Chapter 9
Introductions to Chapter 9
This chapter begins with two end-time very important question docs. The first of the two, #09_01, Who Does the Sealing? contemplates the very time we are in, the Sealing Time. How are we sealed? Who accomplishes the sealing in us? Are we involved, much more than we may have thought?
Scripture: Ezekiel 9:1-6, 11; 10:1, 2, 6, 7.
Title: Who does the Sealing?
Turn to Revelation 14, v. 7 please. Revelation 14:7. (read). Daniel’s prophecy of 2300 days leads to the “cleansing of the Sanctuary,” which, according to Leviticus 16:19-22 and Lev.19:30, is the removal of confessed and forgiven sins from the Sanctuary, by an investigative Judgment of the books of record of our lives. (See Daniel 7:9 and 10). We are in the “hour of His Judgment,” since 1844! Now note this fact carefully: in Lev. 23:24, the Feast of Trumpets precedes the Day of Atonement (close of probation) and warns the people to prepare for its coming in just 10 days. Since the Investigative Judgment (day of Atonement) has been, in our time, not just a single day, but an extended period of time, its end will be marked by the Sealing and the Trumpets. [Read this sentence again].
The parallel is in Rev. 7:1-3 (the Sealing) and the Trumpets of Rev. chapters 8 and 9 – (type and anti-type, example and real fulfillment). We are now on the verge of the Sealing of the living and the blowing of the Trumpets of warning. As I have taught before, the Trumpets are the beginning of what happens in “the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time.” (Dan.12:1)
Although I believe that it is during the Trumpets that millions will choose to serve God because of the warnings, and will then be sealed, I also believe that for Adventists, in this time just before the first Trumpet sounds, the sealing may already be complete! Those who now stand, and who consistently will stand for the Sabbath, are already sealed during this hour of His Judgment! This is very important, because many of us need to make our calling and election sure now, before the winds are let loose by the four angels who are yet holding them!
Let’s return to Ezekiel chapter 9, the Bible’s sealing chapter, to carefully note that fact, that most of the sealing will precede the First Trumpet. Ezekiel 9:3-5. (read) The destroying angels were to go “after him (the man with the writer’s inkhorn) and smite.” Does this mean that they follow right behind him as he “sets the mark upon the foreheads” of the men found ready to be sealed? Note Ezekiel 9:11 Ezekiel 10:1,2. . (read). When he casts the coals of fire over the city, then the destroying angels begin their work, destroying first the wicked leaders in the Temple area, then the city, and then on out to include all of Judea. Ezekiel 12:19 and 20 confirms that all of Judea would be made desolate (read). Now compare Ezekiel with Revelation 8 and the Trumpets. We will see once again the connecting link to what is coming very soon. Revelation 8:2 to 7a (read). The angel here casts coals of fire from the altar of burnt sacrifice unto the earth. This is parallel to what we read that the angel with the writer’s inkhorn did in Ezekiel! Revelation many times points us back to what Doug Batchelor [evangelist on 3 Angels Broadcasting TV] calls “storacles of prophecy”- in this case earlier accounts of prophecies from the Bible which illuminate the meaning of the symbols and prophecies of Revelation.
By casting coals of fire from the altar of burnt sacrifice unto the earth, what kind of fire is cast unto the earth? As the first Angel sounds his Trumpet, v.7 – do you see it? Hail and fire mingled with blood were cast upon the earth! Fire mingled with the blood of the true sacrifice upon the altar in heaven, the blood of Jesus Himself! This is the signal for the destruction of the Trumpets, and since one of the seven angels is, according to Ezekiel, the man with the writer’s inkhorn, this man will cast the coals of fire unto the earth and his action is the first Trumpet! People, who is this person, according to Rev.8:3 to 5? Isn’t the man with the writer’s inkhorn a priest? What is he wearing in Ezekiel chapter 9? He is clothed with linen – the special attire of the priests. Jesus is the High Priest of the Sanctuary in Revelation isn’t He? How appropriate that He has become the angel with the writer’s inkhorn, and the first destroying angel! God the Son will initiate the first warning Trumpet Himself!
Next Question: When? When the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stands in the holy place,” (Mt.24:15,16) “where it ought not!” (Mark 13:14). The pope, whom the Bible identifies as “the abomination that maketh desolate,” (the 1290 days – Dan.12:11) will fulfil Daniel 11:45, by being invited to Jerusalem [especially by the Jewish nation] as head of all religions, to plant the temporary base of his New World Order government there! This abomination will bring on the First Trumpet, which will cause the desolation of all of Jewish Israel! For the THIRD time! It will be the fulfillment of Mt. 24:15 and 16! The Jewish nation will accept the pope as the representative of Jesus on earth and thus the leader of religion on earth! (so will Christianity and Islam). It is an abomination to God that the pope (God’s enemy in mankind) is thus received, especially by the Jews (who “ought not” allow him to come to “God’s glorious holy mountain,” to set himself up as the leader of religion on earth, as the representative of Jesus!) This is the “indignation” (Daniel 11:36) for which Jesus will cause the desolation of the land of Israel! For the THIRD time! For the Jewish nation, it is an alliance with the Papacy (the “beast”) making him the leader of the New World Order, believing he will bring them peace and safety in the world.
The Messianic Jews that believe Jesus’ warning in Mt. 24 and Mark 13 will be given time by God to escape the destruction by fleeing to the mountains outside Israel [the other side of the Jordan River] as the Christian Jews did in 70 AD!
Now turn to Revelation 7. Rev. 7:1 to 3 (read). People, these 4 angels are about to release the winds of destruction upon the earth, which are the Trumpets; and “the time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation, even to that same time!” Even the two World Wars were not the fulfillment of these verses! The Trumpets will be much worse: but, until today, you have not been taught to expect them!
Turn now to Revelation 13:11 and 12. This also is connected closely with the sealing. “I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, but he spake as a dragon, and he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” To use force to get people to worship the “beast,” is for North American Protestantism to use the methods of the “dragon.” Here too, the 4 angels are holding back the winds “till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Can you see that most Adventists will be sealed before the Trumpets, in order to preserve our lives through the Trumpets? Are you really awake? Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His Judgment is come: and worship Him who made (who Created is a clearer word) heaven and earth! If you don’t know that Jesus was the Creator, see John 1:1-4,10 and 14; and Heb.1:1-3.
Choose you this day whom you will serve – Jesus, the Creator God, or the “beast” and “his image.” When the test comes, the Universal Sunday law proclaimed by Satan masquerading as Jesus on the earth, (Great Controversy, p. 624) only those who have consistently stood for the Sabbath and the Law of God will be empowered by Holy Spirit to refuse, to the death, to worship the beast and his image by keeping their day of worship!
Have you thought that your lax Sabbath-keeping was not important enough to worry about? You are determining whether you are actually sealed or not! Who does the sealing? You do! By your choice now, you are either being sealed, or lost! Now is the time to receive the true, Saturday Sabbath, and keep it holy. Now, at this end of the hour of His Judgment, the Three Angel Messengers of Rev. 14 are to be joined by the Fourth Angel Messenger of Rev. 18:1-4. (read)
Everyone, you are to warn your corner of the world around you that they must not worship the “beast” and his “image,” but instead should worship Him who Created heaven and earth. As force is applied, all who are made aware of the Sabbath Commandment, as it is written in the Bible, will either receive worship of Jesus our Creator God, by keeping His Sabbath holy, and be sealed, or, they will receive the “mark” of the “beast,” which is Sunday worship!
People, isn’t it obvious that by receiving the true Sabbath and all of the Law of God, you receive the seal of God? Of course you must continuously stand for the Law of God, even unto death, but Holy Spirit can only seal you and empower you to stand continuously for the Law of God, even unto death, if you solidly make that decision! When the winds are let loose, which according to Catholic prophecy is overdue, who will you be found serving? The pope was to fulfil Daniel 11:45, during the year 2000, according to the written down instructions of the apparitions of Mary of Fatima, his “image.” All these things foretold by Jesus are about to come to pass! The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Make straight the way of the Lord Jesus in your own heart! Choose you this day whom you will serve!
Again I ask, Who does the Sealing? You do! By your choice right now, you are either being sealed, or lost! Have you been baptized? Or, have you been putting it off till a better season? Today is the day of salvation for you! Choose you this day whom you will serve! Baptism is the making of your personal Covenant with God!
