SYRIA * LEBANON * PALESTINE
. . . . “He shall gain control over the hidden treasures” (Daniel 11:43)
(Part I . . . “The Hidden Treasures”)
by Doug Krieger
Bashar
Assad has just cut his little deal with the Russians for a miserly write-off
of
$10B in Syrian debt to Russia and the promise of missile contracts ready
for signing and delivery (Russian Iskander-E
tactical missile systems and Igla shoulder-held
anti-aircraft missiles) to Syria.
I mean, what’s $20M between old friends
who, for now, can say they’ve “temporarily put the deal on hold” but things
have always been a bit “sneaky” between the Soviets/Russians and the Syrians
(so, surmise what you will). What is certain is the bear coming back
into the Middle East as a player—much
to the dismay and chagrin of Israel and
the USA.
Meanwhile, Hamas (based in Syria) is letting the newly elected Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, that if you want us to stop our war against Israel . . . you better play ball with us (i.e., We just won a landslide election in Gaza, so look out!). Plus, the news just gets better: Nine Palestinian terrorist groups, including Fatah and Hamas, threaten to revive violent attacks unless Israel halts all military activity.
Coupled with that bit of refreshment, here’s another: Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and Hamas chief Mashal just announced that their cooperation in their war against the Jewish state and resumption of joint terror attacks inside Israel is going full blast.
In the mean time, when they are not sending their Defense Minister, along with 500+ officers and 2,000 soldiers to aide and abet their Hezbollah surrogates in Lebanon/Syria, (please see our articles: THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS) Iran fully realizes “she’s next” and, as one of the main triumvirates of the Axis of Evil (Iraq, North Korea and she), there’s little wiggle room left, aside from making a bomb real fast and faking like we’re just using enriched plutonium for peaceful purposes only—e.g., energy.
So, a little update on this is needed and here goes . . . remember, the Word of God is NOT silent about these goings on, and we carefully are challenged by Scripture to observe the “signs of the times” . . . so, it starts with a letter from one of our subscribers from Okalahoma . . . . who precipitated this blog, so Craig, here’s your answer . . . first Craig’s letter before we “explore” when and how the figure in Daniel 11:40-45 “gains control over the hidden treasures.”
*************************************************************
Good morning guys:
I have re-read the DEBKAfile link you provided on Doug's January 27 Blog entry. I was trying to get a feel on possible upcoming events (in the coming weeks) in the Middle East now that President Bush has been sworn in and the Iraqi "elections" have come and gone.
It seems, according to DEBKAfile article, that military action against Syria could be on the very near horizon by the US and Iraq (sic. Israel). I was wondering if you could comment on the very last paragraph of the DEBKAfile:
“1. It (Syria’s demise) will not take place before President Bush is sworn in for his second term on January 20 or Iraq’s general election ten days later.
2. The Americans will not start out with a large-scale, orderly military offensive, but rather short in-and-out forays; small US and Iraqi Special Forces units will cross the border and raid bases housing Iraqi guerrillas or buses carrying them to the border. If these brief raids are ineffective, the Americans will upscale the action.
3. The Allawi government will formally request the United States to consign joint Iraqi-US forces for action against Syrian targets, so placing the US operation under the Baghdad government’s aegis. In other words, Iraq will be at war with Syria without issuing a formal declaration.
4.
It is fully appreciated in Washington,
Baghdad and Jerusalem that intense
American military warfare against Syria could provoke a Hezbollah backlash
against Israel. Damascus
may well activate the Lebanese Shiite group to open a second front on Israel’s
northern border. The Syrian ruler is expected will tolerate a certain level of
American low-intensity, low-profile action. But, because of his
reluctance to strike back directly at American or Iraqi targets, he will field
the Hezbollah – and not just for cross-border attacks but to galvanize the
terrorist cells it controls and funds in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip into a stepped-up offensive against Israeli targets. These
Palestinian cells have proliferated over the years, particularly in the
Fatah and its branches, encouraged by
Yasser Arafat’s cooperative pact with the
Hezbollah which remains in force after his death.
Therefore, the key Middle East happening in the coming weeks will be US military strikes against Syria. The election of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority chairman, his invitation to the White House, the formation of the Sharon-Peres government coalition - albeit on very shaky legs, and the talk of imminent Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, will prove to be no more than sideshows of the main event.”
THE “DOMINO EFFECT” (Our Response) . . .
Craig . . .the Israeli DEBKAfile is exceedingly helpful in many ways . . . I think what we must keep in mind, Biblically, the initial demise of Syria (Zechariah 9, Isaiah 17)—insofar as the "domino effect" leading up to Gog/Magog is concerned—appears inevitable, and VERY SOON! Part of that domino effect (i.e., growing “Western influence” in the Middle East) has taken place (with periodic setbacks) for decades. Most of the West’s activities (the Brits and French, in particular) has now been subsumed by the USA. The USA has upwards of five military (mostly air) bases in the Negev Desert of Israel AS WE SPEAK (fully operational and clandestine as much as possible . . . just in case the Saudis “default” and/or things in Iraq fall apart . . . which they won't) (See: The Sorrows of Empire, by Chalmers Johnson, 2004).
LOOSE TORPEDOES
Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority President) continues to meet with
Hamas leaders in Lebanon/Syria (January, 2005) but to no avail. Trying
to revive the “roadmap to peace” seems more and more elusive. But this
will NOT be so simple. Hamas has just won a landslide election in
Gaza . . . giving them “bargaining rights” with Abbas; and as you read in
Zechariah 9 and the unfolding of the "Messianic
Scenario" . . . Tyre (Lebanon) and Gaza (the PLO/Authority) will be
utterly destroyed, as well as their leadership PRIOR to Gog/Magog, wherein the
“King of the North” (led by Turkey/Iran) will “collide” with the prepositioned
forces of Antichrist (Daniel
11:40-45;
Isaiah 17 and 18 as well, select verses) and the “King of the South” (led
by Egypt, along with Sudan and Libya) will “come up
against
him.”
