3. The secrets from the book of Daniel unraveled, with enlightening insight.

Daniel part 3.pdf

CSB (Daniel 12: 4) 4 But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.
.                           (All quotations from the New King James translation)


Christians have set their lives free with the truth of God’s word and baptism.
The desire of Christians for God’s kingdom is great now, just as the desire of Jews was great to return from their exile to Judah.

Summary part 2:
The worship of the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar and the rescue of the faithful Jewish young men from the fiery furnace.
The worship of the image in the near future and the salvation of faithful Christians for the fire.
From the calling of Abraham on, God’s people would be ruled in 7 periods of world powers by kings who had lost their minds.
The mindless 7 world powers are now ending. What is happening now worldwide is, that the demons are going out to the rulers to gather them for the great climax (Rev.16:14).
Babylon was a depraved city of idolatry and would be conquered.
Great Babylon will be a depraved city of idolatry and will be destroyed.

Theme: Remaining faithful through a strong faith, by not becoming part of this world

Daniel chapter 6
The jealousy and contempt of the elite for faithful worshipers in Babylon.
Faithful Christians are no part of this world with its unreasonable and callous elite.

After the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great, Darius the Mede became the new king of the Chaldean or Babylonian empire.
He appointed 120 governors who were accountable to three government officials, of which Daniel was also one. Daniel surpassed all of them because of his exceptional spirit.
King Darius wanted to appoint Daniel, a Jew, as chief governor over all his empire.
The others administrators, did not want to share their elitist and corrupt world. They got jealous and looked for a reason to sue Daniel, but couldn’t find anything against him.
They knew that Daniel was a deeply religious man (Daniel 6: 1-6). That was their possibility to get rid of Daniel:

(Daniel 6: 6-8) 6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”

It was clearly a conspiracy against Daniel. According to the law of Medes and Persians, their enacted laws were irrevocable (see for this also Esther 1:19):

(Daniel 6: 9-10) 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Daniel heard about the decree and immediately knew that it had consequences for praying to God. It was the custom for Daniel to pray three times a day to his God (Daniel 6:11):

(Psalm 55:17) 17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.

The jealous co-rulers met at Daniel’s house by appointment to catch and betray him. They told the king that Daniel, who was derogatorily called one of the exiles from Judah, worshiped his God three times a day (Dan. 6:13). The king had no defense, the law was not to be repealed. Until sundown he did his best to save Daniel (Dan. 6: 11-14).
After sunset, the co-rulers returned to the king to put pressure on him and pointed out the irrevocable law (Dan. 6:15). Desperate, King Darius had to have Daniel thrown into the lions’ den, but he used very remarkable words: ‘Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you’ (Dan. 6:16).
Darius probably knew about the miraculous rescue of the three Jewish young men from the fiery furnace by the God of Daniel.
That night the king spent fasting, he could not sleep. When dawn came, he went straight to the lions’ den and asked Daniel if his God could have delivered him from the lions: 

(Daniel 6: 21-24) 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. 24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions–them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

The jealous co-rulers were – for their betrayal – thrown into the lions’ den with their wives and children and killed by the lions. Apparently, it was common in those days to punish the entire family of traitors who had committed a serious crime in this way.
Then King Darius wrote a decree to all the nations of the earth: 

(Daniel 6: 26-27) 26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Daniel could have omit the worship of God for fear of the consequences. However, he faithfully continued to worship his Heavenly Father. The betrayal of the governors can be compared to that of current politicians, who abuse their given power over the people and who lack any sense of shame.

Christians may – like Daniel – need protection from betrayal, from wild animals, or from any other threat and can beg and receive protection from their God (YHWH).
Never let adversary’s take away your prayer, stay faithful, just as Daniel remained faithful: 

(Revelation 6: 8) 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Daniel chapter 7
The 4 world powers that will come since the last king Zedekiah of Judah, in the line of David.
The 7 world powers that will come since the call of Abraham from Ur, the USA as 7th

In the first regnal year of Belshazzar, Daniel received a vision with four large animals (Dan. 7: 1). The vision pictured four kings who would arise out of the earth:

(Daniel 7:17) 17 Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.

In the book Daniel, the 4 world powers are described through which God’s then people, the Jews, were subdued since the last king of Judah in the line of David, Zedekiah.
The lion (the Babylonians), the bear (the Medo-Persians), the leopard (the Greeks) and the fourth beast (the Romans). Yet, in the book of Daniel is also spoken of a 5th world power, the USA, where in these days the Christians are subjected to. Daniel 7: 3-7 describes these wild beasts and their characteristics. Each beast represents a world power, and the horns in that world power denote the kings.
The description of ‘the image in chapter 2’ has much in common with Dan. 7: 3-7 :

(Daniel 7: 3-7) 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 

The image in Daniel 2:31-33 World Power    Daniel 7: 3- 6                                           .
.                                              Egypt
.                                              Assyria
Head of gold                          Babylon            Lion, with wings of an eagle
Chest and arms of silver        Mede-Persia    Bear, with three ribs in his mouth
Belly and thighs of bronze    Greece              Leopard, with four bird wings, 4 heads
Legs of iron                           Roman Empire Terrifying, very strong animal, 10 horns
Feet of iron and clay             United States   After them will arise another king,verse 24

After these 10 horns or kings it is written in (Dan. 7:24) about another king. That is the king of the foot kingdom of iron and clay, the former Western colony, the USA.
(The number 10 in Scripture is an indication for ‘completeness’: such as the 10 plagues of Egypt, the 10 slaves with 10 mines to do business with, etc.)