Document #09_02
There are two question documents: 09_01 and this one. The second document of the two question documents, #09_02, The Angel with the Chain, settles the question about the millenium. Will we be here on earth during the 1000 years, as so many other denominations teach? IF Israel had received Jesus as its Saviour and Lord, yes that would have fulfilled prophecies about Israel in the Old Testament. They did not!!
Therefore, the millennium will be with the saints (Spiritual Israel) in heaven, as is taught in the Revelation! When Jesus comes, He will take His saints back with Him to the NEW Jerusalem in heaven for the 1000 years. John 14:1 to 3 tells us so! [Read it and notice that, NOW!]. The Angel with the Chain (Revelation 20) is about the imprisonment of Satan and his fallen angels (demons) who have tempted and harmed us ever since the fall into sin by Eve and Adam. They will finally receive some recompense (a thousand years of fearful agony of soul, knowing that their just end is coming). Yes, they will be locked up on death row, unable to keep busy any longer, tempting and ruining mankind! Do you want that angel with the chain to finally come?
Scripture: Revelation 20: 1-3
Title: The Angel With the Chain
Why are we still here? Over 170 years have passed into history since the beginning of “the hour of His Judgment” in 1844. Why are we still here? The 2300 day prophecy of Daniel is absolutely certain. It leads to October 22, 1844. The churches of Great Babylon, mother of harlots (which therefore includes the Protestant Churches which have drunk of the wine of her false doctrines) has been Judged by God at that date. The Bible message about her and her harlot daughters is: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen (first Catholicism and now her daughters, despite their being called “Protestant”) and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication [false doctrines] and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'” Revelation 18: 2-4.
But when will the Judgment Hour end? What is Jesus waiting for? The answer is in the work of the angel with the chain, that we read about in the introduction text, Revelation 20:1 to 3.
How many of you are sure that Jesus is the angel with the chain? May I see your hands? How many don’t know? May I see your hands? Are there any who believe it is someone else? Who else could it be? How about a real angel sent for that purpose? That might be reasonable. Let’s dig into the Word, and find out, shall we?
In Revelation 14, the 3 Angel’s Messages, as we understand them, were brought to the people of the whole earth, not by visible angels, flying above us, but by heaven-sent human messengers. In 1843, the first two of the three messages were carried by human messengers to the whole world in the Great Awakening foretold by the 1335 day prophecy of Daniel 12:12.
Therefore, we believe that we can be the human messengers God will use. We have “…the Everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people: saying with a loud voice [the Loud Cry Movement, proclaiming the Sabbath] ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His Judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'” (and we will attach the other two messages to that, with the updated warning of Revelation 18:1 to 5). Spirits of devils have joined with Great Babylon. Spiritualism; communicating with the dead, out-of-body experiences, apparitions of Mary and ghosts, have, since the earlier proclamation, back in 1843 – 1844 and on till our time, crept into the churches of Great Babylon and her daughters!
Revelation 18:1 says: “…I saw another angel come down from heaven…” The Scripture reading we are delving into the meaning of today, (Rev. 20: 1 and 2 – “Who is the angel with the chain?”) opens with exactly the same words: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven.” As we compare “line upon [with] line, here a little, and there a little,” (Holy Spirit’s prescription for real Bible study) we see that it is very likely that both designate human messengers, heaven sent. Therefore, I suggest to you that in Revelation 20, the same human messengers have another function, at the very end, that of binding Satan for the 1000 years. They will be “the angel with the chain!”
While you consider that, there is another point that must be part of our consideration in this matter. Back in Revelation 18:4 there is another voice from heaven,” which few of us would contest is the very voice of Jesus, saying: “Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues!” (pause)
Therein is another related question. What happened, historically, in 1844? The human messengers who took up the preaching of the Everlasting Gospel, attaching to it the 1st and 2nd Angel’s Messages, also proclaimed these words of Jesus, “Come out of her, My people!” The Protestant churches of America were, in 1844, thrusting Advent believers out of their churches (nearly every denomination did this) thus rejecting the message of Jesus’ soon Coming, in that very year! The Advent believers then proclaimed the 2nd Angel’s Message to those churches, realizing that the churches were revealing themselves to be the daughters of Great Babylon, who is designated in Rev. 17 as “the mother of harlots.” The believers proclaimed “Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” and then, note this, in anticipation of the final call we will give, they added the words of Jesus – “Come out of her, My people!” Therefore, it is highly likely that in the final “Loud Cry,” again these words of Jesus will be proclaimed by human messengers rather than by the voice of Jesus heard from heaven!
So, as far as the angel with the chain, who binds Satan, in Revelation 20 is concerned, can we reconcile the historic evidence we have considered with what I have proposed to you, that human messengers will bind Satan for the 1000 years? I believe that the apostle Paul has given us that very principle. Turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, for the key to our two questions. 2 Corinthians 5:19 and 20. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christ’s stead, ‘Be ye reconciled to God!'” Follow my point carefully; from v. 19: God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. He (Jesus) has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Christ in us, is how we become His ambassadors, and we exhort others, in Christ’s stead, “Be ye reconciled to God!” People, this is a Biblical principle. Christ, in His people, and through their activity, fulfils His will in the salvation of mankind. Without His Spirit in you, (according to Jesus Himself) you can do nothing. With His Spirit in you, you can do all of His will. You can keep His Commandments, by His Spirit in you: (“Overcome as I overcame.” – Revelation 3:21). You can carry the 3 Angel’s Messages to the world, by His Spirit in you. You can proclaim the 4th Angel’s Message to the world, today, by His Spirit in you! You can proclaim the loud cry of Jesus, “Come out of her, My people,” by His Spirit in you! You can lay hold of the dragon, Satan, and bind him for 1000 years, by the spirit of Jesus in you! Herein is the good news. Herein is the Everlasting Gospel: Christ in you, the hope of heaven! (Colossians 1:27).
So. Who is the angel with the chain? It is the work of His saints – those with His Spirit in them. These, at the time designated by the prophecy of Revelation 20, are the 144,000. It is the 144,000 who will be “the fit man” who will bind the scapegoat. These can only be those who have experienced all that which was typified in the Sanctuary Service – repentance and redemption in the outer court, – forgiveness and victory over sins in the first apartment, – and finally, sanctification and cleansing – the blotting out of sins and reception of the fullness of the Spirit of Jesus, in the Most Holy place, as Jesus, our High Priest, blots out the very record of our past sins and places them on the head of the scapegoat – Satan, the originator of sin. The High Priest, in the earthly example Sanctuary, came out of the Sanctuary, to take the scapegoat and confess all of the sins (that he was removing from the Sanctuary after the Day of Atonement – Judgment day) of the true believers, onto the head of the scapegoat. The scapegoat is the symbol of Satan himself. Then, a “fit man,” took the scapegoat into the wilderness, where it would eventually perish, likely killed by some predator. See Leviticus 16. That “fit man,” chosen by the High Priest, was one of the congregation of the saved: one who had obviously participated in the solemn service of the Day of Atonement, and had received its benefits. That “fit man” (the 144,000) was responsible for making sure that the scapegoat did not get away from him, and must take the scapegoat out into the wilderness, loaded with the sins of the true believers.
This represented that Satan would have the sins of the true believers, that he had caused them to commit, be put upon his head, and he would be banished into destroyed, empty wilderness, (the whole world destroyed at the Advent of Jesus) there to finally perish (at the end of the 1000 years, when Jesus, the saints, and the holy city come down from heaven for the Great White Throne Judgment!) Rev. 20:11.
The dictionary defines a scapegoat, not as a goat that “gets away,” but rather as a means of escape, from the penalty of sin, for the saved. The “wages of sin is death” [eternal death] Romans 6:23. Jesus will cause Satan to bear that penalty for the sins of the saints, who have stopped sinning, by the power of the Spirit of Jesus in them!
Jesus is waiting for His people, you and me, to become the 144,000; exhibit “A” in the Judgment. We must prove to the Universe, that although having been sinners, we will never, eternally never, sin again, having chosen the kingdom of Jesus over any thing Satan could offer, or over any force he could apply, to try to cause us to return to sin!
First we must overcome the “mark of the beast,” refuse to worship the beast, or his image, and be sealed. Then, like Jesus, we must drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism. Satan must be allowed to try us to the uttermost, in the special test called “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” which will be similar to the Gethsemane experience of Jesus. Who will we serve? That is the question! Will it be self, Satan, or Jesus?
Are you afraid you would fail? It is that fear that will cause you to refuse to trust to self, and fully look to Jesus. He says, “Be not afraid, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world!” (Mt. 28:20). Jesus has promised that the 144,000 will not fail to choose to serve Christ Jesus, their Lord and Saviour, no matter what Satan tries!
