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Prophetic Secrets and the New World Order - David a Miller

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The Secrets in This Book�

veryone likes a mystery. We like to take the evidence and try to discover “Who done it.” The mystery of the ages is also very intriguing. In this mystery there is a great

conspiracy to set up an international totalitarian government. It has hidden agendas which few know of. The big difference between this world-wide conspiracy and Sherlock Holmes is that we are all players in the drama.

Is there really a world-wide conspiracy? Are there secret societies leading us according to a mysterious agenda? Are there powers behind the scenes that we should be aware of? Is there a world leader either in charge now or soon to take charge of the entire world scene. Are there now plans being laid for a one world government? What is the New World Order?

It is the intention of this writer to reveal just such a hidden agenda. The exposure will be done using the secret clues of Bible prophecy. These secrets are hidden to those who do not care to know, and yet open to those who chose to investigate.

Who Is Carroll Quigley? The hidden agenda for world control is coming out of hiding as

it gains a tighter grip on the world. One man who has done as much as anyone to reveal it has been Carroll Quigley.

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When former President Bill Clinton was a high school student he met President Kennedy. When at Georgetown University he studied under Carroll Quigley. In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Clinton said this about his mentor:

“As a teenager I heard John Kennedy's summons to citizenship. And then, as a student at Georgetown, I heard that call clarified by a professor named Carroll Quigley.”1

Professor Carroll Quigley has written two very important

books, Tragedy and Hope and The Anglo-American Establishment. In them he talks extensively about the establishment in 1891 of a secret group. This group was set up to eventually take charge of the world through financial and political means.

Clinton Praises Quigley Bear in mind as you read the following that Quigley supported

this secret group. He was Bill Clinton's professor at Georgetown. Clinton gave him credit for shaping his philosophy on politics. Quigley was important enough to be mentioned by name in Clinton's Democratic National Convention speech. What did Quigley say about these secret societies?

“There does exist, and has existed for a generation, an international Anglophile [British] network which operates, to some extent, in the way the radical Right believes the Communists act. In fact, this network, which we may identify as the Round Table Groups, had no aversion to cooperating with the Communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so. I know of the operations of the network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960's, to examine its papers and secret records. I have been close to it and to many of its instruments . . . The Round Table Groups were semi-secret discussion and lobbying groups . . . The original purpose of these groups was to seek to federate the English speaking world along lines laid down by

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Cecil Rhodes 2 (1853-1902) . . . and the money for the organizational work came originally from the Rhodes Trust.”3

The original agenda of these Round Table Groups was to re-

unite America under the control of England. However, the purpose has evolved to include the whole world under one control. This secret plan is not as secret as it once was, President Bush talked about it. He said only the United States could back it up:

“It's a big idea: a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause . . . only the United States has both the moral standing and the means to back it up.” 4

Another Holocaust?

Hitler's aim was world domination and control. He taught his people that there was a superior race and that all who did not fit into this class must be eliminated. Not all he said was plainly evil. If it had been, all could have seen it for what it really was. The bad had to be mixed with the good for appearance sake. To the rational Nazi mind, following Nazism seemed the right thing to do.

On a one-dollar bill under the pyramid of The Great Seal are the words, “Novus Ordo Seclorum” meaning “New World Order.”

Hitler's philosophy was founded on man's ability to be able to

think rationally and determine on his own what is truth and what is error; what is good and what is evil.

In Hitler's Germany, the idea that truth is absolute and determined outside the mind of man was nonexistent. For the Nazis, truth was inside the mind of man. Man could find truth only through rational thought. The German race was superior to all others and therefore the only race that could determine truth.

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Hitler was its head and the final authority. In the final analysis, it was Hitler that determined all truth for all mankind.

Could such a thing happen again? Is it possible that some one man will believe and claim that he alone can determine all truth for all mankind?

Former president George Bush is an advocate of the New World Order. Not long ago few knew of its existence. Even today, few know and even fewer seem concerned. But it has been around for quite some time and is rapidly becoming stronger.

This New World Order has also been known in the past as the One World Government. Today it is often called Globalism. The groundwork has been progressing over the decades, even centuries.

Out of Hiding Just in the past few years the New World Order has become

strong enough to come out of hiding and into the minds of the people. It continues to grow at an ever increasing rate. Its supporters have a timetable that brings it to complete control in what some say is the year 2000. At this time there is to be a great celebration of accomplishment.

Like it or not, the New World Order is fast becoming a part of all our lives. Will it have a positive or negative effect on yours?

The League of Nations and The United Nations are all a part of the concept. The League of Nations failed, and for many years it looked as the United Nations might do the same.

For some time the United Nations seemed powerless as only a token form of world control. In recent years things have changed. Today the United Nations is growing as a powerful force. Recently the United Nations has been involved in many world conflicts. United Nations peace keeping forces are everywhere, backed up by the economically strong nations led mostly by the United States. Coming, Ready, Willing or Not

A book came out in 1991 written by a Roman Catholic who is a former Jesuit priest. This best seller put forth the idea that the New World Order was inevitable. In his book, Malachi Martin says:

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“Willing or not, ready or not, we are all involved . . . The competition is about who will establish the first one-world system of government that has ever existed in the society of nations. It is about who will hold and wield the dual power of authority and control over each of us as individuals and over all of us together as a community. .

“Our way of life as individuals and as citizens of the nations; our families and our jobs; our trade and commerce and money; our educational systems and our religions and our cultures; even our badges of our national identity, which most of us have always taken for grated -- all will have been powerfully and radically altered forever. No one can be exempted from its effects. No sector of our lives will remain untouched.” 5

Martin tells us that the race for control of this New World

Order is between three powers, Michail Gorbachev, The United States and the Pope of Rome. Since he published his book in 1991, Gorbachev and the Soviet Union as it once existed have passed off the scene. However, Martin believes Gorbachev will be back. For now it leaves The United States and the Pope of Rome. Which will it be, if either?

Dual Power - Authority and Control In the above quotation Martin talks about a “dual power of

authority and control.” He is referring to the power of religion and the power of the state. Martin believes it will be the pope of Rome who will finally rule over the New World Order. According to Martin, the pope himself believes man's only hope is in a system of government based on the Roman Catholic religion. In his book, Martin says: Pope John Paul II “insists that men have no reliable hope of creating a viable geopolitical-political system unless it is on the basis of Roman Catholic Christianity.”6 The secrets hidden in Bible prophecy tell us who it is who will head up the New World Order and who will be the economic and physical force behind it. Those secrets are revealed in this book.

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The New World Order is an attempt to bring all the nations together to form a one world government that can assist the nations to work together in peace. In this we can expect the churches to unite. They have been doing so for years under the World Council of Churches. Is a secular head going to take control, or will it be a religious leader?

Can this really happen? Look on the back of a one-dollar bill. Under the pyramid of The Great Seal you will find the words, “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM” which means “New World Order.” Why are they there? Who authorized this? Why do we also find the all seeing eye, the symbol of the occult?

The Prophetic Secrets The Bible in the Book of Daniel talks of a restoration of all

things. There are many prophecies that show us what will happen at the time of the end. Daniel tells us that a government will be set up that will never be destroyed. Is this the New World Order?

In Prophetic Secrets and the New World Order, we will discuss the New World Order and how it relates to the prophecies in the books of the Bible called Daniel and Revelation.

There are other topics that will come up in our discussion that we must deal with. One well-known example is the “mark of the beast.” This mark will be forced upon all people. Without this mark, no one can buy or sell.

Jesus said there would be “earthquakes and pestilence in diverse places.” What about the recent floods around the world? What about the Great Hanshin Earthquake of Japan on January 17, 1995? It happened exactly one year to the day after an earthquake in the Los Angeles area. Why are we having such an increase in natural disasters? Are they a sign?

The prophetic book of Daniel contains visions and dreams of monsters of various descriptions. These monsters represent nations, peoples and philosophies. Daniel is a prophetic book for the time of the end. We will begin our study of the New World Order with this revealing book of prophecies.

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1. Excerpts from Bill Clinton's acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention, 1992. 2. Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. 3. Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope, page 950. 4. President George Bush, in his State of the Union address, Los Angeles Times February 18, 1991. 5.Malachi Martin, The Keys of This Blood. page 15. 6. Keys of This Blood, p. 492.

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The Prophet of the New World Order

ne day a friend of mine in broad daylight was walking along a street in a suburb of Chicago. Two men walked up to him one on either side. �Give me your money,� one man

said as they herded him into a side street. He gave them the six dollars he had and apologized for not having more. They walked away seemingly as innocent as they had appeared.

Along with increasing crime, The United States is presently burdened with an excessive national debt. Where is our spend-now-pay-later life style leading us? What is the meaning of the changes that have come over America these past thirty or so years. Is there anyone out there who has the answers? America is not alone in this. Other countries are also selling bonds to finance what they wouldn�t otherwise have the money to pay for. They are mortgaging their futures.

Some tell us we will soon enter a utopian future with peace finally attained around the world. Is this possible? Others tell us foreboding stories of economic collapse with extreme times to follow. Still others warn us of the end of the world. Who can we believe? Where are the prophets who can correctly foretell our future?

In one of His last recorded messages, Jesus Christ speaking as a prophet talked with His disciples. His theme was His return to this earth and the end of the world. People have been predicting the end of the world for many years. Yet, it has not come. Why

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not? If now, why now? Aside from the fulfillment of the apostle Paul's explanation of

end time events.1 the world has never been so close to a one world government. Today we are swiftly being propelled toward the control of the entire world by one central power. The New World Order is rapidly being assembled through the United Nations supported mostly by the military power of the United States.

Daniel the Prophet

Jesus referred to a man named Daniel who lived 600 years earlier. He called Daniel a prophet. It is in the Bible books of Daniel and Revelation that we read of a New World Order and the powers behind the problems facing us today.

Daniel was born about 622 BC in the nation of Judah, now modern day Israel. However, he did not live or work in Judah much of his life. When a teenager he was taken captive to the land of Babylon . He never returned to his native land. Though a foreigner in the land of Babylon and later Persia, he became a diplomat and leader in both kingdoms. He was considered a prophet even by his captors in Babylon and Persia.

The Book of Daniel starts with a story. Although there are several stories in Daniel, it is not merely a story book of moral lessons. The stories in Daniel directly relate to scenes of the time of the end of the world. What Daniel and his friends went through in tests and trials, God's people will go through at the end of time.

Daniel and His Critics

Some have expressed doubt and made accusations against the Book of Daniel. It is important for doubters to destroy confidence in Daniel's prophecies if they do not want to believe in the God who inspired them. If Daniel's words are true, then Bible inspiration will need to be dealt with along with the reality of fulfilled prophecy. Daniel's prophecies show the existence of the Supernatural. People have been trying to disprove the existence of God since the world began. But the prophecies discount these efforts.

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Critics have claimed Daniel didn't know how to even spell Nebuchadnezzar's name. Yet it is spelled the same in the Bible books of Kings, Chronicles and Ezra. They say King Belshazzar never lived. But the archeologist's spade has confirmed Daniel's story. Clay tablets have been found that show that Belshazzar indeed lived, was a king was the eldest son of Nabonidus. We also now know that he was born in 575 B.C. Once thought to not exist, Belshazzar has since been well established as a king co-ruling with his father in Babylon.2

Daniel saw a horrible beast coming up out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns . . .

Part of Daniel was written in a form of Aramaic that was

thought to be of a period nearly four hundred years later. The Dead Sea Scrolls found about forty-five years ago have shown this to be false. They show that Daniel's Aramaic and that of the later period are very different. The once seemingly solid rock arguments against the Book of Daniel have been proven to sit on sifting sand. Daniel and his book, as will be shown in this book, sit on solid ground. The Area

Babylon, the nation of Iraq today, was a rich fertile crescent. It had been the sought after area by all the nations in the past and would be for many years to come. Years before the area was ruled by Nimrod and was called Babylon (Ancient Babylon). Later the Assyrian (Syria of today) controlled the area for about 300 years. About the time Daniel was born (626-612 B.C.), King Nabopolassar of Babylon drove off the Assyrian army. He became the ruler of what we call the New Babylonian Empire. Later the Persians (presently Iran) took over.

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The Captivity

Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, attempted to destroy the city of Jerusalem in Israel three times. Each time he gained more. On the first trip Daniel was taken captive to Babylon. On the second, in 597 B.C. the king of Jerusalem surrendered. The invaders took the jewels, gold and other precious items to Babylon along with 10,000 additional captives. On the third visit to Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar leveled the city and the temple to the ground. For the Jews their very justification and existence as the people of God was based on the sanctuary (temple) services. Without a temple they were being denied their special role as the representatives of God to the world. Therefore, to Daniel the restoration of the city and the temple was of paramount importance. The Religion

Daniel was a captive in Babylon which had a religion very different from his own. The Babylonians were star gazers who believed they could read the future and rule their lives by reading the position of the stars. They were astrologers. They had the signs of the zodiac. Today many people use the stars to tell them how they should act on a certain day, who to marry and whether it is their lucky or unlucky day. We know this as a horoscope. It is from the ancient city of Babylon; it is astrology. Spiritual Babylon of Today

Daniel was captive in a country that is mentioned in the Book of Revelation as a city of evil, a city which will fall in the end, a city to come out of.3 The city of Babylon represents an evil religion, an evil church. It is represented by a woman called a harlot and the mother of harlots. This evil church, woman, is controlled by the evil one, Satan. It is important to see that the setting for the Book of Daniel is in a country that symbolizes evil

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and the false religions of the world at the end of this world's history. We are to come out of spiritual Babylon today.4 This evil power will be revealed in the following chapters of this book. The Book of Daniel and The End of the World

In chapter one Daniel tells us of his capture and how he and three of his friends proved to be outstanding students and citizens. Daniel himself became an important government official.

Chapter two is about the king's dream of the kingdoms and religious powers that would hold control of the earth from his time to the end of the world. The king could find no one to interpret his history-making dream until Daniel volunteered. The meaning of the dream has importance for us even today. It is the start of the many dreams and prophecies of Daniel that deal with the latter time and the setting up of the New World Order.

Chapters three, four, five and six are not prophecies but prophetic stories. They deal with situations people must deal with in the time of The New World Order at the end of the world. They give us important insights into the methods of how God deals with man.

The remaining chapters deal with prophecies. They tell us what will happen from the time of Daniel to the setting up of the New World Order and to the end of the world. These prophecies give us great insight about what signs to look for. Can it be that the end of the world is upon us? Is there much of the world's history yet to take place? Dreams and Visions

King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great image. This image was a man with a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, thighs of brass and legs of iron. This dream gives us a skeletal view of the history of the world. Later Daniel saw horrible beasts coming up out of the sea. He saw one beast with seven heads and ten horns; one with eagle's wings.

The worst beast of all was beyond description. A little horn

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grew out of this most terrible beast and became exceedingly strong. It ruled over the earth with great power and control. What do these beasts stand for? Who or what is the meaning of the powerful little horn?

It was all explained to Daniel, and yet Daniel didn't understand. The angel revealed more to Daniel, yet he still didn't completely comprehend. He then learned the prophecies were shut up and sealed to the time of the end, the end of the world. Daniel is assured that his writings would be understood at “the time of the end.”5

Jesus said 600 years after Daniel, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”6

Daniel's prophecies had not all been fulfilled at the time of Christ. Have they been fulfilled today? If not, when? Read on to see how most are in the past with some important prophecies yet to happen in the near future. Learn about the New World Order. 1. “ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. “ 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 2. Daniel Verse by Verse: Henry Feyerabend. p. 9. 3. Revelation, 14:18:14;18:2;14:8 4. Revelation 14:8; 18:2. 5. See Daniel 12:4. 6. Matthew 24:15.

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A Dream of the New World Order

here is a knock on your door. �Who is it?� you ask. They don't wait for you to open it. Soldiers come in and take your children away to another country. You never see them again. They are

forced to walk many days to a country with a different name, a different language and different customs? There they are told they must learn a new religion and forget what they have been taught since birth. Even their names are changed.

Daniel was a stranger in the land of Babylon. His birth and his heart were in the land of Palestine. He was separated from his parents in his teens. He was a prisoner with many other Hebrew youth. Yet, God had chosen him to reveal the world's history in a series of far reaching, thrilling prophecies. He was to prophesy of new world orders and the end of time.

The Babylonians had the hope of training the promising elite of their captives. Their goal was that all should study and know the Babylonian religion of astrology, the study of horoscopes. They wanted them to prophesy using the stars.

They hoped to control the world through the training of the youth. After training them in such a way they could make good use of these young men to fulfil their own purposes. They planned that their training would in turn influence the others of their nations and their children. If you can control the youth, you can control the next generation. As the saying goes, “He who rocks the cradle, rules the world.”

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Solomon's Temple, the temple of that time, was in ruins. Little remained of the city of Jerusalem that was to the Hebrews the city of God. To have no city or temple in which God could dwell was the ultimate in disgrace and national ruin. From the day of its destruction the Hebrews hoped and prayed it would be restored to its original condition. They believed it was to be a light to the world. All seemed lost. Had God forsaken them? Absolutely not!

Daniel was among this faithful group that wanted the temple restored. But God did not reveal the restoration of the temple to Daniel. God wanted to reveal to Daniel how the history of the world to its end would be played out. God showed Daniel how someday He would set up a kingdom that would never fall. This kingdom would have one leader over the entire world, a one world government, it would be a new world order. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream: An Outline of History

Daniel was under the control of King Nebuchadnezzar. By a word, this king could put Daniel or anyone to death. The king was ruler of the then known world. Whatever pleasure or possession he wanted, he could have. No one was more powerful. Nebuchadnezzar was completely in charge. But something was to happen to him that he had no control over. He was to receive a troubling dream.

If they knew the Giver of Dreams, they would know the Revealer of Interpretations.

The second chapter of Daniel is the story of the king's dream and

Daniel's help in explaining its meaning. This is the story of many new world orders. Each would think itself invincible.

When we have a bad dream we are relieved when we wake up. We are happy if we forget our nightmare. Not so with King Nebuchadnezzar. When he awoke he could not remember his dream, yet he wanted to. The dream troubled him, even after waking. He was scared and wanted answers.

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He called the wise men who were magicians, sorcerers and those who looked at the stars to read the future, the astrologers. Just like the astronomical charts of today, they would read the positions of the stars, and using birthdays claim to determine the future.

They told the king they would be able to interpret his dream if he would simply tell them what it was. He knew it was important and needed an explanation, but he had forgotten it. He thought, “If these astrologers and magicians are truly connected with a supernatural power, the power that has given me this dream, then they can not only give me the interpretation, they can also recall to me the dream itself.”

But they could not. They stalled for time and then told the king he was asking too much. The king didn't have much patience with them. He said,

“I have forgotten it: if you will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation , you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will become a pile of dung. . .”

These false prophets had to admit they could not know the dream

unless the king told it to them. They said,

“It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it to the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

They were the intellectuals of their day, the college professors.

They were looked upon as being at the forefront of modern understanding. They were the NASA engineers, the economic experts, the religious philosophers. Surely they were not deceived by the old fashioned ideas and mistakes of past generations. Yet they could not find the answers in the stars.

Their true abilities were no longer hidden from the king. He knew they had no real connection with the supernatural as they had pretended. If they were true prophets, they would be able to show him the dream as well as give the interpretation. If they knew the Giver of Dreams, they would know the Revealer of Interpretations. This continual refusal to supply the king with the dream made him

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increasingly furious until he “commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.” This included Daniel and his three friends. Daniel Is Called

When Daniel heard about the king's decree, he talked with the man who was to carry out the executions, Arioch, the captain of the king's guard. Daniel was taken before the king where he asked for time. He promised he would recall the dream for the king. After he received the revelation of the dream from God, he returned and said:

“The secret which the king has demanded, cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show the king; But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these. . .” Daniel 2: 27, 28.

In this one dream God revealed the future history of more than

two and a half millenniums, even to the New World Order of our day and to the end of the world. This prophetic dream is an outline which sets a base on which to build. The details will be added later in the following chapters of Daniel.

Daniel and his friends almost lost their lives over another man's dream. What was that frightening dream and what did Daniel give as the interpretation?

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The Terrible Image�

ing Nebuchadnezzar knew his dream was from a Supernatural Source and knew it had extreme importance. He saw the world kingdoms that were to follow his golden empire. Only a power greater than the false teachers of

Babylon could make known the dream. God sent Daniel who restated the dream and gave the interpretation.