(Daniel 7:24) 24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones….

After this other king, the kingdom of feet, God’s kingdom will crush all these kingdoms:

(Daniel 2: 44) 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
(Daniel 7: 17-18) 17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

So all these world powers would come since the last king of Judah, Zedekiah.
First, Babylon, the lion with eagles wings (Jeremiah 4: 7) (Habakkuk 1: 6-8). The leopard, the Greek Empire, became four-headed after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.
Four Macedonian commanders became his successors, in conflict with one another; Seleucus ruled Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Ptolemy ruled Egypt, Cyprus, Cilicia, Judea and Samaria. Lysimachus ruled Thrace, and Cassander ruled Macedonia and Greece.

Or, as the four-headed Greco-Macedonian Empire is described in Daniel 8:

(Daniel 8: 20-22) 20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns–they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

  • The horn (king) who had eyes and a mouth full of arrogance, the Antichrist

Then Daniel suddenly gives information about the distant future, about another little horn: 

(Daniel 7: 8) 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

How do we know that ‘that other little horn’ is the Antichrist of the last hour?

(Daniel 7: 10-11) 10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. 11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn (Antichristwas speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.
(Revelation 19:20) 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet (Antichrist ),…. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

For a complete answer in which time period this little horn or king is active, we will also take the book of Revelation. The explanation in Revelation is slightly different from that in the book of Daniel:

(Daniel 7:25) 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
(Daniel 12: 7) 7… that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

Time, times and a half of a time has, as explained earlier, a relationship with ‘prophetic’ years. Time, times and a half time = 3.5 time (or prophetic year) of each 12 months = 3.5 x 12 = 42 months. In both Daniel and Revelation, this corresponds to a period of blasphemy and persecution of the saints:

(Revelation 13: 5-7) 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them….

It is the same period as described for the two witnesses prophecy, 42 months of 30 days:

(Revelation 11: 2-3) 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
(see also Newsletters 3. The two witnesses)

As well as Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12: 7 and Revelation 11: 3 (the two witnesses prophecy) speak of exactly the same time period of 42 months.

According to our study, the scarlet-colored beast (Rev. 17: 3) – with its 10 uncrowned kings – represents the world financial power, the power of the central banks.
When the former colony, the USA, as an extension of the ‘West’ began to become increasingly productive, the founders of private central banks saw their opportunity in the USA. 

(Daniel 7: 8) 8…. three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots….
(Daniel 7:24) 24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings.

(We will come back to the interpretation of Daniel 7:24 in a subsequent article)
Three kings / presidents who offered opposition against a private central bank were killed according to the video below, because they were against the profiteering of the private bankers:
US Presidents Who Advocated A Publicly-Owned Central Bank

16th President Abraham Lincoln –            Greenbacks     1865     assassinated
20th President James Garfield –    Banking Statement     1881     assassinated
35th President JF Kennedy –       execution order 1110    1963     assassinated

According to Revelation 17:12, the 10 kings of the central banks will receive 1 Biblical hour of royal power in the very last part of the end time. At the end of 1990, the Japanese central bank was already fully financially ‘ruling’ by making interest rates very low.

Daniel chapter 8
Some of the holy angels cause a devastating apostasy, they become demons, helpers of Satan.
Some of God’s people cause a devastating apostasy, they become children of Satan.

The Babylonian Empire as well as the Roman Empire are not mentioned in the vision of the ram – Media and Persia – and the goat – Greece – (Dan. 8: 1-8). After the division of the Greek Empire, a small horn emerged from 1 of the horns of the 4 Macedonian rulers :

(Daniel 8: 9) 9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

The land of glory was the land of milk and honey, the Promised Land. (Ezekiel 20: 6, 15)
The little horn sprang from one of the four kingdoms mentioned, into which Alexander’s empire was divided after his death. Macedonian commander Seleucus ruled Syria, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Judah fell in 198 BC. in the hands of the Seleucid Empire.
Antiochus IV Epifanus became in 175 BC. king of the Seleucid Empire and continued the Hellenism then practiced.
He was called a wicked root in the ‘apocrypha’ book of 1 Maccabees: 

KJV (1 Maccabees 1: 10, 21-24, 45-46, 56-57) 10 And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks….21 And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, 22 And the table of the showbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials and the censers of gold, and the veil, and the crown, and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off. 23 He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which he found. 24 And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.…. 45 And forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the sabbaths and festival days: 46 And pollute the sanctuary and holy people:…. 56 And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they burnt them with fire. 57 And whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to the law, the king’s commandment was, that they should put him to death.