Thus Satan, the scapegoat, will not get away, but will be taken hold of, bound with a great chain, and be led into the place of his final destruction, bearing the sins for which he will suffer, the sins of the very same “fit man” chosen to banish Satan into that place by the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary, Jesus.
“The hour of His Judgment,” yes, the Judgment of God and Christ, in their work of salvation of the repentant sinners of earth, is far spent! Where are the 144,000 who have fully received the benefits of the atonement of Jesus, those who can show the Universe of those who have never fallen, that mankind of earth can be fully saved? – that they will never sin again? If not you, then who? If you don’t aspire to be among the 144,000, you may instead lose eternal life in the last days of the Day of Atonement! “…in the last days perilous times shall come!” 2 Timothy 3:1.
Don’t look for how little you can do in exchange for heaven and eternal life. Instead, look for anything you can do for God and Christ, that will reveal that you have chosen Christ’s kingdom over the kingdom of Satan. Christ-likeness is the only goal that every Christian must seek, through His Spirit in you. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (as your own) and heaven is yours!
Let’s kneel and seek our King Jesus in prayer.
Oh our Great God, and Jesus, our Saviour, we are here to be numbered! We are here to be counted as warriors for You! By Your GRACE, and Your power, we will overcome! Encourage every one of us to seek to be among Your 144,000 victors over sin and Satan. Help each one of us to do anything for You that will reveal that we have chosen Christ’s kingdom over the kingdom of Satan. We pray it in the name of our High Priest, Jesus! Amen.
Document #09_03, The Feasts of the Lord, reveals through the yearly holy days of the Jews, the waymarks of the Plan of Salvation! In a “storacle of prophecy” – a historic recounting of the release of the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, is the story that reveals the universal Plan to release all of us from the slavery of sin and death! Points of the historic deliverance are celebrated and illustrate the great moments that take us to eternal life and life in heaven with Jesus our great King!
Please read each text given as you come to it for real comprehension of the messages the Feasts carry.
THE FEASTS OF THE LORD AND THEIR NEW TESTAMENT FULFILLMENT
In one year’s Sanctuary services, there was typified the gospel plan from the time of Christ’s earthly ministry and sacrifice on the cross, continuing His ministry as our High Priest in the Sanctuary in heaven, to the climax of the gospel at His Second Coming and beyond, in the Paradise in heaven!
The services of the Sanctuary on earth and the feast days were “a shadow of things to come” and they pointed to the ministry of Jesus in the entire gospel plan. See: Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 9:6-15; Revelation chapter 4; and also Hebrews 10:9; where we read: “He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.” The first, or earthly services of the Sanctuary, dealt with the “blood of bulls and goats” (v. 4) but the second (the real services in the heavenly Sanctuary, to which the earthly services pointed) dealt with “the offering of the body of Jesus once for all” (v. 10).
NOTE WELL: Numbering the feasts is only correctly accomplished by using the words “holy convocation” as indicators. Leviticus 23, verse 4, states: “These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations…” (a summoning to assemble for the day – ceremonial Sabbaths). Thus, the feasts are:
The feast of Passover (the first day of the feast of Unleavened bread) – a holy convocation; next, the feast of Unleavened bread [the seventh day of the feast of Unleavened bread is the Sabbath convocation that belongs to that feast]; next, Pentecost. These are the spring festivals. Next, the first day of the seventh month – the feast of Trumpets; which both warns of, and announces the soon-to-come Day of Atonement, which comes on the tenth day of the seventh month. Then the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the feast of Tabernacles for seven days; and finally, the Eighth Day of the feast of Tabernacles, on the twenty-second day of the seventh month, with its own “holy convocation.”
THE SEVEN FEASTS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
1. PASSOVER – Exodus 12:1 to 13:16; Leviticus 23:5-8.
Fulfilled in Christ – 1 Corinthians 5:7 – “Even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us!” Matthew 27:50, 51 – “the veil of the Temple torn in two,” signifying that the earthly Sanctuary and its services were no longer in effect, but now to be fulfilled in Christ’s ministry in the Sanctuary in heaven. It was at the very moment of the sacrificing of the Passover lamb at the Temple that Jesus died on the cross and the veil of the Temple was torn, not with human hands, since it was torn from top to bottom. (The veil was thick – to occlude the light of the presence of God behind it – and several times the height of a man.) The death of the lamb had typified the death of Jesus. John the Baptist proclaimed when he saw Jesus (John 1:29-34) the day after he had baptized Him, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world,” (and also, “…this is the Son of God!”)
Jesus died on the preparation day for the Passover, [when the lamb was to be killed and roasted?? – to be eaten with the blood, not washed out. Exodus 12:8, 9.] Jesus was buried just before sunset. Passover Sabbath – the Feast Sabbath – a “holy convocation,” began immediately following the sunset, as, in the Bible, the day begins with the sunset, not at midnight as we do. (see Genesis chapter 1). [In Egypt, at midnight, the angel of death “passed over” the homes, and the people, that were covered by the blood of the sacrifice]. Jesus rested in the tomb over the Passover Sabbath, which was also the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which, that year, happened to be also on the weekly Sabbath. (The women “rested…according to the Commandment.” Luke 23:56.)
2. FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD This seven-day feast commemorated the first days of the Exodus, when the people of Israel fled Egypt, and while on their march to the Red Sea, ate only unleavened bread (see Exodus 12:15-20, 33,34, and 39). They took their journey day and night till they encamped “…in Etham, in the [far] edge of the wilderness” (Exodus 13:20), the only encampment they took on the way to the Red Sea. [Note well verse 21.] Included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, after they were settled in the Promised Land and before the Barley harvest was taken in, was added the “wave sheaf…on the day after the Sabbath” (our Sunday, that year, the second day of Unleavened Bread). Leviticus 23:9-14.
FULFILLED – Matthew 27:57 – 28:8 – Jesus died at about 3 PM on the preparation for Passover Day (the latter started at sundown). He rested in the tomb over the Sabbath, and arose in the early part of Sunday (“the day after the Sabbath”). Then, as in the ritual of the “wave sheaf,” a firstfruit of the harvest of barley was presented before the Lord; Jesus became the firstfruit of all the resurrected ones (see 1 Cor. 15:20), the firstfruit from those who were dead. On that same day, Jesus presented Himself before the Father as the firstfruit (John 20:11-20) and this was a promise of a great harvest of resurrected ones. It is significant that when Jesus died, there was an earthquake, and “the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised: and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared unto many.” Matthew 27:51-53. This was the promise of a greater resurrection, as the wave sheaf was a promise of a greater harvest.
3. FEAST OF WEEKS (HARVEST OR FIRSTFRUITS) also called PENTECOST (from the word “pente,” meaning fifty). This was at the presenting of the “wave loaves” made with leaven, which represented saved mortals, saved from sin by Jesus (Leviticus 23:15-21). This was at the beginning of the wheat harvest, and again was the promise of a bigger harvest.
FULFILLED – At the ascension of Jesus to heaven (Acts 1:9-11) He led to heaven with Him, a multitude of captives of the grave, those who arose with him at His resurrection, which He presented to the Father (see again Matthew 27:51-53 and compare to Ephesians 4:8). This time, Jesus appeared before the Father to present them as the firstfruits or type of the Great Resurrection Day, when He will lead all of the resurrected redeemed ones of all the ages into heaven at the great final harvest. This great gathering is typified by the Feast of Tabernacles, which we will note in Section 6. Of course, also fulfilled at this time, was Ephesians 4:8 – “Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high (see Acts 1:4,5, and 9), He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost after the presentation of the firstfruits. Holy Spirit gave them many gifts, listed in verse 11, “For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” For the Christian era, we see this Pentecost as the “former rain” given by Christ to develop the wheat till He comes for the harvest. For the Christian Jew, however, this was indeed the Latter Rain, that brings the seed to the perfect moisture content needed for the harvest to be of the best quality. It prepared the disciples for the work of the 3 1/2 years remaining to “confirm the Covenant with many for one week” (Daniel 9:27) that, if it had been fully received by the Jewish nation, would have brought the perfected harvest!
The FALL Feasts at the end of the agricultural year:
4. THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS – Leviticus 23:23-25. Trumpets are usually associated with an announcement of, and warning of, an important event that is coming. Here it is an announcement to prepare or get ready for the great Day of Atonement, a very solemn day, as we shall study in the next section, and which was just ten days away.
