This second article brings us to a deeper understanding of both the principle and spirit of prophecy. The Christian finding himself in the End Time of the last days must come to know prophecy for his time, not only the seasons of prophecy but also the spirit of prophecy. This article is to reveal these burdens as well as view this rapidly changing “new order” that the world has entered. As a Christian I must see my age, and I must discern the Word of God for my times.

In the previous article we took careful note of God’s divine purpose in world rulership. In the aftermath of the Flood, God divinely appointed Israel to be the nation for world rulership. God made it clear through Moses that it was not because of any merit of Israel; it was because of His own love and compassion upon them that the nation was chosen (Deut. 7:6–8). Through His servant Moses, God birthed the nation of Israel. By the days of Joshua the nation was already giving evidences of their falling away (Josh. 24:14, 15). The four hundred years of the Book of Judges exposes seven great declensions into apostasy. Although God’s will was accomplished to a degree, in the days of David and in the earlier days of Solomon, afterward there was a continued decline in Israel. Finally, after some nine hundred years from its beginning, God transferred man’s scepter of rulership from Israel to the Gentiles, the “nations” of the earth.

The Book of Daniel

An observation needs to be made concerning the Book of Daniel. It is Daniel who deals with the times of the Gentiles. No other book in the Bible presents the entire spectrum of the history of the times of the Gentiles. Daniel’s spectrum begins with the final overthrow of Zedekiah and culminates at the beginning of the Millennium. This is the reason Daniel does not deal with the two previous empires of Egypt and Assyria. Though these nations did rule, God did not view them as holding the scepter; they were not part of the “times of the Gentiles” which began with the overthrow of Zedekiah and the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Although in Revelation 17, John will go all the way back in history and pick up Egypt and Assyria, he is not dealing with the times of the Gentiles per se; rather, John addresses global world history. We must carefully mark in our understanding of the Book of Daniel that the times of the Gentiles commenced with Nebuchadnezzar.

Let us observe this transfer of the scepter from Israel to the Gentiles. How is this going to resolve, and what is to take place in the future? The student of the Word must understand that the prophet Daniel uses several concepts of time. The term years is mentioned, but we must keep in mind that a year in the Jewish calendar is 360 days rather than 365; therefore, a prophetic year is always measured as 360 days. There is also the phrase weeks of years. One “week of years” would be seven years, a year for each day of the week. Therefore, seven weeks of years would be 7 x 7 or 49 years. In Daniel 9:24, the seventy weeks of years is 70 x 7, or 490 literal years. In this passage 483 of these years take us from the time of the announcement of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the time that Messiah is cut off, the Triumphant Entry of Christ. (I present this with careful detail in the book The Canon of Scripture.) Out of the 70 weeks of years, 69 have been accomplished to get us to the first coming of Christ. What remains of Daniel’s prophecy is one week, or 7 years, until the second open coming of Christ. This last remaining week of years equals 2,520 days. Concerning the Antichrist, Daniel 9:27 states the following:

And he [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many [the Jews] for one week [the seven years of Daniel’s Last Week]: and in the midst of the week [3½ years, 42 months, or 1,260 days] he [Antichrist] shall cause the sacrifice [within the temple we believe he will build for the Jews] and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it [the place of worship to God to become] desolate, even until the consummation [the final 1,260 days], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate [or the desolation].

By chapter 12, Daniel’s prophecy is in the midst of the week, leaving only 1,260 days left before Christ comes back to the earth. In this chapter two questions are asked. Verse 6 gives the first question:

And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders [of Antichrist]? 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 sware by him that liveth for ever [now, the answer] that it shall be for a time [one year], times [two years], and an half [½ year, making 3½ years]; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people [the Jews], all these things shall be finished.

At this time in prophecy, the first 1,260 days have become history. But in verse 8, Daniel said, “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” Daniel is not asking about the end of the wonders of verse 6 (Antichrist); he is asking what will bring the end of the total consummation? Now note the actions of Antichrist at the beginning of the second 1,260 days in verse 11:

And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away [when Antichrist declares himself to be God in the Holy of holies], and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Here 1,290 rather than 1,260 days are referenced! Since 1,260 days culminate Daniel’s last week of 7 years, what are these 30 additional days?

We believe these additional 30 days provide for the Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon is the epic event of global proportion that ends the Gentile’s possession of the scepter. Twelve hundred sixty days complete the Antichrist reign, and 30 additional days complete the removal of the scepter from the Gentile world (not just Antichrist). Now, note verse 12:

Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

This verse speaks about 1,335 days! I think we understand the 1,260 days to be the last half of Daniel’s last week; the 1,290 days adds an additional 30 days for the Battle of Armageddon. What is this additional collection of 45 days? Daniel does not reveal what takes place during these 45 days; suddenly Gabriel speaks to Daniel in verse 13:

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot [or inheritance] at the end of the days.

