Daniel’s
Amazing Eighth Chapter Revealed!
What is the meaning of the key prophecy in
Daniel’s
eighth chapter? Who is the ram and
the
goat? What about the mysterious 2300
“days”? Who is the “little horn”? In this article
we
take a look at the DUALITY of prophecy and
the
incredible fulfillment of Daniel 8 –
both in
history,
leading up to our day, and a final fulfill-
ment
of this amazing Bible prophecy in our END-
TIME
generation! Believe it or not, it
directly
relates
to TODAY and the WAR of
William F.
Dankenbring
Once
again, the
Nevertheless,
the world was astounded at the “shock and awe” of the
Is
this ferocious assault by the Western powers against
In
fact, Daniel’s awesome prophecy has had three amazing fulfillments – one in 334
B.C., one over the centuries bringing us up to the “end time,” and an astounding
end-time literal fulfillment!
Let’s
understand this amazing prophecy, which God Almighty has given to WARN us of
things yet to happen, before the coming of the Messiah!
In
the book of Daniel the prophet is a most puzzling prophecy that has dumfounded
Biblical students and researchers for thousands of years. It is found in chapter 8. We read:
“In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision .
. . In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of
“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 toward 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 toward the four winds of heaven” (Dan.8:1-8).
The
archangel Gabriel explains to Daniel the basic meaning of this vision. In verse 20, he says, “The two-horned ram that
you saw represents the kings of Media and
This
prophecy was amazingly fulfilled.
Alexander’s forces -- composed of 30,000 mobile cavalry -- moved so rapidly it was as if they traveled “without touching the ground”
(v.5). He attacked the Persians with
fury and unheard-of violence, representing the concentrated wrath of
“The conflicts
between the Greeks and the Persians were excessively severe. Alexander
FIRST vanquished the generals of
Darius, at the river Granicus, in
attacked and totally routed Darius, at
the straits of
the plains of
‘the ram -- which I had seen standing
by the river, ran unto him in the fury of his power,’
without having the image of Darius’
army STANDING AND GUARDING THE RIVER
GRANICUS; and of Alexander on the other
side, with his forces plunging in swimming
across the stream, and rushing on the
enemy, with all the FIRE AND FURY that can be
conceived” (Clarke’s Commentary, vol.1,
p.597, emphasis mine throughout).
The date of Alexander’s
world-changing, bench-mark invasion of
But
after Alexander’s lightning-like conquests, he mysteriously died in
“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 evenings
and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated’” (Dan.8:9-14). What is the real meaning of this strange vision?
The Role of Antiochus Epiphanes
All Bible students and commentators recognize that the
“little horn” that grew up and became powerful, and which invaded the Holy
Land, took away the daily sacrifice and desolated the Temple of God in
Jerusalem, was Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria. His empire spread across the whole Middle
East, and he hated the religion of the Jews.
Says the Critical, Experimental Commentary by Jamieson, Fausett
and Brown:
“This horn is
explained (v.23) to be ‘a king of fierce countenance,’ etc. Antiochus
Epiphanes is meant. Greece, with all its refinement, produces the
first -- ie., the Old
Testament ANTICHRIST. Antiochus had an extraordinary love of art,
which expressed
itself in grand temples. He wished to substitute Zeus
Olympus for Jehovah at Jerusalem.
Thus, first, heathen civilization from
below and revealed religion from above came into
collision. Identifying himself with Jupiter, his aim was
to make his own worship uni-
versal (cf. v.25 with ch.11:36): so mad was he in this that he was called
Epimanes
(maniac) instead of Epiphanes
(illustrious). None of the previous
world rulers . . . had
systematically opposed the Jews’
religious worship. . . . He is the forerunner of the final
Antichrist, standing in the same
relation to the first advent of Christ that Antichrist does
to His second coming” (vol.1, p.427).
The
prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled to the very letter. Many in Israel were adopting Hellenistic
customs, erecting theaters, gymnasiums, began regarding all religions as alike
-- much like our modern western world and its new-found thrust for
entertainment, sports, fashion, and in religion “church unity” and respect for
all religions. Jews sacrificed to God,
but also sent money to pay for sacrifices to Hercules. In the book of Maccabees, we read: “Many also of the Israelites consented to his
[Antiochus’] religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath” (I
Macc.1:20-53).
The
Critical, Experimental Commentary
continues the story of Antiochus:
“Returning from
Persia Antiochus came to Ecbatana, after having been put to flight by
the people of Persepolis. Swelling with anger he thought to avenge upon
the Jews the
disgrace so done to him, and threatened
proudly that he would come to Jerusalem and
make a common burying-place of the
Jews. . . . He not only opposes God’s ancient
people, but God Himself. The daily sacrifice -- one lamb was offered in the morning
and another in the evening
(Exo.29:38,39) was taken away -- by Antiochus” (ibid.).
The first book of
Maccabees tells us the details: “The
King forbad burnt offerings and sacrifice and drink offerings in the temple,
and [ordered] that they should sacrifice swine’s flesh . . . Now in the fifteenth
day of the month Kislev, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the
altar . . . and they did sacrifice upon the idol-altar, which was upon the
altar of God” (I Macc.1:20,24,54, 59).
These
calamities were directly due to the rebellion of many Jews to the laws of God
and a widespread apostasy afflicting the land.
The first book of Maccabees relates further:
“In those days
went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying,
‘Let us go and make a covenant with the
heathen that are round about us’ . . .
Whereupon they built a place of
exercise (a school) at Jerusalem, according to the
customs of the heathen; and made
themselves uncircumcised and forsook the holy
covenant, and joined themselves to the
heathen, and were sold to do mischief”
(I Macc.1:11-16).
In
Daniel’s vision, he saw one angel say to another that the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, the rebellion, and the host being trampled underfoot, was to
be “2300 evenings and mornings.” To what
does this enigmatic expression refer?
The
Critical, Experimental Commentary gives
us the historical answer. Notice!
“Unto two
thousand and three hundred days -- lit.,
mornings and evenings, specified
in connection with the morning and evening
sacrifice. Cf. Gen.1:5. SIX YEARS
AND 110 DAYS. This includes not only the three and a
half years during which the
daily sacrifice was forbidden by
Antiochus (Josephus Belllum Judaicum, i, 1, sec.1),
BUT THE WHOLE SERIES OF EVENTS whereby
it was practically interrupted:
beginning with the ‘little horn waxing
great toward the pleasant land,’ and ‘casting down
some of the host’ (vs.9-10); viz., WHEN
IN 171 B.C., or the month Sivan . . . THE
SACRIFICES BEGAN TO BE NEGLECTED, owing
to the high priest Jason intro-
ducing at Jerusalem Grecian customs and
amusements -- the palestra and gymnasium;
ending with the DEATH OF ANTIOCHUS, 165
B.C.” (p.428).
In other words, the
period of 2300 days meant literal days in the fulfillment which occurred during
the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. This
was the period of APOSTASY or REBELLION which began in 171 B.C. and ended in
165 B.C. with the cleansing and restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem by the
revolt led by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers.
The period of wholesale apostasy lasted 6 years and 110 days -- or 2300
days.
The
second book of Maccabees tells us that “Jason. . . labored underhand to be high
priest . . . he forthwith brought his own nation to the Greekish fashion. . . .
For he built gladly a place of exercise under the tower itself, and brought the
chief young men under his subjection. . . . Now such was the height of Greek
fashions, and increase in heathenish manners through the exceeding profaneness
of Jason, that ungodly wretch and no high priest; that the priests had no
courage to serve any more at the altar, but despising the temple, and
NEGLECTING THE SACRIFICES, hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance
in the place of exercise, after the game of Discus called them forth” (II
Macc.4:7-14).
