Among the prophet Daniel’s multiple visions,
he is given three concerning a statue and two groups of creatures that are
identified as kingdoms that will appear on the earth. The vision of the statue
is revealed in chapter 2. The statue is a figure in a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon. The king could not find any
wisemen to interpret the dream for him so, in his anger, he set out to destroy
all the wisemen of the country. Daniel, one of the king’s wisemen, became aware
of this and sent message to the king to allow him time to get the
interpretation. He was allowed time and the Lord revealed the meaning of the
dream to Daniel. The statue consisted of four parts. The first was a golden
head. The second was a chest and arms of silver. The third were loins of
bronze. The fourth were legs of iron with feet of mixed iron and clay. Daniel
reveals to the king that he is the head of gold. The silver and bronze were two
kingdoms that would follow his. The legs of iron were a kingdom that would very
strong and crush all others. The feet of clay and iron reveal that part of the
kingdom will be strong and part brittle. During the fourth kingdom God would
set up His everlasting kingdom. From history and later chapters of Daniel, we
learn that these four kingdoms are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. It is
during Rome, the fourth kingdom, that Christ initiates the kingdom of God on
earth through the presence of His church.
Daniel 7
Daniel’s second vision of creatures is found in chapter 7. It consists of four beasts representing four kingdoms. They are a lion, a bear, a leopard, and the fourth a terrifying beast with iron teeth. Daniel inquires about the identity of the fourth beast. He is told this beast will devour, crush, and trample all the previous kingdoms. He will wear down the saints of the Most High. His rule will eventually be taken away by the heavenly court and given to the saints of the Most High for eternity.
We now compare the fourth portion of the statue with the fourth kingdom of the beast with iron teeth. Both are identified with iron. Both are the last kingdom. Both end, being destroyed and replaced by the everlasting kingdom of God.
Daniel 8
In Daniel chapter 8 is his third vision of
creatures. The creatures are identified as a ram with two long horns, one
longer than the other, and a goat with a conspicuous horn between its eyes. The
ram was trampled down and destroyed by the goat. The goat magnifies his own greatness,
but as soon as he does, his horn is broken and in its place four different
horns spring up. We know from history that Greece was divided up among Alexander
the Great’s four generals after his death. From one of these horns, a smaller
horn sprang up that grew very powerful. This horn removes the sacrifice from
the temple of God in Jerusalem. Then Daniel is told that this part of the
vision pertains to the time of the end. The angel reveals that the ram and the
goat are identified as Medo-Persia and Greece. The little horn that sprouts
from Greece is a leader of a nation identified with the end time.
Identification Complete
So gradually we have found clear identification
of the first three of the four kingdoms of Daniel chapters 2 and 7. The first
was revealed by Daniel as Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. The second and third are
identified by the angel as Medo-Persia and Greece in chapter 8. Daniel 2:39-40
also indicate the sequential order of these four kingdoms. The naming of the
fourth kingdom is left to the unfolding events of history after Greece. We know
this kingdom as Rome. Rome in one form or another extends into modern times.
The Two Phases of Redemption
And, as the kingdom of God on earth is realized in two phases as the first and second advents of Christ, so too will the beast from the fourth kingdom arise twice. In Daniel 8:9, the little horn arising from the Greek kingdom appears. This little horn can be identified with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek vassal of Rome. In 167 B.C. he halts the temple sacrifice of the Jews and desecrates the temple in Jerusalem with a statue of Zeus. His death follows three years later. In further prophesy, delivered in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11, we learn about a future leader of a kingdom known as the “prince who is to come” who will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem with the abomination of desolation. The time placement for this event is at the end of time according to Daniel 12:4. This period of time is also known as the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks which can be determined from the text of Daniel 9:24-27. This final week is the topic of Revelation chapters 11 and 13.
The Resurrection of Rome
Rome existed in one form or other until Napoleon
caused the abdication of the last Holy Roman Emperor in 1807. The Holy Roman
Empire existed only figuratively through the Kaisers in Germany and Austria
until World War I. The restoration of Israel following WW II seems to fit the
context of the end times events positioning themselves for coming fulfillment
of prophecy. From the repetition of these themes in Daniel’s visions, we can
conclude that Rome, likely revived from the European Union, will be the source
of the coming antichrist of the New Testament.
The book
titled, The Revelation to John or the Apocalypse, is the last book of the New
Testament and therefore the entire Bible. The content of the book is a series
of visions of heaven and earth in which God’s plan for the ages is worked out
culminating in the second advent of Christ and the new heavens and earth. The
theme concerns the events of the end times when God will vanquish evil and
establish His kingdom of everlasting righteousness on earth. It concludes with the
equally fallen planet earth’s ultimate renewal and recreation at His hands.
