"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." - 2 Thessalonians 2:3

INTRO

This page is an in depth look at what prophecy says about Antichrist and what Historic fact has revealed over time. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" We are most assuredly in the last days. Anyone with a smattering of study into end time events knows this as fact. If you seek some help in realizing this as today's reality, see the "People Get Ready" page on this site.

The reason this page is broken down in sections is because it was originally a sermon series. Each section has a link to the audio version of the sermon. And to answer the question as to why there are two Papal miters on this page. When I created this page many years before Pope Francis was elected I too wondered why I was "moved" to place two miters for the Pope in the page header. Then after Benedict stepped down and Francis stepped up, I knew then why the Lord had me do this.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream part 1

Some may find this hard to swallow, but I praise the Lord we are living in the very last day of earth’s history. Why do I say that you ask? It’s because we now have the benefit of 6000 years worth of Historic records right at our fingertips so as to better educate those the Lord sends our way. In fact, thanks to the Internet, any of us can get access to that information as long as we know where to look. All of history is behind us! We now have all the evidence needed to confirm the prophecies. In fact, some were fulfilled in the exact years as well as the exact manner the Bible said they would be fulfilled so as to make sharing this truth easier. As remnant Christians, we now need to take the advantage of these historic records. Especially now since we are living in the days most of the prophecies speak of. We need to use the history books to better establish these facts in the minds of God’s people trapped in Babylon. It will open their eyes to the dangers they are in, and it will fill God's church with the very people His prophecy said would be in His church at the end of time. As students of prophecy, this is how it is written it will happen. We the remnant have the information they need.

Still, we must be careful on how we present these truths God has given us to share. Before investigating the prophetic symbols that describe the characteristics of Antichrist, we need to understand that the Word of God tells us how to define each of the symbols found in the prophetic writings. In fact, 2 Peter 1:20 says that, "...no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." In other words, Christians are told not to give our own private opinion of what we think a prophetic symbol means. We must always allow the Word of God to define it's own symbols. Our private interpretations are useless mainly because the God we worship already defined them in the Bible. We just need to show the people God sends out way where to look.

For example, the term "many waters" in prophecy doesn't mean a large lake or an ocean. And the word "woman" doesn’t mean an actual woman when spoken in the prophetic Word. They are symbolic, or metaphorical images hidden in plain site so as to prevent the wicked from knowing the truth about the times we live in. Reason being is, if they knew what we know, they would be more effective in twisting God's Word to say something else. They do know some of the symbols, yes. And this is why we see false prophecies about secret raptures, a 7 year trib, 1000 years of peace and so on.

Each symbol in Daniel, Revelation, or any other prophetic book are defined in vivid detail all throughout God's Word. If you need concrete evidence of this, I recently finished a three year study in the book of Revelation where I allowed the Bible, and the Bible only to define each and every symbol found in all 404 verses of Revelation. You can find this book on my site at Symbols of Revelation.

Have you ever had an open book test in school? Pretty easy wasn’t it? This is what the Lord has done for us when it comes to the prophecies of the end. The Bible took all the guess work out of knowing this truth for us. This is why the corrupted religious leaders are moved by Satan to rewrite the Bible so often. It seems every year there’s a new version coming out! Satan fears the truths it contains, so he does all he can to muddy the waters. But Jesus said the elect cannot be deceived in Matthew 24:24, so don't let anyone give you their private "opinion" or "interpretation" when preaching such things to you or your family. We must always let the Word define the Word! After all, is not the basic rule of truth covered written in Isaiah 8:20 when it says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Truth is, that's an easy way to expose the false teachers of today. Just hear what they have to say, and then open a Bible to see if what they say actually matches up with what the Lord says regarding a certain symbol. That being said, what does the Word of God have to say about all those symbols that define certain desires, characteristics, and plans of Antichrist? And does History really confirm the prophecy to be authentic? Well, before we can get into the meat of the matter, we must allow Historic record to set the stage. But before doing so, I think it wise that we allow the prophecy to speak first, and then allow the historic records to be addressed. In so doing we can see God glorified in that He truly does see the end from the beginning.

Before starting I must make it painfully clear that this is no weekend crash course in eschatology. Eschatology being the study of Christian prophecy as it pertains to Historic record. It is by no means exhaustive either. Still, I hope to illustrate using the Word of God along with Historic facts just who this man of sin is that we are told the remnant people of God will identify in the end.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-6, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time."

That time is now!

As I intimated earlier, this is no weekend crash course. This series will take quite some time to get through. For those interested, this series will most assuredly be available in video format as well. A message such as this is far too important to just mention in a few sermons. So, what do we find in the prophetic Word of God when it comes to the identity of this man of sin?

Since Jesus recommends the book of Daniel to believers as well as the students of Bible prophecy, would it not be wise of us to investigate this book in these last days? Fact is, had all the people of 70ad done as Jesus suggested they should do, we would not have seen as many killed in the terrible siege of Cestius when he came against Jerusalem exactly as Jesus prophecied would happen 40 years prior. However, like the nonbelievers in Jerusalem in 70ad, most people today refuse to research the prophetic facts of the Word of God. Most in Jerusalem ignored the trumpet blast made so clear by Jesus in Matthew 24, but the Christians that were in Jerusalem at that time understood plainly what Jesus was warning them of when they saw the "abomination of desolation" standing there. These Christians did exactly as Jesus suggested they should do when that day came upon them. They fled! However, history records, those that ignored the prophetic facts of Jesus stayed behind in the city. What does the historic record say happened to them on that dreadful day?

