What Does the Future Hold?
Part Two of The Lost Ten Tribes
of Israel
Now that the
How to Interpret Bible Prophecy
Several key concepts must be
understood before Bible Prophecy is logical.
·
Prophetic
Symbolism: The Bible interprets itself.
·
Time is
compressed: A lot of time can be covered
in just a few scriptures.
·
Has the prophecy
been fulfilled yet? A lot of confusion
results from attributing future events to prophecies that have already been
fulfilled and vice versa.
·
All prophecy
concerns
·
Both the book of
Daniel and the book of Revelation compliment each other.
·
Both the book of
Daniel and the book of Revelation have timelines that cover history before
Christ and end with events that will not be fulfilled for at least another
1,000 years.
·
Prophecy can be
dual: Sometimes a partial fulfillment is later followed by a complete
fulfillment.
·
Some prophecies
are conditional and others are unconditional.
·
Prophecies fall
into 8 main categories.
1.
Fulfilled
prophecies concerning Noah and the time of the flood.
2.
Fulfilled
prophecies concerning
3.
Specific
prophecies and their fulfillment as God dealt with
4.
Fulfilled
prophecies concerning the Northern Kingdom of Israel and their punishment by
the armies of
5.
Fulfilled
prophecies concerning
6.
Prophecies
concerning the Messiah that Jesus Christ fulfilled.
7.
Unfulfilled
prophecies dealing with the events preceding the return of Christ.
8.
Unfulfilled
prophecies dealing with the 1,000 year reign of Christ and the events at its
close.
9.
Unfulfilled
prophecies concerning the Day of Judgment and the New Heaven and New Earth that
follows.
The rest of this book will
deal primarily with events preceding the return of Christ and those that are to
be fulfilled by Christ as he sets up His kingdom on Earth. In both cases the
The Bible Interprets
Itself
Some of the key prophecies
that have yet to be fulfilled are written in symbolic language. The principle that will be followed is that
the Bible interprets itself. The
following example may help illustrate the principle. In Revelation 12, a symbol is presented of a
pregnant woman about to give birth.
There has been a lot of speculation as to the identity of this
woman.
Revelation 12
1 And there
appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she
being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. KJV
By following the principle
that the Bible interprets itself, the woman’s identity can be determined
accurately. In Genesis the same
symbolism is used. Genesis 37 recounts
the time when Joseph was telling his family about some dreams he had. Both were prophetic dreams of a time when
Joseph would be responsible for saving the lives of his father, mother and
eleven brothers and that he would be in a position of authority and they would
have to bow down to him. The symbolism
of the second prophetic dreams allows the reader to understand the symbolism of
Revelation 12.
Genesis 37:9
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said,
Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the
eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told
it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said
unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and
thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? KJV
Isaac and his twelve sons are
the progenitors of the nation of
Summary
·
The Bible
interprets itself
·
The book of
Daniel and the book of Revelation compliment each other
·
It is important
to determine if a prophecy has been fulfilled yet
Bible Prophecy in Overview
Several prophecies in Daniel
are important because they describe the political landscape as it applies to
Daniel
Historians and Bible scholars agree that the dream of
King Nebuchadnezzar describes four empires.
The first empire was the Babylonian empire that King Nebuchadnezzar
ruled.
Summary
·
King
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great statue was a prophetic symbolism of four
world ruling empire’s that would affect
·
The first world
ruling empire was the Babylonian Empire
·
The second world
ruling empire was the Medo-Persian Empire
·
The third world
ruling empire was the Grecian Empire established by Alexander the Great.
·
The Grecian
Empire was divided into four kingdoms, each ruled by one of Alexander’s
generals
·
The last ruling
empire was the
·
A revival of the
Beast Symbolism in Bible Prophecy
Later Daniel has a vision
that is even more important in providing key clues to understanding end time
prophecy. This vision and its relevance
to the book of Revelation will be examined in detail. The vision is recounted in Daniel 7.
