ISRAEL'S PROPHETIC WITNESS
“To Finish the Transgression . . . and to Anoint the Most Holy”
By
Doug Krieger
How
appropriate to terminate these reflections on the Desolator by announcing his
end through rehearsing, reviewing and reviving the turbulent legacy of Israel
from the “Seventy weeks are determined” (Daniel
9:24) unto
the sealing up (or anointing) of the Most Holy Place (Daniel
9:24b).
The persistence of this prophetic understanding of the end-times Antichrist
and of Israel’s Witness to the nations is overdue—and, for a progenitor of
Martin Luther to illuminate her wanderings and “hissing”
among the nations, along with her miraculous and recent materiality (much to
the chagrin of her theological (viz.
Hank Hanegraaff
of late) and
terrestrial foes), must appear incongruous for a multitude of reasons, the
least of which appears to identify with Israel’s prescient anticipation
TO FINISH THE
TRANSGRESSION.
Israel’s tumultuous witness throughout Daniel’s 70th Week and final Messianic fulfillment—is fitting justification to Messiah’s determination and ultimate triumph as the King of kings and Lord of lords over all those who reject His choice and who have done despite to the purposes of Him Who will vindicate Himself by opening in heaven “the Ark of His Covenant” as testament to His eternal character (Revelation 11:19).
It behooves us, as well, to expose the misunderstanding and misinterpretations surrounding the 2,300 days (Daniel 8:12-14) of the Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and now the Millennial Madness of one, Harold Camping, and the supercessionist calculations of Historicist Larry Wilson of Day Star, as well as the sinister schemes of eschatological bankruptcy announced by militant Amillenarian Alan Morrison, in this effort launched by the DESPICABLE ONE—the DESOLATOR to conceal, once again, his identity and lead astray God’s people into meaningless, dangerous and, most certainly spurious, beliefs and practices by manipulating prophetic numerology . . . distorting the true meaning of the text.
We evangelicals bear some responsibility in NOT venturing into these murky waters of eschatological ambiguity—only to allow peripheral evangelical denominations, even cults, along with surreptitious anti-Semites, to persuade scores of the unsuspecting into these sacred environs which are designed to substantiate the divine intent; instead, these 2,300 days have been grossly misinterpreted by the coming “Prince of the Covenant” to confuse and distract from the true Messiah’s final effort and coming, which will once and for all FINISH THE TRANSGRESSION (Daniel 9:24—i.e., the TRANSGRESSION OF DESOLATION, Daniel 8:13).
“For this survey, I purposely selected writers who wrote before the beginning of the 19th century when Baptist evangelist, William Miller (origins of Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses), and many others, both in Europe and the United States began teaching that the 2,300 days would end during the 19th century. It is important to note that before the 19th century there was no consensus position on the meaning of Daniel 8. In fact, very little has ever been written on Daniel 8 during the past two millenniums. Historically speaking, William Miller was among the first to bring Daniel 8:14 out of obscurity.” (Larry Wilson, The 2,300 Days of Daniel 8:14 found in Day Star, July/August, 1998)
That said, there are evangelicals who refuse to allow peripheral and aberrant eschatologies to take exclusive possession of the 2,300 days—and in so doing, to hail its true meaning on behalf of the Almighty’s purposes for Daniel’s “people and holy city.” Ours is neither to vilify nor to exonerate, neither to excoriate nor to justify (the Jews) – no, ours is to declare the unalterable mandate of the divine prerogative, for . . .
“If their (i.e., Israel’s) fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!” (Romans 11:12)
“For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15)
“Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28, 29).
Thus, as we approach the “seventy sevens” (weeks) determined “for your people and for your holy city” (Daniel 9:24), we must understand that these “sevens” have been prophetically designed by the Almighty to allow, not only “all the people of the land . . . your people . . . my people Israel. . . the holy people” (Daniel 8:24; 9:6, 15-16, 20; 10:14; 12:1, 7) to witness the “purposes of the Almighty” (Daniel 12:4) – but, as well, for the nations, the Gentiles, the “people of the prince who is to come” (Daniel 9:26) who conspire, contest and contend against this “people” until “the power of the holy people has been completely shattered” (Revelation 11:2; Daniel 8:10) . . . yes, they shall likewise behold His purposes. The Gentiles shall see in God’s dealings with Israel His purposes upon the earth, and in the unveiling of these intentions, Israel has, is and will be His witnesses to the nations – not because of their worthiness nor despite their trespass, but to vindicate the righteousness of Him who beforehand . . . .
“. . . committed them all (“shut them all up in”) to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32).