The Vision

“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor [was] excellent, stood before you; and its form [was] awesome. “This image's head [was] of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:31-35 (NKJV)

The Interpretation

Who had ever witnessed such a scene? Nebuchadnezzar was having his dream recalled detail for detail without the king giving

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Daniel any clue as to what the he had seen. It was supernatural and the king knew it. Not only could Daniel recall the dream, he could give its interpretation:

“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. . .Thou art this head of gold. Daniel 2:37,38.

Babylon was laid out in a square with 15 miles on each side, 60

miles around. The walls were estimated to be 200 to 300 feet high and 87 feet thick. It was surrounded by a moat. A river passed through the city with walls that kept out invaders. It was self-sufficient in water and contained large storehouses of food supplies. If security had been what it usually was, no invader could have ever breached its defenses.

God predicted its fall, and it fell in a way that apparently was supernatural. The Persians had diverted the river which provided the water for the moat. Still the Babylonians were not intimidated. Their walls were impregnable. But river gates that should have been closed on that fateful night were mysteriously left open. There was a big party in progress and no one seemed to fear the oncoming takeover. Persia became the new world empire, the new world order.

“But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, [that kingdom] will break in pieces and crush all the others. “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. “And [as] the toes of the feet [were] partly of iron and partly of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.

“As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle

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with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. “Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold -- the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Daniel 2:39-45 (NKJV)

A Prophetic Outline of World History

The king was very pleased that he was chosen to be represented

as a head of gold. Yet he didn't like the idea that his powerful and extensive kingdom was someday going to fall to another. The great

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civilization called Babylon in Daniel's time does not exist today. There are only a few ruins left in the desert of Iraq, covered and uncovered by the swirling sands. If Nebuchadnezzar could have seen into the twentieth century, he would have balked with unbelief. But the dream was clear.

Babylon would be replaced by another “inferior” but world controlling kingdom. It was Medo-Persia that came next. Greece was represented by the thighs of brass and also ruled the then known world. History shows us it was strong, cruel Rome that followed with its worldwide rule of several centuries. It was Pagan Rome that controlled the holy land at the time of Christ's birth. It was Rome that broke into pieces the other three kingdoms.

After Rome, the feet of part iron and part clay represent the divided countries of Europe, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but never one having full control. The nations of Europe have tried to put together a one world government. The kings of Europe have intermarried to attempt universal control but have failed.

King Christian IX of Denmark had six children. One son became King Frederick VIII of Denmark. One daughter became Queen Alexandria of England. Another son became the king of Greece. The second daughter married Czar Alexander of Russia. Eventually through this “mingling of seed” the kings of Norway, Denmark, Russia, England and Greece were all first cousins. “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men;” Yet there was no united world government.

Attempts have been made by Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon and Adolf Hitler. All have failed. Since Rome there has been no one world government, no New World Order. Is there one yet to come?

“Cut Out Without Hands”

Daniel has foretold there will be no more one world governments until God sets up His own that will never be destroyed. But will there be another attempt. The people who are supporting the New World Order believe so. They have a definite plan to rally all the world governments together to set up a one

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new world empire. That is what Cecil Rhodes and the Round Table Groups are all about.

In the end according to this prophecy we can expect to see the stone “cut out without hands” come and finally destroy all that remains. This stone is the kingdom of God. According to this prophecy, God's kingdom will destroy the others and stand forever.

This great image of chapter two of Daniel gives us a complete world history outline from the time of Daniel to the end of the world and the setting up of God's eternal kingdom. This, the second chapter of Daniel, is the prophetic skeleton of history. The meat to cover the bones comes in later chapters of Daniel and in Revelation. This outline will be expanded as we see beasts of all descriptions in the prophetic visions given to Daniel. The prophetic secrets and the New World Order will be revealed. The King's Heart is Changed

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God [is] the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise [men] of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel [sat] in the gate of the king. Daniel 2:46-49. (NKJV)

The king listened very carefully to Daniel's explanation. He

recognized that it was exactly what he had seen in his night vision. He might not have liked what he heard, but knew it was truth. He fell on his face and worshiped Daniel, saying, “Of a truth, it is that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou could reveal this secret.”

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This part of the story might seem unimportant, but it represents what will happen to those faithful to God at the end of time. All of the stories in Daniel include portrayals of end time phenomena.

As Daniel almost lost his life, God's faithful people at the time of the end will appear to be in like danger. But like Daniel who was faithful and then worshipped and blessed, God's faithful at the time of the end will be exonerated and blessed above all the others. An Outline of Future History The prophecy of this chapter of Daniel is simple enough to understand. It presents an outline of world kingdoms from Daniel's time to the setting up of God's eternal kingdom. God's kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, never to be replaced by another. It is important to remember this outline. We must use it to interpret other prophecies both in the books of Daniel and Revelation. World history clearly shows that the four kingdoms presented in the king's dream are the actual powers that became world kingdoms. Since the time of the Roman Empire, no such temporal power has shown it deserves the title of world kingdom. The outline of this chapter in Daniel is firm in its foundation and sure in its interpretation.

Stated again, this simple outline of Daniel's prophecy helps us establish a skeletal outline of world history. This history extends from the time of Daniel to the setting up of God's kingdom that will never be destroyed.

Next we will see how Nebuchadnezzar tried to thwart God's description of the coming world governments and set up his own world kingdom that he hoped would last forever. When he did this, he put Daniel's friends in great danger.

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A Rejection of The New World Order

he Book of Revelation tells us that a power in the last days will set up an image that is to be worshipped. Those who refuse will be “killed.” All are to receive a mark in their

right hand or in their foreheads.1

“And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. “He was granted [power] to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, Revelation 13:14-16 (NKJV)

Daniel chapter three is a promise. It is a prophetic story that

portrays the experience of those who live at the end of the world and refuse to receive the mark of the beast. In Revelation an image is set up to be worshipped. In Daniel the king also sets up an image for worship. God is warning us in Daniel what will happen in the last days. But it is not only a warning, it is an

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encouragement. In the end, those who are faithful will overcome. In his dream Nebuchadnezzar saw how his kingdom would fall

and others would come to take its place. The king was surely honored that his kingdom was represented as a head of gold, but was likely unhappy that it would ever be replaced.

He was not going to sit back and do nothing, so he commanded the making of a great image. Everyone was told to bow down and worship it. This great image was not made of several metals as in his dream. It was all gold. Nebuchadnezzar was trying to rewrite prophecy.

This test for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego is a lesson for those who go through the test over the mark of the beast of Revelation thirteen.

History will be repeated. This story was not as much for the

people of Nebuchadnezzar's time as it is for our day. It is also for Christians of all ages. This story will be re-enacted with different players in different times, but is the same story.

“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height [was] threescore cubits [100 ft., 30 m.], [and] the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. . . “Then . . .all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image . . . and they stood before the image . . .

Music is a powerful tool. When used properly, it can be made

to teach the truth in ballads and hymns. On the other hand, it can also be used to deceive and ensnare the mind by taking complete control of the mind and then the body.

Much of the music of today is a physical experience rather than mental or spiritual. The words of many songs are lost or rendered

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unimportant in comparison to the physical experience the listener is going through. Reason and sanity are lost to intemperance. The listener loses control to another power.

On the Plain of Dura music was played before the people who were to bow down and worship the image created by man's hands. Could it be that they were conditioned by the hypnotic effects of music?

“Then an herald cried aloud. . .[That] at what time ye hear the sound of. . .all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: “And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. “Therefore at that time. . .all the people. . .fell down [and] worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. “Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. “They spake and said. . . “There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. “Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. . .

The king was angry, but decided to give them another chance.

If they would yet obey, he would forgive. But the three Jews told him their minds were made up. There was no doubt as to their course of action. They knew what God expected of them, and they were steadfastly determined to obey only God. Their confidence was in God, because they were living by faith.

“Nebuchadnezzar spake and said. . .Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound. . .all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; [well]: but if

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ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who [is] that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this matter. “If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They Obey - Live or Die

They were not sure God would deliver them, but they were

sure He could if He desired. No matter, live or die, they would obey their God.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury. . . He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. “And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who [were] in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, [and] cast [them] into the burning fiery furnace. “Then these men were bound. . . and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. “Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. “And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste [and] spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “'Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the

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midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'“ Daniel 3:13-25 (NKJV)

A Test For the Faithful

This test for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego is a lesson for

those who go through the test over the mark of the beast of Revelation thirteen. These three are examples for God's people at the end of time. The faithful three were tested to judge whether they would obey God's law or man's law.

What Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego went through is also what many through the ages have experienced. Some have been burned at the stake, others drawn and quartered, and still others have been beheaded.

God's people at the end of the world's history will be likewise tested. Those who pass the test will receive the seal of God. Those who fail God's test will receive the “mark of the beast” and the seven last plagues. Finally and unfortunately they will then be cast into the fires of the last days.2 But God's people will escape the fire.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, [and] spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come [hither]. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. “And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. “[Then] Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed [be] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. . . “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-

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nego, in the province of Babylon.” Daniel 3:26-30.

As mentioned earlier, this story is not merely to entertain the reader. It is an object lesson for those who will live in the time of another image. All will be commanded to worship this image. You can read about it in the Book of Revelation. It reads:

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Revelation 13:14.

This image in Daniel and the one in Revelation are alike in

some very important ways. Both are set up to be worshipped. Those who refuse are to lose their lives. Both are set up by a power that has been in charge and is about to lose control to another power. Both use secular power to control the minds and worship of others.

The Worship of the Beast

It is the true believers who refuse to worship the image and are at the brink of death when God intervenes. The story of these three Hebrews is a story to give faith and courage to those who refuse to worship the beast and the false image of Revelation chapter thirteen.

In the book of Revelation we see that there is a mark of the beast that all must receive.3 Those who refuse it cannot buy or sell. Eventually they will be subject to the death sentence. More on that in later chapters of this book.

Nebuchadnezzar later forgot the lesson he had learned. He then committed a most serious crime. Would he be allowed to live or die? What does this story have to do with the end of the world and the New World Order?

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1. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. In Greek the word “on” is from the word “�v” which can be translated as either “in” or “on”. In the King James Version the translation is “in”. 2. Revelation 20:10,14,15. 3. Revelation 13:16-18.

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Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsin

n 1971 the Shah of Iran, Persia, gave a banquet for six-hundred guests. It lasted four days and nights. It was the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian empire. The guests

came from sixty-nine countries. There was an emperor, eight kings, a cardinal, dukes, princes and sheiks. There were presidents, premiers, and vice presidents. However, within the decade the Shah was forced out of power and soon died. He seemed in complete control in 1971 and not likely to lose his dominion.1 He was not the first to think that way.

About 2,500 years earlier when the Persian empire was coming into power, there had been another great feast. It was the king of Babylon who gave it for one-thousand guests. He must have thought he was invincible and would never lose his seat to another. But he did. Strangely enough, he lost it to the Persians. This piece of world history can be found in the fifth chapter of Daniel.

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.” Daniel 5:1.

It was the year 539 B.C. Belshazzar 's world was about to be

turned upside down. Yet he did not know it. The top leader of the land was ignorant of future events, but the God of heaven knew all. God had revealed the future to Nebuchadnezzar, but his grandson

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Belshazzar seemed unconcerned. Babylon was going to fall to the Persians.

In the last chapter of the Book of Daniel, an angel spoke of the last days. He said, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”2 Belshazzar was unaware of his future.

The Fatal Error

Belshazzar was about to commit a fatal error. He unwisely used

something that was considered sacred. Even worse, he used them for an unlawful purpose as they praised false gods.

“Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which [was] at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. . . “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. . . “Then came in all the king's wise [men]: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. . . “[Now] the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: [and] the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him. . .

“Then Daniel answered and said before the king. . .I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

Belshazzar was a man richly blessed. How many of the

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billions of people who have ever lived have possessed what he did or was in such a position? Very, very few. Added to that, Belshazzar's grandfather Nebuchadnezzar was privileged to receive a dream from God and have it interpreted by God's prophet, Daniel. Belshazzar was extremely fortunate, yet for some reason he chose to ignore the past and the future. He lived for each day, one day at a time.

He lived for the moment forgetting the past. He forgot about the praises Nebuchadnezzar had given to God. He feared no consequences when he brought the vessels of the house of God and drank wine from them.

There is great evidence of the

existence of secret and hidden agendas.

Daniel warned and scolded Belshazzar before all his guests. He could have lost his life, but he saw service to God and the truth as more important. Daniel must have been shocked to find such defiance against the God who had revealed so much to the Babylonians. Belshazzar stood in defiance to God and would pay the ultimate price, death. Daniel told the interpretation of the dream,

“Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this [is] the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. “This [is] the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. “PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. . . “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, [being] about

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threescore and two years old.” Daniel 5:3-31.

A Parallel - Mystic Babylon Will Also Fall

King Belshazzar didn't know what was going on until too late. He thought he was safe in his huge, walled city. But he was being judged by One much greater than himself. He thought he was on the top of the mountain. He thought there was no one his superior.

Babylon in Daniel's time is an example or object lesson of the world-wide Antichrist power at the end of time that opposes God and His people. Mystery Babylon the great, mother of harlots3 will think in the last days as Belshazzar did. It will think of itself as invincible. In the book of Revelation “Mystery Babylon” reveals this attitude when she says, “. . . I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”4

Just as Belshazzar's fate was swift and sure, “Mystery Babylon” also will fall because of the evil she has brought upon the world. John wrote in Revelation, “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.”5

This story in Daniel is a teaching tool for us to study and see what will happen in the last days. All the stories of Daniel are object lessons of last day events concerning how the faithful will react to certain tests in times of trouble.

The Man Behind the Scenes, Who is Mr. Big?

Who is really in charge? There are different levels of understanding. Some of us take what we read in the newspapers as fact. Most of us believe there is much more behind the news than what is written or portrayed on television programs.

Next, there are the high-level government officials that know much more of what goes on behind the scenes in secret meetings concerning secret agendas. These activities are locked up in top secret government and secret society papers.

There is great evidence of the existence of secret and hidden

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agendas. These agendas are guided by the top economic and religious leaders of the world. Even many of these top leaders do not all know who is the final authority. Who does?

What is the ultimate power behind all the scenes? Who is the leader at the top? Who is Mr. Big? John in the Book of Revelation called him a “beast with seven heads and ten horns.”6 Paul the Apostle said he “sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”7 Paul also called him the “man of sin.”8 Who is he?

God Reveals it to His People

An angel told Daniel: “Many shall be purified, and made

white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”9

According to the Bible, the truth is revealed to God's believers. These are aware of the ultimate power that has its fingers in every important pie. This truth is found in the Bible. These secrets are revealed in the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation. Prophetic Secrets of the New World Order in following chapters will reveal this hidden power, Mr. Big.

1. Daniel Verse by Verse, p. 77. 2. Daniel 12:10.

3. Revelation 17:5. 4. Revelation 18:7. 5. Revelation 18:8. 6. Revelation 13:1. 7. Thessalonians 2:47. 8. Thessalonians 2:3. 9. Daniel 12:10.

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A Test Unto Death

hen I was a boy growing up in a small Indiana town, I had the same dream many times. My mother would send me down into the basement to get a can of corn or

something. At the bottom of the stairs to the right was the furnace. To the left was another room with the shelves full of canned goods.

I knew there was a lion sleeping behind the furnace, so I had to go down slowly and quietly. I would get to the shelf confident I would completely succeed in avoiding the lion.

On the way back as I reached the bottom of the stairs I would be taken in fear. The hair on the back of my neck would stand up. I was in a cold sweat. I realized the lion was now awake and coming in my direction. My only hope was to reach the top of the stairs, go through the door to safety and lock it before the lion got to me.

I ran as fast as I could, but the lion would always catch me just as I grabbed the door knob. I would wake up with my heart racing. Although I was sweating hard and frightened, I was glad to be awake.

Obey the Law or Go into the Basement

I wonder whether I would have gone down there in real life. I think not. Would I have gone there if God had sent me and promised my safety? I hope so.

Daniel had a similar experience, but his was not a dream. He

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was sent to a very dangerous place where he didn't want to go. He wouldn't have had to go there if he had simply changed his ways of worship. All he had to do was worship in the way that was decreed by law. But he chose to obey God rather than man.

Daniel's experience in the following story has been an inspiration to many. It concerns being faithful to one's conscience no matter how difficult the situation might become. It also parallels an important event at the end of time.

The books of Daniel and Revelation reveal an end-time test set up by the New World Order. This test will concern everyone. Those who pass will receive the seal of God. Those who fail will face the seven last plagues.1

This severe test is for all the people of the world. Those who follow the wrong path will receive the mark of the beast.2 Those who refuse to receive the mark will not be able to “buy or sell.”3 Later a decree will condemn them to death.4 And yet, they will be faithful to their convictions and to God.

This test will concern everyone. Those who pass will receive the seal of God. Those who fail will face the seven last plagues.

The following text of Daniel chapter six is a story of how the

king made a law that all the people were expected to keep. Those that refused were to be put to death. This law was not made for the majority, for they kept it without hesitation. It was made to entrap a certain group, or man; in this case Daniel. It was made for those who choose God's way and refuse to be like the majority. They follow their convictions, even unto death.

Daniel Was Set Above The Jealous Others

“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes. . . “And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel [was]

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first: that the princes might give accounts unto them. . . “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit [was] in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he [was] faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” Daniel 6:1-4.

A Man-Made Law To Entrap Daniel

“Then these men said, 'We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find [it] against him concerning the law of his God.' “So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: 'King Darius, live forever!' “All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Daniel 6:5-7. (NKJV)

Daniel was without fault and thereby different from the other

leaders. The others were jealous of his position and the king's favor. In an attempt to catch only Daniel, they set up a man-made law to entrap him. It is important to note that this law concerned worship. The law involved who would be worshipped, the king, or the True God.

Although Daniel knew the law existed, he did not go against his convictions and change his daily habit of praying to the God of heaven. So it is also during the great final test over the mark of the beast and the seal of God.5 The faithful will know that the law exists, but will choose to worship God in the way God has commanded rather than in the way man legislates.

This test over the mark of the beast has been known and preached for well over a hundred years. We need not be in the

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dark as to what the test or law will be. It has even been known who will enforce it. As Daniel refused to worship a man-made law, the true followers of God in the last days of earth's history will refuse the mark of the beast in favor of the seal of God. The faithful will be willing to put their lives in danger rather than veer from their conscience and the true worship of God.

The Test Is Put Into Action

“Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” “Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. “Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.” Daniel 6:8-11 (NKJV)

The king made a decree concerning worship. This decree was

an attempt to destroy the connection Daniel had with his God. The jealous leaders attacked Daniel's daily routine. They watched him at a certain time of day. Ultimately it concerned which God to worship, but to catch him they dealt with Daniel worshipping God at a certain time. They knew when that time was and set about to catch him at that specific time.

“And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing [is] true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” “So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed,

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but makes his petition three times a day.” “And the king, when he heard [these] words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set [his] heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Daniel 6:12-14 (NKJV)

We can expect the mark of the beast to also concern

worshipping God at a certain time. Unconverted evil men will watch at the right time and in the right place to catch those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast. When they are found, they will be reported to the authorities.

Daniel was being punished for what seemed to be a simple and just decree. Everyone else saw it as a chance to honor the king. For all but Daniel the law was easily obeyed. When most people found out that Daniel refused to keep the law, they likely thought Daniel was unreasonable and too strict in his beliefs. They probably wondered why Daniel was not more flexible with his own religion and more tolerant to the belief of others. They saw Daniel as a troublemaker. We can expect it to be the same with the mark of the beast. Some people will want to kill God�s people thinking they are doing His will.6

Sent Into The Basement

“So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast [him] into the den of lions. [But] the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” “Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. “Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Daniel 6:16-18 (NKJV)

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Changing Places

An innocent man was put where the guilty should have been. His only crime was that he disobeyed a man-made law, a law fabricated to entrap only Daniel. This story is an object lesson that indicates the test over the seal of God and the mark of the beast in the last days. In this story Daniel represents the faithful people of God in the last days of earth's history.

The mark of the beast will be decreed only to ensnare God's faithful. The majority will find nothing objectionable in it. They will wonder why God's people are making such a fuss.

As was Daniel, God's people will be forced to endure hard times. To understand the fate of those who refuse the mark of the beast, we must understand what happened to Daniel.

“Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. “And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: [and] the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? “Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt? “Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” Daniel 6:19-23.