In A.D.66 when Cestius came against the city, but unaccountably withdrew, the Christians discerned in this the sign foretold by Christ, and fled while 1,100,000 Jews are said to have been killed in the terrible siege in A.D. 70. -Eusebius, Church History, book 3, chap. 5

Over 1 MILLION men, women, and children died unnecessarily that day! Each and every one of them could have escaped certain death easily well in advance if they just believed in what Jesus prophecied would happen 40 years prior. He actually told them well in advance how to save their lives and the lives of their children. Now, think of all the prophetic fulfillments the church of Christ has seen over the last 2000 years, or the last few decades for that matter. So many prophecies have been fulfilled in our generation alone that even the scoffer is feeling a bit uneasy now. I know, many email me with questions now. Never before in history have we seen so many bold movements of the hand of God in prophecy as we see today. Babes in Christ that just started studying prophecy a year or so ago know more 'first hand' than some scholars of just a decade ago!

The four prophecies of Daniel that we will look into have a common point shared between them that confirm our God truly knows the end from the beginning. These prophecies cover an extensively long period of history. From the time of Daniel, all the way up to the end of the world. So, without any further a do, let's begin with the first of these prophecies that’s found in the book of Daniel, chapter 2.

First of all, let's grasp the context of the time and place we are looking into. - In the year 604B.C., in the city of Babylon, and over the entire Babylonian Empire reigned a king who was named Nebuchadnezzar. This king had just spread his empire to new regions after many conquests, including Jerusalem where he captured many of the Jews. Among these captured Jews was the young prophet Daniel. In the world at this time in history, the power of Nebuchadnezzar was undisputed. He was king of the world to put it bluntly.

One night, this king had a very upsetting dream. When he awoke he was unable to remember the content of his dream. However, it still remained in his heart that it was a very upsetting thing that he had dreamed. How many of us have awaken to such a dream as this? You wake up upset, but can’t remember all the intricate details. So of course, like anyone else, the king desired to know what it was that upset him so much. It’s obvious the Lord put it in his heart to dig into this, and as we get to the meat of the matter, it will be easy to ascertain why he was given this dream.

Nebuchadnezzar, like many kings of old, and sadly, many leaders today, was accustomed to consulting astrologers and magicians, especially for the interpretation of dreams. However, this time his request was extremely unusual because of the fact he was asking more than the simple interpretation of the dream. The king wanted to know everything about the dream including all that he saw in it even though he totally forgot the dream and its contents. Of course this troubled the magicians and astrologers greatly because they felt it was completely impossible to tell the king what he dreamed, and the interpretation without knowing the dream first.

No different than today with all the psychics and magicians, these men in Daniel's day were nothing more than a bunch of phonies. These magicians and astrologers were obviously in it for the money and the fame of being in the king’s court. It seems nothing really changes over the years when it comes to the methods Satan uses on the people, does it? These so called wise men had no special power to see into the future or understand dreams than anyone else had. They merely acted a part so as to make many believe they had this ability so they could fill their pockets. Like today, it was a piece of cake to tell people what the dreams meant by merely giving fanciful interpretations that appeared to make sense to the hearer. And no doubt, like today, demons were very beneficial in making some of the magicians and astrologers appear to be authentic by mixing truth with lies so as to give some validity to their predictions. Problem was however, what the king was asking them to do this time was totally different. He not only wanted the understanding of the dream. He wanted to know what he dreamed as well!

As we can see, the king discovered he had employed nothing but a pack of liars and fakes as magicians and astrologers. Since the wise men could not guess his dream, the king looked upon that as all the proof he needed to confirm they were nothing but a pack of liars without any real power whatsoever! Being caught red handed, they tried to pull the onus off of themselves by telling the king that his demand was unreasonable.

This only angered the king even more. They obviously insulted his intelligence and thereby moved his anger into a greater rage wherein he decided they should breath their last for lying to him for all those years.

Problem with this decree is, Daniel was also considered one of the wise men because of his true wisdom and faith in the one True God. A God that did know secrets and was no charlatan by any means. Daniel’s wisdom was not like the others. His wisdom was very real. Still, being a wise man, and under the rule of the king, this death decree fell upon his head as well. So Daniel quickly appeared before the king begging mercy so as to have time to do as he requested regarding the dream. Daniel wanted to ask the Lord to reveal to him the kings dream so as to appease his anger which would spare the lives of all the wise men. Seeing how the king knew of Daniel and his honest ways, which were much more pleasant than the magicians and astrologers ways, he accepted his offer. So, Daniel went immediately to the Lord in prayer. And as usual, the Lord always moves in the life of His faithful servants when they need Him the most. Faith in a Creator such as this has a great storehouse of wonderful blessings indeed!

In answer to his prayer of faith, Daniel was blessed with the exact same dream the king had. So the very next day Daniel went straight to the king to let him know what the Lord had revealed to Him.

Daniel 2:31-35, "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."

The main features of the image in the dream were as follows...

  1. Head of Gold
  2. The chest and arms of silver
  3. The belly and thighs of bronze
  4. The legs of iron
  5. The feet mixed of iron and clay
  6. The stone breaking the statue, then becoming a mountain

Let’s stop here in this series that reveals the man of sin. Next time we will discover what each of these sections of the great image in the king’s dream mean.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream part 2

In the previous segment of this series in revealing the man of sin, we discovered king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great image. This great image has specific features we will discuss in this portion of the series. Those features were...

