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Tuesday & Thursday |
DANIEL PART V
It's time to tie this whole teaching on Daniel together for you. If you will recall, in my introductory remarks, I laid out the objective of the study: To demonstrate, through the history of Daniel, how the landscape of the present day stage of history in the Middle East has grown out of it's past to become the fulfillment of the prophecy.
The "set" on today's stage of Jewish history arises out of the peoples and places of their prophetic past. God prophesied portions of their history to Daniel. Among other things, He illustrated the appearance, locale and attitude of the end time landscape. What's today's Biblical time in Jewish history?
The answer lies in tracing their history in Daniel. The book of Daniel shows how today's peoples, places and events arrived on the "set" of today's stage. It tells the "who" and "what" they are today, and how that leads them to the "where," that's yet their future.
We saw how Daniel's prophecy showed us places and peoples from out of the past. We can recognize them today, continuing their ongoing trek towards their prophesied destiny.
We looked at how God first developed the Landscape on which the entire drama would unfold. We studied the great Image of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation of it.
We traced the development of territory out of Nimrod's Assyria into Babylon. Next, it became, Medo-Persia, followed by Alexander the Great's Grecian Empire, and finally, the Roman Empire.
Significantly, we found the gap in time between the 69th week and the 70th week of Daniel.
We discovered that sometime during that gap, a loose confederacy of ten Old Roman Empire kingdoms come together and give authority to an eleventh king that has risen up among them. This eleventh king then uproot three of those ten.
And it's at that time that God will set up His everlasting Kingdom.
Then Daniel, himself has a dream; he sees these same territories develop, only he sees them as animals or beasts.
Daniel now sees the head of gold (Babylon) in the king's dream, as a Lion. He sees the silver kingdom (Medo-Persian) as a Bear. He sees the sides of brass (Grecian Kingdom) as a Leopard. But the iron legs, (Roman Empire) is indescribable.
Daniel, has yet another dream. In it God focuses Daniel on just two of the Empires. A Ram represents the Medo-Persian Empire while a Goat depicts the Grecian. This Goat (Grecia) has a notable horn. The angel later tells Daniel that the horn is the first king of Grecia, Alexander the Great. The Goat, Alexander, is running so fast that his feet do not seem to touch the ground. He runs into the Ram (Medo-Persia) with such force that he slays this great power. Alexander, then, grows very powerful.
However, in time the goat's horn is broken. That means that in the midst of his power, he will die, leaving his Kingdom to his generals, rather than to his prodigy. These generals will not rule with Alexander's great power. We saw two of these generals who inherited the Grecian and Egyptian kingdoms, remain in the prophecy while the other two fade from the scene.
One of the Generals, Seleucus, wins that portion of the Empire that covered Western Iran, Iraq, Southern Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. The other general, Ptolemy, inherited Egypt. All through this territorial prophetic landscape, these two kingdoms are in a tug of war with each other.
Then we related the Little Horn character of Daniel to the man on the white horse of Revelation 6. This gave us an idea of the events than must occur before the appearance of this person on the stage. We learned that this Little Horn character is Antichrist, not yet fully risen. When he does come to power, though, he will be possessed by a beast from out of the bottomless pit. We identified this beast as the evil Prince of Grecia, the spiritual force behind Alexander.
We learned that the end time kingdom of the Beast (Antichrist) ends when the Stone Kingdom (God's everlasting Kingdom), from the Kings image, falls upon the feet of it and crushes it into pieces so small that the wind blows them away, and they are never seen again.
We learned that the end time kingdom is the seventh kingdom in succession on that land. This kingdom was yet to come; sometime during the gap period. And we learned that as history would have it, the seventh Kingdom on that land was the Moslem Empire. The final kingdom of the Antichrist comes out of the Moslem Empire, seventh kingdom. Therefore, we know that the Antichrist's Kingdom, the eighth kingdom is still on that same land.
We saw how the person filling the role of the Little Horn is actually the man on the white horse seen in Revelation. He comes in peace, is given a crown in honor, and goes forth to conquer.
Revelation also showed us that the seventh/eighth Kingdom is located in the land of the Bear (Medo-Persia); it's message is the message of the Lion (Babylon - Doctrine of Nimrod); and the Dragon (Satan) provided Antichrist's seat and great authority.