The Winners Lose and the Losers Win

Read the Book of Revelation, especially chapters 12, 13 15, 16 and 18. Those who refuse the mark, will eventually be saved by God and exalted above all others. Those that fabricate the mark of the beast will instead suffer the fate of death. At first it will seem as though the faithful will be lost and the accusers will triumph.

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As the faithful Daniels of the last days have their faith tested, they will be victorious. The wicked will seem at first to win, but will eventually suffer under the seven last plagues.

“And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast [them] into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.” Daniel 6:24.

Why should Daniel's accusers be thrown into the pit with the

lions? Why not show mercy? Surely they saw their error and asked for forgiveness. The following is a report by an ancient Jewish historian. He gives us the reason for such a harsh punishment:

“Now when his enemies saw that Daniel had suffered nothing which was terrible, they would not own {admit} that he was preserved by God, and by his providence; but they said that the lions had been filled with food, and that on that account it was, as they supposed, that the lions would not touch Daniel, nor come to him; and this they alleged to the king.”7

What better way to test their claims than to put them in with

the lions. God's Everlasting Kingdom

Not long after the test on the mark of the beast, God will set up His everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed. As it was with Daniel, so it will be at the end of the world. Daniel was exalted. In the end, God's people will be honored along with God Himself.

“Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom

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[men must] tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He [is] the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom [is the one] which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion [shall endure] to the end. “He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” (NKJV) Daniel 6:25-28

As mentioned many times earlier, Daniel's experience is a

lesson for those who live in the time of the mark of the beast. The mark, a man-made law is made to entrap the faithful few.

At first those who refuse the mark cannot buy or sell. Eventually a decree will go forth that they be put to death. They will be, as it were, put into a lion's den. But their outcome will be like that of Daniel's. The accusers of the faithful will receive the fate they wished on those they accused.

Who are the accusers today? Who are the faithful Daniels? Who or what is the beast that has this evil mark? In the following chapters, this beast and the little horn power of Daniel chapter seven will be identified. 1. Revelation 15:1. 2. Revelation 13, 14 and 18. 3. Revelation 13:16,17. 4. Revelation 13:15. 5. Revelation 13:18. 6.John 16:2. 7. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, X,11.

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A Visit by Dinosaurs?

ecently I visited the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. They had a special exhibit on dinosaurs. To see them in books is one thing, but to see them on display was

thrilling. However, I would not have wanted to meet them when they were still alive. I wouldn't even care to meet them in a dream, but Daniel met something like them in his dream.

Daniel's dream builds on the foundation and puts meat on the bones of the skeleton presented in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image with a head of gold. As we learned, this skeletal view or outline of world history puts Babylon as the first world kingdom, followed by Medo-Persia, Greece and then Rome.

From Rome to the end of the world there would be no one-world empire or single-world secular government. Finally God would set up His Everlasting Kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar's dream gives us an important foundation to build on. It starts in the time of Daniel and extends to the end of the world.

Flesh on The Bones

Daniel's dream contains several strange looking animals followed by one dreadfully terrible beast. Yet the most interesting and deadly power to come forth was the little horn. Most of Daniel's dream is self-explanatory. You will see that these animals

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represent important historic periods, kingdoms and powers. They extend from the distant past up to our day and into the future. At the time of Daniel's dream, the rule of the Babylonian Empire had passed from Nebuchadnezzar on down to Belshazzar. Instead of a great image of a man, Daniel saw beasts of prey coming out of the sea. They were composites of various known animals, except the fourth beast was almost beyond description in its terrifying features. Daniel wrote the dream and explained its meaning.

“Daniel spoke, saying, 'I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. “'And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. '“ Daniel 7:2-3. (NKJV)

The Lion, the Bear and the Leopard

“'The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and [had] three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!' “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.'“ Daniel 7:4-6 NKJV)

The Dreadful Beast with the Little Horn

The first three seem tame in comparison to the terrible fourth

beast that was beyond description. Finally came a “little horn.”

“'After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge

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iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It [was] different from all the beasts that [were] before it, and it had ten horns. “'I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, [were] eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. '“ Daniel 7:7.8. (NKJV)

The Vision Explained

Daniel had this dream during the reign of King Belshazzar in

about the year BC 540. Daniel was then eighty-five, and had spent sixty-seven years in the service of kings. In his dream he saw winds blowing on the great sea. Winds in Bible symbolism mean strife and war.1 The great sea represents “peoples and multitudes.”2 These four beasts are kingdoms that came about by the warring of nations, from the earth's multitudes. Through wars, old kingdoms are destroyed as new kingdoms are set up.

Next came the little horn that eventually became more powerful and dreadful than all the others before it.

We can expect the first of these to be the ruling kingdom of

Babylon, represented by the lion with eagle�s wings. The prophet Habakkuk referred to Babylon as a power that would “. . .fly as an eagle that hasteth to eat.”3 The kingdom lasted only two more years after this vision when another kingdom, Medo-Persia, surprised the Babylonians in a midnight raid. The date was October 12, 539 B.C..

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The next nation is represented by a bear raised on one side. It fitly represents the second power (Media and Persia) because it was a greatly unbalanced partnership. Although Darius the Mede was first in the top position, he was soon succeeded by a Persian, Cyrus the Great. This second kingdom is better known as the Persian Empire rather than Median.

The Persian Empire lasted more than two-hundred years until 331 B.C. when Alexander the Great of Greece speedily marched his army to an unbelievably sudden takeover of enemy lands. Consequently, he can be considered swift as a leopard with four wings. He spread his rule over the then known world, yet died at a very young age. His kingdom was divided among his four generals, as represented by the four heads of the leopard. Fourth Kingdom Well Described

The descriptions of the first three kingdoms are limited. However, Daniel saw the last, most “dreadful and terrible” beast and described it with greater detail. The angel said to Daniel, “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged.”

As kingdoms they no longer existed, but their philosophies, religions, principles of government and educational methods remained. One merged into the next. Nebuchadnezzar�s dream in chapter two of Daniel indicates the same thing. There we saw the whole image remaining until the stone cut out without hands came to destroy all. It remains until God's Eternal Kingdom is fully established.

When we study history we find that this fourth beast was pagan Rome. Pagan Rome was the world power when Jesus Christ lived on the earth. Rome took over this role in B.C. 161 and later became ten horns “which are ten kings.”

At the end of Roman rule, Barbarians from Europe and Asia overran the Roman Empire between the years 351 and 483 AD. The empire was then divided into ten parts. Three of these kings were “plucked up.” They were the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D..4

Next the little horn came on the world scene. It eventually

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became more powerful and dreadful than all the others before it. It was to be in the world for a very long time. Although at one point it would receive a deadly wound, it would survive yet for awhile. Before we discuss the little horn, let us look at the final fate of the beast: The Beast Is Destroyed After the Judgment

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.”5

God's Everlasting Kingdom is Set Up

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man come with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13,14.

The thrones that were “cast down” were placed down for the king to take his seat. Thrones were movable, carried from place to place from town to town as the king traveled in peace or when at

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war. The Ancient of days is God the Father. The Son of Man is Jesus Christ.6

This is the scene of the judgment (verse 10). The beast is judged and later cast into the burning flames. After the judgment Christ returns to this earth. Finally, God's Everlasting Kingdom is set up. Notice the order: the judgment comes before people are taken to heaven to inhabit God's Everlasting Kingdom. The judgment comes before the end of the world. The judgment takes place before the Son of Man is “given dominion, and glory and a kingdom.”

This is an important point. Mark it well. According to this text in Daniel, an individual judgment does not occur individually for each person when he dies. Instead it is a one-time event near the end of the world. Jesus explained this to His disciples in a parable concerning judgment and the harvest at the end of the world.7 The Judgment As Good News

When someone mentions the judgment, most people shy away in fear. They wish for a change in the subject. But God has made the judgment a reward for His people. The judgment is a great gift for those who will accept it. It is good news.

At first, Daniel grieved. But he soon found comfort with the promise of the coming of God's Everlasting Kingdom:

“I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. “I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” Daniel 7:15-18.

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Who or what is the terribly evil little horn? What is the beast of Revelation that causes all to receive a mark? What is the mark? 1. Zechariah 7:14. 2. Revelation 17:15. 3. Habakkuk 1:6-10. 4. To be explained more in detail in later chapters. 5. Daniel 7:9-12. 6. See Matthew 24:30. 7. See Matthew 13:16-40.

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The Beast That Refuses to Die

here was a popular movie out a few years ago featuring a robot that completely resembled a man. It was called a cyborg. Many times in the movie the viewer was relieved to

see this beast dead, only to have it come to life again and again. It survived a crash and a fire. It was finally crushed and died in a mechanical press. It appeared to have many lives. It was a beast that refused to die.

The beast of Revelation chapter thirteen was wounded and seemed dead, but came to life again. Those that inflicted the wound would find it hard to believe the beast would survive, let alone gain its power back and more. That is what is happening. The beast that received a deadly wound has almost been completely healed. The whole world is wondering after the beast. But in the end, like the cyborg, it will be totally destroyed.

In Daniel we read about a little horn that opposes God and His people. This little horn attempts to set up a world government and is successful for a time. The Book of Revelation, written about seven hundred years after Daniel, tells us about a beast that attempts to set up a one world government. This movement attempts to take control of the world. It succeeds for a time, but is destroyed in the end.

Let us leave Daniel for a while and move to the last book of the Bible, Revelation. In chapter thirteen a civil, religious power is

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presented as a beast that sets itself against God. Here is the presentation: Chapter Thirteen - A Beast Out of the Sea

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Revelation 13:1.

The sea in the days of John was a mystery, a foreboding evil

source of who-knows-what. John alludes to this concept when he tells of the eventual destruction of all evil. He speaks of heaven as a place where there is “no more sea.”1 In prophecy the sea represents the existence of people, “peoples and multitudes.”2

No one suspects he is really the representative of an evil power.

The seven heads represent both hills3 and kings 4. The ten

horns are ten kingdoms.5 The beast here is almost identical to the one mentioned in the seventh chapter of Daniel.6 Having the name of blasphemy on his heads clearly points to the fact that this is an evil power. A Composite Beast

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear; and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 13:2.

Notice that the beast is a composite of three beasts of prey.

Remember also that in Daniel seven the same beasts were mentioned but in the reverse order. In Daniel the lion was first while the leopard was last.

The lion represented Babylon and the leopard was Greece.

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Daniel is looking into the future. John in Revelation is looking back into history in the reverse of Daniel. Please notice that in Daniel chapter two the image in the king�s dream was also a composite of future world kingdoms. This composite was of their religions and philosophies. The philosophies of Greece and the religions of Babylon and Rome are still with us.

Hitler's Nazi government was founded on the Greek, Plato's philosophy. Babylon's religion and philosophies are with us to such a degree that in Revelation the false church is called “Mystery Babylon the Great.”7 Many of the religious practices are with us in the worship of Easter (from Ishtar the Goddess of Fertility) and Christmas with the yule log and the Christmas tree. There is also Halloween and others too numerous to mention.8 This beast of Revelation chapter thirteen received its power from the dragon9 and cannot, as some contend, be the dragon itself, Satan.10 One Head Wounded

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3.

This beast is most dangerous because it is not recognized as an

evil power. No one fears it. Instead of trying to destroy it, they worship it. Only the Word of God reveals its true character. Without the Bible, we would fall prey to the beast. On the surface it seems pious and pure, but only when comparing it to the true will we understand it is the false.

Please notice that the power was once strong but later weakened or “wounded.” After a time, it is healed, and the whole world wonders at its power and wide-spread influence. This power will regain all that it lost and more. What power was once very strong, then wounded and now in the state of recovery? Who could this be?

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The Beast Has Great Popularity

“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4.

Imagine a religious leader traveling around the world with

millions flocking to see him. They look on him as someone to worship. No one suspects he is really the representative of an evil power. To almost all he looks like the good guy with the white hat, but under all his pretended holy outside appearance he is the bad guy. He only wears a white hat in order to deceive. He Continues 42 Months

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Revelation 13:5.

With thirty days for each month times forty-two months, we

come up with the figure of 1260 days. A day in Bible prophecy has long been calculated as a year.11 Consequently, the 1260 days are 1260 years. What religious power governed all or most of the world for that long a time? He Speaks Against God

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” Revelation 13:6.

Revelation speaks of blasphemy in regard to the beast of

chapter thirteen. Daniel mentioned blasphemy concerning the little horn of chapter seven. It is the act of claiming to be God. The Jews in Jesus day knew this when they said they would stone Jesus because He claimed to be God. 12

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In Daniel we read about the tabernacle: “Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.” (Daniel 9:11) It is necessary to attack the sanctuary doctrine, if the Little Horn is to destroy the truth of God. The sanctuary represents the entire plan of salvation and is explained in its types and symbols. This beast rules the world for the

period of 1260 years. During that time it persecuted those who would worship God contrary to its pre-scribed manner.

Persecution of God's People

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Revelation 13:7.

The atrocities carried out in the name of religion during the

history of the world will not be known fully until they are brought up in the judgment. This beast ruled the world for a period of 1260 years. During that time it persecuted those who would worship God contrary to its prescribed manner. Daniel says: “And he shall say great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High . . . “ (Daniel 7:25). Written in the Book

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

When someone decides to follow God, their name is recorded

in the book of life. Those who continue with their names in God's

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book will refuse to follow and worship the beast of Revelation thirteen. Most will go the wrong way. Which side will the increasingly popular New World Order be on? What part will it play? Yet Another Beast

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and 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.” Revelation 13:11,12.

The first beast ruled the world for 1260 years, was wounded

and then revived to rule again. The second gives aid to the first beast by setting up an image of the first beast. The second beast causes all to worship the first. Who are these two beasts? Is either the New World Order? 1. Revelation 21:1. 2. Revelation 17:15. 3. Revelation 17:9. 4. Revelation 17:10. 5. Revelation 17:12. 6. Daniel 7:7. 7. Revelation 17:5. 8. See The Two Babylons, by Hislop. 9. Revelation 13:2. 10. Revelation 12:9. 11. Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:33,34. 12. John 10:33.

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The Eyes of a Man

herlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are great fictional detectives known to most of the English speaking world. To Holmes everything is elementary. But not so for Watson nor

the readers of each episode. All the clues to figuring out each case are supposed to be there, but I wonder how many people can solve any of the mysteries.

The Bible also has all the clues to understand the prophecies. They might seem unfathomable at first reading, but it is really “elementary, my dear Watson” to those who take the time to review and study the evidence.

With Holmes and Poirot the reader is involved only in the curiosity or entertainment mode. He is only an observer. With the Bible, we are not passively viewing the scenes presented. We are the players and are to take an active part in the scenes that transpire. We are in the moral character-changing-mode. It is God's plan for us to take an important part in the scenes presented. We must enter the participation mode. We are a part of the mystery not merely observers.

They Are The Same

It is important to clearly see that the little horn of Daniel and the first beast of Revelation thirteen are the same. In a later chapter we will see that this horn with the eyes of a man is the Antichrist.1 Now, let us move on to the interpretation of the beast of Daniel seven and the little horn with the “eyes of a man.”

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“Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces. and stamped the residue with his feet;

The fourth beast was identified in chapter two where it was the

iron legs of the image. The legs of iron, the fourth kingdom was Rome. Rome extended its rule far beyond what the others had, and today is generally known and respected more than the others.

“And the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up. and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;” Daniel 7:19-21.

Judgment Exonerates God's People

“Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom [Rome] upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Daniel 7:22,23.

Ten Horns are Ten Kings

“And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings [ten tribes which Rome was divided into] that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:24,25.

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The Judgment Condemns the Little Horn

“But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Daniel 7:26,27.

The Little Horn Is Yet With Us Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome in that order appear here as beasts of prey. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream they were parts of the great image. These four kingdoms ruled over the then known world and God's people with the savagery of beasts. And yet, the little horn is to be feared most.

You will remember that in Nebuchadnezzar's dream the great image lasted until God set up His everlasting kingdom. Daniel in his dream saw that the little horn's power and influence would last until the judgment took away his dominion.

We can conclude that since God's everlasting kingdom is not yet here, the little horn must still be in our world today. Remember the order of events of Daniel chapter seven. They were explained in chapter seven of this book.2 They are also explained above. One: the judgment is held. Two: the little horn loses his dominion. Three: God's everlasting kingdom is set up. The judgment comes first, the little horn loses his dominion, then the kingdom of God comes. This is important to note because many believe the judgment comes immediately after death and all go either to heaven or “hell” as a result of the judgment. Some believe Peter will meet them at the gates of heaven to allow or refuse their entrance into heaven. But there is no Bible evidence for this. This chapter in Daniel shows it to be otherwise. To some, the judgment is put off to some future date that comes beyond man's

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experience while he is still alive on this earth. But, we must understand that there is a judgment near the end of the world and before the world ends.3

The Little Horn's Characteristics The little horn is yet with us. Who can he be? Let us look again more closely at its identifying characteristics. 1. He arose out of the fourth beast. (Verse 7,8) 2. He came up among the ten horns. (Verse 8) 3. He came up after the ten horns. (Verse 24) 4. He was differ-ent from the other horns. (Verse 24) 5. He looked more stout than his fellows. (Verse 20) 6. He uprooted three kingdoms. (Verses 20, 24) 7. He spoke great words against the Most High. (Verse 25) 8. He wore out the saints of the most high. (Verse 25) 9. He thought to change times and laws. (Verse 25) 10. He reigned for a time, times, and the dividing of time. (Verse 25) These ten distinct features will identify this power. The ten horns were kings or kingdoms.4 The little horn has the eyes of a

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man and a mouth. We should therefore expect to see this power strongly represented as a man. The book of II Thessalonians calls the Antichrist a “man.”5 In the book of Revelation the fatal mark of the beast is by a beast said to be a “man.”6 With this in mind, let us look at the above identifying characteristics: The Little Horn's Identifying Marks

1. He arose out of the fourth beast, Rome, so we might expect that one of his names might somehow be linked to Rome.

2. He came up among the ten horns. The Roman Empire was divided into ten separate kingdoms at the end of its history.

3. He came up after the ten horns, so was not really a power until after the Roman Empire was in its decline. Because he plucked up three of the ten, we can know that he had power over some of the ten kingdoms of Rome.

4. He was different from the others in some very important way. We might expect him to be a religious power.

5. He looked more stout than his fellows, so we might guess that he would wield a greater influence and last much longer. In fact, he lasts until the judgment at the end of the world. “Given to the burning flames.”

6. He uprooted three kingdoms. These were mentioned earlier as the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. The third fell in 538 AD. You can find this in your history books.

7. His speaking words against the Most High would again suggest that he is a religious power

8. He wore out the saints shows that he was a persecuting power that opposed God and His true people.

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9. He thought to change the unchangeable laws of God. He did not and could not, but he THOUGHT to change the ten commandments.

10. He reigned for a time, times and a dividing of times. A time as shown in Daniel 11:13 (margin and R.V.) is a year. The Jewish year was considered 360 days. If we add 360 (one time) to 720 (two times) to 180 (one year divided in half), we will get 1260 days.

In Bible prophecy a day represents a year. (Numbers 14:33,34; Ezekiel 4:6). We then have 1260 literal years that this power ruled over the world. If his reign begins at the time he uprooted the third horn (Ostrogoths in 538 AD.) then his rule would last until 1798 AD. Who Is He? What is this religious power that came from the dying Roman Empire to rule over the earth for 1260 years until 1798 and persecuted God's true people? What religious “man” worked to control the hearts and minds of men? What man thought he changed the unchangeable law of the ten commandments?

What religious man is now receiving the worship of a large part of the world? What religious leader claims to be God? Is it someone we have great love and respect for? Are we �wondering after this beast?� Who fits the above ten characteristics? 1. II Thessalonians 2. 2. Daniel 7:8-11. 3. Matthew 13:39. 4. See Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12. 5. II Thessalonians 2:3. 6. Revelation 13:18.

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An Unwelcome Surprise

like mountain climbing but not rock climbing. Life is too precious for me to put myself in any unnecessary danger. Before I climb I make sure my climbing is kept to just hard

work walking up an incline. I want no part of steep cliffs and deep gorges.

I have climbed several high mountains including the highest one in Japan, Mt. Fuji. When I climbed Mt. Yari in Japan, I climbed without danger on the upward leg. But when I went down, I passed a place with sheer drops on both sides and only about one meter to walk on. Needless to say I stayed in the center of that meter and walked very carefully. My knees became weak just thinking of what could happen.

