Regarding the vision Daniel had of the goat and the sheep, it is easy to miss what is really being stated here; especially if we are locked into the idea that every vision refers to Bablyon, Persia, Greece and Rome. There is a reference to what is to happen to the temple at Jerusalem, but one small oversight misses what turns out to be a reference to Islam. More than this, there is an incredible possibility that a prophecy incorrectly translated in the King James Version, actually pinpoints the time of Muhammad’s rise to prominence around AD 610.
Chapter eight of Daniel prophetically describes the ascendency of the Greek Empire that overtook the Medo-Persian Empire. The accuracy of the prophecy is such that skeptics cannot believe the writer did not name Antiochus IV Epiphanes. For they believe this was clearly written after the fact. However, what these skeptics do not realize, this prophecy also points to the four empires that are to follow the Greek Empire, and indentifies what can be expected at the end of the age that we are living in now. This is because the Bible often has more than one application. After all, the written word of God is very much a historical record, as well as a devotional and prophetic message. In many cases, when a person meditates upon a text, what was obscure suddenly becomes clear. For instance, who would have thought that when the Lord God told Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” He was saying that they were not dead, but alive. Yet this is what Jesus said the statement meant:
But concerning the resurrection of the
dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God
of the dead, but of the living.”
(Matthew 22:31-32)
Meditating the written word of God is important if we are to arrive at truth. This is so, even though Lord Jesus Christ provides apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to build the body of Christ. Individually, everyone of us still needs to ask God to show us the truth and we all need to look at everything circumspectively. We are responsible for our own errors and our own salvation; with the truth setting us free from ignorance.
When it comes to understanding prophecies concerning the end times, there are many slightly varied interpretations. This chapter of Daniel is no different and numerous ideas are promoted by interpreters as an explanation. At face value, this chapter obviously points to Antiochus IV Epiphanies as the person who is being described. Not only this, the symbolism of the ram and the goats are explained as representing Greece and Medo-Persia. However, when you read the chapter below, you will notice that while the horns on the ram are described as representing the kings of Medes and Persia, and the goat is described as the king of Greece, its horn is not referred to as being the king. This discrepancy appears to have been overlooked in the interpretations and commentary that I have read that attempt to explain this vision. As we will see, this vision does not pertain solely to Antiochus Epiphanies and the four Greek generals. What we have here is a reference to the last days, and this concerns Islam. Nevertheless, we will first look at the natural reading of the text. The following is the text from Daniel, chapter eight:
In the third year of the reign of King
Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which
appeared to me at the first. I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I
saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw
in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai. Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw,
and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two
horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up
last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no
animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of
his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. As I was
considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the
whole earth, and didn’t touch the ground: and the goat had a notable horn
between his eyes. He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw
standing before the river, and ran on him in the fury of his power. I saw him
come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the
ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before
him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him; and there was no
one who could deliver the ram out of his hand. The male goat magnified himself
exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of
it, there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky. Out of
one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the
south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even
to the army of the sky; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to
the ground, and trampled on them. Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince
of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the
place of his sanctuary was cast down. The army was given over to it together
with the continual burnt offering through disobedience; and it cast down truth
to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered. Then I heard a holy one
speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, How long
shall be the vision about the continual burnt offering, and the disobedience
that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden
under foot? He said to me, To two thousand and three hundred evenings and
mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. When I, even I Daniel, had seen
the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, there stood before me as the
appearance of a man. I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which
called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came
near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face:
but he said to me, Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time
of the end. Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my
face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright. He said, Behold,
I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for
it belongs to the appointed time of the end. The ram which you saw, that had
the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. The rough male goat is
the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first
king. As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four
kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power. In the
latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a
king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. His
power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy
wonderfully, and shall prosper in what he does; and he shall destroy the mighty
ones and the holy people. Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in
his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall destroy many
in their security. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he
shall be broken without hand. The vision of the evenings and mornings which has
been told is true: but seal up the vision; for it belongs to many days to come.
I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the
king’s business: and I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.
(Daniel 8:1-27)
When we read this passage, we can see that it is a complete unit. The following chapters go on to describe in more detail what occurs in respect to the breakup of the Macedonian (Greek) Kingdom. However, note the last words concerning this vision “no one understood it”. Daniel had the vision explained to him, and he did not understand it. Likewise, with the vision about the lion, bear, leopard and the terrible beast, there was an element that left Daniel bereft of understanding. The reason for this has to be that the beast refers to the last days. For when it came to the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, Daniel understood it. This was because it referred to the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem and the appearing of the Son of God to usher in the everlasting kingdom—even if Daniel did not understand that this meant the Kingdom of God being built with living stones through the power of the Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 3:1-18).
In the explanation given to Daniel, we have a twofold prophecy. One that pertains to the very end, and one that pertains to Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. The division of the Greek (Macedonian) Empire was into four regions. Albert Barnes writes of these four kingdoms:
In the division of the empire, Seleucus Nicator obtained Syria, Babylonia, Media, and Susiana, Armenia, a part of Cappadocia, Cilicia, and his kingdom, in name at least, extended from the Hellespont to the Indies. The kingdom of Lysimachus extended over a part of Thrace, Asia Minor, part of Cappadocia, and the countries within the limits of Mount Taurus. Cassander possessed Macedonia, Thessaly, and a part of Greece. Ptolemy obtained Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene, and ultimately Celo-Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, and a part of Asia Minor and Thrace. [i]
Even though the kingdom has been divided, it is still Greek—which is of great significance to understanding this prophecy and what is happening in these last days; just as the two legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream were remnants of the Greek influence (Hellenization), even though what the legs represented were not ruled over as a solitary empire. This is something that we must not overlook—for it is so easy to do. The fact that the Greek culture is the predominating influence plays an important part in understanding this prophecy and the effect that it is to have over the residents of Judea. Actually, we end with a situation where humanism attempts to usurp the plan of the Creator—another important point in understanding this prophecy and that which is happening in the world today.
Once the horn is broken, there will come four kingdoms, then another horn is to arise. Of this horn, we are told, in verses twenty-three to twenty-five, that he is “a king of bold countenance, one who understands riddles….His power shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people of the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall magnify himself. Without warning he shall destroy many; and he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes; but, by no human hand, he shall be broken.”