FULFILLMENT – This was fulfilled in the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6,7, in which the beginning of the Judgment hour was announced! This message sounded around the world in the messages of William Miller and many others world-wide, just prior to 1844, when Jesus our High Priest would enter into the Most Holy apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary to begin the work of Judgment for “the cleansing of the Sanctuary” (see Daniel 8:14 and the 2300 days prophecy). This work would be typified by the Day of Atonement, as explained in the next section. As we near the end of our, present, extended Day of Atonement, the Trumpet Judgments of Revelation chapters 8 and 9 will come, warning mankind of the great Judgment by “the Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9-11) that is coming to a close in heaven.
5. THE DAY OF ATONEMENT – Leviticus 23:27-32. “Ye shall afflict your souls…” This was not a feast of joy, but rather a very solemn day. The service of this feast is more fully described in Leviticus 16 (read the whole chapter) and here it describes the only time yearly that the High Priest ministered in the Most Holy apartment of the Sanctuary (which was the 2nd apartment “within the veil” [verse 12] and where the “mercy seat” [verse 13] was located. He entered the Most Holy place to “make an atonement for the Holy place” (the entire Sanctuary) where the record of the confessed sins of the people accumulated through the year, now to be cleansed from the Sanctuary.
Two goats [verse 8] were taken – one was sacrificed as a sin offering [verse 9] which represented the death of Christ for the confessed sins of His people. The Jews were blind to the meaning of the first goat – it represented the Messiah when He came to die for their sins! The other goat dies in the wilderness away from the camp [verse 10]. The banishment (on earth) of this second goat to certain death, represented the final destruction of the originator of sin and all sinners from the world, that will be completed at the end of the millenium.
“For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among His people.” Leviticus 23:29. This signified that the door of probation will finally close on the living! (see Rev.22:11,12). The Day of Atonement symbolized the day spoken of in Daniel 8:14, where it reads, “then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed” at the end of the “two thousand and three hundred days.” A study of Daniel 9:24-27 establishes that the 2300 days is 2300 years [see Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34]. Those years began in B.C. 457 and ended in A.D. 1844. That year marked the beginning of the “cleansing of the Sanctuary” where Christ is ministering as our High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary. This work will end, as stated by Jesus to the prophet John in Revelation 22:11 and 12. Judgment shall have finished then, as there will be no more change from evil to righteous or vice versa, and He says, “behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me,” indicating that the Judgment is over before Christ comes the second time. [The Investigative Judgment – Daniel 7:10].The Second Coming is symbolized by the Feast of Tabernacles, in the next section.
6. FEAST OF TABERNACLES – Leviticus 23:39-43. During the Exodus, and all the way to the entering into the Promised Land, the people dwelt in tents or in booths made of branches and boughs. Their every need was supplied by God (water, food, and shelter) which they were to remember yearly, in this Feast. This Feast is also called the Feast of Ingathering, and came at the end of the grape and olive harvest, which was the last harvest of the year. Because the harvest was now all gathered in, it was a time of great celebration. (Leviticus 23:34-36a)
FULFILLMENT – This represents the grand climax of the gospel at Christ’s Second Coming (see Matthew 25:30,31). Here we have described the final harvest of souls or Ingathering. This is the time of John 14:1-3; of Isaiah 25:8 and 9; of Revelation 6:14-17, and of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. This is the type of the grand trip to heaven itself, with God supplying all of our needs till we get there, the antitypical Promised Land.
7. THE LAST GREAT DAY of the FEAST (of Tabernacles) On this 8th day, attached onto the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the ritual on earth, water is offered on the altar of sacrifice, with prayer for rain (water) to replenish the earth after the harvests. See John 7:37.
FULFILLMENT – in the anti-type, this is the great day after arrival in heaven! Jesus will bring us to the water of life that flows from the Throne. After that, we will sit down to the Marriage Feast in heaven! (see Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:1 and 2, and compare that with John 7:2 and 37, and the last part of Leviticus 23:39).
Thus, the Feasts of the Lord reveal the way-marks of the entire plan of salvation; from the time of Christ’s earthly ministry and sacrifice on the cross, continuing His ministry as our High Priest in the Sanctuary in heaven, to the climax of the gospel at His Second Coming and beyond, in the Paradise in heaven.
Our understanding of apocalyptic prophecy must be modified by comparison of prophecy with the way-marks of the Feasts. The Trumpets shall sound, (the Loud Cry) and be experienced (the terrible Judgments of the Trumpets of Revelation chapters 8 and 9) as we near the end of “the hour of His Judgment” and His Judgments fall upon the nations in the “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Our understanding of the “Investigative Judgment” is shown to be correct, by the anti-typical Day of Atonement, with the close of probation falling upon the living.
The Feast of Tabernacles points to the travel to the final “Promised Land,” the very Paradise of God in heaven, where there are “many mansions” (John 14:1 to 3) where Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us! The 8th day, the “last great day of the Feast” (John 7:2 and 37), and the final feast of the year, points us to the great final feast, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. At that time, “the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.” (Revelation 7:17, compared with Revelation 21:6).
Even the 1000 years of Satan imprisoned upon this earth, desolated by the Coming of Jesus in the “wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16) is taught by the taking of the “scapegoat” into the wilderness, there to perish after a time. At the end of the 1000 years, there will be a resurrection of the wicked (Revelation 20, end of verse 4 and the first part of verse 5) and Satan is thereby loosed “a little season” (verse 3 and verse 7) and shall deceive all of the sinners of the second resurrection, into attempting to take the Holy City, New Jerusalem, by war (verses 8 and 9).
All of this is the glorious Plan of Salvation designed by our heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, before time began on this earth. The sin problem will be summarily dealt with, and the saints will inherit the earth made new. Are you striving to be among the saints? Is Jesus your Friend and advocate in the heavenly Investigative Judgment? Are you preparing to play your part in the final movements of the Trumpets (the Loud Cry) and of the Day of Atonement? You must know your Message – the Three Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14, plus the Fourth Angel’s Message of Revelation 18 – and stand against the Beast (the New World Order!) and even Satan himself, regardless of persecution, even unto death! (But fear not at all, gentle Christian, you have eternal life, NOW, if Jesus is your Saviour from sin, and you endure unto the end! “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!” Revelation 22, verse 14.)
Again I say, you must know your Message, or you will be deceived along with most of the world. Only the Truth of Prophecy protects you from the great deceptions of the Last Days. “For false Christs [Satan himself will counterfeit the Second Coming of Jesus!] and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” Mark 13:22 and 23. The great day of His wrath is at hand. LEARN YOUR MESSAGE!!
Document #09_04, A Purposeful Healing, is Jesus revealing to mankind who He really is, whether you will receive it or not! The Sabbath truth is fully wrapped up in the work of Jesus as Messiah and Lord. He did this healing purposely on the Sabbath and showed that God the Father, and Himself, have a day of SPECIAL work on the Sabbath, which you want to be a part of!
Scripture: John 5:2, 5, 8-11, 16-21
Title: A Purposeful Healing
I direct your attention to the lesson text, John chapter 5. This story of the man at the pool of Bethesda, who could not get to the pool before someone else got there first, during probably most of 38 years, is a story of desperate faith, isn’t it? His only hope was that the healing angel would one day allow him to get to the pool first, and heal him. Here was a man who believed in God, but didn’t know the real character of God. He believed that God did send an angel, from time to time, to heal those who faithfully waited for their chance to be healed there. I believe that Jesus came directly to this poor man, to reward his patient, though misguided faith, personally.
Be not deceived. Jesus did not support the belief that an angel sent from God was involved there in any way. Satan was the supporter of this vain hope. Thus he paints a spurious picture of our Creator God. He still uses this ploy today, using so-called faith healers.
But I want you to take special note that it was on a Sabbath day that Jesus chose to heal this man, personally. Jesus did several special healing miracles on the Sabbath day, because He had a second purpose in mind. This time, Jesus had a powerful Sabbath sermon to preach. It is that sermon that I want to explore with you today. You will need to follow along in your Bible to understand His sermon. I believe that this is one of the most important sermons recorded in Scripture, spoken by Jesus Himself. In it, Jesus clearly outlines His position as Creator God, as the Son of God, and as the Messiah (or Saviour).
However, this sermon has been avoided because of the one statement in it that is a hard saying – who can understand it? Here it is: John 5, verse 17: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” But is it so difficult? Only if we refuse, as did the Jews, to accept the position of Jesus as the Creator (thus able to re-create, as He did in this healing), as the Son of God, and as the Saviour. Seventh-day Adventists accept these Biblical truths. Therefore, we can understand this saying, and go on to allow Jesus to outline His position. We believe that both Father and the Son work for our salvation: but the Father in His way, and the Son in His way, by mutual agreement.