  1. Head of Gold
  2. The chest and arms of silver
  3. The belly and thighs of bronze
  4. The legs of iron
  5. The feet mixed of iron and clay
  6. The stone breaking the statue, then becoming a mountain

If you recall, Daniel was blessed by the Creator with the exact same dream the king had so as to prove to the king there is a God in Heaven that knows all secrets. Daniel was also blessed with the interpretation of the king’s dream so as to further glorify the Lord as well as please the king and spare the lives of the wise men in his kingdom. Such wisdom can only come from this God we worship

As we are about to see, each part of this statue in the king’s dream represents an actual kingdom. The first one of course being the head of gold, which is in fact the Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom of Babylon. The fact Daniel says the head of gold is that king’s kingdom, then all the rest of the sections of the image will of course be future kingdoms. So, the head of gold is Babylon, and all reliable historical references agree that Babylon was in power from 606 B.C. to 539 B.C. It is interesting to note by the way that in prophecy we find that Babylon and gold are synonymous. It is important to know this at times when we study prophecy so as to have another reference of fact to base the prophetic event upon. It is also wise to do this from time to time due to the large amount of scoffers in today’s world that always seek a way out of trusting Christian prophecy. That being said, what does prophecy say about this?

As is obvious, the name Babylon is often associated with gold in the Scripture. This kingdom was one of the wonders of the ancient world. In fact, today it is still referred to as one of the “7 wonders of the world” because of its impressive constructions and immense beautiful gardens. Specifically the “hanging gardens” of Babylon. I recall reading about that in encyclopedias when I was a child. Babylon apparently deserved to be represented by gold, which by the way is considered to be the 'king of metals.' As we realize it’s beauty and power we can see why the Lord used gold to characterize it.

As we move down the image we find something rather interesting. Historic fact is, the Babylonian Empire was overthrown by the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. The Medo-Persian monarchy lasted 208 years, from 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. The prophet Daniel actually witnessed the overthrow of Babylon in his lifetime. Do you recall last week how Daniel 2:32 said of the images that “his breast and his arms were made of silver?” History proves the Medo-Persian kingdom was indeed not as rich, and no where near as beautiful as Babylon was. In fact, the prophecy touches on this in the next verse...

So there you have it. History records the kingdom after Babylon was indeed inferior in both beauty and power, and the amazing thing in all this is, the king was told about this long before it happened. In fact, you will notice that the metals decrease in value as we descend down the image in the dream. However, they do increase in physical strength from this point forward as well. Continuing in verse 39 we read...

The next kingdom is represented by brass, and brass is stronger than silver, but it is less valuable. So, who does this represent? Historic record confirms that in 331 B.C. the Greek armies destroyed the last Persian king during the famous Battle of Arbela. The Greeks saw victory by the powerful and quite young king Alexander the Great. The Greek Empire was then established. Its rule essentially covered far more territories than the two previous kingdoms combined. The reign of the Greek Empire of Alexander lasted for 163 years, from 331 B.C. to 168 B.C.

Moving down the image we find in...

Iron as we know is much stronger than gold, silver or brass, and as expected, less valuable. As for what kingdom it represented we find that in 168 B.C., it was the Roman Empire’s turn to enact its supreme rule upon the world. Prophetically speaking, iron perfectly symbolizes this kingdom. It’s beauty fell far short of gold, but its strength was second to none. So again, iron was the ideal illustration for this kingdom. Its military strength, its discipline, its domination over many conquered nations, its laws imposed on all people far and wide, every aspect of this nation was like the strength and endurance of iron. Even it’s staying power was a worthy portrayal of iron. This kingdom reigned 644 years! From 168 B.C. until 476 A.D. the Roman empire stood firm. But like all the previous kingdoms, it was doomed to fall as well. In fact the fall of this kingdom is VERY important in Bible Prophecy. It actually sets up what we see in today’s political landscape. But we will get into that later on. So… moving on in Daniel 2 we come to verse 41.

Did you notice? The dream that Daniel interpreted did not foretell a fifth global or universal kingdom to follow after the fourth; but rather the division of the fourth kingdom is prophecied to occur instead. As historic fact demonstrates, the kingdom of Rome weakened to such an extent near the end that it was successfully attacked by Barbarian nations that finally resulted in the defeat of Rome. That of course occurred in 476 A. D.

After its fall, ten smaller nations were formed in its place. Just like the ten toes of the statue in the king’s dream, these nations were exactly ten in number. Seven of the ten are still around today, but under different names. All ten originated in European nations, but three of these nations disappeared completely thanks to the "little horn" Daniel speaks of in Daniel chapter 7. Prophecy does in fact declare “how” they disappeared as well. But that historic fact, as well as who the little horn represents will be covered a little bit later in this series.

So, how was Rome’s kingdom divided after it fell?

  1. The Saxons, originating the English nation.
  2. The Franks, originating the French nation.
  3. The Alamanni, originating the German nation.
  4. The Visigoths, originating the Spanish nation.
  5. The Suevi, originating the Portuguese nation.
  6. The Lombards, originating the Italian nation.
  7. The Burgundians, originating the Swiss nation.
  8. The Heruli, were annihilated by the little horn.
  9. The Vandals, were annihilated by the little horn.
  10. The Ostrogoths, were annihilated by the little horn.

Moving on we find in ...