Judea was reigned over by the Ptolemies after the death of Alexander the Great. Antiochus III took control over Palestine after defeating the Ptolemies. Like the Ptolemies, Antiochus III did not insist on Hellenization of the Jews. Antiochus IV Epiphanies was adamant the Jews would Hellenize when he obtained control. Antiochus IV was a deceptive, war-mongering, sadistic, madman. The main reason for his going to war was the kingdom he had inherited was shrinking, tribute from his vassals was not being paid and Rome expected their dues from the Seleucids. When his father was defeated by the Romans in 189 BC, Antiochus was taken hostage by the Romans until he was exchanged for a nephew. When Antiochus became king, he paid the remainder of the war indemnity to the Romans and then he went looking for more wealth by attacking the Ptolemies. He conquered Egypt and installed one of his relatives, who was also a Ptolemy, as King. But because of Roman intervention, Antiochus IV Epiphanies could not fully secure his hold over Egypt. The second time he returned to Egypt, the Romans thwarted his attempt to secure tribute.[ii]
Epiphanies was infuriated that the Romans had prevented him from quelling a revolt in Egypt and regaining control over the Ptolemies in 167 BC, so that he could continue to access the tribute he had been collecting from them. Alternatively, he turned his attention to Jerusalem and robbed the Temple of its wealth. Because the Jews resisted the attempt to Hellenize them, a statue of Zeus was placed in the Temple at Jerusalem,[iii] a pig was sacrificed—an animal that had been declared unclean by God—and worship of Zeus was demanded. To place a dead idol on the sanctuary reserved for the Ark of the Presence of the Living God was outrageously abusive and an insult to our Heavenly Father’s integrity. This is the same as saying that the only Living God is a desolate object, unworthy of knowing. Hence, this is why such an act is an abomination of desolation. Carved statues of any kind erected so that people can bow before them and pray are an abomination to God. The Bible teaches that we are to lift holy hands and pray to the Lord of Heaven and Earth (Psalm 28:2; 1 Timothy 2:8), not create representations of Him, as if He were a finite figure, and then direct our thoughts towards those representations.
Antiochus IV was called away to attend to matters in the north of his king-dom. Distracted by fighting the Parthians, he sent an army to Jerusalem but the Maccabees overcame them and they retreated to Syria. Meanwhile Antiochus IV became ill and died while fighting the Parthians, but not as a result of anyone’s hand in battle or by assassination. The figure of Zeus remained for some three years from Chislev (Kislev, December) 15, 167 BC, and was taken down in Chislev 25, 164 BC, after the death of Epiphanies. Hanukkah is celebrated to commemorate the occasion.[iv]
The prophecy describes what happened to Alexander’s Empire and how it continued down to the last days of the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, even to the destruction of the altar in Jerusalem that had been rebuilt after the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Two
thousand three hundred evenings and mornings
The destruction of the altar occurred because Antiochus stripped it of all its furnishings and replaced it with an altar dedicated to Zeus as part of his Hellenization of the Jews. The taking away of the continual burnt offering and the desolation of the Temple would be 2300 evenings and mornings (3.13 years) and not 2300 days (6.3 years).
Skeptics claim that because the statue of Zeus was only in place for three years, this does not fulfill the two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings prophecy and therefore is proof that the Bible is inaccurate. But the truth is this happened. A closer look tells us just how remarkable this prophecy is, and why so many reckon that this had to have been written after the fact.
The apocryphal book of Maccabees[v] informs us (1 Maccabees 1:41-49) of events that took place just prior to the abomination being erected on Chislev 15, 167 BC (1 Maccabees 1:54). Not until Chislev 25, 164 BC, were the Jews to offer again sacrifices to the Living God, who alone is Lord of Heaven and Earth (1 Maccabees 4:52).
In
169 BC, Antiochus entered the Temple at Jerusalem and took all the silver and
gold vessels and utensils including the golden altar and the lampstand. This is
what the Encyclopaedia Britannica has to say:
Antiochus’ Hellenizing policies brought him into conflict with the prosperous Oriental temple organizations, and particularly with the Jews. Since Antiochus III’s reign the Jews had enjoyed extensive autonomy under their high priest. They were divided into two parties, the orthodox Hasideans (Pious Ones) and a reform party that favoured Hellenism. For financial reasons Antiochus supported the reform party and, in return for a considerable sum, permitted the high priest, Jason, to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem and to introduce the Greek mode of educating young people. In 172, for an even bigger tribute, he appointed Menelaus in place of Jason. In 169, however, while Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt, Jason conquered Jerusalem—with the exception of the citadel—and murdered many adherents of his rival Menelaus. When Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167 he took Jerusalem by storm and enforced its Hellenization. The city forfeited its privileges and was permanently garrisoned by Syrian soldiers. The Greeks and those friendly toward them were united into the community of Antiochians; the worship of Yahweh and all of the Jewish rites were forbidden on pain of death. In the Temple an altar to Zeus Olympios was erected, and sacrifices were to be made at the feet of an idol in the image of the King. Against that desecration Judas Maccabeus, leader of the anti-Greek Jews, led the aroused Hasideans in a guerrilla war and several times defeated the generals Antiochus had commissioned to deal with the uprising. Judas refused a partial amnesty, conquered Judaea with the exception of the Acra in Jerusalem, and in December 164 was able to tear down the altar of Zeus and reconsecrate the Temple.[vi]
Antiochus looted the Temple at Jerusalem, but it was not until 167 BC that he sent his orders for all the Judahites to be Hellenized. This included the ceasing of burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary (1 Maccabees 1:45). There is no record of when the burnt offerings were stopped (but we will come back to that shortly), only of the erection of an altar to Zeus in the Temple (1 Maccabees 1:54). However, there is a record of when the burnt offerings continued again. This is what the book of First Maccabees informs us specifically about matters at hand:
After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned
in the one hundred and forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to
Jerusalem with a strong force. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the
golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. He took also
the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the
bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on
the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. He took the silver and the
gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures which he found.
Taking them all, he departed to his own land. He committed deeds of murder, and
spoke with great arrogance. (1 Maccabees 1:20-24 RSV[vii])
Two years later the king sent to the cities
of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large
force. Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him;[viii] but he suddenly fell upon the city,
dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel He plundered the
city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls.
And they took captive the women and children, and seized the cattle. (1
Maccabees 1:29-32 RSV)
And the king sent letters by messengers
to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs
strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink
offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and feasts, to defile the
sanctuary and the priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for
idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to leave their sons
uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean
and profane, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances.
"And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die." (1
Maccabees 1:44-50 RSV)
Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in
the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon
the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surround-ing cities
of Judah, and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. The
books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any
one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death. They
kept using violence against Israel, against those found month after month in
the cities. And on the twenty-fifth day
of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar which was upon the altar of
burnt offering. According to the decree, they put to death the women who had
their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them;
and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks. But many in Israel stood firm
and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die
rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did
die. (1 Maccabees 1:54-63 RSV)
They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts. They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year, they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. (1 Maccabees 4:48-55 RSV)
The 2300 evening-mornings equal 1150 days, but according to the record in the book of First Maccabees, as we can see above, the desolating sacrilege was only in place for 1105 days. That is three years of 365 days and 10 days before the 25th of the month. However, because there is no record of when the burnt offerings were stopped, this means that the burnt offerings could have been stopped forty-five days earlier, and the prophecy is true. Interestingly, the prophecy concerning the appearing of the coming Antichrist and the abomination of desolation at the end times (Daniel 12:11-12) also has a forty-five day difference between when the abomination of desolation occurs and when the blessing of God is poured out upon those who wait for the Day (which we will look into a little further on). In this case, at the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, instead of the blessing coming upon those who wait (for the 45 days), the blessing fell on those (think of the five wise virgins of Matthew 25:1-13) who heeded the word and did not Hellenize, preferring death to dishonor.