The Literal Message of the Apocalypse
There is much symbolism and visions of angelic activity in Revelation. We must be aware of precedent set in previously fulfilled prophetic visions to orient our interpretations of future visions. The Book of Daniel feeds directly into the Revelation narrative. The connection is made in the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel. The first sixty-nine bring us to the time of messiah. Along with the prophecy of Daniel and the further predictions of Isaiah, Micah, and the Psalms concerning the first coming of messiah, we discover that prophecy is fulfilled literally and not in vague figurative or symbolic form. Figurative and symbolic-only fulfillment of prophecy allow for gross misinterpretations of scripture. Prophecy must all coordinate chronologically as in Daniel represented by his vision and fulfillment of the four kingdoms of history and the details of the coming of messiah. The events of Daniel’s four kingdoms and his seventy weeks prophecy all follow a sequential pattern. This assumption is made for the events of the Book of Revelation which is ordered by seals, trumpets, woes, and bowls much as an outline does for the organization of a historical report. The identity of Daniel’s fourth kingdom with Rome, as it extends into the end time, is discussed in my blog, The Antichrist is Not a Pope. The takeaway from this is some form of the current European Union, after the planetary disaster of Revelation 6:12-17, will resurrect more in the form of the old Roman Empire with a charismatic leader, known in scripture as the beast or the antichrist. It will be a very literal experience.
Biblical Times Never Ended
The seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, according to evidence from Daniel chapters 9 and 12, is set in the end times and revealed also in Revelation chapters 11 and 13. The first chapter of Revelation begins with a view of the glorified Jesus. He prepares John to give messages to the seven churches of Asia. The messages are given in chapters 2 and 3. These messages also extend as admonitions to the churches of the coming ages.
Chapter 4 takes us to a vision of the throne room of God. In chapter 5 we are introduced to the one who is worthy to break the seven seals of a document.
The first six seals are opened in chapter 6. Five of the six release a phase of the coming judgment of God upon the earth. Seals one through four are known as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. These four beings and their steeds have been patrolling the heavens above the earth since the time of the prophet Zechariah in the 6th century B.C. Their missions are revealed in Zechariah chapters 1 and 6. They are referred to as the four spirits of heaven. After each mission they report back to the Lord in heaven on the condition of the world from each of the four points of the compass. Here in Revelation chapter 6, some six and a half centuries later, the four are given an assignment to orchestrate conquest, war, financial woes, death and disease. Some interpret this mission as taking place soon after the Revelation to John according to the verse at the beginning of the book which tells us these things must soon take place. Others believe they are only released at the beginning of the end times just before the last two seals are opened.
The End Times Take the World by Surprise
The sixth seal may seem at first symbolic with stars falling from heaven, but relying on past precedent of literal fulfillment, the falling stars are likely an event such as a storm of large meteors that hit the earth causing the darkening of the skies of the planet. In addition, the figure of Jesus, the Lamb of God appears in the heavens to those on earth during the onslaught. This is an important but often overlooked event. It will make perfect sense when the vision in Revelation 7:9-14 is revealed a few verses later. This chaos and disruption of the order of governments and society prepares the planet for the events to come during the seventh seal.
Chapter 7 of Revelation is a parenthesis of the action to take us to business in heaven. A group of 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed for God’s protection from dangers occuring during the seventh seal soon to begin. Next we view a group in heaven from every tribe, language, and nation on earth. These are those who have come out of the great tribulation that has just begun. This event was predicted in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 by the Apostle Paul. It is referred to as the catching up of the church from earth, also known as the rapture. It seems to coordinate with the appearance of Jesus in the heavens that just occurred at the end of Chapter 6. Few readers have ever made this important connection. Either the appearance of Jesus at the end of chapter 6 was in coordination with these who have come out of the great tribulation, or else Jesus is making a pretribulation appearance apart from the rapture of the church. It is not hard to see the connection.
The World Has Changed for Good
The seventh seal is the theme of the rest of the Book of Revelation. It is opened in chapter 8. Each of the disastrous events during the seventh seal are announced by the blowing of trumpets. The seventh trumpet will introduce the bowls of God’s wrath in chapter 16. A second onslaught of disaster falling from the heavens creates continued chaos on the planet.
In chapter 9, two disasters follow. The first is a plague of stinging locusts which have apparently been breeding under ground for many ages. Whether there is a supernatural source for the plague is not made clear, but they have power to cause a sting that will torment anyone without the seal of God on their forehead for five months. Following this, during all the great world chaos, a great war occurs, and one third of those on the planet perish.
Chapter 10 follows. Here there is then a short parenthesis in heaven where John is given a secret revelation not to be revealed to anyone else.