As a representative of the nation of Israel, Daniel is commanded to take his rest until the time when Israel will take up its inheritance. Speculatively, these remaining 45 days could be appointed by God as the time that Christ will take to renovate the planet Earth for His kingdom.

Daniel was told that at the end of 1,260 + 30 + 45 days, he would be in the Millennium. Immediately, God closes the book! The purpose of Daniel’s prophecy was to reveal the entire history of the Gentiles in rulership and then the return of the Jew to his inheritance. Daniel ceases at this point.

For greater clarity we now turn to Revelation 11:1:

And there was given me [John the Beloved] a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Now what is John measuring here? John has been commanded to measure the temple which Antichrist will build to seal his covenant with the Jewish nation. Amidst the hatred of world leaders for the Jews, the Antichrist will outwardly sympathize with Israel. Although Israel has deeply appreciated the assistance of the United States (though this is declining), they are still longing for a world leader to fully recognize their place in the earth. As the surrounding Arabic world continues its oppression, Israel is longing and looking. Is there someone of global authority that will step in to help us?

Part of the deception of the Antichrist is his pretending to be a friend; part of the tokens of that friendship will be his building of this temple. When does its construction begin? It begins with Daniel’s last week. Now note Revelation 11:2, 3:

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 [Jerusalem] shall they [the Gentiles] tread under foot forty and two months [3½ years]. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1,260 days or 3½ years], clothed in sackcloth.

Daniel’s last week begins when this man, the Antichrist, rises in power among the nations and makes a covenant with the Jews. For 1,260 days (3½ years), he pretends to be Israel’s friend. In the midst of the week (at the end of 3½ years), he will enter their Holy of holies and declare himself to be God (2 Thess. 2). This event commences the final 3½ years. The Antichrist empire will last only 3½ years, the shortest in history.

The first 3½ years of Daniel’s last week are covered in Revelation 11; the last 3½ years begin in Revelation 13 and continue to chapter 19. Daniel’s last week ends when Jesus returns in Revelation 19 to fight the Battle of Armageddon. This entire history of the “times of the Gentiles” concludes with Daniel standing in his lot, his inheritance, in rest. Rest from the nations, rest from the Gentiles, rest from persecution, rest from global suffering upon them—this is the beginning of the Millennium!

With the image of Daniel 2, God gives a brief view of the times of the Gentiles leading up to the last stand of the Gentiles. He begins with the head, which is Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), followed by the Medes and Persians, then the Greeks and Macedonians, and then Rome. We have been waiting for two thousand years for a last empire to rise. God has predicted no other empire to rise before this last stand against God—this final thrust of the scepter of the Gentiles.

The reason for this dream of Daniel 2 is noted in verses 28 and 29:

But there is a God 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; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed [and these were the thoughts], what should come to pass hereafter [or when I die; this world leader is wondering what is going to take place in a global proportion after he dies]; and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

[God has condescended to answer the question Nebuchadnezzar has been thinking about.]

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 [or the answer to this question that has been disturbing you] (v. 30).

Now note this response beginning in verse 31: “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image.” This great image we will find out was like a man. It was built, formed, fashioned like a man by men.

This great image whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible [wondrous or spectacular]. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay [making the image one of a man, representing a Gentile world rather than the theocracy of Israel]. Thou sawest [this image] 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. . . . [and scattered them till this stone, the latter part of verse 35] that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This is the quickest world history lecture we get in the Bible. Twenty-five hundred years in four verses. What does all of this mean?

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings [that sounds like Jesus; and this is going to be an important observation that Daniel gives. You are a king of kings]: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power [or authority], and strength, and glory.

This will not be mentioned of any other empire. This is an important truth; the other empires will arise on their own, in the providence of God. However, God personally has taken the scepter away from the Jew or Israel and placed it in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, thus, is to be a king of kings. God gives him glory and power and strength and the kingdom.

And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven [notice this universal dominion] hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold (v. 38).

No other world ruler has received this acknowledgment by God; it marks a global epoch transition.

It must be acknowledged that of all of the prior Gentile nations, Babylon during the days of Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest that had ever arisen. The following world empires are all inferior. The image moves from gold to silver to brass to iron to the mixture of iron and clay; nevertheless, Gentile world rulership began with a good man, Nebuchadnezzar. Although in Daniel chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar is dedicating an image to himself, at the end of that chapter he is lauding the God of heaven. Yes, he is very proud, stating that he has built this vast empire (Dan. 4); but after seven years of insanity, when God gives his mind back, he proclaims statements that no other Gentile king has ever made or will make in the future. He was the greatest; he was the golden age of man.