Concerning
the number of days, and what they mean, there are a number of interpretations
as to when they begin. Some see the evening-mornings as a reference to the
sacrifices that were performed twice a day and others see these as actual days.
Those who believe the evening-mornings are referring to the sacrificial system
introduced at Mt Sinai, where a lamb was offered every evening and every
morning, appeal to the following verses:
Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening. (Exodus 29:38-39)
Those who see these as actual days, present scenarios that also fit the record of events. Here are two of the cases presented by Matthew Poole in his commentary on the subject:
1. Some explain it thus: A year contains three hundred and sixty-five days; then two thousand three hundred make six years, three months, and eighteen days, reckoning in two days of the leap years gained from the supernumerary hours and minutes. Now this time begins at the first entrance of Antiochus into Judea, when he profaned the priesthood; and takes in also his second coming in, when he interdicted their worship, set up an idol in the temple, and interrupted the daily sacrifice.
2. Others count the two thousand three hundred days from the people’s revolt, which was procured by Menelaus, which began in the year 141 of the reign of the Seleucidae, /APC 1Mac 1; but Antiochus did not act his impieties till the next year after, viz. 142, in the 6th month and the 6th day; from whence if we reckon to the 25th day of the 9th month of the year 148, there will fall out precisely six years, three months, and eighteen days.[ix]
Some wording regarding evening and morning does seem to suggest a day, especially when we take into account the use of this expression in the first chapter of Genesis. The first day has no morning, and the seventh day has no evening, but each day in between is marked off by the statement “there was evening and morning,” from the first day to the sixth day—although there is nothing to indicate that the seventh day has finished. However, the issue here pertains to the burnt offerings, and the order to cease burnt offerings was not given until 167 BC. The other interpretations regarding days provided by Poole may appear precise, even though they are not correct.
The
main reason the evenings and mornings fit an interpretation of cessation of
offerings over one that insists on days is the authority issued by Antiochus in
167 BC. Had the authority been issued
some three years earlier, fine; they may have referred to literal twenty-four hour
days. The fact is the letters were issued in 167 BC (not 170 BC) and part of
Antiochus IV Epiphanies’ mandate was to cause all burnt offerings to cease. The cessation of burnt offerings
would have begun before the erecting of the Zeus image in the Temple, and probably forty-five days beforehand; for it needs noting that offerings to Zeus did not commence on the day the statue was erected. In all probability, the offerings were stopped, and thirty-five days later, the statue of Zeus had arrived to be put in place, but still more work was required before an offering could be made to it. Therefore, another ten days transpired before any offering to Zeus was made.
Clearly, the prophecy was fulfilled in respect to Antiochus; just not every aspect of the prophecy. Antiochus IV Epiphanies did not place himself in the Temple and seek to make himself God, as is said of the Man of Sin, of whom the Apostle Paul speaks (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Antiochus IV did not quite fit the satanic image of being able to understand dark sentences, cause craft to prosper and have the power to bring destruction about in a mind-blowing manner (Daniel 8:23-25). Antiochus IV Epiphanies may well have worshipped the Devil. But he sent his chief collector of tribute to Jerusalem to collect tax. (This could be a reference to the false prophet to come.) The chief collector was the one who deceitfully spoke words of peace before betraying the people (1 Maccabees 1:29-32). Therefore, though fulfilled in part, this suggests the prophecy still has future reference.
Those who take the Kings James version as the literal word of God accept the evenings and mornings as days because this is what the writers of that version wrote. The King James Version Lexicon notes that the words translated as “days” is an interpretation of `ereb (evening) and boqer (morning).[x] The Complete Jewish Bible English translation reads:
And
he said to me, "Until evening and morning, two thousand and three hundred,
and the holy ones shall be exonerated. (Daniel 8:14)[xi]
The two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, interpreted as days, have brought forth some bizarre ideas. The reason for these strange claims has much to do with the fact Jesus said that we need to understand the prophecy of Daniel. And when people read what Paul wrote about the Man of Sin that is to come, they see it connected with this vision of the little horn, with the Prince of Princes being equivalent to the King of Kings or Lord of Lords. When we read the end of the chapter, there is a natural inclination to say that he who opposes the Prince of Princes has to be the Antichrist who is to come. Surely, this is to whom the following refers:
In the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and
understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper in what he does; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall destroy many in their security. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true: but seal up the vision; for it belongs to many days to come. (Daniel 8:23-26)
Antiochus IV did not stand up against the Prince of Princes; but he did die without hand. And although some of this vision appears to have been fulfilled, evidently not all has been fulfilled. Hence, when people read “the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true: but seal up the vision; for it belongs to many days to come” they are intrigued. So much so, that their minds start to work overtime and many hours are spent pouring over charts and history, trying to work out when this event will occur and who the person opposing the Prince of Princes might be.
In 1833, Baptist Preacher, William Miller, reading the King James Version of the Holy Bible had become convinced that the misinterpreted 2300 days were actually years, using the day to the year principle. He calculated this from the decree of the Persian ruler Artaxerxes in 457 BC to permit the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. This gave him a date between March 1843 and March 1844 for the return of Lord Jesus Christ. After the failure of the claims, at a meeting in New Hampshire, a convert, Samuel Snow, presented a revised date. Eventually, what would be the Jewish Day of Atonement for that year, October 22, 1844, was determined to be the date of the Second Coming. This date become known as The Great Disappointment. However, Ellen White came to the rescue with a new interpretation that is now the Seventh Day Adventist doctrine of Investigative Judgment. We learn from a site that purports to tell the truth about Ellen White:
“The Great Disappointment” refers to the
grief experienced by the 100,000 Millerites who expected Jesus to return on
October 22, 1844.
This date was the end of
the longest time prophecy in the Bible, found in Daniel 7 and 8. The prophecy
begins in 457 BC and continued 2,300 years later until 1844. The prophecy
includes the exact dates of the beginning of Christ’s ministry at His first
advent, of His death upon the cross, and the commencement of His High Priestly
work in the Most Holy Place in the Heavenly Sanctuary, as Paul writes about in
the book of Hebrews.