Turn to Hebrews 1:1-3 (read). The Father appointed Jesus to His position as Creator of the worlds, and to the position of Messiah, to purge our sins. Then Jesus “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (v.3) Hebrews 8:1 and 2 says Jesus also took the position of High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary, which was the pattern for the Sanctuary on earth. John, chapter 1, solidly supports that Jesus was the Creator God. The “Word,” (Jesus – see v. 14) “was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him: and, (for emphasis) without Him was not any thing made that was made.” (v.3) Verse 10 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, but the world knew Him not.”
Thus, at the Creation of our world, and the heavens around us, God, yes, Jesus, the Creator, as He was before the incarnation, rested on the seventh day of Creation Week, from all the work of Creating that He had done. In this sermon, Jesus Himself was revealing to the Jews of the Old Testament, what the New Testament affirms, that He is Creator God, and the Son of God. “My Father worketh hitherto, And I work.” What does it mean? He is speaking regarding Sabbath work, by God. Is God inactive on the Sabbath day? Jesus graphically illustrated His point by the miracle of healing this poor man. Both Jesus, and the Father have worked, since the fall of man into sin, especially upon the Sabbath, to heal the disease of sin, through the church.
But in the church of the Jews, it had become illegal, according to the traditions of the Rabbis, to heal anyone on the Sabbath, because it was considered work. The Rabbis had placed human restrictions on the Sabbath hours, unaware that they were thus limiting God’s work – of salvation and healing on the Sabbath – His special work that is His blessing for the Sabbath, through the church.
Jesus is the Great Physician. He equates healing of infirmity and disease with the ultimate healing, the healing of the sin disease! This is especially the Sabbath work of God. Salvation is the ultimate healing miracle which He, as God in human flesh, has been given power to perform. This is why Jesus healed so many during His ministry on earth. All disease is the result of sin. Maybe not directly, but ultimately, all disease and death leads back to sin, doesn’t it? The work of Jesus is as the Great Physician; to heal the results of sin, and the disease of sin itself. Jesus had to convince the religious leaders, then, and of time to come, that Sabbath is especially a time for this work, by Him, through His church.
When Jesus healed, that person had a clean slate to work with, and, by overcoming the temptation to indulge the sin that had caused their now-healed disease, they could be saved, soul and body. The Sabbath is a time when we can be blessed, if we come to His house of prayer seeking healing from our Creator God! Never let us forget this purpose for the church.
Our health message is His message for bodily healing by obedience to the laws of life (natural law). James 5:14 to 16, is His prescription for healing serious disease (as well as the sin that caused it) to be administered by the church! – the anointing service.
Now: let’s let Jesus reveal His position as Son of God and as Messiah, or Saviour. Here is His sermon, beginning with verse 19 of John chapter five: “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will show Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.”
Let’s separate this last point by itself for the moment, for clarity. Drop down the page to verse 25. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself!” Notice that Jesus said “the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live!” Do you remember the record of the raising of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, from the dead? Jesus here foretold that event, didn’t He! Lazarus would be the living proof of both the resurrection at the end of time, and of the Divinity and power of Jesus Himself, as the Son of God! No more would His words be the only proof of His Divinity. Verse 28: “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth – they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation!” Jesus has been given the power to save His people, and the power to destroy the wicked! Are you in a saved relationship with Jesus today? Has Jesus convinced you that you need to be saved? (pause)
Let’s go back to verse 22 and see what else Jesus reveals about His position as the Son of God and the Saviour. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” Put with that verse 27: “And hath given Him authority to execute Judgment also, because He is the son of man.” (He is the only one who knows our fallen nature, first hand, and is able to save us from sin!) Let’s add also v.30: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father, which hath sent me.”
Now, let’s sum this up with verses 23 and 24: “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life!”
Do you now believe what Jesus said about Himself was true? He is Creator God! He is the Son of God! He is the Saviour! Is He your Saviour and Lord (king) of your life? Do you keep His Commandments? Have you been baptized into His remnant people, His remnant church?
It was fully possible for the Jews to believe what Jesus here proclaimed. His proof to them is in v.36, which includes the raising to life of Lazarus: “I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me. And the Father Himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of Me.”
Essentially, He says next – You don’t believe in Who I am. (verses 38 and 39): “Search the Scriptures (for in them ye think ye have eternal life) for they testify of Me!” Was this man the Creator God, the Son of God; the Saviour sent by the Father to dwell with man, in human form? Isaiah 7, verse 14: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel; which is, God with us, by interpretation.” And Psalm 40:7: “Then said I, ‘Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: Yea, Thy Law is within my heart.'” Was He the Messiah? Soon they would know.
Upon the cross, Jesus quoted and thus pointed to Psalm 22, even in His agony: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” The whole chapter of Psalm 22, which He thus pointed to, is a picture of the crucifixion, where He became our sacrifice for sin – the Lamb of God! What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord! Check out Psalm 22 for yourself!
In this powerful, purposeful act of healing, and His sermon which followed, Jesus proclaimed and revealed His position, that God the Father had given Him, by explaining His hard saying: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” I…believe…in Jesus! Do you?
The next document in this chapter is #09_05, Fearsome Warning.
By now you know who the “beast” is, what his “image” is, and, like it or not, what his “mark” is. In this “sealing time,” the full truth is flying round the world, beamed from satellites [like “angels (messengers) flying in mid heaven”] into every country and nation of the world, into the very homes of the people. Radio, television and internet are carrying this Message, preached with power unto salvation!
Three Angel’s Broadcasting (3ABN), Hope channel, and others, now have the use of 11 communication satellites, blanketing the whole world with these truths from prophecy! Voice of Prophecy Radio, 3ABN television, Hope Channel, Vision, and others, are fully functioning!
Anyone can receive program streaming of 3abntv or Hopetv or Amazing Factstv on their computer. Simply type in 3abntv.org. or Hopetv.org. or Amazingfactstv.org. The world is being warned! So are you! Choose you this day who you will serve! A great prophetic Movement is growing exponentially, world wide. Get on board with the people of the Messiah, Jesus! He is coming soon! More on that just ahead.
The Most Fearsome Warning in the Bible, Partly From Great Controversy, by Ellen White, pp.445-450.
The Third Angel’s warning is: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:9, 10. The “beast” mentioned in this message, whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or leopard-like beast of Revelation 13 – the Papacy. After the warning against the worship of the beast and his image the prophecy declares: “Here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Since those who keep God’s Commandments are thus placed in contrast with those that worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, it follows that the keeping of God’s Law, on the one hand, and its violation, on the other, will make the distinction between the worshipers of God and the worshipers of the beast.
The special characteristic of the beast, and therefore of his image, is the breaking of God’s Commandments. Says Daniel, of the little horn, the Papacy: “He shall think to change times and the law.” Daniel 7:25, R.V. And Paul styled the same power the “man of sin,” who was to exalt himself above God. One prophecy is a complement of the other. Only by changing God’s Law could the Papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to Papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God.
The Papacy has attempted to change the law of God. The Second Commandment, forbidding image worship, has been dropped from the law, [allowing worship of the “beast’s” image, Mary] and the Fourth Commandment has been so changed as to authorize the observance of the first instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath. These are the changes foretold by the prophet.
The change of the fourth Commandment most exactly fulfills the prophecy. For this the only authority claimed is that of the church. Here the papal power openly sets itself above God. While the worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by their regard for the Fourth Commandment – since this is the sign of His creative power and the witness to His claim upon man’s reverence and homage – the worshipers of the beast will be distinguished by their efforts to tear down the Creator’s memorial, to exalt the institution of Rome.
The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in the Third Angel’s Message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God’s Judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have opportunity to escape them.
It is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the world. In the issue of the contest, all Christendom will be divided into two great classes – those who keep the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark.
Although church and state will unite their power to compel “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” (Revelation 13:16) to receive “the mark of the beast,” yet the people of God will not receive it. The prophet of Patmos beholds “them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. (Revelation 15:2, 3.)
