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End-Time Prophecies - Part 1
The Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Occasionally we are asked questions about Daniel=
s seventy weeks prophecy. Well, we certainly don=
t have all the answers about this prophecy. But questions always motivate
more study. The first 69 weeks are easy but the last week.... Well, it
generates questions, perhaps more questions than answers. But in
researching the questions, additional facts are learned. As we go through
this two-part sermon we will skip around from scripture to scripture in
chapter to chapter in order to refer to relative prophecies. Some
scriptures will apply to an earlier fulfillment of prophecy too, but
remember that prophecy is often dual. That is, it can apply to several
events.
We= ll begin by
discussing the seventy weeks prophecy and its related prophecies.
Let= s start out
by reading this prophecy. Remember that Daniel was among those Jews who
had been removed from Israel and taken to Babylon. He was praying for the
restoration of Jerusalem.
(Dan 9:20-27 NKJV) Now while I was speaking, praying,
and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel [what we should be
doing too], and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for
the holy mountain of my God, {21} yes, while I was speaking in prayer,
the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening
offering. {22} And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O
Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. {23} "At
the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have
come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the
matter, and understand the vision: {24} "Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To
make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in
everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint
the Most Holy. {25} "Know therefore and understand, That from the going
forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the
Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall
be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. {26} "And after
the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And
the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood [an army sweeping away
everything], And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
{27} Then he 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. And
on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until
the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
Now let= s take
these verses a few at a time: Verse 24 tells us what the purpose and
timing of the prophecy is as it applies to the people and to the city of
Jerusalem:
"Seventy weeks are determined For your people and
for Your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting
righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most
Holy.
So, it is going to take God=
s people (it doesn= t say they
will all be Jews) and Jerusalem seventy weeks to stop sinning, to
reconcile with God and through Christ, to begin living in righteousness,
and to anoint the Most Holy. I think it is generally understood that each
day of each week represents a year. So seventy weeks really pictures seven
times seventy or 490 years.
Let= s go to the
next verse, verse 25.
{25} "Know therefore and understand, That from the going
forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah
the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street
shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
The seven plus sixty-two or sixty-nine total weeks (which
represents 483 years) began in 454 BC with the order from Artaxerxes to
Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem. The decree to start the Temple was
issued 28 years later in 426 BC. After continually fighting off the local
inhabitants (not unlike present-day Israel=
s problems with the so-called Palestinians or Canaanites), the temple was
dedicated in 405 BC. 483 years after 454 BC was 30 AD, the year of the
crucifixion. If you are checking the math, remember there is no year zero.
Back to the prophecy. Verse 26 describes what happens in
30 AD.
{26} "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut
off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a
flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
The Messiah was cut off by being sacrificed, but not for
Himself. He died for everyone else, even you and me. But forty years after
His death, in 70 AD the Romans (i.e. the prince=
s people) swept in and destroyed the city and the temple, renamed the
land, and began scattering the Jews to other lands. So much for the first
sixty nine weeks of the prophecy. That part is history, so it is easy to
understand.
The next and last week, the seventieth week, is future and
so, without the benefit of historical records, it is more difficult to
understand. Let= s reread verse
27.
{27} Then he 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. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes
desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured
out on the desolate."
Do the events of verse 27 immediately follow those of
verse 26? Obviously not. There are many reasons for that. The prophecy of
verse 24 hasn= t been completed
with either verse 26 or 27. Let=
s read verse 24 again.
"Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for
your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To
make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
Verse 27 may end the transgression but it certainly doesn=
t fulfill the rest of verse 24. It doesn=
t of itself end sins or bring in everlasting righteousness, though that
will surely follow with the completion of verse 27. So what is verse 27
telling us? Do the events of verse 27 have anything to do with verse 26?
Let me give you my interpretation: I think that the prince
of verse 26 who destroys the temple is associated with the person in verse
27 who makes a covenant or agreement with many peoples or nations, maybe
the United Nations (UN) or European Union (EU), for one week or seven
years. That agreement appears to include permission for sacrifices and
offerings (oblations) to be made, but verse 27 also indicates that there
will be an overspreading of abominations.
