Chapter 6
Introductions to Chapter 6
Again, this Chapter continues from Chapter 5, dealing with the practical application of Holy Spirit’s prescription for real Bible Study with the full help of the Comforter sent by Jesus to lead us into all Truth. This Chapter opens with document #06_01, Bible Study Method. The emphasis here is on the overlapping time-lines of Daniel and Revelation, that are unveiled by applying HISTORY to the prophecies. “Prophecy is history before it happens!” The very history of the Seventh-day Adventist Reformation Movement came from the principles shared with you in this document.
Scripture Text: Daniel 12:4
Title: Bible Study Method
In our approximately weekly seminar on Our Message, from the Three Angel Messages of Revelation 14, I have been supplying you with photocopyable pamphlet studies of a number of things that make up Our Message. Last time, you received one on Daniel 2’s great metalic image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and one on Daniel 7’s “beasts” and how they lead us to know who the “beast” is that we are warned not to worship in The Three Angel’s Messages given in Revelation 14:6-12.
The prophecies of the latter part of Daniel, from chapter 7 on, and the prophecies of all of the book of Revelation, are to be unveiled by one understanding. Imprint this on your memory as a very important understanding. Here it is again. From Daniel 7 through to the end of Revelation, all of these prophecies are going over the same earth-history as the metalic image, but with increased information about sections of the history that are brought into special focus. (Re-read above paragraph.)
With that understanding, and the realization that “Prophecy is history before it happens,” we were able to plug in the history of nations that fulfilled each symbol, right up through Revelation! By looking back from the “time of the end,” even “the hour of His Judgment,” where we are today in prophetic history, we can accurately name each “beast” AND know what to WATCH OUT for!
As introduction to the materials for the Seminar that I will give you at the end of today’s study, I ask that you turn to Daniel 12:4. We want to note it’s meaning. Daniel was told to “…seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” As you probably know, for the benefit of mainly secular audiences, our evangelists point out that travel world-wide, and tremendous increase in knowledge, are real signs that we are in the “time of the end” spoken of in this verse. The unintended result is that very many Adventists believe that that is the meaning of this text!
If that is not the meaning of this text, then what is its true meaning? What do you think? Here’s a clue. I have been teaching you to apply prophetic history to your interpretation of Scripture. What history applies here? When does the “time of the end” begin? What date? Key-word “end.” Daniel 12:7 tells us. From the middle of the verse, “…it shall be for a time, times, and an half.” – at the end of the 1260 prophetic days time prophecy, which ended at what date? 1798. So, what prophetic history applies here? What happened in 1798? The Papacy was taken out of the position of power to persecute God’s people, by Napoleon’s general Berthier. The “man of sin” being thus “taken out of the way,” through God’s direction, allowed that by 1805 the Bible Societies began to distribute the Bible freely in England and the United States.
Therefore, the real meaning of Daniel 12:4, has to do with the resurgence of Biblical knowledge as the Bible became easily available to other than the priests of Catholicism. And what does it mean to “run to and fro?” Rather than referring to travel, which has nothing much to do with God’s Providence, especially of the KJV Bible after 1798, it refers instead to Bible Study Method, by which knowledge is increased! What breakthrough in Bible Study Method did William Miller use that subsequently many thousands of ordinary Christians have used? Friends, I cannot emphasize enough to you the importance of the Bible Study Method God has provided, that is written in the Bible itself! God caused William Miller to find the text and proclaim the amazing efficiency of God’s own Bible Study Method. By using God’s prescription for Bible Study Method, William Miller unsealed Daniel’s book; and knowledge of the mysteries of the prophecies and of the gospel has been terrifically increased!
Where is this prescription for Bible Study Method found in the Bible? Isaiah 28:9,10. Please, turn there now. I want you to see how God Himself feels about the fact that so many people don’t use His prescription for real Bible Study. Isaiah 28, verses 9. (read) The “he” spoken of here is God. (see v.13.) And He Himself, Holy Spirit, shall teach knowledge to and make to understand doctrine those who use His study method prescription. The next verse, verse 10, uses repetition to show emphasis. Remember that they didn’t use underlining like we now do, for emphasis. (read).
This is the Lord’s prescription for Bible Study Method. Now, let’s see what was happening because of neglect of His method prescription. (read on to v.13). By their neglect (or even outright refusal) to use this method, and to share it with everyone who seeks knowledge from the Scriptures, the poor Jewish nation had been snared and taken by Satan. Through Hosea, God proclaimed, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest (teacher of Biblical doctrine) to Me.” Hosea 4:6.
Again I say, friends, that I cannot emphasize enough to you the importance of your personal use of God’s Bible Study Method prescription. There is much yet to be understood from the prophecies regarding our time in the prophetic time line. See Chapter 7 of this website.
In the Great Awakening that began in 1843, [God predicted the date of the Great Awakening! – 1335 days in Daniel 12:12!] many ordinary people searched the Scriptures to see if what William Miller taught was true, and, using the Bible Study Method he proclaimed that God had prescribed, they hammered out the Bible teachings (doctrines) that became the foundation of this Remnant Church! In the Sabbath Conferences that built that foundation, elder James White focused on the prophecies that were still to be fulfilled and, note this, he brought to the Conferences his 25 cent Bible, and his nearly worn out Concordance, that no longer had any covers!
I myself testify to you that God’s prescription for Bible Study Method works so well that I have discovered many things from God’s Word. My special interest is prophecy, as you might know, and I tell you there is much we have yet to know as prophetic history unfolds. I am constantly amazed that the same key-words are used here and there throughout the 66 books of the Bible, even though they were written spanning 1500 years, by over 40 different people! And did you know that scholars have found that the book of Revelation points back to every other book of the Bible so that we can find out the meaning of the symbols? One major caution: only in the King James Version of the Bible will you find this prescription clearly stated, and only in the King James Version does it work absolutely flawlessly! God was the one who Provided the KJV to the pioneers of the Remnant so that they could unseal the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. God was the one who taught William Miller to use His Bible Study Method prescription. Therefore, use your KJV as your Study Bible if you desire to be taught of God!
I use the other versions to read, and to get some help understanding difficult passages, but have found, by much comparison, that “line upon line” rarely works in them, because they change the key-words! Imagine where we would be today, if William Miller had used the New International Version (the NIV), where Daniel 8:14 says, “It will take 2300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” In a Concordance to the NIV, now available, the word “reconsecrated” is used only once – in Daniel 8:14! How would William Miller have unsealed Daniel’s prophecy of the 2300 days? Or, how about the prescription itself, from Isaiah 28 in the NIV? There it reads, “Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there.” Further, the meaning gets completely lost in some versions, such as the New English Version, which says, “It is all harsh cries and raucous shouts, ‘A little more here, a little there!'”
William Miller used his King James Version of the Bible and a Concordance to the Bible, and found a chest-full of gems of truth, besides unveiling Daniel’s time prophecies and the nearness of Christ’s Second Coming. Elder White, and thousands of others, used the same tools to build a Biblical foundation for this Remnant Church.