I was glad to have that behind me, but proceeded only to find similar problems. When we got to a place where it was a cliff straight up and straight down, I had to stop and think. Should I go back or forward? If I went back, I would have to pass the same places that had already greatly frightened me. If I went forward, I might have to pass more of the same. Finally I said a prayer and went on. I decided I had gone too far to turn back.

This chapter is like my story. I have gone too far to turn back now. I might not like to say what is to come next, but I must say it anyway. Though it hurts me or someone else, it must be said. We cannot go back. It will take us nowhere. We must go on and hope

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and pray for the best. What comes next might be a big shock to some. Others

might say, “Yea, I thought so.” Still others will remark, “Of course, who else could it be?” Exposing the Beast

Exposing the beast, the little horn, and this false form of worship does not mean that those exposing it have a strong dislike for those who follow the beast. To tell someone he is in danger is an act of love. To warn is a virtue. Revelation tells us we must call people out of Babylon,1 and the truth must be made known. Those who are following the wrong leader must turn away. We cannot stand between two cliffs forever. We must go home. Before we can move on, we must have the proper knowledge. If not, we might lose our lives.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee . . .” Hosea 4:6.

A warning is an act of love, not hatred. This book is meant to be a warning.

There are many good people who have no idea they are on the

wrong track and following the horn with the eyes of a man. This false system of worship places itself in the position of the true form of worship. This religion is headed by a man. This false system of rites and ceremonies hides the true character of God to carry on work opposite of God's work. A warning is an act of love, not hatred. This book is meant to be a warning.

It is difficult to make the final statement as to who this beast is. It is so painful and inconceivable for most to believe and accept. But it is God's will that it be revealed. He has had it written in the Bible for such a purpose.

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Is this religious organization that has taken the name of Rome the Roman Catholic Church? This is the only power that fits this prophecy. Let us see how the religion of Rome fulfills the description of Daniel's dream.

The following ten points are those presented in Daniel chapter seven. Before proceeding with the list below, the reader might want to review the ten points as listed in the previous chapter of this book.

These ten arguments are very strong evidence that the Papacy fits the little horn of Daniel. But these ten are not the only evidence. There is much more to come in later chapters. But first, let us look at the ten.

Little Horn with Eyes

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1. By the name alone we can see that it came out of the fourth

beast, and its leader still makes his capital in Rome. This church organization takes the name of Rome. It is the ROMAN Catholic religion.

2. It came up among the ten at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire. After much persecution of the early Christians by Rome, the Emperor Constantine claimed conversion to the Christian faith. He then declared Christianity the religion of the state.

3. It came up after the ten already existed.

4. It was different from the others in that it was a religious rather than a temporal power. The pope claims to be God and to represent Christ on the earth. In contrast to the pope's claim, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36).

5. It looks more stout than its fellows because of the greater power and long lasting reign. The pope is still well known today, while the other ten have virtually passed off the scene.

6. When the so-called vicar of Christ, the pope, took complete control of the faltering empire, he had to uproot the three horns to overthrow their religious views known as Arianism. Once done, there was then complete “orthodoxy” in the ROMAN Catholic system.

7. This “man” has spoken great words against the Most High God. He continues to do so whenever he claims to forgive sins. He also claims he and his priests can create the body of Christ. The popes claim to be God with the right to change and interpret laws. He proclaims he is the only true representative of Christ.

8. He has worn out the saints in his persecution of those who

would obey the Word of God rather than the words of a man. We do not know the number tortured and slain during the Spanish

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Inquisition. This number and all the Roman Catholic Church's efforts to destroy opposition to her teachings will only be known when they are revealed in the judgment.

9. He has thought to change the times and laws of the ten commandments. The second commandment concerning the making of, bowing down before and worshiping of idols is missing in the ten commandments of the Roman church. One only needs to visit a Roman Catholic Church to see images everywhere. It is easy to understand why this commandment omission was necessary.

To make up for the one removed the tenth was divided into two. “Thou shall not covet,” says the Bible's tenth commandment. The papacy has revised it to say we should not covet a man's wife (ninth commandment). The papal tenth commandment tells us not to covet a man's possessions.

The papacy has thought to change the fourth commandment by declaring Sunday the Lord's Day instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Even today, most Christians worship on Sunday, unaware that it is because of the change made only under the authority of Rome.2

No matter how much good we do, we must not also do or teach evil.

The Catholic Church does not deny this. On the contrary,

Rome declares it is evidence that the pope has such authority. For if all Protestants and Catholics were to worship on Sunday, the pontiff of Rome could claim spiritual authority over them.3

10. The 1260 year span of time starts from AD 538 when the Ostrogoths were subdued and continues to 1798. This period of time was fulfilled in the history of the papal government. During the French Revolution under the orders of Napoleon, General Berthier took the pope captive to Valence, France where he died in exile.4

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The 1260 year prophecy was not the end of this power. As we can see today, the pope is becoming increasingly active to the point where he is in the news almost daily. Time Magazine named him Man-of-the-Year for 1994.

Few would have thought this possible only a few decades ago. And yet, the prophet Daniel foretold the papacy would be in the world until the judgment came to take away its dominion. Revelation declares the beast's deadly wound would be healed.5 Roman Catholics Are Good People

Roman Catholics are good people. They are not bad or more sinful just because they are of a different religion. But they are indeed sinners just like everyone else. Their disadvantage is in their trusting a system of religious thought that is deceptive and misleading. Error cannot save. We must have truth.

For some people this chapter will be hard to accept due to their life long religious training. Many whom I have grown to love and respect are active believers in the Roman Catholic communion. The Catholic Church supports and sponsors many good projects such as hospital and relief work. But poison in disguise is still poison.

No matter how much good we do, we must not also do or teach evil. History has shown the Catholic Church to be a great persecution power. Millions were killed during the Dark Ages and the Inquisition. Some say it has changed, yet the Bible tells us it will once again revive its persecution attitude, once it regains power.

We Must Be Informed

The purpose of this chapter is to inform, not to condemn. There are many good people in all the religions of the world. I do not care to be at variance with any member of the Roman Catholic Church. I do not take my stand against any individual member. It is the system and its teachings that I believe is my God given duty to oppose. I am against the Papal system.

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We are not saved or lost because of the church we belong to or avoid. We are judged by how we react to truth when it comes to us. God is calling His true people to come out of Babylon6 and the confusion of error in the world today. God wants us to know. We must have knowledge. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee . . . “7

God wants people from all over the earth to join Him so they can inherit His everlasting kingdom. He wants them to refuse the mark of the beast. He wants all to be saved. Yet He knows that won't be the case. He wants to take as many as possible to His everlasting kingdom that will never give way to another.

Daniel's Prophecy Is for Us

God's faithful prophet did not understand all that he saw in his dream of chapter seven. It troubled him much, but he kept the vision to himself. The understanding is for the time of the end, for our day, to warn us about the false New World Order.

“Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cognitions much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: But I kept the matter in my heart.”Daniel 7:28.

Who or what are the two beasts of Revelation chapter thirteen?

The second beast gives power to the first beast and causes all to receive a mark. What is the mark of the beast? 1. “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 18:4

2. “Ques.-Have you any other way of proving that the [Catholic] Church has power to institute festivals of precept [to command holy days]?”

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“Ans.-Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her: She could not have substituted the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scripture authority.” Stephan Keenan, “A Doctrinal Catechism,” (Catholic) p. 176. 3. “Protestants. . .accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change. . .But the Protestant�s mind does not seem to realize that in accepting the Bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” “Our Sunday Visitor,” (Catholic) February 5, 1950. 4. “General Berthier marched to Rome, entered it unopposed on the 13th of February 1798, and, proclaiming a republic, demanded of the pope the renunciation of his temporal authority. Upon his refusal he was taken prisoner, and on the 20th of February was escorted from the Vatican to Siena, and thence to Certosa near Florence.” --Article, Pius VI, The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 edition. Volume 21, page 686. “The French took Rome on 10 Feb.,1798, and proclaimed the Roman Republic on 15 Feb. Because the pope refused to submit, he was forcibly taken from Rome on the night of 20 Feb., and brought first to Siena and then to Florence.” --Article, Pius VI, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911, 1913 edition, Volume 12, page 231. 5. Revelation 13:3,12. 6. Revelation 18:1. 7. Hosea 4:6.

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hen a little boy I had a dream I was taken to a toy store and told I could have any toy I desired and all that I could carry home with me. I loaded up my arms with as

many as I could carry. After I got them home I was happy only until I awoke from the dream. I looked for the toys, but they were nowhere to be found. Needless to say, my happiness had turned to sorrow. I felt deceived.

People around the world are worshiping the pope of Rome as he travels from country to country. He promises much, but can he deliver? Dreams of world peace has control of the minds of so many youth. Will the dream come true? Or will we all awake some day to an unpleasant disappointment? Will all our toys be gone?

It appears as if he is a great, holy man. Who would dare to speak up and declare him to be the Antichrist? In the book of Revelation we have read “And all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3. There is enough evidence in Daniel's dream alone to sufficiently expose the “little horn” power. The book of Revelation also has helped us discover that the pope and the papal system of the Roman Catholic Church is a power that God's people have to contend with. However, the Bible has not left us with only the accounts in Daniel and Revelation. The antichrist is also

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mentioned in God�s Word. II Thessalonians tells us Antichrist will sit in God�s temple saying he is God. This chapter deals with Antichrist and other texts of scripture that relate to the exposure of the “man of sin.” The Little Horn Further Revealed The little horn in Daniel's prophecy is the first place that mentions a power that would raise himself up to oppose God and His people. This power is a “man.” The apostle John knew the prophecies of Daniel when he wrote his general epistles in the New Testament. In the book of I John he called this power the Antichrist that all knew would come:

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that ANTICHRIST shall come . . .”I John 3:18.

“. . . and this is that spirit of ANTICHRIST, whereof ye have heard that it should come . . . “ I John 4:3.

The spirit of Antichrist (opposition to the truth of God) has

existed since the beginning of history. Here, however, John pin-points the coming of this deceiver in specific terms as a specific power. It is not a general condition of the human heart as some teach. It is a “man.”

John clearly teaches that the Antichrist was yet future to his time. This would be sometime after he wrote his letter near the end of the first century. In Revelation John again reveals the soon appearing of such a “man.” Revelation 13:18. The coming of the Antichrist is known by the Christian world. However, most believe he is to come not only in the future of John's day, but also in the future of our day. That is to say: he has not yet appeared in history to date. There are some who would like for us to believe this, especially his followers.

The second chapter of II Thessalonians helps us in understanding his identity and tells us much about his position and acceptance by the world:

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“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

“Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. . . “

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” II Thessalonians 2:3-5, 8-10. (NKJV)

Paul the apostle is telling us that between his time (first

century) to the end of the world, there would be a “falling away” first. The “man of sin” would be revealed.

This is exactly what happened in the early centuries of the Christian Church when it took into its fold doctrines of false religions. The once pure church became corrupt as it became the Papacy. It ruled almost unopposed for 12601 years. The papacy ruled supreme and no one dared oppose it. “All names which in the Scriptures

are applied to Christ . . . are applied to the Pope.”

Paul tells us that this Antichrist sits in the temple of God

claiming to be God. This is the exalted claim of the pontiff of Rome. He boasts of the ability to forgive sins. Forgiveness of sins is the prerogative of God alone.2 He claims he can change laws and create laws.

He will continue to be successful in deceiving many until Christ “shall consume [him] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall

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destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Verse 8.3 Those who are deceived will be deceived because they choose to be -- “they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.” Verse 10. The Book of Revelation Let us look again at Revelation to see what it has to say about this “man.” In chapter thirteen we see the beast called a “man.” “Here is wisdom. Let Him who hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man . . .” Revelation 13:18.

The beast of Revelation is a man who has a mark for everyone. Those who refuse the mark may not “buy or sell.” We read also that “And all the world marveled and followed the beast.” Revelation 13:3. (NKJV) And “they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4.

This man is powerful and misleads many, “the whole world.” He presents himself before men and completely amazes his victims who feel he is invincible. Those that follow him are those “whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

While the pope appears as a loving and compassionate leader, the books of Daniel and Revelation show him as a beast in disguise. “Only the wise will understand.” Daniel 12:10.

The papacy can afford to allow freedom of religion for now. But when it gains control and forces the conscience as it once did, it will force “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (to) receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads . . .” Revelation 13:16.

This is not a visible mark. It is “in” not “on.” It is a symbol of what we do (hand) and think (forehead). It is a method of worship. It shows who we are worshiping and who we follow. It is a choice between the worship of God and the worship of man, self. Those who receive it will not know they have it; only the righteous will understand.

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Boastful Claims

The following quotes from Catholic sources support the above mentioned claims concerning papal authority: “All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.”4 “For not man, but God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff (who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God), having weighed the necessity of benefit of the churches, dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority.”5 “The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land . . . He is the vicegerent of Christ, who is not only a Priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords.”6 “We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks EX CATHEDRA, that is, when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed for defining doctrine regarding faith or morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church.”7 “The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God . . . The Pope by reason of the excellence of his supreme dignity is called bishop of bishops . . . He is likewise bishop of the universal church . . . He is likewise the divine monarch and supreme emperor, and King of kings . . . Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as King of heaven and earth and of the lower regions.8

The Popes Speak for Themselves

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“The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does the Pope speak? It is Jesus Christ who speaks. Does the Pope accord a favor or pronounce an anathema? It is Jesus Christ who pronounces the anathema or accords the favor. So that when the Pope speaks we have no business to examine. We have only to obey. We have no right to criticize his direction or discuss his commands.”9 “We [Popes] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”10

The above quotes are but a few of the claims the papacy has been making since its inception. There is no Biblical authority for such boasting. The Bible instead contains much to show that the opposite is true. The pope of Rome “sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:3. When Jesus stood at His trial before His judge, Pilate, He declared, “My kingdom is not of this world” Matthew 23:8-10. The pope stands as the self-imposed world ruler. He takes upon himself all the prerogatives of earthly rulership that Jesus refused. It is when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven that He and He alone will be “King of kings and Lord of lords.”Revelation 19:16.

Exposing the little horn of Daniel, the beast of Revelation and the Antichrist of II Thessalonians is a necessary but sometimes painful task. But the vision in the next chapter of Daniel chapter eight is of even greater importance.

Read next about God's eternal promise and good news. 1. Revelation 11:2; 11:3; 13:5. Daniel 7:25; 12:7. 2. Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21. 3. See also Daniel 7:11.

4. Robert Bellarmine, Disputationes de Controversiis, Tom.2, “Controversia Prima,” Book 2 (De Conciliorum Auctoritate.” [On the

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Authority of Councils]), chap. 17 (1628 ed., vol. 1, P. 266), translated. 5. “The Decretals of Gregory IX,” book 1, title 7, chap. 3, in Corpus Juris Canonici (1555-56 ed.), vol. 2, col. 203, translated. 6. La Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871, quoted in Leonard Woolsey Bacon, An Inside View of the Vatican Council (American Tract Society ed.), P. 229, n. 7. Ibid, chap. 4, pp.270, 271. 8. Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, vol.6, p.29 art. “papa” (pope) 9. The Archbishop of Venice, prior to becoming Pope Pius X. 10. Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter dated June 20, 1894, The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, p.304.

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y old car had a problem with the self adjusting brakes on the front wheels. I had to take it into the shop to have the brakes adjusted about every six months. While I had that

car I moved three times. Each time I changed shops. The first one charged me $14. The second shop charged me $25. The last shop went overboard. It charged $40. I didn't question the second shop but I did the third. The manager told me he had done a lot of other things besides adjust the brakes. I hoped it was true and let it go that time.

The next time I took it in to him he had to make a phone call to the head office before telling me the charge. I wondered why, but said nothing. When I finally received the bill he sat next to me and explained that the last time I had my brakes adjusted was 11,000 kilometers back. “Hmm,” I said to myself. “What is so important about that? Why should he call up to find out when I last had my brakes adjusted? There must be another reason.”

When I saw the bill, I soon figured it out. The price for fixing my brakes was again the exact same amount of $40. I hadn't asked him to do anything else. What else was there to do?

I concluded he hadn't called up to find out how far I had driven. He wanted to know how much he had charged me for the previous adjustment. He had to charge me the same. If not, I would probably ask why.

By mentioning the mileage he was trying to hide his true purpose with a diversion. He almost got away with it. When I confronted him with it, he just stood there and said nothing except,

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“Please come again.” He didn't deny it and I never went back. What is all this getting at? It's this. We need to look at the real

issues instead of getting off on the wrong course. We must not look at the beast, his image and his mark and lose track of the real problem. The real problem is obedience and sin; what sin is, who is guilty and how we can be forgiven.

We might think that we can escape the evil of the last days by simply refusing a mark when and if it comes. Not so. The important issue is not as much about refusing wrong, as it is about accepting right. We need to accept God and his plan and not just try to refuse wrong. We need to take an aggressive, positive forward step toward understanding what God wants us to do and then do it. We need to ask ourselves, “What is God's plan for us?”

The More Important Focus

God has something good for us. There is a promise to be revealed. God wants to bestow on us a wonderful blessing. Chapter eight of Daniel tells us about God's promised blessing.

Remember the beasts of prey and the little horn of chapter seven. Two years passed from the time Daniel saw and recorded that dream until his next vision. He wanted very much for his people to return to their country. He was hoping God would make such a promise. He wanted the dream he had seen to be the prediction of a swift return of his people to Jerusalem to rebuild it.

Most important he longed for the restoration of the temple, the sanctuary. Without the sanctuary, the Hebrew nation had no real purpose. Everything in their daily and yearly activities had been built around the sanctuary, its festivals and sacrifices. The temple must be rebuilt. The sanctuary must be restored. The vision of chapter eight was given to clarify the previous one. When would God�s dwelling place be rebuilt?

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The Meaning of the Dream

Because Daniel had not understood his dream in chapter seven , and he begged to know more, an angel was sent to reveal the meaning more fully in chapter eight. In the following vision Daniel sees some of what he saw in the previous dream with more being revealed. Here is the vision:

“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. “I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.” Daniel 8:3.4.

The Medes and the Persians

These horns, as identified later in verse 20, are the kingdoms of Media and Persia combined. The two horns are their two kings. The horn (king) that was higher and came up later was Cyrus the Great, the king of Persia who was greater than the first king, Darius the Mede.

The kingdom of Babylon is not mentioned in this dream, probably because it was about to pass off the scene. The vision was in the year 538 BC, the last year of the Babylonian kingdom. Persia would soon take possession of all that Babylon would lose and gain even more through conquest. Persia would later in turn lose control to another power. The rise of the following great power is mentioned next:

“And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. “And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of

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his power. “And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was not power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. “Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and from it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.”1

The Kingdom of Greece

The great world kingdom that would break the power of the Persian Empire is recorded in history. It was Greece. Alexander the Great was the “notable horn” between the eyes of the goat. It was when young Alexander was yet in his prime that he died suddenly. At the height of his power he was “broken.” His kingdom was divided between his four generals, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander and Antigonus, “toward the four winds of heaven.” The Little Horn

“And out of one of them [the four winds] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. “Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. “And an host was given against the daily sacrifice by reason of the transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced and prospered.” Daniel 8:9-12.

The power that was to follow Greece was of a different nature

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than the preceding horns. As in Daniel's previous dream of chapter seven, again we have a “little horn.” This horn came up from the “four winds,” and became very strong. It was a power that persecuted God's people and “magnified himself even to the prince of the host.” This entity was a religious power that in effect took away the “daily” service held in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. Comparing the Horn of Chapter 7 With Chapter 8

Let us compare this horn with the one mentioned in Daniel's dream of chapter seven. Does it fit the Papacy? Claiming to be the vicar of Christ, the popes have magnified themselves to the prince (Christ) of the host.

The pope claims to be Christ in the flesh. The ministry of the Catholic priest replaces the work of Christ, the only True High Priest2. By his installing his self-made priesthood, the pontiff of Rome has taken away the “daily.” Only Christ can truly administer the “daily” to the repentant believer.

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

The Roman Catholic Church claims its priests can forgive sins,

but the Bible says, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 3 Through the false priesthood set up by the papacy, the seeker of truth has no access to the True. The “truth was cast down to the ground.” How Long?

The little disputed strength of the papacy lasted well over a thousand years. It is hard for us today to imagine that such a long period of world history contained such religious persecution and intolerance.