Therefore, for this reason, and for none other, we extol His decision . . .
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
‘For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?’
“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to who be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33-36).
Therefore:
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies . . . know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall (or “moat”) in troublesome times” (Daniel 9:24-25).
But after Messiah the Prince has been heralded by Israel, by “your people” – yes, “AFTER the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;” (Daniel 9:26a). Indeed, it was shortly four days after Messiah’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, riding up a donkey that He was “cut off” – was crucified – but “no fault” was found in the spotless lamb! (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38)
AFTER the “cutting off” of Messiah “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary . . . the end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26b). Just as the Gentiles “will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” – even so, it is “the prince who is to come” who will, “When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them” (Revelation 11:2, 7). This “DESOLATOR” – this “VILE or DESPICABLE ONE” (Daniel 9:27; 11:21) who, as we soon shall see, “. . . shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45).
For this “prince who is to come” – yes, this one . . .
“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:25-27) . . .
. . . (this Antichrist) shall have conspired to deceive, yet once more in the latter days after Israel’s ingathering, only to terminate their sacrifice and in its place “declare himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:4) . . . for “the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Daniel 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 14:15; Mark 13:14) shall inspire the Desolator (Daniel 9:27) to “make war against them, overcome them, and kill them” (Revelation 11:7) but, the day awaits his doom, for nigh when the “power of the holy people has been completely shattered” (Daniel 12:7) – even unto the “one thousand two hundred and ninety days” of his determined abominations (Daniel 12:11) shall this one – “the same horn (who) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them” (Daniel 7:21) “until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22) – even he shall come to his end.
The
“transgression of desolation” – wherein the rededicated sanctuary within the
crucible of Daniel’s 70th Week shall have its daily sacrifice terminated by
the Desolator – yea, “the host to be trampled underfoot” for 42 months, for
time, times and half a time, for 1260 days, for 3.5 years/3.5 days (Daniel
7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14; 11:2, 9, 11; 12:6; 13:5).
He shall have his horrid and vile conclusion “come to his end, and no one will
help him” (Daniel
11:45b)
. . . for he who “shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people through
his cunning (wherein) he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule” . . .
even this one who “shall exalt himself in his heart” . . . this one who shall
“rise against the Prince of princes” . . . “he shall be broken without human
means” (Daniel
8:24b-25)
. . . for . . .
“In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this”. . . yes . . . “a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces . . . and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:44-45; 34-35).
YOU ARE MY WITNESSES
Though some today would claim to be Jehovah’s exclusive “witnesses” – their flamboyant and altogether dubious organizational claims fly in the face of all prophetic witness – such prophetic testimony to the Gentiles, to the Gentile World Powers, “the nations” (not as unto individuals, per se, among the Gentiles), belongs to the exclusive purview of the Almighty’s choice of Israel – set aside and chosen upon the earth to fulfill the purposes of God – not for their sakes (by any stretch of one’s self-righteous imagination), but to declare “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God – how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out . . . for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33, 36).
“I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.’” (Ezekiel 20:41-44).
“Let all the nations be gathered together and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear and say, ‘It is truth.’ ‘You are My witnesses,’ say the LORD, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses,’ Says the Lord, ‘that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?’ . . . ‘I am the LORD, Your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.’ . . . ‘This people I have formed for Myself they shall declare My praise’” (Isaiah 43:9-13, 15, 21).
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no god. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’” (Isaiah 44:6-8).
God’s promises to “national” Israel (and be very clear, that is precisely what we’re discussing) are irrevocable – and that will be His declaration throughout eternity – the endless covenantal promises of Him Who declares the eternality of His promise (Jeremiah 33:19-26—and do read it) – a promise and covenant that no man can put asunder; nor deviant eschatological system destroy; nor clever cultic device His decree besmirch; nor Gentile dispersion, onslaught, religious intolerance and expulsion, persecution, Crusade, inquisition, ghetto, pogrom, assimilating flood, Holocaust or Jihad, nor ceaseless Middle East conflict – nor “Prince of the Covenant’s” deceptive treaty’s enforcement; nor Jacob’s Trouble through Beast and Gentile trampling and shattering of this holy people’s power, nor “doctrines of demons” destroy . . . for, whereas “nothing shall separate us (His Church) from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39) – even so, NOTHING will prevent “The Deliverer (Who) will come out of Zion . . . He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins” . . . for . . . “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable . . . and so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26-29) . . . for he will “finish the transgression and make an end of sins . . . make reconciliation for iniquity . . . bring in everlasting righteousness . . . confirm what the prophet saw and ‘anoint the Holy of Holies’” (Daniel 9:24 – NKJV, The Message, NLV).