The dream Daniel interpreted does suggest these nations will try once again to “mingle” or form a global kingdom. But in spite of the efforts of these European nations that sprung up from the fall of Rome, the prophecy says they would not succeed in unifying to form this fifth global empire. Although many have tried; it simply will not come to be! What God has declared cannot be changed no matter how powerful some men or nations become. History showed us that Charlemagne, Charles the Fifth, Louis XIV (14th), Napoleon, William the second, and even Hitler himself have tried in turn to place Europe under the authority of only one ruler. But each one saw his dream fail in a major way.

Yes, it does appear that in some ways, today the Pope of Rome was able to get the majority of the European nations under one ruler. It is called the European Union. (EU) However, the nations of the world have spread much farther than they were in days past. It’s no longer based on that one continent. Peoples from each of those ten toes depict a much larger geographical area. In other words, the civilized world has grown much larger today than it was in Nebuchadnezzar’s, or even Caesar’s day due to simple migration. In fact, the United Sates of America is a good example of how far it spread. Everyone in America have ancestors from that European continent with the exception of native American Indians. This scattering abroad is what caused the need for the “Club of Rome” to form in 1968. If you are a loyal student of prophecy, you know that prophecy does declare they will need to gather under one ruler so as to enforce the mark of the beast before all is said and done. This is exactly what they are trying to do right now. This is why you see all the Constitutions changing from nation to nation now as well. It’s also why you see talk of a New World Order in almost every mainstream News broadcast. These are exciting times for God’s people because we know we are soon to see our precious Lord and Saviour in the Eastern Sky. So… what are the plans of the newly formed “Club of Rome” you ask? This may shock some of you that are new to the Seventh Day Remnant movement. You may have never known of this because preachers and teachers in all the other churches out there simply don’t share this.

Adaptive Model of the Global World System
“The Club [of Rome] had its beginnings in April of 1968, when leaders from ten different countries gathered in Rome... The organization claims to have the solutions for world peace and prosperity...The Club of Rome has been charged with the task of overseeing the regionalization and ... “The Club’s findings and recommendations are published from time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the power-elite to be implemented. On 17 September 1973 the Club released one such report, entitled Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System... The document reveals that the Club has divided the world into ten political/economic regions, which it refers to as ‘kingdoms'."

Pretty amazing isn’t it? The prophecy says there will be ten kingdoms in the end, and here we see Rome doing exactly as prophecy says they would do. Still, as clay cannot mix with iron, these leaders will not “cleave one to another” as the prophecy predicts. It may look as if it’s working for the most part today; but when this finally goes global, as students of prophecy, we will know this is a major sign for the end as we know it. All eyes in the Universe are about to see this event take place! For it will result in the literal and absolute END OF THE WORLD simply because once this New Word Order is set in place, the mark of the beast is not too far behind it. As history has always proved, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Soon, all governing nations of mankind will cease to exist forever on this earth. Only the Kingdom of Heaven will rule from that day forth. And for the first 1000 years, it won’t even be on planet Earth as some false prophets predict. (For evidence of that fact, see my 1000 years explained page on the site) The planet must lay "fallow" or have it's "Sabbath rest" before the Lord brings New Jerusalem down from the Constellation of Orion to be placed on Earth for all eternity. Again, that too is yet another study all onto itself.

Quickly Summarizing the dream, we see 5 points right off…

  1. Head of gold
    Babylonian Empire 606BC to 539BC
  2. Chest and arms of silver
    Medo-Persian Empire 539BC to 331BC
  3. Belly and thighs of bronze
    Greek Empire 331BC to 168BC
  4. Legs of iron
    Roman Empire 168BC to 476AD
  5. The 10 kingdoms
    476AD until today

Amazing isn’t it? Our God took time out of His eternal work to show us what will happen. Not only did each nation appear as expected and with the characteristics as prophesied, we see that in the end there would be ten kingdoms spread out globally. If you would like a more in depth look at this prophesied New World Order, So… what’s next after the 10 kingdoms gather globally as one?

The Almighty did not give us prophecy simply to give us something to fill our curiosity with in historical studies, or to fill the humdrum hours of the day. We need to study prophecy that especially lines up directly with historic events so as to be able to discern the signs of the times. It not only confirms His Truth, it glorifies Him like no other way can. In addition it makes us very aware of just how much He loves us. He actually tells us in advance what to expect all the way to the end of the world when the Lord returns and puts an end to all of mankind’s evil kingdoms. When I discovered prophecy in my youth I thought what an amazing love story it was from our God. He actually tells us how to get ready for that day He comes to take us Home! And He does so in a way no dime store psychic can ever hope to accomplish.

Basic reality is this, if we don't study, our fate we be the same as the non-believers in 70A.D. that saw death in a very horrific manner! They could have easily escaped all harm by simply studying prophecy like we do today.

So, what happens next?

The symbol of the stone in prophecy is always used to represent our Lord Jesus Christ.

Like stone, with its eternal structure, the Kingdom Jesus sets up will be an eternal Kingdom that will never end! If you recall in the dream, last week we found in Daniel 2,35 that "...the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." That great mountain is our Lord’s kingdom that descends from on High after the 1000 years is over to rest on this planet and be that eternal kingdom prophecy speaks of.

When Jesus Christ returns, hopefully in our day, all eyes will see with amazing clarity the fulfillment of this final event in this prophetic dream right before their very eyes. All nations on earth will literally crumble to dust at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is plainly written...

Daniel makes all doubt disappear in the king’s mind that this dream is a definite fact. And for those of us that live today, we can see that Daniel was given 100% accurate understanding of this dream. For it has indeed come to fruition with supernatural accuracy. Absolutely every aspect of this prophecy has been proven to be true by simply reading a history book! Even the non-believing historian admits this plain and simple reality. They may not believe it, or even hope to understand it, but they cannot deny it is based on historic fact.

