Daniel, the Jewish exile, who was a devout, just, and G-d fearing man, prayed and asked the G-d of Israel to reveal this dream of the king unto himself. So G-d showed mercy on Daniel and his friends and revealed the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel 2:1-19
1 �And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the G-d of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the G-d of heaven.�
This is an amazing story already; here is a humble Jewish Wiseman who is about to be slain because of pagan sorcerers who could not please the king of Babylon. What does he do? He gets his friends together and they cry unto the G-d of heaven for mercies; and guess what? G-d answers their prayer and reveals the dream to Daniel. This is the beginning of Daniel�s meteoric rise in the Babylonian kingdom. The dreams and visions we shall look at, in the life of this humble servant of G-d, will show us the future of our world.
The first dream:
Daniel 2:24-47
24 �Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 But there is a G-d in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the G-d of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them All. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the G-d of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great G-d hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your G-d is a G-d of G-ds, and a
L-rd of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.�
Now the first thing to be noticed here is that all of the kingdoms are demolished at the same time by the �rock� cut out without hands. So the final kingdom to rule the world will include the gold, (Babylon), the silver kingdom, which was the breast and arms and inferior to Babylon. Now the breast and arms also signifies that this kingdom will be a two nation confederacy that extends from the head, (neck), of Babylon. The next kingdom after this is the belly and thighs of brass. This represents the third kingdom that will also start out as one kingdom but will evolve into the two thighs of brass, Zechariah pictures these thighs of brass as two �mountains� of brass.
A notable thing is said about the third kingdom here: �it shall bear rule over all the earth.� This has never happened before! Can anyone say that the Romans ruled over the American Indians? What about the great civilization of the Chinese? Did the Greeks ever rule over all the earth? Later we are told that the Grecian Empire is the third, yet they never ruled all of the earth. Surely Alexander knew about the Chinese, but never did he venture into the heart of China.
The fourth and last kingdom is an extension of the two thighs, its two legs are connected to the two thighs, it is said to be a kingdom of iron. Iron is the least expensive metal but also the hardest. The legs, feet, and ten toes, are spoken of as if they were all the same kingdom, and they are an extension of the third kingdom in its final form. Daniel tells the king that this last kingdom will be divided, and that the iron mixed with miry clay means that it will be �partly strong and partly broken.�
�They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.� This tells us that this last kingdom will be plagued by demonic possession. It is likely that fallen angels will indwell the rulers in this kingdom. We shall learn later of the three kingdoms to come after Babylon, for Daniel tells us their names: Medo-Persia, Greece, and the final world empire that many say is the revived Roman Empire. However; it cannot be the Roman Empire that will rule in the final stage of history, the Grecian third empire has not yet ruled the entire earth. As we shall see later on, the fulfillment of this dominion is yet future, and it will be the �king of the north� who will reacquire this northern kingdom in the days to come. In the latter time of the kingdoms of the north and south will Antichrist arise, we shall soon find out who the kings of the north and south are to be.
So the kingdoms that will be crushed when Christ the �stone� returns will be the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, and the Grecian empire, all combined as one whole. They will have ten kings over them, (ten toes here, ten horns in the book of the Revelation). Now these three kingdoms all ruled basically the same area, and at one time or another had their thrones in the city of Babylon. This cannot be said about the Roman Empire. The final empire to rule the world will not be from Europe, it will be Middle Eastern and Moslem. The ancient territory of the Assyrian Empire will be the throne of the Antichrist, although he will rule the entire world. This is the first in a long lasting line of departures from what the modern shepherds have led us to believe; there will be many more places in the book of Daniel where the shepherds have misled the sheep. We now have the foundation to which the book of Daniel relies upon.
