
hostages to secure peace. Traditionally, powerful nations took hostages of
those they conquered to ensure that they would not rebel. Among these hostages
were four young men of the royal seed of Judah - Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego.
FIRST KINGDOM
IS BABYLON!
It's important to note, that
regardless of what opinion anyone might hold to the contrary, all the kingdoms
mentioned in the Book of Daniel refer to those which started with
Nebuchadnezzar - the Babylonian kingdom. All of these prophecies relate to the
future. Assyria had been defeated and had passed into history. The
prophecies of Daniel don't include the Assyrians! The Assyrians are not
even mentioned in the Book of Daniel!
It may, from the point of view
of human logic, seem rational to conclude that Germany will represent
the Roman Empire in the end time. Much has been written that purports to prove
that Germany is the big bogey to watch; and that they will preside over ten
kings that will arise. These ten are variously described as ten toes, ten
horns, ten kings and ten nations [kingdoms].
As for the prophecies proposed
by those who insist that Germany is to arise again and conquer the world with
a resurrection of the Roman Empire, it would be expected that all the past
resurrections of this Empire were headed by Germany. This is not the case!
Germany, Italy, France, Austria and Turkey have all presided over a proclaimed
Roman Empire at some stage. Regardless of which nations presided over the
Roman Empire, if the Bible clearly identifies it as the Beast-controlled
ten-nation empire described in the books of Daniel and Revelation, then we
should be watching as prophecy unfolds. However, don't be too sure that it is,
at least, until all the prophecies of the Bible are examined.
Christ gave details of the
endtime and the events that would immediately precede His return. He said
there would be wars, wars and rumours of wars. He told His followers not to be
troubled by these for the end is still not due. He then said,
"Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are
the beginnings of sorrows." (Matt
24:6-8).
Christ continues: "THEN
[at this very time] YOU
[true Christians] will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
and YOU [true Christians] will be hated BY ALL NATIONS
because of Me." Has this
happened yet? Remember Christ is speaking about the end and the time of His
return!
What happens next?
"And
this Gospel shall be preached in all the world, as a testimony to all nations,
and then the end shall come." (V14).
So just BEFORE the end and the return of Christ, and AFTER the
wholesale slaughter of the saints, the Gospel will be preached in all the
world.
We now come to the part of
Matthew 24 that mentions the prophecy of Daniel: "So
when you see standing in the Holy Place the abomination of desolation spoken
of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand
- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."
(Matt 24:15-16).
Whatever it was that Daniel
said, it refers to this very endtime after worldwide famines, earthquakes all
over the world of great intensity, have reaped havoc on earth's inhabitants.
Some might argue that this is
currently happening, but the Bible gives a more graphic insight into the
dimensions of these happenings. This is found in the Book of Revelation that
speaks of seven seals. The first four are commonly referred to as the 'Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse'. Notice the words that relate to these first four
seals: Rev 6:8 "They
were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine
and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." In today's
terms, this translates into the death of 1.5 billion people! Have we seen a
25% reduction in the population of the world in our time?
This certainly hasn't happened
yet, has it? The population continues to grow every year regardless of natural
disasters, famines, plagues, etc. But when the events spoken of in Revelation
chapter 6 begin, the world's population will suffer a reduction of 25% of its
numbers. Plainly, these events are yet future!
What of Daniel's prophecy that
relates to the 'abomination of desolation'? The verse in Matthew 24 stresses: 'let
the reader understand'.
Should we make a wild guess at what it's referring to? Should we check out the
history books at the local library? Or should we research what other Bible
scholars say it means? NO! The Bible says 'let the reader [of
the Holy Scriptures] understand! If we are readers and students of the Holy
Scriptures, then this is where we will get our understanding.
Some prophecies of the Bible
appear to slot in nicely with some of the historic events leading
up to our time. For instance, the Holy Roman Empire seems to fit many of the
prophecies relating to the final kingdom of ten kings. By amassing a great
many intangibles, it could also be argued that the Holy Roman Empire
represents the Babylon of old. This is not something new. This has been
believed for hundreds of years. Indeed the translators of the KJV, nearly 400
years ago, also believed this: See the foreword in your own KJV Bible that was
written by the translators. They make reference to the Roman Catholic Pope
being the beast whose deadly wound was healed. So this is no recent example of
revealed prophecy. These translators even claimed that England was Sion [Zion]
in the opening paragraph - a claim that was also made by a certain foolish
shepherd in the 20th century.
But does the Bible say that
the Popish Church of Rome is the beast? If so where?
BABYLON THE
GREAT
Apart from Israel, Babylon is
the most frequently mentioned name in the Bible. In every instance of this
name, it refers to a city in the land of the Chaldeans - of the geographical
area of Mesopotamia where the Euphrates river flows. The Bible leaves no doubt
about which location it's referring. All the Old Testament prophecies leave no
doubt, whatsoever, that it is referring to the location from where
Nebuchadnezzar reigned. Yet for the last few hundred years, most
self-proclaimed prophets have interpreted the Bible to indicate that Babylon
is Rome. Whether some, or even all, of the inhabitants of northern Italy are
descended from the Chaldeans of old, is irrelevant! The Bible, when it refers
to Babylon, means the Babylon of old!
It's true that the Bible does
use symbolism. But whenever symbolism is used, the Bible clarifies it. It is
not for private interpretation to determine the meaning. For instance, Eve,
the 'woman,' is the 'mother of all living.' Eve is also a 'rib' because she
was formed from a rib. A 'woman' or a 'rib' in symbolic language means a
branch of humanity. Such references are a genealogical symbol. The
symbolic reference to a woman is sometimes rendered as 'mother' or 'daughter.'
Again, this is a reference to genealogy as implied by the term. 'Mother' being
the biological term to her offspring or seed, and 'daughter' being a reference
to biological descent.
God refers to those in whom He
has implanted His Seed as sons and daughters - that is, offspring. From the
very beginning, God has divided humanity into two sectors: the seed of God and
the seed of Satan the devil. Gen 3:15
"And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike
[margin] your head, and you will bruise his heel." And so
began six thousand years of enmity. The 'seed' of the woman was never more
than a thin thread of humanity, whereas the 'seed' of Satan is the broad mass
of humanity today. This thin thread has continually existed during 6,000
years. The 'seed' of this woman also arises in the New Testament in the person
of the Christ who inflicted a deadly wound to the head of the serpent
(Job 26:12-13, Ps 87:4, 89:10, Isa 51:9). More information is
given on this in the article on Satan's Fate. This thin thread of humanity
emerges through the tribe of Judah who is described as the 'woman'
(Rev 12:1-6).
Regardless of what political
correctness might demand of people today, God has clearly divided the nations
according to His will. He has chosen certain branches of humanity for His own
purpose. Others he has marked for slaughter. God is just and fair. Whatever He
does is done with perfect righteousness (Rev
15:3-4, 16:5-7). We don't have to decide whether God is righteous;
we have to decide whether WE are righteous! We decide
this by comparing ourselves with the instructions of God. GOD
is the arbitrator on what righteousness is!
GERMANY THE
BEAST??
God
also decides what His prophecies mean!
He doesn't allow others to interpret them, using their own form of symbolism.
Germany has caused a lot of trouble in the past, and particularly during the
20th century. It may seem logical to assume that Germany is again to
arise as a super-power and unite ten nations of Europe into a military power.
It may also seem logical that the 'beast' individual will arise from
Germany, and emulate the conduct of Adolph Hitler. We could expand on this assumption
and conclude that Germany is the logical device in the hands of Satan to
enforce the mark of the beast and to restrict the buying and selling of goods.
It all this is true, then obviously we can assume that Germany will be the one
to lead the assault on the U.S. and Britain (the Houses of Joseph), and take
them into captivity. Bible scholars around the world allude to a similar
escatology. Many believe that Europe will be the ten kings of Daniel and
Revelation.
And why wouldn't all this be
so?
The answer is: THE
BIBLE DOESN'T SAY THIS!
By clever trickery and lying
assumptions you have been led to believe these things - by people who won't
believe the Bible! These false prophets don't believe God. They prefer to
believe what they perceive to be a logical progression to recent past events.
But God is going to shock the
world! You will see what you never expected to see! While you have your eyes
trained on Germany and the rest of Western Europe, you are ignoring what is
the true prophetic fulfillment. During the 20th century, self-proclaimed
prophets have arisen and claimed that the beast is a whole variety of nations
and organisations. These include the Roman Catholic Church, Germany, Russia,
the League of Nations, the United Nations, the United States of America, and
even the 'new world order' of the global market.
And where do they get all
these lying claims? NOT FROM THE BIBLE!
The responsibility of all true
Christians is to believe the word of God - the Bible! The Bible reveals all,
and its from the Bible that we will get our understanding of ALL prophecy!
Those who believe that ancient
Assyria is Germany today should be made aware that this perverted observation
is made on the basis of a piece of pottery found in archeological diggings in
the land of ancient Assyria. This piece of pottery featured a decoration of
reversed swastikas. This formed the whole basis of their belief that Germany
was Assyria. They further enhanced their belief by claiming that the name
'German' means 'war men'.
The Bible speaks of two
'beasts' that will arise. Daniel first spoke of them, clearly distinguishing
between them, and the Apostle John also wrote of them in the Book of
Revelation. Again the distinction between them is clear. You don't need to
listen to the extravagant claims of the lying frauds, the Bible CLEARLY
IDENTIFIES who these two beasts are!
THE BEAST
THAT ONCE WAS
Rev 17:8
"The beast, which you saw, once was,
now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his
destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written
in the book of life from the creation of the world will be ASTONISHED
when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not,
and yet will come."
Do you really believe that the
world would be astonished to see another Fuhruer arise from Germany? Russia
wouldn't! They've always believed that Germany can't be trusted. After
starting two world wars this century, Germany's emergence as a military power
would surprise no-one.
When the beast power does
arise, the world is going to be ASTONISHED. This powerful force
is going to arise like the legendary phoenix. It will catch the whole world
off-guard. It will be unexpected and it will arise when every nation's guard
is down - when none will be in a position to retaliate against them.
Notice Rev 17:8 again. The only ones who won't be astonished
are those whose names are recorded 'in the
Book of Life from the creation of the world'.
Only God's seed will not be astonished! They will be expecting it.
Throughout the prophecies of
the Bible, God goes into infinite detail of the events of the time of the end.
He mentions many nations and details the role they will play in these endtime
events. Logically enough, He makes no mention of Assyria playing any major
role in the appearance of the final ten kings and the two beasts of Revelation
chapter 13.
Nor do any of the Churches of
God provide any proof that Germany does play a role! If you read their
literature, you will find that Germany is injected into the prophecies by
means of smoke and mirrors. They hammer out the point of a 'modern Babylon'
and a 'beast' power then suddenly the name Germany or Assyria springs into
their prophecy. To the unwary reader, it appears to make sense based on the
conduct of Germany in two world wars. The concept of these so-called
prophets is that Germany will head a revival of the Holy Roman Empire
At the time that the Book of
Revelation was written, the Holy Roman Empire was at the zenith of its power.
Yet this book says that the Beast 'that once
was, now is not, yet will come...' Whatever this beast was,
it DID NOT EXIST at the time of the Apostle John.
Clearly, it does NOT refer to the Holy Roman Empire! If you want
to insist that it is, then you are calling God a liar! Christ Himself said,
that not a single stroke of the pen will be removed from the words of the
prophets until all is fulfilled! Not the smallest stroke of the pen!
It might make perfect sense to
those who believe they have the right to interpret scriptures according to
their own ideas and logic, but God decides who and what will fulfill His
prophecies. The Apostle John recorded what he was told, and what he saw. He
said that the beast 'that once was' did not exist at that time.
It had existed in the past, but no longer existed! So logic alone rules out
the Roman Empire which DID exist at that time! This beast that
had once existed, will once again arise in the future.
And where will it arise from?
The same scripture tells us. It will arise from the Abyss (sometimes referred
to as the bottomless pit). What is this bottomless pit? Is it symbolic
language for the airy-fairy interpretation given by the false prophets?
No! Once again the Bible tells us what is meant! Here it is: Luke
8:28 "When he saw Jesus, he
cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What
do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture
me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many
times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot, and kept
under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demons into
solitary places. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And
they begged Him repeatedly not to order them to go into the ABYSS."