Week Seventy – part 1
Revelation chapter 11 introduces two God empowered witnesses sent to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They prophesy for three and a half years, the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week. Many will come to faith through these two and the witnessing of the 144,000 mentioned previously. It is clear by this point, if not earlier, that there is supernatural influence behind the scene. These witnesses have powers to slay their enemies with fire proceeding from their mouths to shut up the heavens and turn the waters to blood as Moses did to the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus. After three and one-half years of their preaching, the beast, also know as the antichrist, will make war with them and overcome them. Their bodies lie in the street for three and a half days to the cheers of those unbelievers remaining on earth. Following this, they are resurrected and taken to heaven. This causes great fear among those who have viewed their bodies lying in the streets. Following this is a great earthquake in the city in which 7,000 die. Many see the hand of God at work and give Him glory.
Next comes chapter 12 which is a parenthesis to view the saga of the ages of God’s plan working out through Israel in symbolic form.
Week Seventy – part 2
The reign of terror of the antichrist gets into full swing in Revelation 13 where the second period of three and a half years of Daniel’s week seventy begins. The beast requires everyone in his kingdom to receive a mark, possibly digital, on their hand or forehead. Anyone who will not serve the beast in this way will be killed. This will be a very difficult path for these recently converted believers who now recognize God’s plan for earth. This reign of terror will continue through chapter 19.
There is another parenthesis to heaven’s view in chapters 14 and 15.
Chapter 16 begins with more of the wrath of God being poured out from heaven. These next seven events, referred to as bowls, are poured out upon the earth to prepare the world for the coming conflict. The war of the great day of God the Almighty is then introduced. The nations of the earth are gathered to a location called Har-Magedon, usually referred to as Armageddon. Simultaneously, the judgment of a nation known as Babylon the great is announced. This is a nation that has corrupted the world with her immorality and luxurious lifestyle and exerted unwanted influence on the antichrist’s kingdom. God will use the beast to execute this judgment.
The next two chapters, 17 and 18, detail the destruction of Babylon the Great.
Finally, in chapter 19, the beast, antichrist, and his forces are destroyed at the conclusion of the Battle of Armageddon by the second appearing of Christ along with the armies of heaven following behind Him.
In chapter 20, Satan is bound for a period of a thousand years, called the millennium. In this period God will rule the planet through the presence of the resurrected martyrs of the tribulation. These are those who did not accept the mark of the beast or worship him but were slain for their faith. These martyrs are referred to as the group known as the first resurrection. After this period of testing of a world without the presence of Satan to influence it, he will be loosed for a short period of time in which he bring nations from the north, by the symbolic names of Gog and Magog, who will make a final attack on Jerusalem. They will not succeed. Fire from heaven will consume them, and the devil will be cast into the lake of fire. Then will come the final judgement when the books are opened. The Book of Life is also opened. Those not found in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire.
A New Beginning
A new heaven
and new earth are created by God’s hand in chapter 21. Its glorious description
is given in the remainder of the chapter.
Chapter 22
opens with a brief view of the inside of the holy city of God which has come
down to earth. The rest of the chapter is a farewell and the reminder that, as
he warned in Revelation chapter 1 and now in the final chapter, “I am coming
quickly.” And so He did, beginning with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. We
are now resting under the fifth seal. The sixth seal is not far off. The
Apocalypse continues.
The idea of identifying a pope as the antichrist and the Catholic Church as the antichrist system is an idea that rose out of the Reformation. Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and others in the 16th century decried the pope as antichrist. This charge resulted from various immoral traditions that had crept into the papacy over the centuries. These included the selling of indulgences to pay for sins, turning a blind eye to pedophilia among priests, and prohibiting salvation outside the pope’s power. As grievous and anti-Christian as these sins might be, these actions do not have any resemblance to the reign that the actual antichrist spoken of in Daniel and the Book of Revelation will impose upon the world. The Lord warned us there would be many antichrists, and so there were. The Bible, though, is very clear that the final antichrist will be distinct from all previous versions. This idea of a papal antichrist took on renewed fervor through the Millerites and the Seventh Day Adventist writings in the 19th century and carries on in present times in a form of the historicist view of the Revelation to John.
Not My Job
Popes did not rule the Roman Empire. Until Constantine, pagan Caesars ruled. The supposed divinity of the emperor and the allegiance due him was the uniting factor in the empire. Then Christianity and monotheism replaced emperor worship which, ironically, weakened the empire as doctrines of the church were battled out, and the new identity of the faith under protection of imperial powers took shape. After that, various emperors or generals attempted to hold the western Roman Empire together. It finally fell in 476 A.D. The empire continued in the eastern Byzantine portion. In 800 A.D., Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, reorganized it as the Holy Roman Empire. He is considered the first Holy Roman Emperor. The history of this empire lasted until 1806 and fizzled out over the next century. Popes did have power to depose kings of the empire as heretics, but NO POPE WAS EVER IN POLITICAL OR MILITARY CHARGE OF THE EMPIRE. So, the precedent set indicates the antichrist will not be a pope. He will be the political/military leader of the EU or reconstituted Roman Empire. The only possible position that a pope could hold is as the second beast who has religious elements to his description. He makes the world worship the first beast, like Rome worshiped Caesar. Assuming the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, any pope of the Catholic Church would assuredly not be a true Christian. Here would be prime opportunity for a false religious leader to move in available to be manipulated by the powers of darkness.