Daniel 7
1 In the first year of Belshazzar
king of
2 Daniel spake and
said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven
strove upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the
sea, diverse one from another.
4 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.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like
to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in
the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise,
devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like
a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had
also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and
behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before
it; and it had ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold,
there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of
the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes
like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his
wheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the
great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till
the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they
had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and
time.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one
like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed. KJV
Bible scholars generally
agree that these four beasts are symbolically equivalent to the four empires
described in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
The symbols introduced by this prophecy will be critical to
understanding the symbols introduced in John’s Vision as recorded in the book
of Revelation. This prophecy also lays
out the empires that will rule the world from the time of Daniel to the return
of Christ. There are five symbols used that
will be useful in understanding end-time Bible prophecies. The first symbol is the sea. The sea represents people. Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto
me, The waters which thou sawest, … are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
The second symbol is that of a beast.
In Bible prophecy a beast always represents a government or empire. The third symbol is a horn. This special symbol represents a king or
ruler as explained by Daniel 7:24. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are
ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be
diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. The symbol of a head will be very useful when
beast imagery in the book of Revelation is examined. Its meaning will be made
plain in a moment with the historical fulfillment of the four heads of the
leopard. The other symbol is iron. Iron
in Bible prophecy always refers to the
The four beasts and the
importance of their symbolism are evident when the benefit of historical
hindsight is added to the Biblical record.
The first beast was a lion with eagles wings. Other scriptures help clarify the meaning of
the symbolism. The prophet Jeremiah
warned
Jeremiah 4
5 Declare ye in
6 Set up the standard toward
7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and
the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to
make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an
inhabitant.
Another clue that the lion
and it wings like an eagle represents
Lamentations 4
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles
of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the
wilderness.
Historical references tell us
that
This bear represents the Medo-Persian Empire which, at end beginning was led by
Darius and Cyrus (Dan.
The leopard beast with its
four heads refers to Alexander the Great and the Empire he created. History records that Alexander conquered
The last great and dreadful
beast with its iron teeth is the same empire the legs of iron represented, the
1.
Alemani (
2.
Franks (
3.
Burgundians (
4.
Suevi (
5.
Anglo-Saxons (Britian)
6.
Visigoths (
7.
8.
Vandals
(uprooted)
9.
Ostrogoths (uprooted)
10. Heruli (uprooted)
The last three (the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and the Heruli) were
destroyed (uprooted) by the Pope of Rome because they refused to become
"Christians". The armies of
Emperor Justinian, in cooperation with the Pope, thrust the Ostrogoths
out of the city of
More Beast Symbolism
In Daniel 8 a vision is
recorded that helps the student of Bible prophecy understand the meaning behind
the symbolism of a horn.
Daniel 8
1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel,
after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when
I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is
in the
3 Then I lifted up mine 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.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and
northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was
there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will,
and became great.
5 And as I was considering, behold, an he
goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the
ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 And he came to the ram that had two horns,
which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his
power.
7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and
he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two
horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him
down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver
the ram out of his hand.
8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great:
and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four
notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came forth a little
horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and
toward the pleasant land.
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of
heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and
stamped upon them.
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince
of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of
the sanctuary was cast down.
12 And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground;
and it practised, and prospered.
13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another
saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How
long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression
of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under
foot?
14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and
three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The ram with two horns is the
Medo-Persian Empire.
The two horns represented the two rulers. One was greater than the other. This symbolism is consistent with the Bear raised
up on one side as recorded in Daniel 7. The
he goat represents Alexander the Great.
The breaking of his horns into four horns represents the division of the
empire into four territories, each ruled by one of Alexander’s generals. The little horn that waxed great, even to
the host of heaven, was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes. Most Bible scholars consider Epiphanes to be a forerunner of the prophesied end-time
Anti-Christ.