What
was so abominable about having a sports stadium near the Temple of God? Gymnastics, running, throwing, and athletics
was not the problem as such -- but, as Werner Keller writes in The Bible As
History, “True to the Olympic pattern,
games were played COMPLETELY NAKED. The
body could only be ‘covered’ with a thin coat of oil!” (p.313). Naked athletes, only a few steps from the
Temple and the Holy of Holies, and in full view, must have been regarded as a
moral outrage.
The First “Great Tribulation”
In
168 B.C. Antiochus plundered and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. Writes Werner Keller,
“The worship of
Olympian Zeus was set up in the Temple of Yahweh.
For taking part in any Jewish religious
ceremonies, the traditional sacrifices,
the sabbath or circumcision, the
penalty was death. The holy scriptures
were
destroyed. This was the first thoroughgoing religious
persecution in history”
(The Bible As History, p.315).
The
cutting off of the sacrifices lasted 3 1/2 years (see also Dan.9:27 and
12:7). Josephus declares in Wars of
the Jews:
“He [Antiochus
Epiphanes] also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant
practice of offering a daily sacrifice
of expiation for THREE YEARS AND SIX
MONTHS . . . Now Antiochus . . .
compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their
country, and to keep their infants
uncircumcized, and to sacrifice swine’s flesh upon
the altar” (Bk.1, 1,1-2).
In Antiquities of the
Jews, Josephus adds these points of fact:
“. . . he
ventured to break the league he had made.
So he left the temple bare, and
took away the golden candlesticks, and
the golden altar . . . He also emptied it of
its secret treasures, and left nothing
at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews
into great lamentation, for he forbade
them to offer those daily sacrifices which they
used to offer to God, according to the
law. And when he had pillaged the whole
city,
some of the inhabitants he slew, and
some he carried captive, together with their wives
and children, so that the multitude of
those captives that were taken alive amounted
to about ten thousand. . . . And when
the king had built an idol altar upon God’s altar,
he slew swine upon it, and so offered a
sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the
Jewish religious worship in that
country. He also compelled them to
forsake the worship
which they paid their own God, and to
adore those whom he took to be gods; and made
them build temples, and raise idol
altars, in every city and village, and offer swine upon
them every day. . . . but the best men,
and those of the noblest souls, did not regard him
. . . on which account they every day
underwent GREAT MISERIES [a type of the Great
Tribulation to come!] and bitter
torments: for they were whipped with
rods, and their
bodies were torn to pieces, and were
crucified, while they were still alive and breathed:
they also strangled those women and
their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king
had appointed, hanging their sons about
their necks as they were upon the crosses.
And
if there were any sacred book of the
law found, it was destroyed . . .” (Ant., Bk.XII, V, 4).
The
period of the abomination of desolation itself -- when the Temple itself was
defiled -- lasted exactly three years, from Kislev 25, 168 B.C. to Kislev 25,
165 B.C. Josephus tells us,
“Now it so fell
out, that these things [the restoration of the Temple by Judas Macca-
beus and his army] were done on
the VERY SAME DAY on which their divine
worship had fallen off, and was reduced
to a profane and common use, AFTER
THREE YEARS' TIME; for so it was, that
the temple was MADE DESOLATE
by Antiochus, and so continued for
THREE YEARS . . . And this desolation came
to pass according to the prophecy of
Daniel, which was given four hundred and
eight years before . . .” (Ant. XII,VII,
6).
This prophecy came to
pass, just as Daniel foretold it over four hundred years previously! But that is not all. As most Bible students are well aware, Bible
prophecy is often DUAL! There is often a
previous forerunner fulfillment, and there will be a final, climactic END-TIME
fulfillment as well! Daniel was actually
told by the angel Gabriel, “Son of man, understand that the VISION concerns the
TIME OF THE END” (Dan.8:17).
Antiochus
Epiphanes lived 165 years before Christ’s coming the first time. He did not live during the true “time of the
end.” Therefore, his fulfillment of
these cryptic Biblical passages was only as a TYPE -- a FORERUNER -- of the
true apocalyptic END TIME fulfillment to come in OUR DAY, today!
Let’s
notice another fulfillment of this prophecy, which brings us down to our modern
generation!
It is commonly understood that there is a “day for a year”
principle in understanding Biblical prophecy.
That is, often when the Bible says a “day,” the interpretation of
prophetic fulfillment is a “year,” or a “prophetic year” of 360 days.
When
the Israeli spies searched out the land of Canaan for forty days, and then
returned to Moses with a negative report, saying the children of Israel were
not strong enough to overcome the inhabitants of the land, God was furious with
their lack of faith. So He said to them,
“For FORTY YEARS -- one year for each of the forty days you explored the land
-- you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against
you” (Num.14:34).
This
same principle of a day for a year is illustrated by Ezekiel the prophet. God told the prophet, “Then lie on your left
side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of
days you lie on your side. I have
ASSIGNED you the SAME NUMBER OF DAYS AS THE YEARS of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the
house of Israel. After you have finished
this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the
house of Judah. I have assigned you
forty days, A DAY FOR EACH YEAR” (Ezek.4:1-6).
Taking
this principle, then, Daniel heard the question of HOW LONG would it take for
the VISION he saw in Daniel 8 to be fulfilled, or accomplished -- from
beginning to end. That is, from the
beginning moment when the Grecian “goat” attacked and pulverized the two-horned
Persian “ram” -- till the END of the vision, when the “sanctuary” would be
cleansed or restored, during the “TIME OF THE END” (Dan.8:17; also 8:13, and
5-7).
The
prophesied length or duration of this vision was to be 2300 “days” (v.13). Using the “day for a year” principle, we have
therefore 2300 YEARS of fulfillment.
Alexander
the Great attacked and conquered the assembled Persian army at the river
Granicus in 334 B.C., storming across the river with fury, with only 30,000
troops. In so doing, he changed the
course of the history of the world from that moment, with one world empire
falling, and another rising. Since the
prophecy begins with this event, we must count the 2300 years from that very
date. Beginning in 334 B.C., counting
2300 years, we come to the year of 1967 A.D. What happened in 1967 A.D.? How was this prophecy literally
fulfilled?
In
1967 the state of Israel defeated the combined armies and air forces of the
surrounding Arab nations in Six Days that shook the world. Was this incredible victory foretold in the
pages of Bible prophecy?
In
1984, God Almighty began to reveal to me the most amazing and mind-boggling
keys to understanding Daniel’s enigmatic and mysterious prophecy of the “2300
days” (“evenings and mornings”) found in Daniel, chapter 8. It’s time we take
another look at this pivotal Bible prophecy and its awesome, intriguing
significance for us today!
In
the Six Day War, against seemingly hopeless odds, in less than three hours the
Israeli air force destroyed three hundred Egyptian aircraft on the ground,
losing only 3-4 planes in the bargain.
In June of 1967 the world was astounded as in Six Days, the small nation
of Israel demolished the combined land and air forces of Egypt, Syria and
Jordan, recapturing the Sinai, seizing the Golan heights, the West Bank of the
Jordan River, and the Old City of Jerusalem.