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We often take our freedom for granted and care little for religious topics and the freedom to discuss and share our faith. Most of us have no thoughts that we will ever lose this freedom. Is it possible that someday we may lose this precious right of religious freedom? The books of Daniel and Revelation say we will.

The two hundred years or so of religious freedom we have been enjoying are but a short span of the world�s nearly six thousand years of existence. During most of the world's history religious freedom has been a rare practice.

Revelation reveals to us that this privilege will be lost when the mark of the beast is forced on the peoples of the world. Unfortunately only a very few will refuse it.

The Temple of God

Daniel was wondering how long it would be until the temple (sanctuary) would be restored in the land of his fathers. Then he heard one saint ask another concerning the “daily” and the treading down of the sanctuary and the truth of God. This is the question:

“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:13,14.

2300 Days: Not Clear Enough for Daniel Daniel did not understand and he plainly said so. If this cleansing was the restoration of the sanctuary or temple in the land of Israel, he surely would have understood and been joyful, but it was beyond his comprehension. He asked for a clearer explanation:

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“And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. “And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. “So, he came near where I stood. . .he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. . . “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.” Daniel 8:15-19.

Gabriel told Daniel that the understanding of the vision would

be at the end of time. However, not all the dream was to be hidden until the last days. Some of this vision was even then understandable.

The first part concerning the change of the nations in power came true as the empires did indeed change from one to another. What Daniel was seeking to understand was the time his people could return to their land and rebuild the temple. Without a sanctuary, it was impossible for God to fulfill His promises to Israel. The whole plan of salvation depended on the sanctuary service and its symbols and types.

This cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 is an event of great proportions. It is the focal point of the Book of Daniel whose name means, “God is Judge.” What does Daniel and the types and symbols of the sanctuary tell us about the judgment? What secret, symbolic meaning does the book of Daniel want us to understand? What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? 1. Daniel 8:5-8. 2. Hebrews 6:20 3. “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is

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this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Luke 5:21

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What is theSanctuary?

Suppose you wanted to pass on some news from one friend toa second friend. But you didn't want the first friend to knowwhat it was. It might be bad news for him, but it is goodnews for the second friend. What would you do? You would

have to present it in a way that the second person wouldunderstand but not the first. It would not be a simple task, but thatis what God did with Daniel and to many throughout the yearssince Daniel.

It is possible God didn't want believers down through thecenturies to know it would be so long from Daniel’s time until thesetting up of His everlasting kingdom at the second coming ofJesus. Did He want them to share this hope, although they mightnot participate in it before seeing death?

If they had known just how long it would take, they wouldhave become very discouraged. So many Christians through thecenturies have believed Jesus would come soon, even in theirlifetimes. But not until the proper time would the whole truthcome out. Daniel was told to seal up the vision until the time ofthe end. God has hidden the meaning of parts of Daniel until thetime for them to be understood. And the time will come. God hasHis schedule, and it cannot be altered by man. God has set thevision for the time of the end.

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For the Time of the End

In the propheciesHe gave to Daniel, God spoke in days, notyears. He talked about the cleansing of the sanctuary, not therestoration of Jerusalem. God, as it were, held his hand over thecomplete understanding of these prophecies. God surely allowedthis misunderstanding to fend off discouragement, because theprophecies of Daniel are for the "time of the end."1 The cleansingof the sanctuary spoken about in Daniel 8:14 is also for the time ofthe end.

"And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and threehundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."Daniel 8:14.

God has a plan to restore the sanctuary, the temple, to its"rightful state." God's plan has a greater purpose than just to builda temple or to restore a building to its original condition. Hispurpose is much greater. His promise reaches far into the heart ofman.

God's eternal purpose is to return man to the perfection ofcharacter possessed by Adam and Eve before their fall into sin.The entire sanctuary service, yearly feasts and festivals pointedforward to this final cleansing on the Jewish festival, the Day ofAtonement, the day of judgment, (Yom Kippur).

Daniel was looking in the vision hoping God would revealHis plan regarding the temporal return of the temple at Jerusalem.However, God had something more important in mind. He wasrevealing a much greater event, the anti-typical cleansing of thesanctuary at the end of the world. God was telling Daniel aboutthe restoration of man to the image of God.

Rehearsed Yearly by the Jews

The Jews observed the day of atonement year after year.This yearly event pointed forward in time to when the actual eventwould someday take place. Daniel was looking forward into time

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at the one event that the yearly day of atonement was teaching allto look forward to. The day of atonement acted out year after yearwas a teaching tool. It pointed forward to the final judgment at theend of the world.

Daniel 8:14 is the promise of man's total restoration to thestate of perfection. This is not a threat or an impossible dream.This is a promise of God. What God promises He can fulfil.

"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is]impossible, but not with God: for with God all things arepossible. " Mark 10:27

Before we get into this promise, let us first look at theinterpretation of the rest of Daniel chapter eight.

The Interpretation

"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are thekings of Media and Persia. "Now the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the greathorn that is between his eyes is the first king. [Alexanderthe Great] "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it,four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not inhis power. "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when thetransgressors are come to the full, a king [little horn] offierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,shall stand up. "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his ownpower: [Satan's power] and he shall destroy wonderfully,and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy themighty and the holy people. "And through his policy also he shall cause craft toprosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in hisheart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also standagainst the Prince of princes;[Jesus Christ] but he shall be

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broken without hand. [Without human hands, by God'shand] "And the vision of the evening and the morning [2300days] which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up thevision; for it shall be for many days. "And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days;afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I wasastonished at the vision, but none understood it."Daniel8:20-29.

2300 Days Must Be Years

The vision was for many days and was "shut up," andsealed. The first part concerning the beasts was not sealed. It wasclearly explained. The sealed part of the vision concerned thetwenty-three hundred days.

Daniel was sick and surely very discouraged. He knew thatthe twenty-three hundred days could not have been literal days, forthat would be less than ten years. From earlier prophecies he knewthat the kingdom of Persia would come. The kingdom of Greecewould follow next. Then still another horrible nation. This nationwould hold God's people under its cruel control. All this could notbe completed in only twenty-three hundred literal days (six yearsand four months). No, it was sealed up for "many days."

Since there is no earthlysanctuary today, we must looksomewhere else.

It is no wonder Daniel was not well. He had hoped Godwould deliver His people in the very near future. Instead he wasbeginning to believe it was going to be for a very long time, eventwenty-three hundred years.

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Dreams and Visions of Daniel Compared

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Golden Head Lion Babylon

Silver Arms Bear Ram Persia

Brass Thighs Leopard Goat Greece

Iron Legs Terrible Rome Beast

Iron / Clay Little Little Papacy Feet Horn Horn

Papacy Judgment Cleansing of U.S. / Papacy the Sanctuary Destroyed by Dominion Broken Stone Cut out Taken Without PapacyWithout Hands Away Hands

What is The Sanctuary to Be Cleansed?

The 2300 days were 2300 years. We can find the day for a yearprinciple in the story of the spies at the time of Moses. It is alsofound in the book of Ezekiel.2 In both cases God set "a day fora year." Consequently, we can understand as did Daniel, that thetime extended far into the Christian era, into the 1800's. There are three visions or dreams that parallel each other. Nebuchadnezzar's dream used a great image to explain the fourkingdoms that were to come. In Daniel's dream of chapter seven,

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Daniel saw four beasts of prey coming up out of the sea. Theserepresented the same four world kingdoms. Finally in chaptereight we find animals that were used in the sacrifices made in theJewish temple services. These also show us an historic view of theworld to come.

That dream of chapter seven tells us about a judgment. Inchapter eight the judgment is not mentioned as such. In its placewe find the cleansing of the sanctuary. As we place these twochapters (Daniel seven and eight) side by side, we see that thejudgment directly parallels the cleansing of the sanctuary andtherefore must be the same event.3 Therefore, we can understandthe cleansing of the sanctuary to be the great testing time at the endof the world, the judgment.

In Daniel's dream (chapter seven) the "little horn" is thesame as the "horn" in Daniel's vision (chapter eight). In Daniel'sdream (chapter seven) "the judgment was set and the books wereopened." In the judgment dominion was taken away from the"little horn," and given to the people of God.4 God's everlastingkingdom will be set up.

In Daniel's vision (chapter eight) the sanctuary is"cleansed," or in some Bible versions, "restored to its rightfulstate." Chapter eight merely amplifies chapter seven and wasgiven to Daniel to help him understand what he did not understandin chapter seven.

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary is the Judgment

There are two good reasons that we should conclude thatthe judgment in Daniel's dream (chapter seven) is the same eventas the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel's vision (chapter eight).

1) Both events, the judgment and the cleansing of thesanctuary, are parallel in these two chapters. In both chapters thekingdoms are mentioned first. In chapter seven the horrible beastsare followed by the little horn and then the judgment. In chaptereight the beasts of sacrifice are also followed by a horn, then by thecleansing of the sanctuary.

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2) The dream was given to Daniel to help in hisunderstanding of the previous chapter. The vision in chapter eightwas given to expand on chapter seven. The name Daniel means,"God is Judge."

3) In both chapters after the judgment in chapter 7 andafter the cleansing in chapter 8 the little horn comes to its end.

It wasn't until about fifty years after Daniel's time that hispeople returned to their homeland and rebuilt the temple atJerusalem. It lasted until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. It has not been rebuilt.

The Temple of Man

Since there is no earthly sanctuary today, we must lookelsewhere. The sanctuary to be cleansed is the sanctuary inheaven. At His ascension into heaven Christ Jesus became a highpriest of the heavenly sanctuary.5 He is there standing betweenman and God as our representative. He is taking our confessionsand presenting them to God the Father.

Jesus is our High Priest and working for us to forgive usour sins and to remove all sin from our lives. He is working tocleanse the temple (sanctuary) of the human heart.6 The heavenlysanctuary points to the sanctuary of the human soul. Jesus calledHis own body a temple.7 God's work has always been therestoration of His image in man. God wants to clean hearts notbuildings. Buildings don't sin, people do. God's eternal purposeis to create a church that is without sin. Ultimately the sanctuaryto be cleansed is the human heart.

"That he might present it to himself a glorious church,not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that itshould be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:27

The 2300 days needs a beginning and an end. Where dowe start to count the 2300 years? This important key or startingdate is found in Daniel nine. We will see in the next chapter not

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1. Daniel 12:9. 2. Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6.3. Daniel 7:10.4. Daniel 7:10-14.5. "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We havesuch an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of theMajesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the truetabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews 8:1,2.6. See Hebrews chapter seven.7. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and inthree days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years wasthis temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But hespake of the temple of his body." John 2:19. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for thetemple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are." I Corinthians 3:17.

only when God started the 2300 years, but another 490 years ofBible prophecy are presented. We will see that both periods startat the same time, and the 490 years leads up to the central themeof God’s work through all ages for all mankind.

*** Note: A complete, thorough explanation of the judgment,the cleansing of the sanctuary of Daniel 8:14, is not within the scope ofthis book. For a more detailed explanation of this and important relatedtopics, refer to the book The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White. Forhow to order, see the back of this book.

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magine walking along a river bank and finding a key that would unlock a great treasure house. That is just what happened to an officer of Napoleon's engineering corps. But

the treasure was not of gold or precious stones. What he found was the key to understanding the ancient writings of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The discovered key is known as the Rosetta stone, named after the place it was found. It was written in three languages. Two were known while the third was in hieroglyphics. By comparing the three, the puzzle was unlocked. This discovery has opened a treasure house of information on ancient Egyptian history.

Daniel and the Key

Daniel wanted to find a key or clue to understand the vision of chapter seven. But the vision was beyond Daniel's comprehension, and he “. . . was sick certain days.” Would God give him the key he was looking for?

Daniel desired the restoration of the temple. The Jewish sanctuary service had been rehearsed day after day and year after year. Daniel should have been looking carefully at the meaning behind the sanctuary ceremonies, feasts and festivals. Possibly he wasn't looking far enough into the future. He should have been

I

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looking for the True High Priest to take His place in the heavenly sanctuary and stand before God in the judgment.

He should have been looking for the vindication of the people of God before the on-looking universe. Daniel should have been expecting the time when all sin would be destroyed, when man would again take the position that Adam and Eve held before their fall into sin.

This is a momentous event that God was revealing to Daniel. He was foretelling the time of the restoration of man. God was explaining the event that was to be the preparation for the setting up of God's everlasting kingdom.

However, it seems Daniel's hope was not so long-term. What he wanted was the immediate restoration of the temple at Jerusalem. When he looked at the prophecy of the 2300 days and saw that it was for yet a long time, he was sickened by the news. Wanting to know more about the interpretation, he continued to pray for divine understanding, searching the scriptures for any possible overlooked gems of meaning. Of course we cannot fault Daniel for not knowing. God had hidden it from him. It was sealed up and to be revealed only at “the time of the end.”1 Daniel Desires to Know the Meaning

Jeremiah the prophet had prophesied that Jerusalem would be in a state of destruction for seventy years.2 Daniel was looking to the end of that prophetic period. He was hoping for the return of his people and the rebuilding of the temple.

“In the first year of his [Darius] reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:”Daniel 9:1.

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Daniel's Intercession

Daniel is standing as an intercessor and pleading for the people of God. He does not accuse nor excuse them of their sins. Instead he associates himself with them and pleads as if he is as much responsible for their backsliding as they. He admits it was sin that caused Israel to be in subjection to the Babylonians. Daniel credits God for being faithful and true to His promises. The fate of the people is in God's hands, and Daniel pleads for mercy. He looked first for the restoration of the temple. This would give glory to God. His name would no longer be a reproach among the nations. The Jews claimed that their God was the only God. Yet they were captives and their city and temple were in ruins.

The prophecy of seventy weeks

of years ending in AD 34 goes along well with what has happened in the history of the Jewish nation.

To serve God, give Him the glory and live to clear His name

before the world, was the ultimate goal for Daniel. You can read his prayer in the first half of chapter nine of Daniel.3 70 Weeks of Years

70 Weeks x 7 Days per Week = 490 Years

The angel told Daniel about a time period that was a part of the 2300 day/ year prophecy:

“Seventy weeks [490 days/years] are determined [cut off] upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to

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anoint the most Holy.” Daniel 9:24. Time Cut Off

Daniel was seeking to know the details of the 2300 days when he presented his prayer to God. He was trying to coordinate them with the seventy years of Jeremiah's prophecy. In answer to Daniel's prayer, the angel Gabriel informs him of seventy weeks. Daniel seems confused. Seventy years, 2300 days, seventy weeks, it is all very difficult.

These seventy weeks have been “determined” (cut off). But, what are the seventy weeks cut off from? The angel Gabriel came to give him “skill and understanding.” Gabriel informed him that he was to “consider the vision.”4 What vision?

Gabriel was telling Daniel the seventy weeks were cut off from the previous vision. The previous vision is the vision of the previous chapter, chapter eight, the vision of the two-thousand three-hundred days.5 If the seventy weeks are “determined” or cut off, then they must be cut off from the 2300 days or years of chapter eight.

With that in mind, let us look at the four things that will be completed by the end of this “cut off” seventy week prophetic period. They are: (1) To finish the transgression, to make an end to sin. (2) To bring in everlasting righteousness. (3) To seal up the vision and prophecy. (4) To anoint the Most Holy.

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The Beginning of the 490 Years and the 2300 Years

To understand what to expect at the end of this 490 year segment of the 2300 years, we must first understand when the 490 and 2300 years begin. What significant date is at the head of the 2300 years of which the 490 years are “cut off?” The answer is in the next verse:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, [49 days/years] and threescore and two weeks [434 days/years]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Daniel 9:25.

The decree to rebuild Jerusalem came in the year 457 BC. This

is when the king of Persia, Artaxerxes, permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem. The decree allowed the taking of a freewill offering from Babylon to use to rebuild the city and the temple. It proclaimed freedom to obey the God of Israel in all the area west of the Jordan River. It relieved all Levites and ministers from paying tolls or tribute.

This is the date that starts the 2300 day/year prophecy of Daniel eight. It also starts the 490 day prophecy of Daniel nine. The 490 were “cut off” from the 2300 days.

The walls were to be rebuilt. The Jews could organize their government and choose their own officials. This decree came in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, 457 BC., and is recorded in the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra.

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70 Weeks of Years

7 Weeks + 62 Weeks + 1 Week = 70 Weeks

Starting at the date of 457 BC., we count the seventy weeks of days, (70 weeks x 7 days/week = 490 days). Using the one year for one day principle6 for Bible prophecy the 490 days become 490 years. From BC. 457 we count 490 years and come to the year AD. 34. 7

THE 2300 DAYS / 70 WEEKS

This is probationary time given to the Jews: (1) “. . . to finish the transgression, and to make and end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and (2) to bring in everlasting righteousness, and (3) to seal up the vision and prophecy, and (4) to anoint the most Holy.” (Verse 24). (1) Finish the Transgression

The prophecy of seventy weeks of years ending in AD 34 goes

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along well with what has happened in the history of the Jewish nation. They didn't (1) “finish the transgression.” They were in Daniel's day captive in Babylon because they had failed to follow God.

They rejected the Messiah, Jesus Christ, so in 70 AD. the city of Jerusalem and the temple were again destroyed. The temple has not been rebuilt in almost 2,000 years. Jesus said, “your house [God's temple] is left unto you desolate.”8

During this entire 2,000 years God has not restored the Jewish nation to the place they had once been. Today they have a nation but no temple. It is unfortunate, but they had 490 years and were warned in the Book of Daniel about the consequences of unfaithfulness. They did not �finish the transgression.� (2) Bring in Everlasting Righteousness

The Jews were to be a light shining in a dark place. God told them if they obeyed Him they would be blessed. If they disobeyed, they would be cursed.9 They could have been a great blessing to the surrounding nations, but they failed. They even rejected their Messiah. So they could not (2) “bring in everlasting righteousness.” They failed in their duty. Their commission to share the light with others was given to the Gentiles as the Christian era began. (3) Seal Up the Vision

The seventy-week prophecy was to (3) “seal up the vision and prophecy.” This was a placing of a seal of authenticity upon the document to guarantee its surety. This seal is a seal of approval and acceptance. With this seal it is assured that the rest of the 2300 year prophecy would happen just as explained in the sealed document. (4) Anoint the Most Holy

Finally, there was to be (4) the anointing of “the most Holy.”

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Christians believe this is Jesus of Nazareth, the Chosen One who was to come. At the baptism of Christ at the Jordan River the Spirit of God descended as a dove. A voice declared, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”10 From that time Jesus began His earthly ministry, and He was “anointed” to give His eternal message of forgiveness, restoration and eternal life.

The year 34 AD. and the death of Jesus on schedule according to Daniel's prophecy give authoritative validity to the 2300 day/ year vision. It assures us that the rest of the years will be completed as prophesied. It also establishes conclusively that when God speaks prophetically in �days,� they represent �years.� The prophetic day for a year principle is valid.

The next chapter sets a seal on the prophecies and points us to the focal point of the ages. What happens during the rest of the 490 years, especially the final week of this 490 year prophecy? 1. Daniel 12:9. 2. Jeremiah 25:11,12. 3. Daniel 9:4-19. 4. Daniel 9: 23. 5. Daniel 8:14. 6. Explained in the next chapter. 7. If you do the math yourself, remember that there is no year “0, zero” and you cannot count both the year 1844 and the year 457 BC. 8. Matthew 23:38. 9. Deuteronomy 28. 10. John 1:32; Mark 1:11.

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man had been separated from his son for many years. One day the man called his son and asked him to come home for a visit. He willingly agreed to do so. The son had

gone out into the world to become famous and rich. On his way home he decided he would show his father how thankful he was for his upbringing. He vowed to himself to buy or do anything his father wanted.

Not knowing his father was dying, he said to him, “I want you to know how thankful I am to you for all you have done for me. I have found my pot of gold, and I want to give you anything you want, a new house, a car, anything. Just name it and its yours.”

“Son,” he said. “I�m dying. I have very little of my life left. What I need you cannot give me. I have spent most of my life like you, searching for success and riches. But I�ve found there�s only one thing that�s important. That is life, itself. Life has been good to me, but it is much too short. I don�t want to die. I want to live forever. I�ve found that no matter what you gain in this life, if you don't have eternal life, you have nothing. No matter how little you have in this life, if you have eternal life, you have everything.” Then he added, “I wish it hadn't taken me so long to understand this.”

