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As we have seen, Antiochus Epiphanes IV tried to end the religion
of the Jews--pure biblical Judaism--before it was corrupted
by the Jewish leaders under the yoke of the Roman government
of Yeshua's time.
THE APOSTLES
SWEEP THE WORLD!
Verses
33-35, "And they that understand among the people shall instruct
many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity,
and by spoil many days. Now
when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help:
but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try
them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time
of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed." This is a description
of God's people, true Christians, both Jewish and Gentile,
from the days of Yeshua, Jesus Christ, to the present.
There was no real understanding until Jesus arrived
on the scene, when he restored spiritual understanding and
magnified the Law (cf. Matthew 5:20-48).
Yeshua, Jesus Christ, and all the apostles except John
were martyred. And
up into the middle ages between 50 to 100 million were martyred
for their faith. The
next verse takes us into the future, as verse 35 shows us,
when it states: ".to make them white, even to the time of the end."
The Roman government
is described here, the new king of the north-from just before
the time of Christ onward
Verses
36-39, "And the king shall do according to his will; and he
shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god,
and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods,
and shall prosper till the indignation is determined shall
be done. Neither shall
he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women,
nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces
[Heb. Munitions ]: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant
things. Thus shall
he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he
shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause
them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."
The king
of the north, who is he now, in the early and middle New Testament
times (to which this prophecy has come)?
In 65 B.C. Syria was swallowed up by the Roman Empire,
and became a Roman province [In "New Testament History" by
F.F. Bruce, on page 9 Bruce states, "In 64 B.C. Syria also
was made a [Roman] province, the last remnant of Seleucid
power having collapsed, and the neighboring principalities,
including Judaea, had to acknowledge Roman overlordship."].
The Roman Emperor now controlled Syria and Judea, and
therefore the king of the north, here referred to in verses
36-39, at this time is the Emperor of Rome.
Verse 37 describes how the Roman Emperors set themselves
up as gods. Verse 38
describes their real god, the god of forces, munitions, military
might. That, basically,
describes the Roman Empire, they worshipped the god of war
and munitions, and Rome became the greatest war machine in
history up until its fall in 476AD.
In a letter written to Arsaces XII, king of Persia
(c. 69 B.C.), Mithridates, a king in the Asia Minor area wrote:
"The Romans have from of old known but one ground for waging
war with all nations and kings-inveterate lust of empire and
wealth.Do you not realize that they leave nothing that they
do not lay their hands on-homes, wives, land, power?
That they are a gang of men with no fatherland or ancestry
of their own, swept together of old to be a plague to the
whole world? No law,
human or divine, can stand in their way; they uproot and drag
off their 'friends' and 'allies', whether they live near at
hand or far away, whether they are weak or strong; they treat
as their enemies all men, and especially all kingdoms that
refuse to serve them as slaves." (New Testament History, F.F.
Bruce, p. 10). Bruce
goes on to describe the Romans further, quoting from a Qumran
commentary on Habakkuk, composed shortly before the Roman
occupation of Judaea in 63 B.C. The interpretation of 'Ktti'im' or 'Kittim',
he says, "it is not difficult (as in Daniel 11:30) to recognize
the Romans: 'Their
fear and terror are on all the nations, and in the council
all their device is to do evil, and with trickery and deceit
they proceed with all peoples.They trample the earth with
their horses and their beasts: from afar they come, from the
coastlands of the sea, to devour all peoples like an eagle,
and there is no sating them. With wrath and anger and fury of face and impetuousness
of countenance they speak with all peoples.They scorn great
ones, they despise mighty men, of kings and princes they make
sport, and they mock at a great people.[here this description
gets real interesting in light of Daniel's prophecy] They
sacrifice to their ensigns, and their weapons of war are their
objects of worship.They apportion their yoke as their tribute,
the source of their sustenance, on all peoples, to lay waste
many lands year by year.They destroy many with the sword-youths,
men in their prime, and old men; women and little children,
and on the fruit of the womb they have no compassion."