Then we notice that “after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” It is just a sentence referring to the Medes and the Persians. And then another “third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth” refers to the Greeks and Macedonians. God does not even spend time on them. “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things.” This will be the empire into which Jesus Christ will come—the Roman Empire. The empires are continuing to decline in worth. The iron ruling with an iron scepter destroying or assimilating people typifies the slaves of the Roman Empire that made up eighty percent of the population.

In Daniel 2:42 and 43, we find one re-maining empire:

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong [the Antichrist’s kingdom, the last kingdom of man], and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men [this will be the lowest; we’ve hit the dust now; the last kingdom will be miry clay]: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Verses 44 and 45 will be the culmination of the coming of the Antichrist kingdom. This is where we are—between verses 40 and 41—we are in the ankles. The ankle is a joint linking the leg to the foot that has the ability to move, flex, and change direction. A flexible ankle period in the history of world empires will have to come about before the time of the feet kingdom of the Antichrist.

Christ’s Wilderness Temptation

Matthew 4 and Luke 4 both give an account of the wilderness temptation of Christ. Whereas Luke presents the spiritual unfolding of this event, Matthew presents its chronological sequence. The Gospel according to Matthew emphasizes the kingship of Christ; thus, his presentation of the wilderness temptation depicts Satan tempting the King of kings. The first temptation concerns the turning of stones to bread. Many kings have built their kingdoms on their ability to supply bread; hence, a welfare state. Our President wants to bring America to such a welfare state; he wants to be our “bread king.” After the feeding of the five thousand, the people rose up and wanted to make Jesus king. They loved the welfare from a bread-base kingdom.

With the second temptation, Satan took Christ to the pinnacle of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Then Satan spoke:

If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

If a bread-kingdom would not appeal to Christ, maybe a kingdom built upon the supernatural, the spectacular would appeal to him. This represents those kingdoms built upon false religions, signs and wonders, or the empty charismatic hopes. Oh, how the people will flock to such a king.

In the third temptation Satan promised Christ a great reward if He would but worship Satan. By now Satan had taken Christ from the wilderness floor, to the pinnacle of the temple, and now to an exceeding high mountain; his promise of power continues to rise. Note an unusual miracle granted by God to Satan in Matthew 4:8:

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.

Here the Greek word for world is kosmos, speaking of mankind’s world systems. Satan was granted the ability to show Christ in a moment of time all the glory of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greco-Macedonia, Rome, and other coming kingdoms. He displayed for Him the glory and magnificence of them all. The mountain in the Bible is the sign or token of empires, kingdoms. Satan took Him to an exceeding high mountain to show Him this. “And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” This is the culmination—devil worship.

Note Luke’s account of the same temptation:

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time (4:5).

In Luke’s context, the Greek word for world is oikoumene, the inhabitants of the world. Whereas in Matthew the Devil had promised all the world systems, Luke adds that all its inhabitants would be included. Satan would grant Christ not only the governments of the world but also the authority to control all its people. All of this was shown to Christ in a moment of time. Satan promised him all the mass world evangelism He could ever desire if Christ would but fall down and worship him. However, in Satan’s words to Christ, it is also revealed that the power to do this had been given to him; it was given to Satan by men of history who had or will have made covenants with the Devil for their own temporary power and glory in the Earth.

The Devil has always been looking for a man who will totally commit himself to Satan’s authority. “If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” Satan had the power; he had the authority; he is the prince of this world. However, Jesus answered, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God [and Luke adds], and him only shalt thou serve” [or commit your entire life to servitude].

In all of these temptations, it was the Devil saying, “Jesus, you want humanity? You want mass evangelism? I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a shortcut to conquer them; I’ll help you out. Everything you have desired to do in coming to the planet Earth, I will help you to accomplish.”

Conclusion

There is a man coming to whom the Devil is going to truly give all authority and power! He will give him all the glory and authority of all the past kingdoms; this individual will possess the power to control the entire planet Earth. In light of these truths, where are we now? It is clearly evident, according to the Book of Daniel, that we are beyond the head, the breast and arms, the belly and thighs, and beyond the legs. Are we in the transition from the legs to the feet, in the ankle period? It has been two thousand years since these Roman legs made their appearance. How near are we to a one-world system controlling the planet? How near are we in its control of all of humanity, of all people, of families, of marriages, of childbirth, and of our elderly? How close are we to the satanic conquest of humanity? In the continuing articles we want to deal with these sobering questions and what we can expect will come upon the planet in the next few years. Amidst an ever-growing consciousness of these developments, we cry as John of old, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”