The Antichrist Comes as a King
The antichrist will arise as a king, not a religious leader, from the revived Roman empire. Daniel’s vision of 4 kingdoms make this very clear (See Daniel 2, 7, and 8) These visions, given at different times repeat aspects of the same four kingdoms. The first kingdom is revealed in the vision in Daniel 2 as the head of the four parts of a large statue. This head is Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, Daniel 2:38. The next two kingdoms are identified in a subsequent vision by the angel in Daniel 8. They are Medo-Persia and Greece, and the fourth kingdom conquers Greece, which we know from history as the Roman Empire, inferred in Daniel 8:23-25. According to Daniel and history, this king will arise during the time of the four horns, generals, who have split the kingdom of Alexander the Great. The ANTICHRIST comes as a king from this fourth empire MOVING TO THE SOUTH AND EAST towards the Beautiful Land (Israel), Daniel 8:9. That would be the direction of travel if you came from the Roman Empire. Daniel 7:23, “He gave me this explanation: ‘The FOURTH BEAST is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time (3 ½ years or the 2nd half of the Great Tribulation). —So, the vision extends on into the end times with further support from Daniel 9 and 12. In Daniel 9:26-27 the death of Messiah after 69 weeks of years is foretold. In addition, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is prophecied. This is followed by war and desolations until the end time when the abomination of desolation is set up in the middle of the postponed 70th week of Daniel. Chapter 12 of Daniel clues us into the last half of this seventieth week as declared to be at the time of the end. No other nation after the fourth, Rome, is spoken of in prophecy. The leader of the fourth kingdom is a king in the fashion of the previous kings, not a pope. The beast, known as antichrist, is seen in Daniel 7:23-25 as coming from this final kingdom. The Roman Empire and subsequently the Holy Roman Empire lasted until the 19th century and faded out in Germany and Austria until the 20th century. Israel was reborn. Prophecy is right on schedule. Rome is due to resurrect in some form during seal six of Revelation.
Other Antichrists of History
We have several examples in history of those who unknowingly attempted to take the reins of what could be considered the seat of the antichrist. The first candidate can be found in Antiochus III, the Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire and a Roman vassal. In 167 B.C., he attempted to gain power in Judea by obtaining the allegiance of the Hellenistic Jews in the land. He ordered an officer in his army to erect an altar to Zeus in the temple in Jerusalem and have a pig sacrificed on it. He had not counted on the subsequent Maccabean rebellion that followed, and his hold on Judea was brought to a swift end. Two millennia later, in the early nineteenth century, Napoleon Bonaparte would dissolve the Holy Roman Empire and attempt to become emperor of Europe and beyond. Though he made many gains in his quest, he also suffered many losses. After a couple of grand comebacks, Napoleon finally succumbed to superior British forces and spent his last days in exile on the Island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Finally, a little more than a century later, Adolph Hitler would rise to power and attempt again to create an empire out of Europe and beyond. He, as an antichrist figure unaware, attempts to annihilate the Jewish race from the face of the earth.
None of these three figures of history was a pope. All three were some form of a political or military leader. Religion was not their primary motivation in conquest of the lands of the former Roman Empire. When it is God’s time, He will allow a political and/or military leader to rise up in a time of world crisis who will fulfill the script of the antichrist prepared for him exactly as it was laid out in scripture.
Satan’s Folly
Interestingly, Hitler’s attempt to eliminate the Jews in the Holocaust could be considered as Satan’s attempt to take the end time narrative and slant the story his own way. Without the Jews, how could prophecy come to a completion in history? He could then declare himself victor over God’s plan and exalt himself once more an avoid the fateful end prepared for him according to scripture. Hitler was not to be the definitive version of the antichrist, and his ambitions were dashed by the allied powers in 1945. The ironic outcome of this conflict was rebirth of the nation of Israel three years later in 1948. Satan attempts to move the saga in his own direction while God has allowed it as misdirection to perform His ultimate purposes.