The Abyss is a place of
punishment, and its a REAL place. You will notice that Christ
had the power to order them into this Abyss. They literally
begged Him not to send them there. The Greek word used here is the same word
used in Rev 17:8.
The Greek word is 'abussos' and means a 'place of restraint in a deep chasm.'
Satan's demons tremble with fear at the thought of being sent there. The Abyss
is a real place and is so described in the Bible: 2Pet
2:4 "For if God did not spare
angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy
dungeons to be held for judgment...." 1Pet
3:18 "He
was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also
He went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long
ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was
being built."
There are a number of
extremely evil beings that have been imprisoned there for thousands of years.
One, whose name is Apollyon will be released at a certain set
time, and after he has done what he plans to do, will go to perdition (Gr: apoleia)
just as his name implies: Rev 9:11 "They
had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon,
and in Greek, Apollyon." The Old Testament mentions
this 'being' five times, though in most versions his name is translated
'destruction.' All of these verses refer to this evil being that is currently
locked away. He is soon to be released to bring chaos and destruction to the
earth. Satan is NOT currently locked away and he is NOT
Abaddon! Satan will be locked up soon - and for a thousand years
(Rev 20:1-2). Abaddon IS currently locked away in
prison, and he is the vicious overlord of those in the Abyss
(Rev 9:11). When he is released (V1)
he will reap devastating havoc on the earth and will kill two prophets in
Jerusalem (Rev 11:7) - and will go
to his destruction and DEATH! (Rev
17:8).
In the past many false
prophets have arisen who have indulged themselves in the crackpot machinations
of their own minds, to believe that the beast is to arise from the 'bottomless
pit' which they believe and teach is the Holy Roman Empire and Germany!
Whether they admit it or not, they have flagrantly violated the law of the
Bible in attempting their own interpretation - against the evidence of the
Bible! Even if an angel from heaven were to speak to them and tell them that
the Bible doesn't mean what it says; if they don't speak according to what is
recorded in the Bible - they are false prophets! There are no 'if's' or 'but's',
if they presume to place their own interpretation on the Bible, and especially
if they presume to teach others, they will go to the lake of fire!! Many are
already marked for the lake of fire because they have exhibited such
contemptuous disregard for God's Word!
THE GERMANY
THEORY
God's power is not restricted
to physical abilities. It wouldn't matter if Germany was the mightiest and
most feared nation on earth today. Even if they owned 90% of all the armaments
on earth today, they could never fulfill the role of the coming 'beast' and
the ten kings, because God says that this 'beast' is to arise from
somewhere else!
If you don't know from where
the mark of the beast will come, then you will be in no position to reject it.
If your eyes are on Germany and the Pope, then you will not recognize it when
it is thrust on the world. If you accept this mark, even inadvertently, then
you will go to the lake of fire (Rev 9:12,
20:15).
If Germany is the big bogey
today, then what was the point of Daniel mentioning the three kingdoms that
would arise and then a fourth - one that was exceptionally terrible? Why would
God want to confuse us with irrelevant details about kingdoms that mean
nothing to the endtime? But the book of Daniel states that these prophecies ARE
for the endtime!
The three kingdoms mentioned
by Daniel are identified in his writings. They are the Babylonian Empire,
the Medes and Persian Empire, and the Greek/Macedonian Empire.
All
of these kingdoms are to exist together in the end time
and they are going to fall together! Dan
2:31-35 "You
looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue - an enormous,
dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of
pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its
legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were
watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on
its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the
clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken
to pieces AT THE SAME TIME...."
It's true that the original
three kingdoms existed sequentially, that is, one after the other. But the
Bible states that when the Rock crushes and destroys them, and blows
them away as chaff to fill the whole earth, all will exist at that
time; and they will be destroyed at the same time.
This is what the Bible says, and this is what it means!
In Daniel chapter 7, we learn
a little more about these kingdoms. Here they are described as four strange
animals or beasts. The fourth beast had ten horns. From among these ten horns
another horn - an eleventh horn - grew. He uproots three of the other horns.
This beast or horn corresponds to the second beast described in Revelation
13. Notice Dan 7:11
"Then I continued to watch because
of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast
was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The
other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live
for a period of time."
Here we see that this beast,
also called the false prophet in the book of Revelation, was thrown into the
lake of fire. This event is described in Rev
19:19-20 "Then I saw the
beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to
make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the BEAST was
captured, and with him the FALSE PROPHET who had performed the miraculous
signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received
the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. The two of them were thrown
alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. The rest of them [that is,
the kings of the earth] were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth
of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."
Here we have an accurate
sequence of events. The beast and the false prophet are captured and then
executed in the fiery lake. After this, all the kings of earth and their
armies are destroyed in what is described as the great feast for the carrion
of the earth (Rev 19:17).
Shortly after this, we read
that a mighty angel of God, who has the key to the Abyss [Gr: abussos] seizes
Satan the devil, who is the serpent or dragon, and binds him for a 1,000 years
(Rev 20:1-3). Satan, always playing at being god, has just seen
his demonic generals and their armies destroyed in an all-out battle against
Christ. This is the battle of Armageddon. After this, Satan has a 1,000 years
to contemplate his next move before his final destruction AND DEATH. He
knows that his seed is still out there, his dragon-worshipping clan. They will
breed in number like the sand of the seashore in the course of the 1,000 years
(Rev 20:7-8). When he is released he
will make one last final, all-out assault on the Kingdom of God.
THE FOURTH
BEAST OF DANIEL
All three of the kingdoms
spoken of by Daniel, are described as having certain characteristics of
animals: e.g. lion, bear, leopard (Dan 7:1-6).
Described are predatory animals. These three kingdoms are vile, cruel
and predatory.
The fourth beast, however is
the vilest and cruelest of them all! This fourth beast is a part of the whole
image described earlier by Daniel: Dan 2:31-35
"You looked, O king, and there before you
stood a large statue - and enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The
head of the statue was made of GOLD, its chest and arms of SILVER, its belly
and thighs of BRONZE, its legs of IRON, its feet partly of IRON and partly of
baked CLAY. While you were watching, a ROCK was cut out, but not by
human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed
them. Then the IRON, the CLAY, the BRONZE, the SILVER
and the GOLD were broken to pieces at the same time and became
like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away
without leaving a trace. But the ROCK that struck the statue became a huge
MOUNTAIN and filled the whole earth."
All these parts of the image
are joined and are a part of the whole. They are a single entity.
DANIEL
INTERPRETS
After telling Nebuchadnezzar
of his dream, Daniel then proceeds to interpret it: Dan
2:36 "This
was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are the
king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might
and glory; in your hands He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and
the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.
You are that head of GOLD. After you, another kingdom will rise,
inferior to yours [SILVER]. Next, a third kingdom, one of BRONZE,
will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom,
strong as IRON - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks
things to pieces, so it will crush and break ALL the others. Just as
you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron,
so will this be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of
iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron
and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And
just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a
MIXTURE and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. IN
THE TIME OF THOSE KINGS, the God of heaven will set up a KINGDOM
THAT WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED, nor will it be left to another people. It
will crush ALL those kingdoms and BRING THEM TO AN END,
but it will itself endure for ever. This is the meaning of the vision of the ROCK
cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a ROCK that broke the IRON,
the BRONZE, the CLAY, the SILVER and the GOLD to
pieces. The Great God has shown the king what will take place IN THE
FUTURE. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."
Daniel's interpretation raises
some very important points. Most importantly, he says this is a prophecy for THE
FUTURE. He then identifies when in the future it refers - to the time
when the Rock will crush them all together and set up a
lasting Kingdom that will never be destroyed. So this prophecy is yet future!
The final or fourth kingdom will comprise a MIXTURE of the
former kingdoms and will crush and break all the others. This last point is
very important, and we will soon see why!
Many years later, Daniel had a
dream. He wrote down the substance of this dream: Dan
7:2 "Daniel
said, "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four
winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different
from the others, came up out of the SEA. The FIRST was like a
LION, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were
torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a
man, and the heart of a man was given to it. And there before me was a
SECOND beast, which looked like a BEAR. It was raised up on one of
its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was
told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!' After that, I looked, and there
before me was another beast, one that looked like a LEOPARD. And on its
back it had four wings like those of a bird. This BEAST had four
heads and was GIVEN AUTHORITY TO RULE. After that, in my vision at
night I looked, and there before me was a FOURTH beast - terrifying and
frightening and very powerful. It had large IRON teeth; it crushed and
devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was
different from all the former beasts, and it had TEN HORNS. While I was
thinking about the [ten] horns, there before me was ANOTHER HORN, a
little one, which came up AMONG them; and three of the first
[ten] horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a
man and a mouth that spoke boastfully."
You will notice that this
prophecy mentions only the third beast, the one with four heads is 'GIVEN
AUTHORITY TO RULE.' The meaning of this will become clear as we
examine the next vision of Daniel that describes this beast. The fourth or
final beast mentioned here doesn't look like a lion, bear or leopard; but it
has all the strongest characteristics of each of these animals. All of these
animals or kingdoms are a part of it. It is a composite of them all! This
beast is further described in Rev 13:1-2 "And
I saw a BEAST coming out of the SEA. He had TEN HORNS and
SEVEN HEADS, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a
blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a LEOPARD, but had feet
like a BEAR, and a mouth like a LION. The dragon gave the
beast his power and his throne and great authority." This BEAST
described is a composite of the first three beasts mentioned in Dan 7, and is
made of parts of all the first three beasts.
The Book of Revelation,
chapter 13, mentions a second beast that arises - only this one arises from
the earth - not the sea! He is also referred to as the 'false prophet.' This
is because he has supernatural powers and causes fire to come down from
heaven, and makes an idol speak. The whole world will see him as a god. The
scriptures make it clear that he exercises all the power of the first BEAST,
and on his behalf, who in turn, derives his power from Satan the devil (Rev
13:2, 11-12). So these two are closely allied and endowed
with considerable power.
Now notice the parallel
description of this FIRST BEAST in Daniel chapter 8, and notice from
where it arises! Dan 8:8 "The
GOAT [this is Greece -
V21] became very great, but at
the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its PLACE
four prominent horns grew up towards the four winds of heaven. Out of ONE
OF THEM came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the
south and to the east and towards the beautiful land [south-east]. It grew
until it reached the host of the heavens and it threw some of the starry
host to the ground and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great
as the Prince of the host, it took away the DAILY SACRIFICE from Him,
and the place of the SANCTUARY was brought low."
Notice the clarity of these
verses: Firstly, the goat is the king of Greece: Dan
8:21 "And the male goat is the
kingdom of Greece." (NKJV). There can be no confusion about
this! Now the large horn between the goat's eyes is the first king.
Dan 8:21
"..and the large horn between his
eyes is the first king [of Greece]." Again there
is no need for confusion. The Bible makes it very plain! Combining the verse
we see that the GOAT is the KINGDOM of GREECE and the LARGE
HORN is the FIRST KING OF GREECE.
The large horn is broken off
and four other horns grow up in its place. And what was its place? The place
where the horn was broken off was the goat's head which is the kingdom of
Greece. So in place of the first king, there are now four kings which grow
from the shaggy goat's head. They are all a part of the shaggy goat from where
they grew. So all four of these horns or kingdoms arise from the shaggy goat.
HISTORICAL
FULFILMENT
Let's now recap on Biblical
history. Babylon was the first kingdom that was represented by
the GOLD head of the great image. This kingdom was swallowed up
(not destroyed, mind you), by Cyrus the Mede, who was a general in
Nebuchadnezzar's army, and became the king over the entire territory, and what
is more, he adopted the name 'King of Babylon' in his title. His kingdom
represented the SILVER breast and arms. After some years, another king
arose. This time from Macedonia. It should be understood that the Macedonians
at this time were Greeks. Alexander the Great inherited the kingdom from his
father Phillip II of Macedonia. After pulling the whole Grecian territory
together under his banner, he set out to do what his father had planned to do
before his death: to conquer the powerful Babylonian/Median and Persian
empire.