Now, before closing for this week, I must share a bit more in regards to the “Club of Rome” that I mentioned earlier. Daniel does say they will attempt to corral the worlds nations into ten kingdoms under one ruler. As I also stated earlier, it’s always good to have another basis of fact in the prophetic Word to further illustrate the Truth as it is written. The Club of Rome did say in that article that they split up the world’s nations into “ten political/economic regions, which it refers to as ‘kingdoms.’ And Daniel did say there were ten toes on that image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. But where you also aware John the apostle also had a vision of this very same time? He said in Revealtion…

Jesus is telling John that in the end, ten kingdoms will rule with the beast that set up the global kingdom. In our next segment of “revealing the man of sin” we will see both prophetic and historic facts that define that beast is of course Papal Rome. Or as we call it today, the Roman Catholic Vatican. So, how has the Club of Rome divided the planet?

The Ten Kingdoms of the New World Government

  • Kingdom 1: Canada & United States of America
  • Kingdom 2: European Union - Western Europe
  • Kingdom 3: Japan
  • Kingdom 4: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and Pacific Islands
  • Kingdom 5: Eastern Europe
  • Kingdom 6: Latin America - Mexico, Central and South America
  • Kingdom 7: North Africa and the Middle East
  • Kingdom 8: Central Africa
  • Kingdom 9: South and Southeast Asia
  • Kingdom 10: Central Asia

Do you recall Daniel said…

In other words, when the club of Rome is "officially" setup, Jesus will return “in the days of these kings” to set up the eternal Kingdom called New Jerusalem. Or as some call it, Heaven.

Daniel 7 and the Little Horn

In our last gathering on the subject of the man of sin we discovered in Daniel two how a dream of king Nebuchadnezzar was of a prophetic nature given him from our God so as to help God’s people, then and now understand not only prophetic symbolism, but to get an understanding as to what time it is in any given generation. Daniel the prophet was blessed of God due to his desire to not only understand God’s will, but to be obedient as well. With this blessing Daniel was able to show the king what his dream meant due to a vision the Lord gave Daniel after he prayed for help. This Sabbath I would like to discuss another vision Daniel had that confirms Nebuchadnezzar’s dreamed as being prophetic. This vision given Daniel was many years later of course. Daniel 7:1 says it was...

Nebuchadnezzar was of course dead and gone by now, and his son Belshazzar was now king of Babylon. It wouldn’t be long before the next kingdom depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was about to reign. Perhaps this is why the Lord repeated this truth in the form of this second vision Daniel had that night. So, what was it Daniel saw in this vision?

Looks like a violent scene doesn’t it? It also appears to be a global situation as all four winds of heaven are involved in this vision. Looking at this passage on the surface, or physically, we can see that wind upon the sea does depict violence. Looking at it symbolically, with the understanding that the angel gave John in Revelation 17:15, where he said “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” We can see that it will be all about the people of the world, and the rather violent ways their leaders bring about their rule upon them. But does this global rule assumption agree with that which is written? Daniel 7:3 says, "And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." Does this not remind us of the 4 kingdoms of the dream Nebuchadnezzar had? That being the case, what do beasts mean in prophecy?

So, a beast means a kingdom, or a nation in prophecy, what does wind represent?

So, wind represents a whirlwind, commotion, war, strife, scattering, confusion, etc.

It is rather fitting I think that these global kingdoms are depicted as beasts. When we look at how violent their wars are and how unloving their methods can be. They are indeed beasts by definition. So, what was the first beast like? Daniel says "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." –Daniel 7:4 History also declares...

Just like today’s nations, kingdoms back then can be depicted by animals of prey. This lion with eagle's wings can be seen to signify the rapidity with which Babylon performed its conquests while Nebuchadnezzar was king. Even Habakkuk, when speaking of Babylon in chapter 1:8 depicts them as an eagle in flight. He says, "Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat." Problem is, after Nebuchadnezzar’s death this kingdom no longer flew like an eagle upon its prey. The wings were obviously plucked out. The bravery and fortitude of the lion were clearly gone under Belshazzar. In fact, if you read Daniel 5 you will see Belshazzar was a weak man who was mostly pandering to the pleasures of the flesh. This of course was bound to be as we recall in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would definitely fall where another, less glorious would rise after it. Belshazzar made this task much easier as history proves.

The reason for the ribs of course was to represent the death of the three provinces of Babylon, Lydia and Egypt which historic record reports as the victims of the Medo-Persian empire. But why was the bear lopsided? Why was he “raised up” on one side. Another historic fact is, between the two, the Persians were actually much stronger than the Medes. Hence the lopsided bear. Moving on in the vision we come to...

Some old SDA authors and historic records reveal some facts about the symbols in this vision that match perfectly with the dream Nebuchadnezzar had regarding the next kingdom in the vision.

Every notable historian to date agrees that Alexander’s speedy ability to conquer was unquestionable. The four wings of this beast was perfectly accurate without a doubt. However, the beast also had four heads. What does this mean? Do you recall in Daniel 2:38 that the Lord told Nebuchadnezzar that he was a, "ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold." Alexander was not only a swift conqueror, he had great magnetism, or people skills as we call it today. When he died at a very young age his generals were unable to keep the kingdom together under one ruler as Alexander did. They fought and bickered until finally these generals split the kingdom into four nations and ruled each one respectively.