A

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The True Pot of Gold

Though the story is fictitious, it nevertheless draws the

conclusion that many people have drawn at the end of their lives. They have concluded that if life ends at death, then it really has no meaning at all. Only if life somehow continues after death does it have any meaning for us even while we are still alive.

This book has not been written merely to expose error but to reveal truth. Its purpose is to point the way to eternal life, the real pot of gold. The Bible informs us that this life comes only from God. Daniel was given a vision to reveal to us part of God's plan to give us the pot of gold, eternal life.

Verse twenty-five of Daniel chapter eight tells us the “cut off” 490 years extend to the Messiah. To further emphasize this the angel tells Daniel about a 434 year period (62 weeks) extending from the end of the first seven weeks to the Messiah. Let us look now at what else happened and the prophetic periods involved.

“And after threescore and two weeks [434 years] shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26.

Three Prophetic Periods ( 7 + 62 + 1) = 70

As mentioned earlier, the 490 year prophecy is made up of three smaller prophetic periods; 7 weeks; 62 weeks; and one week.

The 7 weeks are made up of 49 prophetic days or 49 literal years followed by 434 prophetic days or a total of 483 literal years. There is one week or seven year period missing.

The total number of 483 years takes us “unto Messiah the Prince.” We must look for the missing one week or seven year period at the end of the 490 year �cut off� period. This missing seven years is one week where in the middle of it the Messiah is �cut off� for His people. This one week of Bible prophecy is the final week and completes the 490 year prophecy.

Starting at 457 BC and moving along 49 years we come to the

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time the walls would be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Another 434 years bring us to 27 AD. One final seven years bring us to 34 AD. In total 490 years.

This last week [7 years] can be found in verse twenty-seven and will be explained shortly. First let us look at it on the following chart:

70 WEEKS - 490 YEARS

The last week of the 490 day/year prophecy is very important because it sets all the prophecies of Daniel in the center of God's eternal agenda. It places an authenticating seal on the prophetic 2300 years.

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [7 years]: and in the midst of the week [3 � years] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation [offering the sacrifice] to cease. . .” Daniel 9:27.

He “. . . shall confirm the covenant . . . and shall cause the

sacrifice and the oblation [offering the sacrifice] to cease.” This is talking about the Messiah who would “confirm the covenant” by offering Himself as a sacrifice. At that time the “sacrifice and

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the oblation” would cease in the earthly temple at Jerusalem. It would cease because the meaning of all the sacrifices over the preceding ages would be met in the death of the Messiah.

The covenant that must be confirmed or ratified is the covenant God made to save all humankind from their sins and from the second death.1 The Messiah was to suffer the second death in the place of humanity. The plan was for God to send His Son to die in the place of all the human race.2 The Son would be the sacrifice that confirms the covenant, God's promise.3

The covenant was ratified or paid for by sacrificing the lamb on the altar. This sacrificial lamb took the place of the sinner. Because the lamb died the sinner could live. When the sinner confessed his sins, they were symbolically transferred from the sinner to the lamb. Then the lamb was killed.

The worshipers at the sanctuary observed this year after year in the sanctuary service. But these daily and yearly sacrifices were only a symbol or type of what the Messiah was going to do when He came. The Messiah or Lamb is the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”4 None other than the Messiah, the Christ, can fulfill this role. Isaiah wrote about this hundreds of years before Christ was born.5

The very year of Christ's death

was written in prophecy by Daniel more that five-hundred years before.

When Jesus Christ died upon the cross in 31 AD, in the “middle of the week,” He “. . . caused the sacrifice and the oblation [offering the sacrifice] to cease.” When Christ died on the cross the veil of the temple was “rent from top to bottom,”6 signifying the end of the earthy sacrificial system. There were to be no more lambs sacrificed because Jesus Christ had fulfilled the meaning of the lamb sacrifices.

The thousands of lambs that were sacrificed for centuries in

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type met their fulfillment (anti-type) in the death of God's Holy Lamb. Upon His resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven to take His place as our High Priest.7 When Jesus died it was possible for all to have eternal life. Everything that is important in life comes down to this event. Without it everyone would be lost forever. No one could live beyond the grave. All humankind would be destined to eternal death, the second death. Seal Up the Vision

So ends the prophecy of the seventy weeks. This prophecy being “determined” or “cut off” from the 2300 year prophecy anchors the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8:14. This anchor is as strong and solid as the death of Jesus Christ, the anti-typical Lamb of God.

THE LAST ONE WEEK

The exact day and time of the death of Jesus was foretold in the Bible. The students of the scriptures in the time of Jesus should have known when to expect the Messiah. The exact year of Christ's death was written in prophecy by Daniel more than five-hundred years before.

AD 27 AD 31 AD 34 Baptism of Death of End of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ 490 Years

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Centuries before the birth of Jesus the exact day and hour had been rehearsed during the Feast of Passover. Jesus died at the very hour the Passover lamb was sacrificed in the temple. It was the Passover of 31 AD. The Wise Men Knew

The wise men from the east who visited Jesus at his birth knew it was time for the Messiah. Daniel was known as a prophet where they came from, so they had surely studied his prophecies and understood the time of the coming of the Messiah (Anointed One). When the time was near, they went searching for Him.

The 490 and 2300 year prophecies are fully established with the death of Christ. The 2300 day/year prophecy was “sealed up” for the time of the end. It was validated with the seal of God by the death of His Son. Daniel declared, “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true.” 8 * A Day for A Year The 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 and the 490 days of Daniel 9:24 translate into years with the day/year principle. This principle can be found in Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34. We cannot deal with these prophecies as only literal days, They must be a day for a year. If they were merely days and not years, we would have to conclude the following impossibilities: (1) The walls of Jerusalem were built “in troublous times” in only 49 days. This would be an impossible task even today with our modern machinery, especially “in troublous times.” (2) The Messiah came only one year and four months (490 days) after the decree to restore and build Jerusalem. But He actually came almost 490 years later. (3) Since the vision of the 2300 days was for the “time of the end,” this time would have to be only six and a half years after 457

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BC (450 BC). Too much time has passed since then to call that time the “time of the end.” The day for a year method for interpreting Bible prophecy should be clearly understood as a proper principle of Bible interpretation. When the 2300 years is counted out starting in 457 B.C., it brings us to the year AD. 1844. What happened in that year? According to Daniel 7:10 and Daniel 8:14, it was the judgment (Daniel chapter seven), the cleansing of the sanctuary (Daniel chapter eight).

Where are we today in this series of prophetic events? 1. See Revelation chapter 20 on the first and second death. 2. Isaiah 53. 3. John 3:16. 4. John 1:29. 5. Isaiah 53. 6. Matthew 27:51. 7. “Now of the things which we have spoken [this is] the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1,2. 8. Daniel 8:26.

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ere�s a riddle. A doctor and his young son were out for a drive. They had an accident and the father was killed. The son was taken to the hospital. The doctor at the hospital

saved the boy�s life. The boy was the son of the doctor who saved his life.

Is that possible? Something doesn't make sense here. How can the young man be the son of the doctor at the hospital if his father had died in a traffic accident?

Actually, it makes all the sense in the world. It's just that we sometimes look at certain situations with preconceived ideas. We make false assumptions. In this case we think that doctors are all men. But not so. The doctor that saved his life was his mother.

We must judge every situation with an open mind. Pre-conceived ideas can lead us to the wrong conclusion or no conclusion at all. This is what happened in 1844.

The Great Disappointment

Just after the turn of the nineteenth century a few decades before 1844, William Miller began his study of the prophecies of Daniel. After studying the 2300 years and the 490 years he concluded that Jesus Christ would come in the clouds of heaven on October 22, 1844.

Of course Jesus Christ did not come. The failure to appear is known as The Great Disappointment of 1844. Miller and others of his time believed the cleansing of the sanctuary was the cleansing

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of this earth by fire. They believed the earth would be cleansed at Jesus' second coming. They founded their conclusions on preconceived ideas, on false assumptions.

If the cleansing of the sanctuary is not the second coming of Christ, then what is it? As we have already studied, the cleansing of the sanctuary is the judgment at the end of the world. So, what is the judgment? How can we pinpoint the judgment at the end of the world?1 God's Plan and Outline

God gave to Moses a yearly system of feasts and festivals that were connected with the services of the sanctuary. They started at the beginning of the Jewish year and continued until the end. They were the Passover, Pentecost, the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Feast of Tabernacles and the Jubilee.

These events were enacted year after year to rehearse for their eventual fulfillment in actuality. In other words, these acts were to yearly stand before the people to show that there would be a real one-time event in the future.

Each yearly event was an enactment of a future one-time only event. The yearly event was the type, the future one-time-only reality was its anti-type. The Bible calls the yearly rehearsal a shadow, the reality it calls the body.2

The year was also a type. The beginning of the year was a type of the beginning of the world from the time of the exodus from Egypt. The end of every Jewish year was a type of the end of the world. Every year the people of God re-enacted in miniature what God planned to do in the future history of the world.

The Passover started the year. The lamb that was to cover all sins of all humankind was slain. The Day of Atonement or judgment was near the end followed by the Feast of Tabernacles, or harvest of souls. Jesus taught: “. . .the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”3

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The Passover

The first event in the festival year was the Passover. The Passover was enacted yearly but it pointed forward to another event which was the foreshadowed event. The yearly Passover is the type. Its fulfillment in reality (anti-type) was fulfilled only once, when Jesus gave His life.

God instructed His people how to keep the first Passover. God's people were captives in Egypt at the time, and Pharaoh would not let them go. So, God sent ten plagues upon Pharaoh. In the tenth plague all the first born of Egypt and Israel were to be slain by an angel of the Lord.

The people could avoid this slaying of their first born. God instructed all to take a lamb without blemish, kill it and offer it as a sacrifice in place of their own firstborn son.

They were then to take the blood and place it on the side posts and lintel of the house. When the angel came to destroy the firstborn of every household, the angel would pass over the house on which there was blood on the door post.4 The first born of the house would be spared. A Promise for All

The Passover was a very clear rehearsal of the sacrificial role that the Messiah was to carry out. The blood of the many dead lambs did nothing for anyone. Instead, they were to teach the people that there would one day be a Lamb that was to die as the real sacrifice, not an act played out year after year. This sacrifice was the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said of Jesus just before he baptized Him, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”5 The prophet Isaiah wrote many years before Christ:

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7.

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Paul said Christ is the Lamb of the Passover when he wrote:

“For even Christ our Passover, is sacrificed for us.”6 Jesus died at three o'clock in the afternoon. He was crucified on the sixth hour, and on the ninth hour He died. This is the very hour that the Passover lamb was always slain.7 Today, since the True Passover Lamb has been slain, there is no longer a need for the yearly celebration.

No longer do we need to put blood on the doors of our houses or slay a lamb and consume its flesh. We need only accept the blood of the Lamb Jesus who gave His life as an offering for the sins of the world. The Feasts: An Outline

After the day of Pentecost which closely followed the Passover, there was a long period from the second Jewish month to the seventh. This period in the yearly Jewish calendar roughly corresponds to the time of the early Christian centuries continuing up to the time of the next festival, near the end of the world�s history, the Feasts of Trumpets. This period of time gave time for the Christian Church to grow.

Those who expected Jesus to come in 1844 didn't understand the true meaning of the judgment. But today it is known.

It is important we remember that the history of the world is

outlined by the yearly feasts and festivals. It is necessary to understand this because it is at the root of the proper interpretation of last day events, including 1844. Each event that was celebrated yearly pointed forward to a one-time-only event in the overall history of the world. Each was celebrated yearly to keep its future application before the eyes and in the minds of the participant.

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The Blowing Of Trumpets

Continuing in the yearly Jewish system we come to the last month of the Jewish year and to the Blowing of Trumpets. This event was on the first day of the seventh Jewish month, Tishri.8

The seventh month was the final month in the work of the sanctuary service. The sounding of the trumpets was to cause the people of God to focus their attention upon their own lives, their characters. It was a time of close self-examination. They were to turn their attention to the things of God and especially to the DAY OF JUDGMENT, which was the next event in the yearly system of feasts and festivals. The Day Of Atonement (Yom Kippur) This day of judgment, still celebrated by the Jews today as Yom Kippur, was the most solemn day in the Jewish yearly cycle of events. Anyone not participating was cut off from the house of Israel. Their fate was sealed. They were lost for eternity. They would be no more a member of the chosen people of God.

We are in the great anti-typical Day of Atonement. . . the time of the world's history when the world is to be judged.

With an event so important, no one should take this subject

lightly. We all should be eagerly searching for the knowledge necessary so we can take part in and pass through this last judgment. It is an atonement for all the people of God. It states in Leviticus:

“For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord . . . And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you,

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to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.” Leviticus 16:30,34.

It is God's desire to rid His people of all their selfishness and

destroy all sin in the world. He wants to restore His image within the hearts of men. The judgment is a day of cleansing. It is God's purpose and always has been to return man to the sinless state he once held while in the Garden of Eden. Since sin caused death, the only way to restore life is to destroy all sin. Eternal life and sin cannot co-exist. Only a Type: The Real Was Yet To Come

Those who took part in the Day of Atonement every year were only forgiven and cleansed in type, not reality. They were only rehearsing the scene of the final judgment that was to take place at the end of the world. The blood of animals could not forgive men of sins.9 It was necessary for the Son of God to come and die as the Passover Lamb. This is the only acceptable sacrifice.

When the Jews sacrificed animals, day after day and year after year, they were merely acting out an object lesson. The lesson to be learned was that Jesus would some day die on the cross at Calvary.

In the same way, on the Day of Atonement, when the high priest took the blood of the sacrifice into the most holy place of the sanctuary, he was merely representing Jesus who is our high priest who has entered with His own blood into the sanctuary in heaven to perform the work of cleansing His people of their sins.10 The high priest of the sanctuary service represented Christ and the blood was a type of Jesus' own blood.11 Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles was the final feast in the yearly round of services in the Jewish ceremonial year. It began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after the harvest was gathered from the field. The Lord required all the men to attend this feast. Each

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brought a thank offering to the Lord. This feast began five days after the Day of Atonement, the judgment.

This feast was a celebration of the harvest at the end of the year. The people lived in tents to show that their stay there was only temporary. They would soon be moving on. It is also true of the anti-type at the end of the world after the final judgment is made. Their time remaining on this earth will be short until Jesus comes in the clouds to take them to their permanent homes in heaven. During their wait in the tents, there will be a world-wide spreading of the final judgment hour message. This will bring in a harvest of souls who will join with the original group and await the coming of Jesus to share in God's Everlasting Kingdom.

It was a day of rejoicing because God had accepted the sacrifice of the Lamb. God had forgiven their sins; and freed them to rejoice in His full and complete salvation. He restored them completely to His image. They were sealed.

Yet, this was done yearly only in type. It had to be repeated every year, because it was only the foretelling of things to come. It foreshadowed the one-time-only event at the end of the world. In the judgment at the end of the world, God's people will be separated from all their sins and rejoice in God's complete salvation, in actuality, in fact.

God's people will make up a group called in Revelation the 144,000. They will have the seal of God, the Father's name written in their foreheads.12 The ripe harvest in type symbolized the perfection or full ripening of the crop. The anti-type of the harvest is the celebration of the harvest of souls. Jesus tells us about this final harvest of souls in the parable of the wheat and the tares.13 It Follows the Judgment

On the Day of Atonement (the final judgment), all will have decided in God's favor and received the seal of God or will decide in favor of the New World Order and received the mark of the beast. (Both the mark and the seal will be explained in a later chapter). After the judgment is completed there will be no more forgiveness of sin. Jesus will have completed His work, and the

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judgment will be final. This is the time when the Great High Priest, Jesus, will take off His priestly robes of white linen and replace them with His kingly garments. He will come at the end of the world as King of kings and Lord of lords.14

The Feasts and Festivals

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� PASSOVER AD 31 Jesus (Lamb) Dies PENTECOST AD 31 Early Harvest of Souls BLOWING OF 1830's Millerite Message TRUMPETS Just Before 1844 DAY OF 1844 - ?? Final Judgment ATONEMENT FEAST OF ?? The Final Harvest TABERNACLES of Souls JUBILEE ?? Second Coming

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The Jubilee

The Jubilee was not a yearly event. It came every forty-nine years. The people were to plant their fields for six years. Every seventh year the land was to be left fallow to rest. The seventh year was a sabbath year. This cycle of resting every seventh year was to go on for seven cycles. Then, the fiftieth year was to be a Jubilee.

All lands lost through unfortunate mishap during the forty-nine years were to be restored to their original owners. This restoration of land was a type of the restoration of all to the people of God at the end of the world. This is when God sets up His everlasting kingdom. All those who have lost their land and their lives will have a much greater gift as their reward when Jesus comes. The anti-typical Jubilee will be a time of great rejoicing.

Type Yet To Be Fulfilled

The acting out of these services once each year was only an object lesson. Because of this it was necessary the following year to go through the entire process again. It continued year after year after year. In other words; if the sacrifices of those days were the reality there would have only been need for one offering and one year of festivals. It would not have been necessary to repeat them year after year.15

When Jesus died there was no more need for lambs to die. After the true Day of Atonement, there will be no need for a second. After the true harvest, there will be no more. After the true Jubilee, there will be no other. All will be free with all things restored as they were at the beginning.

Where Are We Today?

We are in the great anti-typical day of atonement. That is, we are in the time of the world's history when the world is to be

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judged. The Passover and the Day of Pentecost were fulfilled in the time of Christ. In like manner the anti-type “Blowing of the Trumpets” and the “Day of Atonement” are being fulfilled in our day.

Starting in 1844 the time period known as the cleansing of the sanctuary as mentioned in Daniel 8:14 began to be fulfilled. Those who expected Jesus to come in 1844 didn't understand the true meaning of the judgment. But today it is known. The believers of that time had preconceived ideas concerning the meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary. The Three Angels' Messages

The trumpet is to be sounded today by God's people. All must be called to judgment. Chapter fourteen of Revelation calls us to judgment telling us the beast, Mystery Babylon, has lost the war and we are not to receive the mark of the beast. It calls us out of Babylon and into the light. The angels said:

“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come. . . And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand. . . Revelation 14:7-9.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied and proclaimed: Cry aloud,

spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1.

The Blowing of Trumpets as mentioned above was to call the people to the Day of Atonement, the day of judgment. What does the New World Order have to do with the Day of Atonement?

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1. “Because he [God] hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. . .” Acts 17:31. 2. Colossians 2:17. 3. Matthew 13:39. 4. Exodus 12:23. 5. John 1:29. 6. I Corinthians 5:7. 7. Matthew 27:45,46. 8. Leviticus 23:24. 9. Hebrews 10:1-4. 10. Hebrews 6:20, 7:26, 8:1,2. 11. Hebrews 9:12. 12. Revelation 14:1. 13. Matthew 13:30,39. 14. I Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14. 15. Hebrews 10:1-3.

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The Time of the End

aniel was given visions and dreams that he did not understand. He was hoping God was giving him information on the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. He

was looking for an early return of his people to their homeland. After asking many times for a better understanding, he was finally told the visions were sealed up until the “time of the end.”

“And he said, 'Go [your way,] Daniel, for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end.' “ Daniel 12:9 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”Daniel 12:4

We have already discussed the 1260 year time period as

beginning in 538 when the papacy consolidated its power by putting down the third kingdom, the last of the three horns the little horn “plucked up.”1 This time period extends to 1798 when the pope was taken prisoner by Napoleon's general, Berthier. The Time of the End - 1260 Years - 1798

We can find this time period several places in the Bible. It is mentioned twice in Daniel and five times in Revelation. They are:

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“And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these [things] shall be finished.” Daniel 12:7.

One “time” is one year. King Nebuchadnezzar was told that

seven times would pass over him.2 This was seven years. One year is 360 days. The year was considered one cycle or circle and therefore 360 days. As there are 360 days in a year, there are 360 degrees in a circle. Each year is like a circle. When it ends, it starts all over again. “Times” would be two �times� around the circle or 720 days. A “half of time” is 180 days. In total we have 1260 days or 1260 prophetic years.3 To know that “time, times and half a time” is 1260 days is more clearly shown below.

“And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:25.

In this verse the 1260 is given to us in a time (360); times (720)

and a dividing of time (180). The little horn, papacy, took control of the world for 1260 days or prophetic years. The saints were persecuted under the control of the papacy for 1260 years from 538 to 1798.