Real Bible Study answers our questions, and God wants to speak His answers to us from His Word. Let us also compare line with line, here a little, there a little, and use a Concordance! If you haven’t one, get one! I recommend Cruden’s Concordance. It is a simple text finder, not cluttered with stuff you don’t need.
For your Seminar materials for today, I have for you a study called “Christ’s Riddle.” It is a good example of the use of God’s prescription for real Bible Study. Many books have been written trying to interpret this riddle, even one by one of our own Seminary professors at Andrews University. All fail to get it right, because they didn’t apply God’s prescription for Bible Study, “line upon line, here a little, there a little,” using the key-words, and therefore missed out on the blessing of Holy Spirit’s help!
Also for today’s materials, I have for you a study about the state of the dead from a new angle, and a careful study about Antiochus Epiphanes as the “little horn” power, taken from Uriah Smith’s excellent book, “Daniel and the Revelation.”
These complete our Seminar on our Message up to present day. After these, we will study the near future in prophecy, carefully using the principles of interpretation that we have established. I pray for each of you, that you will read, study, assimilate and share the many parts of our Message in preparation for, and even perhaps in fulfillment of the “loud cry” of the Three Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
The second document, #06_02, Christ’s Riddle, is a difficult riddle from Jesus Himself, that requires the use of “line upon line, here a little, there a little” to unfold the riddle. Many have tried, and books have been written, but they all fail if they interpret it by any other method. God is serious about “line upon line!” “Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine?”
Along with this, we must use historicist interpretation – plug in the history all along the time-line. We thus find ourselves at the time of the inauguration of the 8th “beast!” the NEW WORLD ORDER/NEW WORLD CHURCH.
Scripture: Revelation 17:10-13
Title: Christ’s Riddle
Have a pen handy will you? We are going to underline some big, yet small words in our Bible. Before we can unfold Christ’s Riddle, we need a little bit of history of the Great Advent Awakening. William Miller, the farmer who became preacher of the Advent near, turned the world upside down with his unsealing of the Book of Daniel, and his preaching that Jesus was about to return to earth in “the Second Coming” or Advent, in fiery Judgment!
Much of what he preached has never been refuted since, and my interest, for the sake of this study and your edification (learning) is the “how” of his unsealing of Daniel’s prophecy of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14. The Bible available to him was, in the Providence of God, the King James Version of the Bible distributed by the Bible Societies as soon as God removed the restriction of the reading of the Bible by the Papal (Catholic) church. The Papacy was “taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Also available to him was the Concordance to the Bible, a text-finder. William Miller became affectionately known as “the old man and his Concordance.”
He used the Concordance to let the Bible interpret itself. Many verses, in prophecy especially, are difficult to understand because of the symbols used, but other texts from the same key words, explain the symbolisms and clear up the mysteries. It was in the Providence of God, however, that only the King James Version works reliably in this way. I know it is Providence from God, because Isaiah 28:9-13, reveal that this is God’s chosen prescription for personal Bible Study, but only the KJV states it in clear language for us. Would you turn to Isaiah, chapter 28, please? All other versions of the Bible change the wording of this and many other texts. Some versions of this text even become unintelligible! Those of you who have other versions with you today will see what I mean as we read this text from the KJV. Isaiah 28:9-13 (read – compare with other Bibles).
The proof, however, is in the use of the prescription. Daniel 8:14, the prophecy William Miller unsealed by using “line upon [compared with] line, here a little, there a little,” in the KJV says, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.” The word “cleansed” is changed in every other version! Only the KJV allows you to find out what the “cleansing” is, by using the key-word “cleanse” in the Concordance, which will take you to Leviticus 16:30, and (take special NOTE) it’s context. Always read verses in their context. [I read about the size of a chapter around a text that may give God’s answer.]
We will today use God’s prescription for personal Bible study, to unravel Christ’s Riddle, so that every one of you may use Holy Spirit’s prescription, and teach it to others and to your children. Question: Who is the one who will “teach [you] knowledge,” and “make [you] to understand doctrine?” (teachings of the Bible). Turn quickly to John 14:15 to 18 and note carefully verse 26. (read now). Holy Spirit is the one Who is our Bible Teacher!
And now, at last, Christ’s Riddle. Revelation 17:10-13 (read). “Five are fallen, and one is.” When, in history, can we say something “is” that is foretold in prophecy? (Yes, Christ’s Riddle is also a prophecy). The principle to remember is this: “Prophecy is History, before it happens.” So, historical events will fit into the prophecy time-line till we get to what “is.” Kind of like filling in the blanks. Beware of other interpretive methods to find where an “is” becomes fulfilled. (re-read above).
Two texts, found by William Miller, using his Concordance, revealed that a “day” is a year, when used in prophecy (Numbers 14:34, and Ezekiel 4:6). It followed that Daniel’s 2300 days was 2300 years, and at their end, on October 22, 1844, Daniel’s prophecy would come to the “cleansing of the Sanctuary!” The very day after October 22, 1844, God revealed to Hiram Edson, another Millerite, that Daniel’s 2300 days, which led to Revelation 14:7 – “the hour of His Judgment” (because the “cleansing of the Sanctuary” in Leviticus, is the Judgment day at the end of each religious year) would be a new work begun by Jesus in the Sanctuary in heaven at the end of the 2300 days! It is clear that the 3 Angel’s Messages of Rev. 14:6 to 12, became Present Truth at the end of the 2300 days!
Beginning on the day of October 22, 1844, the “is” time of Revelation 14:7 came on the prophetic time-line. Again, I emphasize, that it followed that the 3 Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 became Present Truth at the end of the 2300 days! We are in the “hour of His Judgment!” Turn again to Revelation 14. Revelation 14:7 says, “Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His Judgment is come.” Would you underline that “is” in your Bible, right now? Then we’ll go to the “is” of Revelation 17:10, in Christ’s Riddle. Rev. 17:10.”Five are fallen, and one “is”…underline that “is” will you? And cross- reference beside it somewhere – Rev. 14:7. This “is,” in Rev. 17:10, also became fulfilled as the incident described falls on the prophetic time-line. I repeat: an “is” becomes fulfilled as the incident described falls on the prophetic time-line.
But this one is not the same point in time as 1844. At some point in history, five kings are fallen, and one “is” and the other (of the seven) is not yet come. Our key-word, now, is “kings.” Keep your finger in Revelation 17, and turn back to Daniel. The Concordance leads us back to Daniel 7:17 (read). “These great beasts…are four kings” (there’s our key-word). These beasts are (great) kings. Does that help, you say? It does when we read the next verse of Rev. 17; verse 11. Look back at Rev. 17: 11 to see it. ” And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven.” Do you see it? These (great) kings are at the same time “beasts!” The eighth “beast” is of the seven (beast-kings) that preceded it!
With that key to the prophecy in hand, we may now proceed. There have been thousands of kings over the span of history. But only few does Jesus call “beasts” in the Bible. Our new key-word, therefore, is “beast.” Our question now is, where in history do we start? With Egypt? With Syria or Assyria (who destroyed the 10 tribes of Israel a hundred years before Babylon finished off the other two tribes of Israel?) or with Babylon, or where? Satan’s destructive kingdoms against God’s elect include all of these and more later in history, such as the Turks and the Ottoman Empire.