Now we come to the fourth and final kingdom in the vision and how it was represented.

In Daniel two we found the fourth kingdom represented Rome. Knowing Rome as we do today; the final kingdom of Antichrist, it will always display the exact opposite of Christ’s gentle and loving ways. Rome did defeat many, and for hundreds of years ruled with an iron fist.

Still, this beast also had ten horns. Do you recall the ten toes of the image in Nebucahdnezzar’s dream? They represented the nations that would come as a result of this final most dreadful nation’s fall. Do these horns depict the same prophetic fact? Are these horns leaders of ten different nations? And do any of these horns do anything out of the ordinary?

Firstly I would like to touch on what this horn does that seems a bit odd in comparison to the rest. Here we see that its arrival forces the plucking of three of the ten horns. But is this horn, or any of the tens horns a representation of a kingdom in prophecy?

So yes, those ten horns also depict the kingdoms of the ten kings from the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. However, here we see a little more detail being added regarding the little horn where Daniel 7:8 says he plucks three out and verse 24 says he subdues three kings. So it’s easy to see that this horn is a kingdom unto itself and the other ten horns, as well as the three uprooted are also kingdoms. But does any of this pan out historically, and if so, who did these things?

So there you have it. Historic records declare the Popes of Rome did what Daniel said the little horn was to do. But the prophetic descriptions don’t stop there! When Papal Rome was formed, it stood not only as a State, it was a church as well. This granted it absolute power over all facet of society. Does prophecy speak of this?

On my words of a beast page I have quite a few quotes where the pope calls himself "the vicar of Christ." Leo X actually claimed to be "The lion of the tribe of Judah." Leo XII demanded he was called "The Lord our God." In 1858 the Pope claimed to be “God on earth.” Pope Pius V stated “the Pope and God are the same.” Pope John XXII was called “Lord God the Pope” in his day, in 1895 the Pope claimed to be “Jesus Christ himself.” It goes on and on from there. So yes, they do indeed “speak great words against the Most High” God we worship. But how has the papacy worn out the saints? In march of 2000 Pope John Paul II admitted the Roman Catholic church killed hundreds of millions of Christians during their prophesied reign as those that would “wear out the saints.” But no one described it better than John Foxe in his book, Foxes book of martyrs where he actually declared the total dead was at least 500,000,000. I have his complete book on the site if you need to read it. So yes, this little horn also did as Daniel said when it came to wearing out the saints. In regards to the change in times and laws. Rome admits in many documents all over the world the following…

"The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the Church had changed the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority." -Canon and Tradition, p. 263

"It was the Catholic church by the authority of Jesus Christ, which has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic church." -Mgr, Segur Plain Talk about Protestantism of today page 213

Revelation 13:5 speaks of this time as forty two months. These forty two months of Rev 13:5 and the "time, and times and dividing a time" of Daniel 7:25 equal the exact same thing. 42 months actually equates to 3½ years. Looking closely, one can see this, A "time (one year) and times (+ two years) and the dividing of time, (+ half a year ) That's a "time" + "times" + "dividing of a time", which equals 3½ years, or forty two months. (12+24 + 6 = 42 months) Revelation 12:6 confirms this calculation when it says that the church of Jesus would hide in the wilderness for exactly 1260 days. 42 months, or 3½ years equals 1260 days. And we know prophecy defines a prophetic day as a year in reality.

Now that we have a definite time frame to work with, can prophecy be that accurate?

Historical records reveal the papacy began its reign in 538 AD upon Emperor Justinian's decree, and under the military protection of Belisarius. And the Bible says the beast will rule for EXACTLY 1260 years before receiving a mortal wound. Now it's just a matter of simple mathematics. It is also a grand method by which to see the Lord glorified. If the prophecy is correct, 1260 years after 538 AD the Beast must receive a mortal wound. Did this happen? Well… If you add 1260 years to the beginning year the Roman Catholic church had "absolute" power as a church and state in 538 AD, you will arrive in the exact year 1798 AD. So, according to the prophecy we are told the first reign of the Beast will last until the year 1798 . So, did it end in 1798?

General Berthier was under the command of Napoleon. This is why to this day Napoleon is touted by the Vatican as Antichrist because of what he did to their power. For them to be pulled from power in 1798AD proves the prophecy fulfilled! That's Exactly 42 prophetic months, or 1260 years, or a time, and times, and dividing a time after the Papacy began its powerful reign that the Pope received his mortal wound. This not only confirms the "day for a year" issue, it also glorifies the Lord like no other prophecy can. It's that accurate!

The 70 Weeks of Daniel 9

In our last three studies we discovered the time prophecies of Daniel chapter 2 & 7 and how they brought us all the way from Daniel’s time to present day. In this next study we will look into the time prophecies of Daniel chapter 9. Some that are knew to our humble little church may be asking themselves as to why we study prophecy as we do. Well, Revelation 1:3 gives us the reason why. It says…

Not only does one learn of the Truth as well as the character of this Mighty God we serve by studying His prophetic Word, we are also blessed by reading His Word daily with the advance knowledge He grants us of the more perilous days ahead of us. Studying Bible Prophecy has been a blessing to me and my family over the years. There is also nothing to compare with seeing the Word of Prophecy coming to light in the eyes of complete strangers when they hear such things for this first time. So.. let’s see what we can see today…

As historic facts prove, the events spoken of in Daniel chapter 9 took place in 538BC shortly after the Chaldeans (Babylon) were conquered by the Medes and the Persians. Daniel studied the book of Jeremiah and realized that the last 70 years of slavery for his people was coming to an end according to prophecy.

