End-Time Prophecies

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 three-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. "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." 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 "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 "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 "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 Israel. 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 [Notice: 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 "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 "on the wing of abominations" mean? "On the Wing" is better translated as "at the extremities" or "edge" or even "in the presence or vicinity of." We showed that abominations were idols. So we might interpret this as "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 "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 "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 "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 [lies], 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 "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 soon.

Sermon given by Wayne Bedwell
27 August 2011
Copyright 2011, Wayne Bedwell