But in what special group of kingdoms, is included the “beast” of Revelation 13 which has the characteristics of the beasts of Daniel’s prophecy? I’ve given it away, haven’t I? Are Egypt or Assyria ever called “beasts,” in the Bible? No: prophecy calls only certain kingdoms “beasts.” The first time the figure is used is in the visions given Daniel, foretelling the 4 great kingdoms to come; and only those that would rule the whole known world. So, the first 4 beasts of prophecy are: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Pagan Rome. Add Revelation 13’s beast, underline it now, which in history would be Papal Rome, and we have beast #5! (In the other figure used in Daniel (chapter 2) the statue of various metals, note that there were 2 arms – representing Medo-Persia – and 2 legs of Rome – Pagan and Papal. Papal Rome is the second leg if you will – the Holy Roman Empire of the Dark Ages).
The Pagan Roman Empire began to end with Emperor Constantine, who became a Christian, and gave to the Papacy his seat in Rome, (330 A.D.) while he moved his own capital to Constantinople in the East, (today’s Istanbul) which was considered the most strategic crossroads in the world. But the Empire was soon after subdivided into 10 kingdoms as the Empire was broken up by the barbarian invasions. It took the Papacy just over 200 years to regain its supremacy, now over these 10 kingdoms, by subjecting them to the Catholic faith. Three of them, she caused to be destroyed (3 horns “plucked up by the roots” – Daniel 7:8) to end the last opposition, that of the followers of a priest called Arius.
She thereafter ruled for 1260 prophetic days – years – (see Rev. 13:5 compared to Rev. 12:6) from 538 till 1798, when she received her mortal wound (Rev. 13:3) at the hands of France under Napoleon. It is at this latter time, 1798, that the 5 are fallen!
So, Papal Rome is also already fallen when the “is” of the prophetic time-line is reached in our riddle. Is there a sixth “beast” we can find? You may have noted another “beast” in Revelation 13, right after the Papal “beast” is described in vs. 1-10. (Note: find the key-word “beast” in v. 11 and underline it.) Rev. 13:11 is America in prophecy. Natural conclusion? America, the second “beast” of Rev. 13, must be “beast” #6! Right? …Careful: you must study carefully, to show yourself approved of God. Remember William Miller? He accepted the traditional belief of centuries [NOTE – a preconception] that the Second Coming (Advent) of Jesus fulfills the “cleansing of the Sanctuary.” Because God had another purpose for the proclamation of the Advent near, Miller didn’t finish his “line upon line” study of the “cleansing of the Sanctuary;” [what is the Sanctuary? – the one in heaven!] a surprising failure indeed, when we consider his emphasis on this Bible Study Prescription! But Christianity had no knowledge of the heavenly Sanctuary, for the Papacy had taken away the “daily” – the work of Jesus in it, and “cast down” the Sanctuary. Dan. 8:11.
So; is America Kingdom #6? Well, let’s go to the Bible’s description of the French Revolution; Revelation 11. Why there? Because we find our key-word “beast” there, according to the Concordance (and therefore another one of the “beast” powers)! France, at that time in history, took the Papacy “…out of the way!” Logically, “beast” #6 would be the one that takes out the Papacy.
Revelation 11 tells us that for the 1260 years of the Papal Roman kingdom, two witnesses of God prophesied, while clothed in sack-cloth. Sack-cloth is attire for mourning – they are mourning the lack of interest in their messages by professed Christians. What are the two witnesses? They are the Old and New Testaments, symbolized by Moses and Elijah. Come down Revelation 11 to verse 7, when they have finished their 1260 year testimony, while clothed in attire for mourning. Oh! Did you notice it? What do you see in v. 7? Underline it, right now.
Which “beast” is this? Is there a clue? He ascends out of “the bottomless pit” and makes war against the two witnesses, and takes out the Papacy, during the French Revolution. Revelation 11 is the story of the French Revolution. What “bottomless pit?” How must we study, if we want to be taught true knowledge by Holy Spirit? Key-word – “bottomless pit.” This is probably the hardest study you’ve ever done, isn’t it? But stay with it; we will discover the answer to Christ’s Riddle!
Going on; key-word – “bottomless pit.” Our Concordance leads us to Rev. 9:1 & 11. Start with v. 1 (read). Hmm…what does a star represent? The Concordance again brings us an answer from Rev. 1:20, that stars, in prophecy, are angels. And so, Rev. 9:1 tells of an angel that falls from heaven unto the earth, and he is given the key to “the bottomless pit.” Now Bible students realized that this verse is referring to Satan, who fell from heaven unto the earth, but not at the time of the fifth trumpet in history; so by checking the translation, they found it actually says, “that had fallen from heaven.”
So, read Rev. 9:1 again. John was shown Satan, who had fallen from heaven and was given the key of the bottomless pit. He opened the bottomless pit when the fifth trumpet sounded, releasing one of his agents of destruction, the Moslems, who warred against Christianity as it was at that time in history. The Concordance points to the key-words “bottomless pit” again, in Rev. 9:11. When compared to verse 1, verse 11 seals our star-is-an-angel interpretation, for, “They had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,” whose name is destroyer in both Hebrew and Greek. – Satan. So what is the bottomless pit? I believe it is the symbolic abode of fallen angels, the demons and their leader, Satan; the “underworld” if you will. See 2 Peter 2:4; and 1 Peter 3:18 and 19.
But now our work becomes somewhat more difficult. The agent of destruction Satan releases here in Rev. 9 is not the one that ascends out of the bottomless pit in Rev. 11, that ends both the Papacy and the witness of the Old and New Testaments. The Turkish power referred to here in Rev. 9, in the flow of prophetic history [Note Well] does not receive the name “beast.”
It is also not America in prophecy, Rev. 13:11 and following, for she did not destroy the Papacy. We have one more resource left to us for use in our study. History! “Prophecy is history in advance.” What hellish kingdom, under Satan’s influence, destroyed Bible religion and gave the Papacy her mortal wound? Our key-word “beast” has shown up again, according to the Concordance, in Revelation 11:7. That chapter of the Bible is about the French Revolution, when the Bibles were burned in Paris, and the pope of Rome was taken into captivity by Napoleon’s general Berthier. Now the history gets real interesting. What kind of kingdom was set up in France, during the French Revolution, that was responsible for destroying all of the Bibles (and their testimony) and for her famous general taking out the Papacy?
The people of Paris paraded a “goddess of reason” in the person of a vile woman, through the streets of Paris. Notre Dame (Our Lady) Cathedral was desecrated and re-named “the Temple of reason.” From now on, they proclaimed, they would worship man’s reason in place of God. (Does that sound familiar?) They wanted nothing to do with the oppressive god of the Papacy, so they became atheist. This atheistic kingdom did not last very long. Three and one-half years later, the government re-instated religion and the Bible in France as the only remedy to the “reign of terror” and lawlessness that had immediately developed.