A Abominations@
comes from the Hebrew word shiqquwts or shiqquts (shik-koots'); H8251;
from H8262; meaning disgusting, i.e. filthy; especially idolatrous or
(concretely) an idol:
It is my impression that the person in verse 27 who comes
to the temple area for seven years comes from the same country as the one
in verse 26 who came to destroy the temple and Jerusalem back in 70 AD.
The future person seems to be at the temple with the agreement of many
people (probably not the Israelis) to occupy or control the temple for
seven years. Without Israeli concurrence, He=
d need the military backing of someone. Could it not be the same country
or countries whose military power tore down the temple in 70 AD? Daniel 8
will give us a clue.
(Dan 8:9-11 NKJV) 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. {10} 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. {11} He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of
His sanctuary was cast down.
Who is this person?
Daniel 7 and 8 contains a history of other nations who
attack Israel. Let= s turn to
Dan 7. I am not going to go into a lot of detail identifying who these
nations are but here is a brief list of what nations many think these
verses refer to: Dan 7:4 The Babylonian Empire. Verse 5 the Medo-Persian
empire. Verse 6 The Grecian Empire. Verse 7 the Roman Empire. Verse 8 and
11 an end-of-days return of the Roman Empire led by a religious leader.
Verses 17, 24, and 25 describe both this religious leader and his civil
accomplice. Let= s read these
verses:
(Dan 7:17-25 NKJV) 'Those great beasts, which are four,
are four kings which arise out of the earth. {18} 'But the saints of the
Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever,
even forever and ever.' {19} "Then I wished to know the truth about the
fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly
dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which
devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; {20}
"and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came
up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a
mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his
fellows. {21} "I was watching; and the same horn was making war
against the saints, and prevailing against them, {22} "until the
Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of
the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
{23} "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on
earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall
devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. {24} The
ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another
shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And
shall subdue three kings. {25} He shall speak pompous words against
the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints
shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
Dan 8:23-25 describes him and his ultimate fate. Let=
s read these last three verses.
(Dan 8:23-25 NKJV) "And in the latter time of their
kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king
shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.
{24} His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall
destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the
mighty, and also the holy people. {25} "Through his cunning He shall
cause deceit to prosper under his rule; 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.
There seem to be a few other scriptures which describe
this religious man.
(2 Th 2:3-4 NKJV) Let no one deceive you by any means;
for that Day [the day of Christ=
s return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the
man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, {4} who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so
that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is
God.
A little later we=
ll tie this man into the prophecies of Rev 13.
Examples Of Time Delays In Prophecy
There may be some who question whether Dan 9:27 can
logically follow verse 26 and still skip so many years. Let me give you a
list of 12 other prophetic scriptures which skip very long periods of
time. This list is really too long to fit the sermon but I became
intrigued with the examples. I will announce each time gap (|||||).
(Isa 61:1-2 NKJV) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the
captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; {2} To
proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, |||||| And the day of
vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,......
The first verse and a half is quoted by Christ in Luke 4.
(Luke 4:16-21 NKJV) So He came to Nazareth, where He had
been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. {17} And He was handed the book
of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the
place where it was written: |||| {18} "The Spirit of the LORD is upon
Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are
oppressed; {19} To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." |||| {20}
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. {21}
And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your
hearing."
Notice that Christ did not repeat the last half of Isa
61:2. He couldn= t because
A the day of the vengeance of
our God@ was not going to happen
during His first stay on earth. There would be a 2000 year wait for that -
until the day of God= s judgment
on the world.
(Gen 1:1-3 NKJV) In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. |||| {2} The earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was
hovering over the face of the waters. {3} Then God said, "Let there be
light"; and there was light.
As I explained in my sermon on
A
The Science of Creation@
, There could be a huge gap of time between verse one and two, and frankly
between events in the rest of chapter one as well.
(Isa 9:6-7 NKJV) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a
Son is given; |||| And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His
name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. {7} Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To
order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time
forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Notice the large gap of time at the end of the first
clause in verse 6 but also notice how the Messiah's royal titles attest to
his close relationship to God the Father and depict him as a mighty
warrior capable of establishing peace in his realm.