Bruce goes on to say "Yet in the eyes of the Qumran
commentator the Kittim were to be the executors of divine
judgement against the Hasmoaeans, who usurped the high-priesthood
that belonged properly to the sons of Zadok-although he was
tempted to think that the cure might prove worse than the
disease.'" (New Testament History, F.F. Bruce, p. 11.)
So the Jews recognized that the "Kittim" in Daniel
11:30 were none other than the Romans, who were sweeping across
the Mediterranean toward the Middle East and Judea.
Verse
40, "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south
push at him [the king of the north]: and the king of the north
shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and
with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into
the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." The king of the
south used to be the king of Egypt, but as of 31 B.C. Egypt
became a province of the Roman Empire, swallowed up by the
king of the north. In the reign of Ptolemy III (Euergetes) in B.C.
247-222, Egypt annexed part of Ethiopia, immediately south
of Egypt. Since that time Egypt and Ethiopia were two
or three times under the same government.
Thus, the two were as one land.
And the only portion of that land of the "king of the
south" that remained independent until today is Ethiopia (since
B.C. 168 to Heile Selassie's death).
At the time of the end--our time--this "king of the
south" was to push at the "king of the north", now at Rome!
In 1896 King Menelik, of Ethiopia, sent an army of
9,000 to 10,000 men against General Baratieri's Italian army.
In 1896 Barateiri tried to defend Eritrea (just north
of Ethiopia) against the Ethiopians with 13,000 men. He lost 4,600 whites and 3,000 natives. 3,500 were taken prisoner. Italians since then thirsted for revenge.
In 1927 Mussilini set the time.
In 1935 Mussilini attacked. [Also, very interestingly,
Bonito Mussilini was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in a secret
Vatican Concordat in 1935, the very same year his forces attacked
Ethiopia! So Mussilini, in a very real sense, was "the
king of the north"--and he was allied with Germany and Adolf
Hitler. Adolf Hitler loved Roman regalia as evidenced
by all the Nazi banners and regalia which were direct copies
taken from the Roman Empire.
The Hitler Salute was a direct copy of the salute given
to Roman Caesars. "Heil Hitler" meant Hail Hitler in German.
Hail Caesar was the verbal statement made while extending
the arm strait out and a little upward, and was the hand salute
given Caesar. So the
Holy Roman Empires that followed the collapse of the Roman
Empire in 476 AD all became the "king of the north", one after
the other.] Read Verse 40. A whirlwind comes in the air sweeping all before
it. Mussilini did send
a great air force into Africa.
Also many modern "chariots", trucks and tanks, along
with many ships loaded with soldiers, into Africa.
And, notice it, Mussolini's forces were to pass over--in
the air. It is at this
precise point in time in this prophecy that Mussolini's struggle
in Ethiopia and World War II ended.
Mussilini never finished the prophecy.
Therefore, there is yet another leader to arise in
Europe. It says "at the time of the end". Let's clarify that a little, in context with
modern history. The
beginning of a time of "kingdom waging war against kingdom"
began with Napoleon and got into full swing with World War
I, and by the end of World War II nuclear weapons existed.
From that point onward mankind could erase all life
from the planet via nuclear war (since the 1950's). This would define "time of the end" as nothing
else could. Also "kingdom waging war with kingdom", a condition prophecied
in Matthew 24 as being at the time of the end, places the
time of the end at a period in our history when World Wars
would be fought. Ethiopia attacking the Italians was what you
might consider at the doorstep of the time of the end, and
Mussilini coming against Ethiopia would be further into this
period of time we live in called "the time of the end".
Time is relative. While you may look at the time stretching from
World War I to the present as a long time, in God's eyes,
it's quite short. One
theologian marked the beginning of the time of the end as
starting when we dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan.