What happened to the atheistic kingdom? It didn’t develop till another whole century later, when the writings of the French atheists were picked up by Russia, and became the philosophy of Communism. Yet, atheism, whose king is Satan, is one of the “beasts,” the one which originally took out the Papacy! Later, it finally developed into a real kingdom, under Russian atheism, behind “the iron curtain.” Recent historians estimate that the Communist atheist government put to death as many Christians in its history as the Papacy did in such a span of time! Atheism is truly a system whose king is Satan, the fallen angel of the bottomless pit, the destroyer! Communist atheism waged war against Bible religion!
Now; an important point. Atheism is a system of belief within Communist government. It is not a kingdom of the whole world at its time. The Bible prophesied, in the book of Daniel, that there would be only 4 great kingdoms that would rule the whole known world. They are: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Pagan-Papal Rome. Papal Rome has continued, and will continue, till Christ comes. But Papal Rome, and the “beasts” that make up the rest of the seven of our riddle, although they are political systems, they are, according to Dan. 7:8, with special reference to the Papacy, diverse (different) from all of the 4 “beasts” that came before. The Papacy was a system of religion ruling as supreme over the ten divisions of government of the whole of Europe – a king of kings. The systems that follow the Papacy (that also have fought, or will fight against true Christianity) were atheism – a non-religious system within Communist Russia and the East; and Protestant America, another religious-political system, more and more like the Papacy was, as time goes on!
According to Rev. 13:11 and following, America will be similarly ruled by the religious system of Protestantism allied with the Papacy. The Protestant system had become, even by 1844, fallen spiritually like the Papacy is, and will speak like a dragon – a persecuting power against God’s remnant people! For our purposes, since the atheistic power had not yet developed into Communism at the fall of the Papacy by its mortal wound (1798), history is now confirming that it is “the other [that] is not yet come: and when he cometh [over a hundred years later!] he must continue a short space.” (Rev. 17:10). Communism is failing; Russia fell, and religion is being re-instated world-wide. Thus Communist atheism is the “beast” that had not yet come, while America, a kingdom (“beast”) set up in 1776, just before the French Revolution, is the kingdom that “is” when the point on the prophetic time-line came, when the Papacy fell (1798)! America is the 6th “beast” and Communist atheism is the 7th “beast,” (Rev. 11:7) that must [has continued] only a “short space!” Wow! WE ARE PAST THAT ON THE PROPHETIC TIME-LINE!
So now; let’s unfold all-together Christ’s Riddle, that He has given us the key (the key-word “beast”) to unfold. But take special note of this – I believe God gave us this riddle to challenge us to use His prescription for Bible study on our own: “line upon line, here a little, there a little,” combined with relevant history. Five are fallen – Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, plus Papal Rome, which became #5 because of its supreme importance. Jesus extended the “beast” imagery from Daniel into its use for Revelation, largely because in Daniel the Papacy was the “little horn” (Daniel 7:8) but developed, in the Christian era, into a full-fledged “beast.” – “The Holy Roman Empire.” #6 is Protestant America, founded in the New World, where God’s church fled from Papal oppression, and #7 is atheistic Russia.
Now: Our 8th “beast” (remember the key-word?) is in Rev. 17, verse 3, according to the Concordance. Revelation 17:3. Would you please underline it now? It is a scarlet-coloured “beast,” full of names of blasphemy (I am God on earth!). And what power is #8? The 8th is of the 7, and goes on till Jesus comes and destroys it. It is the Papacy once more (revived) whose mortal wound was healed, in 1929, when Mussolini gave the pope the Papal States (only a part of the city of Rome) as a kingdom, in return for financial backing of his facist movement in Italy. The Papacy has again risen to great religious and political power in the world. She, (a church personified as a vile woman in Rev. 17 – Babylon, mother of harlots) “ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Rev. 17:8). Satan, “the angel of the bottomless pit,” has always given the Papacy “his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2)!
So there you have it. We have now unfolded Christ’s Riddle. This study has been an exercise, with you, in Bible study method, according to God’s requirements for accurate study of His Word, with Holy Spirit’s blessing and aid. We must study “line compared with line, here a little, there a little,” if we want to find truth. It is a gift from God to His people, so they can find the truth for themselves, and not be deceived by wicked men in high places, such as the several “beast” powers in existence today. We must search out the truth, using key-words from Bible verses and a Concordance to the Bible, and we must apply history to the prophecies, because, “Prophecy is history before it happens!”
The remnant church will soon be engaged in a desperate war with, according to Rev. 16:13, an alliance consisting of all three of these “beast” systems who are under Satan’s power. They are: Atheism [which includes “Pagan” religions], the Papacy, and fallen Protestant America, called, respectively, the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. Because of Christ’s Riddle, we now know our enemies by name.
But do you know what they are up to now? Have you heard of their plan to develop a NEW [entire] WORLD ORDER? Jesus has revealed the main points in His testimony in Revelation. He has also revealed much through Paul in 2 Thessalonians. And, of course, Jesus has referred to many places in the Bible, “here a little, there a little” for our edification. Will you now personally search out His Truth, and study to show yourselves approved of God by using His prescription for accurate Bible study? Will you be a workman rightly dividing the Word of Truth, for yourself? The time is at hand! We must know what is coming, as well as what is past!
Don’t miss the studies of our future from prophecy, beginning with Jubilee 2000 – What was it really all about?
Now, Please pray with me:
Lord Jesus, we are nearing Home. The “perilous times” have arrived, and we have been asleep while Satan has been working through men under his control. Help us to seek, from the Spirit of prophecy, [Holy Spirit] to understand what Your testimony in Revelation and Daniel reveals of the near future. Help each one of us to apply Holy Spirit’s prescription for Bible study, and thus rightly divide Your Word. Please touch each one of us with the desire to know You, and Your warnings, as our Friend, that we might not be personally deceived. In Your precious Name we pray, Amen, and Amen.
Next document is #06_03, The Little Horn Power. We have already built the understanding of Daniel 7’s four “beasts.” Daniel 8 again goes over the same major outline of great historical events, with increased information about the 4th “beast” power’s “little horn.” Satan, and many misled scholars, have attempted to interpret the “little horn” in this chapter as a new king, and thus turn many to confusion in prophecy interpretation. Follow this document’s reasoning very carefully, and learn principles that will prevent you from being deceived. This makes for a “more sure word of prophecy” that will shine as a light to our path. (2 Peter 1:19).
Scripture Text: Daniel 8:8-12
Title: The Little Horn Power
The prophecies of Daniel, and those of all of the book of Revelation, are to be unveiled by one understanding. Here it is: The vision of Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the metallic image, is the Bible’s first earth-history-encompassing prophecy – all the way from Daniel’s time through to the Second Coming of Jesus. From Daniel 7 through to the end of Revelation, all of these prophecies are going over the same earth-history as the metallic image, but with increased information about sections of the history that are brought into special focus. (re-read above) Daniel 7 is the same history, using new symbolic illustrations – great “beasts” in place of each metal of the metallic image. Daniel 8 begins again, starting from the kingdom of the Medes and Persians as their rule was in Daniel’s immediate future. The ram he saw represented Medo-Persia, followed by the he-goat which represents the Grecian Empire under Alexander the Great. (see vs. 20 and 21-23). When the great horn of the he-goat was broken (Alexander died) his kingdom was divided among four of his generals – represented by the four horns.