The next dream Nebuchadnezzar has is in Dan. Ch.4:
Daniel 4:4-37
4 �I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.�
I will not go over the entire dream; it is self-explanatory for the most part, I mean on a surface level. If, however, you look a little deeper there are some underlying themes that need to be explored. The first is the tree that is cut down but its stump left in the ground. It signified what would happen to Nebuchadnezzar, but what about his kingdom? Could it not also signify his kingdom? There are many other references in scripture that do just that: The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, etc. If this were true in this case then we would expect to see Babylon come back, for the stump left in the ground signified that Nebuchadnezzar also would come back into his kingdom. Now we are told an interesting thing about the stump. It is bound by a band of iron and brass. This is the second time the iron and brass are mentioned together.
The next theme is the amount of time Nebuchadnezzar was to be driven out. �Seven times shall pass over thee,� the interpretation is seven years, however, as we shall see later that when Daniel mentions �a time� or �times,� it represents a 360 day prophetic year. This is also true in the book of the Revelation. So then, seven years in this case was 2520 days, which were to pass over the king before he would be restored to his former glory in his kingdom. What then of the kingdom of Babylon? We know that all of the prophecies of the destruction of Babylon were not completely fulfilled in the past. Is Babylon to be revived? It already has thanks to Saddam Hussein! If we count from 536 BC, when Babylon was �cut down� but not destroyed, 2520 years into the future, we come to 1985 AD (no year zero). Saddam Hussein had rebuilt the walls of Babylon. He held his grand opening for the city in 1988! This city will soon become the seat of world power, along with several other Middle Eastern cities. It will be part of Antichrist�s kingdom. Its stump was left in the ground and the band of Greece, (iron and brass), was placed on it to keep it in check until the proper time, when it will be bought into the Greco-Assyrian-Babylonian kingdom. This kingdom will bear rule over the entire earth in the coming days of tribulation.
In Daniel seven, Daniel receives the vision of the four great empires. They all came up from the sea, diverse from one another. The first was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third was like a leopard with four wings on its back. This beast also had four heads, (Greece), and �dominion was given to it.� Once again we have the third beast being singled out here, by saying that dominion was given to it. It�s similar to saying it will bear rule over the entire earth, as in Dan. 2:39, the brass and iron kingdom of Greece. After this Daniel saw a fourth beast �dreadful and terrible,� with great iron teeth, and �ten horns� of power. Then a little horn comes up after them and subdues three of the ten original horns. The little horn is, of course, the son of perdition, the man of sin, the Antichrist. Then the Ancient of Days sits in his Throne and the little horn is slain and his body given to the flame. And one like the Son of Man comes, (Jesus), and he is given the everlasting dominion.
At this point, as if we haven�t yet understood, Daniel gives another clue. He wished to know more about the fourth beast, which had teeth of iron and nails of brass. There is the iron and the brass mentioned together again! The brass we know for sure was Greece, so what is this telling us? The iron kingdom of the legs and feet was an extension of the Grecian empire, and this was not Rome! The two legs and feet were the kings of the north and south, Seleucas and Ptolemy and their seed, this fourth empire, or king, �stamped the residue with his feet,� an obvious reference to the vision of the great image in its final form. This horn made war with the saints and prevailed. He spoke great words against the Most High, and his look was more stout than his fellows. Here in Dan.7: 23, we are told, �the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.� Was this fourth kingdom the Romans? Will it be a revived Roman Empire? How could that interpretation be correct when the Grecian king of the north still hasn�t ruled the entire earth? No, the Romans just don�t fit the equation here, this fourth kingdom will be the first to actually bear rule over the entire earth, and it will be a Middle Eastern power that does not appear to be Democratic. It will be a Moslem empire, their goal to conquer the world will finally be realized, and oil will have much to do with it. Oil will allow this empire to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and they will not hesitate to use them on the west. This will cause an unimaginable catastrophe, but that is for a later discussion. See: "Do the Horsemen Yet Ride" for a full explanation of Daniel 7.