He wasn't far off. The next verses take us into the future, much
closer to the end of man's evil rule over earth. Now we're going beyond WWII and Bonito Mussilini,
onward sometime into the future, a future which hasn't occurred
yet, but will. Whoever
this "king of the north" is, he will come out of Europe, and
be the leader over a united Europe, mimicking the previous
Holy Roman Empires (Hitler/Mussilini, Napoleon Bonaparte,
Charles the Great, Otto the Great, Charlemagne, and Justinian). It's just history repeating itself, as it always
does.
Verses
41-45, "He [the king of the north] shall enter also into the
glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but
these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and
the chief of the children of Ammon [modern day Jordan and
the Jordanians escape or are left alone in this Blitzkrieg
war which will sweep across the Middle East].
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries:
and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold
and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt:
and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north
shall trouble him [east and north of Jerusalem--and even Europe
where this dictator comes from, is Russia and the C.I.S. countries
allied with Russia]: therefore he shall go forth with great
fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many [this battle
corresponds to the first "woe" in Revelation 9:1-12, where
the forces of the Beast empire attack the forces of the east.
This attack ultimately brings on a counter-attack,
described in the 2nd woe of Revelation 9:13-21].
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between
the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come
to his end, and none shall help him." Verse 42 says
that Egypt shall not escape, proving Egypt is not now the
"king of the south." Verse
43 says the Libyans and Ethiopians (observe that after its
conquest by Mussilini, Ethiopia is not again referred to as
"the king of the south") shall be at his steps--and he will
then control them. Italy
lost control of Libya and Ethiopia after the war (World War
II). Verse 44-"but news out of the east and out of
the north"--Russia and the C.I.S. countries--shall trouble
the revived Roman empire.
Russia will enter the war that this revived Roman empire
just initiated by conquering the Middle East [and probably
the United States and Britain as well] in a blitzkrieg war. Russia, as part of the Soviet Union always desired
to have the Middle East, much of Soviet intrigue was about
gaining control and influence in the Middle East.
But what would inspire a united Europe to want to conquer
Jerusalem and all the surrounding Arab countries?
The Book of Daniel also shows that the evening and
morning sacrifices in the temple will be set up again in the
end times, and that this Roman empire will come in and stop
them from being carried out (from this point onward, the tribulation
is 3.5 years long). Setting
up of such a temple with sacrifices would inflame the Arab
world against the Israeli nation beyond anything we've witnessed
to date. Israel with
nuclear capabilities and an inflamed and united Arab threat
on Israel would force the hand of a united European military
force. It is thought this dictator of Europe will come
into Jerusalem with flatteries, just as Antiochus Epiphanes
IV did, and then the blitzkrieg engulfs the Middle East.
Verse 45 shows this coming Roman empire shall establish
its palace, as a capital of the revived Roman empire, and
eventually its religious headquarters at Jerusalem (to foil
Russian designs on the Middle East and its oil). The whole big picture of these battles is outlined
in Revelation chapters 9, 15-16, and 19, as well as Zechariah
14. [For more of this big picture log onto: http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/prophecies/2ndcoming_2.htm
.] In verse 45 of Daniel
11 it says "yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help
him." This language signifies the end of the Beast
personage and the "false prophet" at the hand of God. You will find that described in Revelation 19:19-20
and Zechariah 14:12. And
now what other glorious event is prophecied at this time of
the end, at the close of this marvelous prophecy?
The next verse is Daniel 12:1, and says it's the time
of the resurrection of the just--which is the 2nd
coming of Jesus Christ! This resurrection is described in 1 Corinthians
15:49-54, as well as Daniel 12:1-3.
This is the end of Daniel 11, the Middle East in Prophecy. The literalness of the fulfillment of 9/10ths
of this prophecy show that Bible prophecy is to be literally
interpreted and not have their meanings allegorized away in
any kind of amillennial interpretations which originally came
from a Greek mystic who became a Christian in the 200's AD,
this mystic being Origen.