"Mighty God," indicates that God would energize Him for
battle so that He would display superhuman prowess against His enemies.
"Everlasting Father," pictures the Messiah as a beneficent
Ruler who demonstrates fatherly concern for His people. Of course, in the
progress of revelation one discovers that Christ's eternal reign will
literally fulfill the language of the prophecy. (The title "Father" must
not be understood in Trinitarian terms. In this context it is best taken
as an idiom, commonly used in the ancient world, for a benevolent and just
official or ruler. For a biblical example of the idiom, see Isa 22:21.)
(Lam 4:21-22 NKJV) Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of
Edom, You who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to
you And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. |||| {22} The
punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will
no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O
daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins!
Here is a prophecy regarding Edom which many Jews and I
will be glad to see happen when the punishment of the Jews is completed.
The break in time occurs between verses 21 and 22. As many of you know, I
strongly suspect that the so-called Palestinians are Edomites.
(Dan 11:20-21 NKJV) "There shall arise in his place one
who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he
shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. |||| {21} "And in his
place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of
royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by
intrigue.
Most interpret verse 20 as describing Heliodorus who
Seleucus sent to Jerusalem to plunder the temple, etc. Verse 21, which
includes the term A vile person@
appears to be future and may be describing the antichrist who is described
in 2 Thes 2:3 and seems to be described in Rev 13. In the present
environment, a religious leader coming in peacefully to control the
activities on the Temple Mount seems very plausible. I suspect there is a
link between these verses and Dan 9:27 which we have been discussing. The
gap in time would occur between verses 20 and 21.
(Hosea 2:13-17 NKJV) I will punish her For the days of
the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her
earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot,"
says the LORD. |||| {14} "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will
bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. {15} I will
give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of
hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day
when she came up from the land of Egypt. {16} "And it shall be, in that
day," Says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,' And no longer
call Me 'My Master,' {17} For I will take from her mouth the names of
the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
There seems to be a time gap between verses 13 and 14,
particularly when considering the marriage of God=
s people with Christ.
(Hosea 3 NKJV) Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love
a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like
the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods
and love the raisin cakes of the pagans." {2} So I bought her for myself
for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley.
{3} And I said to her, "You shall stay with me many days; you shall not
play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so, too, will I be toward
you." {4} For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king
or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim.
|||| {5} Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD
their God and David their king. They shall fear [submit to H6342] the
LORD and His goodness in the latter days.
There is an obvious time gap between verses 4 and 5 but
the best part of verse 5 is that all the tribes of Israel will possess
great awe (fear) for and submit to the returning Messiah (Yeshua ha
Mashiach or Jesus Christ) in the latter days. It is even now being
fulfilled by Evangelical Christians, descendants of the tribes of Israeli.
Let= s look at Zech 12:10 for a
parallel to verse 5.
(Zec 12:10 NKJV) "And I will pour on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and
supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they
will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as
one grieves for a firstborn.
(Amos 9:9-15 NKJV) "For surely I will command, And will
sift the house of Israel [not just the Jews] among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to
the ground. {10} All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,
Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.' ||||
{11} "On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has
fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And
rebuild it as in the days of old; {12} That they may possess the
remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My
name," Says the LORD who does this thing. {13} "Behold, the days
are coming," says the LORD, "When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip
with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it. {14} I will bring
back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities
and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. {15} I will plant
them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the
land I have given them," Says the LORD your God. [Like the previous
Israeli government did in Gaza]
These verses surely describe the time in which we live.
Are those who are called by A My
Name@ members of the Church of
God? Sounds like it. Notice the time gap between verses 10 and 11.
(Hab 2:13-14 NKJV) Behold, is it not of the LORD of
hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary
themselves in vain? |||| {14} For the earth will be filled With the
knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
There is a time gap between verses 13 and 14.
(Rev 12:5-6 NKJV) She bore a male Child who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and
His throne. |||| {6} Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she
has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one
thousand two hundred and sixty days.[Three and a half years.]
There appears to be a time gap between verses 5 and 6.
Back To The Main Subject, Daniel 9:
We were talking about the person in Dan 9:27. Let me
repeat verse 27 again since we kind of wandered off the subject.