When
Jordan entered the war, the Israelis attacked with a vengeance. To many, it was like the “day of the Lord” in
Biblical prophecy. Quickly, the West
Bank was seized from Jordanian forces, and the Old City of Jerusalem, from
which Jews had been expelled during the time of Emperor Hadrian in 135 A.D.,
once again fell into Jewish hands. The
news rang out in Israel -- “HAR HA’BAYIT B’YADENU!” “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” Throughout Israel, there was a spontaneous
burst of incredible joy and exultation -- newly-weds embraced, mothers hugged
children, fathers and sons danced, comrades in arms shouted with glee,
everywhere Jews embraced, danced and sang:
“This is the day the LORD hath made . . .” David Ben Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel,
said in a quavering voice, “This is the greatest day of my life!”
It
was truly a Day of Nissin v’niflaot -- “miracles and marvels”!
After
having been exiled from Jerusalem for some 1832 years, it seemed like a dream
come true. Once again Jewish feet trod
on the holy places of Zion! The enemies
of Israel were vanquished in six days!
Who could believe it? Surely
the hand of the Almighty was evident in this spectacular victory -- this
momentous epic event!
The Incredible and
Miraculous SIX DAY WAR
Says
the Worldbook Encyclopedia in regard to this marvelous event:
“UN troops
prevented raids across the Israeli-Egyptian border after the 1956 war. But
Arab raids continued from Syria and
Jordan into Israel, and Israeli forces raided those
countries in return. Border clashes increased greatly in the
mid-1960’s.
“In May 1967, Israel and the three Arab
countries all alerted their armed forces for
possible war. At Egypt’s demand, the UN troops left the
Gaza Strip and the Sinai
Peninsula. The Egyptians then again closed the Gulf of
Aqaba to Israeli ships.
“On June 5, 1967, Israeli planes
attacked airfields in Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The
Israelis destroyed the Arab air forces
almost completely. Then they defeated
the Arab
armies.
By June 8, Israeli troops occupied the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula,
and
Jordanian territory west of the River
Jordan, including Jordan’s half of Jerusalem.
On
June 10, Israel captured Syria’s Golan
Heights. The war was over in six days.
“When the brief war ended, the Israelis controlled Arab
territory totaling more than
three times the area of Israel
itself. In June 1967, Israel officially
made Jordan’s half
of Jerusalem a part of Israel”
(“Israel,” p.393).
This astounding war
occurred exactly 2300 years from the pivotal battle between Greece and Persia
that began Daniel’s vision of the eighth chapter. This furious battle, like its predecessor
2300 years ago, was fought against overwhelming odds, and the outcome was
decided by Divine Providence. Something
occurred during this battle in 1967 which proves it was the terminus of this
ancient prophecy. The Jews seized the
Old City of Jerusalem, historic Jerusalem, and along with it THE SACRED TEMPLE
MOUNT, where history shows that Solomon's Temple, and the Second Temple, were
both constructed!
In
70 A.D., Roman armies under Titus and Vespacian, conquered the Jews and
destroyed the Temple. In 132-135 A.D.,
during the Bar Kochba rebellion, another generation of Jews rebelled against
Rome -- after which Jews were BANISHED from Jerusalem and expelled from their
homeland by the angry Romans who were furious that they had had to fight two
fierce and costly wars with the Jews in a space of sixty two years. The Jews were a shattered people. Hope of a Jewish Kingdom was annihilated --
destroyed. The period of Jewish exile --
the SECOND major Jewish exile in history -- was begun. It was a time of affliction, consternation,
shame, and worldwide reproach.
Wrote
Winston and Randolph Churchill:
“Jerusalem was
finally reduced to rubble and the harrow drawn across
its former glories. In the new Roman city of Jerusalem no Jew was
allowed
to set foot more than once
a year. The practice of Judaism was
forbidden
and even circumcision
proscribed. Although the Jews remained
in Pales-
tine, there could be no
further hope of a Jewish Kingdom” (The Six Day
War, Churchill,
p.2-3).
But
now, incredibly, in 1967, for the first time since those ancient days, the Jews
once again established Jewish CONTROL and sovereignty and authority over the
TEMPLE MOUNT OF JERUSALEM! Gentiles had
ruled the region for almost two thousand years.
Now, once again, it was under Jewish control -- and the way was once
again prepared for the rebuilding of the ancient Jewish Temple.
When
the Jews conquered the Old City of Jerusalem, wresting it from the hands of the
Jordanians, feelings were at an incredible level. Winston S. and Randolph S. Churchill wrote:
“The Wailing
Wall is supposedly the last remains of the Temple, destroyed by the
Roman Emperor Titus in the
year 70 A.D. As he stood beside it Dayan
affirmed:
‘We have returned to our
holiest of holy places, never to be parted from it again.’
Ben-Gurion, too, when he
visited the wall declared, in a voice charged with emotion:
‘This is the greatest day
of my life’” (ibid., p.141).
Winston
and Randolph Churchill add:
“Thus, by
nightfall on Wednesday June 7, the Israelis had in their hands Jerusalem,
the city of King David,
Hebron, the city of Abraham, and all the Holy Land. Just a
couple of weeks before,
there were few Jews who would have believed they would see
any of these places in their
lifetime. For Jews the world over but
particularly for those
who had come to make their
homes in Israel, this was the fulfillment of a hope of
centuries” (p.147).
Is
this astonishing victory for Israel in 1967 significant? A nation of 2 1/2 million put to rout the
armies and military forces of Arab nations with a combined population of over
140 million. This was “a staggering
achievement,” in the words of Winston S. and Randolph S. Churchill. Colin Legum in The Observor called the
Israeli victory “a miracle of arms” (ibid.,p.194-195). He added that one of Israel’s leading
soldier-politicians remarked:
“The only
analogy I can think of is if Britain had found herself in occupation of Berlin
just three days after
Dunkirk. The suddenness of the
transformation from a situation of
acute danger to
unparalleled victory is too much for any people to absorb. It will take
time to get over it” (ibid.).
On
June 27 three laws were passed through the Knesset annexing the Old City of
Jerusalem and reuniting it with the New City on the next day.
The Awesome Significance
What
is the real significance of this amazing fulfillment of Biblical prophecy? Since prophecy terminates with the year 1967,
that year itself must be a key linchpin in the overall plan of God. It must be extremely significant. Could it be the key pointer that tells us we
are now living in the “time of the end”?
The Messiah, Jesus Christ, told us, “Verily I say unto you,
This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled”
(Matt.24:34). What is “this
generation”? He is talking about the
generation that sees these signs of fulfilled prophecy given in the
Mount Olivet prophecy. Surely the
fulfillment of the 2300 day/year prophecy is a major dating key in God's
overall plan. It must pinpoint the “last
generation” of which Christ speaks.
In
Biblical language, a “generation” is generally a period of forty years (Numbers
14:34). Therefore, the END of this
generation could have been within a period of 40 years from 1967,
bringing us to 2007 A.D. However, in
1967 the Jews did NOT obey God, and begin to rebuild the Temple of God in
Jerusalem. Even though they recaptured
the Temple Mount, Jewish general Moshe Dayan gave control over the holy site to
the MUSLIMS! So an opportunity to
fulfill prophecy and usher in the coming of the Messiah was LOST!
Almost
40 years have gone by since that date! Even
as God caused ancient Israel to WANDER in the wilderness for 40 years, because
they did not have FAITH in God to enter into the Promised Land – they “feared
the GIANTS” – even so, this generation lacked FAITH in God to bring about His
promises, and refused to seize the Temple Mount and REBUILD GOD’S HOUSE! So they, too, like their ancestors, have been
punished with 40 YEARS of strife, trouble, warfare, suicide-bombers, terrorism,
Hamas, Hizbollah, and incessant Palestinian VIOLENCE!
Those
40 years are about up.