The
career of Antiochus Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.) is
prophetically outlined in 9-14. In 167
B.C. he conquered
Antiochus Epiphanes
was a Syrian King that came to power about 175 B.C. He was one of the Seleucids
who in succession to Alexander the Great built a realm in
The symbolism of a beast with
two horns will be revisited when the end-time prophecies of the book of
Revelation are examined. Because the
Biblical interpretation of the symbolism of two horns and how they apply to the
Summary
·
Daniel 7 and 8
used specific symbolism based on beasts to further clarify the outline of
prophecy from Daniels time down to the return of Christ.
·
A beast
represents a world ruling power
·
A horn represents
a ruler or king
·
The sea or waters
represents people
·
The head of a
beast also can represent the ruler of a world dominating empire
·
More than one
horn represents more than one ruler
·
History has
proven the accuracy of Daniel’s prophecies
End-Time Prophecies
Some people associate the
term end-time with the end of the world.
It isn’t the end of the world it is an end of an age.
1 Corinthians 2
6 We do, however, speak a
message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the
rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. NIV
Satan is the god of this
world. Paul wrote about Satan to the
Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. KJV
The return of Christ will
usher in a new age and end Satan’s rule over this world. The events preceding that return are known as
the great tribulation. All end-time
prophecies should be studied with the understanding that Christ return means
Satan rule is over. The Bible even
states that Satan knows that his time is short and that is why the events at
the end of this age are prophesied to be tumultuous.
Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye
heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters
of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great
wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time. KJV
To use modern language
concerning the events leading up to the return of Christ; it gets worse before
it gets better. Christ’s disciples
came to him and asked him to help them know when the end of the present age was
near its end. His answer is recorded in
Matthew 24.
Matthew 24
Signs of the End of the
Age
1 Jesus left the temple
and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to
its buildings. 2 "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I
tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will
be thrown down."
3 As Jesus was sitting on
the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us,"
they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your
coming and of the end of the age?"
4 Jesus answered:
"Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming,
'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors
of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but
the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All
these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 "Then you will be
handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and
will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and
deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony
to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 "So when you
see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken
of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand—16 then let those
who are in
26 "So if anyone
tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in
the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the
east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 "Immediately after
the distress of those days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
30 "At that time
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the
earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky,
with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet
call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the
heavens to the other.
32 "Now learn this
lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come
out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things,
you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this
generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 "No one knows
about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took
them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of
Christ introduces several
important concepts in his prophecy about the events preceding the end of the
age and his return. One of the most
important was his statement that it was going to be impossible to predict when
his return will be. It will catch
everybody by surprise. The second
important piece of information was that, regardless of how bad it gets those
who hold fast will be saved. This
promise of God protecting his people and helping them get through the difficult
times is a recurrent theme throughout all of the prophecies about the
end-time. Another important detail was
Christ stating that when he does return there will be no doubt it is him. The most important indicator was his
prediction that just as there would be a desolation of abomination as
recorded in the book of Daniel. This
will be covered in greater detail later when the end-time prophecies in Daniel
are compared to the end-time prophecies in the book of Revelation.
Summary
·
The end-time
refers to the end of an age
·
End-time
prophecies depict Satan’s rule being abolished and Christ’s rule being
established at his return
·
The end-time will
be marked by false prophets and false messiahs
·
There will be
great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world
·
If the end-time
is not cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those
days will be shortened
·
No one can
predict when Christ will return
·
When Christ
return it will be obvious and all nations will witness his return on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory
·
God will protect
his people throughout all of the end-time troubles
·
At Christ’s
return he will gather the elect
A Quick Overview of the Book of Revelation
The book of Revelation is
also referred to as the “The Apocalypse.”
This word is commonly thought to mean global destruction or worldwide
calamity. Its actual meaning from the
Greek is disclosure, unveiling or revelation. The following chart breaks down the book and
the messages it contains.
The book of Revelation is
primarily concerned with the final events in the history of the present age and
the 1,000 plus years that follows. It
begins with messages to the churches extant during the time of John the
Apostle. Many consider the messages
appropriate for Christians of all ages.