Now 1 Maccabees is not an inspired written book, but it is historically clear.
Orthodox Jews had many objections to the practice of the Hellenistic culture, which after all had countless gods. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered a pagan altar to be erected in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, dedicated to the pagan god Zeus (the supreme god of the gods). He wanted to mandate the pagan worship of Zeus throughout his realm and forbade the Jewish people, God’s people then, the worship of their God YHWH. Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the temple by forbidding the daily sacrifices. He also stole all valuables.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes robs the temple of Jerusalem

CSB (Daniel 8: 10-14) 10 It grew as high as the heavenly host (the angels), made some of the stars and some of the host fall to the earth, and trampled them. 11 It made itself great, even up to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary. 12 Because of rebellion, a host, together with the daily sacrifice, will be given over. The horn will throw truth to the ground and will be successful in whatever it does. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will [the events of] this vision last-the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and of the host to be trampled?” 14 He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be restored.”

This vision clearly speaks of a controversy in heaven, about the destruction of the temple with the daily sacrifice, and disputes about the ultimate sacrifice of the Christ.

  • The vision of the evenings and the mornings

CSB (Daniel 8: 17, 26) 17….he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end….. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true….

The vision of the evenings and the mornings refers to the time of the end.
And the vision began – according to us, doJC – with the destruction of the temple and the one-time sacrifice of Jesus, and will end with the rebuilt temple by the Branch or Sprout on the promised new earth.
As first, an attack came on Jerusalem in 66 AD. by the Roman general Cestius Gallius, but he withdrew. Then came the attack by the Roman general Titus in 70 AD. whereby Jerusalem with its temple was totally destroyed:

(Luke 21: 6, 20) 6 “These things which you see–the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”…. 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.

The temple of Jerusalem with its sacrificial altar for the daily recurring sacrifices, was the place of worship for the Jews of YHWH.

  • Antiochus IV Epiphanes, an image of the Antichrist of the last hour

Now that we have a clear picture of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, we read in Daniel 8:11 that he deprived the Prince of the heavenly army, YHWH, of his daily sacrifices and cast down His sanctuary. In Dan. 8:10 and 8:12 we read that the heavenly army was given over because of the apostasy over the daily sacrifices. Apostasy among the angelic sons. With the destruction of worship in the temple, Satan and his demon army rejected the worship of God, and according to Dan. 8:13, it was successful. (‘For how long will the vision be?’).

Until 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the new temple (verse 14) will be lawfully restored.
As with the creation days, evenings and mornings are spoken of as units of time.
If we – as a hypothesis – take for each day a year, as also applied with Ezekiel 4: 6 ‘For each year I have set you a day’ and at Numbers 14:34 ‘forty days, for each day a year’, then the new temple will be recovered after 2300 years.

Hypothesis new temple: 70 AD. (destruction of the temple) + 2300 years = +/- 2370 AD.
Then the Branch or Sprout (Jesus) will have rebuilt the temple (Ezekiel’s temple) in the New Jerusalem on the new earth. (see Newsletters 4. New Jerusalem; part 1)
According to Zechariah, the Branch or Sprout (Jesus) will be both King and Priest, just as Melchizedek was (see also Hebr. 5: 4-6):
 

(Zechariah 6: 12-13) 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; 13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”

The temple according to the vision of Ezekiel chapter 40-43:

CSB (Daniel 8: 15-16, 19) 15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man. 16 I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”…. 19 and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.

The description of ‘a Man with the voice of a human’ probably refers to the Son of Man, who speaks of the end of the period of wrath as also described in Revelation 16:17.
In Daniel 8: 20-22, the world powers of Medo-Persia and Greece are revealed.
From verse 23 onwards, a connection is suddenly made with the last days (when the Christian apostasy is complete) and there is talked of an insolent king (the Antichrist) revealing himself (2 Thess. 2: 3). Who will exalt himself (verse 25) and who will rise against the King of Kings (YHWH) and persecute Christians (2 Thess. 2: 4): 

CSB (Daniel 8: 23-26) 23 Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne. 24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In [a time of] peace, he will destroy many; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. But he will be shattered, not by human hands. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you must seal up the vision because it refers to many days [in the future].”

In verse 25 it is written ‘he shall be shattered without human means’, that is, this will take place in the last hour.
The other, little, horn from Daniel 7: 8-12 is the same as the insolent king mentioned here. Chapter 7 exactly describes his destruction. Daniel 8: 23-25 describes his wicked works.
We will come back to this in a subsequent article. 

Finally:

Unrepentant people, who cling to injustice, have signed their death warrant.
But there are always possibilities and there is always hope for repentant people: 

(Romans 10:13) 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Summary part 3:
The jealousy and contempt of the elite for faithful worshipers in Babylon.
Faithful Christians are no part of this world with its unreasonable and callous elite.
The 4 world powers that will come since the last king Zedekiah of Judah, in the line of David.
The 7 world powers that will come since the call of Abraham from Ur, the USA as 7th
Some of the holy angels cause a devastating apostasy, they become demons, helpers of Satan.
Some of God’s people cause a devastating apostasy, they become children of Satan.

In the following article, we will discuss the very remarkable end-time prophecies of chapters 9 and 10.

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