“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and milk the breast of kings; you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob . . . For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah (Lit. ‘My Delight is in Her’) and your land Beulah (Lit. ‘Married’); for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married” (Isaiah 60:15-16; 62:1-4).
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT & THE NEW COVENANT
Thus,
to dispense with the Two Olive Trees in
Revelation 11:4
as naught but the Church’s
offices as “kings and priests” unto our God (Revelation
1:6) in
the triumphant testimony and turbulent testing before the “Tribune” (from
whence the word Tribulum and hence, “tribune” is derived—for the Judge
awaits the testimony of His Two Witnesses against that Great City, Babylon) –
before the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen.
18:25)
– the 70th and final Week of Daniel’s prophecy wherein that great winnowing of
the wheat (Matt.
13:30; Rev. 14:14-16; Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17),
the “separation” of the chaff from the wheat - does great prophetic
injustice to Daniel’s prophetic visions of “the holy covenant” (Daniel
11:28, 30)
– even “against the covenant” (Daniel
11:32).
The people of the covenant are indistinguishable from the “Covenant of the
Lord” (Revelation
11:18—“The
Ark of the Covenant”).
Let the Church perceive the mystery of her conception—for “in Christ” is she “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” – “for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation . . . and as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them even upon the Israel of God” – in that all true believers “in Christ” are the Israel of God (Galatians 3:29; 6:15-16). It is “in Christ” that the Church, once “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world . . . But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ . . . that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel . . . to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 2:12-13; 3:6, 10-11).
Nevertheless, and to the unscrupulous dismay of those who claim the full mantel of Israel, according to the flesh, as the totality of the New Israel of God—yet, are they awash in their superiority and have reduced the spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus to a vulgar distain towards those of the original olive tree in whom we have been grafted (Romans 11:17-36). Therefore, let it be abundantly clear to these Triumphalists – to those who know not nor yearn for National Israel’s promise through Paul that “God is able to graft them in again” – yes, let them be aware, their acceptance in the Beloved, “through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20) does NOT circumvent, negate, disannul, the promises made to the fathers—not one iota! Messiah’s announcement through the angel Gabriel regarding the “end of transgressions” is NOT a rude awakening to recalcitrant Jews— nor as some claim, “a hideous recognition of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah” which bears no salvific significance— indeed, it is “life from the dead” (Romans 11:15). This is the cleansing of the temple – this is the “end of transgressions.”
The Church is NOT the sole witness found in Revelation 11—her struggle, her primary witness is not against “flesh and blood, but her Two Lampstands shine against the “rulers of the darkness of this age” - against principalities, against powers, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12); however, Israel’s witness—her Two Olive Trees—bear their significance towards the “kingdoms of this world” – towards the “Image” which arose upon the Plains of Shinar and that Image’s patrimony. Thus, Israel and the Church – to earth and to heaven – bear joint testimony during the crucible of the 70th Week of Daniel.
Yes, it is that “COVENANT” that disturbs the nations; provokes Antichrist to assail “the holy people” (Daniel 8:24; 12:7); and, that declares after the wrath of God and the Lamb have reached “the consummation, which is determined is poured out upon the Desolator” (Daniel 9:27), and the “kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev. 11:11-13, 15) – and after “the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great and should destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:17-18) – yes, after all this: “THEN the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ARK OF HIS COVENANT was seen in His temple” (Revelation 11:19).
Do you think for one second that this COVENANT is not a Testament to His eternal purpose and plan? Is this not the ultimate manifestation of the very essence of His Person and Work—the height of His character in the crescendo of His perfection and promise? The testimony and tirade that transcends Revelation 11 climaxes in the persistence of His compact; in the Ark of His Covenant – the Agreement made on earth abides transcendent in its breath, length, height and depth – the heavens record his earthly dealings among the children of men – nothing can compete nor conflict with the covenant – “the Covenant of the Lord” (M).
As
the Church participates in the “blessings” (in particular, the soteriological
(salvation) aspects) of the New Covenant—that does NOT disannul Isaiah’s,
Jeremiah’s nor Ezekiel’s prophetic outbursts upon National Israel (Jeremiah
31:31-34; 32:37-40; 50:4-5; Isaiah 24:5; 59:20-21; 61:8-9; Ezekiel 16:60-63;
34:25-26; 37:21-28).