Forty-two Months

“But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.” Revelation 11:2

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The term �gentiles� refers to people who are not true believers in God. They are not part of the body of believers who are established and �chosen� by God. When the Jewish nation was God�s �chosen� people, the gentiles were the non-Jews. Today they are those who are not true Christians who work against the true believers. During this 1260 year period non-believers were in charge. During this time God's truth was almost completely hidden from mankind.

The temple is spoken of here because the truth can only be understood as it was portrayed in the sanctuary service and its yearly feasts and festivals. But all this was misrepresented and hidden by the gentiles. These non-believers or false believers were headed by the papacy which set up a false system of worship that replaced the true worship.

The outer court is the visible part of the sanctuary. It can be seen without entering in. It represents the visible church. The inner sanctuary represents the inner sanctuary or the invisible church. The papacy for 1260 years could effectively control the church, without but not within. God�s truth and system of beliefs remained as pure as ever. In the judgment all will be judged

by God's two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments.

The church of God for 1260 years appeared outwardly as

though it was completely overtaken for 1260 years by the gentiles, but it was only the visible portion, the outer court.

Man is also a sanctuary with both an outer and inner court. Jesus called His body a temple4 and Paul said it is the temple of the Holy Spirit.5 During the 1260 years God's people could often be killed or imprisoned at the command of the papacy. Man's bodies (outer court of the sanctuary) were under the control of the beast. But the inner sanctuary (man's heart) belonged to God. This persecution continued for forty-two months times 30 days per

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month, or 1260 days or prophetic years.

Two Parallel Verses

“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.” Revelation 12:6.

Chapter twelve of Revelation is a brief description of God's

true church represented by a pure woman.6 God's church fled into the wilderness for 1260 years. God protected her there as she seemed to be non-existent. This was the period of papal supremacy from 538 to 1798.

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Revelation 12:14.

Within this same chapter of Revelation John tells in two verses

that the woman escapes “. . .into the wilderness.” In verse six it is for “a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.” Then later in verse fourteen he says “a time, and times, and half a time.” The woman in both cases flees into the wilderness to escape the dragon (serpent).

This tells us that the “thousand two-hundred threescore days” and the “time, times and a half of time” are the same period. Therefore both in Revelation and in Daniel the times must also be the same. God tells us that if we want to know the truth, we should look “. . .here a little, and there a little.” 7 The Beast of Revelation 13

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to

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continue forty [and] two months.” Revelation 13:5.

This beast speaks against God and has a mark, the mark of the beast. This is the papacy which ruled with an iron fist from 538 to 1798. Using thirty days as a month, forty-two months is 1260 days or prophetic years. Forty-two (42) times thirty (30) equals 1260. Two Witnesses

“And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3.

The two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments of the

Bible, God�s Word for us to read and follow. They were represented in the sanctuary as the candlesticks fed with oil.8 The Book of Psalms tells us God's Word is a lamp unto our feet.9 Two witnesses were needed to condemn a person on trial.10 In the judgment all will be judged according to the testimony given by God's two witnesses. The Old and New Testaments will either condemn us or exonerate us by their witness of our obedience or disobedience to the Word of God.

Clothed in sackcloth means that for the 1260 years of papal supremacy the Word of God was almost entirely kept from the people. During most of the 1260 years it was unlawful to read or even possess a copy of the Bible.

We can clearly confirm that the “thousand two hundred three score days” and the “forty-two months” are the same. In Revelation 11:2 it speaks of the “forty-two months.” In the very next verse it tells us there are “. . . a thousand two hundred three score days”

This is a very common form of Hebrew style poetry found throughout the Old and New Testaments, especially in Psalms. Something is declared in one line then repeated in the next using different words or expressions. Within these two verses of

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Revelation we can be sure the two time periods are the same. The first gives us the number in days; the second gives it in months. Both equal 1260 years of papal dominance of the world, from 538 to 1798. The End of the 1260 Years

In Daniel an angel appeared, swore an oath by the Creator and proclaimed the book sealed. There would be a waiting time of 1260 years.11 In Revelation the angel swore an oath by the One Who Lives Forever, and proclaimed a book open. He said there would be “time no longer.”12 A book is sealed in Daniel and opened in Revelation.

The special prophecies of Daniel which were once sealed are now open. This opening of the book must come at the end of the 1260 years, at the time of the end (1798).

If the time of the end is truly 1798, we can expect at that time “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4. This is a Hebrew expression for observing and thinking upon the time. To “run to and fro” means to be able to read quickly through the scriptures and understand easily. So we can expect the knowledge of the Bible, especially prophecy, to greatly increase after 1798.

It did just that. In 1799 the London Religious Tract Society was founded. In 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Societies were organized; in 1816 the American Bible Society was founded, and the American Tract Society began in 1825.

The Bible was being distributed and read as it never had been before. In 1844 the Millerite Movement came to its peak with William Miller preaching the cleansing of the sanctuary. Shortly after that came the preaching of the judgment before the end of the world. Since 1798 there have been great strides made in education and technology. The world today is nothing like it was in 1798.

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Technology Since 1798

Before 1798 little had changed for thousands of years. Technology had been at a standstill. Communication for centuries had been by word of mouth or letter. Transportation had been by horse and cart. Work had been done by horse or man power. After 1798 there was a big change. Listed below are some of the most important inventions since 1798:

INVENTIONS SINCE 1798

Gas lighting 1798 Steamboat 1807 Power printing press 1811 Reaper and mower 1833 Electric telegraph 1837 Photography 1839 Sewing machine 1846 Pasteur's germ theory 1864 Telephone 1876 Incandescent light 1879

Gasoline engine 1883 Linotype 1885 Automobile 1892 Wireless telegraph 1895 Airplane 1903 Radio broadcasting 1920 Television 1937 Uranium fission theory 1939 Man in space 1961 Man on moon 1969

The Kings of the North and South

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm [them,] and pass through.” Daniel 11:40 NKJV

Around the year 1798 the King of the South attacks the King of

the North. The king of the North in the Old Testament was the nation of Babylon which came from the north to attack Jerusalem.13 It came from the north because there was a desert to the east.

The power here is not the modern day country of Iraq but “ . . . MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF

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HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 14 This is the papacy. The King of the North is the false system of worship set up by Satan to imitate the truth. The King of the North is therefore the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. Through the centuries the doctrines of pure Christianity have been systematically replaced by the Paganism of the Roman Catholic Church. Only the names of the apostles and prophets remain, not their teachings. This is what Luther and others discovered during the Protestant Reformation. An Important Bible Principle

In understanding who these two kings are, we must recall an important principle of Bible interpretation. That is: we take any Bible teaching or prophecy literally unless there is a good reason not to. For instance: a beast with seven heads and ten horns is not any beast which has ever existed or will probably ever exist. So, we must take it to represent something else. The beast is figurative or “spiritual” not literal.

Since the Jews have rejected Christ, God has rejected them as a people. The Jews in the New Testament are not the real Jews that have been scattered around the world, but are God's true people who are following His truth. “And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29.

Jerusalem in Bible prophecy is not a city in the middle East, but God's city in heaven.15 The kings of the North and South are not the nations of Iraq (Babylon) and Egypt. They now take on a “spiritual” meaning. The King of the North is the papacy which has adopted the false teachings and methods of ancient Babylon.16 “. . .The King of the South Shall Attack Him. . .”

In Bible times the King of the South was Egypt which is to the southwest of Jerusalem, and always attacked from the south. It represents atheism which is what Pharaoh claimed when he said he

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did not know the Hebrew God.17 If the King of the North is truly the papacy and the King of the

South is truly atheism, we can expect something to happen around 1798. At this time atheism should attack the papacy.

What happened between the papacy and atheism around the time of the end, 1798? How did the King of the South attack the King of the North? How did atheism attack the Papacy? It was the French Revolution. Catholicism was in complete control of France. Nothing was done without the approval of the Catholic Church. Then atheism stretched forth its hand as a result of the French Revolution. The churches were closed and “reason” was declared the god of France.18

From France it spread later to Russia resulting in the creation of the Soviet Union. For seventy years Soviet Communism stretched forth its fingers to influence much of the world until it was brought down in 1989. During this time there is no other power that can fitly represent the King of the South as atheism. Atheism often represented in Communism is surely the King of the South.

Daniel tells us that the King of the South would attack the King of the North and would be successful for a time. But the papacy would eventually get the upper hand. Daniel had foretold:

“. . . the king of the North [papacy] shall come against him [atheism] like a whirlwind. . . and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm [them,] and pass through.” Daniel 12:40.

If the King of the North is truly the papacy and the King of the

South is truly atheism, we can expect the papacy to be greatly influential in the demise of Communism.

The papacy was indeed greatly involved in the fall of Communism. U.S. News and World Report made this statement, “GORBY'S BOW TO THE ROMAN LEGIONS.”19 And again, “The rush to freedom in Eastern Europe is a sweet victory for John Paul II.”20 The King of the North (papacy) has turned on the King of the South and is now going everywhere without resistance.

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Daniel continues: “The Glorious Land”

“He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; . . .” Verse 41.

The “glorious land” is God's people today who have been

carrying the banner of truth. It is spiritual Israel, not the land of Israel in the Middle East. This means that the papacy would have a strong influence on the people of God. What is the position now being taken within most Protestant churches toward the Catholic Church? Most churches are talking reconciliation and a return to the same position as before the Protestant Reformation. Ecumenism is the present day trend.

“He shall also enter the Glorious Land,” means some of God's people will fall to the awe inspiring power and influence of the papacy. Although the papacy will enter the church of God, it will not overcome all within. There will be a victorious faithful that remain. There will also be others. Some will escape.

“These Shall Escape”

“. . . but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.” Verse 41.

Along with God�s chosen people, some others will escape.

Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon were all relatives of the Israelites. When entering the land of Canaan the Israelites were told not to fight with these three and indeed would not be given their land. They were relatives of the children of Lot. Before entering Canaan, Israel asked to go through the lands of Edom and Moab but were refused. Though refused, they were not to harm or even trouble these three peoples.

Through the rest of their history, they were enemies of the True God and His people. Yet there was one time when they were ready

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to join with Israel and fight a common enemy. That enemy was Babylon.21 They represent many who will believe the truth when it is presented during the time of the end. They will be part of the harvest of souls. Help Comes from God

“But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.” Verse 45.

The east22 and north23 are where God dwells. The seal of God

comes from the east.24 The seal of God on His people will greatly “trouble him” and he, the papacy, will be furious. God will bring about a cry on the earth, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.”25 The last great battle will be fought over the mark of the beast and the seal of God.

“And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” Verse 45.

The “seas” represent people.26 The “holy mountain” is

Jerusalem where God's people will dwell.27 This cannot be Jerusalem in the Middle East, but must be the New Jerusalem in heaven. The King of the North puts his tents or tabernacle between God and His people by setting up a false system of worship. God's truth is represented in the sanctuary (tent) service. Satan and the King of the North have their imitation. The Roman Catholic Church is Paganism in the garments of Christianity. The papacy will try to break the bonds between God and His people, but it will fail in the end. God's truth will triumph. The Time of Trouble

When the judgment finishes, Michael (Jesus Christ) will stand

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up from His judgment seat and prepare to come to the earth to receive His people. During that time there will be a time of trouble:

“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1.

God's People Delivered

When Jesus comes at His second advent, some of the dead will be raised from their graves to live for eternity in heaven.28 Daniel continues:

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. “Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. “ Daniel 12:2,3.

Why is Prophecy so Important

We need to become serious about how to obtain eternal life. Jesus tells us the purpose of prophecy. It is not for entertainment or curiosity. It is so we can believe that He is the Messiah and that He can save us. It is to put us into a position where we can believe and be saved. That is God's great hope for all of us. Jesus said about prophecy:

“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” John 14:29 (NKJV)

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“Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.” John 13:19 (NKJV)

“ We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 29

God says in prophecy and it comes to pass. He tells us He will

save us, so we can believe Him. He says we can overcome sin and the world, so we can do it.

What is the final battle to be like? Who are the ten kings of Revelation chapter seventeen? Has the creation of the New World Order been foretold in Bible prophecy? 1. Daniel 7:8. 2. Daniel 4:16. 3. Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. 4. John 2:21. 5. I Corinthians 6:19. 6. Jeremiah 6:2. 7. Isaiah 28:10. 8. Zechariah 4:11,12. 9. Psalms 119:105. 10. Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15. 11. Daniel 12:4,7. 12. Revelation 10:6. 13. Ezekiel 26:7. 14. Revelation 17:5. 15. Revelation 3:12; 21:2. 16. See The Two Babylons, by A. Hislop 17. Exodus 5:1. 18. The Great Controversy, p. 275. 19. U.S. News and World Report, December 11, 1989. 20. Life, December 1989.

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21. Jeremiah 27:2,3. 22. Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 2:2. 23. Psalms 48:2; Isaiah 14:13. 24. Revelation 7:2. 25. Revelation 14:8; 18:2. 26. Revelation 17:15. 27. Daniel 9:16. 28. I Thessalonians 4:16. 29. 2 Peter 1:19

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am a billionaire, and I have been thinking about what I will do with my money when I die. My relatives are rich enough, and I can't take it with me. I have decided to give it away. I will

convert all my liquid assets into one-hundred dollar bills and pass them out to the people on the street. Then I will divide all my real estate into one-acre plots and give the deeds out to the homeless.

My fortune won't do me any good after I'm gone, so why keep it? Does it sound like a good idea? Would you like some of it for yourself? If I gave you some, would you know that the money was real and the deeds to my land were legitimate? Actually, they would have to be fakes. The truth is, I really don't have much money and less than half an acre of land.

Not long ago I saw that in eastern Russia some 1,000 yen notes were converted into 5,000 yen notes by changing the 1 to a 5. The people didn�t know they were fakes and gladly accepted them. They got away with it until someone came along who knew what the real ones looked like. Could you tell the difference?

Unless we know the true ones, we will not be able to discern the false. Even more so, in order not to be fooled by the very good counterfeits, we have to know the real thing very well.

The New World Order is upon us. We will not be able to escape it. To know if the New World Order is the real thing or a fake, we have to know the truth. Where do we find it? Chapter

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seventeen of Revelation tells us about a false movement. It tells us that most people will be drawn in by it. Will we also?

The Whore Sitting on a Beast

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:3.

This woman of Revelation chapter seventeen is in contrast to

the woman of Revelation chapter twelve. In chapter twelve the woman is God's pure church. The woman in chapter seventeen is a whore, the false religion or church.

Will Satan make his appearance imitating Christ and gaining control of the New World Order?

Was, Is Not and Shall Be Destroyed

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not and yet is.” Revelation 17:8.

Satan “was” in the sense he was a glorious angel before he

was cast from heaven. He “is not” because he has been staying behind the scenes working out his evil agenda. He “yet is” in the sense that he has not yet been destroyed. Near the end of time he will “ascend out of the bottomless pit” when he once more makes himself visible as he tries to personate Christ and His second coming. He will “go into perdition” when he is destroyed with all

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the wicked at the second death. The key to understanding who or what the beast is, is the

phrase “was, is not, and yet is.” Jesus, on the other hand, “was, and is and is to come,”1 the Eternal God, the “Alpha and Omega,” the “First and the Last.” The beast is Christ's opposite. It must be Satan.

Seven Horns - Seven Kings

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”Revelation 17:10.

As we turn back to Daniel, we see four kingdoms represented

there. These four were all state religions that oversaw God's people and greatly restricted or took away their religious freedom. They were Babylon, Persia, Greece and Pagan Rome.

What came out of Pagan Rome was the fifth king, Papal Rome. The Papacy almost totally eradicated religious liberty. It continued until 1798 when it received its “deadly wound” when the pope was taken captive.

The United States has given the world a form of govern-ment with the unique principle of religious freedom for all. This form of government has spread to many other countries. We have enjoyed religious liberty. But for how much longer?

Today, five kings have fallen, one is and one is yet to come. We are now in the time of the sixth king.2 The sixth king is the United States of America which has clearly taken a prominent role in world affairs. Today the United States is the watch dog and policeman of the world involving itself in the affairs of all nations. The United States is the second beast of Revelation thirteen which makes an image to the first beast. It began its history by appearing as a lamb, Christ-like in its role as a Christian nation with before unheard of religious freedoms, but ends up speaking like a dragon, Satan. (See chapter eleven.)

Papal Rome is now in a weakened condition, but gaining strength daily. After the Papacy is completely restored, it will

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become the seventh king and will continue but a “short space.” (See the chart �Seven Kings�) The eighth king is explained below.

What is Our Present Time Frame?

We can say that we are living in the time of the sixth king only if John was viewing this vision in his future. If we believe the six kings are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Pagan Rome and the United States, then John had to be viewing the vision from our day, the time when the United States was the predominant world power.3 Only in that way can we say that the first five are fallen and sixth is now with us.

What evidence do we have for this? The beginning of chapter seventeen tells us we are seeing “the judgment of the great whore.”4 The whore is the Roman Catholic Church with all her harlots.5 The Papacy is the little horn of Daniel seven, the Antichrist of II Thessalonians chapter two and the beast of the first part of Revelation chapter thirteen.

The judgment or cleansing of the sanctuary began in 1844. The papacy at that time had been in its wounded condition, and the United States was growing in power since around 1798. The wound will not be completely healed until it regains complete control, which has not happened. This will happen when the pope takes charge of The New World Order, as the United States (sixth king) forms an image to the beast. So, this year, 1996, we are still within the time of the sixth king.

The whore (apostate church) will continue until the end of the world when she is judged. John is viewing this vision in the time frame of wounded Rome, when The United States is dominant, because it is the period of the judgment, and the angel was sent to him to show him the judgment of the whore.

When the wound is healed the judgment of the living begins as the mark of the beast is brought upon the world. This will establish the beginning of the time of the seventh king.

The judgment of the whore must coincide with the judgment at the end of the world. This is when the kingdom is taken away

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from its previous rulers and returned to God. Satan�s false world rule is defeated and God sets up His everlasting kingdom.

Today the judgment is taking place. It began on October 22, 1844 at the end of the 2300 year prophecy, the cleansing of the sanctuary.6 At present the dead are being judged.7 It reaches its climax with the judgment for the living when all receive either the seal of God8 or the mark of the beast.

The seventh king, “not yet come,” will come when the deadly wound is completely healed and the papacy is returned to its previous state of world-domination. This happens when the ten kings give their power to the beast. (Explained later in this chapter.)

SEVEN KINGS

��� Babylon BC 605 - BC 539 �� � Medo-Persia BC 539 - BC 331 ����� Greece BC 331 - BC 168 �� Pagan Rome BC 168 - AD 476 ��� Papal Rome 538 - 1798 �� The United States 1798 - Today ���� Healed Papal Rome ?? ������� Satan Personates Christ ??

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The Eighth King

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” Revelation 17:11.

Here is an eighth king. Why an eighth king? There are only

seven heads, not eight. This eighth king must be some power that is similar in some way to the others to be called the eighth king. Yet this eighth king is different enough not to be listed with the other seven heads.

This fits Satan perfectly. He is not a pope, a religion or a church. Yet he takes over after the seventh king. After the power of the Papacy is fully restored, the pope again will be in complete control. He, the seventh king, will be in charge of the world under a new world order.

How will Satan take over? You can be sure he will not announce himself as Satan. If he did, everyone would know and refuse to follow or worship him, but Satan will not expose him-self. Instead, he will make his appearance imitating Christ and gaining control of the New World Order.9

The popes for centuries have said they are on this earth in place of Christ and are the rightful leaders of the church. Satan will simply take over the position as “leader of the church.” This will make him the eighth king. It will be an overwhelming deception. Only those who know the Bible and have allowed God to lead them will know the truth. If possible, he will deceive the “very elect,” the chosen people of God.10 But they will not be deceived by a counterfeit. They study the Word of God and know what is the true.

Ten Horns - Ten Kings

“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

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“These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Revelation 17:12,13.

The interpretation of the ten kings (horns) presents us with a

problem. That is: until these ten “kings” come on the scene, it makes it difficult to say without a doubt who they are.

In the past some Bible students have said these ten kings are ten kingdoms of Europe. That is, the same ten kings as the ten horns of the terrible beast in Daniel chapter seven, and the same ten kings as the ten toes of the image of Daniel chapter two. Recent events have begun to make many think that these ten kings take on a wider world view, not only the European scene. It is entirely possible for the world to be divided into ten areas ruled by a representative of the members of each area. These would be like kingdoms with one leader (king).