With lightning speed and
exceptional military strategy and cunning, Alexander conquered the whole
territory of the Babylonian kingdom, which was then under the
rule of the Medes and Persians. He then mopped up Syria, the great city of
Tyre (which, oddly enough, had already transferred most of their trading
activities to the island of Cypress - Isa
23:1-3), Egypt, and then campaigned all the way to India. Following
a rebellion by his generals, he turned back to Babylon. Here he married the
daughter of Darius III, and instructed all his generals to take wives of the
Media/Persian kingdom. About 80 generals and many of the men in his army took
wives of the nobility. He then enlisted Babylonians, Medes and Persians into
his army and sent his own Greek and Macedonian troops home. He also moved to
integrate the different ethnic communities throughout the entire empire to
create a multi-cultural society. This was effectively done by
removing all the boundaries of his Empire, and allowing people to migrate
freely.
In the few short years of his
13 year reign, Alexander the Great succeeded in establishing Grecian
philosophy and learning throughout the whole world. For hundreds of years,
Greek science and culture was the standard adopted by many nations. The Greek
language was spoken widely throughout the world and was still used in
Jerusalem at the time of Christ. Most of the New Testament was originally
written in Greek.
In Egypt, Alexander built the
city of Alexandria. This city became the most famous centre of learning in the
world, and boasted more books and manuscripts that any other city or nation.
As a point of interest, the Alexandrian Library is again being built today.
The Greek kingdom represents
the belly and thighs of BRONZE.
THE FOUR
KINGDOMS
Consider now what happened
after Alexander's death. Four of his generals seized the kingdom and broke it
up. Four kingdoms were formed from the kingdom that was the shaggy goat. These
are the four kingdoms that grew up after the single horn (Alexander) was
broken off. They were:
1. The
Greek/Macedonian region Ruled by Cassander.
2. The Thracia/Turkey
region (Bulgaria and Turkey today). Ruled by Lysimachus. Later called the
Byzantine Empire.
3. The
Babylonian/Persian region, including Syria, Lebanon, and all the coastland to
the city of Tyre. Also known as the Seleucid Dynasty and ruled by Seleucus.
4. The whole of
Egypt (which in prophecy includes Libya and the Nubians). Also known as the
Ptolemies.
Some years later, a despicable
person arose from the Babylonian/Persian kingdom. His name was Antiochus
Ephiphanes IV of Syria. He was the 8th king of the Seleucid Dynasty. He is the
one that drove Egypt out of the Holy Land and seized it for himself. He later
strode into the Holy City of Jerusalem and defiled the temple by sacrificing a
pig and then took away the daily sacrifice. This caused the Jews to revolt.
The uprising was led by Judas Macabee, and he successfully drove them out,
enabling the restitution of the daily sacrifice.
It should be noted that this
has nothing to do with the prophecies concerning the daily sacrifice in
the future when the beast appears on the world scene. The later event is of
much greater magnitude. Since the acts of Antiochus Ephiphanes foreshadows a
much later event, its worth studying the history and background of this man.
THE SHAGGY
GOAT
Let's now see just where this
beast arises from. This is revealed in very plain language in the Bible: Dan
8:8 "The goat became very
great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in
its place four prominent horns grew up towards the four winds of heaven. OUT
OF ONE OF THEM came another horn, which started small but grew in power to
the south and to the east and towards the beautiful land."
So this horn arises
'OUT OF ONE OF THEM', that is, one of the kingdoms formed
from the shaggy goat. The question is: from which of these kingdoms did it
arise? Should we attempt to guess, based on our knowledge of national economic
stability, present-day military prowess, or recent historical events? NO! We
should not! God doesn't allow us to interpret His prophecies. God does it for
us! So what does the Bible say?
THE KING OF
THE NORTH
In the above verse we are
told! Here it is again: Dan 8:9 "OUT
OF ONE OF THEM came another horn, which started small but grew in
power to the south and to the east and towards the beautiful
land." These verses are speaking of the four kingdoms that
emerged from the shaggy goat. Only one of these is situated in the
geographical position that has another to its east, and another to its
south, and another to the south-east (or towards the beautiful land).
This is the kingdom of the NORTH - the one from which Alexander the
Great emerged - the third or BRONZE kingdom - the only one in
this prophecy that is 'GIVEN AUTHORITY TO RULE'! So what the Bible is
clearly telling us is: the beast will arise from the northern kingdom and he
will be the KING OF THE NORTH.
Just so there are no
misunderstandings of what the Bible is saying, let's go to Daniel chapter 11,
and notice what it has to say in regard to these kingdoms. These verses
clearly show that Alexander the Great was the single horn of the shaggy goat.
He was the king of Greece that emerged after the kingdom
of Persia, which he conquered. He was the one who did as he pleased
(Dan 11:3). He is the king whose kingdom was broken up after his
appearance. And remember, all of this was prophesied long before Alexander was
born. Dan 11:2
"Now then, I tell you the truth. Three
MORE kings will appear in Persia [after Darius the Mede],
and then a FOURTH, who will be far richer than all the others. When he
has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the
Kingdom of Greece [then ruled by Phillip II]. Then a mighty king
[Alexander the Great] will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he
pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and
parcelled out towards the four winds of heaven."
The last king of Persia,
before the invasion of Alexander was Darius III. He was the fourth king after
Darius I who reigned at the time of Daniel's prophecy (V1).
So clearly, the dynasty of the Mede/Persian kings ends with him. After this, a
'mighty king' arises and rules over the Media/Persian empire after conquering
it. The reference to the 'mighty king' that 'appears' certainly describes
Alexander the Great. His legendary military victories are among the most
famous battles of history. Although greatly out-numbered in his first battle
with the Persian forces of Darius III at the river Granicus, his superior
battle strategy led to a decisive victory. From then on, he proved himself
invincible.
But just to ensure that there
are no doubts, God tells us exactly how many kings would rule in Persia before
this 'mighty king' appears:
1.
Nebuchadnezzar
6. Darius the Great
2. Evil-Merodach
7. Xerxes (1st king)
3. Belshazzar
8. Artaxerxes (2nd king)
4. Cyrus I
9. Dast (3rd king)
5. Cambysses
10. Darius III (4th king - richer than the rest)
Some people like to list
Nabonidus, the father of Belshazzar, as a king. The fact is that there may
have been co-regency for a few months, but it was Belshazzar that reigned as
the last king of Nebuchadnezzar's empire. Nabonidus was a mystic who had
antiquarian interests. He retired to Teima in Arabia and lived there for many
years. After an absence of 9 years, he returned to his son's kingdom only to
witness its overthrow by Cyrus the Mede. And so began the Medo/Persian empire.
One of Cyrus' first acts was
to free all the enslaved inhabitants, including the Jewish nation. King Cyrus
the first, was actually named in a prophecy in the book of Isaiah nearly 200
years before he ascended to the throne (Isa
44:28, 45:1).
INTERPRETATION
OF THE 'GOAT'
As always the Bible
interprets! After the vision, Daniel was visited by Gabriel
(Dan 8:16), the mighty commander of the armies of God. This is
the mighty being that fought against the Assyrians, slaughtering 185,000
soldiers in one night (Isa 37:36),
leaving them powerless and vulnerable to the conquest by Nabopolassar, the
father of Nebuchadnezzar.
Gabriel explains the
interpretation of the vision: Dan 8:17
"As he came near the place where I
was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. "Son of man," he
said to me, "understand that THE VISION CONCERNS THE TIME OF THE END."
While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the
ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. He said, "I am going
to tell you what will happen later in the TIME OF WRATH, because the VISION
CONCERNS THE APPOINTED TIME OF THE END. The TWO-HORNED RAM that you
saw represents the kings of MEDIA AND PERSIA. The SHAGGY GOAT is
the KING OF GREECE, and the large horn between his eyes is the first
king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four
kingdoms that will emerge from his nation [empire] but will not have the same
power. IN THE LATTER PART OF THEIR REIGN, when rebels have become
completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He
will become very strong, but NOT BY HIS OWN POWER (see
Rev 13:2). He will cause
astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will DESTROY
the mighty men and the HOLY PEOPLE (see
Rev 13:7). He will cause deceit
to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he
will destroy many AND TAKE HIS STAND AGAINST THE PRINCE OF PRINCES. Yet
he will be destroyed, but not by human power. The vision of the evenings and
mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, FOR IT
CONCERNS THE DISTANT FUTURE.""
Concerning the RAM and
the SHAGGY GOAT we read this: Dan 8:7
"I saw him attack the RAM
furiously, striking the RAM and shattering his two horns. The RAM
was powerless to stand against him, the GOAT knocked him to the ground
and trampled on him, and none could rescue the RAM from his power. The GOAT
became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken
off, and in its place FOUR PROMINENT HORNS grew up towards the four
winds of heaven. OUT OF ONE OF THEM came ANOTHER HORN, which
started small but grew in power towards the south and to the east and towards
the Beautiful Land. It grew UNTIL IT REACHED THE HOST OF THE HEAVENS,
and it THREW SOME OF THE STARRY HOST TO THE EARTH AND TRAMPLED ON THEM."
This injects a whole new dimension into the prophecy! Here is the KINGDOM
OF GREECE, which has been divided up into FOUR KINGDOMS, from which
arises 'ANOTHER HORN'. This horn now reaches out to the host of the
heavens. What is more, he has the power to throw some of the starry host to
the ground! What does it mean? Could a man do this?
We now learn the true nature
of this man, and whose power he exercises! The Book of Revelation describes
this beast and identifies the source of his power: Rev
13:2 "...The
dragon gave the beast HIS POWER and HIS THRONE and GREAT
AUTHORITY." This BEAST sits on the very throne of
Satan and exercises all his power. He is the 'front' man for Satan the devil.
And what does Satan do - he reaches for the 'HOST
OF THE HEAVENS'. Rev 12:4
"His tail swept a third of the stars out
of the sky AND FLUNG THEM TO THE EARTH." This is the
final straw! Up steps the mighty archangel Michael! V7
"And there was WAR in
heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and
his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, AND THEY LOST THEIR
PLACE IN HEAVEN. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent
called the devil or Satan, who LEADS THE WHOLE WORLD ASTRAY. He was HURLED
TO THE EARTH, and his angels with him."
When does this happen? We are
told in the next verse: V10
"Then I heard a LOUD VOICE
in heaven say: "Now have come the SALVATION and the POWER
and the KINGDOM OF OUR GOD, and the AUTHORITY OF HIS CHRIST. For
the accuser of our brothers who accuses them day and night, has been
hurled down."
Those in the heavenly realms
rejoice over this; they are delighted to see Satan's access to heaven barred.
Prior to this, he enjoyed the right to approach the throne of God seasonally (Job
1:5, Ps 89:5-7), now he is banished forever. But the rejoicing is
tinged with foreboding: Rev 12:12 "Therefore
rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the
sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short. When the dragon saw that he had
been hurled to earth, he pursued the WOMAN who had given birth to the
MALE CHILD (Christ - Rev
12:5)." Those blasphemous wretches that believe that
the Church - which they believe gave birth to Christ - is the WOMAN are
in for a very rude shock! It's speaking of a branch of the tribe of
Judah – the House of David!
The House of David is described in Zech
12:10-14. It consists
of David’s line and the House of Levi. As a point of interest, it was the Levite priest Samuel that
established the House of David, and it was a Levite – John the Baptist –
that preceded the arrival of Jesus Christ – the Son of David.
Similarly, a Levite priest will again precede the great and dreadful
Day of the LORD (Mal 3:10).
So now we know that the BEAST
arises from the KINGDOM of the SHAGGY GOAT which is GREECE.
To many people, this would seem unlikely in this day and age. This is why the
world will be ASTONISHED when it happens! But he is going to receive a
little help! Gabriel spoke of this to Daniel: Dan
10:14 "Now
I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future,
for the vision concerns a time yet to come [distant
future - Dan 8:26]" V20 "So
he said, "Do you not know why I have come to you? Soon I will RETURN
to fight against the prince of PERSIA, and when I go, the prince of GREECE
will come; but FIRST I will tell you what is written in the Book of
Truth." Gabriel then goes on to tell Daniel what is
in the Book of Truth - which is covered in
Chapter 11. This all happens FIRST, before Gabriel and with
the support of Michael (who is the commander of the heavenly realms - and who
fights against the forces of the spirit world) comes to fight the prince of PERSIA.