Amillenarianism’s stigma overshadows all prophetical interpretations of these
texts throughout. For them, the New Testament Scriptures which clearly speak
of the New Covenant (Luke
22:20; I Corinthians 11:25; II Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8; 9:15),
along with those which allude to it (Matthew
26:28; Mark 14:24; Romans 11:27; Hebrews 8:10-13; 12:24)
asserts that the Church is now fulfilling these Old Testament prophecies;
therefore, there is no need for an earthly fulfillment, an earthly millennium,
a National Israel.
The Church receives blessings of the Abrahamic covenant (Gal. 3:14; 4:22-31) through faith (i.e., “in Christ” – “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ . . . cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect”—Galatians 3:16-17), without being under or fulfilling that covenant (i.e., circumcision). In the same manner, the Church “in Christ” may receive blessings from the New Covenant (again, those related directly to salvation) without being under or fulfilling that New Covenant. Romans 11:26-27 makes it plain that this New Covenant can only be realized after the Second Coming of Christ. The 70th Week (or the “Tribulation Period”), nor the Second Coming of Christ, and most assuredly the Millennial age, are still yet future; therefore, the fulfillment of this New Covenant promise must be yet future—i.e., the Church cannot, therefore, be fulfilling this New Covenant (in particular those aspects directly associated with the material (Israel in the land—Jeremiah 32:41; Isaiah 61:8; Ezekiel 34:25-27)).
Likewise, Ezekiel 37:26-27a wherein it bespeaks of a rebuilt sanctuary in Jerusalem; the cessation of war and the establishment of the reign of peace (Hosea 2:18; Isaiah 2:4); and, the very fact that it is the blood of Jesus Christ which provides the basis of all Israel’s future blessings embodied in the New Covenant: “By the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water” – none of these “New Covenant” blessings have been fulfilled on behalf of National Israel; but the literal New Covenant which was made with the physical seed of Abraham is on behalf of the Church “realized, appropriated, experienced” IN CHRIST HIMSELF—yet “apart from any relationship of the church to this blood, the covenant stands as yet unfulfilled and awaits a future literal fulfillment” (Things to Come, Dwight Pentecost, p. 125).
In
sum, the New Covenant references in the Old Testament were made with National
Israel in view—the Jewish People. The New Covenant insofar as National Israel
concerns will be made during the 45-days between the 1,290th Day and the
1,335th Day found in
Daniel 12:11-12—after
the Second Coming of Christ “when the Deliverer shall come out of Zion and He
will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when
I take away their sins” (Romans
11:26-27; Isaiah 27:9).
The New Covenant’s prophetic promise abides—He cannot deny Himself! The
Church, through and “in Christ” partakes of the spiritual blessings and
benefits of that New Covenant through the blood of Christ, having been
“accepted in the Beloved” and “through the blood of the everlasting covenant”
enjoy that same salvation yet promised to National Israel. There is no
contradiction of the Scriptures here—NONE! There are not “two new covenants”
(one for the Church and one for Israel); there is no duplication in the work
of Christ—there is but one New Covenant predicated upon the blood of Jesus
which saves all before Abraham to Adam, and from Abraham to Christ, and from
Christ to the commencement of the Eschaton. Again, it is upon that “blood
covenant basis” that National Israel’s future Deliverance and Millenarian
commitments are actualized. Hallelujah to “the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world” (Revelation
13:8).
Likewise, the heavenly validation of the Ark of His Covenant is inseparable from the witness of Israel to “those who destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18) – the witness has been given; the witness has endured; and, the confirmation of that witness resounds in the heavens. Make no mistake – the expression “Ark of His Covenant was seen in His temple” is deliberate; evoking the language of the Hebrew prophet and confirming the nature and irrevocability of His everlasting promise.
Daniel’s prophetic discourse repeatedly cements the divine together with the people of His destiny—they are inseparable. It is for this reason that Antichrist is obsessed with Israel—to destroy her utterly. Describing the adumbrative exploits of Antiochus IV Epiphanes – (175 to 163 B.C.) and his invasion against Jerusalem in Daniel 11:29-39 we find this peculiar language which discloses the aforementioned obsession of the future Antichrist and his real intention:
“He shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits” (Daniel 11:30-32). (My emphasis.)
All that Antichrist can do to destroy the holy covenant he shall do. Separating the people from the holy covenant, through force or flattery, is his goal. As long as Israel would forsake the covenant—then would Antichrist’s aspirations succeed. It is that stolid covenant that outrages the Gentiles under the sway of the Beast who rises out of the turbulence of the Gentile Sea (Revelation 13:1). The COVENANT is the cosmic polarization which distinguishes the profane from the holy, the vulgar from the sanctified.