Daniel eight includes the first literal day prophecy, the 2300 days, (evening-mornings). The vision opens with Daniel at the palace in Shushan in the province of Elam by the river Ulai. This is a historically documented place; archaeologists have excavated it. This palace was the seat of power in the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, who overtook the Babylonian kingdom. It was an eastern province of Babylon on the other side of the Tigris River. Daniel then sees a ram with two horns; the higher one came up last. This ram did according to his will and no beast could withstand him until �an he-goat� came from the west. The goat had a notable horn between his eyes, and came against the ram and broke his two horns. After this, when the goat was become strong, the great horn was broken, �and for it, came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven,� (v.8). In verse 9 a �little horn� arises out of the four notable ones. And it �waxed great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land,� (Israel). This is the Antichrist, his kingdom will be south of Israel, east of Israel, north of Israel because he is the king of the north, and finally in Israel.
v.10) �And it waxed great, against the host of heaven; and it cast of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped on them.�
The host and the stars, we learn in the book of the Revelation, are angels that Satan caused to fall from heaven. Satan himself will possess the Antichrist.
v.11) �Yea, he magnified even against the Prince of the host, and by him the daily was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.�
It is quite important that we understand what this passage is telling us; a wrong interpretation of this passage can damage our understanding of other important prophetic passages. Jesus Christ is the Prince of the host, the little horn is the Christ imposter, and is possessed by Satan. The little horn magnifies himself against Christ, the Prince of the host. Satan did this when he entered Judas to betray our L-rd, Satan did this when he put Christ on the cross and crucified our L-rd, and what was the result? �By him the daily was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.� By the Prince of the host was the daily taken away! It can only be this way, not as the shepherds have misled us for so long, saying that the Antichrist would take away the daily sacrifice. If it were the man of sin who took away the daily, then this verse would not make any sense. Take �him� and �he� out of these verses and replace them with the word Antichrist and you�ll see what I mean. Yea, Antichrist magnified even against the Prince of the host, and by Antichrist the daily was taken away. Sounds good so far, right? But look what happens to the last part of the verse!! And the place of Antichrist�s sanctuary was cast down. This cannot be the true interpretation. Satan may have sanctuaries, (plural), as in synagogues and churches, but this verse speaks of G-d�s sanctuary. So here is how the verse should be understood, �Yea, Antichrist magnified even against the Prince of the host, and by the Prince of the host the daily was taken away, and the place of the Prince of the host�s sanctuary was cast down.�
Now to the next verse, v.12) �and an host was given against the daily by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground: and it practiced and prospered.� This verse has a past and future fulfillment, a host, (army), is given, (by G-d), against the daily. Why? Because of transgression, which means sin of course. The past fulfillment was in 70AD when Syrian legions, (yes under the command of Vespasianus the Roman), accomplished the destruction of the temple. Read Josephus� account of this war, there were many Syrian, (Seleucid,) soldiers involved, even another Antiochus Epiphanes! So then, what was the sin that caused G-d to allow a �host� against the daily? The Jews rejected their Messiah, and he became the final sacrifice. His blood was shed for the sins of all mankind. He is the true sacrificial lamb, without spot or blemish. In him only, can we gain salvation, redemption, and atonement for our sins.
Now I am not saying the Jews as a whole rejected Christ, many were saved, but the spiritual leaders rejected him, so he was rejected on a national level. And because the spiritual leaders rejected him, they continued to sacrifice animals for the remission of sins. Now since Christ became the final sacrifice for the remission of sins and for atonement, animal sacrifices for the remission of sins would be abominable to G-d! G-d chose this people to bring his truth to the world, he provided them with feasts and laws that were a shadow of his truth to come. One of those truths was animal sacrifice because innocent blood must be shed for the remission of sin. Finally, the time comes and G-d sends his only Son to be the fulfillment of the symbol of animal sacrifice, and what happens? G-d�s chosen people decide they�re going to continue to trust in animal sacrifices for their salvation! Would this not be an abomination to G-d, a transgression of desolation? Jesus warned them about this in Matt. 22:1-10,
v.1) �And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
v.2) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
v.3) And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding; and they would not come.
v.4) Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
v.5) But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.
v.6) And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
v.7) But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city.
v.8) Then said he unto his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden, were not worthy. v.9) Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
v.10) So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.�
Is this not exactly what happened? This is why G-d has allowed �an host� to be given against the daily, and the host will continue to prevent the daily until Christ returns. Don�t get too angry with me just yet, there is an abomination of desolation that the Antichrist will commit, but we aren�t that far along yet.