{27} Then he 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. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes
desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured
out on the desolate."
We have talked about the covenant being made with the UN
or EU. He seems to grow impatient with the sacrifices and offerings after
three and a half years and stops them.
What does A on
the wing of abominations@ mean?
A On the Wing@
is better translated as A at the
extremities@ or
A edge@
or even A in the presence or
vicinity of.@ We showed that
abominations were idols. So we might interpret this as
A in the presence or vicinity of
idols.@
While we are on the subject of idols, let me share with
you a belief in idols which I heard recently: To sell your house quickly,
bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down in your yard!!
Maybe the man of Daniel 9:27 is already practicing.
Now, what does A
makes desolate@ in verse 27
mean? From Strong= s
Concordance, H8074, shamem (shaw-mame'); a primitive root; to stun (or
intransitively, grow numb), i.e. devastate or (figuratively) stupefy (both
usually in a passive sense):To make amazed or astonished.
It is my interpretation that
A makes desolate@
is a show of satanic miracles which stupify and astonish the world.
Who will conduct these miracles? In my opinion, he is an antichrist.
Whoever he is, the miracles don=
t last long because by the completion of the seven-year period, God will
have finished His judgment of the world and
A the desolate@
; and the performer or conductor of miracles will be history. Then we will
see the consummation which we read in verse 24.
(Dan 9:24 NKJV) .......To finish the transgression, To
make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in
everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint
the Most Holy.
Now, let= s skip
to Daniel 12 to see some more explanation of these events.
(Dan 12 NKJV) "At that time Michael shall stand up, The
great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there
shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a
nation, Even to that time. [Are we seeing that today in the form of
terrorism, sedition and treason?] And at that time your people shall
be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. {2} And
many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to
everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. {3} Those who
are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who
turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. {4} "But
you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of
the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall
increase." {5} Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others,
one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. {6} And one said
to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How
long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?" {7} Then I heard the
man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he
held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who
lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time;
and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered,
all these things shall be finished. {8} Although I heard, I did not
understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these
things?" {9} And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed
up and sealed till the time of the end. {10} "Many shall be
purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and
none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
{11} "And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the
abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two
hundred and ninety days. {12} "Blessed is he who waits, and comes to
the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. {13} "But
you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to
your inheritance at the end of the days."
Now what does Daniel12 tell us about what we have been
reading in Daniel 9?
Verses 1-3 tell us that those who are written in the Book
of Life will be separated and protected at the time of God=
s punishment on the world. Verses 4 and 9 strongly imply that these words
will be understood or at least studied at the time of the end. Verse 7
tells us that these wonders will last for three and a half years (a time,
times and a half a time), just what we read from Dan 9:27. Verse 11 tells
us that 1290 days (three and a half years + 30 days) will elapse from the
time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation
is set up. It doesn= t say until
what, but we know from verse 7 that it will be thirty days after the power
of the holy people has been completely shattered. However, from Dan. 8 we
may get a hint of what the extra 30 days are for. Let=
s turn to Dan 8:11.
(Dan 8:11-14 NKJV) He even exalted himself as high as
the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away,
and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. {12} Because of
transgression, an 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. {13} Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one
said to that certain one who was speaking, "How long will the vision be,
concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the
giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?"
{14} And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then
the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
Two thousand three hundred days are about seven months
short of seven years, but our point here is that after these days the
sanctuary will be rid of the religious man and his army and his idols and
a period of time will be needed to clean the sanctuary. That may be what
the extra thirty days are used for.
Daniel 12:12 tells us that we will be blessed (a
beatitude) if we wait 1335 days (three and a half years plus 30 days plus
45 days).
Dan 12:12 (NKJV) "Blessed is he who waits, and comes to
the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
What are the extra 45 days to be used for? This is pure
speculation, but Psalm 45 may give us a clue.
(Psa 45 CJB) My heart is by a noble theme; I
address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.