The
time is HERE! The time is NOW! The time has come to make plans to REBUILD
GOD’S HOUSE! This means that the Dome of
the Rock, which now stands upon the temple site, must come down. In its place must be reared up the end-time
Temple of the Living God of Israel!
Could
the year 1967 be the beginning point of this final end-time “generation,”
pointing toward the rebuilding of the Temple, and then the coming of the
Messiah?
The
fulfillment of this prophecy shows that we are surely living in the days called
“the birthpangs of the Messiah.” It is
only a matter of time.
The Words of Ha Mashiach
In
the Mount Olivet prophecy, Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah, whom the Jews
await as “ha Mashiach,” foretold that just before His Second Coming, events
would parallel the apostasy and events during the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes. He foretold a time of great
and widespread apostasy (Matt.24:4-5, 12-13), as well as military invasion,
occupation, and Great Tribulation (vs.21-22) such as the world has never before
seen! Daniel prophesied of this same
cataclysmic “end time” (Dan.12:1-2).
Jesus
said of those coming days, “So when you [His servants living at this end-time!]
see standing in the HOLY PLACE [the rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem] the abomination
that causes 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).
Once
again the Temple of God will be defiled and polluted by the End-Time
“Antichrist” -- the Beast of Revelation (Rev.13:2-5; 11:2) -- the “Man of Sin,”
or “Son of Perdition” (see II Thess.2:4-10).
This “beast,” like Antiochus, will also trample the holy city of
Jerusalem for forty two months, or 1260 days -- which is three and one half
years! Thus the tyranny and cruelty of
Antiochus Epiphanes was an EXACT DUPLICATE of the End-Time fulfillment to come
-- even to the exact length of the occupation of Jerusalem and the cutting off
of the daily sacrifice!
This
tells us, therefore, that the 2300 days which were fulfilled by the apostasy
lasting 6 years and 110 days in the time of Antiochus was also an EXACT TYPE of
an End-Time, latter day fulfillment to come!
This is an example of the DUALITY of Biblical prophecy! What occurred in the PAST was a “type,” a
“forerunner,” of a latter day, END-time fulfillment of the prophecy!
How
do we know this prophecy is DUAL and also refers to the LAST DAYS of this
current generation?
Notice
Daniel 8:17. We read the awesome,
staggering words – “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the
TIME OF THE END”! And in verse 19,
we read: “Look, I am making known to you
what shall happen in the LATTER TIIME of the indignation; for at the
APPOINTED TIME the end shall be” (NKJV).
How,
then, does this amazing prophecy of conquest and desolation apply to our
day? How is it being fulfilled in OUR
time?
When
will these 2300 days of APOSTASY and rebellion against the truth of God be
fulfilled? How will the END-TIME
“Antiochus Epiphanes” – the type of the end-time “Antichrist” – arise on the
world scene? When will the END TIME
“Great Tribulation” begin to settle upon the world like a dense fog of cruelty,
brutality, bestiality, and martyrdom of righteous men and women?
The
apostle Paul foretold a great End-time Apostasy from the truth of God, as
occurred in Israel during the days of Antiochus. He wrote, “Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the FALLING AWAY [apostasia in
the Greek, from which derives our word “apostasy”] comes first, and the man of
sin is revealed, the son of perdition . . . The coming of the lawless one is
according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not
receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong
delusion, that they should believe THE LIE, that they all may be condemned
who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess.2:3-12,
NKJV).
The
New Testament in Contemporary English has this passage in vivid detail, as
follows:
“Before that day
comes, a couple of things have to happen.
First, the
Apostasy. Second, the debut of the
Anarchist, a
real dog of Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called
god or
altar. Having cleared away the
opposition, he’ll then set
himself up in
God’s Temple as ‘God Almighty.’ Don’t
you remember me going over all this in
detail when I was with you?
Are you
memories that short? . . . .
“The
Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work.
All his power
and signs and
miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays
to the gallery
of those who hate the truth that could save them.
And since
they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses
in it -- gives
them what they want. Since they refuse
to trust
truth, they’re
banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.”
This
End-time Apostasy has already begun. It
is already at work. As Paul foretold,
“You will also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until
just the right time. That doesn’t mean
that the spirit of anarchy [lawlessness, rebellion against God’s Law,
antinomianism, or “Apostasy”] is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist
will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels
and blow him away.”
Will
there be an “end-time” WAR like that of Alexander the Great against ancient
Persia, where the WEST attacks a nation in the Middle East which has grandiose
ambitions and which is related to the ancient Persian Empire? Will this WAR lead to another period of 2300 literal
days of utter apostasy, leading into the Great Tribulation and Day of the
Lord? Will it culminate in the final
cleansing of the END-TIME TEMPLE of God, at the coming of the Messiah Himself?
Very
few people realize it, but the ancient Alexander the Great was actually a man
with Israelite ancestry. He was king of
Macedonia, a region settled by the ancient tribe of DAN. Wherever the tribe of Dan migrated to, they
left a “sign” behind them – the sign of the name of their forefather
“Dan.” They passed through the Dardanelles,
and traveled through the region of the Danube River, the Dniester,
and Dnieper Rivers, through central Europe, as they journeyed to Denmark. Many of them finally settled in London, and
Ireland.
In
Ireland, today, we find their customary evidence -- their place names -- in
abundance. Such names as Dans-Lough,
Dan-Sower, Dan-Monism, Dun-dalke, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City,
Dun-glow and Lon-don-derry, as well as Din-gle, Dun-garven and Duns-more, which
means “MORE DANS.” The Irish song “Danny
Boy” is a reference to DAN. A major
tribe which settled in Ireland was the Tuatha de Danaan, meaning “tribe
of Dan.”
There
is also a river Don in Scotland, and another in England. These countries, also, show the evidence of
the presence or passing of the tribe of Dan, who migrated with the other tribes
of the northern kingdom of Israel, especially the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and
Manasseh). Here we find such names --
markers, or “guide posts” as God called them in Jeremiah -- as Dun-dee, Dun-kirk,
Dunbar, Dunraven, E-din-burgh, and Lon-don.
The Danites
were sea-goers. “Dan abode in ships”
(Judges 5:17). Dan also gave his name to
Sardinia (“prince of Dan”), an island in the Mediterranean Sea. The tribe of Dan had this proclivity in ancient
times as the Bible shows. “And they
called the name of that city DAN, after the name of Dan their father, who was
born unto Israel. However, the name of
that city formerly was Laish” (Judges 18:29).
Jacob
foretold that the tribe of Dan would “judge his people” and also “be a serpent
by the way” (Gen.49:16i-17). A serpent,
when it slithers and crawls, leaves a trail or track in the sand. Even so the tribe of Dan would leave signs or
“waymarks” showing where it had journeyed.
They tended to leave their “name” behind as an identifying sign! We read in Joshua: “But the Danites had difficulty taking
possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it,
put it to the sword and occupied it.
They settled in Leshem and NAMED IT DAN after their forefather”
(Josh.19:47).
Dan
was also a powerful WARRIOR tribe. Moses
foretold, “Dan is a LION’s whelp; he shall leap from Bashan” (Deut.33:22). A “sign” of the tribe of Dan was the
“serpent,” as well as the “eagle.”
Samson the great warrior in ancient Israel, was of the tribe of DAN
(Judges 13-16). For more about this
fascinating tribe, read our article on the “Tribe of Dan” in prophecy.
MaceDONia
was another region where Dan, a powerful WARRIOR tribe of Israel. Thus Philip of Macedonia and his son
Alexander were at least in part descended from the tribe of DAN!!
Is this really significant?