The explanation of all this is
not without complexity. But the Bible explains. The prince of PERSIA is
a spirit being of considerable power. In the days of Daniel, he actually
detained Gabriel against his will for 3 weeks. To put everything in context,
this is what the Bible says - Gabriel is speaking: Dan
10:13 "But the prince of the PERSIAN
kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then MICHAEL, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of PERSIA.
Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the
[distant] future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
THE WORLD
MUST SERVE THE BEAST!
When the BEAST arises
from the GREEK KINGDOM, he will go out and cause devastating
destruction. He will be given unfettered power to do as he likes. The PERSIAN
kingdom will put up resistence and Gabriel will be sent to soften them up.
Again, Michael gives support to Gabriel in this task
(Dan 10:21). Then the king of GREECE will come and sweep
through the land. The whole world must serve the king of GREECE - the first
BEAST, just as all the world was required to serve the king of BABYLON
in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. The second BEAST is the harlot
'daughter' of BABYLON and this BEAST will support the FIRST
BEAST (Rev 13:12) even though he has
all the power of the FIRST BEAST. But notice what the book of Jeremiah
had to say in regard to the Great Harlot that ruled in his day - God is
speaking: Jer 27:5 "With
My great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and the people and
animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. Now I will hand all
your countries over to My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of BABYLON; I will make
even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will serve him, and his son
and his grandson; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him. If,
however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of BABYLON
or bow his neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword,
famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand.
So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams,
your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, 'You will not serve the king of
BABYLON.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you from
your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. But if any nation will bow
its neck under the yoke of the king of BABYLON and serve him, I will
let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there,"
declares the LORD."
It was God's purpose that the
tribe of Judah served the king of Babylon - just as it was His purpose that
the whole 12 tribes served the king of Egypt - even before they were born
(Gen 15:12-13). God has a purpose for everything. The earth and
everything in it are His to do with as He pleases. Our responsibility is to do
His will. The day will come when God will require all the house of Israel to
serve the BEAST of GREECE and the BEAST of BABYLON. And if they
don't, then God will rain down on their heads the sword, famine and plague.
They will be handed over to him along with all the saints. Because they chose
not to serve God faithfully according to law, they will serve the 'lawless
one' as slaves. Notice what God says when Judah and Jerusalem thought that
they would escape the king of Babylon: Jer 37:9
"This is what the LORD says: Do not
deceive yourselves, thinking, 'The Babylonians will surely leave us.' The will
not! Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is
attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come
out and burn this city down."
Many people who read the
prophecies of God and understand their meaning, will still not believe. They
will prefer to believe the false prophets who offer them lying words of hope.
While God's hand is still outstretched for the house of Israel, time has
almost run out.
BUT DON'T
WORSHIP HIM!
While the world must serve the
Beast, they must not worship him. If they worship him or accept his mark they
will die - horribly! Rev 14:9
"A third angel followed them and
said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and
receives his mark on their forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the
wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of
His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of
the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever
and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and
his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." This
calls for patient endurance on the part of the SAINTS who obey God's
commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven
say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their
labour, for their deeds will follow them.""
WHO IS
EPHRAIM?
Some nations will hold out
from serving the two BEASTS. One of these will be the king of
PERSIA (Iran today). For their refusal they will suffer the sword,
famine and plague - at the hands of Gabriel and Michael. The PERSIANS will
prefer to put their trust in the 'mighty men' (Dan
8:24), the mightiest nation on earth. This is the nation that
speaks and men tremble! Who is this? The prophet Hosea explains: Hos
13:1 "When Ephraim spoke, men
trembled; he was exalted in Israel." Ephraim was the dominant
tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel. What nation on earth do the nations
of the earth tremble before? Which nation on earth would willingly engage the
United States of America in all-out war? But there are many other scriptures
that identify the U.S. as Ephraim. Indeed many scriptures would not make sense
if they were not Ephraim!
It was Ephraim that rebelled
against God and lead the 10 northern tribes into disobedience. It was
Jeroboam, their leader that changed the seventh-month Holy Days to the eighth
month and re-introduced idolatry. The U.S. today leads the whole world in
decadence (with Australia a close second). Almost every nation on earth has,
during this century, experienced the heartache of war in their territory -
except the U.S. They have been the richest and most bountiful nation on earth
and have suffered almost none of the tragic adversities experienced by other
nations. And the Bible tells us why: Hos 13:12
"The guilt of Ephraim IS STORED
UP, his sins are KEPT ON RECORD. Pains as a woman in childbirth
come to him, but he is a child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he does
not come to the opening of the womb. I will ransom him from the power of the
grave; I will redeem him from death. Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?" The words 'death'
and 'grave' are reference pointers ot Rev
6:7.
The whole Book of Hosea deals
with the 12 tribes of Israel generally, and Ephraim and Judah specifically.
This is because these two tribes were the dominant tribes in the northern and
southern kingdoms, and it’s these tribes that God uses as a reference to the
two kingdoms. And not without good reason. Continuing: V15
"I will have no compassion, even
though he thrives among his brothers." Yes, Ephraim
thrives among his brothers - all the other children of Jacob [Israel]. The
North American continent is home to all the tribes of Israel - though not all
of the people of these tribes lives there. God also speaks of the lands
[plural] where he has driven them. These lands include central and northern
Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, S. Africa. The over-riding influence
of Ephraim over all the other tribes is evident, and God makes a strong point
in this regard: Hos 7:1 "Whenever
I would restore the fortunes of My people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins
of EPHRAIM are exposed and the crimes of SAMARIA revealed. They
practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but
they do not realise that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf
them; they are always before Me."
When the 'sins of Ephraim are
exposed', Samaria - the rest of the tribes of the whole territory of the
northern kingdom - have their crimes revealed. All the other tribes follow the
lead of Ephraim - even in their decadence! These words are not intended as a
'hate session' on the U.S. whom God loves very much, but merely as a prophetic
warning. Because they refuse to acknowledge the laws of God they will suffer
terribly - even more than most nations. They have been the recipients of the
bountiful blessings of God that have far exceeded all other nations. They
should have lead the world in righteousness - God's righteousness! Instead
they have been foremost in desecrating God's laws!
Crazy Ephraim, they practice
deceit - they actually encourage the subversive elements of armies of
psychologists, psychiatrists, to influence their judgment in regard to the
offenders of crime. And this is what God is speaking about. In other words LAWLESSNESS!
But in a language that all can understand! The whole world knows that
Ephraim has a reputation for lawlessness. Their crime rate soars above all
others - with the possible exception today, of Australia. Australia, it
seems is sliding away faster than any nation on earth, and will soon surpass
Ephraim if the current trend continues.
Just so there is no confusion
about which era God is referring to in the Book of Hosea, this is what is
recorded in Hos 3:4 "For
the Israelites will live for many days without a king or prince, without
sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterwards the Israelites
will RETURN and seek the LORD their God and David their king.
They will come trembling to the LORD and to His blessings IN THE LAST
DAYS."
God refers to Ephraim as His
firstborn: Jer 31:9 "They
will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them
beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel's FATHER, and EPHRAIM IS MY FIRSTBORN SON."
These words mean exactly what they say! Refer back now to V6
"There will be a day when WATCHMEN
cry out on the hills of Ephraim, 'Come, let us go up to ZION, to the LORD
our God."
And who are the 'WATCHMEN'?
Hosea explains: Hos 9:8 "The
PROPHET, along with my God, is the WATCHMAN over EPHRAIM."
Of the two endtime PROPHETS, one is assigned to Ephraim and the
10 tribes, the other to Judah and Levi - the southern kingdom.
It’s the Levite prophet that is assigned the Holy Land and the
responsibility for Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
Through a series of miracles the leaders of Judah will acknowledge that
the LORD Almighty is their God: Zech 12:5
“Then the leaders of Judah will say
in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because
the LORD Almighty is their God.”
It will be then that the leaders of Judah will be raised
to the rank of a mighty conquering army:
V6 “On
that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire-pot in a woodpile, like
a flaming torch among sheaves. They
will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will
remain intact in her place.” At
this time, there will be other watchmen, perhaps several thousand of them,
living among the Ephraimites, serving Almighty God in captivity.
These are called the offspring or children of the House of David.
Why does God say that Ephraim
is His firstborn? You will notice that the 'WATCHMEN' call upon
them to 'go up to ZION, to the LORD our God.' And where are they
when the call goes out? Again and again, the Bible tells us, especially in the
Book of Hosea. Here is an example: Hos 9:3
"They will NOT remain in the LORD's land; EPHRAIM
will return to EGYPT and eat unclean food in ASSYRIA."
V7 "The
days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel
know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility [to God] so great,
the PROPHET is considered a fool, the INSPIRED MAN a maniac."
WHO IS
ASSYRIA?
God leaves nothing to chance.
He reveals ALL through his servants the prophets! Now as in the
past! God chose the prophet Ezra to identify Assyria in Bible prophecy. He
made this identification long after the Assyrian kingdom
had passed into history, and they passed into history long before the
prophetic endtime account of Daniel's prophecies were written. When Ezra made
this identification it was a very significant time. For this reason, and
because of the parallel significance for our time, the passage is quoted in
full: Ezra 6:19
"On the fourteenth day of the first
month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. The priests and Levites had
purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered
the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for
themselves. So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together
with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their
Gentile neighbours in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. For seven
days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD
filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of ASSYRIA,
so that he assisted them in the work on the House of God, the God of Israel."
And just so there is no mistake, the very next verse tells us that it
was the king of PERSIA that is referred to! Ezra
7:1 "After these things, during
the reign of Artaxerxes king of PERSIA..." Persia,
modern-day Iran, is Assyria in prophecy - so says the Holy Scriptures!
Step forward now, all those
lying frauds, who preside over the Body of Christ in Ephraim, show us your
proof - FROM THE BIBLE - that Germany is Assyria. You can't do
it because it's a LIE and YOU KNOW IT! You don't
honour God, instead you honour YOURSELVES. You don't care that the
Bible is the most precise and accurate literary work on earth, which gives
infinite detail on all aspects of prophecy. You don't care that God tells us
to 'seek and you will find' in His Word. Nor do you heed the
advice 'let the READER understand'!
Christ was referring to the READER of the Holy Scriptures - and
more particularly - PROPHECY! And what do you frauds teach for
prophecy? THE OPINIONS OF MEN!
The Bible says that Ephraim
and the whole house of Israel who are with them will return to Egypt. They
will suffer enormous defeat in war. This speaks of the armies. The ARMIES
will fall in battle in the Holy Land. God will send his prophet to resurrect
them - believe it or not! God will redeem them from DEATH and the
GRAVE. This is what God says: Eze 37:9-14
"Then He said to me, "Prophesy
to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: Come from the FOUR WINDS, O breath, and breathe
into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as He commanded
me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a
vast ARMY. Then He said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the
whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is
gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: O My people, I am going to open your GRAVES and
bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you,
My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your GRAVES and
bring you up from them. I will put My SPIRIT in you and you will live,
and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I THE LORD
HAVE SPOKEN, AND I HAVE DONE IT, declares the LORD."" What
God has spoken He will do!
Can we be sure just when this
is to occur? Perhaps Jeremiah was speaking about the end of the Millennium or
of some other time. Should we consult the writings of other Bible scholars to
get an opinion? No, let the frauds and the false prophets do that! That's
their modus operandi. God's true servants check the Bible for answers. Lo,
and behold, what do we find? The very next verse gives us the answer: V15
"The word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to JUDAH
and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood
and write on it, 'EPHRAIM'S stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of
Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that
they become one in your hand." V22
"They will become ONE NATION
in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over
all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two
kingdoms." V24
"My servant David will be king
over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow My
LAWS and be careful to keep My decrees. They will live in the land I
gave My servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and
their CHILDREN and their CHILDREN'S CHILDREN will live there for
ever, and DAVID My servant WILL BE THEIR PRINCE FOREVER."
The destruction of the armies
of Israel is accomplished by the BEAST that arises from the SEA.