“In the latter time of their kingdom…a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.” – represented by the “little horn” (v. 9) which came forth out of one of the four winds (directions of the compass). This is the same little horn as in Daniel 7:8, 20-22, and 24-26. (read). This power would continue all the way through to the Judgment hour, at the end of the great time period of 2300 years! Just here, concerning this little horn, many Adventists have been confused.
Clearly, the little horn power of Daniel 7 denotes the rise and extent of the kingdom of the Papacy. But many have been misled by a Catholic attempt to turn the application of the prophecy of Daniel 8’s “little horn” from themselves (which has found its way into many Commentaries) and thus confuse those who do not see the repetitive format that the angel always uses. Repeat and enlarge on a specific part, is the principle. Despite all of its power, the prophecy of Daniel 8 flashes past Pagan Rome to Papal Rome (adding some new information regarding Jesus Himself, and the work of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary – the “daily” work Jesus did there. – sacrifice is an incorrectly added word to the text). It is the great 2300 year time element that the angel was leading up to and wanted to emphasize! Only because Daniel wasn’t up to it did the angel put off his continuing explanation till Daniel chapter 9.
Why did Daniel faint? He was in exile in Babylon at this time (see chapter 8 v. l) and had mistakenly assumed that the time element of 2300 years was in reference to the earthly Temple at Jerusalem that the Jews hoped to return to rebuild!
Now: as to the confusion introduced by Catholic theologians, it is an easy matter to clear up. Does the Little Horn denote Antiochus Epiphanes, as per the Catholic teaching, or Rome in its second phase – the Papal phase? If Antiochus does not fulfill the specifications of the prophecy, the application cannot be made to him. The “little horn” of Daniel chapter 8 came out of one of the four winds (directions of the compass). It was, therefore, a power existing distinct from any of the horns of the goat. Was Antiochus such a power?
Following is material edited from Uriah Smith’s book, “Daniel and the Revelation,” pages 156 – 162.
Who was Antiochus? From the time that Seleucus made himself king over the Syrian portion of Alexander’s empire (note: the eastern portion – how does a kingdom out of the eastern portion wax exceeding great…toward the east?) he thus constituted the Syrian horn of the goat. Until that country was conquered by the Romans, twenty-six kings ruled in succession over that territory. The eighth of these was Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus, then, was simply one of the kings who constituted the Syrian horn of the goat. He was, therefore, for the time being, that horn. Hence he could not at the same time be a separate and independent power, as was this “little horn.”
If it were proper to apply the little horn to any one of these twenty-six Syrian kings, it should certainly be applied to the most powerful and illustrious of them all; but Antiochus Epiphanes was not by any means the most powerful king of the Syrian line. Although he took the name Epiphanes, that is, “The Illustrious,” he was illustrious only in name. Nothing, says Prideaux, on the authority of Polybius, Livy, and Diodorus Siculus, could be more alien to his true character: because of his vile and extravagant folly, some thought him a fool and changed his name from Epiphanes, “The Illustrious,” to Epimanes, “The Madman.” Antiochus the Great, the father of Epiphanes, being defeated in a war with the Romans, was able to procure peace only by the payment of a prodigious sum of money and the surrender of a part of his territory. As a pledge that he would faithfully adhere to the terms of the treaty, he was obliged to give hostages, among whom was Epiphanes, his son, who was carried to Rome. The Romans ever afterward maintained this ascendancy. The little horn of the he goat was to wax exceeding great; but Antiochus Epiphanes did not become exceeding great. On the contrary, he did not enlarge his dominion, except by some temporary conquests in Egypt. These he immediately relinquished when the Romans took the part of Ptolemy and commanded him to desist from his designs on that territory. The rage of his disappointed ambition he vented upon the un-offending Jews, including desecrating (temporarily) the Temple.
The little horn, in comparison with the powers that preceeded it, was “exceeding great.” Persia is simply called great, though it consisted of a hundred twenty-seven provinces. (Esther 1:1) Grecia, being more extensive still, is called “very great.” Now the little horn, which waxed “exceeding great,” must surpass them both. How absurd, then, to apply this to Antiochus, who was obliged to abandon Egypt at the dictation of the Romans! It cannot take long for anyone to decide the question which was the greater power – the one which had to evacuate Egypt, or the one which commanded that evacuation!
The “little horn” was to stand up against the Prince of princes, which expression refers, beyond controversy, to Jesus Christ. But Antiochus died 164 years before Jesus was even born! The prophecy cannot therefore apply to him, for he does not fulfill the specifications in a single particular! Why, then, has anyone ever tried to apply it to him? We answer, Roman Catholics take that view to avoid the application of the prophecy to themselves; and many Protestants follow them, apparently in order to oppose the doctrine that the Second Advent of Christ is now at hand!
The “Little Horn” denotes Rome as in Daniel chapters 2 and 7, where we have found that the power which succeeded Grecia as the 4th great power was Rome. The only natural inference would be that the little horn, the power which in this vision succeeds Grecia as an “exceeding great” kingdom, is also Rome.
The little horn comes forth from one of the directions of the compass. In 168 B.C., Rome conquered its neighbour Macedonia (the western portion of Alexander’s kingdom) and made that country a part of its empire. Rome is therefore introduced into the prophecy just as it overthrew the Macedonian horn of the goat. Rome appeared to the prophet as coming forth from one of the directions of the compass. It was therefore a power existing distinct from any of the horns of the goat. (Italy was further West from Alexander’s kingdom).
More reference, however, is given to the origin of the little horn. Pagan Rome, v.9, had waxed great toward the south. This was true of Rome. Egypt was made a province of the Roman Empire in 30 B.C., and continued such for some centuries. Pagan Rome waxed great toward the east – also true of Rome. She conquered Syria in 65 B.C., and made it a province. Rome waxed great toward the pleasant land. Judea is called “the pleasant land” in many Scriptures. The Romans made it a province of their empire in 63 B.C., and in 70 A.D. destroyed the city and the Temple, and scattered the Jews throughout the earth.
Verse 11 refers forward in the history of Rome to its Papal phase as the little horn. The little horn “magnified himself even to the Prince of the host.” This is clearly an allusion to the Roman Papacy fighting against our Lord by the following actions: By the little horn, “the daily was taken away,” (“sacrifice” is an incorrectly added word to the text) and the place of His Sanctuary was cast down. This is reference to the daily work of Jesus as our High Priest-Intercessor in the heavenly Sanctuary, before the veil! The little horn is obviously the Papal form of Rome, which replaced Jesus and the heavenly Sanctuary with an earthly priesthood and confession to them! Worse, they have made MARY the Intercessor in place of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary! It is said to “stand up against the Prince of princes.” Rome alone is doing this.