The tribal
emblem of the Danites was a snake with a serpent in its claws. Jacob foretold, “Dan shall be a serpent
by the way, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall
backward” (Gen.49:17). Notice that in
this statement of identity, Dan is connected with the motif of a serpent, and a
horse Says W. H. Bennett in Symbols
of Our Celto-Saxon Heritage, “The first object to which Dan is likened is
definitely stated to be a Serpent. The
second is implied, being mentioned in relation to the first. It is a Horse, or a Horse and Rider, the
Horse usually being white . . . the Serpent and the White Horse remained the
emblems of the Tribe of Dan” (pages 26-27).
Later he
adds, “When the newly-formed United States of America was choosing a national
emblem, the Serpent was a serious contender for the position given to the
Eagle. Further, the Serpent was the
official emblem of several of the military and naval units of the United States
Revolutionary Forces. Dan’s secondary
emblem, a Horse, usually pictured as white and sometimes with a rider, was a
favorite emblem of the Saxons long before their invasion of Britain” (p.47-49).
The emblem of
the Eagle is also connected to the tribe of Dan. As the tribes of Israel came out of Egypt,
they marched in brigades, three on each side of the Tabernacle. On the north side was the leading Tribe of
Dan, with Asher and Naphtali with him. The tribes on the east side were Judah,
the Lion tribe, with Issachar and Zebulon.
On the west side was Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), the Bull tribe, with
Benjamin. To the south was Reuben, whose
symbol was a Man, with Gad and Simeon.
Notice these creatures reflect three of the faces of the cherubim
mentioned in Ezekiel, chapter 1! (Ezek.1:10).
The fourth face, that of an Eagle, was connected to the tribes on the
north of the Tabernacle, led by Dan!
Says Bennett,
“The outstanding example of the use of the Eagle, the emblem of Israel’s
fourth Brigade, as an emblem of the Celto-Saxon people today, is of course as
the central and dominant figure in the national Arms of the United States”
(p.75).
Can we trace
the journeys of the ancient Danites to their modern-day locations? Did they go to GREECE, and eventually to
Ireland, and the United States of America?
Writes W. H.
Bennett, “According to the legends of ancient Greece, the people who founded
that nation came from Egypt. Though the
significance of this has been overlooked by historians, it should be noted that
the time of the arrival of these people in Greece is also the time of the
bondage of the Israel people in Egypt.
Further, the ancient writers claim that these founders of the Greek
nation were, in fact, Israelite refugees from the Egyptian bondage.
“Thus
Hecacaeus of Abdena, a writer of the 4th century B.C., tells us that
the Egyptians decided to expel all the aliens living in Egypt and that some of
these, under the leadership of Danaus and Cadmus, went to Greece, some to other
places but the majority migrated to Syria (Canaan) under the leadership of
Moses” (p.184).
That some of
the ancient Greeks were Israelites is quite clear from the history of the Jews
written by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish
priest, general, and historian of the first century.
In his
monumental Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus records a letter written by
the Lacedemonian Greeks to the Jews in which they express their kinship to the
Jews. Their seal, that of the tribe of
Dan, was affixed to the epistle -- an eagle with a dragon (serpent) in its
claws! Josephus quotes the letter as follows:
“AREUS, KING OF
THE LACEDEMONIANS, TO ONIAS,
SENDETH GREETINGS
“We have met with a certain writing,
whereby we have discovered that both the Jews are of
of ONE STOCK, and are derived from the
KINDRED OF ABRAHAM. It is but just,
therefore,
that you, WHO ARE OUR BRETHREN, should
send to us about any of your concerns as you
please.
We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and
will look
upon our concerns as in common with
yours. . . . This letter is four-square;
and the SEAL IS
AN EAGLE, WITH A DRAGON IN HIS CLAWS” (Antiquities,
XII, 4, 10).
Says W. H.
Bennett, “From an heraldic viewpoint, this letter of the Lacedemonian King is
very interesting for, in addition to stating that the Lacedemonians (Greeks)
were brethren of the Jews and descended from Abraham, it had a seal on it which
appeared an emblem whose main figure was an Eagle, the emblem of the
three-tribed Brigade of Dan. This is
also interesting because of the fact that the Israelitish Brigade of Dan was
composed of three tribes and that ancient Greece was settled by three
related tribes. Further, the name
Dan was an important one in ancient Greece.
The leader of one of the first groups to settle there was DANus and the
northern part of Greece is still called MaceDONia. Further, ancient Ireland was partly settled
by a people called DANans who came from Greece; and it is interesting, too,
that Scotland was anciently called CaleDONia.
That there was a connection between CaleDONia and Greece is evidenced by
the fact that the people of one of the three tribes of ancient Greece were called
Dorics; that the Doric dialect was harsh and that the people of some parts of
Scotland still speak a dialect referred to as “Broad Doric” (Symbols, p.184-185).
Josephus also
notes that the Jewish high priest Jonathan later wrote to the Lacedemonian king,
conveying his regards, after having gained a great victory over his
enemies. He sent ambassadors to the
Romans and “to the Spartans, and put them in mind of their friendship and
KINDRED.” The letter to the Spartans
read as follows:
“Jonathan the high
priest of the Jewish nation . . . to the ephori and senate and the people
of the Lacedemonians, send greeting:
“When in former
times an epistle was brought to Onias, who was then our high priest . . .
concerning the KINDRED THAT WAS BETWEEN US AND YOU, a copy of which is here
subjoined, we both joyfully received the epistle . . . because we were well
satisfied about it from the SACRED WRITINGS, yet did not we think fit, first to
begin the claim of this RELATION TO YOU, the glory which is now given us by
you. It is a long time since this
relation of ours to you hath been renewed, and when we, upon holy and festival
days offer sacrifices to God, we pray to Him for your preservation and victory
. . . .You will, therefore, do well yourselves to write to us, and send us an
account of what you stand in need of from us, since we are in all things
disposed to act according to your desires” (Antiquities of the Jews,
XIII, 5, 8).
The
Lacedemonians received the Jewish ambassadors carrying the letter kindly and
made a decree of friendship and mutual assistance with the Jews, and then sent
the letter to their Lacedemonian kinsmen.
In Ancient
Mythology, Bryant relates that Stephanus Byzantium shows that Alexander
Polyhistor and Claudius Jolaus also speak of a direct relationship or kinship
between the Spartan Greeks and the people of Judaea (vol.5, p.51-52, 60).
Therefore,
Alexander the Great, of MaceDONia, was in reality a great Israelite of the
tribe of Dan. His prowess as a warrior
was legendary. He attacked ancient
Persia, as is shown in Daniel chapter 8, with a furious assault. With an army of 30,000 Greek soldiers, he
destroyed the Persian Empire, beginning at the battle of the Granicus River,
334 B.C., and then thoroughly defeated
them at at Issus and Arbela.
But
prophecy is often DUAL! As we saw in
Daniel 8, this prophecy was also for the END TIME! Where are the leading tribes of Israel,
today?
As
I have shown in other articles, the modern day descendants of the ancient tribes
of Israel, which traveled to Europe, and those which went into captivity to the
Assyrians in 718-721 B.C., migrated to Europe, and thence to the British Isles
and North America. The United States
today is the end-time representation of those ancient Greeks. Our customs, our government, is patterned
after Grecian democracy.
The
United States of America is the leading superpower in the world today. It is located far WEST of the Middle East,
even as ancient Greece was “west” of Persia.
Our government and traditions come largely from ancient Greece, from
whence we obtained “democracy” and all its institutions. Our government is patterned on that of
ancient Greece and Rome.
One
of our original symbols was the serpent.