Obviously Jesus did not return in 1844. But the error was not in the Millerite message — that is, not an error in computation or the date, but an error in the nature of the event.[xii]
In 1844, a Persian merchant, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, who became known as the Bab (meaning “the Gate” in Arabic) gathered a few disciples together and claimed to be the forerunner of another who was to follow him. According to the Baha’i Faith, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad was declared to be the Promised One on May 23, 1844, and began openly teaching in Persia in October 1844. [xiii] This was based upon the 2300 days interpretation from the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 BC. The Bab died in 1850 and, in 1852, Baha'u'llah, claimed to be the manifestation of God and established the Baha'i Faith.[xiv] Who was correct? White or the Bab or neither?
In 1853, London publisher, John Snow published the book Unfulfilled Prophecy Respecting Eastern Nations Especially The Turks The Russians And The Jews written by Allen Macleod. Working off some esoteric calculation, he argued that Muhammad’s rule in Mecca was the beginning of the 1260 years before the return of Lord Jesus Christ. Muhammad conquered Mecca on January 11, 630. The writer was claiming that in AD 1910, Lord Jesus Christ would return. We know that was not the case.
A protégé of John Wesley, Joseph Benson wrote in his commentary that a Mr Faber attempted to prove that the little horn of Daniel 8 is Muhammadan (Islam). For Benson could not see how these ideas could be reconcilable with “Daniel 8:9, where it is expressly said, that this little horn came forth from one of the four notable horns, or kingdoms, into which Alexander’s empire was divided. Now it cannot be said that either the Papacy, which arose in the west of Europe, or Muhammadanism, which had its rise and first prevailed in Arabia, sprang from any of the four branches of the Macedonian empire.”[xv]
The general view people form when reading this prophecy is to assume that the little horn rose from the four horns. For the Scripture says “the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky. Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.” However, if we take this literally, we would expect this little horn to have followed one of the other horns immediately to become the fifth horn after the fourth horn. Yet if we accept that this prophecy refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanies, as Joseph Benson and the majority of interpreters do, we have to admit that he is over one hundred years after the four horns (kings). This is not the ballpark closeness we expect from biblical prophecy.
Contrary to Joseph Benson’s proposal that Antiochus IV is the little horn, the respected Matthew Henry and the highly respected scholars, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown see matters differently. Here is what they have to say:
A little horn became a great persecutor of the church and people of God. It seems that the Muhammadan delusion is here pointed out. It prospered, and at one time nearly destroyed the holy religion God's right hand had planted. It is just with God to deprive those of the privileges of his house who despise and profane them; and to make those know the worth of ordinances by the want of them, who would not know it by the enjoyment of them (Matthew Henry).[xvi]
The Muhammadan Antichrist may also be included; answering to the Euphratean (Turk) horsemen (Re 9:14-21), loosed "an hour, a day, a month, a year" (391 years, in the year-day theory), to scourge corrupted, idolatrous Christianity. In AD 637 the Saracen Moslem mosque of Omar was founded on the site of the temple, "treading under foot the sanctuary" (Da 8:11-13); and there it still remains. The first conquest of the Turks over Christians was in AD 1281; and 391 years after they reached their zenith of power and began to decline, Sobieski defeating them at Vienna. Muhammad II, called "the conqueror," reigned AD 1451-1481, in which period Constantinople fell; 391 years after brings us to our own day, in which Turkey's fall is imminent. (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)[xvii]
The
idea that the little horn could represent Islam is not foreign to the
influential and highly respected commentators and scholars such as Matthew
Henry, Robert Jamieson, Andrew Fausset, and David Brown. The reason for their
thinking that this might be the case is that when viewing the world in which
they lived, and assessing circumstances in the light of the written word of
God, events were telling them that Islam was extremely anti-Christ and its goal
was to take over the world. Henry was writing from what he saw at the end of
the 1600s. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown were writing from a worldview they
possessed in the late 1800s. Islam was on the march and has been ever since its
inception, having set up a mosque on the Temple Site at Jerusalem.[xviii] Islam may have been stopped temporarily
in Europe, but it has continued to expand towards the North, East and South.
According to the Islamists, in AD 610, at the age of 40, Muhammad claimed that he had been visited by the angel Gabriel.[xix] As chance would have it, using the day to the year method of interpretation, the 2300 evening and morning offerings brings us to 1150, for which we can find a prophecy pointing to Muhammad based on Babylon’s invasion of June of 539 BC.[xx]
A
valuable point that is worth noting here is that it pays to bear in mind that
Babylon represented pure faith in God when it came to understanding
Nebuchadnezzar’s image of the natural man that was to be turned into the
spiritual man through the stone that became the Church of God that still exists
today. This is equivalent to Adam being a type of Jesus (Romans 5:12-14). Islam
was to become a thorn in the side of the apostate Christian Church; a threat to
its existence, as history repeats itself once more, using different characters
and nations. Instead of old Israel being chastised, the Church (the new Israel)
was to be put under the threat of extinction—a necessity obviously accounted
for by the omniscient Lord God of Creation, who desires all men to come to
salvation and the knowledge of the truth.
According to Dr Casim Avcı, “In the year 610, during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, when Prophet Muhammad was in the cave of Hira, Archangel Gabriel appeared to him.”[xxi] Ramadan occurs in the ninth month of the Islamic year, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year that we use. There is difficulty finding the exact date of Muhammad’s claim for an angelic visitation, because this is based upon tradition. The Islamic calendar did not begin until July 16, 622. There is no reference to the exact date of the mythical event when Gabriel supposedly appeared to Muhammad. In fact, Muhammad had been visiting these caves for a number of years prior to his purported visitation.
If Gabriel visited Muhammad in June of AD 610, we have an exact match of significance from the 2300 mornings and evenings being 1150 days to a year. Because the years BC are counted down and the years AD are counted up, June 539 BC is actually 539.5 years away from the beginning of AD 1. This means that 539.5 and 610.5 added together come to 1150. The 2300 evening and mornings being 1150 days, but as years, become an exact match pointing to the time of Muhammad from the fall of Babylon, June, 539 BC. One gets the impression that Muhammad, who was conversant with Jewish and Christian literature, may have been reading Daniel and thought that the prophecy of the Ram and the Goat had a reference to himself, and he was going to cleanse the sanctuary. Could Muhammad have read the Bible and worked out that “the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true” referred to himself? Although, Muslims claim Muhammad was illiterate[xxii] and could not have written the Koran, but someone could have told him about the book of Daniel or read it to him. Muhammad was conversant with both Jews and Christians. Nevertheless, we have a much better fit than other attempts to turn 2300 evenings and mornings into something meaningful, such as the day of the return of Lord Jesus Christ. We must not overlook the possibility that God in His foreknowledge foresaw the day when Muhammad would come up with his scheme and begin to make his claims. Whatever the case, we have to admit that the anti-Christ religion of Islam was birthed by a man that could have read or heard the prophecy and thought that it referred to him.