[The career of the Papacy will again be centered upon, with more information about its character revealed, including the time of its rise and the taking away of the daily, in Daniel chapters 11:30 to 45 and chapter 12:10 and 11.]
Finally, the little horn “cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.” This describes in few words the work and career of the papacy. Over many centuries it has practiced its deceptions and it has prospered. It has made war upon the saints, and prevailed against them. But it has well-nigh run its allotted career, and is soon to be broken without hand, to be given to the burning flame, and to perish in the consuming glories of the Second Appearing of Jesus! Rome meets all of the specifications of the prophecy. No other power does meet them. Hence Rome, and no other, is the “little horn” power in chapter 8 as well as in Daniel 7.
The next document, #06_04, Presenting…the Son of God, is Jesus Himself revealing, by demonstration, four major doctrines that He taught, through allowing the death of his own close friend, Lazarus. This greatest of His miracles illustrates the real state of the dead; that there will be a resurrection for everyone who has ever lived on this earth; [with a few notable exceptions]; that He is the Son of God, who will raise the dead; and, that He will indeed be our Judge! Mark well His teaching on these subjects. Deception is now attempting to belie Jesus’ teaching using spiritualism and communication with the dead! Another necessary part of true Bible Study is to believe Jesus, over any other source of information!
Scripture: John 11:1-6, 11-15, 20-24. Read this overview before the study.
Title: Presenting…the Son of God!
The 11th chapter of John is the recounting of the greatest of all the miracles Jesus did while on this earth. It is the story of the death, by sickness, of Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus. After four days since his burial, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! It is obvious, from the record, that Jesus chose to allow Lazarus to die. He chose also to allow him to be buried, and be in the grave four days. It was really important to His purpose, because up until the end of three days after death, it was known that the dead body doesn’t alter much at all: but by the fourth day after death, the dead body begins to rot and stink.
That gruesome piece of evidence is only necessary to the record because people at that time were doubting the actual death of the son of the widow of Nain, whom Jesus raised from the dead while the young man was en route to the cemetery. People were saying that that young man could have been just unconscious. But a man dead four days; even in the grave four days; now that man was very dead. Even the grave clothes stink of death, as I’m sure they did when they were removed from the living, resurrected Lazarus!
Some people at that time even thought that perhaps life could return again to someone who had not yet begun to rot and decay. That might happen because real and final death was maybe only for sure when they began to rot. But no one could be given life again at that point! It would take re-Creation to accomplish that! Now: Take careful notice. Only God could accomplish such a miracle. Yes, only the Creator God could accomplish that resurrection to life!
When Jesus finally came, Martha said unto Him, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection and the life! He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live!” Jesus had a purpose for the raising of Lazarus from the dead. If there is one miracle Jesus did that could confirm exactly who He was, the raising of Lazarus from the dead was it!
Let’s notice what Jesus said about it, back in verses 11 to 15. I want to begin in the middle of verse 11 and note only the words of Jesus Himself, in the other verses as well, to get His emphasis. V.11: “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth: but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” Then, from v.14, “Lazarus is dead.” Finally, v.15, “I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, to the intent you may believe.” There is the purpose Jesus had for allowing the sickness of Lazarus to be unto the death of sleep, from which we all will be resurrected! Jesus was now going to the grave of Lazarus to reveal to all men, of all time since, that death is only a sleep, a full unconsciousness, till the resurrection: but more, in this case, also that He is the Son of God, to whom resurrection power for humanity is given!! No more would His words, His own testimony, be the only proof of His divinity. Now Lazarus would be the living proof of both the resurrection at the end of time, and of the divinity and power of Jesus Himself! Death is only sleep. Sleep until Jesus comes back and raises the dead. See Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; Psalm 146:4.
Turn now to John chapter 5:24-27. (read). This text is a closely related teaching by Jesus, as you will see. Have you heard of so-called out-of-body experiences? Of people who died and their spirit went to heaven, where they met Jesus and were sent back to their body on earth again, to tell people their grand experience? Friend, Satan is trying to give credence to his lies about the state of those who have died! You don’t go to heaven, or even to hell, at death! You go to sleep, till the resurrection! The spirit of man cannot live without the body. A body, plus the breath of life from God = a living soul. (see Genesis 2:7). Why would there be a resurrection if people don’t require a body in order to have life? Why would there be a resurrection if you go straight to heaven as a spirit entity when you die? Beware, oh beware the lies of Satan!
This text, in John, chapter 5, extends the teaching of Jesus to include in His authority, the work of the Judgment also, because He is the son, also, of man! He knows our nature first-hand! (See Hebrews 4:15). The Bible teaches that “We must all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ.” Romans 14:10. That is what Satan is trying to hide from humanity!
Our only protection from Satan’s lies is in familiarity with the teachings of the Word of God! Millions of people – who call themselves Christian – are being deceived because they are too busy being entertained by Satan through television fiction!
So, let’s look carefully at the words of John, chapter 5, beginning at verse 24. (read v.24). That is the gospel, the good news of salvation by faith in Christ! Verse 25. (read). Could it be Lazarus and the son of the widow of Nain, of which He speaks here? I believe so, don’t you? Verses 26 and 27. (read). These two, Lazarus and the son of the widow of Nain, were proof, in order that we might believe in who Jesus is: and in the resurrection; and these things extend to include the teaching of the great Judgment at the end of probationary time. Verses 28 and 29. (read.) We are now, according to prophecy, at the point in time when Jesus is at the very doors! The hour of His Judgment is come! For the true Christian, saved from sin by the obedience of faith, Jesus will soon come, to call the resurrection of life!
In Rev. 22:12, Jesus states, “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” This is at the coming of Jesus in power and glory, at the beginning of the 1000 years, during which Satan is bound here on earth, in its destroyed state, and all of wicked humanity dead, till the 1000 years are finished. Read it in Rev. 20:1-6. Further explanation begins at verse 11 and continues to verse 15. (read). Is it clear now?
At the end of the 1000 years, the final Judgment shall sit. All of the wicked and the unbelieving shall finally stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to be judged by the same standard. Whosoever is not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire, the true hell prepared for their destruction! Oh, I thank God for the book of life! What eternal hope is there.
When those who have kept God’s 10 Commandments, by faith in Christ, come before the throne of Christ, our Saviour, we shall not come into condemnation, but will pass from death to eternal life! This is great news about the Judgment! Let us each pray that we may be found worthy, through the blood of Jesus, to be found written in the book of life! “Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” [the New Jerusalem, in heaven].
This study can be photocopied so that you can share this subject with people you come into contact with who believe in communication with the dead. May it help you to share this knowledge of the true state of the dead and also who Jesus really is, and what is very soon to come!
Now, Let us pray:
Our Father in heaven, Oh what perilous times have come! We now know that we must not be deceived by those who are teaching that we can communicate with the dead. We recognize also that Jesus is Creator and Saviour, and will finally be our Judge! Get us ready now for His Coming we pray! Amen and Amen!