Again, the Gentile World Powers at the time of Daniel’s immediate prophecy were resolute in their determination to defile, to terminate the daily sacrifices and “do wickedly against the covenant” – be that (as was the case with the Hellenization of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes) the immediate destruction of Israel’s people through persecution and ultimate death; through usurpation of the high priestly title as “Prince of the Covenant” (Daniel 11:22); the termination of the daily sacrifices, and thus, the breaking of his own falsehood (Daniel 9:27) via the placement of the Greek god Zeus over the altar of burnt offerings in the temple—i.e., “the abomination of desolation” to which Jesus refers in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14; and the termination of all “Jewish significance” wherein circumcision, the Sabbath, and all dietary practices, including special feast days and times were terminated or altogether altered.
Through it all, this Antichrist – the ultimate Beast – foments his hatred toward the Covenant through his hatred toward those committed by the Almighty as a witness to these same Gentile World Powers . . . but in that hatred there is this overweening antagonism which is at the core of his contestation:
“He (Antichrist) shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done . . . and he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies . . . then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven . . . it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them . . . all who dwell on the earth will worship him” (Daniel 11:36; Revelation 13:5-8).
Yes, destroy this witness whose origins are of heavenly character—for Israel’s allocation, though upon the earth, is sealed in the heavens wherein the Ark of the Covenant – the Covenant of the Lord – abides forever! But the Antichrist-Beast, and all those who manifest the terrestrial traits of their father—the “father of lies”—find their portion wholly absorbed upon this dirt, for as Ray Stedman so accurately describes the “earthly” vs. the “heavenly” mindset:
“In verse 8 (Revelation 13:8) there is a reference to ‘All inhabitants of the earth.’ This sentence in verse 8 should actually read, ‘All the earth dwellers will worship the beast.’ We have seen this term before in Revelation, and it is in reference not to those who live on planet Earth, but to those who live only for this world, the materialists and humanists who have no use for heavenly things, no heavenly citizenship, no life except the so-called ‘good life’ here on earth. In contrast to these materialistic ‘earth dwellers’ are ‘those who tabernacle in heaven,’ whose names are ‘written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.’ Those who ridicule and slander people who believe in God also commit a form of blasphemy. When John speaks in this passage of ‘those who live in heaven’ (and a more precise translation would be ‘those who tabernacle in heaven’), he is not speaking of those who have died and gone to heaven, but of saints who live on the earth yet whose lives are governed by heavenly realities. They ‘tabernacle in heaven’ because they believe in the unseen spiritual realm of heaven and their thinking is guided by the Word of God” (Ray Stedman, God’s Final Word—Understanding Revelation, Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids, MI, 1991, pp. 248-9).
Yet, those governed by heavenly realities know full well that our redemption includes the redemption of our very bodies (Romans 8:23). Likewise, those believers who embrace a Gnostic understanding of His alleged purposes—and think that all tangibility bespeaks of the flesh—play into the spirit of antichrist; for, His original creation was good . . . He intends to redeem that creation, ultimately a “new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1) await the faithful.
ANOINTING THE HOLY OF HOLIES – THE MOST HOLY
This
is the Ark of the TESTAMENT – the Covenant of the Lord – the Ark of TESTIMONY
(Revelation
11:19)
– for its meaning is both a testament to God’s unwavering and unalterable plan
and purpose through the ages, forever recorded in the heavens – as well as the
Testament to His
Shekinah
Presence; to His Eternal Glory. Now, this “temple of God” opened in heaven,
with its Covenant of the Lord—the Ark of His Covenant, or His Testament,
immediately signals that the Holy of Holies has been anointed!
Now, played out on the earth, the initial disclosure concerning Israel’s Prophetic Witness immediately commences in Daniel 9:24 wherein the 70 weeks are forecasted “for your people and for your holy city.” We are not here to discuss the intricacies of the 490 years “from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince” – but as Daniel 9:24 astounds us all by announcing Israel’s 70 Weeks of prophetic astonishment - it immediately rushes to the finality of those 70 weeks into the SEVENTY-FIVE DAYS which exceed the final and 70th Week yet future! Heaven and earth are caught in the vortex of a final cosmic struggle between the “Prince who is to come” and the “Prince of the Host.” (Daniel 8:11; 9:26)—how that vision is delivered before Israel and the Church in these last days is of priority concern for this ministry; and, we believe for the spiritual vitality of God’s people at the close of this age, as well as the preparation for Israel’s miraculous deliverance and salvation.
No, you probably have not heard this interpretation until now—but I do believe the Lord has illuminated His Word to us at such a time as this to confound the wisdom of this world and to shake the foundations of the kingdoms of this world in so doing. Israel’s prophetic witness to the nations—even to those wherein His wrath is directed . . .