Jumping across to Daniel 11:36, we developed the characteristics of the Antichrist. We looked at some of the end time events and their effect on the Jews and Tribes of Israel. Revelation showed us that the 144 thousand are caught up (raptured), and that the woman, Israel, has a place waiting to shelter her (the Jews) during this Tribulation time.
Now we must pinpoint, from scripture, exactly where this Little Horn originates, the significance of Daniel 9, and how we can drag all of this history right onto the present day stage. There we shall show how the descendants of these same peoples and lands are fulfilling the prophecy of their destiny. This will bring you right up to the minute in Biblical time. Both scripture and history give us the origin of the Little Horn/Antichrist. Part of Daniel's chapter 11 is a history lesson on the territory that the Romans conquered.
We pick up that history in verses 18, 19, 20 and 21. First, verse 18 identifies a prince. In actual history that is a Prince of Rome at the time Rome conquers the Seleucid Kingdom.
Since there is so much history available on this, I am not going to try to "prove" it to you. I am going to simply tell it from scripture. For further details, study the history of The Roman Empire during that period (around 70 AD).
Look at verse 19. History shows this prince to be the Roman successor to the Seleucid territory. History records that he was poisoned and replaced by the person in vs. 20. However, this replacement did not reign long, before he too, was poisoned. Daniel records that this Roman successor raised the taxes; history records he did so to pay for war of conquest.
Hey folks, Daniel was written centuries before any of this took place. Finding these guys in history is worth the price of admission alone; not to mention what's coming.
Importantly, correlating these verses with history brings this conquered territory into focus as the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire.
Now, a gap of time - leap to the time when the Little Horn begins to rise.
Verse 21. And in HIS ESTATE (whose estate? - the estate of the raiser of taxes - the Seleucid Kingdom) shall stand up a vile person to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Verse 21 describes Antichrist. This vile person rises up out of that same territory, the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire.
Skipping the description of life under Antichrist, lets move to the time of the end. It begins with verse 40 and goes to chapter 12.
As you see, scripture tells us EXACTLY where the Antichrist arises. Is there any doubt in your mind? How can so many be convinced that the Antichrist comes from Europe? In all my years of studying this prophecy, I can't find any scripture that locates him in Europe!
How could the Stone Kingdom fall on the Feet Kingdom, and crush to smithereens all of the Kingdoms of the great image, and destroy Europe? Europe was not described in any of the Kingdoms represented by that image. Only a portion of the image, the legs, turned out to be the Roman Empire, but then the image goes on to develop another empire that came after Rome, the feet empire, namely, the Moslem Empire, out of which the toes grow. The Stone Kingdom falls on the Moslem Empire, part of which was once ruled by Rome, and destroys the territory that once grew out of Babylon. Europe has nothing to do with it.
The misinformation centers on the ten kings that gather together at the end time; they come out of the territory once occupied by the Old Roman Empire. The little Horn rises from among THEM. But, modern day prophecy preachers leave out the feet kingdom on the great image of Nebuchadnezzar, and jump from the legs directly to the toes.
The reality of the succession of the lands that come out of Babylon is that after the Roman Empire, depicted by the legs of iron, comes the feet, out of which grow the toes. The feet kingdom succeeds the iron leg kingdom, and in history it becomes the Moslem Empire. The Moslem Empire was short lived, as it broke in two within a year of the death of Mohammed. The feet are made of iron and clay, and are described as partly strong and partly weak which the empire was.
The kingdom growing up out of the feet kingdom, the Moslem Empire, will be Antichrist's kingdom, as it will be the eighth kingdom which grows out of the land of the feet kingdom - the Moslem Empire.
The prophecy that shows where this kingdom is located is the ten horn prophecy of Daniel 7. Those horns, which are kings growing out of the territory ruled by the Roman Empire, but Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar's great image, shows us that the territory out of which that kingdom grows is the feet kingdom, or the Moslem Empire.
So, it's the Roman area of the Moslem Empire that is depicted. That area is also the Seleucid portion of the old Grecian Empire. So the combination of the two prophecies shows that Antichrist will rule a kingdom that was once the Roman area, that was once the Seleucid Portion of the Grecian Empire, that is now within the Moslem Empire.
The toes are made of iron and clay and are described as partly strong and partly broken, as this kingdom will be.
Now, with this telescopic view of Daniel, we see a significant detail concerning Antichrist; we see EXACTLY where he arises!