Daniel
8:23-25 describes this next king to arise at the time of the
end, and is a cross reference to Daniel 11:36-41.
Daniel 8:23-25, "And in the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand
up [verse 25 puts this in time context].
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:
and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise,
and shall destroy the mighty people and the holy people [Heb.
People of the holy ones. Could mean the Jews, or if British Israelism
is correct, could mean the United States and British, have
to wait and see]. And
through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in
his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by
peace [prosperity] shall destroy many: he shall also stand
up against the Prince of princes [direct reference to Jesus
Christ, so this time setting is book of Revelation tribulation,
2nd coming of Jesus Christ]; but he shall be broken
without hand [cf. Revelation 19:20]."
Daniel 8, The 2300 "Evenings and Mornings" Prophecy
This
prophecy in the book of Daniel is not understood by many Christians,
and many Jews also, as well as many Bible scholars admit they
don't understand it. That may sound strange, the Jews not
understanding one of their favorite prophets, but it's true.
Why? Well most of the Jewish commentaries and the
Midrash were written over hundreds of years ago, and Daniel 12:9-10 states, "For the words are closed
up and sealed until the time of the end.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried,
but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
understand, but the wise shall understand."
That means the wise living today, not in the 1800's,
not in the 1600's, not at the time of Jesus and the apostles.
These prophecies written in Daniel (the whole book)
are for our age, not for Daniel's day. This prophecy was not meant to be understood
until the time of the end.
We've been living in the time of the end since the
1950's, when either one of two major superpowers could annihilate
all life from off this planet many times over in the space
of half an hour. While
the Jews have understood some of the prophecies in Daniel
that pertain to some of the empires that have arisen in their
time (Alexander the Great, The Persian Empire, etc.), they
don't understand the meanings of these prophecies when they
get into the time of the end that we live in right now, just
as others don't. Why? Because they try to use the interpretations
given to them by earlier Torah and Tenach scholars, and this
fowls up their understanding.
Time Setting
of the Prophecy
It is the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king of
Babylon (sometime just before 539 BCE).
Daniel receives a vision while at Shushan in the Palace,
in the province of Elam (Daniel 8:1-2).
This is the vision he saw, verses 3-4, "Then
I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before
the river a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were
high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came
up last. I saw the
ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, so that
no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that
could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his
will, and became great." The explanation for all these symbols are
given later on in the prophecy.
The explanation for these two horns is found in verse
20, "The ram that thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and
Persia." So this
ram symbolized the Medo-Persian Empire which destroyed Babylon
in 539 B.C. and ruled until 331 B.C.
Notice what
comes next, verse 5, "And
as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west
on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground:
and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes."
Again the explanation for this symbolic goat is found
later on, in verse 21, "And the rough goat is the king [kingdom] of Grecia: and the great horn
that is between his eyes is the first king."
That would be Alexander the Great.
These symbols were revealed to Daniel so that we might
understand the time setting of this end-time prophecy.
The ram--the Medo-Persian Empire--existed on the world
scene until 331 B.C. until Alexander the Great (verses 6-7)
came along and conquered the Persian Empire in two major battles.
By 331 B.C. Persia had fallen and Alexander's empire
was ruling over the entire Mediterranean, all the way to the
eastern border of India. (Remember, Daniel did not live into the time
of Alexander, just in case any of you may desire to see proof
of the veracity of God's Word.
Daniel didn't even live into the later time of the
Persian Empire, just the beginning of it.)
What Happens
to Alexander's Empire?
Daniel 8:8, "The he goat
waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was
broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four
winds of heaven." Remember that the great horn in the goat's head symbolized
Alexander the Great, the first king of the Greco-Macedonian
Empire. This horn was suddenly broken, verse 8, and
that happened just as prophecied to Daniel in this vision. Alexander died suddenly of a fever in Babylon
while trying to clear out a swampy area. He was thirty-three years of age when he died.