The motto, “Don’t tread on me,” featured a coiled rattlesnake. Our national symbol is the Eagle. We are a nation composed of the Lost Ten
Tribes of Israel, including a large segment of the tribe of DAN. Irish policemen and judges are commonplace in
major cities such as New York and Boston.
But,
as we have demonstrated in other articles, our nation is predominantly of the
tribe of Ephraim, son of Joseph, the holder of the BIRTHRIGHT promises! Our nation was prophesied to be great, to
have “horns like the horns of a wild ox,” and to “push the peoples to the ends
of the earth” (Deut.33:13, 27). As
the birthright tribe of Israel, God expects us to RULE in the world with
justice and righteousness, bringing His LAWS to all mankind.
Indeed,
America has been the “saviour” of the world during the twentieth century, as
the bastion of democracy and the arsenal of freedom. American forces came to the rescue of Europe
during World War I, World War II, and led the fight against Communist aggression
in Korea, Vietnam, and led the charge against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War of
1991. It has happened again with the
outcome of the recent Iraq War..
Fulfillment in
the End of Days!
George
W. Bush, President of the United States, with Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom, launched a mighty war against Saddam Hussein, the brutal
dictator of Iraq, who has been squirreling away weapons of mass destruction and
aiding and abetting terrorism around the world.
The U.S. tried to obtain U.N. approval of its war against Iraq, and lost
several months as it delayed attacking until March, 2003. When the attack came, the armed forces
assaulted Saddam with unparalleled fury and fire, similar to the way Alexander
the Great attacked ancient Persia. Even
as Alexander’s forces rushed upon the Persians with FURY, so American and
British forces have rushed with FURY upon the forces of Saddam Hussein – “SHOCK
AND AWE,” the military described the campaign.
Notice
the prophecy, again. The “male goat came
from the WEST, across the surface of the WHOLE EARTH, WITHOUT TOUCHING THE
GROUND; and the goat had a NOTABLE HORN between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns,
which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with FURIOUS
POWER. And I saw him confronting the
ram; he was moved with RAGE against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two
horns. There was no power in the ram to
withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there
was no one that could deliver the ram out of his hand” (Dan.8:5-7).
Our
military came from the WEST. Our forces
traveled by sea and by air. They hardly
“touched the ground” as they proceeded to seize the offensive.
It
is noteworthy that ancient Alexander the Great had a personal grievance against
Darius, the king of the Persians. Darius
had endeavored to bribe his captains and had labored to induce some of his
friends to assassinate him. Says
Adam Clarke, “Alexander, finding this, would listen to no proposals of peace;
and was determined never to rest till he had destroyed Darius and his
whole empire” (Clarke’s Commentary, vol.2, page 597).
It
is a fact that there is a personal element in t he wrath of George Bush against
Saddam. After the Gulf War, when his
father, President George Bush, Sr., visited Kuwait, during the Clinton
presidency, a plot was discovered, hatched by Saddam, to assassinate the elder
George Bush, and was barely nipped in the bud.
In retaliation, Clinton merely lobbed a few cruise missiles at a few targets
in Iraq, and did virtually nothing. It
was left to the son of George Bush, now president of the United States, to
exact retribution for the attempt to assassinate his father.
Consider
this! The United Nations had condemned
Iraq’s acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, but lacked the will to
enforce their own resolution. But
President George W. Bush, made up for their failure by his own courage and
will. He has led the “coalition of the
willing” in a massive bombardment and assault upon the evil regime of Saddam
Hussein. Here we see before our very
eyes a literal END-TIME FULFILLMENT of this ancient prophecy!
The
dogs of war were unleashed! Fury
thundered through the skies. The war
raged furiously. In only three weeks
Iraq lay prostrate, Baghdad under U.S. army control. Now the rebuilding of a free, democratic Iraq
is in process.
Interestingly,
the Iraqis are descended from the ancient Assyrians. In Scripture, God also calls the king of the
Persian Empire the “king of Assyria” (Ezra 6:22). Thus Alexander the Great attacked the king
of “Assyria,” even as George Bush has attacked an end-time dictator of
“Assyria.”
Interestingly, the symbol of the white horse, the secondary symbol of Dan, is also a symbol of a war-waging world power from the West!
In
the book of Job we read that the horse itself is a symbol of war. God said to Job, “Have you given the horse
strength? Have you clothed his neck with
thunder? Can you frighten him like a
locust? His majestic snorting strikes
terror. He paws in the valley, and
rejoices in his strength; he gallops into the clash of arms. He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; nor
does he turn back from the sword. The
quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and javelin. He devours the distance with fierceness and
rage; nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. At the blast of the trumpet he says,
‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of captains and shouting” (Job 39:19-25).
The
white horse is mentioned in the prophecies of Zechariah, chapter six. The prophet described four chariots led by
horses – red, black, white, and dappled (Zech.6:2-3. These represented world powers at the four
directions of the wind or the compass (verse 5). The black horse was connected with the north
(v.6), the dappled with the south (v.6).
The Jewish Tanakh states that these horses and chariots “are the four
winds of heaven . . . The one with the black horses is going out to the region
of the north; the WHITE ones have gone out to what is to the WEST of them;
the spotted ones have gone out to the region of the south; and the dappled
[red] ones have gone out . . .” (v.6).
The footnote states, “Emendation yields ‘the bay ones will go out to the
region of the EAST.”
Notice
that the white horses are connected to the western region of the earth.
Revelation
6 tells us of a similar prophecy for the END OF DAYS! The apostle John is told of the opening of
the first four of seven seals of prophecy, covering the last days. The first seal is of a “white horse.” We read:
“He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went
out conquering and to conquer” (Rev.6:2).
The second seal was of a red horse; the third seal was of a black horse,
and the fourth seal was of a pale horse.
They also become involved in WARS in the end times (Rev.6:3-7).
Using
the revelation of Zechariah 6, we connect the white horse with the WEST, the
red horse with the EAST (red Russia, red China, etc.), the black horse with
Europe, and the pale horse with the south – Africa and the Muslim countries.
The
ride of the white horse from the west, the white horse being connected with the
brigade of Dan, tells us that at the beginning of the END OF DAYS, the western
world power would go to war, “conquering and to conquer” with a “bow” and
arrows – a type of modern-day missiles, smart bombs, cruise missiles, etc. We have witnessed that very ride of the
WHITE HORSE OF REVELATION, as the United States and Great Britain have attacked
Iraq with exactly those kinds of weapons!
Notice that this horse begins “conquering,” but does not finish the job
– he stops when there is still much left “to conquer.” The final job is left unfinished.
The
“white horse” of Revelation has begun its conquering ride through the last
days! The white horse rode to victory in
World War I, World War II, in the Gulf War I, and now in the Iraq War of
2003! What will happen next?
After
the “goat” strikes the ram, in Daniel 8, we read, “Therefore the male goat grew
very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place
of it four notable horns came up toward the four winds of heaven” (Daniel
8:8).
The
ride of the white horse is only the opening scene of the book of
Revelation and the unveiling of the seven seals. It is to be followed by war being waged by
the “red horse” – Russia, China, and the “red” or Communist nations. Then the black horse of Europe, and the pale
or green horse of the Muslim nations must still ride!
George
W. Bush, then, with American power, represents the end-time anti-type of the
“shaggy goat” from the West. America and Britain represent the “white horse” of
Revelation. But this is just the
beginning of the end-time prophecy!
There will be great wars and
distress of nations, with perplexity, from this time on out. Read our article, “The Times of Jacob’s
Trouble – Have They Already Begun?”