Having established that, let's return to Daniel 9.
As you recall, Daniel had read in Jeremiah where God had prophesied that the bondage was for 70 years. Daniel was praying about this when an angel (Gabriel, according to the Jewish scholars) appeared. The angel told Daniel that he would tell him not only about the 70 years, but also about 70 weeks of years. That is 490 years of prophecy concerning Daniel's people, the Jews, as well as his holy city, Jerusalem.
The angel speaks to Daniel about the Jews and Jerusalem. He makes no reference to the Church. This prophecy covers 490 years of strictly Jewish years. These 490 years are divided into three parts, all of which will be the time required to: 1. Finish the transgression, making an end of sins 2. Make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and 3. Anoint the most Holy (holy place). That would all be accomplished in the 490 years which would begin with the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem.
That command was issued during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah during the reign of the Medo-Persians. Meanwhile, Daniel was to seal the prophecy and the vision until the time of the end.
The prophecy is broken up into three parts. The first part is a period of seven weeks or forty-nine years, to build the city. The end of this period is also the end of the Old Testament. To me, that is a more significant event than the completion of the city. But that's another story.
The second part is a period of sixty-two weeks or four hundred thirty-four years until the Messiah is cut off, but not for himself. However, since the Jews rejected the Messiah, this is a Christian belief. The Messiah died for the sins of man; it was the redemptive act of God.
Thus, we have forty-nine years to rebuild the city and come to the end of the Old Testament. Then four hundred thirty-four years later the Messiah will be killed. That totals four hundred eighty-three years. We are about to enter the GAP.
Look carefully at verse 26. Interestingly, the King James has a colon after this first phrase. It is at this point that Isaiah 61:1-2 places the conjunction "AND." It is also at this same point that Jesus stops reading Is. 61 and closes the book. (Luke 4:18). You may recall that Jesus said that what he had just read was fulfilled that very day.
What we see, moving through scripture, is that Isaiah could not distinguish between the pre and post gap times. Daniel made a clearer distinction with his use of a colon and establishing independent clauses. However, Jesus left no room for doubt when he distinguished the times by closing the book.
This establishes a gap in the fulfillment of the allotted time for the Jews. The age of the Gentiles begins with their receiving the Messiah and ends with the rapture of the Church. At this point, the remaining final week or final seven years for the Jews resumes countdown.
Returning to Daniel 9:26, we see where the final week begins. "And the people of the prince that shall come (referring to Antichrist) shall destroy the city, etc.
Verse 27 And he (Who's he? He is the prince that shall come; he is Antichrist, empowered by the Prince of Grecia from out of the pit) shall confirm "A" (not "the" as in the KJV) covenant with many for one week (seven years): and in the midst of the week (three and a half years) he (Antichrist) will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he (Antichrist) shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.
In verse 27, at the beginning of the final week a person known as a prince (Daniel's little horn and Revelation's man on the white horse) is going to confirm a covenant with many.
In order to complete their return to the land, the Jews need a means of atoning for their sins. They need the temple for sacrifices. The Jews do resume the sacrifices for we see in verse 27 that after three and a half years, the Antichrist breaks the covenant and stops their sacrifices.
It is evident that the covenant confirmed by many must contain the provision to resume the sacrifice. Why? The sacrifices had not resumed before the covenant, yet, three and a half years into the covenant, they are stopped. Antichrist breaks the covenant and causes them to stop the sacrifices.
According to Daniel, the Little Horn is a king out of the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire. He arrives on the scene with authority granted by a loose confederacy of ten kings from a region of the Old Roman Empire within the Moslem Empire. Also depicted as a man on the white horse in Revelation 6, he will be one who finally brings peace to the region. He wins his own kingdom by flatteries.
Now, if this little horn is already a king who rises among ten kings from the area, why is he given his kingdom? Why does he need to win it by flattery? What does he confirm in the covenant? How are the Jews able to resume sacrifices?
While the answers to these questions have remained a mystery to us, let's consider Daniel 12:4. It is the defining verse of all end time prophecies. It contains the command to Daniel to seal up the word and the book until the time of the end. At that time, when the seal is broken, there will be much new knowledge.
This means that when we can see the events of the 70th week approaching, then the prophecy has been unsealed. No longer a mystery, it is spilling out onto the stage of history. And, when we can see it, much knowledge will be available about it. We will know from the history given us, not only where the players in the prophecy come from but also what they are doing on the stage.