Various arrangements of the sequence of events in The Book Revelation have been made. A popular one attempts to build overlapping of the seals, bowls, and trumpets through the chapters that allow for alternate interpretations of the order of events as they unfold. Proposing an overlap of events is one matter, but actually comparing the overlapping portions of scripture proposed and attempting to demonstrate the connections of events in them is a very strained matter leading to confusing results. It is far more logical to view the end time prophecies of The Book of Revelation as events which are revealed in sequence. This order is arranged according to seals, trumpets, bowls, and woes. The context and relationship of the events during each seal reveal this sequential order. All events are literal though described in somewhat symbolic form. This is similar to the literal fulfillment of symbolic language in Daniel for the four kingdoms of history and their conquests. The purpose of the following summary is to demonstrate the validity of this sequential order in the flow of the events as they unfold.
THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
The predicted events begin in Revelation 6. The four horsemen of the apocalypse, announced by seal number, begin the action. Horseman 1 is conquest. Revelation 1 reveals the events foretold were shortly to come to pass, “genesthai en tachei.” Rome was the ruling entity during John’s day. The conquests of the Roman Empire fit the fourth kingdom predicted by the prophet Daniel. Rome’s conquests continued for several centuries after the Revelation to John. In response to these conquests, many wars were fought as Horsemen 2 comes forth to direct these. Horseman 3 announces a crashing economy as prices increase. As a result of all these and natural causes directed by heaven, famines and disease break out. We are reminded of the Black Plague which ravaged Europe and part of Asian for over a thousand years. This is orchestrated by horsemen 4. Millions of lives perished throughout this era as the four horsemen repeated their mission over and over again in various portions of Europe and Asia through next two millennia. In chapters 9 and 12 of Daniel, he makes inferred connection of the Roman Empire to this lengthy span of history. The empire continued as the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 following the conquests of Napoleon. Following this, Rome remained in limbo with emperors ruling only in Germany and Austria for the next century. Other interpretations hold that the four horsemen cover a shorter period of time as an introduction to the Great Tribulation. One version has it that the twentieth century with its two great world wars represents the four horsemen. Others feel they fill a short span of a few years right before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Regardless of the favored interpretation they, nevertheless, are introductory events to the seals that follow. The following seals will become more specific to the details of the seven-year portion of this Great Tribulation.
Seal 5 is the
short break between these events when war and famine and disease have somewhat
but not entirely rolled back. The martyrs in heaven cry out, “How much longer?”
This seems to fit the order of events quite appropriately at this point. It has
been two thousand years!
THE RAPTURE FOUND IN REVELATION
Chapter 6 part two,
the sequential order of events continues. Seal 6 seems to be the awaited event
that introduces the finale of end time events. It begins with a disastrous
heavenly event. Stars fall from heaven causing great tectonic disruption and
atmospheric fallout. Some believe this to be a massive meteor strike or a super
volcano. An important event to note follows. Those in panic from the ferocity
of these events see a vision of Christ in the heaven and call out for
protection from His presence. The appearing of Christ will take on special
significance in the next chapter, remembering that there are no real chapter
breaks between here and the next nine verses to come. The somewhat stable world
order is now toppled, and new leaders will come to the fore.
PARENTHESIS 1 (the view from the heavens)
Chapter 7, the
events continue. This is a short parenthesis taking us to the view from above.
Time order is not disrupted here. The first event is the sealing on the
forehead of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses. This is necessary before they can
complete their ministry soon coming up as there will be a plague of stinging
locust in chapter 9. This seal will give protection for the five-month period
of the swarm. This sealing for the coming events implies sequential order
between chapters 7 through 9.
THE SAINTS HAVE
BEEN CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN
The second portion of the chapter deals with the identity of those who have come out of The Great Tribulation, a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. This event, known popularly as The Rapture, also contains evidence that it occurs before The Great Tribulation. In Thessalonians 4:15-18 and 5:1-3, we are told that the church is caught out of this world by Christ who comes like “a thief in the night.” This infers at a time just before The Great Tribulation when we would not be expecting it. Logical sequence is inferred in that the church, in Revelation 7, has escaped the wrath of God in Revelation 6 as promised in Revelation 3:10. This is the essential passage in determining the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Those in chapter 6 hiding from the face of the Lamb like see a massive image of Christ far up in the heavens while those who have just been raptured would likely only appear in the heavens as grains of sand even if they could even be seen.
THE FINAL SEAL. THE TRUMPETS ANNOUNCED. MORE WAR!
Chapter 8 opens
with seal 7 being announced. Events are now picking up the pace and becoming
very serious. The seven trumpets are revealed. The first four of these are
further disasters originating from the heavens and wreaking havoc on a third of
the earth. Three woes are announced.
DEMONS FROM HELL?
Chapter 9 begins. The first of these woes is trumpet 5, the plague of the stinging locust which was previously mentioned. The 144,000 witnesses are protected from the locust and can go about their task unimpeded to evangelize those remaining on the earth after the rapture of the church. The sequence continues. The structure of verse 12 is further evidence of sequential order of events. It reads, ” The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.” Once the first woe is past, and the locust are finished, it is now possible for the armies of the earth to initiate the second woe as trumpet 6 sounds.