The
Coming Antichrist
There is no doubt that the prophecy of Daniel refers to the Antichrist who is to come. Jesus has informed us that the abomination of desolation (the desolating sacrilege) is something of which we need to take important note. The Apostle Paul talks about the Man of Sin who opposes all gods. This is what the Apostle writes concerning the Antichrist:
Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the Man of Sin is revealed, the son of destruction, he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
We can say that this sounds like the person who opposes the Prince of Princes. But whether the 2300 evenings and mornings have anything to do with identifying the date of this person’s appearance or that of Lord Jesus Christ seems too tenuous. This may refer to a time when evening and morning sacrifices are restored in the Temple. The Temple Mount Faithful who are affiliated with the Temple Institute are waiting for the day the removal of the Al Sakhrah Mosque (Dome of the Rock) or the Al Aqsa Mosque occur, and a Jewish Temple sits in their place. Although recent developments based upon architectural and historical considerations have brought forth the possibility of a third location that sits between the two mosques. The Temple Institute’s faithful believe that the rebuilding of the Third Temple is in accord with Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 44, and Isaiah 56:7. In the Ezekiel chapter 46:13-15, we read there is to be a continual burnt offering. Many think this could be the offering that will be taken away for 2300 days in a time to come.
However, it is quite possible, though unlikely, that the Temple will not be rebuilt and the offerings are made in one of the mosques, which is then renamed the Temple of God. Islam has been sitting on the location where the Jewish Temple once stood for centuries. The Al Aqsa Mosque has occupied that site since AD 705. When the Crusaders occupied the mosque for nearly one hundred years, they did not destroy it. Although, the Al Aqsa Mosque was destroyed by earthquakes twice, it was rebuilt.[xxiii] The Al Aqsa site is the third most Holy site in Islam after Al-Masjid an-Nabawi at Medina, the Kaaba and Al-Masjid al-Haram at Mecca, which is the most sacred. The event that would cause the Al Aqsa or Dome of the Rock sites to become the Temple of God for the Israelis would surely lead to war. If a Muslim were to become the Jewish high priest, then matters might be different.
One matter has been overlooked by the Temple Mount Faithful and the Temple Institute, probably because they have been following tradition rather than acknowledging what is in both the Old and New Testaments. For the Temple of God was built on Mt Moriah, in the City of David, over the Gihon spring on a threshing floor of Oman (2 Chronicles 3:1-3; 33:14; 1 Kings 1:45; Ezekiel 47:1). The spring of Gihon over which the Temple was built[xxiv] was below the Roman garrison, the Tower of Antonia, situated where the current Mosques stand, overlooked the City of David (Acts 21.30-35), and was a larger complex than the Temple precinct.[xxv]
Whatever the case, the person who is capable of converting the shrine at the Temple Mount into the third Temple, as described in Ezekiel, would have to be a master of flattery and capable of appeasing Muslims and Jews. Without doubt, this ability has been ascribed to the Man of Sin, whom the Apostle Paul said would appear with lying wonders, signs and the power of Satan. This is the one whom the angel told Daniel that he would cause craft to prosper, as he himself prospers, because he understands dark sentences. In all of this, one thing we do know, this person could not be the prophet Muhammad, for he died and is not coming back.
Shiite Muslims are expecting an imam to come who is called the twelfth imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. The Sunni Muslims have no such expectation. Instead, they appear to see the world conquered by Islam and a global Caliphate established. An imam will rule this Caliphate. The Koran speaks of the last day and the resurrection of the last day, but there are no predictions as to when this last day will be. In which case, since most Muslims are Sunni, any person who appeases the imams and is voted to be the Caliph, could ascend on to the throne as ruler of the world. To establish peace between the Shiites and the Sunni, the person would need to justify his claim by being a direct descendant of Muhammad. If not, the Shiites and their allies could prepare for WWIII against those on the Sunni’s side.
The
little horn appears to possess considerably more power than the big horn.
Notice how the little horn is described compared to the great horn, or even the
king of Greece in the following:
The male goat magnified himself
exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of
it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky. Out of
one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the
south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even
to the army of the sky; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to
the ground, and trampled on them. Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince
of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the
place of his sanctuary was cast down. The army was given over to it together
with the continual burnt offering through disobedience; and it cast down truth
to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. The rough male goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power. In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper in what he does; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. (Daniel 8:8-24)
The male goat magnified himself and was strong, but the little horn grew exceedingly great and magnified itself to the Prince of Princes. In the explanation the four kings do not possess the power of the first king, but the king who is represented by the little horn, becomes mighty, destroys wonderfully and prospers in what he does, even destroying the mighty one and the holy people. The little horn is a ruler who has greater power than the king of Greece, Alexander the Great, and appears to exceed what Antiochus IV Epiphanies achieved, even though this prophecy is a prediction that concerns the Seleucid ruler and what he mandated at Jerusalem.
Another intriguing point about the interpretation is the fact that the king of Greece is mentioned as the goat and the horn is mentioned separately. This is not the case with the ram. We are told that the ram’s horns represent the kings of Medo-Persia. And not just two kings, but kings—plural. The reason for this discrepancy has to be so the reader might begin to ponder this, and seek to understand why this is the case. Instead of saying that the ram represents the kings of Medo-Persia and the goat’s horn represents the king of Greece, the wording is different. We read that the kings of Medo-Persia are represented by the two horns of the ram and the king of Greece is represented by the goat. We are told the goat is the king of Greece. The great horn is the first king. There is importance to be attached to the fact that the goat (which normally has two horns) is Greece that brings forth the kings, with the first horn (king) being mightier than the other horns (kings) that follow. This is usually interpreted as the four generals (not kings), who succeeded Alexander the Great. They continued the Greek (or Hellenistic) Empire; as did the successive kings of the Seleucid and Ptolemy kingdoms who identified as Hellenists, thereby extending the Greek Empire.
In the chapter describing the image, we identified that the loin cloth draped the thighs of the legs, for its belly and thighs were brass. This is to demonstrate that the two lower legs and feet of iron that emerge from the Macedonian/Greek Empire, represented by the thighs, are in fact Hellenist. The two lower legs are continuing the culture that is identifiably Hellenist—not Roman. Hellenist Jews were represented by both the legs, as some Jews went to Alexandra under the Ptolemy leg and others were Hellenized when Antiochus IV Epiphanies took over Judea and forced them to adopt Greek ways. Not all did. Consequently many were killed—over 40,000 Jews, in fact. The books of Maccabees record what happened during this period when the Greek Empire still attempted to influence Judea, even though they themselves were under Roman suzerainty.
Understanding the idea of tribute and suzerainty is necessary if we are to grasp how it is that there can be all these different kings and kingdoms at the same place. In fact, many people fail to understand the ideas of vassalage, suzerainty, and co-regency of rulers; not to mention the fact that the very same kings or places are known by different names within different languages. This misunderstanding, or rather, lack of understanding, leads people to dismiss much of what is recorded in the Bible. For at the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, he was under the suzerainty of Rome, Egypt was paying tribute to him, and Judah was under vassalage to him; yet he ruled the kingdom of the Seleucids. Today, we might think of this as a Federal Government that rules over state governments or provinces that rule local municipal governments, which are all subject to a colonial government in some way, such as being members of the British Commonwealth, which was once known as the British Empire.