After the message to the churches, it changes to symbolic language that
covers the time of trouble the world goes through before the return of
Christ. A couple of chapters give the
reader a broad view of history as it applies to the church and the people of
history. It ends with the return of
Christ, the banishment of Satan for 1,000 years and the accompanying
resurrection of the saints who reign as kings and priest with Christ. After the 1,000 years is up, Satan is
released for a little while and is allowed to deceive the nations again. Once more, the deception leads to a world
wide war leading to the destruction of all of the wicked. The final conclusion describes the second
resurrection of all who ever lived.
Those found worthy join God and Christ in the utopian world of the new
earth where death and sorrow are completely eliminated. The evil are condemned to the lake of fire.
The Beast of Revelation
Revelation 13 uses symbolic
language reminiscent of the symbolism in Daniel 7 and 8 to describe a great
end-time world ruling empire and how Satan uses it to deceive the nations into
waging a terrible war.
Revelation 13
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and
saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and
upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of
a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were
wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered
after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave
power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto
the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue
forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with
the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. KJV
Verses 1 – 7 describe a beast
rising from the sea. The sea represents
people or an area that is populated allowing a strong and powerful government
power to emerge. This beast is
consistent with the two legs of iron mentioned in Daniel 2 and the beast with
iron teeth in Daniel 7. When John was
revealed this vision the
The beast had qualities
similar to the three empires that preceded it: the lion (
Historical Revivals of the
History records that the
original
Justinian represents the
first revival of the
Charlemagne, king of the
Franks (800); Otto the Great (962); Charles V of the Hapsburg dynasty (1520)
and Napoleon (1805) were all crowned emperors of
Revelation 17
1 And there came one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured
beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and
scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and
filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written,
MYSTERY,
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood
of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her,
I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst
thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into
perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not
written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold
the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,
and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue
a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he
is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into
perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as
yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their
power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they
that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto
me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and
shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto
the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth
over the kings of the earth.
The woman is called a
whore. Some translations translate it as
prostitute. In this case, prostitution
or whoredom is not a symbolism of sexuality.
In Bible symbolism, prostitution represents alliances with political
powers instead of relying of God. In
Ezekiel God called the nation of
Jeremiah 3:20
Surely as a wife
treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye
dealt treacherously with me, O house of
Instead of relying on
Ezekiel 16
26 Thou hast also committed fornication with
the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and
hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my
hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary
food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of
the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28 Thou hast played the whore also with the
Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable;
yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest
not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy
fornication in the
30 How weak is thine
heart, saith the LORD GOD, seeing thou doest all
these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
31 In that thou buildest
thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every
street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest
hire;
32 But as a wife that committeth
adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her
husband!
This same symbolism is
applied to the church and state environment that dominated the dark ages. History records that for centuries
1260 Years Prophesied
Seven times the Bible
predicted a 1260-year period of papal supremacy and of the persecution of the
woman [people of God]. History proved
those predictions to be correct.
Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon
1 A great and wondrous
sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her
feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out
in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven:
an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his
heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to
the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth,
so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a
son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her
child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the
desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for
1,260 days. NIV
Going back to the late 5th
century, the rise of the bishop of
There was also one other
major Arian kingdom to be dealt with. The Vandals had established themselves in
In the year 533, the eastern
emperor, Justinian, for the purpose of settling the religious question, issued
a document recognizing the Catholic bishop in
Driven
from their place, the Ostrogoths, under Witiges, set a seige upon the
city in 537, which they maintained an entire year. When a second armed force
arrived against them in 538, they could hold out no longer, and in March of
that year they retreated. Although two years later they attempted to regain
control of
The year 538, therefore,
marks the first time since the end of the western imperial line that
"With
the conquest of
If the 1260 years began in
538, they must end in 1798. What happened in that year?