THE KINGS OF THE
EAST
This is when
200,000,000 men cross the Euphrates River to do battle to the death. A third of
the world is killed in this war. Now that the great war in chapter 9 is over,
the warm-up events leading to the tribulation are finished. This terrible war
took some time and 5 months before this was the locust invasion. Wars can be a
matter of months to a number of years. It’s hard to say how long this period
lasted.
PARENTHESIS 2 (the view from the heavens)
Chapter 10, John deals with certain secret issues not to be revealed to the world. He is told the seventh and final angel is about to sound his trumpet. In other words, we are still in the sequential order of events.
Next in order of occurrence are the events of chapter 11. It’s time for the
seven-year period to begin. We do know that chapter 11 covers 1260 days which
is 3 ½ years. This is the period in which God’s two witnesses preach in
Jerusalem with His supernatural protection. They are martyred and taken to
heaven at the end of this time period. There is a great earthquake in
Jerusalem. Trumpet 7 sounds. The world is enraged.
PARENTHESIS 3
(the view from the heavens)
Chapter 12 is a
partial parenthesis in the story to reflect on the age-old saga of God vs.
Satan, and this history of the nation of Israel. It concludes back at the
present time revealing the time, times, and half a time reaching back to the
language of Daniel’s prophecy. This indicates the 3 ½ years of the reign of the
antichrist which will be spelled out again in the next chapter.
Chapter 13, the sequence continues. This the second half of Daniel’s seventieth
week where the antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel. Now that the
witnesses are out of the picture, the beast, the antichrist can come and reside
openly in Jerusalem. He is given power for forty-two months which is 3 ½ Jewish
years. He is supposedly miraculously healed of a fatal wound about this time.
The world is amazed and worships him. He blasphemes God and His temple. He then,
with the help of a second beast has the everyone under his control receive the
mark of the beast on their hand or forehead. Those who don’t receive the mark
are now under great persecution.
PARENTHESIS 4 (the view from the heavens)
Chapter 14 views the situation from heaven. The 144,000 are now with Jesus. God now turns His sights on the destruction of Babylon the Great. He will use the antichrist as His tool to complete this work, Revelation 17:17. He exhorts the new saints to persevere. A vision of the end and God’s reaping of the wine press of His wrath is foretold. The angel with the sickle is sent forth and puts in his sickle to reap. This is essentially the introduction from the heavenlies what is taking place at The Battle of Armageddon in chapter 16. Here again is sequence. There is a spiritual action in the heavenlies and then a result on earth.
PARENTHESIS 4 – continues
Chapter 15, the
seven plagues are announced. These are more detailing of the events of the
reaping in the overall sequence of events that culminate in The Battle of
Armageddon.
Chapter 16 is next. The plagues are poured out of bowls. The Battle of
Armageddon results in a world war that is settled at the seventh trumpet with a
great earthquake followed by the wrath of God being directed at Babylon the
Great. The first five bowls are plagues that cause man to curse God and grow
angry. Now that the armies of the east are angry, the sixth bowl, in perfect
time, is poured out on the Euphrates to open the way for the battle to come.
These bowls again demonstrate order and purpose.
Chapters 17-18 the
previous chapter has directed out attention the whore of Babylon. Now it is
time to expound on the details of her immorality and her destruction by the
beast, Revelation 17:17.
Chapter 19 ends with the destruction of the beast at the marriage supper of the
Lamb.
Chapter 20 reveals the millennium on earth free from Satan’s interference.
Chapter 21 reveals the new heaven and the new earth.
Chapter 22 opens the way to the tree of life and the rivers of the water of
life.
These last six chapters flow naturally in sequential order. The only variations were the short review of history of Satan’s persecution of Israel until completion at the end time in chapter 12. Chapter 14 might seem to disturb chronological order at first, but if a closer look is taken we find that a common aspect of God’s nature is being exemplified. God pronounces Babylon’s destruction as though it is already accomplished in chapter 14. This form of pronouncement before the fact is similar to God speaking to Abraham in Romans 4:17, “as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU” in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.“ God pronounced Abraham’s destiny as though it already were fact two millennia before Christ. After taking account of all the various situations in the unfolding drama, Revelation is clearly revealed in order by the sequence of events and the outline of the seals, trumpets, bowls, and woes declared among its pages.