Now back to Dan. 8,
v.13) �Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain which spake, how long the vision�. the daily�. and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
v.14) and he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.�
Now the Hebrew actually says that the sanctuary will be justified, which the king James here translates as cleansed. �Justified� is a much better translation. The first question is �how long the vision?� Included in this vision are the rise of the Antichrist, a host being given against the daily, and the sanctuary finally being justified. So then, when would a sanctuary be justified in Jerusalem? When the Jews accept Jesus Christ the Messiah, for only then will they understand. If there are to be animal sacrifices in the millennial temple, they will be in remembrance of what Christ has done for all of us, not for the remission of sins.
The interpretation given here in Daniel 8 tells nothing of a temple being built, but does say that the Antichrist will destroy the mighty and the holy people. �Know ye not that your body is the temple of G-d, a temple made without hands?� And now the interpretation,
v. 19) �and he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
v.20) The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
v.21) and the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
v.22) Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
v.23) And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
v.24) And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and destroy the mighty and the holy people.
v.25) And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand: and he shall magnify in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
v.26) And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.�
It becomes much clearer as we go along that the Antichrist is not Roman, His kingdom clearly has Grecian origins. Another thing that seems perfectly clear here is that the 2300-day prophecy begins when the man of sin stands up, when the transgressors are come to the full, at the latter time of the kingdoms of Alexander�s successors. We know from Rev. 13 that the Antichrist will reign, in the power of Satan, for 42 months (1260 days), but his career will be longer. It will begin with the 2300-day prophecy several years before he rules the earth. Our L-rd called on us to be watchful so that that day does not overtake us. We will see ten kings arise in the Middle East, then the little horn ruler will arise after them, and subdue three of them, and he will come preaching peace.
We now arrive at Daniel chapter nine, a chapter most misunderstood in our time. The modern shepherds use this chapter to distort the truth, and bend G-d�s word to fit their dispensationalism, a precept of men.
Dan. 9:2) �In the first year of his reign, (Darius), I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the L-rd came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.�
Now if you read Jeremiah 25, you will be left asking this question: Can this prophecy possibly have been completely fulfilled? And the answer is obviously no! So then, has Jerusalem fulfilled its seventy years? Sadly the answer is no. Let us now read the prophecy of Jeremiah, 25:11-26,
v.11) �And this whole land shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
v.12) and it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the L-rd, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
v.13) And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
v.14) For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
v.15) For thus saith the L-rd G-d of Israel unto me; Take the wine-cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
v.16) And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
v.17) Then I took the cup at the L-rd�s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the L-rd had sent me:
v.18) Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as this day;
v.19) Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people,
v.20) and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
v.21) Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
v.22) and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea.
v.23) Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all the utmost corners.
v.24) And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,
v.25) and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,
v.26) and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.�
Sheshach is an acronym for Babylon!
Jer. 51:41) �How is Sheshach taken! And how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations.�
It is obvious that Jeremiah 25 has not been fully accomplished, so the seventy years cannot have been accomplished either. Notice verse 25, the Medes are destroyed before the final destruction of Babylon, a complete reversal of past history! Now what is key here is that verse 11 says the Jewish nation would �serve� the king of Babylon seventy years. Did Israel actually serve the full seventy years? The word of G-d has the answer! Nebuchadnezzar�s year of ascension to the throne was 607-606 BC. This we know by historical record, and are in agreement with the majority of scholars. The first year of his reign was fall 606-fall 605 BC.