After
Alexander’s victory in the war against Persia and the east, he and his men
partied at Babylon, where he fell ill, and soon died, at the age of 33. Shortly after his death, his two sons were
killed, and his kingdom was divided up into four kingdoms – Seleucus had Syria
and Babylon; Lysimachus had Asia Minor; Ptolemy had Egypt; and Cassander had
Greece.
Notice
the words of Daniel: “Therefore the male
goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and
in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven”
(Dan.8:8). As prophecy is DUAL, this
means that the victory celebration after Iraq War will not last very long. For the large horn will be ‘broken.” The Hebrew word for “broken” here is shabar
and literally means “to burst, break down, break in pieces, break up,
crush, destroy, quench, hurt.” That is,
in time the victory over Iraq will fade into history. President George Bush will no longer be
president; there will, in a few years, be another administration, and the
fruits of victory will be squandered.
The
prophecy states that out of this scene, instead of ONE superpower in the world,
the kingdom will be divided up “toward the four winds of heaven” – that is, the
West (United States), North (Europe), East (Russia and China), and South –
Egypt and Africa (Dan.8:8).
“And
out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great
toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it
cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled
them. He even exalted himself as high as
the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the
place of his sanctuary was cast down.
Because of transgression, and army was given over to the horn to oppose
the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered” (Dan.8:9-12).
Here
we see a NEW world arrangement, following the decline of the great superpower
in the West. FOUR regions begin to vie
for influence and world control. Isaiah
declares, of Ephraim, or the U.S., in that day, “Fortresses shall cease from
Ephraim,” and “In that day the mass of Jacob shall dwindle, and the fatness of
his body become lean” (Isa.17:3-4).
In
the wake of the Iraq War, much restructuring will have to be done among the
nations. The United Nations will have to
be reorganized, especially the Security Council. Eventually, there will no longer be one
unique “superpower,” as it is today, but there will be four geographical world
powers to replace it – probably the United States and Britain as one, Europe as
two, Russia/China as three, and the Arab countries as four.
Out
of one of these, the prophecy states, shall arise a ruler who begins “small,”
but begins to consolidate power to himself so that the WHOLE WORLD follows his
leadership. He becomes the HEAD of the
New World Order!
The Little Horn
Notice
how the angelic messenger describes this man, who UNITES the four world regions
into a world government, probably through the auspices of a strengthened and
revamped UNITED NATIONS!
“And
in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their
fullness, A KING shall arise, having fierce features [countenance], who
understands sinister schemes. His power
shall be mighty, but not by his own power [the powerful nations leading the
United Nations will give him their support!]; he shall destroy fearfully
[margin, “extraordinarily”], and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the
mighty, and also the holy people” (Dan.8:23-24).
“Through
his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule [“hand”]; and he
shall exalt himself in his heart. He
shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken
without human means [“hand”] (Dan.8:25).
Daniel
was then told, “Seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the
future” (verse 26). The vision so
astonished Daniel that the color drained from his face (verse 27). It was a fearsome vision of the future – of
things shortly to come to pass in OUR OWN DAY!
In
Islamic tradition Allah’s kingdom will not be established until Moslems kill
all the Jews and subject them to Islamic rule.
This Islamic “holy war” is aimed at Christians as well as Jews. The Moslem war chant goes something like
this: “Today we fight on Saturday,
tomorrow on Sunday.” The meaning is,
they first intend to destroy Israel and then establish Islamic rule over all
the nations that embrace “Christianity.”
The
Western world will unite against the growing threat of Muslim terrorism. The focus of the struggle will be the Middle
East.
The
Word of God prophesies: “Behold, I
will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about,
when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone for all people: all
that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of
the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:2-3).
In
ancient times it was Antiochus Epiphanes who led the struggle over Israel, and
brought on the forerunner of the future “Great Tribulation.” He polluted the Temple of God, destroyed
every Bible his soldiers could discover, and persecuted and killed all who
would not forsake the true worship of Almighty God.
Even
so, in these last days, following the great war against Iraq, a man will arise
who will once again lift himself up against the God of gods, the Ruler of
Heaven, and he will “destroy many in their prosperity” (Dan.8:25). He will stop the daily sacrifices in a
rebuilt Temple of God, for a time, and “cast truth down to the ground” (verse
12). He will “destroy the mighty, and
also the holy people” (verse 24). This
will be the violence of the end-time Great Tribulation!
How
will this all come about? The key is the
Middle East. The fight is over
Jerusalem. The whole world is intent on
redrawing the map of the Middle East, and to take land from the Jews and give
it to the Palestinians, to create a Palestinian state.
Even
Jewish leaders have succumbed to the plot.
The Quartet of nations – the United States, Europe, Russia, and the
United Nations – have agreed to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and on
the West Bank of the Jordan River. They
hope that this will lead to “peace” in the Middle East! But will this agreement, even now being drawn
up and fashioned, really work?
God’s
Word thunders that it is a complete non-starter.
“Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, ye afflicted men,
and ye princes of this people that is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a COVENANT
WITH HADES, AND AGREEMENTS WITH DEATH; if the rushing storm should pass, it
shall not come upon us: we have made
FALSEHOOD OUR HOPE, and by falsehood shall we be protected: therefore thus
saith the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a
costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations;
and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed.
"And
I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just
measures, and ye that trust vainly in falsehood shall FALL: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,
except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall
by no means stand: if the rushing
storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you;
morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be
an evil hope” (Isa.28:7-19).
The
so-called Middle East Peace Agreement will fail to bring peace. It will prove to be an unmitigated
disaster. In God's sight, these accords
constitute a “covenant with Hades,” an “agreement with death.” Their signing represents a major departure
from the truth of God -- an end-time apostasy.
The Peace Agreement is based on worthless promises and tissues of lies,
and hate-filled falsehood. The world should have learned its lesson
from the dismal record of the failure of the Oslo Accords.
God
thunders in His Word: “Woe to the apostate children, saith the
Lord: ye have framed counsel, not
by me, and covenants not by my Spirit, to add sins to sins: even they
that proceed to go down into Egypt, but they have not enquired of me, that they
might be helped by Pharaoh [today it would be the prime minister of Egypt,
Mubarak], and protected by the Egyptians.
For the protection of Pharaoh shall be to you a disgrace, and there
shall be reproach to them that trust in Egypt.
For there are princes in Tanes, evil messengers. In vain shall they labour in seeking to a
people, which shall not profit them for help, but shall be for a shame and
reproach” (Isaiah 30:1-5, LXX).
Peace
agreements with the PLO, the Egyptians, and hostile Arab states, will prove to
be worthless pieces of paper -- toilet paper.
Rather than seeking counsel of the Lord, the leaders of Israel have
counseled with their enemies, and each other, and vain outside nations which
seek their own agendas in the Middle East.
None look to God for His wisdom or counsel or
guidance.
As a result, their efforts are doomed to failure, disgrace, and
reproach.
“Remove Not the Ancient Landmark”
What
does God say about giving up the land of Israel for promises of “peace”? Wise
Solomon wrote, “A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth [margin,
“considereth”] his way. There is no
wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD. The horse is prepared against the day of
battle: but safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs
21:29-31).
Solomon
warned, “Do not remove the ancient landmark [margin, “bound” or
“border”], which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28).
God
told Moses, “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark [property line, or
territorial boundary], which men of old have set, in your inheritance, which
you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to
possess” (Deut.19:14).
But
God says of the modern princes or rulers of Judah, modern Israel, “The princes
of Judah are like those who REMOVE a landmark [boundary]: I will pour out my WRATH on them like water”
(Hosea 5:10).