It is this order that is purposely disturbed by post-tribulationists when it
comes to chapter 7 where those who have come out of The Great Tribulation are
revealed. There is no indication in the passage that we are looking forward in
time to the end of the tribulation nor would there be any reason to do so at
this point. They simply refuse to allow it be considered in order as it fully
supports the pre-tribulation perspective. Attacks on the Greek interpretation
of the term The Great Tribulation are useless. The definite article “the”
appears in Greek before not only the word “tribulation,” but also the word
“great.” The strength of this distinction clearly identifies it with the great
tribulation of Matthew 24:21.
Mid and Post tribulation followers have to rely on piecing together the snippets of the end time events found throughout the Book of Daniel, the gospels, Revelation, and letters of the New Testament. This method of interpretation allows any of the three positions to be taken. Revelation was the last book to be written. It clearly was given to us to make clearer the picture of the sequence and scope of the end time events. We, as good stewards of the word, should not be shaken by vain attempts by others to self-organize these events in any other manner than that which our Lord Jesus Christ intended.
Set in the sixth century before
Christ, the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament is essential in rightly
understanding the Book of Revelation which closes the Bible in the New
Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ himself references Daniel when speaking of His
second coming, the false christs to come, and the “abomination of desolation”
(antichrist) who will appear in the last days before this second appearing
(Matthew 24:3-34). Daniel 9:24-26 sets the timeline of history into position
with the prophecy of the seventy weeks.
What is a week?
First we must get something straight. Seven day weeks these are not. The term in Hebrew is sabbath meaning seven. This seven did not always mean literally seven days. In Genesis 29:27 Jacob does a bridal week to earn Rachael, Laban’s daughter. This required seven years of labor on Jacob’s part to earn her hand. If we need additional evidence we look at Daniel 12 where the second half of the week mentioned in Daniel 9:27 is played out in 1290 days which is equivalent to 3 1/2 years or half of the seven year sabbath week. With a starting date we will be ready to do some calculations.
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks have been
decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to
make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy
place.”
This timeline is given in three parts. Parts 1 and 2 are declared as seven plus sixty-two weeks for a total of sixty-nine weeks (sabbaths) of years. Part 3, the seventieth week will not be dealt with until in a whole new historical context revealed in Daniel 9:26 after the fall of Jerusalem and a subsequent history of war and desolation.
Part 3 is found in Daniel 9:27. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering…
Artaxerxes Decree
The decree of Daniel 9:24 to rebuild Jerusalem was made according to chapter 2 of Nehemiah in the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign. This would be 444 BC. Now 483 Jewish years are equivalent to 476 actual years. Therefore, if we move 476 actual years forward from 444 BC, we arrive at 32 A.D. or 33 A.D. if we correct for the absence of a year 0 A.D. This is the time of the appearance of Messiah or in the Greek, the Christ. Then, as Daniel also foretold, the Messiah would be cut off. Supplement Daniel with Isaiah 53 and we have what is known as Christ’s Crucifixion.
The Popular Messiah
The opinion of the Jewish clergy at the time was that the Messiah was supposed to deliver the Jews from their oppressors and usher in the Kingdom of God on earth as in Zechariah 14:2-4 when the Lord appears on the Mount of Olives and goes forth against the nations. The suffering servant Messiah of Isaiah 53 wasn’t the popular interpretation of scripture in that era. The Jews sought a messiah who would deliver them from their current troubles. Reconciling these competing versions of the coming messiah wasn’t at issue in those days. The victorious messiah was the default understanding. There were many scriptures supporting the view. Israel longed for a deliverer who would defeat their oppressors. At the same time, there were several sections of scripture that pointed to a suffering messiah. When week seventy finally arrives at the end of time there will be no doubt what kind of messiah is appearing.
Sidenote to History
There is an interesting side note to a
likely reference in the Book of Daniel to the Book of Revelation’s announcement
of the first four of the seals of the Book of Seven Seals of Revelation chapter
6. The breaking of these seals release those who are known as the Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse. They bring about war, plagues, and famine upon the earth.
Daniel 9:26 reveals that after the Messiah is cut off, Jerusalem would
be destroyed and then “even to the end there will be war; and desolations
are determined.” This culminates in Daniel 9:27 with the abomination of
desolation, known in New Testament as the antichrist, making a covenant with
the Jews for seven years at the end of time. It is my contention, as well as a
few others, that God did not leave the two millennia of history since Christ
out of His final plan for the ages. This war and desolation in the
ages following Christ is also spelled out in the Book of Revelation in the acts
of these Four Horsemen. Many modern interpreters of scripture place all the
acts of the Four Horsemen within the short period of seven years at the end of
the Great Tribulation described by Christ while expounding on the Book of
Daniel in Matthew 24:21. This argument will be challenged at a later point.
The Prophetic Week
Jewish years are calculated on a 29 or
30 day month. This results in a calendar about 11 days short of a solar year.