{2} You are the most handsome of men; gracious speech flows from your
lips; For God has blessed You forever. {3} Warrior, strap your sword at
your thigh, [gird on] your splendor and majesty. {4} In your majesty,
succeed, ride on in the cause of truth, meekness, and righteousness; May
your right hand teach You awesome things. {5} Your arrows are sharp. The
people fall under You as they penetrate the hearts of the king=
s enemies. {6} Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; You rule
your kingdom with a scepter of equity. {7} You love righteousness and
hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil
of joy in preference to your companions. {8} All Your garments are
scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, from ivory palaces stringed
instruments bring you joy. {9} Daughters of Kings are among Your
favorites; At Your right stands the queen in gold from Ophir. {10}
Listen, O daughter! Think, pay attention! Forget your own people and
your father's house; {11} And the King will desire your beauty; for He
is your Lord, so worship Him. {12} And the daughter of Tyre; the richest
of peoples will favor your gifts. {13} Inside [the palace], the king=
s daughter looks splendid, attired with checker-work embroidered with
gold. {14} In brocade, She shall be brought to the King, to you with the
virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You. {15}
They will be led with gladness and joy, They shall enter the King's
palace. {16} You will have sons to succeed your ancestors; Whom You
shall make princes in all the earth. {17} I will make Your name known
through all generations; thus the people will praise You forever and
ever.
Psalm 45 may very well be a nuptial song describing the
state of God= s people as they
become the wife of Christ. Is it possible that the 45 days after the
cleansing of the sanctuary are used for resurrecting and preparing His
bride for such a position; the reward of God=
s anointed?
We cannot leave the subject of the beast powers of Dan 7
and 8 without tying in Rev 13.
(Rev 13 NKJV) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I
saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and
ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a
blasphemous name. {2} Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his
feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a
lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
{3} And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and
his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled
and followed the beast. {4} So they worshiped the dragon who gave
authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is
like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" {5} And he was
given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given
authority to continue for forty-two months. {6} Then he opened his
mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle,
and those who dwell in heaven. {7} It was granted to him to make war
with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over
every tribe, tongue, and nation. {8} All who dwell on the earth will
worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. {9} If anyone has
an ear, let him hear. {10} He who leads into captivity shall go into
captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. {11} Then I saw
another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a
lamb and spoke like a dragon. {12} And he exercises all the authority of
the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who
dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
{13} He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men. {14} And he deceives those who
dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the
sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an
image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. {15} He
was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak and cause
as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
{16} He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave,
to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, {17}
and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the
name of the beast, or the number of his name. {18} Here is wisdom.
Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it
is the number of a man: His number is 666.
In my view, these verses of Revelation 13 describe the
papacy in partnership with a beast power of nations, but let=
s examine verses 1 and 4 and 5 and 18 (in reverse order).
{18} Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding
calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His
number is 666.
His number is 666. Many associate this with the pope,
saying the number is on his vestments, but I have no proof of that. What
we can be more sure of is that in Biblical numerology the number 6 is
considered the world= s number.
Whether it applies to the pope or not, it certainly applies to the
antichrist. The wording implies it should be easy to translate but no one
seems able to do it - yet.
{5} And he was given a mouth speaking great things and
blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
Let= s consider
the forty two months of verse 5. That=
s three and a half years of thirty day months. How does this fit with our
Daniel 9:27 prophecy? Let= s
take another look at that.
Daniel 9:27 Then he 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.....
The person this verse is talking about is to have a
contract for seven years. But half way through his contract, that is after
3-1/2 years, something causes him to end sacrifices and offerings. And we
read in Rev 13 that power was given to him to speak blasphemies for the
same length of time - 3-1/2 years. Was he giving these blasphemies during
the first or second 3-1/2 year period? The rest of Rev 13, which describes
the afflictions he places on God=
s people, would seem to indicate he was giving these blasphemies during
the second 3-1/2 year period.
In Rev 13:4 A dragon is often a symbol of Satan.
In Rev 13:{1} What is the beast with the seven heads and
ten horns?
Revelation 13:1 describes a beast with seven heads and ten
horns. To find out what this means let=
s turn to Revelation 17.
(Rev 17:3-18 NKJV) So he carried me [John] away in the
Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
{4} The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold
and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of
abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. {5} And on her
forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
In the Bible a harlot often represents a fallen church. A
mother of harlots shows that there are other fallen churches which have
emerged from the fallen mother church.