Let's continue with the explanation, found in verse
22, "whereas four stood
up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the kingdom,
but not in his power." [We
just read about these four kingdoms in Daniel 11, the article
this study is linked to.] But let's now consider the time setting of this
prophecy. It started
with the Medo-Persian Empire and this empire lasted until
331 B.C. Then the Greco-Macedonian Empire conquered this
Persian Empire in 331 B.C., with it's first king being Alexander
the Great. In 323 B.C.
Alexander died at the age of 33.
Alexander's empire was divided amongst his four major
generals, into four parts (verse 22), and none of these parts
was as strong or powerful militarily as the whole kingdom
had been under Alexander the Great.
This brings us to 323 B.C.
The rest of this prophecy cannot possibly begin before
this date.
A Prophecy
for the End Time
Embedded in the beginning of this prophecy is a description
of an end-time empire and its leader who will attempt to conquer
the world. Let's look
at this leader with his empire.
Verse 9, "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and
toward the pleasant land."
Now let's try to understand this.
Here's a "little horn" coming out of one of the four
divisions of Alexander's empire. This little horn cannot have arisen before the
division of Alexander's Empire.
"Out of one of them [one of the divisions of Alexander's
empire] came forth a little horn."
Verse 23 tells us the time setting of this little horn,
"and in the latter
time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to
the full." But who does this little horn symbolize? Let's look for a Bible explanation. The little horn symbolizes a king who shall
arise "in the latter time of their kingdom (verse 23). Let's read verses 23-25. Verses
23-25, "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance,
and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:
and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise,
and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people [margin:
"people of the holy ones"].
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart,
and by peace [margin: "prosperity"] shall destroy many: he
shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he
shall be broken without hand."
So who does this "little horn" symbolize? "A king of fierce countenance, and understanding
dark sentences shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty.and he shall magnify
himself in his heart, and by peace [the margin says "prosperity"]
shall destroy many; HE SHALL ALSO STAND UP AGAINST THE PRINCE
OF PRINCES; but he shall be broken without hand" (verses 23-25).
There is the answer!
Look at this prophecy again.
The little horn symbolizes a king who shall arise "in
the latter time of their kingdom" (verse 23). This man stands up against the Prince of princes--that
is Jesus Christ at his 2nd coming (or for Jews,
the Messiah at his coming to save and restore Israel)! Here is a great Gentile world ruler who stands
up against Jesus Christ and is supernaturally destroyed--"without
hand"--not by human hand but by divine intervention (cf. Zechariah
14:1-15). The Bible
interprets this "little horn" as a ruler who shall exist at
the 2nd coming of Christ.
He comes on the scene when world transgression--world
sin--has reached its climax (verse 23). This "little horn" is described again in Revelation
17:14. There we read
that he makes war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome
him and his allies. This "little horn" is the same as the final
"beast" personage of Revelation.
What the
"Little Horn" Does
Now we have seen the time setting for the "little horn", it's
leading up to and includes the time period when the 2nd
coming of Jesus Christ takes place.
That time is sometime in the future.
But since we're living in a time when mankind could
annihilate all life from off the planet, it has to be getting
close to that time. So let's see what has to occur before this "little
horn" steps onto the scene in what will be a blitzkrieg war
that will sweep the Middle East and the world.
We should
pay really close attention to this prophecy, because it will
disclose an event that must occur within the Israeli nation
before this "little horn" will step onto the world scene.
As we have seen, this part of the prophecy in Daniel
from verse 23 is for the end time. We find this "little horn"
and what he does is described in verses 9-14, and the explanation
for the vision given in verses 9-14 is given in verses 23-25.
We know that it is for the end time just before and
leading up to Jesus Christ's 2nd coming. So let's read verses 9-14 now in light of that
understanding. Verses 9-14, "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and
toward the pleasant land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and
it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
and stamped upon them. Yea,
he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and
by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of
the sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the
truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
And then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint
said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be
the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression
of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to
be trodden under foot? And
he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days
[Hebrew: "evening-morning" or evenings and mornings.]; and then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed [margin: "justified"]."