The next document of this Chapter, #06_05, is called Preconceptions Block Correct Interpretation. Some of the dogma taught by many, many denominations is based on pure preconception! Learn its definition, and remember it well! You will find yourself applying it more often than you might think, once your eyes are opened. Preconception is a major tool of deception!
Scripture Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9.
Title: Preconceptions Block Correct Interpretations.
Today we are going to look into why we have some portions of the Bible that are hard to understand, even now, when we know so very much of the Bible’s doctrines or teachings. Here is the problem that is the culprit in many of those texts. It can be defined with one single word. Preconception. This is another principle to cement into your memory. (re-read above) Dictionary definition? “An idea or opinion formed or conceived in advance of careful investigation.”
Let’s look at two examples that illustrate my point, before we tackle our problem text, 2 Thessalonians 2:8 and 9. 1st example. Why did the Advent Movement, headed by William Miller, incorrectly think that the cleansing of the Sanctuary (Daniel 8:14) was the cleansing of the world by fire at the Second Coming of Jesus? They all, including every Christian denomination, preconceived the idea that the world was the Sanctuary – a strange preconception indeed, yet so universally held that no one questioned it. Not even William Miller. He failed to apply to the word “Sanctuary,” this most important word to the unfolding of Daniel’s book, his famous Bible Study Method, “line upon line.” (Isaiah 28:9 and 10 gives us this Holy Spirit prescription for correct Bible Study.) Only after the Great Disappointment, when Jesus didn’t come to earth on the day predicted by the prophecy, did God reveal to them their mistake, and the Sanctuary in heaven was unveiled. Preconceptions cause us to fail to do good Bible Study!
Another example is a preconception forced onto a text. Revelation 1, verse 1. “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” What day is that? People, Satan is the author of many of our preconceptions. Through the Papacy, his falsehoods and outright lies are foisted on unsuspecting Christians as Bible truth. The Papacy, to uphold it’s attempt to change the Sabbath of the 4th Commandment to Sunday, has convinced millions of people that Sunday should be so honoured because Jesus rose from the dead on that day. So, they have called Sunday “the Lord’s day.” Most people don’t even know that the keeping of Sabbath is a Commandment, not just an ordinance of the church. So, by preconceiving that Sunday must, for the given reason, be the day of worship, almost all Christians have been deceived into sin – which the Bible defines as “transgression of the Law;” (breaking a Commandment of God!) 1 John 3, verse 4.
What is the “Lord’s day?” How do you find out? “Line upon line.” You compare Scripture with Scripture, using a Concordance. You look up “Lord’s day” under “day” – you won’t find it there – then under “Lord,” your key-words. In the Concordance you will find the text “The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Mark 2, verse 28. Don’t you think we had best believe in the Sabbath as the “Lord’s day,” if Jesus Himself says it is? Which day did He keep for worship??
That brings us to our text for today, Second Thessalonians 2:8 and 9, which we will attempt to make clear at last. There is something here in these verses that we should be looking for and expecting to happen. But we haven’t done our homework on this text, because of a preconception anciently foisted onto this text! The problems with this whole chapter are to do with a preconception which has caused interpretive decisions that fail to be true to the text! In every translation I looked at, the same thing is done.
The preconception is that the “man of sin,” (also referred to variously as “that Wicked,” or, “the lawless one”) is yet to come; in the “coming” at the beginning of verse 9. The main reason that the theory that there will soon be a seven-year Great Tribulation has been received by Christianity, is that this pair of verses has been the cause of them believing that the “man of sin” is yet to come.
Adventists know that the “man of sin” is the Papacy. The bishop of Rome, way back in Constantine’s time (321 A.D.) was the first of the whole line of Roman Pontifs, who were “…them that forsake the Holy Covenant” Daniel 11:30. By 325 A.D. the bishop started worship of MARY, as an idol [image] as well as supporting the changing of the Sabbath Commandment, which is why the popes are styled “the man of sin.” To forsake the Holy Covenant is to forsake the Ten Commandment Law, which is in the ark of the Covenant.
That is still their great sin, and it focused on the 4th Commandment. (But keep in mind that they also removed the 2nd Commandment to allow worship of their idol they made of MARY!).
Some time after 1798, Adventists realized that the 1260 day (year) prophecy against this power revealed the Papacy as not only “the man of sin,” but also “the little horn” of Daniel 7:25, and the “beast” of Revelation chapters 13 and 14! There isn’t any “coming” of the “man of sin” in the future! It has been revealed that he was there all along, through 1260 years, and even till now!
The Papacy has been revealed by the fact that his “deadly wound” was received in 1798, exactly 1260 years (42 months x 30 days-to-a-month = 1260 days) from when he was decreed “the corrector of heretics” by Roman Emperor Justinian, which became effective in 538 A.D. 1798, 1260 years later, was also when the “man of sin” was “taken out of the way!” – 2 Thess. 2, verse 7. Thus he was “revealed!”
Since the “man of sin” already was in place since 538 A.D., well over 1000 years before the King James Version of the Bible was translated (1611) this chapter of the Bible was incorrectly translated because of the preconception that the “man of sin” was yet to come.
Adventists need to correct this chapter’s wording and reveal it’s actual teaching. NOTE WELL – It has a warning for all upon whom the end time has come.
The theme of the whole chapter is outlined in verses 1 and 2. When will the Second Coming happen? Paul’s answer? “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and, that man of sin be revealed…” Paul relates, continuing in v. 4, what must have been a vision he was given by God, that he had told them about, of the “man of sin.” – probably more clues pointing out the Papacy. To paraphrase v. 6, “Now you know what must happen first that will hold up the Second Coming of Jesus.” Then Paul uses a play on the word revealed “and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.”
Who will be revealed in his time? Jesus, or the “man of sin?” Jesus Himself told us that no one knows the day nor the hour of His Coming; so I think Paul expects us to come to the conclusion that he is referring to the “man of sin:” That’s why he uses the word “revealed.”
The “mystery of iniquity” is already at work in his time. (Why do wicked men put themselves “in the way” of Truth?)
Continuing to paraphrase the next part, “Only He who now hinders the work of the “man of sin” will continue to hinder that work, until the “man of sin” will be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed – the “man of sin.”
It is not Satan that he is referring to as “that Wicked.” Paul makes that clear when he says that this person will be destroyed with the brightness of the Second Coming of Jesus. (Satan will not be destroyed till the 3rd Coming of Jesus, at the end of the 1000 years).
At the end of verse 8, and the 4th word in verse 9, is the word “coming.” The word used in the Greek is “parousia” for both verses. This word is very often used as a technical term for Jesus’ Second Coming. There isn’t any “coming” (parousia) of the “man of sin” in the future. He was there all along! – throughout the 1260 years, and still today! So: verse 9 is still referring to Jesus, not to “that Wicked” (the “man of sin”).
The words “whose coming” (parousia) refers to the theme of the whole chapter – When will the Second Coming happen? The sense of verse 9, is entirely changed! It is not referring to the “man of sin,” in a future “coming.” That is the preconception.