{6} I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the
saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw
her, I marveled with great amazement. {7} But the angel said to me, "Why
did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the
beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
{8} "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the
bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth
will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from
the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is. [Those written in the Book of Life will not marvel
because they understand this prophecy.]{9} "Here is the mind which has
wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
[Are these the famous seven hills of Rome?] {10} "There are also
seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet
come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. [These appear to
be the seven resurrections of the Roman Empire.] {11} "And the beast
that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven,
and is going to perdition. {12} "The ten horns which you saw are ten
kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive
authority for one hour as kings with the beast. {13} "These are
of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
[These are ten nations which give their power to a central
government; not unlike the European Union which today describes itself
as a new Roman Empire.] {14} "These will make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and
those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." {15} Then he
said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are
peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues [nations speaking
different languages]. {16} "And the ten horns which you saw on the
beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her
flesh and burn her with fire. [This appears to be a prophecy of future
events where the Catholic church is destroyed by the civil beast
government.] {17} "For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His
purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast,
until the words of God are fulfilled. {18} "And the woman whom you
saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."
Is there a way we can associate existing countries with
these ten kings? Perhaps. The solution may lie in another subject we have
not yet addressed in this sermon. That subject is the migration of ancient
groups of people: the lost ten tribes of Israel and the ancient Assyrians,
Edomites, and Canaanites. Without going into detail,
the lost ten tribes of Israel referred
to in 1 Kings 12, 2 Kings 17:23, and James 1:1, tended to migrate to
northwestern Europe, with some continuing on to North America. The
Assyrians, et. al., tended to migrate to central and eastern Europe. You
might want to read our sermon A
Who Are The Lost Tribes?@ The
ten tribes tended to become Protestant nations and the Assyrians, et. al.,
tended to become Catholic nations. While these distinctions are not rigid,
the European Union (EU) seems to have organized around mostly Catholic
nations, in keeping with the prophecies we=
ve just read. The use of the twelve stars of St. Mary=
s halo in the EU= s flag, their
coinage and their currency is one indication. Some EU coinage even
pictures a woman riding a beast.
Now if we read Daniel 7, we can see the same prophecy,
Revelation 17, with additional details:
(Dan 7:1-27 NKJV) In the first year of Belshazzar king
of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed.
Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. {2} Daniel spoke,
saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of
heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. {3} "And four great beasts came
up from the sea, each different from the other. {4} "The first was like
a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked
off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet
like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. {5} "And suddenly another
beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had
three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it:
'Arise, devour much flesh!' {6} "After this I looked, and there was
another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The
beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. {7} "After this
I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring,
breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was
different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
{8} "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a
little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first
horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes
like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. {9} "I
watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was
seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like
pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; {10}
A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand
thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. {11} "I
watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn
was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed
and given to the burning flame. {12} "As for the rest of the beasts,
they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a
season and a time. {13} "I was watching in the night visions, And
behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He
came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. {14}
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed. {15} "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit
within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. {16} "I came
near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this.
So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
{17} 'Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out
of the earth. {18} 'But the saints of the Most High shall receive the
kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' {19}
"Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was
different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of
iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and
trampled the residue with its feet; {20} "and the ten horns that were on
its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell,
namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words,
whose appearance was greater than his fellows. {21} "I was watching; and
the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing
against them, {22} "until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment
was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for
the saints to possess the kingdom. [See Rom 9:27-28 and Isa 10:21-23]
{23} "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on
earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall
devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. {24}
The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first
ones, And shall subdue three kings. {25} He shall speak pompous
words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most
High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the
saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
{26} 'But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his
dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. {27} Then the kingdom and
dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'
So the Saints will be persecuted for 3-1/2 years after
which they will inherit the kingdom.
Today we have covered the prophecies of Daniel 9 and
related end-time prophecies which link with Daniel=
s prophecies. This marks the end of Part 1 of this sermon. Part 2, which
will address other prophecies about the end-time, especially those
involving the return of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel, will be given next
Sabbath.
Sermon given by
Wayne Bedwell
July 18, 2009 |