Document #09_06 is a Bible Study Lesson Guide for Daniel 11. The SDA denomination does not have one, because no theologian has done the research to unfold this chapter. This chapter has much to contribute to our 3 Angel’s Messages. Verses 40 to 42 do not fit history as they must, as the theologians have preconceived the text. Not once, but twice! The Papacy is not the king of the north in this chapter. There are not just two powers in v.40. There are three! This chapter unfolds Jesus’ last great unfulfilled prophecy – Mt. 24:15 – the “abomination that maketh desolate” [Yes, it is unfulfilled!]. This chapter reveals the beginning of the career of the Papacy, and the very early institution of worship of his “image” – an idol of MARY that he created to further attract all Pagans into his “church.” Finally, there is a connection in v. 45 to the Trumpets of Rev. 8!
The time has come for this chapter to reveal its secrets. Amos 3:7. See the document 08_02, Sequence of Events, to see what this means to our Message.
Bible Study Lesson Guide for Daniel 11
Daniel 11 is the most literal chapter on prophecy in the two books of prophecy, Daniel and Revelation, beginning the history right where Daniel was at the time, Cyrus having taken Babylon for the Medo-Persian Empire. (Remember the image of Daniel 2 – there would be four great known world kingdoms – Babylon : here fallen, Medo-Persia: here presently ruling, followed by Greece – Alexander, and then lastly by Rome – Pagan and Papal Rome. All of them are destroyed by the coming Kingdom of Jesus – “the stone that smote the image upon its feet…and that became a great mountain [kingdom] that filled the whole earth.” Daniel 11 will cover the history, king by king [and some queens also, so that the march of history is clearly presented] till the Second Coming of Jesus.)
Uriah Smith, in his definitive book, DANIEL and the REVELATION, takes us up through time in this outline, filling in the details from history. You can even find Cleopatra and Antony in verses 17 to 19. By these verses, we are into the Pagan Roman Era. Suffice it to say, at this point, that the verses are leading up to new and important information regarding the latter phase of the Pagan Era into the Papal Era (the “little horn” that develops into a “beast” power by Rev. 13:1-10).
At verse 30, we arrive at Constantine, Emperor of Rome, and a pivotal point in the history of these nations. Here, in this verse, the “little horn” of Daniel 7 has his real introduction into the history. It is at this point we will take up the prophetic history, rather than reiterate all the kings who precede it. You may pick up all of that from Uriah Smith’s book.
Why do we begin here? As our studies to this point have revealed, we are now in the final stages of the prophecy of the “little horn power.” We are in dangerous, deceptive times, and must be warned by this prophecy. We must proclaim what is really going on, making history right now, by unfolding Daniel chapter 11!
It is so important because it unveils the secret of the next great prophecy by Jesus Himself! Since the Great Awakening of 1843, although much clarification of the revelation that “the hour of His Judgment is come” has prepared the way, we haven’t foreseen the next great prophetic revelation by Jesus. It is time! Check out Amos 3:7. Holy Spirit is unfolding it, by unfolding Daniel 11.
To what prophecy, by Jesus Himself, do I refer? Matthew 24, verses 14 and 15: especially verse 15. The context, according to verse 14, is NOW! “This gospel of the kingdom [is NOW being preached in all the world by Television] for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the END come!”
“When ye therefore [at this time] shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains…” Verse 15.
We now know how to find the verse or verses in Daniel that Jesus is referring to. We will use Holy Spirit’s prescription for Bible Study, to “rightly divide the Word of God,” from Isaiah 28, verses 9 and 10: “line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” We take a Cruden’s Concordance, and look up the key words from the warning by Jesus, “abomination” and “desolation” to find where they are used together in the Book of Daniel.
Are you ready? They are actually used in THREE places in Daniel. The first one refers to the desolation of Jerusalem and Judaea by the Romans, in 70 A.D. Daniel 9, verse 27. (It is actually a separate notation in the Concordance because it uses the plural form “abominations” rather than the singular, as in the other two notations.) This one is the fulfillment of Luke’s statement of the prophecy, which is different than the same (most commentators wrongly believe) statement of what Jesus said, in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. We will now see that that is because Jesus mingled what would soon come to pass, with what would come to pass again, at the end of time!
The next two notations in the Concordance are: Daniel 11, verse 31, and Daniel 12, verse 11. NOTE: parallel verses. [Please Read] These verses have not yet found fulfillment, as Daniel 12:11 gives a time prophecy for an event in history in the other, parallel verse, Daniel 11:31. That event came nearly 500 years after the time of Jesus! It is the date when the “little horn power” – the Papacy – began to be “set up” (Daniel 12:11) or put in “place” (Daniel 11:31). Other Bible versions rightly use “set up” for both verses.
To get the right context, and to understand who is being spoken of in verse 31, we must pick up the historical event in verse 30. In this verse, the historical entry of Constantine into the progression of kings, we find him having “intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.” These two verses are overflowing with information. Constantine is “against (note my capital letters) the Holy Covenant.” He is against the disruptive Jews and true Christians who are always evangelizing throughout his Empire, with their Holy Covenant.
So, he has a strategy session – “intelligence” – with them that forsake the Holy Covenant. What is the Holy Covenant? This question is crucial to the real understanding of Daniel 11! The Ten Commandments, contained in the Ark of the Covenant, are the Holy Covenant! Right?
Then, who are “them that forsake the Holy Covenant?”
Here’s the history. Constantine, in 321 A.D., had a strategy session with the bishop of Rome, desiring to unite his Empire. The bishop of Rome suggested that Constantine should unite the religions of the Empire, which would unite the many factions in it. The bishop was willing to “forsake the Holy Covenant” by supporting the changing of the Fourth Commandment by Constantine!! Constantine claimed to have been converted to Christianity (the “Christianity”of the bishop of Rome) and Constantine wrote the first “keep Sunday holy” Law of that brand of Christianity. The bishops of Rome, from then on, (“them” that forsake the Holy Covenant) supported this change of the Commandments!
Further, this bishop of Rome, by 325 A.D., instituted the worship of Mary, “a god whom his fathers knew not…” Dan. 11:38. Her idols, later the “image of the beast” Rev. 14:9, were very attractive to Pagan worshippers in place of their many goddesses. These changes brought the Pagans of the Empire into the “Christian” church, with their Emperor! The idols of Mary are an important new part of our Message – the 3 Angel’s Messages!
Then Constantine even moved his Capital to Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) in 330 A.D., leaving the whole Western Empire to the bishop of Rome! Wow! Did that ever “set up” the bishop of Rome!
NOT QUITE.
In Divine punishment of both the Pagan Roman Empire and the bishops of Rome, the whole Western Empire (Europe) was broken up into the ten toes of the great image of Daniel 2, by the barbarian tribes that swept in from the north. [The ten toes are the kingdoms that eventually formed the broken-up Empire of Rome.]
Between Daniel 11, verse 30, and Daniel 11, verse 31, there is nearly 200 years separating those two verses! Not till 508 A.D., exactly pinpointed by the parallel verse time prophecy in Daniel 12:11, [the 1290 simply precedes the 1260 by 30 years] did the bishop of Rome convert a barbarian king (king of the Franks – now France) to his brand of Christianity. This king, Clovis by name, used his armies to support the bishop of Rome. Note verse 31: “And arms shall stand on his [the bishop of Rome’s] part, and they [the bishops of Rome] shall pollute the Sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [the daily work of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary] and they shall place [set up] the abomination that maketh desolate:” [the papal system of religion and politics – the uniting of church and state, to persecute all dissenters against their brand of Christianity!]
So: “…the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet…” that Jesus was referring to for the end times, is the Papal system of religion and politics.
Its head is the pope, “the man of sin” that Paul the apostle referred to in Second Thessalonians, chapter 2.
Now we can deduce that the event Jesus was referring to must be set out in the detail in Daniel 11. Daniel 12 begins with what will happen to Israel because of the “abomination,” so verse 45 of Daniel 11 is probably it!
However, theologians have stumbled over verse 40 of Daniel 11, and we cannot correctly advance until we unfold that verse. Theologians have tried, and constantly fail, to make the Papacy the king of the north in that verse. And so, that verse, and those that follow, do not fit history. The verses must fit history. (Principle – Prophecy is history before it happens!). Therefore, we have misunderstood the text. Jesus has now revealed the answer. Its time has come! [Remember Amos 3, v. 7.]
The Papacy is not the king of the north in verse 40. We preconceived that there are only two powers in verse 40, because most of Daniel 11 has been about the king of the north versus the king of the south and vice versa, many times over. We failed to note the introduction to prominence of “them that forsake the Holy Covenant!” Once he has been given power as “pope,” in 538, 30 years after he has been “set up” by Clovis, his developed characteristics are revealed, in detail, in verses 36 to 39!
