December 25, 2009
“Therefore WHEN you see the ‘abomination of desolation’, spoken of by Daniel the prophet STANDING in the HOLY PLACE” (whoever reads, let him understand) THEN let those who are in Judea FLEE to the mountains (Matthew 24:15-16).
Dear Brethren,
I
n
this continued writing of this subject my intention is to do as Jesus
Christ said in Matthew (24:15-16), that there is a need to go back
and study the historical writings in the Book of Daniel in order to
understand what He said about the abomination of desolation STANDING
in the Holy Place.
The writings in Daniel will also enable the reader to connect those historical events, concerning the sacrificial offerings of the Jews of those times, and the Abomination of Desolation that was set up by those who conquered them, with the prophecy yet to be fulfilled in Daniel 12:11.
D
aniel
12:11 “And from the time that the DAILY SACRIFICE
is
taken away, and the Abomination of Desolation is set up (‘standing
in the holy place . . . where it ought not’), there
shall be 1290 days.”
Dualities and History
Understanding very often comes through the use of dualities, then, and now; history once again repeating itself.
Those historical events shed light on what Jesus said in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark; and coupling all of them together enables the reader to understand what will take place in the near future when once again sacrifices will be offered by the Jewish people.
Two Areas of Importance
While reading those historical references in Daniel we find two areas of importance that connect to the timing of the departure of the faithful and true people of God:
1) Sacrificial offerings – beginning and ending of them
2) The Abomination of Desolation – standing in the Holy Place – where it ought not.
The first area to consider is the prophecy that makes known the sacrificial offerings are to once again be offered to fulfill end-time prophecy and later forcibly be stopped.
Who Takes Away the Daily Sacrifices?
For the understanding needed regarding who will take away the sacrificial offerings, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, we first need some Scriptural background of who will be the major powers of this coming time.
I
n
Brief Summary— Members of God’s Church should know, soon
an enormous military power is to come together in Europe (Revelation
13:1-4). Scripture defines it as the revival of the Holy Roman
Empire. It is to be headed by a man called in Scripture the Beast
(Revelation 13:16-18; 15:2; 19:19-20).
The Beast’ leadership over the 10 nations in Europe will be made possible by a man that Scripture refers to as the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11-17).
Once this Military Power is firmly established in Europe, it will also be accepted in Israel and Jerusalem as a means of security for them against a hostile world, as other prophetic Scriptures imply (Zechariah 14:2, 13-14; 12:4-14). This will come to pass due to the House of Joseph will no longer be a helping friend to them.
The Beast will then place his headquarters in or near Jerusalem as the prophet Daniel makes known:
Daniel 11:45 “And he shall plant the tents between the seas and the Glorious Holy Mountain (Soncino Commentary: Zion) yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.”
The apostle Paul makes known the False Prophet will also move from Rome to Jerusalem:
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you . . . 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 (margin: lawlessness) is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, 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 (II Thessalonians 1:8-10; Revelation 19:19-20).
T
he
coming of the LAWLESS ONE is according to the working of Satan, with
ALL POWER, SIGNS, AND LYING WONDERS” (II Thessalonians 2:1,
Revelation 13:11-14).
Historically, two temples were built at this location, with a third Temple believed to be built in the future. According to classical Jewish belief, the Temple (or the Temple Mount) acts as the figurative "footstool" of God's presence (Heb. "shechina").
For an understanding of this False Prophet please note the following quotes from the writings of Mr. Armstrong:
THE INCREDIBALE HUMANPOTENTIAL ‘Lucifer A Created Being’ Mr. Armstrong, Pages 46-47—
“But coming to chapter 28, the theme comes more completely
to the time just now ahead of us, the same time depicted in Isaiah
14. Ezekiel 28 speaks of the prince of Tyre, an earthly ruler. God
says to the prophet Ezekiel: ‘Son of man, say unto the prince
of Tyrus [actually referring to a powerful religious leader to arise
SOON in our time]. Thus says the [Eternal] God; Because thine heart
is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of
god, in the midst of the seas, yet thou art a man, and not God,
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art
wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
with thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures [or
“treasuries” – RSV] . . . and thine heart is lifted
up because of thy riches: therefore this saith the [Eternal} God;
Because thou has set thine heart as the heart of a god; behold, I
will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations . . .
they shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths
of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.” (Compare with
II Thessalonians 2:4, speaking of ‘that man of sin.’ “who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, showing
himself that he is God.”) [Within the brackets are the
inserts added by Mr. Armstrong]
A Picture Emerges from the Past
When we consider the ancient prophecies given by the LORD God that litterly took place in their time, while also considering their counter-parts and the dualities found in Scripture, along with what was said to Daniel by the angel, that the vision was for the end-time (Daniel 8:17), a realistic picture emerges of what is soon to take place, and by whom, as made clear in the Book of Revelation as well as that of Daniel, and that of the apostle Paul.