In February of 1798 the
French general Berthier entered
"Berthier advanced to the city by forced marches; summoned
the castle of St. Angelo, allowing only four hours for its evacuation by the
papal troops; the convicts were set at liberty; the gates of the city secured
by the French; the pope, all the cardinals except three, and the whole people
of Rome, made prisoners at discretion. . . . Shortly afterwards, Berthier made his triumphal entry into Rome; and a tree of
liberty being planted on the capitol, . . . a proclamation was issued,
declaring . . . a free and independent republic, under the special protection
of the French army. A provisional government was acknowledged, as established
by the sovereign people; and every other temporal authority emanating from the
pope was suppressed, nor was he any longer to excercise
any function." John Adolphus, The History of
"The
object of the French directory was the destruction of the pontifical
government, as the irreconcilable enemy of the republic. . . . The aged pope [Pius
VI] was summoned to surrender the temporal government; on his refusal, he was
dragged from the altar. . . . His rings were torn from his fingers, and
finally, after declaring the temporal power abolished, the victors carried the
pope prisoner into
"When, in 1797, Pope
Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his
death no successor should be elected to his office, and that the Papacy should
be discontinued. But the Pope recovered; the peace was soon broken; Berthier entered
The 1260 years foretold in
prophecy were therefore A.D.
The 7 texts referring to the
1260-year period are as follows:
Daniel 7:25
Daniel 12:7
Revelation 11:2
Revelation 11:3
Revelation 12:6
Revelation 12:14
Revelation 13:5
How did the writings of the
Reformers interpret these 1260 day/years?
The day/year principle is an
old principle already recognized by the Jews, even before the time of Christ.
The Jews also identified the four beasts of Daniel, as
However it was Abbot Joachim,
of Floris, who in 1190, applied the day/year
principle to the 1260 days and thus started the growing conviction among the
reformers that these 1260 day/years pertained to the papacy's reign.
Walter
Brute, a fourteenth century Welsh, Lollard scholar, a
follower of Wycliff and a graduate of
All the reformers attributed the
1260 day/years to the domination of the papacy. They had varying starting and
ending dates and it wasn't until the eighteenth century that the dates were
fixed at
Edward King, F.R.S., F.S.A.
(1735-1807) was educated at
"Is
not the Papal power, at
David Simpson (1745-1799)
theologian and religious writer, educated at
"Is
it not extremely remarkable, and a powerful confirmation of the truth of
Scripture prophecy, that just 1260 years ago from the present 1798, in the very
beginning of the year 538, Belisarius put an end to
the empire of the Goths at Rome, leaving no power therein but the Bishop of
that Metropolis? Read these things in the prophetic Scriptures; … and then, I
say again, deny the truth of Divine Revelation, if you can. Open your eyes, and
behold these things accomplishing in the face of the whole world. This thing is
not done in a corner." (Page 166 "A Plea for Religion and the Sacred
Writings).
This covers the historical
portion of the Beast power and the control the Papal office had over the kings
of
Summary:
·
The book of
revelation is referred to as “The Apocalypse,” which is Greek for disclosure,
unveiling or revelation.
·
The book of
Revelation deals with prophetic events that were in the future from the
viewpoint of the Apostle John late in the first century A.D.
·
The book covers a
broad view of history as it applies to the church and the political history of
the
·
Significant
portions of the book deal with events that will occur just before the return of
Christ.
·
The final
chapters deal with the 1,000 year reign of Christ and the Day of Judgment that
follows.
·
The end of the
book deals with the New heaven and New Earth and the fact that God will live
among those found worthy to escape the lake of fire
The
The first ten verses of
Revelation, chapter 13, are concerned with the composite beast, symbolizing
civil government as controlled a religious authority. That particular phase of
the beast presented in this section symbolizes the civil governments of the
Roman world, represented by the horns, as dominated by the Papacy. This phase
of the beast ended when the papal head received its "deadly wound,"
in 1798, and its power to persecute those who didn’t espouse official doctrine
came to an end. One of the keys to
understanding prophecy is the concept of duality. Just as the head was killed and revived when
Justinian retook
At this time-- when the papal power
ended-- another power, symbolized by "another beast," was seen
"coming up," having "two horns like a lamb, and speaking like a
dragon." A few specifications given of this beast of Rev. 13:11-17 will
serve to show what power it represents:
(1) It is seen coming up just as the papal beast went into
decline, namely, at the close of the eighteenth century. The 2,520 year old punishment of
(2) It comes up out of the "earth," in
comparison to the "sea," out of which rose the ten-horned beast.