Contrary to what some have long believed, Europe and the European Community may not be all the kings, but only one of ten economic-political areas. The United States, Canada and Mexico have recently signed such a economic/ political cooperative agreement (NAFTA). They have created an economic cooperation zone. This economic cooperation is necessary to enforce the “buy or sell” restriction worldwide.

South Korea and China have recently signed agreements that might be the start of another. The Soviet Union has changed much in recent years, but is called the Community of Independent States (CIS) and is functioning in a similar way. Some countries of South America have formed a partnership called MERCOR.

These days there are many articles about Japan taking a greater part in Asian affairs. We might expect Japan to join and probably lead in a similar Asian cooperative Asian Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC). In any case, the world is quickly coming together creating ties that are forming the world into “economic interdependence,” a term used by The New World Order.

If this is the correct interpretation of the ten kings, then we can expect these ten economic/ political unions to give their power to the beast for a short time.11 At this time the wound of the Papacy will be completely healed as it returns to world domination and

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control. All of this would go under what former President Bush and many others have named the “New World Order” with the United States providing the muscle. The Ten Kings Are Losers

These ten worldly powers receive their strength at the time the reign of the beast regains its full strength. The ten (10) act as a coalition to enforce the eighth king's (Satan) demands. As stated in the following verse, they “make war with the Lamb . . . [Christ with His �chosen and faithful�]” Their fate is that of the loser:

“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen and faithful.” Revelation 17:14.

Ten Kings Destroy the Whore

The ten kingdoms at first join hands with the Papal “church” with Satan (beast) as its head. The entire world stands behind Satan enforcing Rome's desires believing her ways are the way to truth and prosperity. They seem to unknowingly “make war with the Lamb.” The New World Order is their hope, but they have been deceived.

Eventually they discover their spiritual blindness and turn their hatred toward the power they were formerly in support of. In the end they bring about her destruction:

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”Revelation 17:16,17.

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The Woman Is a City

“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:18.

In John's time and for most of the centuries since, it was the

city of Rome which ruled over the kings of the earth. Pagan Rome changed into Papal Rome is now in a recovery state and gaining strength every passing day. How soon will it be until the wound is completely healed? How soon will Rome again be in charge of the world? When will the pope rule through the New World Order? To know should be a constant concern.

The Book of Daniel tells us of God's judgment. The name Daniel means “God is Judge.” Satan is setting the ground work for a false judgment. He has his own laws and his own test. It is the mark of the beast. Those who pass his test will continue to “buy and sell.” Those that fail, are left to his wrath.

This final test is also God's final judgment. His laws are the ten commandments that most people of the world have replaced by their own laws reasoned out with their finite minds. God's people will refuse the mark of the beast. Instead, they receive the seal of God.

As it was with enemies of Daniel when he was cast into the lion's den, the ten kings at first seem to be winners, but in the end will be eternally lost. Why? “. . . because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” II Thessalonians 2:10.

What can we expect in the near future? What do we need to watch out for? How soon will all this come? How do we receive the love of the truth and be saved? 1. Revelation 1:8. 2. NOTE: This interpretation stands on the belief that John The Revelator was looking at this vision and saw that five had fallen at the time of the judgment.

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The judgment includes the “whore” riding on the beast. The evidence for this point in time can be found in the beginning of this chapter where the angel told John, “I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” Revelation 17:1 We have studied that the judgment is the same event as the cleansing of the sanctuary. This began in 1844. The judgment began for the dead in 1844. The living are judged at the time of the mark of the beast. All those belonging to the whore receive the mark of the beast. God's people receive the seal of God. 3. Revelation 13;3, 12. 4. Revelation 17:1. 5. Revelation 17:5. 6. It is beyond the scope of this book to go into much detail on this subject. See The Great Controversy for a more complete explanation. 7. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12. 8. Revelation 7:2. 9. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” II Corinthians 11:14. 10. Matthew 24:24. 11. Revelation 17:12,13.

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n Hitler's Germany the people believed they were a superior race. They taught that it was moral and indeed necessary to eliminate the Jews. Believing they possessed superior powers

of reason they believed they could determine for all what was truth and right. Hitler was the head and therefore the final authority over right and wrong. Those that opposed him were eliminated.

Can such a thing ever happen again? Leonard Peikoff in his book Ominous Parallels explains the philosophy behind Nazism, its early years, and how The United States of America today closely resembles the rise of the Third Reich, Hitler's Germany. He sums it up in this way:

“The crisis is the fact that our country, the United States of America--the freest, the most productive, and the most moral country in the world--is now moving in Hitler's direction. “America is moving toward a Nazi form of totalitarianism. It has been doing this for decades; It has been doing so gradually, by default, and for the most part unknowingly, but it is doing so systematically and without significant opposition. In every cultural area--from science and education to art and religion to politics and economics--the trend is now unmistakable.” Leonard Peikoff, The Ominous Parallels, p.21.

This might be extreme. If true, it is certainly shocking. Yet the

Bible tells us there will be a world government which causes all to

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receive a mark. It reveals that the Roman Catholic Church will be restored to its former state. The Roman church is totalitarian.

Totalitarianism

It is not hard to spot a totalitarian government. It takes control of everyone from the cradle to the grave. It heaps on the private citizen an abundance of laws that cannot possibly all be kept. Taxation is high in order to sustain its large bureaucracy. Its citizens believe the government should take care of them in time of severe need. The government believes the people belong to them, and it is controlled by only a few.

The Roman Catholic Church was the ruler of the world for centuries. The pope was its head and final authority. The Papacy was a totalitarian form of rule. Everything and every-body were under the control of the pope extending from the cardinals down to the bishops and priests. All lands and people were the property of the church.

It ruled with a strong arm once, and it plans to do so again. Very few dared to oppose its leader or its teachings then, and it will be dangerous to do so when it regains power. Those who do will be eliminated.

Today the Reformation is being reversed. Today we are headed back toward Rome. Today we see the deadly wound is quickly being healed. Today the pope is traveling around the world even to what was once mostly Protestant America. The whole world is following after him. Will the past be repeated?

Natural Law

Although he may not have used the terms, Hitler built his doctrines on the foundation of natural law. In natural law one can discover what is truth by observation and reason. In natural law truth is in nature and in man. Man decides truth by himself and for himself. In Natural Law there is no outside absolute law.

On the other hand, according to Protestantism, truth comes from God through His revealed Word, the Bible. God has

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absolutes which are called the Ten Commandments. The Roman Catholic Church is also founded on natural law. It

teaches that man through the power of reason can decide truth. Therefore, the Bible is not essential to the Roman Church. According to natural law, the Bible is subject to the church, and only the church can properly interpret it. Believing so, they kept it from the people for centuries. Those who read it were subject to death.

The Roman Church claims it can decide truth.1 For Catholics the pope is the ultimate authority. Millions have lost their lives trying to go against this self proclaimed authority. Could it be that some day those who oppose the Roman Catholic Church will again be eliminated? We know the death penalty will be invoked for those who fail to receive the mark of the beast. Two New World Orders

By now it should be clear that there are two world wide agendas trying to gain complete control of the minds of men. One is that of the little horn of Daniel, the beast of Revelation, the Antichrist of II Thessalonians. This one is the ultimate power behind The New World Order. It is a temporal kingdom with an earthly dominion and based on this earth.

The other agenda is set up by God as recorded for us in Daniel chapter two. It is an everlasting kingdom that will never be replaced by another. It is a kingdom which is presently based in heaven, “not of this world.”2

These two agendas contending for world control in some ways are similar and in some ways different. Both are religious with the head claiming to be God. Both claim to bring peace to the earth, but one is false, dangerous and deceptive. Those who follow the false New World Order will probably not know where they are headed until it is too late.

The temporal world-based New World Order will be the larger group by far. Most people of the world will follow the beast after its deadly wound is healed.3

The New World Order will have as its authority the authority

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of a man. The false church sets aside God's eternal laws and claims that it alone has the right to make and change laws.4 Persecuted by Secular Force

The New World Order will use secular force to enforce its own self-made doctrines. Death, torture, starvation; anything is acceptable. The end justifies the means. Anyone acting contrary to the officially accepted majority will be lawfully persecuted in the name of God. “Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”5 Rule by Natural Law

Rule will be by Catholic natural law rather than by the laws of God. Human reason will prevail over what God has revealed in His written Word. Church leaders will claim the right to interpret all laws and decide what is truth. This is contrary to the Protestant Reformation and the claims of the Bible that all can and must know for themselves what is truth. United Under the Mark of the Beast

All religions of the world will unite and agree on one important universal doctrine, the mark of the beast. Only a small group will refuse to unite under this false banner. The true and faithful will refuse to receive the mark. These will be called bigots, troublemakers, and faultfinders. But they will receive the seal of God. In the end they will live in God's everlasting kingdom. Religious Freedom for Most

Most people will not believe they are experiencing any loss of religious freedom, because they will unite under the false banner, the mark of the beast. Being ignorant of the true Bible teaching, not recognizing the real hundred dollar bill, they will accept the imitation. They will find it hard to believe that this one issue is so

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important to such a small group of people. The meaning of the Constitution of the United States will be

reinterpreted to give authority to the persecution of the small group that remain faithful to God. The vast majority will not see that this is a threat to them. They will willingly receive the change as a solution to the world's problems.

Cultism Sets the Stage

The stage is now being set by the loss of freedom due to the reaction to fanatical, cultist groups. There will be more and more dissatisfaction with these groups. The media will play it up and most people will clamor to destroy these mostly obvious fanatics. Then the true and faithful will come to the front by refusing the mark of the beast. They will be misrepresented and made to look just like another fanatic group. Persecution and death will result to some. Ruled by Emotion

Believers in the earth-based New World Order follow their emotions rather than Bible revelation. People will believe they are right because they feel good about themselves. The musical experiences they go through will gain a hypnotic control over them. Their belief is based on feeling first rather than the revealed Word of God. Music will be used to condition and then control the minds. It was so when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were required to worship the golden image on the plain of Dura. On the other hand, the true and faithful will calmly trust in the promises of God as written in His Word. They may or may not have emotional experiences, but their success will be the result of trust in the Word of God, not in feeling. A Different Order of Events

In order for Satan to deceive and mislead souls into destruction, he must set up the false before the true. Therefore, the

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earth-based New World Order will come before God's everlasting kingdom is set up. Satan will claim the kingdom of God has been established. But Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world.6

Believers will say their New World Order is the will of God. A false judgment will be set up. All those who fail to accept the status quo, the mark of the beast, will be judged worthy of death. Some will possibly be executed.

The chain of events for God's everlasting kingdom will begin with the same judgment. The final determining factor will be the mark of the beast or the seal of God. The New World Order will judge everyone based on being “moral” and acceptable citizens in their earthly-based New World Order. Their criterion is the acceptance of the mark of the beast.

God will judge everyone based on being moral and acceptable citizens of heaven based on Bible truth. His people will receive the seal of God. Those who refuse the mark and accept the seal will be judged worthy of eternal life in God's everlasting kingdom which is now based in heaven.

After the judgment is finished and all cases have been decided, the time of trouble7 comes which in turn is followed by the second coming of Christ. Christ will then take His people to heaven where He will set up His everlasting kingdom.8 The False Uses a Good Cause

The false religious groups will unite under good causes. To the eyes of humankind, as they use their reasoning powers, it will look as though the false is the true. Black will look white and white black. Evil will be called good and good will be called evil. These false believers are trusting only in their ability to reason. They reject revelation from God, the Word of God.9

The false will be mixed with much of the true. This is the only way to deceive. No matter what kind of humanitarian activities engaged in, no matter how loving and caring the movement seems to be, error mixed with truth is very dangerous. One author puts it this way:

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“. . .But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pages 587,588.

What is the mark of the beast? 1. “We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks EX CATHEDRA, that is, when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed for defining doctrine regarding faith or morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church.”--Ibid, chap. 4, pp.270, 271. 2. John 18:36. 3. Revelation 13:3. 4. Daniel 7:25. 5. John 16:2. 6. John 18:36. 7. See Daniel 12:1.

8. I Thessalonians 4:16. 9. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.

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. . . And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ����������������������� ��������������������� �������������������������������������� ������������������� ������ ���������������� �������� � ��� ���� ��� ������� � ���� �������������� . . .And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. . . ������������������ ��������� ������� � �������������� ������� ������������������������ ���������������������������� �������������������������� . . .And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. . . And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21.

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The Seal of God

ou have probably seen or attended a sports event where someone held up a sign which read, “JOHN 3:3.” In that verse Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one

is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (NKJV) We must be born again. We might believe that all that is written in this book is true, but unless we have a connection with the God of heaven, we will surely receive the mark of the beast.

Nebuchadnezzar knew what God could do and praised Him for it. But he became like an animal just seconds after proudly claiming he had created Babylon. King Belshazzar knew what God could do, but drank from the sacred vessels from the house of God. He knew, but he would not follow. He was struck down in his prime.

We must be born again. We must do more than know about God intellectually. We need to know Him personally in our everyday experience. We are not just to reject the mark of the beast, we must accept the seal of God.

“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:2,3.

The seal of God is the greatest gift God can give to us. It

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means that we have been accepted by God and have eternal life. With eternal life we have everything else as well. It is the result of the judgment, the cleansing of the sanctuary.

God's people receive the seal. The deceived of Satan receive the mark of the beast. These two are contrasted in Revelation. The seal is in our foreheads. The mark of the beast is in the forehead and/ or in the hand. The seal is a ticket to eternal life. The mark is a condemnation leading to the reception of the seven last plagues and eternal loss, the second death.1

What Is a Seal?

The seal of the President of the United States declares his title (The President) and his dominion (The United States). Originally a seal was placed on a document to keep it from being changed or tampered with. It was also used to show approval of the contents. Not only a document but a box containing something valuable could be sealed. The Bible uses a seal to show how God�s people will be sealed with His approval never to be defiled again by the enemies of God. God�s seal is an eternal stamp on the character of man. It cannot be changed.

His Power Restored

The beast's power will be completely restored. In opposition to God�s seal, the mark of the beast will come. It will be mixed with other good things, but it is poison just the same. It will be the one unifying practice of worship that can unite all the religions of the world. The Roman Catholic Church tells us what her mark is:

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of the Sabbath to Sunday] was her act. It could not have been otherwise, as none in those days would have dreamed of doing anything in matters spiritual and ecclesiastical and religious without her. And THE ACT IS A MARK of ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.” James Cardinal Gibbons, in a letter to J.F. Snyder of Bloomington, Illinois,

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dated November 11, 1895, and signed by H.F. Thomas, Chancellor for the Cardinal. (Emphasis supplied).

The Roman Catholic Church has much more to say about the

change of the day from Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday:

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles . . . From beginning to end of scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.”Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900.

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, the Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Bradley,(Catholic) in an address, reported in The Elizabeth, N.J. “News” of March 18, 1903.

“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the [Catholic] Church has power to institute festivals of precept [to command holy days]?” “Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her: She could not have substituted the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scripture authority.” Stephan Keenan, “A Doctrinal Cate-chism,”(Catholic); p. 176.

“Protestants . . . accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change . . . But the Protestants mind does not seem to realize that in accepting the Bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.”, Our Sunday Visitor, (Catholic); February 5, 1950.

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A Prediction

At present the liberal left in America and many developed countries around the world are at war with conservative groups often called the religious right. The left has been winning, but there will be reversal. Indeed it has already begun in America with the elections of 1994. The religious right, influenced greatly by The Christian Coalition, is crying for a return to God. They are becoming more and more involved in politics, believing it is necessary in order to stop the spread of crime and natural disasters.

Christians and all Americans should be interested in what happens in the political arena, but what comes out of this movement will be a switch so far to the right that it will trample on the rights of conscience and take religious freedom from the true people of God. The existence of this idea is not new. It was predicted over one hundred years ago in a book called The Great Controversy. In it the writer states:

�Yet this very class [leaders in the Christian world] put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform.� The Great Controversy, P. 587.

There has been a movement for more than a hundred years to

make Sunday as a national day of worship in the United States. It is the one unifying act of worship that can unify the world under one banner. It is already a work-free day in most countries of the

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world. The time will come when this movement will succeed. The

pope as head of the New World Order and with the United States leading the way, will attempt to unite all under a banner of his own making, Sunday. When this happens, God's true and faithful people will not go along with it. It will seem to most the right thing to do. It will likely be coupled with something good, but it is poison mixed with wholesome food.

God's true people will refuse to go along with this Sunday law and will eventually be subjected to the death decree. But they will have the seal of God.2 Those who knowingly go along with Sunday observance will have the mark of the beast.

In Your Hand and In Your Forehead

The mark of the beast can be received either in the hand or forehead or both.3 However, the seal of God is only in the forehead.4 Why? In the forehead is where we make intellectual and moral decisions. In the hand is what we do. The hand is where our intellectual and moral decisions are carried out. The Mark in Our Foreheads

If a person knows it is wrong to steal and would if he had the chance, he is a thief. Even though he never steals, he is still guilty in God's eyes. He is a thief in his forehead, but not in his hand. He wants to do it, but he doesn�t. If we believe error and morally choose error, we receive the mark in our forehead. The mark or seal in our foreheads indicates what we have intellectually and morally chosen to do. The Mark in Our Hands

If we have the chance to steal and do so, we are a thief in practice. Our hands have committed a crime, a sin. It matters not whether we know it is wrong. In the same way, if we participate in a false system of worship even through ignorance, we will receive the mark of the beast in our hands.

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It is also possible to believe the truth but not obey it. In this case, we do not receive the mark in our foreheads but receive it only in our hands. We can know the truth and still receive the mark of the beast.5 The Seal in Our Foreheads

We can receive the seal of God only in our foreheads. This is because if we have intellectually and morally chosen to follow the truth, with the power of God working within us we will also obey it. There is no way to receive the seal intellectually and morally in our forehead without also obeying it in our works, our hands.

Both the mark of the beast and the seal of God are ultimately conditions of character. But there is a form of worship that man chooses to represent his choice of characters. The seal of God is represented by a seal that shows who God is and His dominion. It is the Sabbath. In the Sabbath commandment we read that God is the creator, which is His title. He is creator of the heavens and the earth, which is His dominion. The Third Angel�s Message which deals with the mark of the beast is preceded by the first and second angels. The first angel declares:

. . .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. Revelation 14:6-7

The judgment here is coupled with the worship of the Creator

who made the world in six days and rested on the Sabbath day to commemorate His perfect creation. The Sabbath commandment shows who God is, the Creator.

On the other hand, Satan has set up his false seal which is called a mark. It shows him to be the sun god. With the observance of Sunday he tries to make man his dominion. In these last days at the close of history, all must choose one or the other.

There are some who will accept the truth in their foreheads

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after reading truth presented by God. Yet they only believe but not obey. No matter how much we believe, we must also obey. Before we can obey, we must be born again. John 3:3.

Who Will Be Saved?

Most people will declare they will live in heaven forever after they die. They have never robbed a bank or shot anyone. They are basically good people. Therefore, they feel they are worthy. The Bible tells us we are worse than we think we are:

“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12.

“But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousness [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6.

To make the right choice when the mark of the beast is

presented to us, “Ye must be born again.”6

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God . . . Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:3,7.

What happens when someone is born again?

“Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians, 5:17.

What must we do to be born again?

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“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans, 10:9.

Jesus said concerning the commandments:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17,18.

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” I John 5:2.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his command-ments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 5:3.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.

Speaking of the church on earth in the very last days, John in

Revelation talked about how angry Satan will be at God's true church because they keep God's commandments. He said:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman [God's true church], and went to make war with the remnant [last remaining] of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

Which side will you be on? Will you stand with the New

World Order or with God's everlasting kingdom? Will you receive the mark of the beast7 or will you accept the seal of God? YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

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1. Revelation 2:11; 20:14; 20:6; 21:8. 2. Revelation 7:2-4, 14:1. 3. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand,” Revelation, 14:9. 4. “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:2,3. 5. “(For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Romans 2:13. 6. John 3:3,3:7. 7. No one has the mark of the beast yet. It will be presented first in a National Sunday Law in the United States followed by similar laws in the other countries. It will not become the mark until this mark of the Papacy is clearly set before the people.

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God is Love. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. "He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [as] Savior of the world. "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,

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because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. " We love Him because He first loved us. " If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God [must] love his brother also." I John 4:7-21 (NKJV) "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5:1-5. (NKJV)

GOD IS LOVE

A warning is an act of love. This book is to inform of things to come.