“The nations were angry (“Why do the heathen rage and imagine a vain thing?” – Psalm 2:1), and Your wrath (anger) has come” (Revelation 11:18).
. . . –is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophetic introduction:
“Seventy weeks (Lit, sevens) are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins (Lit, “to seal up sins”), to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy (Lit. “The Most Holy Place” – i.e., the Holy of Holies)” (Daniel 9:24).
DISPENSATIONALISM’S 2,300-DAY QUAGMIRE & AMBIGUITY
The
following ambiguity uttered by
Dr. John Walvoord
is sincere and represents the immediate consternation regarding the
interpretation of
Daniel 9:24
– his commentary, if read in full, is altogether inconclusive:
“Once it has been established that the prophecy relates to the people of Israel and the holy city Jerusalem, six important purposes of God are clearly discerned in verse 24: (1) ‘to finish the transgression’’ (2) ‘to make an end of sins’’ (3) ‘to make reconciliation for iniquity’; (4) ‘to bring in everlasting righteousness’ (5) ‘to seal up the vision and prophecy’; and (6) ‘to anoint the most Holy.’
“These six items, to be completed in the seventy sevens of Daniel 9:24, are comprehensive in nature. Some expositors, like Young, attempt to find three negative results, namely, ‘to finish the transgression,’ ‘to make an end of sins,’ and ‘to make reconciliation for iniquity.’ By contrast, the positive accomplishments would be ‘to bring in everlasting righteousness,’ ‘to seal up the vision and prophecy,’ and ‘to anoint the most Holy.’ This obviously is an arbitrary division, because ‘to make reconciliation for iniquity’ is a positive rather than a negative act and, on the contrary ‘to seal up the vision and prophecy’ is probably negative instead of positive. The preferable approach is to take each on its own merits.” (John Walvoord, Daniel – The Key to Prophetic Revelation, - please see pp. 216-223).
Walvoord continues through a number of outstanding commentaries of the “possible” understanding of the “determinant” text which lays out the panoply of God’s intentions for Israel—but then concludes:
“There is really no ground for dogmatism (i.e., in interpreting these six pronouncements in Daniel 9:24) here as there is a possibility that any of these views (which Walvoord gives in his text) might be correct. The interpretation of Keil and Leupold that it refers to the holy of holies in the New Jerusalem has much to commend itself. On the other hand, the other items all seem to be fulfilled before the second advent and the seventieth week itself concludes at that time. If fulfillment is necessary before the second advent, it would probably rule out Keil, Leupold, and Gaebelein, although millennial fulfillment could be regarded as part of the second advent. On the other hand, the six items are not in chronological order and it would not violate the text seriously to have this prophecy fulfilled at any time in relation to the consummation. If complete fulfillment is found in Antiochus Epiphanes as liberal critics conclude or in the first coming of Christ as characterizes Amillenarians like Young, this reduces the perspective. If the final seven years is still eschatologically future, it broadens the possibility of fulfillment to the second advent of Christ and events related to it such as the millennial temple. Amillenarians like Leupold, who hold to an indefinite period of time, can extend the final fulfillment to the eternal state.” (Ibid. p. 223).
Walvoord’s conclusions are in keeping with the wide disparities amongst the Dispensationalists, who, under the marketing of C. I. Scofield and his Bible regarding Daniel 8 can be summed up in this evaluation:
“So,
where did Scofield place the 2,300 days of
Daniel 8:14?
In his Bible commentary on
Daniel 8
he states, ‘This prediction was fulfilled during the bitter persecution under
Antiochus Epiphanies IV and in the cleansing of the sanctuary in Jerusalem.’
He is referring to a time-period that reaches from 168 B.C. to 162 B.C.,
historically known as the Maccabean revolt under Judas Maccabeus.