"Sea," or "waters," as a prophetic symbol represents,
according to Rev. 17:15 and Isaiah. 8:7, nations and peoples. The ten-horned
beast gained its place through strife and conquest, while the two-horned beast
came up out of the earth, a place unoccupied by civilized nations, in a
peaceful manner.
(3) It is evidently a republican form of government, as
the two horns are without crowns (while the ten horns are crowned), and verse
14 shows that the people have a part in its work.
(4) It had two horns like a lamb. The lamb used as a symbol
represents Jesus Christ. See John
(5) The government represented by this beast would have
characteristics, the very characteristics, represented by horns, which exalt it
and give it power and prestige.
(6) It speaks like a dragon. Since it isn’t described as
being directed by the Dragon as the Beast power was in previous verses, this
indicates it has Dragon like characteristics.
The primary characteristic associated with the Dragon is war.
This power will have
characteristics of both the lamb and the dragon. It is an important distinction in Biblical
language when comparisons are made. This
power is neither ruled by Christ or by Satan but has characteristics of
both. This government power will be
strongly associated with Christianity, yet in the end-time will be associated
with war and the formation of a world dominating governmental structure
patterned after the
What country fulfills this
description? The
·
When the
persecuting power of the Papacy was taken away in 1798, there was but one great
power of earth rising into prominence, and that was the
·
This government
did not arise out of the conquest of Old World nations, but it came up out of
unoccupied territory up to this time. George Alfred Townsend, in his "New
World Compared with the Old," speaks of this country as "coming forth
from vacancy," and says, "Like a silent seed we grew into
empire." The
·
This country is
certainly a republican form of government, while most of the divisions of the
·
It "had two
horns like a lamb," representing two leaders of Christian nations.
It
may be recalled that the two-horned ram of Daniel 8 represented a dual power, Medo-Persia. Of
course that power had long disappeared in the Apostle John's day, and his
vision was of events in the future.
Other dual powers have existed since John's day, but among these the
historical association of
The symbolism is
obvious. In light of current world
events, the Bible student can now begin to see the details of future events
coming into focus. Many scholars have
speculated that the beast with two horns like a lamb represents the
anti-Christ. This isn’t to say that
there isn’t going to be an end-time false messiah, but Revelation 13:11-18 is
not describing the same thing as Daniel 9, 10 and 11. Revelation 13 is describing how the final
revival of the
The Ten Toes of Daniel 2
The first prophecy in the
Bible that outlined the scope and breadth of future history from the time of
the Babylonian Empire to the return of Christ is recorded in Daniel 2. The ten toes of the statue in King
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Earlier it has
been said that they represented a final end-time revival of the
The iron has already been
shown to stand for the
Jeremiah 18
5 Then the word of the
LORD came to me: 6 "O house of
The
Summary:
·
Revelation 13
predicts the rise in power of the
·
Revelation 13
predicts the end-time role the
·
In Daniel 2 God
showed that the lost ten tribes of
The End-Time Dictator
Jesus predicted that the end-time
would see an Evil world Wide Dictator called the abomination of Desolation
spoken of in Daniel 11. Before the
UNGER'S
COMMENTARY ON VERSE 36-45
The
End Time and the Man of Sin, 36-45.
Between
35 and 36 spans an unreckoned period of time, from
the historical fulfillment of these prophecies in Antiochus Epiphanes
and the victorious Maccabees to the still future
fulfillment of 36-45, fulfilling 10:14. The willful king of these Verses is the
Antichrist of the last days, the man of sin of 2 Thess
2:3-4, the lawless one of Rev 13:1-10, adumbrated by Antiochus Epiphanes. "He shall prosper till the indignation is
accomplished," 36 (12:1), i.e., God's wrath outpoured (Mt 24:21; Rev.