Babylon had fallen. It was now time to concentrate on the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Daniel understood the prophecy declared that this was next. So, he set his face towards the Lord and went to the Creator God in intense prayer and fasting. By the way, this is something you don't see too often in today's world. Many Christians today have totally forgotten about such powerful prayer methods as this. I rarely hear of anyone in any denomination outside the Remnant church that knows of the power and blessings associated with praying as Daniel did. Three times a day. Every Christian needs to realize they would be blessed with the hand of the Lord moving far more frequently in their lives if they too would pray as His prophets of old prayed. Continuing…

What a beautiful prayer! All that Daniel saw was accurate, and he knew it. Even looking upon his people he saw that their sins had caused them all their national grief. However, he thought because of their sinful rebellion, the construction of Jerusalem was being delayed. This is why his prayer is concentrating on forgiveness for his sins, and the sins of his people.

Right in the midst of this prayer, the angel Gabriel once again appeared to Daniel. If you study Daniel’s past you will see that thirteen years prior, this same angel gave Daniel a vision describing a 2300 year period of time. This 2300 year panoramic view of many prophetic events is extremely important, and this is why I chose to share it in the three previous sermons of this series. For now, we will concentrate on the 70 weeks within that time period. So, continuing in Daniel…

If you recall in the eighth chapter of Daniel, he was unable to understand the vision. He was given no clue as to the starting-point of the 2300 days because Gabriel only shared a partial explanation. As the terrible scenes of persecution upon the church were unfolded before Daniel’s eyes, all physical strength gave way. He could endure no more. So the angel had to leave. It said back in Daniel 8:27 that, "I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." However, Gabriel was commanded to “Make this man to understand the vision.” That commission from the Lord Himself had to be accomplished. In obedience to the command, Gabriel, years later returned to Daniel to give him the “skill and understanding;” so as to “understand the matter, and consider the vision.” There was only one point in the vision of years earlier that had been left unexplained. That was of course the period of the 2300 days. Gabriel then dwells exclusively upon the subject of time.

The word "determined" here in this verse comes from the Hebrew word, chathak {khaw-thak'} (See Strongs 02852) The word chathak literally means to "divide" or be "marked out." In other words, the angel is telling Daniel that 70 weeks had been cut off, or marked out for the people of Israel in the coming days. How do you cut off or mark out 70 weeks? You would have to do so from a larger period of time of course. The 2300 year prophecy is what the angel is referring to here. He is about to illustrate a period of time that is "cut out" of a longer period of time that is "marked" specifically for the people of Israel.

The angel tells Daniel here WHEN to start the prophetic period of time he’s speaking of. Daniel now knows that it will begin the very moment a king declares it is time for the people of Israel to go forth to build Jerusalem. When was this command given?

In the seventh year of king Artaxerxes' reign, he made a decree unto the people of Israel to go forth and rebuild the temple. The seventh year of this king was in fact 457BC. So, looking back at Daniel 9:25 we see…

The prophecy then declares that there will be 69 weeks (7 + 60 + 2) until Messiah arrives. So, what does 69 weeks mean in prophecy? As students of prophecy we know Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 both declare a day equals a year in Bible prophecy.

Some wonder why Gabriel didn’t just say 70 weeks. Why did he break it up and say seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks?

  • Starting point of the 70 weeks = King Artaxerxes decree in 457BC
  • 7 weeks later, (49 years in reality. 7 x 7 = 49) The Restoration of Jerusalem is finished. The year is 408BC (-457 + 49 = -408)
  • 62 weeks later, (434 years in reality. 62 x 7 = 434) Jesus Christ arrives as Messiah in the exact year 27AD (-408 + 434 = 27)

By the way... Don't make the same mistake I made when I first calculated this prophetic fact some years ago. I completely forgot about the fact that there is a YEAR 0 to contend with. I kept coming up with a calculation that was ONE YEAR OFF when trying to place Jesus Christ’s baptism in 27AD. I kept seeing Him baptized in 26AD instead! …So... does the Word confirm that Jesus was baptized in that very year of 27AD or not?

The word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word, "Mashiach," which in Greek is translated as "Christos," which means “ANOINTED ONE.” Here we see plainly that the New testament Scripture does in fact declare Jesus to be, the Messiah," "the Christ," "the Anointed One." Does history confirm this as well? Remember? Prophecy tells us that in 27AD we will see Messiah anointed. Does this happen? First of all we need to answer an objection that is bound to spring up in some minds. Scripture declares...

Why is it the Bible says this occurred in 27AD, and it also states Jesus was about 30 years of age when it happened? When the calendar time of this occurrence was first calculated there was an error of 4 years made as many of us today are now aware. Satan no doubt had his hand in this error to try and hide what happened this year, and how Daniel predicted the exact year. It's obvious that Christ could not have been born in 1AD because that would not make Him to be "about 30 years of age" now would it? Plus, Herod was still alive when Christ was born as everyone is also aware. As Matthew chapter two confirms, Herod did all he could to kill Jesus at that time when the Wise men refused to tell him were Messiah was located. Herod killed all the baby boys 2 years old and younger in Bethlehem that day, which fulfilled the prophecy of…

History records Herod’s death to be in 4BC. After the error was realized, historic fact became clear. Jesus was truly born in 4BC, and then baptized in 27AD at the age of 30 just as the vision Daniel had long before prophecied! Jesus even confirmed this when He declared that the time was "fulfilled" after He was baptized.