Just as the first Beast's armies perished in the sea - the armies of Pharoah -
this BEAST will arise from the SEA to conquer the armies of the
House of Israel. At the time of the destruction of Pharoah's armies, Israel
was baptised in the sea (1Cor 10:2). The
first HEAD of the BEAST was fatally wounded by the WORD
of God - the One who became the CHRIST (Isa
51:9). More extensive details are found in the article: 'Satan
and his Demons'. Just briefly: The slaying of these heads was prophesied
in Gen 3:15.
The seven heads of the beast that the great harlot rides have now passed, but
one of these heads, who has already been fatally wounded will arise as an
eighth king (Rev 17:11). All these
heads had crowns (Rev 12:3) - all
were the enemies of God. David recorded this about these heads: Ps
68:21 "Surely God will crush
the HEADS of His ENEMIES, the HAIRY CROWNS of those who
go on in their sins." Rahab is the great harlot, who once
ruled over Egypt. This head was cut down by the WORD: Isa
51:9 "Was
it not You that cut RAHAB to pieces, who pierced that MONSTER
through?" [MONSTER: RSV=dragon, NKJV=serpent, KJV=dragon]. Job
said: Job 26:12
"By His great power he churned
up the SEA; by His WISDOM he cut RAHAB to pieces. By His
breath the skies became fair; His hand pierced the gliding SERPENT."
God used WISDOM to cut RAHAB to pieces. Who this 'WISDOM'
is, is revealed in Proverbs chapter 8. But that's another subject which
is covered in other articles. The prophet Isaiah identifies this gliding SERPENT
or DRAGON, and also calls him 'LEVIATHAN'. Isa
27:1 "In that day, the LORD
will punish with His sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, LEVIATHAN
the gliding SERPENT; He will slay the MONSTER of the SEA."
For further study see: Ps 74:14, Ps 89:10, Job
9:13, Ps 87:4, Job 41:1-10).
THE KING OF
THE SOUTH
Alexander's Greek/Macedonian
territory extended to the Danube - from Bucharest to the border of present-day
Austria. His very first act after ascending to his father's throne was to
secure this northern frontier.
Alexander's inherited kingdom
of the Greek/Macedonian region was prophesied to become the 'Kingdom of
the North' after his kingdom was broken up. The Bible also speaks of
the 'Kingdom of the South.' Which is the 'Kingdom of the
South'?
Most Bible students know that
the 'King of the South' is Egypt. Egypt is actually named as the
'King of the South' in the Bible (Dan
11:8). In addition to this, by examining the four kingdoms that
arose from Alexanders empire, it's obvious which is the southern one. In
Daniel 11, we find out more details about Egypt in the endtime. Dan
11:40 "At the time of the end
the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North
will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of
ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood."
V24 "He
will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.
He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the
riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission."
Notice that the king of the north extends his power over Egypt and gains
control of her wealth. Not just Egypt, but also her implied allies - the
Libyans and Nubians. He will subdue these and they will submit to him. Notice
the words 'in submission.'
Here we see that Egypt will be
subjugated and this BEAST will gain control of all their wealth. This
clearly indicates that Egypt will be swallowed up and absorbed into this
military machine. Libya will be a part of this southern kingdom and will also
be controlled by the BEAST. We also have a reference to the Nubians
(some translations: Ethiopians. Others: Cush). All indications are that the
beast will target the oil-rich provinces of Africa. That is, those who have
strategic, military riches necessary for his war machine. Since his power base
will include all the Middle East states that are rich in petroleum, he will
seek to secure all sources of it, rendering other nations immobile. For this
reason, his strategic design may include other Nubian states in Central and
Western Africa. This is, however, a private observation and is not necessarily
Biblical in origin. It just happens that the extent of the beast's power will
include the most oil-rich provinces in the world.
Dan 11:41 says that he invades the Beautiful Land - the nation of
Israel where the city of Jerusalem is. Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon are
delivered from his hand. In other words, God protects them - temporarily!
Later in V45
we are told that he 'pitches his royal tents' at the Holy Mountain -
Mount Zion. Why these nations are spared at this time, and why he sets up his
palace tabernacle [royal tents] 'between the seas' at Jerusalem is thoroughly
covered in other articles.
GRECO-MACEDONIAN
- NOT GERMANY!
After reviewing the evidence
of the Bible, on what basis do the false prophets claim that Germany is the
beast or the king of the north? And on what basis do they label Rome as modern
Babylon? How can they make these assumptions, and what is their Biblical
authority? These are valid questions that every true and dedicated Christian
should seek answers for. If your 'leaders' cannot answer these questions,
convincingly, from the Bible, then they are false prophets according to the
true Biblical definition of the term! And if after you confront them, they
fail to speak according to the revealed knowledge of the Bible, then you
should have nothing to do with them! What fellowship does light have with
darkness?
Clearly the BEAST, whom
the false prophets identify as Germany, is to arise from the kingdom of
the shaggy goat - the GREEK EMPIRE of which Alexander was the first
king.
BABYLON, THE
GREAT HARLOT!
Babylon is described as a
harlot woman in the prophecies. This Great Harlot is destined to come to great
prominence in Babylon. Iraq today, which is often referred to in the Bible as
Babylon or the Babylonian Empire, is predominantly Islamic today. Should we
therefore assume that the religion of Islam is the Great Harlot? From the
human perspective it would seem reasonable to do so! BUT, as always, the Bible
is the final arbitrator. It's the Bible - the Word of God - that reveals its
secrets to God's servants, the prophets. God has made provision to thoroughly
identify this Great Harlot and He has also made known its source. It's found
in the book of Zechariah: Zech 5:5 "Then
the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, "Look up
and see what this is that is appearing." I asked, "What is it?"
He replied, "It is a measuring basket." And he added, "This is
the iniquity of the people throughout the land." Then the cover of lead
was raised, and there in the basket sat a WOMAN! He said, "This is
wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead
cover over its MOUTH. Then I looked up - and there before me were TWO
WOMEN, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,
and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. "Where are they
taking the basket?" I asked the angel who was speaking to me. He replied,
"To the COUNTRY OF BABYLONIA [margin verifies this is Shinar - the
land of Iraq] to build a house for it. When it is ready, the basket will BE
SET THERE IN ITS PLACE."
The basket or ephah is a
measuring device used by the ancients. This woman represented full measure.
The words: "This is the iniquity of the
people throughout the land" should be translated,
"This is the full measure of the iniquity of the people throughout
the whole earth!" The NKJV renders it: "This
is their resemblance throughout the earth." Neither
versions render it with the overall force with which it was given and
emphasised.
The lead cover was lifted
briefly, and then pushed down again to cover its MOUTH. All versions
use the word 'MOUTH', to indicate that this evil woman is to remain SILENT
until 'A HOUSE IS BUILT FOR IT.'
And where is the house to be built for it? Is it the Vatican? That's
already built and has been for many centuries! No, it refers to another
house that is to be built in 'THE LAND OF
BABYLONIA'. And just to reinforce the meaning of the term, the
margin further identifies this as the land of Shinar - where the tower of BABEL
was built by Nimrod (Gen 11:2). When
this house is built, the BASKET and the WOMAN will be 'SET
THERE IN ITS PLACE'. So now we know where this woman is to be set, and
what its place is, and also when (after the house is built for it).
So who is to set it there? The
Bible says it will be two women with the wind in their wings. This is a clear
reference to the two branches of humanity symbolized by the two legs of the
great image, and referred to as the King of the North and the King of the
South. The wind in their wings is the wind that begins to blow on the earth
after the 144,000 are sealed. These winds are further described in Dan
7:2. The woman in the BASKET or
ephah arises from the ten toes or horns and begins to rule with their consent.
This woman, who is the little horn who arises from among the ten toes, horns
or kings, uproots three of these ten. The King of the North becomes stronger
than the King of the South and sets out to destroy him. Egypt, Libya and the
Nubians fall before him (Dan 11:42-43).
ISLAM - THE
EMERGING WORLD RELIGION!
Under the auspices of this
little horn or false prophet that is set in the house at Babylon, a whole new
system arises that overwhelms and supersedes every other system, and truth is
cast to the ground. The vast pool of nations in the Middle East considered to
be Arabic, and who are of the Islam faith, will form the base of his
activities. This person will be a subtle, plausible deceiver that will weave a
magic spell over these hordes of people.
The fastest growing religion
on earth today is Islam. It's followers are called Muslims or Moslims. It's
founder was a man called Mohammed. He was born in Mecca, in the central - west
region of Arabia, in AD 570. His wife bore him 6 daughters over a period of 24
years before she died. Afterward he took multiple wives in the hope of having
a son, but was unsuccessful. For further information about the background of
this burgeoning religion, see the following excerpt taken from The Illustrated
Book of Ancient History. It has this to say:
'When he was
40 years old Mohammed, who loved solitude, was in a cave on Mount Hira outside
Mecca when he had visions of the angel Gabriel calling him to
"recite" in the name of God the Creator. He received revelations
that were to become the first parts of the Koran ("recitation").
Mohammed conveyed these teachings to a group of friends who believed with him
in the unity of God. At first the little group, which met for prayers to God
(Allah), was ignored or scorned, but as their numbers grew, they were
persecuted. Some took refuge for a time in Christian Ethiopia. They were
called Muslims (Moslems) - "surrendered men" - in the religion of
Islam they had "surrendered" or submitted to the one God. Early
converts were made from Yathrib, a town 200km north of Mecca, and Mohammed was
invited to go there. In 622 the "hegira" (migration) took place and
Mohammed and his followers moved from Mecca to Yathrib, henceforth called
Medina the "city" of the prophet. The Muslim year is dated from the
hegira.
'At
Medina, Mohammed built a mosque and a house, and sent his followers on raids
to provide funds and ensure protection against armies from Mecca. There were
battles at Badr and Uhud and finally Mohammed's armies and influence grew so
that in 630 he was able to capture the city of Mecca almost without loss. He
rode around the Kaaba shrine and had its idols destroyed.
'The
death of the prophet in 632 was sudden, but after some hesitation his friend,
the elderly Abu Bakr (576-634), was appointed as caliph - successor to the
prophet and vice-regent of God. Arabian tribes that had been bound to Mohammed
by oath began to break away but Abu Bakr sent armies to establish Muslim rule.
They were so successful that his forces broke out of Arabia into the rest of
southwestern Asia. Abu Bakr died two years after his appointment, but under
his successors, the Caliphs Omar and Othman, Arab armies rapidly conquered
Mesopotamia and entered Persia, while others entered Syria. Jerusalem
surrendered to them and Omar visited the Christian Churches there and the site
of the ancient Jewish temple where later a great shrine was built, incorrectly
called the Mosque of Omar but more properly called the Dome of the Rock, one
of the most holy places of Islam. Arab armies went to Egypt, where [the city
of] Alexandria surrendered; then after some delay they travelled along North
Africa and in 711 crossed into Spain at Gibraltar. They even penetrated into
the heart of France, where between Tours and Poitiers the Muslim armies met
Frankish forces under Charles Martel in 732. After seven days of fierce
skirmishes the Arabs were forced to retreat southwards. They remained in
Southern France for some years but Spain was the limit of their rule and here
they remained for centuries until the fall of Granada in 1492, after which
Muslims and Jews were expelled from Spain.
'In the
east, Persia came completely under Muslim rule as well as a large part of
India. The Muslims preserved much of the cultures they encountered and
transmitted them, taking Indian numerals as Arabic numerals to Europe and
preserving Greek medicine, astronomy and philosophy during the period of the
Dark Ages in Europe.'
There will be much more said
about all this at a later time.
THE GOD OF
FORTRESSES
The BEAST that arises
will honour a god of 'fortresses' (Dan
11:38). None of the translators of the Bible knew how to deal with
this word. It' s translated from the Hebrew word 'mauzzim' which means 'God's
protectors' or the 'fortress' that protects. Elohim, the Father, doesn't need
anyone or any being to protect Him because He alone, of all beings in the
universe, is immortal (1Tim 6:16).
He can, however, impart immortality to whomever He chooses. Only one Being has
qualified for that great honour - Jesus Christ! But it wasn't always this way,
Christ did, in fact, die - before He had immortality! God, however, did
appoint some powerful beings to protect His realm. One of these was Lucifer,
who became Satan the devil. He was one of the 'Mauzzim.' This BEAST honours
this Mauzzim - Satan the devil!