*All of the rest of the chapter, from verse 30 to verse 45 are about this power, down through time till “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
Verses 40 to 42 are a parenthesis; (…..) an interruption to the characteristics of the Papacy, to insert the history of the events of 1798 that gave him his “mortal wound” (Rev. 13, verse 3) that would be healed. We would put these verses in brackets, but the original writers of the Old Testament didn’t have such tools for use in their writing. Verse 43 and on, he again takes up his power. In 1929, the “mortal wound” is healed, by Mussolini, who gave the pope a tiny kingdom, a number of acres in Rome called the Vatican. He was again a “horn” kingdom, a very little one. In verse 43, allied with Hitler, he is given great power once more!
Notice verse 43. Hitler shipped the treasures of Europe and of Egypt to the Papacy! The Nazis documented it all on film, which has been run in documentaries on TV! Even the “ethnic cleansing” of the land of Ethiopia of the SABBATH KEEPERS, leaving the land “at his steps” [Catholic or die] was also documented on television!
I personally saw both documentaries!
Verse 44: Hitler was obviously directed by the pope of that time, Pious XII, [1939 – 1958] to attack Russia, the major Atheistic power, to try to force it to also be “at his steps!” The “east” and the “north” easily refer to Atheistic China and Russia! It is the Papacy that is credited, by God through Daniel, with Hitler’s attack on Russia; “with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” WE are right on the verge of the fulfillment of verse 45! So close, it almost happened January 1, 2000! Because we hadn’t done our homework on this prophecy of Jesus, we didn’t recognize this almost fulfillment! Here, we need to backtrack to verses 36 to 39, that precede the parenthesis. The Papacy is officially introduced, not as the king of the north, but as “the king.” He is a third power in the parenthesis!
Look carefully at his characteristics in verses 36 to 39. He shall not do according to the will of God. He shall exalt himself [and make himself God, “sitting in the temple of God (St. Peter’s Basilica) showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4.] “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers [Jesus], nor the desire of women” [marriage forbidden for priests and nuns] and shall “magnify himself above all” [even Jesus!] But he shall honor the god of forces [using Satan’s method – forcing all to obey him rather than the God of the Bible!].
The next point, even to the first half of the next verse, is incredibly important: “And a god whom his fathers knew not [the idol, of MARY, that he set up to take the place of the goddesses of the Pagans, to further attract them into the “Christian” church] shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things
[denoting a female god] …whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory:” – the “image of the beast!”
He has even ascribed unto her the place of mediator between God and man, taking the place of Jesus Himself!
The idol of MARY is a “graven image” forbidden by both the first and second Commandments of God! See, right NOW, Exodus 20, verses 3 to 5.
Now to the parenthesis: verses 40 to 42. “At the time of the end…” Daniel himself asks when shall be the time of the end, in Daniel 12. The answer is verse 7: “…it shall be for a time, times, and an half…” Expositors agree that this refers to 1798, the end of the time allotted to the Papal power persecuting God’s true followers. See Rev. 12, verse 14 compared to verse 6. When the Papacy was “taken out of the way” [of the Bible] Daniel’s book was to be unsealed. Daniel 12, verse 9. That event revealed that the prophetic “days” represented literal years!
The historic events of 1798 also reveal the proper THREE players in Daniel 11, verse 40. In that chapter, the king of the south [south of Israel] is always Egypt. The king of the north [north of Israel] varies according to the prophecy of Daniel 11. The Papacy is not the king of the north. He is “the king,” actually king of all of the kings of Europe [the ten toes] of the north.
Thus iron Rome is mingled with the potter’s clay. The Holy Roman Empire received its mortal wound in 1798. By whom did the pope get “taken out of the way?” In that very year, Napoleon became king of Egypt! “At the time of the end, shall the king of the south push at him…” Who? the king, the one just fully introduced in the preceding verses! Napoleon’s general Berthier gave the Papacy its “mortal wound:” …but the Vatican elected a new pope after that pope died in exile; and Napoleon couldn’t prevent it!
Just over 130 years later, the Papacy’s mortal wound was healed by Mussolini. The “little horn” has NOW again risen to political and religious power.
Napoleon had taken Egypt from the control of the king of the north – the Turkish power – which remained king of the north till 1840. Still in the year 1798, they declared war against Napoleon to take it back. “And the king of the north shall come against him [Napoleon] like a whirlwind…” to verse 42, “and the land of Egypt shall not escape.” The Turkish power took back Egypt. This ends the parenthesis. The rest of the chapter continues to be about “the king” from before the parenthesis!
We already have the history of the career of the Papacy till verse 45, so we can now paraphrase that verse thus:
“And the pope shall plant the tabernacles [temporary location] of his palace [his government] between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain [Jerusalem]: yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
“his government” – combined New World Order,
New World Church, both ruled by the pope!
Separation of church and state fully removed!
Where? “in the glorious holy mountain.”
“glorious holy mountain” = Jerusalem.
“line upon line” leads to Daniel 9, v. 16:
“…thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain…”
Remember that the pope represents the “little horn power” and is the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24, verse 15. The above action by the pope can only come to pass when the Jewish nation receives the pope into Jerusalem as “the vicar of the son of God!” – the representative of Jesus! Why would they do such a thing?
The apparition of MARY in the heavens above [Read the ADDENDUM to this lesson guide!] will convince the secular Jews, and the Jews of the Messianic Jewish Movement [thus the whole nation] that the pope is the leader of the true church of God! They will make an alliance with the Papal power instead of depending upon the real Jesus to protect them from all of their enemies around them! That will be an “indignation” to Jesus, [see v. 36] who will then destroy Jerusalem and Judaea, as He did twice before – first by the Babylonians, then by the Romans! Who among the Messianic Jews will heed our warning from Jesus in Matthew 24, v. 15, and especially its parallel in Mark 13, v. 14, about the “abomination of desolation” and escape to the mountains across the Jordan River?
The pope is “the man of sin!” He represents abominations to Jesus – Sun worship, and idol worship of MARY! He is not the representative of Jesus on this earth! [See the reasons for the first desolation, in Ezekiel chapter 8].
Unfolding Daniel 11 reveals who the “little horn” is, and what the abomination of desolation is. The soon-to-come-to-pass third fulfillment of the abomination of desolation is the subject of the prophecy of Jesus from Mt.24, v. 15. Its result has happened twice in the past. It will happen again, soon!
Get ready! Make your calling and election sure with Jesus! Do not be found by Jesus, worshipping the beast and his image, or having received his “mark!” [Revelation 14, verse 9, the Third Angel’s Message]. Worship the Creator of heaven and earth, Jesus Himself! [See John 1: 1-3, 10, and 14]. Learn your Message – the Three Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14!
Document #09_07 is an Addendum to the Daniel 11 Bible Study Lesson Guide. It is the detail of how Satan will accomplish giving the pope the leadership of the NEW WORLD ORDER, combined with the NEW WORLD CHURCH. At the same time, it is the revelation of how he will be defeated!
Addendum to the Daniel 11 Bible Study Lesson Guide
Why is the Papacy willing to throw its influence behind Jewish Israel in an alliance with the Jews, to protect them from all of their Arab neighbours? The Papacy is courting their support of his New World Order leadership! But he must also court the support of those very Arab neighbours! An insight into how he can do both is given in Daniel Chapter 8, verse 19 and vs. 23 to 25. Note the very end-of-time emphasis. Verse 19:
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. Verses 23 to 25:
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: [the power of Satan – “And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Rev. 13:2] and he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft [he is crafty] to prosper in his hand: and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand.
We are in the midst of this time. The pope has strategy sessions, “intelligence” with all of these countries, but, as in the strategy worked out with President Regan to bring down the Russian regime, he works whom he will against whom he will (craft). He “understands dark sentences.” He knows what the result of his going to Jerusalem will be. He will placate the Arab countries craftily, letting them know that by his alliance with the Jews, all Israel will immediately be totally destroyed by Jesus! He understands what the prophecy by Jesus about “the abomination of desolation” foretells! By this peace he “shall destroy many!”
The pope wants to get the leadership of the New World Order, and the New World Church! Being head of all religions is his trump card over all of the other contenders. He needs to be received into Jerusalem by all three of the major religions of the world, represented in Jerusalem.
Pope John Paul II attempted this during his Papacy. But he failed to get the Muslims and the Jews under his hand by the year 2000, when the New World Order was supposed to begin. Y2K was designed, by the powers behind the New World Order, to destroy the old Order, so that it could be replaced by the New. A pope, soon, will get them all under himself. It’s an almost impossible task. But Satan is his cohort. He knows a way.