So, when we can answer the questions posed above, we are in the end times. We can see it on stage, and now we know what to expect before the first seal is opened and the Great Tribulation gets underway.
This is important to us as the Church, members of the Body of Christ. We have the promise of being caught away before that first seal is opened. We are not subject to wrath, but rather to salvation by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Having watched the stage for a long time (over 20 years at this writing), let us examine history and see how this has come to be the time of the end. First, we must find on the stage of history a person filling the role of the Little Horn character. If he is not here yet, then we must keep watching for his appearance. He is the key player in the scene.
The Little Horn will have to be a king or ruler. He must be of a small people. His kingdom must be from the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire, which is also the Roman portion of the Moslem Empire. Also, he must be deeply involved in the covenant that brings resolution to the Jews temple and sacrifice dilemma.
Besides that, the scene must be set with a warrior as the Egyptian King. This king of the south will be at odds with the Little Horn and his kingdom at the end time. However, the King of Israel must be a dove, in order to make peace. (Hawks are not known to want peace.)
Since the Temple Mount is in Jerusalem, that has to be the center of conflict. The confirmed covenant will usher in peace and security. The man on the white horse indicates this, but later the tribulation will begin.
There must be ten kings from the territory of the Moslem Empire that meet, form a loose confederacy, and give authority to one other King. This king will uproot three of the ten and the other seven will give him power.
Finally, the Little Horn must have a kingdom given to him in honor. According to Daniel, this is the required stage setting. This must all be in place prior to the events that begin the final seven years of the Jews destiny.
With this in mind, let us examine today's stage of history. We will use scripture to determine whether or not these really are the end times. We will see if we are at the very edge of time, rather than some 50 years or more away from that part of the time.
First, if this little horn is already a king, that rises among ten kings from the area, why is he given his kingdom, and why does he need to win it by flattery?
To answer this question, we must first locate the Little Horn. Is there such a person on today's scene that comes from the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire?
Yes, there is. Let me introduce you to him.
Thus far, we have seen that there are seven kingdoms involved in the scene, five of them will grow out of Babylon. In the first century when John was writing Revelation, one of the kingdoms was in existence. Rome. Five had already fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Grecia. The seventh was yet to come. Out of it, the eighth or Antichrist Kingdom would emerge. Keep referring to the map of Daniel at a glance.
Since the gap began, and after the end of the Roman Empire, only one other Empire has sprung up on that same land. It is the Moslem Empire. Mohammed, the prophet of Allah, built it and ruled from the Hashemite Kingdom there.
Where was this Hashemite Kingdom? Please refer to the maps that I have provided for this class. On the present day map, I have outlined the Seleucid portion of the Old Grecian Empire in white. Within it's borders, outlined in black, is the Hashemite Kingdom. That is also the same territory that Rome occupied when she defeated that territory.
The capital of the Hashemite Kingdom is Baghdad. Studying the history of the Hashemite Kingdom, you will find that Mohammed and his descendants have occupied that throne ever since - over 1400 years. Certainly, there will always be a Hashemite King because the descendancy passes along that direct line from father to son. The ruler of the seventh Kingdom to arise on that land once known as Babylon sits on today's stage.
However, in 1958 the United Arab Republic (UAR) usurped the Hashemite ruler. Abdul Nasser, then the king (ruler) of Egypt, founded that federation. It was the king of the south, still fighting with the king of the north.
Fisal II, the Hashemite King of that day, and his family were murdered. As the 42nd descendant of Mohammed, Jordan's King Hussein fell heir to the Hashemite throne. But, an outside power had overtaken the kingdom.
Prior to the assassination of the Hashemite family, Fisal II and King Hussein formed a federation in defense of the UAR. Shortly after the murders, King Hussein vowed to replace Hashemite rule back into His Kingdom.
His Kingdom? What about Jordan? Isn't that his Kingdom? Only politically. In 1921, the British Mandate of Palestine awarded the land of Jordan (then part of Syria, known as Palestine) to King Hussein's grandfather, Abdullah. This, the Palestinian's homeland, was made forever a hereditary Emirate in the family of Abdullah. That is the reason King Hussein was the king of Jordan. Because he is the Hashemite King, the British recognized the Emirate of Jordan as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. However, his true kingdom is the Hashemite Kingdom located today in Iraq. Another thing the 1921 mandate did was split out the care of the Holy Shrines of the Moslems, Mecca and Medina, and gave control over them to the Saudi's, after they had been in the control of the descendants of Mohammed for over 1400 years.