The Greek Empire was still on its last legs influencing Israel as it was being taken over by the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire then took control of Palestine. The Sassanid Empire followed this. When Islam began to gain power, the movement eventually became the Caliphate. However, in terms of influence upon the Jews, the Greek Empire was the greatest. The culture of the Greeks influenced the Romans. The influence of the Roman culture was diminished because of this. The Byzantine culture was less than the Greek Culture having been mixed with Rome. The Sassanid Empire spread and occupied the land of Syria and Israel, reaching into Africa, minimally reintroducing Persian Culture. Eventually, Islam arose, but even at the time of the Caliphate was still not as influential as the Hellenist culture. Nevertheless, the four empires rose up to hold sway over the land of Israel. In succession after the Greek Empire (the large horn of the goat), they were (1) the Roman Empire, (2) Byzantine Empire, (3) Sassanid Empire and (4) the Caliphate (represented by the four horns). The last Empire which will be exceedingly great, will arise from the kingdom of the Caliphate, which has not ceased to exist, even though it has been spread over many lands and had many rulers. Even now the Caliphate still has its claim over the Holy Place in Jerusalem, with the Dome of the Rock, built in AD 691 and remains until the present.
The seven kingdoms represented by Daniels
3rd Vision
|
No. |
Type |
Kingdoms |
Date |
|
1 |
Ram |
Medo/Persia |
539 BC |
|
2 |
Goat |
Greek |
332 BC |
|
3 |
1st horn |
Roman |
63 BC |
|
4 |
2nd horn |
Byzantine |
AD 330 |
|
5 |
3rd horn |
Sassanid |
AD 614 |
|
6 |
4th horn |
Caliphate |
AD 638 to present |
|
7 |
Little Horn |
Antichrist |
Yet to come |
(fig. 7)
What we need to understand is that this prophecy in Daniel chapter eight concerns the land of Israel. It does not concern the other nations, even though other nations are involved and the last king who rises against the Prince of Princes will affect the rest of the world. The continual burnt offerings being taken away tell us this has to do with the temple at Jerusalem and not some other place. Therefore, to understand this prophecy we need to focus on Israel and not other nations. In chapter seven, there is no reference to a specific nation as there is with the vision of the image that begins with Daniel’s interpretation of the head as Babylon; or the goat being Greece and the ram with its horns representative of Medo-Persia, as is the case here in chapter eight. Still, the last king is elusive.
The little horn of this vision appears to be the same as the little horn of the fourth beast in the previous vision that replaces three horns and has eyes like a man and speaks great things. Antiochus IV Epiphanies is definitely not the little horn of the vision in chapter seven and, even though this vision points to him, the events of this vision actually fill out the rest of book of Daniel; with the abomination of desolation that Jesus warned about, being the last thing mentioned. Because of this, we know that even though a desolating sacrilege has taken place already in the days of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, this represents what will happen at the end of the age, prior to the return of Lord Jesus Christ. That little horn spoken of here appears to be Antiochus IV Epiphanies, but we know that it is not, because he did not take his seat in the temple and oppose the Prince of Princes. The reference has to be the Antichrist that is to come, which correlates with the little horn prophesied to come in chapter seven. In fact, the little horn in both chapters has to represent the same person. Nevertheless, we can expect similar treatment meted out to those who do not conform to the desires of this coming little horn with eyes, which speaks great things, in much the same way as the Jews were treated, who did not Hellenize under Antiochus’ directions.
Undoubtedly, Antiochus resembles the Antichrist. Apollonius was the one who offered the olive branch on behalf of Antiochus and spoke of peace. This is what happened according to the book of Second Maccabees:
Antiochus sent Apollonius, the captain of the Mysians, with an army of twenty-two thousand, and commanded him to kill all the grown men and to sell the women and boys as slaves. When this man arrived in Jerusalem, he pretended to be peaceably disposed and waited until the holy sabbath day; then, finding the Jews not at work, he ordered his troops to parade under arms. He put to the sword all those who came out to see them, then rushed into the city with his armed warriors and killed great numbers of people. (2 Maccabees 5:24-26)
This very much sounds like what has happened in recent efforts to establish a Caliphate in the Middle East, as the ISIS army swept through Iraq into Syria, starting in 2012 and escalating into 2016, with millions of refugees fleeing to other parts of the world. The Islamists filmed themselves executing the men, and bringing the women and girls to auction so the highest bidder could buy his sex slaves. Afterwards, interviews with buyers were published on the internet. The boys were enslaved as well. Occasionally the odd one or two of the slaves escaped and were able to tell of their ordeals. The humiliation and shame felt by these people is what hundreds of millions of people around the world are going to face when the Man of Sin appears.
Antiochus
IV Epiphanies was near the end of the line of Seleucids, but this little horn
that is going to appear at the end of the age, will be the end of the line of
the Muhammadans. As did Antiochus IV die without hand, so the Man of Sin, who
is to come, will be slain by the breath of Lord Jesus’ mouth. In fact when we
read what Paul wrote and what is written in chapter eight of Daniel, we know
the same individual is being described in both accounts. Here are the two
accounts:
In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper in what he does; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall destroy many in their security. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (Daniel 8:23-25)
Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)
This individual clearly is not Antiochus IV Epiphanies. Nevertheless, just as did Antiochus, the Lawless One will die without hands. But notice the similarity in the descriptions, where Daniel says that this one will have mighty power but it will not be his own, and the Apostle Paul tells us, the power will be the working of Satan. Daniel says that craft will cause him to prosper. Paul says that he will use signs, lying wonders and deception. Reading this, we have to conclude that the two passages are talking about the same personage; one who is skilled in double dealing. (It may be coincidental, but Islam presents as a religion, while in reality it is a political ideology that seeks to subjugate people.) Actually, when we get to the end of Daniel and compare what is written there with what is written in Second Thessalonians, there is no doubt we are talking about the same person. For we read:
He said, Go your way, Daniel; for the
words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify
themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do
wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall
understand. From the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken
away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be one
thousand two hundred ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one
thousand three hundred thirty-five days. (Daniel 12:9-12)
Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the Man of Sin is revealed, the son of destruction, he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
We learn from Daniel that the continual burnt offering is taken away, the abomination of desolation occurs, and forty-five days later, the blessing is delivered. From Thessalonians, we learn that the gathering together to meet Lord Jesus Christ will not happen unless the departure comes and the Man of Sin is revealed and sits as God in the Temple of God. The three points are clear. There is an order: first the removal, then the abomination, followed by the resurrection and those who are alive being caught up to meet Lord Jesus in the clouds—otherwise known as The Rapture.