In ancient times the main
object of Babylon's worship was an idol called Bel or Baal. Iraq today, are
the people of Babylon. They are primarily of the Islam faith. Islam follows
the edicts of their prophet Mohammed. They worship towards the city of Mecca
in Arabia. They are scattered around the world, in almost every country. They
have no official leader or spokesman. No titular head as such. Writers of
Islamic precepts earnestly desire to have a leader to unite them. This is
evident in many contemporary writings. Although Islam rejects the worshiping
of idols, they have a pronounced proclivity to worship their LEADERS.
They are so devout in this regard that they idolize any image of their
national LEADERS with unswerving devotion. It will be a
natural progression to worship an image of a LEADER that will
arise. When they are presented with an image of the first BEAST; and
especially an image that will speak, they will embrace it with great fervour. Rev
13:15 "He
was given POWER to give BREATH to the IMAGE of the FIRST
BEAST, so that it could SPEAK and cause all who refused to worship
the IMAGE to be killed."
Furthermore, they will enforce
this worship on all others, just as they try to enforce their views on people
like Salman Rushti with threats of death. This is the type of vicious, brutal
obsession that characterizes the coming BEAST and his followers.
The Bible makes it clear that
this coming beast power will totally eclipse events of the past in extremism.
The excesses of Nazi Germany in the past will seem like a stroll in the park
by comparison!
God further identifies these
people as being more righteous than His people Israel. Bible students will be
aware that the teachings of Islam are many times more exact in their approach
to the principles set out in the Bible than any of the official religions of
the tribes of Israel. What is more, they are fanatically obedient to their
beliefs. God levels criticism against the tribes of Israel for not living up
to the standards of righteousness of the nations around them. In a prophecy
against the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem, God says this: Eze
5:7 "Therefore this is what the
Sovereign LORD says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you
and have not followed my decrees or kept My laws. You have not even
conformed to the standards of the nations around you." And
in the next chapter God speaks against the House of Israel (who had already
gone into captivity 130 years before). This is what He says: Eze
6:8 "Then
in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will
remember me - how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have
turned away from Me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They
will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their
detestable practices. And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not
threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them." The
tribes of Israel always seem to be at the forefront of liberalising the most
detestable violations of God's laws. Many Gentile nations of the world ban
movies and other 'cultural' imports from the house of Israel, labelling them
'decadent.' What an indictment against God's elect nations!
DANIEL'S
DREAM OF THE 4 BEASTS
Dan 7:1
"In the first year (561 BC) of Belshazzar,
King of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he
was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said:
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four
winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each
different from the others, came up out of the sea."
BABYLONIAN -
CHALDEAN EMPIRE
1st BEAST
"The
first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its
wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two
feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it."
This perfectly describes the
life of Nebuchadnezzar, and how he had his lofty power stripped away and was
given the mind of a beast, and even his body took on the characteristics of an
animal (Dan 4:33). This will become
evermore significant as you begin to study your Bible and understand it!
Nebuchadnezzar ruled for and on behalf of Satan the devil. He emulated him to
the extent that he built a fiery furnace to throw God's servants in - a
simulation of the fiery furnace that God is going to throw the Beast, the
False Prophet AND Satan the devil in. Nebuchadnezzar became arrogant
and compared himself with God, and was driven out of his kingdom. He became an
ugly beast. At the end of seven years, he stood upright and his sanity
returned. God restored the MAN - Nebuchadnezzar, but the BEAST had
gone. Sanity returned to his kingdom. In this account, God is telling us of
the nature of the 'rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms' (Eph
3:10). Lucifer became Satan the devil. God tells us that Lucifer
was perfect, in fact: 'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and
PERFECT IN BEAUTY' (Eze 28:12).
After he became Satan the devil, his appearance was that of an ugly dragon or
serpent! His offspring were referred to by Christ and John the Baptist as 'a
brood of vipers' and 'snakes and vipers.'
Humanity was created in the PERFECT
IMAGE OF GOD. So was Lucifer! Today he is an ugly beast - a repulsive
dragon or serpent! And the Bible so describes him as such! The understanding
of this will become more and more important as you begin to understand the
true meaning of prophecy! Take the time to study the many pointers and markers
in the Bible that illuminate these things. They are very important!
MEDES AND
PERSIAN EMPIRE
2nd BEAST
"And
there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up
on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It
was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'"
The Medes (who were the ruling
class of this empire) are Madai of the Bible. These, today, occupy Iran, the
former Russian provinces of Armenia and Moldavia, Ukraine, and parts of
Romania. They are also scattered through the slavic nations and Romania and
Bulgaria. The three ribs in the mouth of the bear represent three women
(Gen 2:22). A woman is a nation (Rev
12:1). Three nations fall before the beast that looks like a bear
and are consolidated into its kingdom. This bear beast is then invited to
arise and eat flesh (that is to conquer).
GREECE -
MACEDONIAN EMPIRE
3rd BEAST
"After
that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a
leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast
had four heads, and it was given authority to rule."
This third beast that looked
like a leopard was Alexander the Great in early fulfillment. The speed with
which his army travelled was frightening to all that beheld him. It was not
until he reached Tyre and began his conquest of it that he was slowed to a
stop. For seven months he besieged it before he finally conquered it. After
the conquest of Egypt, where he built the city of Alexandria, he turned to the
east and conquered all the way to India. He died suddenly of illness, and his
kingdom was divided up into four parts. Notice that the beast was the leopard
but it had four heads symbolizing the breakup of the empire with
Alexander's death. Four of his former generals each took a province of the
empire. The empire then ceased to exist.
The first three beasts had a
total of six heads. All six heads were embodied into the
Greco-Macedonian Empire, that is, its territories.
UNIFICATION
OF ALL THREE BEASTS
4th BEAST
"After
that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast -
terrifying and frightning and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it
crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It
was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was
thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little
one, WHICH CAME UP AMONG THEM; and three of the first horns were uprooted
before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that
spoke boastfully."
Here we clearly see that this
beast is a frightening power that has arisen and it has ten horns or ten kings
in its empire. The eleventh horn, the little horn that comes up out of one of
them, uproots three of the other horns. In other words, this horn uproots
three of these kings. He has a mouth that speaks boastfully. His boasting
arises from the enormous power he has been given by the dragon, which is Satan
the devil (Rev 12:9, 13:2, 4). It is
this super-natural power that elevates his prominence. People will worship the
dragon and the beast (V4). Dan
7:9 "As I looked, thrones were
set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white
as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with
fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out
from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books [plural]
were opened."
This is the moment in time
when God Almighty sets up the judgment proceedings; and the books are opened,
ready for the recording of evidence. (See Rev
20:11-15 for further reference to these books). This court is
seated when the little horn, also known as the false prophet, rises to
prominence. This is after Satan's assault on heaven, and after he is cast
down.
The response of the world to
this little horn's activities is what will determine their guilt or innocence.
This is when the clear division of the righteous and the evil of this world is
made. The eyes of all the heavenly host will observe those who accept the mark
of the beast - and all of these will be marked for destruction. Everyone on
earth will be given the clear choice of accepting or rejecting this mark of
the beast.
Prior to the mark of the beast
being enforced, the Gospel will be preached in all the world; to every nation,
tribe, language and people. This follows the persecution of the remaining
[remnant] group of God's seed. This remnant will have already heard the true
Gospel and will either accept or reject it. Those who accept the true Gospel
will be those who are diligently studying their Bibles to see if these things
are so! God doesn't hide the truth from those He loves and so you must be told
that many of you will die even if you now accept the Gospel and re-dedicate
your lives. Be assured that if you do, you will live again and your salvation
is sure! Rev 13:8
"All inhabitants of the earth will
worship the beast - all whose names have NOT been written in the book of
life belonging to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into
captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with
the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and
faithfulness on the part of the saints."
You have no control over
whether you go into captivity or whether you will be killed. God has already
determined this. You have been prepared for this final endtime and your future
determined. Prepare yourself, be strong so you don't fail, and God will raise
you up at the last day.
If your whole motivation for
obedience to God is to save your physical life, then forget it, you will never
enter the Kingdom of God! When you repented and gave your life over to
God, it was a total commitment to God. You were either sincere or you were
not! If you were, then you should be willing to follow in the footsteps of
your Saviour and go to your death for God - as He did! If you love this life
so much that you will shrink from death then you are of no use to God! You
must now be strong and very courageous! Your salvation is close at hand!
THE FATE OF
THE BEAST
Some have attempted to argue
that the beast is a group of nations rather than an individual. The Bible
makes it plain that the beast is a man - AND an empire of nations. This man is
to be thrown into a lake of fire in the sight of all his armies
(Rev 19:19-20). It's quite obvious that this refers to a
single individual.
Dan 7:11 "Then I continued to watch
because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until
the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
(The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to
live for a period of time.) In my vision at night I looked, and there
before me was one like the son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He
approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given
authority, glory and sovereign power; [that] all peoples, nations and men of
every language [should] worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be
destroyed."
THE
INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM
V15
"I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and
the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of
those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me
and gave me the interpretation of these things. 'The four great beasts are four
kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the
Most High will receive THE KINGDOM (the only
Kingdom after the four are destroyed) and will
possess it for ever - yes, for ever and ever.'"
When Daniel wrote these words,
two of the kingdoms had already arisen. One had passed away when the Medes and
Persians conquered Babylon. Yet the prophecy clearly states that these four
kingdoms will arise - yet in the future! Daniel said that
Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold, that is, he represented it. But he was
only a foretype of this kingdom. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar was said to rule
over everyone on earth (Dan 2:37-38).
This is not true! He didn't rule over the fledgling Roman Empire in Rome that
had begun their kingdom with the conquest of the Etruscans, centuries before.
Nor did he rule over the eastern hordes, and particularly those whom Alexander
conquered to the east. Nor did Alexander conquer India, even though he wanted
to. And neither did Nebuchadnezzar! And neither did he rule over the lost ten
tribes. His rule centered around the Middle East. The final kingdom will
include all the three previous kingdoms under a common ruler.
But the Bible plainly says
that Nebuchadnezzar did rule over everyone on earth including all the animals!
Is this a mistake in the Bible? Did God wrongly inspire this statement? Can
there possibly be another explanation for this seeming error?
There is certainly another
explanation and the Bible makes it very plain! It's the key to understanding
many things. God was speaking of the true ruler of the world - He was
referring to Satan the devil! Nebuchadnezzar was Satan the devil personified!
And the Bible proves this!
When Nebuchadnezzar finally
reached the pinnacle of success he made the fatal mistake of comparing himself
with God by elevating his assumed stature. Immediately, God drove him out from
among men and gave him the mind of a beast. For seven years he ate grass like
an ox, and he adopted the attributes of an eagle with feathers and claws (Dan
4:33). This being was Satan the devil and the man
Nebuchadnezzar; both received seven years of punishment. Afterward, Satan was
cast out of the man and his sanity returned. He was given the heart of a man -
no longer that of a beast - and he was restored to his kingdom. We hear no
more of this man, Nebuchadnezzar, but it can be assumed that after this bitter
experience he followed the advice of Daniel and enjoyed a peaceful reign for
the remainder of his life (See Dan
4:34-37).
We see a further indication of
the identity of Satan and his cameleon-like appearance in Eze
28:2 "..In the pride of your
heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of
the sea. But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as
a god. Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?"
Speaking of the same being we read in V12
"...You were the model of
perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in the garden of
Eden, the garden of God...."
God makes the point to this
same being: 'Are you wiser than Daniel?"
This king knew Daniel well! King Hiram of Tyre didn't! He lived 400
years before Daniel was born. The king that this scripture is referring to,
did know Daniel! Only the king of Babylon knew Daniel, and what is more, he
admired and respected him for his great wisdom and righteousness that he,
himself, could not match. This was Nebuchadnezzar! When warned by Daniel of
impending disaster, he refused to listen and suffered the consequences of
having his rulership stripped away (Dan 4:27).
Can this scripture be referring to anyone else except Satan the devil as king
of Babylon in the person of Nebuchadnezzar?