The prophetic year is slightly different, derived from Revelation 11 and 13
where we find two periods of 1260 days. These periods cover the same events
first prophesied in Daniel 9 and 12. The two 1260-day periods equal what’s
referred to as a prophetic week of seven years. This computes as 7 years of 360
days each or 12 thirty-day months. Calculations of the appearance of Messiah
are based on the prophetic year.
Certain groups have determined that the dating of the appearance of Messiah by the weeks foretold in Daniel begins with a calculation beginning from the year 457 B.C. This is the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem given in Ezra 7. At first glance, this makes sense as Daniel indicated that, from the time that a decree was made to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, there would be seven and sixty-two weeks. Unfortunately, this decree met with failure due to insurrection by the people occupying Jerusalem at the time and a messenger sent to Artaxerxes that the Jews might rebel against him if the walls of the city could be repaired. He sent word to halt the restoration. It did not get his authorization again until he spoke with Nehemiah thirteen years later. Nehemiah requested a letter from the king to the governors of the land for cooperation and for the keeper of the king’s forest to supply lumber. The king granted all this, and work began in 444 B.C. Therefore, the dating of the prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks until Messiah most logically begins at the date of letter sent by the king in 444 B.C.
Once the issue of the date of
the decree to restore Jerusalem is solved, the problem with the dating of the
coming of Messiah remains with the prophetic 360-day which is 5 days short of
the solar year. After calculations, that equates to a loss of 7 actual years
from Daniel’s prediction, or 476 actual years. If you are counting 69 weeks
until Messiah, counting forward from the first decree to restore Jerusalem in
457 brings us to 19 A.D. If you count 70 weeks to Messiah, you have 26 A.D. On
the other hand, if we count from the final decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the
decree that finally got the job done, we calculate 69 weeks from 444 B.C the
result is 32 A.D. which becomes 33 A.D. corrected for the missing year zero.
What better accuracy could you expect?
Daniel gives us the point in
the prophecy where Messiah is crucified.
Daniel 9:25-26 So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in
times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be
cut off…
The way this is read is that
Messiah arrives and is cut off after 7+62, or 69 weeks, when He is crucified.
Knowing the brief treatment of history in the following verses concerning the
destruction of Jerusalem several decades after Messiah and other wars and
desolations to follow gives us a perspective to deal with this very brief
mention of the coming Messiah. Some interpret being cut off after the 69 weeks
as meaning He came at the end of week 69 and was crucified in the middle of
week 70. Others read this as the Messiah was present during week 69 and is cut
of, crucified, right after, or at the end of the 69 weeks. “After” is somewhat
of a relative term to be determined by the reader. Is “after” like the
after-church potluck which happens at the end of the service, or is it a longer
period of time? Further context of these 70 weeks can be gleaned in vs. 26-27.
Daniel 9:26-7 and the people of
the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end
will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are
determined. 27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for ONE
WEEK, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain
offering;
With a nod to coming history
after the fall of Jerusalem as “war and desolations are determined,” it reads
as if there is one week left in the prophecy; which would be considered week
70. These verses describe, for the most part, the event described in 2
Thessalonians 2:4 when the antichrist takes his seat in the temple in
Jerusalem. This event is further described as part of the end time scenario in
Daniel 12:4-13. This week seems to coordinate with the 69 previous weeks.
Further confirmation that the week 70 is included in the end time events after
the time of Messiah is revealed in vs. 24.
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks
have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring
in everlasting righteousness, to SEAL UP VISION AND PROPHECY and to anoint the
most holy place.
To “seal up” gives us time context for this prophecy. The word for “seal up” is
chatham in the Hebrew.
Strong’s #2856: chatham (pronounced khaw-tham’)
a primitive root; to close up;
especially to seal:–make an end, mark, seal (up), stop.
To SEAL UP the prophecy of 70
weeks was to cover all prophecy up to the CLOSE OR END of all revelation.
Therefore, even John’s book of prophecy is under its umbrella. The prophecy of
Daniel leads us through the first 69 weeks up to Messiah and even reached
beyond into history afterward. The time between Messiah and the week 70 is
briefly mentioned in vs. 26. Week 70 takes up in the end time which is expanded
on by John in the Revelation.
Jesus Himself refers to this
event during the week 70 in Matthew:
Matthew 24:14-15 14 This
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to
all the nations, AND THEN THE END will come 15 “Therefore when you see the
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).
Compare this to Daniel 12:
Daniel 12:11 From the time that
the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set
up, there will be 1,290 days.
Here we find Jesus relating the
second half of the prophetic week of Daniel 12 to the end time after the gospel
has been preached in the whole world. Daniel 12:4 also indicates his vision of
the seventieth week was directed at the end times. Those who claim all seventy
weeks were fulfilled by the time of Christ must deal with this statement by our
Lord. Week seventy has clearly been reserved for the end time.