“Scofield’s reasoning is both simple and straightforward: He concludes that the ram of Daniel 8 is Persia and the goat is Grecia. (The Bible clearly states this.) Scofield then concludes that the horn power of Daniel 8:9 must be Antiochus Epiphanies (sic.) IV, a king who came out of Syria (which was located in one of the four divisions of the Grecian empire). Historians tell us that Antiochus persecuted the Jews and profaned their temple in Jerusalem. Scofield places the beginning of the 2,300 days on December 6, 167 B.C. when Antiochus desecrated the temple and ends that time-period on March 27, 160 B.C. when General Nicanor was killed.” (Larry Wilson, The 2,300 Days of Daniel 8:14, Day Star, July-August, 1998)
Indeed, I find concurrence with Larry Wilson’s Day Star article in exposing the fallacies of Scofield’s interpretation of the 2,300 days and the fact that Scofield disassociated the “little horn” (i.e., the future Antichrist as “seen in Antiochus IV Epiphanes”) and the mandatory prophetic aspects of that “little horn” associated with the 2,300 days:
“I believe Scofield correctly observes that the vision of Daniel 8 concerns the appointed time of the end, but this produces a bit of a problem. Most commentators on Daniel 8, prior to Scofield, considered the horn power (Daniel 8:9) and the ‘king understanding dark sentences’ (Daniel 8:23, KJV) to be the same entity. However, Scofield separates them. He concluded that the sinister figure in Daniel 8:23 (the king understanding dark sentences) is not the same entity as the horn power mentioned earlier in Daniel 8:9, but rather an allusion to the Antichrist during end-times. In other words, Scofield places 95% of Daniel 8 in ancient history and without displaying any connection between the past and the future, places the final verses of Daniel 8 in the future.
“I believe the horn power in verse 9 and the king understanding dark sentences in verse 23 are the same – the Antichrist who appears during the appointed time of the end. The horn power is obviously the only possible entity that can appear during the end-time, since the ram and goat are defined in the vision as the ancient world empires of Medo-Persia and Grecia. From my point of view, Scofield errs by separating the horn power from the specifications that go with the king understanding dark sentences, and then attempting to force Antiochus IV and the 2,300 days into an ancient setting.” (Ibid.)
Scofield’s thesis
deserves additional exposure by Wilson:
“Scofield chooses two events to mark the beginning and ending of the 2,300 days that have no textual relevance to Daniel 8 or the 2,300 days mentioned in verse 14. He begins with the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem and he ends with the death of General Nicanor about 2,300 days later.
“Using the future indicative tense, the prophecy in Daniel 8:14 simply states that the sanctuary will be cleansed when 2,300 days elapse. If the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is concerned with the temple in Jerusalem that Antiochus IV desecrated, then history does not support the claim of Scofield. According to 1 Maccabees 4:52-54, the rebuilt temple was purified, reconsecrated and services resumed three years later on December 14, 164 B.C. II Maccabees 10:1-8 also confirms that temple services resumed at this time. In other words, the length of time between the purification of the rebuilt temple by Judas Maccabee and the defilement by Antiochus is not even close to 2,300 days. This point alone should render Scofield’s view incorrect. (Editor’s Note: And it certainly does!)
“Although defenders of Scofield’s position acknowledge that temple services began long before the 2,300 days expired, they contend that temple services were only free of ‘destructive threat’ after General Nicanor died. Daniel 8:14 says nothing about a threat or about destruction. The Bible simply states, ‘then shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ (or restored NIV). Nonetheless, defenders of Scofield say the 2,300 days were fulfilled when Nicanor died because the threat of temple destruction disappeared after Nicanor died.” (Ibid.)
It is my conjecture that the overriding reasoning behind the immediate fulfillment of the 2,300 days in the context of Antiochus IV Epiphanes by Scofield had more to do with circumventing the plethora of spurious eschatologies already wrought within Seventh Day Adventism and the same as witnessed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and their pending 1914 date—in other words, “Let us be done with this gibberish and confine the 2,300 days as past prophetic fulfillment” (“for we can’t figure out where they fit in any future time line”). But this he did in spite of the obvious difficulties dealing with the “little horn” as Wilson has so aptly exposed; and, furthermore, compounding the “error of his way” Scofield attempts to approximate the 2,300 days into a time frame which wholly does not fit the prophetic time line—hence, the statements by Walvoord that these passages in Daniel 8:14 simply are somehow beyond “dogmatism!”
THE “LITTLE HORN” OF DANIEL 8:9
Wilson destroys Scofield’s argument that the 2,300 days is somehow related strictly to the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and rightly so. The “little horn” (or “younger horn”) of Daniel 8:9 is indeed connected to the “king of fierce countenance” in Daniel 8:23 and both references point to the final Antichrist—a brilliant observation on Wilson’s part!
Later on, however, we will see that Wilson, bound by his “year-day” thesis of ALL PROPHETICAL DAYS MUST BE INTERPRETED AS YEARS, places the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 B.C. and extrapolates the conclusion of the 2,300 days to the year 1844, where, like the Seventh-day Adventists, he claims that Christ commenced in the heavens the alleged INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT of both saint and sinner—abusing the interpretation of Daniel 7:9-10; not realizing that contextually, Daniel 7:9-10 is immediately connected to the judgment of the “younger horn” or “the beast” and that the “books” so opened signal the pouring out of the Wrath of God and the Lamb (Revelation 15-16; 11:18); His Second Advent (Revelation 19:11-21); and the subsequent cleansing of the temple (Daniel 9:24b, 27b; 12:12; Matthew 23:39) and the immediate judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-33) prior to the 1,000-year literal Millennium (Revelation 20:1-6).