It has not gone unnoticed that
Ezekiel chapter 28 is referring to the prince of Tyre in the first part
and the king of Tyre in the second part. The only named rulers
of Tyre in the Bible are those who lived in the time of David and Solomon -
400 years before Daniel. Yet this 'king of Tyre' was in the garden of Eden! He
was the anointed guardian cherub! (V14). So
this being, who thought he was wiser than Daniel, was a contemporary of
Daniel! Daniel lived out the rest of his life in Babylon, and was advisor to
Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar ruled over all the countries of the Middle East
including Tyre - and was the king of Tyre! Nebuchadnezzar conquered Tyre (Eze
26:7) but received no wages for his efforts (Eze
29:18). Later, Alexander the Great came along and conquered it
again.
Now the king of Tyre is called
the anointed guardian cherub who was in the garden of Eden, and who was in the
holy mountain of God. This being was not born - he was created (V15).
King Hiram of Tyre was never in the garden of Eden - but Nebuchadnezzar
was! Babylon is the regional site of the original Garden of Eden. All the
kings from Nebuchadnezzar to Alexander the Great ruled over Babylon. And all
of them ruled over Tyre. This king of Tyre is specifically mentioned because
the new Babylonian Empire will become the great trading empire of the world,
just as it was in the days of Hiram..
Ezekiel
27 describes Tyre as a great ship sailing on the seas.
This great ship is symbolic of a future trading empire. This ship trades with
all the nations of the world. Notice Eze 27:33
"When your merchandise went out on
the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares
you enriched the kings of the earth."
Now notice
Eze 28:16 "Through
your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So
I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian
cherub from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your
beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour. So
I threw you to earth..."
Christ mentioned an earlier
event: Luke 10:18 "And
He said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
A later event is prophesied in the book of Revelation: Rev
12:7-9 "And there was war in
heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon
fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in
heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the
devil and Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the
earth, and his angels with him."
In the book of Revelation, all
of Chapter 18, we see further evidence of this trading empire, and here it's
clearly identified: Rev 18:2 3, 10, 11, 16, 17
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!"
V3 "For
all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of
the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew
rich from her excessive luxuries."
V10
"Terrified at her torment, they
will stand far off and cry: 'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon,
city of power! In one hour your doom has come! The merchants of the earth will
weep and mourn over her because no-one buys their cargoes anymore..."
V16
"They will weep and mourn and cry
out: 'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great
wealth has been brought to ruin! Every sea captain, and all who travel by
ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far
off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there
ever a city like this great city?' They will throw dust on their heads, and
with weeping and mourning cry out: 'Woe!, O great city, where all who had
ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been
brought to ruin! Rejoice over her, O heavens! Rejoice, saints and apostles
and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.' Then
a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it
in the sea, and said: 'With such violence the great city of Babylon
will be thrown down, never to be found again."
Just to reinforce that this
scripture is speaking of Babylon and not Rome, Jeremiah also prophesied of the
destruction of this city, and recorded this event: Jer
51:61 "He said to Seraiah,
"When you get to BABYLON, see that you read all these words
aloud. Then say, 'O LORD, you have said you will destroy this place,
so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate for ever.'
When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into
the EUPHRATES. Then say, 'So will BABYLON sink to rise no more
because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.'"
You will notice that this scripture is speaking of a city called
BABYLON near the EUPHRATES river. 'BABYLON'
is NOT referring to a people that migrated from Babylon of old.
It means the actual city that has featured in so many prophecies throughout
the Bible. And just to reinforce this, notice the final words of this
scripture: 'And her people will fall.'
This clearly shows that the city of Babylon and its people are treated
separately here.
There is nothing in the
scriptures that identify Rome or the Vatican with the city of BABYLON!
Every assumption made to this effect is made by human reasoning that is not in
accord with the Bible. Jeremiah prophesies, that like the stone thrown in the EUPHRATES
river, BABYLON will sink - and it will rise no more! It's NOT
true that the old city of Babylon was even destroyed - and it certainly
didn't sink like a stone! Babylon didn't sink when Alexander the Great
destroyed it. In fact, the city continued to be inhabited until at least 10
BC, and probably long after. The Apostle Peter mentions that his wife, and his
son Mark, were in Babylon at the time he wrote the epistle
(1Pet 5:17). Alexander knocked down many of the temples and the
great ziggurat (which he intended to rebuild but his premature death prevented
it). This prophecy refers to the same fate that befell Sodom and Gomorrah
(Jer 50:39-40, Isa 13:19). These two cities sank and were
consumed in burning sulphur lava. They have disappeared and no-one today knows
the exact site of either of them.
Saddam Hussein has
recently commissioned the re-building of Babylon. Much of it is now complete.
Nebuchadnezzar's throne room is also restored.
Now notice
Rev 18:24 "In her [Babylon]
was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of ALL who have
been killed on the earth." Surely this must be an
exaggeration! Surely Babylon can't be blamed for ALL who have
been killed on earth! Is this what you think? The Book of Jeremiah also states
this: Jer 51:49 "BABYLON
must fall because of Israel's
slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of BABYLON."
(The NIV is the only version that translates this verse
correctly).
Are you aware of the purpose
of 6,000 years of human suffering? The Apostle John tells us. He tells us the
primary reason for Christ's appearance on earth: 1John
3:8 "He
who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy
the devil's work."
A proper understanding of the
Bible makes this very evident! Satan has been violating the laws of God from
the very beginning. The prime objective for God is to rid the universe of this
creature, but justice must be seen to be done. God's great virtue and justice
will not allow Him to condemn him without a fair trial. As Lucifer, Satan
commanded one third of all the created angelic beings. His rank in the God
hierarchy requires that his removal be done with all judicial protocol. His
judgment is soon to come. The 24 elders that are seated with God are the jury.
Notice now, that the court is about to sit: Dan
7:25 "He will speak against the
Most High and oppress the saints and try to change the set times and laws. The
saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. But
the court will sit, and HIS power will be taken away and completely
destroyed for ever."
Anyone who understands the
great power and glory of the Almighty God would have to wonder why the great
heavenly court would preside over the judgment of a puny man. Since this puny
man has been condemned to death already, prophetically, there would seem to be
no point in convening a court to judge him if he is to be thrown in the lake
of fire anyway (Rev 19:20). Such a
view, if believed, would make a mockery of God's judgment. Let's be absolutely
sure of what this scripture is saying. Here it is again: "But
the court will sit, and HIS power will be taken away and completely
destroyed forever." So the Almighty God and all the heavenly
host convene a court to judge this one man? Not at all! This heavenly court
sits in judgment of the very one who has caused all violent
death on earth. The arch-rebel who controlled all rebellion against God
from the days of Adam, the very one who has influenced every despot that ever
ruled. And who is he? None other than Satan the devil! It is Satan the devil
who gives 'his power' to the beast (Rev
13:2).
So why is the court sitting in
judgment of this beast? The Bible tells us! Notice the description of Satan
the devil: Rev 12:4
"Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with
seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads." Now
notice the description of the beast: Rev 13:1
"And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.
He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each
head a blasphemous name." Now notice what the dragon gives
this beast: V2
"...And the dragon gave the beast HIS
power and HIS throne and [HIS]
great authority."
Notice that the dragon has a crown on each head. That is seven crowns or
kingdoms. The beast also has seven heads and ten horns, and he also has
crowns, in fact, ten of them. The crowns are not on the heads of
this beast, but on its horns. Satan has reigned over seven kingdoms,
now the prophesied beast appears - to whom he gives his power, throne and
authority. Seven great empires have passed into history that have been ruled
by Satan. Now this final beast is the eighth! The eighth and final
kingdom is about to arise. But this final king who exercises the authority
over the entire kingdom comprising ten peoples or nations, will not be given
the honour of royalty: Dan 11:21 "He
will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honour
of royalty." The reason is that this being has used up all his
seven crowns or kingdoms. Satan has ruled over seven empires and brought death
and destruction to many people. His final role will be with the his
high-ranking generals, some of whom will be cast to earth with him, and some
who will arise from the Abyss. This beast will have the throne of Satan but he
will no longer enjoy the unfettered honour of royalty that God has allowed him
during the evidence-gathering process over 6,000 years. He knows his time is
short and he marshals his most wicked accomplices to reign over the ten
kingdoms.
CONTRADITION
OR CONFUSION?
We now come to the verses that
no Biblical scholar has ever understood. They've noticed what appears to be a
contradiction in the Bible but have chosen to ignore it. Because they can't
explain it, they've chosen to gloss over it. The Bible makes it plain that
there is a special emphasis on the understanding of Bible prophecy by
injecting the words: "This calls for a mind with wisdom."
Foolish people who have wrestled with the scriptures to pervert them to their
own private outcome will never understand. The wisdom mentioned here is the
same wisdom that God granted Daniel through the Holy Seed:
Eze 28:3 "Are you
wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?" The answer
to these two questions is NO! Satan is not, and was not, wiser than Daniel!
The reason is that Satan never set his heart to understand the glory of God.
He sought only his own glory. Those who seek their own glory instead of the
glory of God always fall into the same trap.
The great contradiction, which
is really no contradiction at all, is found in Rev 17. It describes a
woman sitting on a beast. This woman also sits on many waters (V1)
which are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages (V15).
The beast she sits on, which is a separate entity, is described as: Rev
17:8 'The beast which you saw, once
was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his
destruction." This beast that had once existed, did not at
that time exist! So the beast that did not exist in the days of John is not
the Roman Empire which did exist at that time! This woman, who
sits on the beast with seven heads, is described as
'Mystery, BABYLON the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes
and of the abominations of the earth.' Of the seven
heads she sits on, the Bible has this to say: Rev
17:9 "This calls for a mind
that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills [mountains] on which the
woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is,
the other has not yet come." Of the seven kings or kingdoms,
five had already fallen, and one still existed - at the time of John. But the
beast did not! Only one of the heads of the beast she sat on existed at that
time. The woman who sat on this beast did exist at that time, and had existed
for a long time prior to this. This woman, Babylon, and all that it entails,
is guilty of all deaths: Rev 18:24 "In
her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of ALL who
have been killed (slain, slaughtered by violence) on earth."
This scripture alone, rules
out the Roman Catholic Church as being the great harlot. The Roman Catholic
Church did not come into existence for hundreds of years after John penned the
book of Revelation. In the days of Christ, this woman was already active. It
had already infiltrated the ranks of the seed of God. The thread of God's seed
was concentrated in the tribe of Judah at that time. John makes mention of
this: Rev 12:1 "A
great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with
the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was
pregnant (with God's seed) and cried out in pain as she was about to give
birth." Well you say, this is obviously speaking of Mary, the
mother of Christ! No, it isn't! It's speaking about the tribe of Israel that
had a crown of 12 stars on her head. This was the tribe of Judah, and more
importantly, the seed of David from whom Christ was born. In AD 70, this same
woman fled into the wilderness for exactly 1260 days or 3½ years.
Nearly two thousand years
later, after Satan and his demons are cast to earth for the final judgment of
them, Satan pursues this same woman who had given birth to the male
child (which is Christ - V6), so
this woman is NOT Mary! It is the tribe of Judah, and more
specifically, the House of David! It's from this House that all the prophecies
allude in relation ot Christ's birth. Rev 12:13
"When the dragon saw that he had been
hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male
child. The woman was given the two wings of an eagle, so that she might
fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care
of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach."
Don't let the false prophets
deceive you! This verse is referring to the House of David!
Christ was also called the Son of David.
Well what about the saints? Surely there is some reference to the
saints of the Churches of God headquartered in Ephraim (U.S)? Yes, there is!
During this same 3½ years, the book of Daniel describes what happens.
Speaking of the beast it says this: Dan 7:25
"He will speak against the Most High and
oppress the saints and try to change set times and the laws. The saints will
be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time (3½
years)." The woman of Revelation 12 is taken away completely out
of reach of Satan and his influence, but the saints are handed over to him!
Rev 13:7 "He
was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them."
This is not good news for many of you, but it is absolutely sure to
happen! You need to prepare yourself with the whole armour of God.
The harlot woman of Babylon,
who is responsible for all the slaughter on earth was active in Christ's day.