A book has been written, right out of the Vatican itself, outlining Satan’s plan that will put a pope in the leadership position. Called “The Keys of this Blood,” and subtitled “the Struggle for World Dominion [of the New World Order] between Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev & the Capitalist West,” it is meant to rally Catholic believers behind a pope’s bid for the leadership of the New World Order. Satan hopes that that leadership will give him the world-wide military power to destroy the people of God and to stand up against the Prince of Princes, Jesus!
Satan will work “…with all power and signs and lying wonders…”
2 Thessalonians 2, verse 9, to deceive the whole world into putting a pope into the leadership of the New World Order, and into setting him up as the leader of all religions [even including all of the other religions of the world]. The clue to how he will do it is the proliferation of apparitions of MARY throughout the last century and continuing in this century.
Adventist “watchers” were not supposed to read this book, and were especially not supposed to find in it the blatant revealing of Satan’s plan. But they did. Here is the page, and its content, that has been discovered and that you need to know. Page 639, The Keys of this Blood. The rest of the book is dry, historical narrative. But this page is in flowery prose! One would suspect that it is by an entirely different author! Listen:
He [John Paul II, at that time] is a pope who is waiting. That is the essence of his action. And in the meantime, he is busy in all the highways and byways along which the men of his age are moving helter-skelter. They have figured their present onrush as the last stages on the road to a New World Order already in view, a true City of Man, built by Man’s ingenuity for Man – this finally is the avowed goal they forecast for themselves, shimmering on the mountains of the future.
John Paul is waiting, but not for that city to be built, in order, as it were, to find out if there will be a place in it for him. He knows it will not be built, at least not as men have configured it. He is waiting, rather, for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future. It will be an event on public view in the skies, in the oceans, and on the continental landmasses of this planet. It will particularly involve our human sun, which every day lights up and shines upon the valleys, the mountains and the plains of this earth for our eyes. But, on the day of this event, it will not appear merely as the master star of our so-called solar system. Rather, it will be seen as the circumambient glory of the Woman whom the apostle [John the Revelator; Rev. 12:1 and 5] describes as “clothed with the sun” and giving birth to “a child who will rule the nations with a scepter of iron.” [NOTE: This is a twisting of the Scripture of Revelation 12! Satan did this even with Jesus! Read what he conveniently left out in Revelation 12]. Continuing:
Fissioning it will be, as an event, in John Paul’s conviction of faith, for it will immediately nullify all the grand designs the nations are now forming and will introduce the Grand Design of man’s Maker. John Paul’s waiting and watching time will then be over. His ministry as the Servant of the Grand Design will then begin. His strength of will to hold on and continue, and then, when the fissioning event occurs, to assume that ministry, derives directly from the Petrine authority entrusted solely to him the day he became Pope, in October of 1978. That authority, that strength, is symbolized in the Keys of Peter, washed in the human blood of the God-man, Jesus Christ. John Paul is and will be the sole possessor of the Keys of this Blood on that day. [End quote.]
[This last has tremendous meaning in reference to his plan to persecute, by the Keys of Peter that he claims as his own. See Matthew 16, verses 16 to 19. But note also that these keys were given to all of the disciples (the church), not just to Peter. Note Matthew 18:18 and 19].
It is a super apparition of MARY, in the heavens above, that will gather all of “the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
[Armageddon. Rev. 16, v.14].
This, according to Satan’s plan, will cause all of the religions of the world to accept the pope as the representative of Jesus on earth, as he claims to be, and also as the leader of the New World Order! When he goes to Jerusalem, he will set himself up, in the sight of the whole world [via TV] filling both positions! “He shall plant the tabernacles [tents – temporary location] of his palace [his government – the New World Order] in Jerusalem, God’s holy mountain. [Line upon line – Daniel 9, verse 16]. It will be only temporary, for he knows he must get away before Judaea is desolated by fire. He understands that “dark sentence.”
MARY’s apparition, seen world-wide [See Satan’s depiction of her in this role – MARY of Guadalupe – believed to be from an apparition in 1530 in Mexico! – this is Satan’s plan!] will convince all of the “kings” of the earth that Catholicism is the true God’s church, and that the pope is His representative! America, in prophecy [Rev. 13:11-18, especially verses 12, 14, and 15] will be foremost in getting the world, and all other religions, to accept the pope as the leader of all religion in the world! That is his key to the leadership of the New World Order, because they want a proven moral leader for their dictator of the whole world!
Islam already worships MARY, because Mohammad wrote, in the Koran that his daughter FATIMA would be second only to MARY in heaven. Satan used the apparition at FATIMA, Portugal, in 1917, to bring that text from the Koran to the minds of people of the Islamic faith.
Thus Jews, Muslims, and all of the sects of Christianity will be willing to make the pope the dictator-leader of the New World Order.
But all of this is an abomination before God. He, Jesus, will act to “hold all the nations in check” from annihilating His people. How? By the Trumpet Judgments of Revelation Chapters 8 and 9! The First Trumpet Judgment will destroy [make desolate] Judaea and Jerusalem!
We can back that up from the Bible. Revelation 7 is the “sealing” chapter of Revelation, whose full illustration is given in Ezekiel, chapters 8 to 10, referring to the first desolation of Jerusalem and Judaea, by the kingdom of Babylon. [Revelation points back to every other book of the Bible, to explain its themes.]
Ezekiel 8 reveals the abominations for which Jerusalem and Judaea would be destroyed. Chapter 9 is the sealing chapter, paralleled by Revelation, Chapter 7. Part of Ezekiel 9, and continued in Chapter 10, is the Judgment scene in the Temple at Jerusalem, paralleled by Revelation, Chapter 8, verses 3-7. NOTE: Ezekiel 10:2 is the casting of coals of fire over the city, to begin its destruction. Revelation 8, verses 3 to 5 is Jesus casting coals of fire into the earth from heaven to “make desolate” Jerusalem and Judaea again, actually, for the third time! Revelation 8, verse 7 is the arrival of these coals of fire on the earth!
Notice the result – “…the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” What three monotheistic sects are represented in Jerusalem? Christianity (actually centered in Rome); Islam (actually centered in Mecca); and Judaism, centered in Jerusalem itself. The symbol given them is “trees.” Line upon line, using that key-word in a Concordance, leads us to Mt. 3, verses 7 to 10. John the Baptist laid the axe to the root of the “trees” – there the sects of Judaism. Often, trees refer to simply men. But another regular symbol of men is given in Rev. 8, verse 7 – “green grass.” Thus “trees” has this other meaning in this verse. Now, line upon line reveals an important verse in Revelation 7 that fits into the picture. Rev. 7, verses 1 and 3 call for the angels to “hurt not …the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” The first trumpet hurts one of the “trees” for the “overspreading of abominations” in Jerusalem for the third time – as in 70 A.D. – Daniel 9:27. This will once again be a terrible Judgment, resulting in terrific loss of life, of everyone in Judaea! They must be warned! We must warn them to heed the words of Jesus in Mt. 24, verse 15, and especially its parallel in Mk. 13:14! It is possible that Judaea will be destroyed in the same way as Sodom and Gomorrah were – by fire and brimstone from heaven! This is really serious: but NOTE: 6 more trumpet Judgments follow, which will “hold all of the nations in check” from destroying God’s true people. The whole world must be warned of the Trumpets that Jesus thus attaches to His words about the “abomination of desolation.” The Second Trumpet is a very clear and literal description of an asteroid hit in one of the three major oceans of our world. (Guess which one – Atlantic, Pacific, or the South seas?)
The Third Trumpet is a clear and literal description of the effect of a comet coming too near the earth on its trajectory past the earth. NOTE: the scientists made a film exactly about those things to warn the world! The film has been shown many times on the Knowledge Network on TV. You may have seen it.
The terrific loss of life, and the destruction of governments that Satan has been trying to use to annihilate God’s people at those times will “perplex” and fill the hearts of men with fear (Luke 21, verses 25 and 26). And there will be more coming!
But look up, dear true Christian: “your redemption draweth nigh.” Jesus is doing these things against the wicked of this world, and he will soon come to deliver His chosen. Prepare ye the Way of the Lord. Lay the axe to the root of the “trees” in this the time of the final Elijah the prophet (the final Elijah Message is the 4th Angel’s Message – Rev. 18:1-4) just before “the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Malachi, chapter 4, verse 5. God never planted “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” Satan did. Her judgment time has come! Again I say, “Know your Message!”