By this methodology or hermeneutic (“day-year”), and under the influence of his Amillenarian/Replacement theology background, Wilson sees little, if any, immediate connection of the 2,300 days within the context of a future regathered National Israel in the latter days and how those 2,300 days play out within a 70th Week yet future—since, according to Wilson and virtually all Amillenarians, that full 70th Week played out at the first coming of Christ.) But Wilson’s comments on the “little horn” are outstanding.
“I believe the horn power in verse 9 and the king understanding dark sentences in verse 23 are the same – the Antichrist who appears during the appointed time of the end.” (Ibid.)
THE GRECO-ROMAN NATURE OF THE “YOUNGER-LITTLE HORN”
The commencement of the vision given to Daniel in Daniel 8 points to the immediate future—i.e., the dominance of the ram or the Medo-Persian empire. From here, the vision shifts to a more distant future—i.e., the exploits of Alexander the Great who died in 323 B.C. and whose empire divided into four parts, as follows:
(1) Ptolemy (Egypt, Cyrene, Coele-Syria, and some of the northern parts of Asia Minor.)
(2) Cassander, of Macedon and Greece.
(3) Lysimachus, of Thrace, Western Bithynia, Lesser Phrygia, Mysia, and Lydia, with the Meander for a boundary.
(4) Seleucus, of the remainder of Asia Minor, and the east.
What confirms Wilson’s thesis are the repeated phrases which confirm the “time of the end” of the vision (not just these immediate implications):
1. “The vision belongs to the time of the end” (vs. 17).
2. “I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation: for
3. “it belongs to the appointed time of the end” (vs. 19).
4. “in the latter time of their kingdom, when
5. “transgressors are come to the full” (vs. 23).
6. “Shut thou up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come” (vs. 26).
The preponderance of these passages makes it abundantly clear that the dominating emphasis of the vision is centered in “the last days” and upon the Antichrist, the world-ruler or “little horn” of the “end of days.” It is only in “his days” that the “fullness of transgression” can culminate and judgment finally fall—even so, “the iniquity of the Amorites is full” (Gen. 15:13-16) and so their judgment was meted out.
This “little horn” – because the term is repeated from Daniel 7:8 – connects itself to the “fourth beast.” In previous commentary we have pointed out that the “little horn” in Daniel 7:8 is decisively ROMAN in nature (as was the Fourth Beast) and that the “little horn” of Daniel 8:9 is GRECO in nature (this “younger horn” is one in the same but with two natures combined in one); hence, Antichrist will be GRECO-ROMAN or the leader of Western Civilization, the dominant civilization in the latter days. The progression of the dominant world civilization is utterly Western in its advance according to Scripture.
G. H. Lang, and others, asserts that “Antichrist will be the king of Assyria with Babylon as his capital, which of old was in the dominion of Seleucus, who gained the eastern area of the empire of Alexander.” (G. H. Lang, The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel, p. 115). Lang and we at the Tribnet may, however, be in accord, in that the West, currently under the leadership of the United States of America, dominates Middle Eastern politics, specifically Iraq (ancient Babylon) and does not plan to leave any time soon!
Lang takes this identification of Antichrist based on “the Assyrian” mentioned in Isaiah 10:5, 12 and 24 and other portions which logistically place, according to Lang, Antichrist as “the king of the north” (Jer. 1:14; Ezek. 26:7) in ancient Assyria. I digress here because this persistence that Antichrist’s identity is strictly Middle Eastern is altogether erroneous based upon the identification of the “younger horn(s)” found in Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:9. Lang’s proposition that “when Antichrist arises he will not come at Rome, or anywhere in the West . . . Had this been understood many vain and misleading speculations would have been avoided, such as that of the Pope, or the Papacy, or Napoleon, or others, being he (Ibid. pp. 115-6)” is flawed. Why? Because its basis is wholly outside the immediate environs of Daniel. When taken, once again, in context, the “little horn” dominates the Greco-Roman world within Daniel’s prophecies.
He will have “fierce eyes” (i.e., “countenance” or “having eyes as the eyes of a man” – Dan. 7:8) and his mouth will “speak great things” (i.e., “pompous”). Furthermore, he will “understand dark sentences.” Here, I would quote G. H. Pember’s remarks in his text, Great Prophecies, pp. 125-27):