2 kings 24:1 tells us that during the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar came to power, and that �Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.� This would have happened three years later then, in fall 603 BC. 2 Chronicles, 36:5 tells us that Jehoiakim reigned eleven years, and verse 6 tells us that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, carried him off to Babylon. This was late fall 600 BC, when Jehoiakim�s reign ended. Then, in verse 8, Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. He also did evil, and only reigned three months and ten days, (v.9).
v.10a) �And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon.�
To say that the year had expired, in the Jewish reckoning, meant that Nisan 1 had come. This month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar falls in Mar/Apr, and is the first month, when reckoning the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah. So if Jehoiachin was taken captive in Nisan of 599 BC, then the time from when his father rebelled, (fall 603BC), until spring of 599 BC, was three and a half years! Rather than �serving� the king of Babylon seventy years, they rebelled for three and one half! This led to the final captivity,
2 Kings 24:14 describes what happened at this time,
v.14) �And he, (Nebuchadnezzar,) carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen, and smiths, none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.�
So Israel served the king of Babylon from fall 606 BC to fall 603 BC (3 years), and from Nisan 599 BC, (spring), to fall 536 BC (63.5 years), for a total of 66.5 years! Three and a half years remain to be served. This will undoubtedly be the Great Tribulation. At the end of that period G-d will judge all nations at Armageddon. Then he will judge Babylon, and all the prophecies about Babylon will be fulfilled.
This is exactly what we read in the book of the Revelation! Rev.16: 19) �And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before G-d, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.�
Isaiah 14:3-26 describes this event,
v.3) �and it shall come to pass in that day that the L-rd shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve;
v.4) that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, how hath the oppressor ceased, the golden city ceased!
v.5) The L-rd hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
v.6) He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, none hindreth.
v.7) The whole earth is at rest, is quiet: they break forth into singing.
v.8) Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
v.9) Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, all the chief ones of the earth: it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
v.10) All they shall speak and say unto thee, art thou also become weak as we?
v.11) Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.
v.12) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
v.13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of G-d; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
v.14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
v.15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
v.16) They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms:
v.17) made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof: that opened not the house of his prisoners?
v.18) All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
v.19) But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
v.20) Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed
thy land, slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
v.21) Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
v.22) For I will rise up against them, saith the L-rd of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and the remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the L-rd.
v.23) I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the L-rd of hosts.
v.24) The L-rd of hosts hath sworn, saying, surely as I have thought, so it shall come to pass; and as I have purposed, shall it stand:
v.25) that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
v.26) This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.�
So Babylon will definitely be back! The king of Babylon will be Satan, and G-d also calls him the Assyrian. The ancient empire of Assyria will be the beginning of his kingdom, not Europe. What an amazing amount we have learned just from the words Daniel spoke in Dan.9: 2!
Now the 66.5 years that Israel served the king of Babylon is also important for other prophecies, namely Ezekiel Ch. 4.
Ezekiel 4:1-17
1. �Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
2. And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
3. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
4. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9. Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13. And the L-rd said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14. Then said I, Ah L-rd G-d! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
16. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
17. That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.�
According to this prophecy of Ezekiel, the nation, (divided in to Israel and Judah), was to be punished for their iniquity for 390 days plus 40 days; each day representing a year. This would then be a total of 430 years, the same amount of time they had served the Kings and Pharaohs of Egypt! So then what happened to the nation of the Jews? They served the king of Babylon 66.5 years, then G-d showed them mercy and reconciled them to their land, but ultimately they did not repent, nor did they ever again have a king over them from the house of David, (at least not yet: but they will).
So now; if we subtract the 66.5 years they have already served from the 430 years total, we have a total of 363.5 years �unserved.� It is like a suspended sentence, but G-d has warned what would happen if they refused to accept his correction:
Leviticus 26:6-46
6. �And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
8. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
9. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
10. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
11. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
12. And I will walk among you, and will be your G-d, and ye shall be my people.
13. I am the L-rd your G-d, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
14. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
15. And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16. I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
18. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
19. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:� (Here we have the heaven and earth brought together as the iron and the brass, the iron and brass again!)