The removal of the burnt offering is not the same as the departure. The removal of the burnt offering is what happened at the Jerusalem Temple. When this occurred, people departed from the Jewish observance and became Hellenists. We read about this in the book of First Maccabees:
Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that each should give up his customs. All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and feasts, to defile the sanctuary and the priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances. "And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die." (1 Maccabees 1:41-50)
There was a time of falling away before the abomination of desolation occurred in the days of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, even though he was not there and there was no person actually claiming to be God; rather a statue of Zeus was erected. The correlation of this time with that mentioned in Second Thessalonians as being “the departure” fits the same scenario. Other translations have “falling away”, “apostasy”, or “rebellion” instead of “depar-ture”. This is a time when people, who are not genuinely seeking the truth, will accept the New World Order. Rather than risk being ostracized and losing their privileges, or because more benefits are offered, people claiming to be Christians and believers in Lord Jesus Christ will side with the government of the day. In all probability, this will be a living wage or pension that is given to everybody—because of insufficient employment—as long as they succumb to the New World Order. This, of course, is different to the complete falling away when the Antichrist claims to be God and the five foolish virgins are not prepared to wait until Lord Jesus comes.
In some parts of the world, people are told that if they want government benefits and they have children, their children are required to be vaccinated. The vaccinations supposedly inoculate children against the many childhood diseases that occur such as chickenpox, measles, whooping cough, etc. The propaganda is that those who do not receive vaccinations are putting at risk those who have been vaccinated. Not all people accept this illogical proposition and argue that those who are vaccinated ought not to be at risk from those who have not been vaccinated—if vaccinations work!
Incentivizing vaccinations is seen as the most efficient means of ensuring compliance. If these injections contain adjuvants (heavy metals, mRNA, graphene oxide) that later cause autism and allergies, no parent or child will know, until it is too late.[xxvi] In some jurisdictions, vaccination of children is being mandated by law. Enforcement becomes the next step.
What Daniel appears to be saying is that, at the time of the end, there will be a continual burnt offering and when it is taken away, a great falling away from following Lord Jesus Christ will occur. Many see this as having already happened. However, Daniel’s prophecy when taken in the light of Second Thessalonians, indicates that there will definitely be many people professing faith in Lord Jesus with their lips, but they will not be prepared to pay the price to be definitely saved.
The abomination of desolation will occur when we see the personage, who claims he is God and requires all people to worship him, installed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This event is going to take place before Lord Jesus returns. Many people claiming to be Christians will be tested because everyone around the world will be told that Lord Jesus Christ has returned. The Muslims will be shown from the Koran—a pseudepigrapha work—the verses that state Jesus is the Messiah, that he did not die because God took Him and He is to descend again. They will be told also that he is the Madhi or Twelfth Imam. The Hindus will be told the tenth and final avatar of this Dark Age, the Kalki-Avatar, has come. The Buddhists will be told that the Maitreya has come. There will be a massive propaganda campaign that films his appearing. People will be influenced by the internet and the lily waves pulsating from every electronic device they possess. Atheists will believe that this is an intergalactic arrival of an advanced species, because there will be flying saucer-shaped aircraft seen in the skies. The technology that brought down the Twin Towers on 9/11 will be revealed, along with lasers that are capable of disintegrating internal organs that have been evidenced when bizarre inexplicable mutilations have been found, which ufologists (UFO researchers) believe are evidence of aliens from another planet. If anyone has any doubts about their salvation; they will succumb to the deception. Those who are truly saved will not be deceived.
Forty-five days after the Antichrist assumes the mantle of God, the blessed resurrection will occur. Paul said that it would happen after the appearing of the Antichrist. Daniel says that it will be forty-five days after his appearing, which will be one thousand two hundred ninety days after the taking away of the burnt offering. For blessed are those indeed who wait until the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days. The extra forty-five days are a test for us—could Jesus have turned the water into wine five days after he had returned from his forty days in the wilderness? Nevertheless, those who keep the word of God, who are washed by the blood; these are the blessed; for they will be at the supper of the lamb. Note what the Scripture says:
But he said, “On the contrary, blessed
are those who hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)
There
is very strong evidence that the Apostle Paul was referring to this prophecy
made by Daniel in chapter eight and chapter twelve when writing about the
appearing of the lawless one. We know Jesus told us to keep an eye out for him.
However, when we do some analysis on what Daniel wrote, we see there is every
suggestion that Islam is being identified. We have the incredible coincidence
of the 1150 days, when understood as today’s calendar years, that correspond exactly
to the time that transpired from when Persia became the ruler of Babylon in
June of 539 BC and Muhammad decided to start his own movement in AD 610. Unfortunately, Islamic tradition is
unreliable when pinpointing the exact date of Muhammad’s decision to start a
movement, even though their calendar began on July 16, 622.
We have the identification of the goat as the King of Greece, but not the horn specifically; as is the case of the ram’s horns representing the kings of Media and Persia. This indicates that the prophecy is meant to be understood also as something other than the normal course of events from the actual rule of Alexander The Great.
We have the fact that the Islamic Caliphate was the fourth empire to follow the Greek Empire, which in the light of the above 1150 days representing years, seems a little more than coincidence—even if the 1150 days, as prophetic years, were twenty years out and applied to something in Muhammad’s life twenty years earlier. We have the fact Islamic rulers are still attempting to establish a Caliphate, and the movement associated with ISIS, in seeking to establish a Caliphate, uses the same methods of killing men and enslaving women and boys as Antiochus IV Epiphanes did.
We have the fact that the prophecy indicates that the horn, representing the end time, appears to come out of the fourth kingdom in similar fashion to that of Antiochus IV Epiphanies being one of a long line of kings. We can conclude that the Antichrist to come has been typified by Antiochus IV Epiphanies, but in all likelihood, he could be going to rise out of Islam or (note well) present as a Muslim and, in doing so, he will seek to establish a Caliphate as part of the New World Order.
The evidence from the Scriptures indicates that the prophetic visions in the Book of Daniel point in the same direction, but they are not duplications of the same events. The three entirely separate yet converging visions of Daniel that we have considered clearly indicate the different means God has permitted to bring about His purpose. One vision points to how the kingdom of man is to become the Kingdom of God as it manifests through the Holy Spirit in the people of God. The second vision indicates how the spiritual attack will occur as the church grows. The third vision outlines how Satan will use the kingdoms of the Earth to take control over the site where the Temple of God was built in Jerusalem, even though the eternal purpose of God is made manifest through the true church, a temple of living stones beholden to the Heavenly Jerusalem. For the Holy Spirit, in the hearts of people, enables the kingdom of God to grow until the day of the final harvest.
But you have come to Mount Zion, and to
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable
multitudes of angels, to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who
are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men
made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)
The mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:9-11)
There are the ungodly spiritual influences that seek to capture the hearts of men (using mother/child worship, mammon and atheistic humanism) and there are the political movements that seek to subdue people and create Earthly empires exalting their cultures: Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Sassanid, and Islam. The last culture Islam has not yet ceased to exist, with both its mosques occupying the Jerusalem temple site, since the beginning of the eighth century.