6-19). His lawless, God-defying character, 36-39, is unfolded. His latter-day
activity preceding his doom is outlined, 40-45 (cf.
Once the world ruling
government is in place, Satan will bring the anti-Christ upon the world scene
and the ancient head of church and state will be healed. The
Revelation 13
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast,
coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a
dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and
made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal
wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even
causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because
of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived
the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of
the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to
give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause
all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced
everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on
his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell
unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his
name.
18 This calls for wisdom. If
anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's
number. His number is 666. NIV
The Mark of the Beast
What is the mark of the
beast? Once again important information
is presented in symbolic language. The
obvious literal fulfillment would be if people had the number 666 branded on
their forehead or on their hands. The
Old and New Testament are filled with the symbolism of the meaning of the
forehead and the hand. In the Old
Testament God revealed that keeping the 10 commandments meant they were sealed
in the foreheads and hands of the people.
In Exodus 13:9 it is written, “This observance will be for you like a
sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is
to be on your lips.” In Deuteronomy
6:8 God said that keeping and teaching the 10 commandments is like tying
them as symbols on your hands and binding them on your foreheads.
Deuteronomy 6
Love the LORD Your God
4 Hear, O
In the end-time God marks the
foreheads of the saints who keep the commandments of God so that they can
escape the perils the rest of the world has to endure.
Revelation 7
2 Then I saw another angel
coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a
loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the
sea: 3 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal
on the foreheads of the servants of our God." NIV
Revelation 9
3 And out of the smoke
locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of
the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or
tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their
foreheads.
If the seal of God on the
forehead of the saints is because they obey God and keep his ten commandments,
what would me a mark in the forehead of those following the Anti-Christ? Would it be a sign of those forced to break
one of the commandments of God? Is
breaking just one commandment the same as breaking all of the commandments of
God? According to the apostle James it
is. James
Revelation 14
9 A third angel followed
them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his
image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too,
will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into
the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence
of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
Symbolism is made plain. The commandment that the Anti-Christ will
cause small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to break is Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth. Exodus 2:4.
The simple fact is that worshipping a false god in any manner is
idolatry. The mark of the beast will be
mandatory idol worship. Those who do not
participate in idol worship will have their assets frozen and their ability to
buy and sell with entities under the control of the anti-Christ. In the original pagan
Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and
they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those who
have been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the
word of God, and who did not bow before the beast, nor his image, and did not
receive the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand, and they did live and
reign with Christ the thousand years;
Summary:
·
Jesus predicted
an end-time false Christ which will deceive the entire world.
·
The Anti-Christ
will heal the deadly wound and a church-state world empire will be revived once
again.
·
All participants
of the beast system will be required to worship an image of the Anti-Christ or
their ability to buy and sell will be removed from them.
·
The Anti-Christ
will not be destroyed in war. His power
will be so complete that only Christ is capable of overthrowing him.
·
Those who refuse
to participate in idol worship will receive the mark of God in their forehead
instead of the mark of the beast.
·
Those who do not
receive the mark of the beast will live and reign with Christ one thousand
years
The Time of Jacobs Trouble
The prophecy states that the
end-time will be a time of trouble for the birthright nations. It is called the time of Jacob’s
trouble. Alas! for that day is great,
so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall
be saved out of it. Jeremiah 30:7 What causes the British-Israel people of the
Isaiah 24
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD ;
exalt the name of the LORD , the God of Israel,
in the islands of the sea.
…
17 Terror and pit and snare await you,
O people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit; NIV
Jeremiah 30
4 These are the words the LORD spoke concerning
us
Revelation reveals three
power blocks at war at the end just before Christ’s return. Arab league, Asian 200 million man army and
the Beast power battle in the middle east war.
Christ comes back and kicks everyone’s butt.
Jeremiah 30
10 " 'So do not fear, O Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, O Israel,'
declares the LORD .
'I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
11 I am with you and will save you,'
declares the LORD .
'Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only with justice;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'