20. �And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
21. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
22. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
23. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
24. Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
25. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
26. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
27. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28. Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
29. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
30. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
31. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
32. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
33. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
35. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
36. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
37. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
38. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41. And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
42. Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
43. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
44. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the L-rd their
G-d.
45. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their G-d: I am the L-rd.
46. These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the L-rd made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.�
Egypt is the key link to Ezekiel�s prophecy; for both concern 430 years. Notice also that G-d says here that �they shall lie down,� but in Ezekiel�s prophecy he is told to lie down in judgment against the nation! The most important lesson though, is that G-d promised to multiply their judgment SEVEN times if they would not be obedient! This G-d repeats four times so that they understand. What does this tell us about the prophecy of Ezekiel?
The nation of Israel served 66.5 of the 430 prophesied years of punishment, yet still did not repent completely. So then, the 363.5 years of the �withheld judgment� would be multiplied 7 times by G-d. This then is 2544.5 years; but may well be a prophecy given in 360-day �prophetic years.� Certainly in the time of Moses, when Leviticus was given to him by G-d, the solar year was 360 days. So if this be the case then 2544.5 x 360=916,020 days. To find the true length of time in our solar years divide 916,020 by 365.24235; this equals 2507.9786 years. Amazingly this is exactly the amount of time between fall 536BC, (the return of the Babylonian exiles under Ezra), and fall 1973AD! Now in this calculation six leap-year days are left out, they occur in the years 1600AD, 1200AD, 800AD, 400AD, 1AD-1BC, and 400BC. If we add these six days to the calculation we have this equation: October 6th 1973 (Yom Kippur war) = 1973.7638 or 1973+279 days, so then:
2507.9786
-1972.7638 (no year zero so it is 1972 instead of 1973 years)
= 535.2148 (.2148=79 days)
+ 6 leap-days
So then counting backwards when we get to 535.2148, it is actually fall of 536BC. Now 79 days into 536BC starting at and including December 31st is October 13th 536BC. When we add the missing 6 leap-days we come to October 7th 536BC! So the time-span of Ezekiel�s prophecy is from October 7th 536BC to October 6th 1973AD (The Yom Kippur War!)
Interestingly Ezra tells us what happened in 536BC in the fall:
Ezra 3:1-6
1 �And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the G-d of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of G-d.
3 And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the L-rd, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;
5 And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the L-rd that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the L-rd.
6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the L-rd. But the foundation of the temple of the L-rd was not yet laid.�
The Oct. 6th 1973 Yom Kippur war was the first war in which Israel actually lost territory, (not Israeli territory but occupied territory), after its rebirth in 1948! The fig-tree analogy of Matthew 24 comes into play here. We all know that Israel is referred to as G-d�s fig tree but this is quite amazing! The fig-tree shot forth its branches on May 14, 1948 but in Oct 1973 its branches became �tender.� The Yom Kippur war of Oct. 6th, 1973 resulted in Israel actually suffering some losses, although ultimately winning the war, and also resulted in the world�s first oil crisis, (Oct. 25 1973 OPEC oil embargo).
Matthew 24:32-34
32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
So if the generation that sees all of this is only 40 years, then we may only have until the year 2013 AD. Many other writers have shown that a generation in scripture is likely 40 years. I was only 9 years old when this first oil crisis took place and I remember it well, we are in the generation that will see the fulfillment of Christ�s return to set up his earthly kingdom.
Now as for the branch becoming tender and putting forth leaves, (this is a real kicker!): Type in "messianic" and "1973" in just about any web-search, and see if five to ten thousand different webpages don't pop up! It seems that not only did the June 67 war cause some Jews to think twice about Jesus Christ, but the 1973 Yom Kippur war caused an explosion of messianic congregations! Glory be to G-d!!