So let's consider and think about what
major event must occur first, before this man commanding such
military might and religious power Blitzkrieg's across the
Middle East and the world.
We know that the temple was destroyed by the Romans
in 70 A.D., and we know that no sacrifices have occurred since
then, up until now. So
this event isn't talking about any temple of the past, say
in Antiochus Ephiphanes IV's time, the time of Herod or any
time since 70 A.D. This temple sanctuary being talked about in
Daniel 8:9-14 and the evening-morning sacrifices that go with
it is something that is yet to be set up, some time in the
very near future. We all know that certain groups in the nation
of Israel are trying to set up a temple and start the evening
and morning sacrifices--the temple utensils have already been
made, they've bred the red heifer, they've identified Levites
within the Jewish race, and they've attempted several times
to lay the cornerstone to the new temple they want to create.
With a knowledge of the Arab people in the Middle East
and the Palestinians living in and around Israel, what do
you think their reaction would be to the Israeli's setting
up a temple and starting sacrifices?
If you say, the Arab nations would be united as one
against Israel, give yourself an A+ and move to the head of
the class. Israel,
facing such a united Arab threat on her borders would more
than likely arm her nukes in self-defense.
To avoid a nuclear holocaust in the Middle East (the
radioactive clouds of which could blow into Europe), this
"little horn" will step onto the world scene. This is only pure common sense to anyone who
has been reading and keeping up with current events. The temporary stabilization in the Middle East
bought by the heroic actions of the U.S. military in Iraq
will evaporate when the Israeli's build that temple and start
sacrifices (and it doesn't have to be a temple building, it
could be a Mosaic tabernacle, fitting the exact specifications
given in Exodus for the tabernacle). Also the Jews have not been legally able to
levy tithes of all the Orthodox Jews around the world in a
unified manner, due to the fact that the Levites under a Levitical
priesthood were the only ones who could legally levy tithes
of the Jews. Since
70A.D. that priesthood has not existed. When a temple structure is set up, with a Levitical
priesthood, tithes will flow from Jews around the world into
Jerusalem--amounting to massive amounts of money steadily
flowing into Jerusalem and this temple treasury.
Money buys political influence, and in this case, the
Israeli political scene will shift toward the Ultra-Orthodox
right. Such a shift would inflame the Arab world and
unite the Arab nations as one against Israel.
At the point where nuclear holocaust would be days,
even hours away, this "little horn" will step on the scene
(Matthew 24 talks of this as well--when you see armies surrounding
Jerusalem). Now lets'
look at what this "little horn" does.
"And it [the little horn] waxed great,
even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host
of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the
host [this could be referring to the new high priest who will
be in this newly set up temple in Jerusalem] AND BY HIM THE
DAILY SACRIFICE WAS TAKEN AWAY, AND THE PLACE OF HIS SANCTUARY
WAS CAST DOWN. And
the host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason
of transgression"--the margin reads "the host was given over
for the transgression against the daily sacrifice"--"and it
cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered"
(Daniel 8:10-12). Notice
the Bible explanation in verse 24: "And his power shall be
mighty." That's the explanation of the first part of
verse 10: "It waxed great."
To continue: "But not by his own power."
This king will not accomplish his great deeds by his
own strength. Revelation 17:17 reveals why. Ten lesser
kings give their military power and strength "unto the beast." [Log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm
for a better look at this "beast" person and this end-time
empire and where these ten kings come from, what part of the
world.] This little horn "shall destroy wonderfully"-shall
have marvelous, frightening military powers" and shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people" (verse 24). That could be referring to Israel, but it may
also be referring to the United States of America. We have been a "holy people". If I have learned anything, it is this. In the war we just recently fought to free the
Iraqi people, over a million born-again Christians in America--many
on the Presidential Prayer Team--were praying for a favorable
outcome of the war, and for a minimal loss of innocent Iraqi
people and coalition lives. Many of the U.S. soldiers were praying before
going into battle, before they crossed over into Iraqi territory. We were a holy Christian people bringing peace
into a troubled land, temporary peace.