Now: let’s straighten it out. In the KJV, v. 7 is the key to correct translation of v. 9. The old English word “let” is not used in the way we do today, meaning “to allow or permit.” The Dictionary defines its use here under the sub-heading “archaic: To hinder; impede.” (see the NIV) With that correction, the verse tells us, “Only He who now hinders the work of the “man of sin” will continue to hinder that work, until the “man of sin” will be taken out of the way. And then shall “the man of sin” be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
Next, in v. 9, “Even him” is added to the text – it is in italics. This is added in order to attach the erroneous preconception to this text. Strike those words out! They don’t belong there!
The three words – “whose coming is” are correct text, referring to Jesus’ Coming. But the next word, “kata” in the Greek, which commonly means “according to,” thus KJV “after the working of,” here will have a different meaning, because of the context! In this usage, according to a Greek-English Lexicon, “after words and expressions that designate hostile speech” it means to be against someone! Because of the word “let” in v.7 – which means “to hinder” (hostile speech) – “against” is the correct word for this text!
The true meaning of the wording of verse 9 is that “the Second Coming of Jesus is against the working of Satan, whose working is with all power and signs and lying wonders.” Now we see a direct reference (that till now has been hidden behind a preconception) to Satan’s desperate final working with all of his power to deceive with signs and lying wonders! Satan’s wonders? Rev. 13:13 to 15!
That is what we should be looking for and expecting to happen, that will bring on the Second Coming of Jesus! And how about this! I quote to you from the book Great Controversy p. 624 “As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ!” Read all about it in the book Great Controversy, p. 624! The prophet says there, that Satan himself, in his assumed role as Jesus, commands all the world to institute a universal Sunday law. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his “angels” sent to them with light and truth! This will be just before the close of probation. The universal Sunday law is not the opening event that causes the “Loud Cry” of the 3rd angel, but is the closing event, just before the close of probation!
The opening event will be the enforced worship of the “image” of the beast – Revelation 13, verses 14 and 15 – which we will proclaim is against the Second Commandment! This is an important part of our Message! Review question #6 from document 05-03!
Are you preparing for what is soon to come? Learn your Message!
Document #06_06:
We are now ready to step into the near future prophecies, using the principles of Bible prophecy study we have learned! We begin with document #06_06, The New World Order. It reveals a hidden agenda of the great men of the world, who have developed a plan for a dictatorship of the whole world, called by that name. The twist is that Satan has a plan for his man, the “man of sin,” to take control of it, so that he (Satan) can use it to fiercely fight against God’s developing kingdom!
Scripture Text: Daniel 7:17 and 18. Read this before the study.
Title: The New World Order
People, another serious attempt is being made to develop an empire of the whole known world and prove God wrong that there would only be 4 whole-known-world kingdoms before Jesus Comes to inaugurate His Kingdom. This attempt is called “the New World Order.” You’ve heard of it, haven’t you. It’s right around the corner, right now. God saw it coming and He has condemned it to failure, but it is coming, and fast.
Yet you hardly know about it. It came so close to happening already that I’m amazed so few know anything about it. Do you remember Y2K? What does that mean, anyone? That’s right: the year 2000. The Y2K computer system disaster was averted. Did you realize that it was a planned disaster, that wasn’t supposed to have to be fixed? It was a major part of the plan for the New World Order! All of the computer systems of the world were to have crashed January 1, 2000! Do you really think the whole problem was just a stupid, and I do mean stupid, mistake by the brilliant minds that developed the whole computer system that took the world by storm? No way.
The great men of the whole world have collaborated, over the past half century, to implement a huge plan to develop a new order for the world, one that will be a dictatorship beyond the wildest dreams of any one man. But there is a man, Satan’s man, “the man of sin,” who has his eye on the leadership of that dictatorship.
Satan has a problem. He has had to reveal an important part of his strategy in his war against God’s people, God’s remnant people, in these last days. To prepare his false prophets, Satan has had a book written that contains key elements of his plan so that those in “Great Babylon” might be prepared to play a part in his greatest deception that he has prepared so far. In that book, which reveals that the head of “Great Babylon” is vying for the leadership of the New World Order, he had also to reveal his trump card, which will give “the man of sin” that leadership.
The book I refer to is the one written by a Vatican insider, Malachi Martin. Titled The Keys of this Blood, the book was never meant to be noticed by God’s watchers among our churches of today. But it was! According to Scripture, Satan will gather together all of the kings of the whole world unto the battle of Armageddon, by employing the spirits of devils, working miracles, by which the world will be deceived into following and worshipping the “beast.” Rev.16:13 and 14.
The writer of the book The Keys of this Blood reveals that those spirits of devils have been hard at work producing apparitions of MARY [the “image” of the “beast!”] world-wide! Over 2000 apparitions of Mary have been documented last century! Beginning in 1917, at Fatima, a little village in Portugal, probably Satan himself produced the first and greatest of these apparitions so far.
According to the book, his final apparition of Mary will be seen by everyone, everywhere on earth. His plan is that it will so convince, that all the world [except those whose names are written in God’s book] will be absolutely deceived into idol worship of MARY, the IMAGE of the beast! But more, they will worship the “beast” and install its head, the “man of sin” as the leader, the dictator of the New World Order! You chuckle to yourselves? He right now controls the United Nations Assembly!
Did you see it happen on the news? When George W. Bush proclaimed that he was going to war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein, only England backed him up, because the pope declared, on television news, that it would be detrimental to what he was doing. He was working to get the Muslim faith to accept him as the leader of religion in the world! All of the other possible allies in Bush’s war backed out of that war! All of the world leaders have an ambassador to the Vatican, and consult him in world affairs!
Oh, yes, John Paul II is now gone. The next great, charismatic pope will have to take up the reins where John Paul left off. For now the plan is on hold, but it will happen. Jesus foretells that it will. “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let him that readeth understand) then [I paraphrase] “head for the hills!” Jerusalem and all of Judea will be destroyed, for the third time, and “the time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time” will have begun! Jesus shall bring the “beast” to his end! All of this, is explained in detail in your next set of pamphlet studies.
We are now ready to step into the near future prophecies, using the principles of Bible prophecy study we have learned! Be sure you get every study for chapter 7! They are an interlocking sequential set!
Would you like a little supplementary note? How do I know that the powerful men of the world have been designing this New World Order for two hundred years? Get yourself an American one dollar bill, and look on the back. There you will see a pyramid, topped with what is called “the all seeing eye,” [occult symbols!] and the words New World Order hidden in Latin words! From the beginning of America the plan was being put in place by Satan!
Now: let’s close with prayer:
Our Father in heaven; and Jesus, our Saviour; we now see that we are indeed in perilous times. Please, help us to also see that we must prepare ourselves now to serve you, before all hell breaks loose! Satan has it all almost ready to try to destroy all true Christianity from the world! Oh please prepare us to proclaim the Loud Cry of the Third Angel of Revelation 14! Teach us our Message, yea, Your Final Message for this world! In the Name of Jesus, and for the sake of His Kingdom we pray, Amen.