Therefore, the only one who Scripturally qualifies as far as birth and heredity are concerned to be the little horn of Daniel that is on the scene today was King Hussein of Jordan. He was the Hashemite King. He was the 42nd descendant of the prophet Mohammed of the Moslem Empire.
But, the question remains: If King Hussein already has a kingdom, why must he be given the kingdom that he wins by flattery? The answer is that the kingdom he has is not really his. The kingdom that really is his, has been usurped.
Now, in the history of it, King Hussein, who was the leader of the Mideast's long road to Peace, after 46 years of rulership, has died, and passed on the scepter of rulership to his eldest son Abdullah. The new Hashemite King is King Abdullah II . That's no more significant than the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and the ascendance of his son Belshazzar to the throne. It's all part of the history of God's plan. Each did his part in the movement of the landscape through history.
Next comes the question regarding the covenant. But, first, let us consider the reason King Abdullah II is in position to be a confirming factor in the covenant.
If you recall, it's the little horn that comes riding out on the white horse in Revelation. So, the covenant is a peace covenant. Therefore, our little horn on today's stage must be, by virtue of Revelation 6, very involved in the peace pact.
Was King Hussein very involved in the peace pact? Well, if you had been following the Mideast trail, you know that he was the single most important individual involved in the Peace. I could go on for days telling you how this is true, but the facts are all carefully recorded in history that dates back some 18 years.
King Hussein personally saved the peace and kept it moving forward on two separate occasions. In both instances peace appeared to have gone by the wayside, and war was inevitable. His son, King Abdullah II has vowed to continue in his fathers footsteps.
Next comes the question: How is the Little Horn character connected to the resumption of the sacrifice?
First, our man on stage is now King Abdullah II. Because of his heritage, he virtually holds the keys to all the Holy Shrines of the Moslems. That includes Temple Mount in Jerusalem. That is a word honored by all in the region, including the Palestinians. It is included in the Washington Declaration and in paragraph 9 of the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.
On January 10, 1996, the headlines of the Jerusalem Post read: "Israelis Hail Jordan's King as Peacemaker!". About one year later, King Hussein was named "Prince of Peace" by the Israeli people.
If there is a deal to be made that will allow for sacrifice to resume on temple mount in Jerusalem, it must be confirmed by the man holding the Keys to the mount. That is the Hashemite King, now in the person of King Abdullah II.
I could go further in verifying the description of the Little Horn, but I believe you see where this is headed. If anyone can show where there is another person in the world who possesses the characteristics as laid down in Daniel, as to his origin and role in end times, I am waiting to hear who it is.
Finally, what does the end time landscape require? God will return His attention to the Jews to complete the final week of Daniel's prophecy and the events of Revelation. When He does, He must find the scene exactly where He left it when He turned away from them during the time of the Gentiles. That is: They must be in Israel, needing a peace pact with the "Roman Empire" and a Temple to keep the law.
That is exactly where God has them now. Moreover, the Little Horn character from Daniel's prophecy has emerged. The peace that he so ardently supports is in the stage of completion called "Final Status Talks", by the parties involved.
If this is not Daniel's scenario that is taking place, then we are not in the end times. If it is, then we are, and we are just that close to the day of our catching away.
That's what this study of Daniel set out to do, to find out, by watching the Jews, where the Christian covenant stands. As for myself, I believe, and I think I have built a very strong case, that this is Daniel's final stage, and that the Hashemite King is the Little Horn. I believe that our redemption is even at the door.
Next, my thesis on the Rapture of the Church explains in detail the reason I believe this is the time. It shows how God is revealing that to us through Daniel because He locked the timing up in Daniel, only to be known in it's time.
Well, the evidence is clear and demanding. And, as I have alluded to in the past, it is like an Astronomer whose trained eye is searching the skies for the comets or meteors that are headed our way. We rely upon them to report it to us when a sighting is made.
It takes a trained eye to search the stage of history, watch for the events to begin to come to pass, and then report to those who eagerly await the news. Remember this entire End Time Awareness Bible Study is available on CD-ROM
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