We have never fought in other countries in order to
take over their land and keep it for ourselves.
Yes, we've made mistakes in policy.
So this "holy people" could be us, Americans, and our
British cousins. Don't be surprised to find out that it may be
so. To continue, here
is a persecuting power which destroys God's people--the children
of Israel, and yes, maybe us as well--[we'd never let a united
Europe step in and conquer the nation of Israel and the whole
Middle East, they'd have to dispatch us as well, or else we'd
dispatch them]. And
this persecuting power persecutes the true church as well
(Daniel 8:10, 24). Verse 25 continues to explain verse 11, and
so on.
Wrong Interpretations
Some have tried to explain this prophecy
before God's time to reveal it, and as a result all kinds
of various non-Biblical interpretations have been dreamed
up and promoted. Some have said that the 2300 days represented
2300 years--the day for a year prophetic principle--while
others, agreeing with this "day for a year" principle have
said this was 2300 "years" started being timed in 457 B.C.
and ended in 1844, but history coupled to this very prophecy
disprove that one as well, since Jesus never returned in 1844
(how absurd, but many believed it). (So some denominations
have to wipe the egg off their faces.
We all make mistakes, wipe it off and keep going spiritually.)
Some have said that God's throne is to be trampled
down for 2300 years--which is doubly absurd.
We see in Revelation 12 that each time Satan tries
to go up to God's throne to throw God off, he's cast down,
immediately. No contest
there. Heavenly warfare
there, yes, but no contest as to who wins.
But notice further, the little horn
takes away the daily sacrifice.
The sanctuary on earth was not trodden underfoot--was
not cast down--in the days of Christ and the apostles either,
when Herod's temple was still standing. So this prophecy is definitely for the future,
our future.
Let's Look
At "the Evenings and Mornings"
Notice in Daniel 8:26: "And the vision
of the evening and the morning which was told is true." The vision of "2300 days" is actually called
in the Scripture "THE VISION OF THE EVENING AND THE MORNING." Why? Turn
in your Bibles to verse 14 of chapter 8. In most Bibles you will find a marginal note
for the word "days." This
note reveals that the original Hebrew of the word "days" is
"evening morning." This prophecy is not referring to 24-hour
days but to evenings and mornings--the evening and morning sacrifice! Notice in verse 11 that the little horn takes
away the daily sacrifice. The daily
sacrifice was offered in the evening and the morning. See Leviticus 6:9,12. So verse 14 is a mistranslation in the text
of the King James Version, though it is correct in the margin. The Revised Standard Version more correctly
reads, "for two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings." In other words, some time in "our" near future,
here is a prophecy that two thousand three hundred evening
and morning sacrifices would cease to be offered--in a temple
or Mosaic tabernacle that is yet to be constructed.
Since the daily sacrifice was offered twice a day, this prophecy is actually
speaking of one thousand one hundred fifty (1150) days. In 1150 days there would be exactly two thousand
three hundred sacrifices offered at evening and morning. At the end of this 1150-day period the sanctuary
is to be "cleansed" or "justified."
This prophecy is yet to be fulfilled.
This amazing prophecy is about to be fulfilled in our
day. A great crisis is yet to occur in Palestine.