Daniel 8:9-12 Out of these shall come a little horn (then:
Antiochus Epiphanes IV 175-164 B.C.E.; Now: The Beast Power)
which grew exceedingly great toward the south (Daniel 11:40;
Ezekiel 30:5), toward the east [Russia and
Asian
Nations], and toward the Glorious Land (
Jerusalem),
and it grew up to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the
host [Symbol of Israel and Judah – Soncino Commentary];
and some of the stars (Daniel 12:3; Revelation 6:8-11)
and
trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the
host (put himself in the place of God); and by him
the DAILY
SACRIFICES were taken away, and the place of the Sanctuary (margin:
Temple) was cast down (destroyed
in 70
A.D.; future). Because of transgression (of
the Jews),
an army was given him [Beast by the False Prophet]
to
oppose the DAILY SACRIFICES; and to cast TRUTH down to the ground. He
did all this and prospered.”
“. . . To consolidate his empire and strengthen his hold over the region, Antiochus decided to side with the Hellenized Jews by outlawing Jewish religious rites and traditions observed by more orthodox Jews and by ordering the worship of Zeus as the supreme god. This was anathema to the Jews and when they refused, Antiochus sent an army to enforce his decree. Because of the resistance, the city was destroyed, many were slaughtered, and a military Greek citadel called the Acra was established.[7]
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Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to force the Jews to abandon the customs of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God; also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Hospitable, as the inhabitants of the place requested...They also brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws. A man could not keep the sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit that he was a Jew. At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to act in the same way against the Jews: oblige them to partake of the sacrifices, and put to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster impended. Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall. Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death. |
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— 2 Maccabees 6:1-11 |
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The dualities with King Antiochus III and Antiochus Epiphanes IV with the coming Beast Power are very apparent thus making known that history does and will indeed repeat itself.
Daniel 8:13-14, 17 (same as 12:5-7) Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation (margin: or makes desolate), the giving of both the Sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot? And he said to me, for 2300 days (literally: evenings and mornings – Soncino Commentary: offered twice daily making a total of 1150 days) then the Sanctuary shall be cleansed.” . . . Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
Note: Gentiles will tread down Jerusalem 1260 days (Revelation 11:2). The 1260 days will include 1150 days recorded in Daniel 8:14. It is also the time of the Two Witnesses. Their time will begin right after the beginning of the Great Tribulation. During this time the ELECT of God’s true Church (the Philadelphia Era) will be hidden by Christ from the horrors experienced in martyrdom and slavery.
D
aniel
8:25-26 And through his cunning he shall cause craft to prosper in
his hand (Revelation 18:9-19); and he shall magnify
himself in
his heart, and in the time of security [Duality:
Prime
Minister Chamberlain of the UK returning from Germany– waving a
signed paper by Hitler -- peace in our time] shall
he destroy
many [house of Joseph]. He shall
also stand up against
the Prince of princes (Jesus Christ at Armageddon);
but
he shall be broken without (human) hand.”
Hitler
reportedly laughed after making the agreement with PM Chamberlain
knowing he would not honor it. And he soon broke it just as will the
Beast with the House of Joseph.
And in the time of that supposed security, he will strike with nuclear weaponry with blitzkrieg fury and conquer the United States and Britain.
Soncino Commentary: Antiochus is said to have died in Persia (164 B.C.E.) as the result of falling from a roof in a demented state.
The Beast will also be killed without a human hand (Revelation 19:20).
Daniel records the following event:
Daniel 11:31 “And forces shall be mustered by him (in our time, the Beast), and they shall defile the Sanctuary (margin: Temple) fortress, then they shall TAKE AWAY the daily sacrifice (Daniel 12:11), and place there the abomination of desolation.”
A Scenario based on prophetic Scriptures: Soon after receiving the power and authority of leadership from the False Prophet, the Beast will muster a sufficient army together to enter Jerusalem with the pretext of being there for their protection from a hostile Arab world and shortly thereafter take over the city without any real struggle and then end the sacrifices.
T
he
Beast and the False Prophet will then do as did King Antiochus III
and his son, Antiochus Epiphanies (Meaning: manifestation of –
Zeus), did do; and what Titus was unable to do in 70 A.D.,
SET UP
an idol in the Temple.
History records that Antiochus Epiphanies did set up the idol of Zeus (also known as Jupiter Olympus) having replaced the holy altar; and the Sanctuary was turned into a temple of Zeus. Swine flesh was offered as sacrifices for two years.
Chapters 8 and 9 regarding the sacrificial offerings and the cessation of them along with the abomination of desolation, swine flesh offered, and a statute of Jupiter Olympus, all tie in with what Jesus Christ told us to review from the writings of Daniel that enables us to understand the future and fulfillment of Daniel 12:11.
This also ties in with the time for the people of God to know when to flee before it comes to be too late – the SIGN that will immediately precede the time of the Great Tribulation.
To be continued--
This is what we will be looking into the next time along with a continuation of considering the lawless one to come, and his types who were a forerunner of the False Prophet who will, as the apostle Paul wrote, who will enthrone himself in the soon-coming Temple of God.
Your friend,
Don Billingsley
http://bodyofchristonline.us/ http://cog-ff.com http://www.ezekielwatchman.org/ http://worldnewsbulletin.com
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