Hi friends. Springtime is here, with blooming trees, tulips, daffodils and wildflowers. Wyoming is beginning to warm up, and we’re enjoying long walks in the park these days.
My last post was challenging to fully understand, for it covered a lot of ground! I hope this next section will be much easier.
Things Past & Things To Come
(Part 2)
By Sheri Schofield
Quick review: Daniel had several visions. His dreams contained symbols. Animals in his visions described different times and events. But all his dreams were simply expanding on the dream King Nebuchadnezzar had in Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image with a gold head, silver chest and arms, brass torso and thighs, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay.
The head of gold represented the Babylonian kingdom in which Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel lived.
The chest and arms of silver representing the next kingdom which would rule the then-known world—the Medo Persian empire.
The torso and thighs of bronze represented the Greek Empire.
The legs of iron represented the Roman Empire, which extended into feet of iron mixed with clay, which represented the future kingdoms coming after the Romans that would somehow include parts of the Roman Empire.
Finally, a rock “torn out of a mountain” is hurled at the feet of the statue and destroys it completely. Afterward, the rock grows into a great mountain.
Much of Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled within 300 years. But there is a large part of the vision which has not yet happened—things we are beginning to see in our time.
Continuing Our Study of Daniel
Daniel became fearful and anxious when God showed him the fourth beast in the visions. In Daniel 7:15-18 we read this:
“I, Daniel, was troubled by all I had seen, and my visions terrified me,” Daniel 7:15 (New Living Translation).
Daniel asked God for an explanation of the fourth beast, which was truly frightening. In Daniel 7:7 he described it: “Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. And it had ten horns.” We have not seen the time of the “ten horns” yet. This beast was different from any of the other beasts
How was it different? It was much more violent. It crushed all who opposed it. Rome did that. The Romans were ruthless. It was the Romans who introduced crucifixion, one of the most tortuous deaths on earth. But also, after the Roman Empire failed, its influence continued into our times. The other kingdoms ended after their empires were conquered. So the fourth beast, also represented by the iron legs and feet of clay and iron, is still influencing the earth.
Remnants of the Roman Empire Today
Can you think of things which have lasted since the Roman Empire? Here are two:
1.The Roman Catholic Church. It was organized by the Emperor Constantine in 313 AD.
2.The Statue of Rome is the law governing the United Nations. Although it is not part of the ancient empire, it contains the idea of a continuing Roman Empire. The goal of the United Nations is to govern the entire planet, as Rome governed in ancient times.
We are now living in the times of the feet of iron and clay from Daniel’s prophecy.
Much of Daniel speaks of kings of different areas moving back and forth and forming alliances. These events did happen in the times following the fall of Babylon.
Things To Come – The Antichrist
Daniel 11:21 speaks of a “despicable man who is not in line for royal succession” who will take over the kingdom and many lands. “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, and put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration” Daniel 11:31.
This was done by Antiochus IV who ruled Syria from 175 BC to 164 BC. He slaughtered a female pig, put it on the altar, and spread its blood throughout the second Temple in Jerusalem which had been rebuilt by Ezra and Nehemiah. Daniel said this despicable man would kill a covenant prince. Antiochus murdered the High Priest in Jerusalem in 172 BC.
The book of Revelation tells us another desecration will happen again just before Jesus returns to earth. It will take place in the third Temple in Jerusalem, which does not yet exist, but which will be rebuilt after Israel’s battle of Ezekiel 38-39, when all their enemies are defeated. Antiochus Epiphanies is a type of antichrist—someone resembling—one who will someday come and desecrate the third Temple in Jerusalem.
In Revelation 13, we read of one who will be known as the antichrist. How will we recognize him?
--He will be someone who has received a fatal wound on his head, but the fatal wound would be healed.
--The entire world will marvel at this and follow this one who is “like a beast.” (We do not know what that means yet.)
--He will speak terrible blasphemies against God. This means he will speak with contempt about God and be irreverent toward all things godly.
--He will make war against the Jews/Israelis and Christians
--He will gain authority over every tribe and people and language and nation with authority given to him by the devil, Satan. He will demand that the world worships him.
--He will rule for 3 ½ years.
The Second Beast
During that time, a second beast (probably a powerful person) will arise to support the first one (antichrist). What he will do:
1.He will do miraculous feats and have great magical powers given to him by the devil.
2.He will demand that everyone on earth receive the mark of the first beast on their foreheads or hands. Those who do not, will not be allowed to buy or sell or trade.
3.He will imprison and/or kill those who resist the antichrist.
What is the Mark of the Beast?
We are told in Revelation 13:18 that the mark of the beast will be the “number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.”
We do not know if this is symbolic or actual. But to be sure, it is best not to accept any number tattooed or branded on your hand or forehead by a powerful person who demands your allegiance.
Will Christians be on earth during this time? Yes. Revelation 14 instructs us not to receive the mark of the beast. Then the Apostle John wrote, “This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.”
Many Bible scholars believe the church will be taken out of the world before the antichrist comes, and we will not face this. They teach that the believers at that time will be those who come to know Jesus after all the Christians have been “raptured” into heaven. (Rapture means to be caught up, in this usage.)
I have studied their reasoning, and I do not see that happening. Why?
First, I do not think there will be non-Christian people won over to faith in Christ during the Great Tribulation, when the antichrist rules the earth, for they will believe and follow him. 2 Thessalonians 2 tells us that those who have chosen not to believe in and follow Jesus will be deceived by the antichrist. “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie…” 2 Thessalonians 2:11 (New International Version).
Second, right now—around the world—Christians are suffering and dying for their faith. There have been more Christian martyrs in oppressive countries in the past 100 years than there have been since the beginning of Christianity in the first century. What makes us think that if we live in a land of freedom, we will escape this danger, when our brothers and sisters in Christ are already dying?
I think we will be here during this time. But each one must study for himself or herself and decided what they believe. Until it happens and we see for sure, all views remain theories. So it is wise to hold all our theories lightly, for the end may look differently than we think.
In the meantime, we need to read and study our Bibles and learn to stand strong for Jesus wherever we are.
Jesus loved us enough to die to pay the price for our sins at Calvary. He rose again to prove God the Father accepted his sacrifice, and that all who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life after this one ends. There is more proof that Jesus rose from the dead than there is proof that Julius Caesar even lived. Jesus’s death on the cross proves that he loves us more than we can imagine! Who could turn their back on love like that? Jesus himself said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” John 15:13 (New International Version).