After 19 centuries a part of the tribe of Judah, the
Jews, has come back to Palestine. In the Israeli war of independence in 1948 they
gained possession of the new part of Jerusalem. In another Arab-Israeli war in 1967 they gained
the whole of Jerusalem, but there is a huge Israeli-Palestinian
problem which persists to this day, trying to divide Israel
and Jerusalem. The whole of the land of Palestine is divided
and an armed camp. And
although a period of relative peace may come over the whole
of the Middle East as a direct result of the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein's evil reign of terror in Iraq, making Iraq
a peaceful Arab nation and somewhat balancing out the Middle
East, politically neutralizing hostile opposing forces, this
can change overnight with the building of a temple or tabernacle
in Jerusalem and with the starting of the evening and morning
sacrifices.
In the near future we shall literally
see the next great prophesied event in Israel--"the daily
sacrifice" and "the sanctuary" restored before our very eyes. Then sometime shortly afterward will come World
War III and the occupation of Israel and Jerusalem. A great European Church-State union will be
in control of Israel and the whole of the Middle East, and
the whole western world, for that matter.
It will prohibit the printing and preaching of the
Truth of God. It will
"cast down the truth to the ground." It will practice and prosper. It will persecute and martyr God's Holy people
(cf. Revelation 6:9-11). It
will be allowed to tread Jerusalem underfoot and to prohibit
the daily sacrifice at the then rebuilt sanctuary for 1150
days. It will substitute
its own abominable, idolatrous rites in place of the evening
and morning sacrifice. Jesus
referred to this same event in Matthew 24:15. "When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, stand
in the Holy Place, (whoso readeth, let him understand;)
then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.for
then shall be great tribulation." climaxing in the second
coming of Jesus Christ (verses 15-21). God will suddenly intervene in human affairs.
He will put an end to this wicked idolatrous system.
"The sanctuary shall
be cleansed."
In Revelation 11 it says that the Gentiles
will trod down Jerusalem for 1260 days. It will be the time of the two witnesses who
will prophesy in the streets of Jerusalem for 1260 days, then
be killed, and--just immediately before the return of Jesus
Christ--be raised from the dead in the sight of the people!
The difference in timing between the 1150 days and
the 1260 could--and this is pure speculation at this point--be
the difference between when Europe and this leader come into
Israel and Jerusalem brokering a "peace treaty" between the
Arab nations and Israel--and then once their forces are in
place in Israel and mobilized near the Middle East, 110 days
later, they invade with a blitzkrieg strike throughout the
Middle East. That's
almost four months time, just about the time it took the United
States to stage the two invasions it mounted against Iraq,
in 1991 and 2003.
"So What
Should I Do With This Knowledge?"
We are very near the fulfillment of these amazing prophecies.
It is high time we woke up spiritually, drawing nigh
to Jesus in heartfelt Christian growth and repentance.
Right after Jesus spoke the prophecy of Matthew 24,
which details some of these same events, he gave his disciples
the answer to that question in Matthew 25:1-46--grow and do
the work of God. This
site is chock full of nourishing sermon transcripts and topical
studies on prayer to help one accomplish that.
It is also time to utilize this period of relative
world peace, to promote the gospel of salvation worldwide,
by supporting international evangelistic organizations (see
http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/missionstatement.htm
), the one major job Jesus commanded all Christians to do
before his ascent to heaven (cf. Acts 1:6-9).
Jesus prophecied that we'd accomplish that job before
this prophecied World War III started (Matthew 24:14-15).
But it's high time we all started to contribute toward
the accomplishment of that job Jesus commanded us to do.
What good are money and possessions when stacked against
the coming events? What kind of saints are we, what kind of Brides
Maids are we, which Jesus described in Matthew 25:1-46? Most people do not realize that brief alliance
between Hitler and Mussilini was a very short resurrection
of the Holy Roman Empire.
Mussilini was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1935 in
a secret Vatican Concordat. That empire was a foretaste of the coming United
European superstate that will come on the scene when this
temple is built. We
have only to look at WWII history to see how evil that empire
was. It's time to take
heed and wake up and do the works Jesus asked us to do. When
that temple is built, it will be almost too late to do anything,
the time in the hourglass will have run out.
For a more complete study of the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ, log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm
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