Jesus understood Bible prophecy! He knew that the Autumn of the year 27AD was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel. So, continuing in Daniel we see what is prophesied to happen next. It says…

Getting back to the 70 weeks. Here we see that in the middle of the 70th week something is to occur. Prophecy is stating that the Messiah shall be "cut off." It also states that when this occurs, it will, "cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." The middle of the week means 3.5 years. (7 years divided by 2) By adding 3.5 years to the autumn of 27AD, we come to the Spring of 31AD. What happened in the Spring of 31AD? Prophecy says...

The "covenant with many" is what actually happened when Jesus Christ sealed the covenant when He started His public ministry in 27AD and then shed His blood on that cross and died. He died for all those that sinned even though He Himself knew no sin. He did this for the salvation of all those that would accept His sacrifice for the remission of their own sins.

In the middle of the week of Daniel we see that Jesus hung on the cross but “but not for Himself.” And why does it say He is cut off by “not for Himself?” Jesus died for the sins of you and me. He was that sinless Lamb of God and the perfect sacrifice for sin. He was not on that cross for any sin He committed. Just like of old when the Jewish nation brought forth a lamb to be slaughtered for their sins; it could NOT have any "blemish" upon it because the Messiah that lamb represented was to have absolutely no sin in Him.

To further confirm that this occurred. At the very moment "The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) died on that cross; the temple veil ripped from top to bottom therefore signifying that the "lamb sacrifice" for sins of the nation of Israel was at an end! Or as Daniel put it, the "oblation ceased." At the exact moment the Lamb of God died for our sins, all sacrifice for sin was complete.

Exactly 3.5 years AFTER Jesus stepped into the river Jordan the Messiah was cut off but not for any sins He committed. He died for those that had sins, who also needed to have them "atoned" for by bringing a lamb for sacrifice. In the exact year 31AD this sacrifice occurred.

By the way, there is another way of finding Messiah was "cut off" 3.5 years after He begins His ministry. Directly after Jesus is anointed by God in the river Jordan, Luke 3:23 told us earlier that "Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age" when He "began" His ministry. So now all one needs do is count the amount of Passovers that follow from this time until Jesus is "cut off" and you will see that 3.5 years have passed by. I have this broken down in box #18 in the room if you’re interested.

(Read John chapter 2 through chapter 13. Specifically John 2:13,23...6:3,4...13:1 (passover, 1-2-3)

PASSOVER #1

PASSOVER #2

PASSOVER #3

To further confirm what happened in the “midst of the week,” when Jesus died the prophecy said He made “an end of sins” as well as reconciled all those that believed in Him; which in turn brought the righteousness of Christ upon His followers from that day forward. To finish this “week of Daniel” as many call it, after the death and resurrection of Christ there was still 3.5 years left in the prophecied 490 years afixed to the Jews to accept Jesus Christ as Messiah. So, the apostles had to preach to the Jews another 3.5 years to finish off the week. Did they do this?

To finish off the week of Daniel, as well as finish the final years left in the 490 years of probation for the Jews, the Apostles were specifically targeting the Jewish nation in their Gospel preaching campaign. Prophecy said that after Messiah would be "cut off" for our sins, there would still be 3.5 years left for the Jews to hear the message of the Gospel. The Apostles did exactly that. They preached exclusively to the Jewish nation. So, when did the "week of Daniel" end?

In the Autumn of the year 34AD, exactly 3.5 years from the time “Messiah was cut off” the Jewish leaders openly rejected the Gospel message. They made an open declaration of that rejection by the stoning of the first martyr, Stephen. A stoning that was wholly approved by the leaders of Israel. Further biblical fact can be found in a prophetic utterance, and then a prophetic confirmation...

PROPHECY:

FULFILLMENT:

Sadly, the prophecy also speaks of a tragic event.

Was Jerusalem destroyed after the Jewish nation rejected the Gospel message?

In A.D.66 when Cestius came against the city, but unaccountably withdrew, the Christians discerned in this the sign foretold by Christ, and fled while 1,100,000 Jews are said to have been killed in the terrible siege in A.D. 70." -Eusebius, Church History, book 3, chap. 5

Notice this...

The first part of each verse speaks of Messiah and His works, the second part
of each verse speaks of the end results for Jerusalem and its people.

FIRST PART

DANIEL 9

SECOND PART

Because this prophecy is so accurate, Satan used four methods to try and hide it. #1, he caused Rome to change the calendars thereby confusing the truth in the minds of many. #2, he convinced the Jews of old to proclaim to this day that Daniel was a false prophet. (They said this because he predicted their probation ending in the Autumn of 34AD) #3, he used Cyrus Scofield in 1910 to create a gap theory that allowed many to adopt a seven year tribulation theory that used the week of Daniel out of chronological order to make it appear the week comes at the end of time, instead of in 27AD. All those that claim this prophecy speaks of a 7 year tribulation at the end of time can only do so by declaring what happened at Calvary was a lie. This week of Daniel is far too easy to prove fulfilled between 27AD to 34AD. Which leads us to Satan’s fourth and final attack on this prophecy. Most churches, including the SDA church have stopped teaching prophecy to their members so as to prevent the people from discovering the false prophecies of today are just that, false. This bold attack on Christian prophecy proves it is in fact something Satan fears in a big way. Now do you see why the remnant people are hated? We are prophesied to be the only people on earth that perfectly understand it.