Christ identified her! Like a chameleon she had slipped into the ranks of
Christ's oppressors: Matt 23:31 "So
you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who
murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your
forefathers! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you
escape being condemned to hell?" V35
"And so upon you will come all
the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berakiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell the truth, all this will
come on this generation."
Satan's seed had infiltrated
and corrupted the Jewish leaders of the day. Christ recognized the emergence
of the Great Harlot in His own people and identified them with being of the
seed - the generation - that had been responsible for all the
shed blood on earth!
It should NOT be
assumed that the tribe of Judah is the Great Harlot! Satan plants his seed
wherever he chooses and he covers the whole spectrum of peoples, multitudes,
nations and languages (Rev 17:15).
Very soon now, God will cleanse Judah and Jerusalem, and will again call to
duty the House of David and Judah, and the
Levites for a very special mission: Zech
12:10 "And I will pour out on
the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have
pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one that mourns for an only child, and
grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day, the
weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the
plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives
by themselves: the clan of the House of David and their wives,
the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the House
of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all
the rest of the clans and their wives."
God will refine the house of
Jacob who are of the tribe of Judah (Isa 48:1-2)
after he has passed them through the furnace of affliction
(Isa 48:10). At this time, God will redeem the people of
Jerusalem for a mighty work: Isa 59:20-21
"The Redeemer will come to Zion; to
those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. "As for
Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD. "My
Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your
mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your
children, or from the mouths of your descendants from this time on and
for ever," says the LORD."
Referring to Satan's seed, God
intends for 'this generation' of vipers, snakes and
serpents to come to their end. When God obliterates them from the earth they
will never arise again! Isa 14:20
"The offspring of the wicked will
never be mentioned again. Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins
of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and
cover the earth with their cities." See also V29:
"Do not rejoice, all you
Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that
snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting,
venomous serpent."
In the garden of Eden, God
identified two seeds: the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent. All
virtue sprung from the woman's seed, and all evil sprung from the Serpent's
seed, which the Serpent disguised to emulate the woman. But God, in
unmistakable terms calls it a great harlot. This harlot 'woman' will make her
final appearance in Babylon and will go to her destruction in Babylon. All her
sons will then be slaughtered and will never rise again! There will be no
resurrection for them!
THE TESTIMONY
OF JESUS
We have previously examined
this verse: Rev 12:17 "Then
the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war with the
rest of her offspring - those who obey God's Commandments
and hold to the testimony of Jesus." Every
devoted and dedicated Christian knows what is meant by the Commandments. But
what is meant by the 'testimony of Jesus'?
On the street corners of many cities you see people 'testifying for
Jesus'. Are they really testifying? What does it all mean? Whether you want to
believe it or not, the remnant or 'the rest of
her offspring' refers to those
who understand prophecy. This is what 'the
testimony of Jesus' means! Here is the explanation: Rev
19:10 "At this I fell at his
feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a
fellow-servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of
Jesus. Worship God! FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.""
It is the people who have the
'SPIRIT OF PROPHECY' that will attract the attention of Satan's
fury. Those in the Church of God who have always jokingly referred to their
group as a NON-PROPHET organization need not worry initially. They will be
spared the persecution for a short time. They will believe themselves to be
more noble and virtuous than their brethren who are being killed. But what
does the Bible say? Rev 14:12 "This
calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's
Commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from
heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from
their labour, for their deeds will follow them.""
The book of Daniel describes
events that are yet to happen in the future. All the prophecies from Daniel
chapter 7 to 12 are for the endtime (the latter days). Daniel was told to go
on his way because the words of the book are closed and sealed up to the time
of the end. The events that Daniel described were not for his understanding at
that time. Rather, they were designed to warn us in these latter days, and it
is God's true people in these latter days that MUST have the
spirit of prophecy! If we are God's seed, then we WILL understand!
Dan 12:8
"I heard, but I did not understand.
So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?" He
replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and
sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made
spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None
of the wicked will understand, BUT THOSE WHO ARE WISE WILL UNDERSTAND."
The four beasts of the book of
Daniel are symbolic of the great image that Nebuchadnezzar saw. This is made
clear by the reference to the ten horns of the fourth beast which correspond
to the ten toes of the great image. The four beasts of Daniel 7 must be
combined with the great image of Daniel 2. This great image, which represents
four empires, will all exist at the endtime, and all will be struck
with the Rock that will shatter them. That Rock will then become a
great mountain and fill the whole earth. This is obviously speaking of Christ.
For further details of what this mountain is, see the articles on the geology
of the earth.
Dan
7:19-22 "Then I wanted to know the
true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the
others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws - the beast
that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was
left. I also wanted to know about the 10 horns on its head and about
the other horn (verse 24: king) that came up, before which three of them fell - the horn that
looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke
boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and
defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in
favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed
the kingdom."
You will notice that judgment
is given against the persecutor and in favour of the saints. This judgment is
given against Satan the devil, after 6,000 years of violence. The judgment
determines who will possess the kingdom. Which kingdom? The very one that
Satan ruled!
"He
gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will
appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will
devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are
ten kings that will come from this kingdom. After them another king will
arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will
speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set
times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times
and half a time.
"But
the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely
destroyed for ever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the
people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom,
and all rulers will worship and obey him. "This was the end of the
matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned
pale, but I kept the matter to myself."
These verses make it very
plain who is being judged here! It's the power of Satan that will be taken
away forever. This is why the court is sitting; to depose the arch-rebel
against God; the very one that has slaughtered everyone who has been killed on
earth. When the heavenly beings, of whom Satan was originally a colleague, see
the judgment they will rejoice! Rev 19:1
"After this I heard what sounded
like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his
judgments. He has condemned the Great Prostitute who
corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood
of his servants." And again they shouted: Hallelujah! The smoke
from her goes up for ever and ever. The 24 elders and the 4 living creatures
fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
"Amen, Hallelujah!""
The whole court that were
seated on the thrones fell down in worship of God. 6,000 years of human
suffering has come to an end because judgment is passed against the devil. God
takes the kingdoms of the earth and begins to reign, and all the prophets and
saints receive their allotted portions as God promised to Daniel
(Dan 12:13, Luke 13:28).
Rev 11:16 "And the 24
elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces
and worshipped God, saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to
reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for
judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints who reverence your name, both
small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
THE 2,300
DAYS
Much has been written about
these mysterious 2,300 days or evenings and mornings. The Bible is very clear
on what they represent. At the end of them, the sanctuary will be cleansed.
It's speaking of daily sacrifices - the morning and evening sacrifices that
are required to be offered in the Temple of God. The mystery of these days
centers around what is meant by the 'Temple of God.' This subject is
thoroughly covered in other articles, but briefly it is this: The Bible refers
to two Temples - the physical and the spiritual. The Temple of God under the
Old Covenant is the physical Temple that was built by Solomon at Jerusalem.
The second physical Temple was built by Herod. There is another Temple
described in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 that is yet to be built. The river of
life will flow through the streets of Jerusalem when this is built. And also
the tree of life will grow along its banks (Eze
47:1-12, cp Rev 22:1-2). Obviously, this Temple has not yet been
built. But it will be, and when it is, the daily sacrifice will be restored.
Everyone who is under the Old
Covenant, and that includes the whole world - with the exception of a special
group of people whom Christ has called as His own. These people are the
spiritual Temple of God, and Christ is their High Priest. Christ knows His
own! Christ will tell many people who believe themselves to be Christians:
"I never knew you." Only those who are truly Christ's are NOT
required to offer sacrifices! The rest of the world is! In the Millennium they
will be required to do so, and will be severely punished if they do not! Be
sure to download the articles that relate to this subject. It's vital to the
understanding of the Bible.
The other temple, the
spiritual temple is the Body of Christ. He is the High Priest of all those who
believe and obey. Christ performs the ceremonies of a High Priest in heaven
where there is a Tabernacle (Heb 8:1-2). The
Tabernacle that Moses built is a precise copy of this Tabernacle in Heaven,
including all the fixtures.. This Heavenly Tabernacle also contains the Ark of
the Covenant (Rev 11:19). If Christ
were on earth today, He would not be a priest: Heb
8:4-5 "If
He were on earth, He would not be a priest, for there are already MEN who
offer the gifts prescribed by law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a
copy and shadow of what is in heaven." The reason that Christ
would not be a priest on earth is because there are already others that
perform this task. Christ is a High Priest ONLY to those whom He
has called and chosen! Those whom He has called and chosen are the spiritual
Temple of the Living God. All those 'Christians' around the world in various
mainstream denominations who refuse to obey God are NOT Christ's! Therefore
they are still under the Old Covenant and will be required to offer sacrifices
in the Kingdom of God! Other articles cover this subject in greater detail.
A special cleansing ceremony
is required in the Temple before sacrifices can commence. At the end of the
2,300 days this ceremony will be performed. Let's now examine what the Bible
has to say on this matter.
Dan 9:1 "In the third year (559 BC) of
King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had
already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in
the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up,
and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and
the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up
later. I watched the ram as he charged towards the west and the north and the
south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his
power. He did as he pleased and became great.
"As
I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his
eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
He came towards the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and
charged at him in great rage. I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the
ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him;
the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue
the ram from his power. The goat became very great, but at the height of his
power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns
grew up towards the four winds of heaven.
"Out
of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to
the south and to the east and to the beautiful land. It grew until it reached
the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the
earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the Prince
of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his
sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints
[margin: Because of rebellion, the armies..] and the daily sacrifice were
given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to
the ground.
"Then
I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long
will it take for the vision to be fulfilled - the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation,
and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be
trampled underfoot?"
"He
said to me, "It will take 2,300 evening and mornings; then the
sanctuary will be consecrated."
THE
INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION
"While
I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before
me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man's voice from Ulai
calling, "Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision."
"As
he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell
prostrate. "Son of man," he said to me, "understand that the
vision concerns the time of the end."
"While
he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then
he touched me and raised me to my feet.
"He
said: "I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of
wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.
The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The
shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is
the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off
represent four kingdoms that will emerge from HIS nation but will not
have the same power.
"In
the latter part of THEIR reign, when rebels have become completely
wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will
become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding
devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the
mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper,
and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy
many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be
destroyed, but not by human power.
"The
vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but
seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future."
"I,
Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went
about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond
understanding."
This vision concerns the
evening and morning sacrifices, and the whole vision covers a period of 2,300
days.
THE TEN KINGS
This stern-faced king or beast
(Rev 13:1) that will arise from the four kingdoms that formed
from Alexander's Greek Empire, is to be destroyed but not by human power. His
empire will comprise 10 nations which are represented by the ten toes or ten
horns. The image of Daniel 5 shows that the ten kings will be divided into two
groups; symbolized by the two legs, with each group representing the two feet.
Even the toes on each foot will not be properly welded together, but will be
brittle with very little cohesion. The Bible further describes this division
of the ten kings (toes, horns). These two sectors of the Empire are called the
King of the North and the King of the South. The legs of the image represent
the long passage of time until the feet with the ten toes appear.
The northern Empire will come
to prominence in the endtime - our time - with the emergence of Greece and an
alliance with the Balkan states. This alliance will continue to build to
include all the nations around the Black Sea. There are indications in the
Bible that this great alliance will also include Rumania, Ukraine and
Bulgaria. At the appropriate time, God will reveal the exact identity of all
these nations to His servants the prophets.
The fourth beast is a kingdom
or empire. From this empire 10 kings arise. It's important to note that this
empire doesn't arise from the 10 kings, but the 10 kings from the empire. This
indicates that the beast will parcel out territory to the ten kings.
The southern Empire will
include Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Libya and some other states,
mainly on the African continent. This huge mass of humanity will form an
alliance with the King of the North.
After the emergence of the
Beast or Empire, formed from the northern and the southern empires, they will
grow weary of the excesses of Iraq, and will begin to show hatred towards
them. Finally, they will turn on them and destroy them as a nation. Many
prophecies in the Old and New Testaments describe this event. The re-built
city of Babylon will be destroyed and left a ruin. This will be deemed by
Christ to be insufficient. He will sink the whole city into a sea of burning
brimstone to be utterly consumed - just like Sodom and Gomorrah! The smoke of
its burning will continue forever.
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