There
is no doubt that this is a warning not to tamper with or change the territorial
boundaries which God has given for Israel.
Once land comes into the hands of God’s people, which He has promised to
them, they are not to relinquish it to others, enemies, thus despising their
heritage and God-given birthright. The
modern state of Israel is foolishly considering squandering their divine
inheritance. By sacrificing Hebron,
Bethlehem, and the West Bank – the ancient territory of Israel – they are
courting the wrath of God.
Daniel
the prophet was told that the vision of the daily sacrifice and the
transgression of desolation would last “For two thousand three hundred days;
then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (Dan.8:14).
This
indicates the modern apostasy which includes the period of Tribulation will
last for 2300 days. This includes a
period of time when the Temple of God has been rebuilt, and daily sacrifices
will be offered on its altar. 2300 days,
if we use a Biblical “prophetic year” of 360 days to a year, equals 6 prophetic
years, plus 140 days (or an extra 4 months and 20 days over six years).
This
period of time will conclude, apparently, with the coming of the Messiah who
will “cleanse the Temple,” and usher in everlasting righteousness, and “seal up
the vision and prophecy” (Daniel 9:24).
Interestingly,
on February 28, 1991, General Schwartzkopf of the U.S. army commanded the
advancing armies of the Western Coalition against Iraq and Saddam Hussein to
hold their advance. This was on the evening
of the festival of Purim. On Purim,
Exodus 17:8-16 is read in synagogues around the world, in commemoration of the
defeat of the Amalekites, and the defeat of Hamag, the Agagite, and his hordes
on the original date of Purim.
It
is very interesting that the prime instigator of the attack on the Jews during
the time of the Persian Empire was Haman, the Agagite, who was descended from
“Amalek,” a tribe of cruel and fierce warriors who attacked Israel as they came
out of Egypt (Exodus 17). Because of
this, God said, “I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven” (Exo.17:14). Moses said at that
time, “The LORD has sworn: the LORD will
have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (verse 16).
In
Hebrew gematria (the study of the significance of numberical values of Hebrew
letters), the name “Amalek” and the name of Saddam Hussein both add up to the
same number – 240! In Hebrew, Amalek is
spelled ayin, mem, lamed, koph. Ayin =
70, mem = 40, lamed = 30, and koph = 100, totaling 240. Saddam is samech = 60, aleph = 1, dalet = 4,
second dalet = 4, mem = 40, a total of 109; Hussein is hay = 5, vav = 6, samech
= 60, yod = 10, nun = 50, totaling 131.
Put together, 109 + 131 = 240!
Thus Saddam Hussein is a modern anti-type of AMALEK, the fierce and
cruel destroyer who hates Israel! He
will suffer the fate of Amalek!
It
seems also incredible that General Swartzkopf stopped his attack on the eve of
Purim. But George W. Bush gave his final
ultimatum to Saddam thus beginning Gulf War II on the very date of PURIM! The destruction of Saddam Hussein – a modern
“Haman” or Amalekite king is thus an end-time parallel of the judgment upon
Amalek!
In
the first fulfillment of Daniel 8, Alexander the Great was the king of Greece,
and world ruler for a time. He
“Hellenized” the world with Greek values, philosophy, and religion.
In
the end of days fulfillment of Daniel 8, it is clear that George W. Bush and
the United States represent the “shaggy goat” from the West that destroys in
fury the “butcher of Baghdad.” America,
like ancient Greece, has also imparted its values, culture, philosophy and
life-style to the rest of the world. The
English language has “Englicized” the world, and American culture has conquered
much of the world through commerce, pop music, motion pictures, and ‘Hollywood.” The “American way” is in many respects a
modern version of ancient “Hellenism,” where freedom is paramount, including
democracy and religious multi-culturalism.
These “values” are not all good values, but like Hellenism, they
dominate the world today.
Daniel
was told, in the 70 weeks prophecy, that 70 weeks would pass till the Kingdom
of God is restored on the earth (Dan.9:24).
From a command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem “until Messiah the
Prince” would be “seven weeks and sixty two weeks” (Dan.9:25). Such a command was issued by Artaxerxes II in
357-58 B.C. Counting a “day” for a
“year,” 69 weeks means 69 X 7 days. This
means 483 years were to pass till the first coming of the Messiah, who was
prophesied to be “cut off, but not for Himself” (verse 27). Even so, Christ Jesus began His ministry in
27 A.D., exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes. He was “cut off” three years later, in 30
A.D., suffering death by crucifixion on the stake, thus fulfilling this
prophecy! After this, a prince was to
come who was to destroy the city of Jerusalem and the Temple (Dan.9:26), and
then desolations would continue in the Holy Land. This happened, as the Jews were driven into
exile by the Romans. Then there is a
break in the prophecy timeline.
Verse
27 picks up the final “week” of the prophecy.
The final “seven years.” This
portion of the prophecy must conclude with the SECOND coming of the Messiah to
complete he rest of the prophecy (Dan.9:24), and usher in everlasting
righteousness! At His first coming, the
Messiah came to die for our sins and to begin His Church. But at His second coming He will restore the
Kingdom of God on this earth!
We read: “Then he [the end-time “prince” or the “Antichrist”] shall confirm A covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an END to sacrifice and offering” (v.27). Could this be the Oslo Accords, which lasted 7 years, from 1993 till 2000? It was William Jefferson Clinton who orchestrated those infamous accords, and hovered in the background as Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin signed the accords on the White House lawn in 1993. Or could this refer to the present Peace Plan of the Quartet of nations, imposing their will on Israel and the Palestinians, for seven years – from 2005 till 2012?
These
final seven years would time in with the seven seals of Revelation 6 –
each seal representing a “year” in Daniel’s seventieth year “countdown” to the
coming of the Messiah.
If
this is the case,, then this present year would be the true YEAR OF THE WHITE
HORSE! – the “white Horse” being the armies of the Western powers, led by the
United States, going forth “conquering and to conquer” (Rev.6:1-2). We have proved elsewhere that the “white
horse” represents a righteous war – white being the symbol of righteousness
(Rev.19:8). A “horse” represents a
war-making nation or power (Job 39:19-25).
This could place the return of the Messiah just six or seven
years from now – 6 years if we count 2300 days, or 7 years, if we count 2520 days
(seven prophetic years), from this point.
Read our articles, “The Times of Jacob’s Troubles – Have They Begun?”
and “End of Days,” and “Armageddon—How Much Longer?”
Or,
on the other hand, as we think is very possible, if not probable, the Messiah may
return in a Jubilee year (and the next Jubilee year counting from the beginning
of the Jubilee years in ancient Israel, is 2012 A.D.), this we can count back
from the year of 2012 a space of six years and 140 days. This would indicate the final period of
transgression and apostasy will begin in the year 2005 A.D. This time frame is the beginning of the
Palestinian state’s planned existence, according to the Quartet of nations
pushing this scenario.
During
the time between now and the end of this prophecy, the Temple of God must be
rebuilt in Jerusalem, for Malachi, the Lord’s messenger, states
unequivocally: “And the Lord, whom you
seek, will SUDDENLY COME to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant,
in whom you delight. Behold, He is
coming” (Mal.3:1).
During
the years ahead of us, the Jews will begin to rebuild the ancient Temple of
God. After a short period of peace, incredible WAR will again break out, and
the Temple will once again be desecrated, with the “abomination of desolation”
installed in the Holy of Holies. This
time it will be the Messiah Himself who will return to “restore,” and “cleanse”
and REBUILD a NEW Temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40-48. Keep your eyes open!
We
are clearly living in the LAST DAYS!