Islam may be considered to be a spiritual movement, but after reading the Koran, the Sirah and the Hadiths, many other researchers disagree, opting to describe Islam as a political ideology focusing on Earthly rule. Sharia law is an exemplary example of this Earth-bound ideology.
***
[i] Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible, 1834, accessed June
22, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/daniel/8-8.htm.
[ii]“History of Judaism During the Intertestamental Period,” Kehillat Israel, accessed June 22, 2016,
http://kehillatisrael.net/docs/learning/intertestamental.html.
[iii] “Antiochus,” Jewish Virtual Library, accessed June
22, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01155.html.
[iv] “Hanukkah,” New World Encyclopedia, accessed
December 28, 2017, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hanukkah. The
winter solstice varyingly falls sometime on December 20-23. By celebrating the
birth of Jesus of Nazareth on December 25, the original idea may have been to
incorporate the Jews into the Babylonian system of the Roman Catholic Church.
The December 25 celebration of Hanukkah being the day Zeus was cleared from the
Jerusalem Temple in 164 BC. Or Jews, at the time, influenced authorities to
celebrate the birth of Jesus and the winter solstice on December 25, knowing
that they were really celebrating Hanukkah and surreptitiously instituted
their own declaration that they overcame an abomination on this day, one of
which according to the Talmud is Jesus of Nazareth. "Jesus was a
bastard born of adultery." (Yebamoth 49b, p.324). "Mary was a whore: Jesus
(Balaam) was an evil man." (Sanhedrin 106a &b, p.725) “Jesus
and the Talmud,” The Talmud Unmasked,
accessed December 28, 2017, http://www.talmudunmasked.com/chapter5.htm.
[v] Maccabees is not part
of the Jewish Hebrew or Protestant Bibles. It is part of the Septuagint and
found in Orthodox, Catholic and Ethiopian Bibles.
[vi] “Antiochus IV
Epiphanes,” Encyclopaedia Britannica,
accessed 2017, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Antiochus-IV-Epiphanes.http://www.britannica.com/biography/Antiochus-IV-Epiphanes.
[vii] Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and
1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
[viii] Reading this, one nearly gets the impression that the Apostle Paul was
quoting from here, rather that Daniel, when referring to the deceit of the
coming false prophet.
[ix] Matthew Poole, Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Bible,
accessed June 22, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/daniel/8-14.htm.
[x] “Daniel 8:14,” King James Version Lexicon, accessed July 14, 2016,
http://biblehub.com/lexicon/daniel/8-14.htm.
[xi] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary, accessed July 14,
2016, http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16491.
[xii] “The Great
Disappointment,” Ellen G. White Truth,
accessed June 24, 2016, http://www.ellengwhitetruth.com/life-times/two-great-disappointments/the-great-disappointment.
[xiii] G. Cameron and W.
Momen, A Basic Bahá'í Chronology
(Oxford: George Ronald, 1996), 15–20, 125.
[xiv] “The Bahá’í Reference Library,” accessed June
23, 2016, http://www.bahai.org/bahaullah/.
[xv] Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments,
1857.
[xvi] Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary On The Whole Bible.
1706.
[xvii] Robert Jamieson, A.
R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary
Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1878.
[xviii] The mosque of Omar referred to by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown was not
set upon the Holy Site of the Jewish Temple Mount, rather next to the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre. The mosque that was set on the Temple Site is the Dome of
the Rock.
[xix] Alberto Rivero
(ex-jesuit priest) is noted as claiming that Augustine originated the idea for
the Roman Catholics finding the orphan Muhammad and placing him with the woman
who raised him. The aim was to convert the non-Catholics, which appear to have
been Montanists who were known for their emphasis on the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. During the third century AD, the church father Tertullian, who come to
accept Rome to be Babylon, became a Montanist.
[xx] This author admits to
hearing a voice that he believes to have come from the Holy Spirit telling him
to count the 1150 years to Muhammad.
[xxi] “The First
Revelation.” Accessed June 23, 2016.
http://www.lastprophet.info/7-the-first-revelation.
[xxii] G Adisoma, (Dr.).
“Claim of Muhammad’s Illiteracy.” Accessed January 19, 2017.
http://submission.org/Claim_of_Muhammads_illiteracy.html.
[xxiii] “Al Aqsa Mosque,” Sacred Destinations, accessed January
19, 2017, http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-al-aqsa-mosque.
[xxiv]
Tacitus describes the Temple as being fortified by walls and
states “There was a spring which never rang dry” (George
Gilbert Ramsay, trans., The Histories of
Tacitus (1915), 413.)
[xxv] Now as to the tower
of Antonia, it was situated at the corner of two cloisters of the court of the
temple; of that on the west, and that on the north; it was erected upon a rock
of fifty cubits in height, and was on a great precipice; it was the work of king
Herod, wherein he demonstrated his natural magnanimity. In the first place, the
rock itself was covered over with smooth pieces of stone, from its foundation,
both for ornament, and that any one who would either try to get up or to go
down it might not be able to hold his feet upon it. Next to this, and before
you come to the edifice of the tower itself, there was a wall three cubits
high; but within that wall all the space of the tower of Antonia itself was
built upon, to the height of forty cubits. The inward parts had the largeness
and form of a palace, it being parted into all kinds of rooms and other
conveniences, such as courts, and places for bathing, and broad spaces for
camps; insomuch that, by having all conveniences that cities wanted, it might
seem to be composed of several cities, but by its magnificence it seemed a
palace. And as the entire structure resembled that of a tower, it contained
also four other distinct towers at its four corners; whereof the others were
but fifty cubits high; whereas that which lay upon the southeast corner was
seventy cubits high, that from thence the whole temple might be viewed; but on
the corner where it joined to the two cloisters of the temple, it had passages
down to them both, through which the guard (for there always lay in this tower
a Roman legion) went several ways among the cloisters, with their arms, on the
Jewish festivals, in order to watch the people, that they might not there
attempt to make any innovations; for the temple was a fortress that guarded the
city, as was the tower of Antonia a guard to the temple; and in that tower were
the guards of those three (14). There was also a peculiar fortress belonging to
the upper city, which was Herod's palace; but for the hill Bezetha, it was
divided from the tower Antonia, as we have already told you; and as that hill
on which the tower of Antonia stood was the highest of these three, so did it
adjoin to the new city, and was the only place that hindered the sight of the
temple on the north. Josephus,
The Wars of the Jews, book 5, chap.
5, sec. 8.
[xxvi] David Kirby, “Vaccine
Court Awards Millions to Two Children with Autism,” Huffington Post, accessed September 5, 2016,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/post2468343_b_2468343.html.
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