WATCH CONDI or “CONDI WATCH”
With regards to the escapades of one, Bashar Assad of Syria, such tampering does not set well with either Israel or the USA. It is exceedingly clear that Assad "must be stopped" and that stopping has as much to do with the FACT that if Iranian nuclear facilities are attacked, he (Assad) will have to launch attacks against Israel and US bases in Iraq (if that is even possible) because of the Syrian-Iranian Defense Pact signed about a year ago. So, isn’t it interesting, just when the Russians come into the picture, BEHOLD: The Condi?
Condoleezza’s expertise is in “Soviet Affairs.” So, having the Russians forgive $10B as the price to play in the Middle East (via Syria) does NOT bode well for them. Listen to what Condi says about Syria and, of course, Iran (January 31, 2005):
“Asked in an interview with CNN television about Syria's role in Iraq, Rice said: ‘The Syrians have not been as helpful as they should be, and we've made that very clear.
“‘We believe that there are insurgents and insurgent support networks that have operated out of Syria,’ she said, ‘and we asked them to do a number of things to stop that, and we'll be continuing to pressure the Syrians to do exactly that.’
“Asked
what type of pressure could be applied to Damascus, Rice said: ‘We have
tools. Obviously, the president ordered some sanctions under the
Syrian Accountability Act a couple of months ago.’
“‘The Syrians do not want to get on a track where they are in a long-term bad relationship with the United States, and so I would hope that they would be more responsive.’”
Now, behold Condi’s rattling of the Iranian Mullahs’ cage:
“‘We certainly are concerned by the role that Iran has tried to play in Iraq,’ Rice said in an interview with the ABC television program This Week.
“‘The Iranians need to understand that the Iraqis are going to build their own future, that it is going to be a future that is very different than the Iranian regime.
“‘I do believe that the Iranians have not been particularly a force for stability and for good,’ said Rice, who was confirmed as secretary of state last week, replacing Colin Powell.”
Naturally, the numerous forts being built by the USA along the Syrian/Iraqi border make for a lovely exchange and, of course, much cause for further "creative possibilities" between the USA and Syria—I’m sure Dr. Rice’s “input” with the President as the new Secretary of State will play well in Damascus and Teheran!
BUSH AS MESSIAH—THAT’S WHAT THE SYRIAN SAYS
The
Washington Post quotes
Sadiq Azm, a Syrian writer, as saying that Bush’s Inaugural address was
Churchillian, “but at a time without an
adversary as serious as the Nazi regime.”
“People will see in this the old civilizing mission, the old colonialism,”
said the Syrian reformist. “He has adopted the reformers' agenda, but in
such a messianic way that even we are not ready to go that far.”
Of course, isn’t it interesting how the Syrian views the support that such a messianic message has? Listen to the Syrian explain to his audience the “messianic imperative” of the Bush Administration:
“Several US experts and analysts have attributed Bush’s re-election to massive support by conservative Christian groups and a notable showing among regular churchgoing Catholics and mainline Protestants. The born-again Methodist Bush frequently uses religious imagery in his speeches and repeatedly drew his anti-terror campaign as a battle of good against evil. On the US markets, video tapes and DVDs tell the story of how Bush abandoned alcohol at the age of 40 and rediscovered his Christian faith.”
Timing in all of this is fast upon us in that Iran, along with the Iranian defense minister, continues to fuel Hezbollah with tons of munitions, officers (some 500+) and over 2,000 troops (that we know of . . . and undoubtedly MANY MORE than this). The USA is NOT sitting around letting this go unnoticed....especially the funding for such nefarious activities—such as blowing up oil pipelines, etc. . . . therefore, a COORDINATED effort between the USA (and miscellaneous coalition forces, especially Britain) and Israel will dispense with "these problems" in relative ease and very shortly. This could be triggered in a whole variety of ways. The plan, for example, to "eliminate the Taliban" in Afghanistan was well in place by the summer of 2001 with Russia and Iran going along with us on the deal (strange bedfellows indeed); and of course, Pakistan, with India knowing about it but really not needed . . . so when 9/11 came about EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY IN PLACE (ref. Sorrows of Empire) for the invasion and elimination of the Taliban (an Islamic student organization which we put in place to begin with!).
“PERSIA . . . I WILL PUT HOOKS INTO YOUR JAWS, AND I WILL BRING YOU OUT” (Ezekiel 38:4 and 5)
Think
not that Iran does not fear PREEMPTION upon her nuclear facilities and soon .
. . thus, here’s the latest in the preparation of Iran/Persia in the coming
conflagration:
The photo on the right depicts a recent meeting between Iranian defense officials and Lebanese counterparts . . . but listen how this is playing out in this January 30, 2005, Iranian article in IRIB:
“Tehran, Jan 30 - Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said here Sunday that the current defense cooperation between Iran and Lebanon is not against the interests of a third country (Humm. Israel? USA? Iraq?). Shamkhani made the remarks on the sidelines of the visit of his Lebanese counterpart Abdulrahim Murad to Tehran.
“Speaking to reporters, he said the ongoing negotiations between Iran and Lebanon are aimed at fostering friendly ties between the two countries. Lebanese Defense Minister Abdulrahim Murad heading a military delegation arrived here Sunday at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart. Referring to his negotiations with his Lebanese counterpart, he said the Lebanese delegation also underlined the fact that the US seeks to benefit from the potentials of regional countries to implement its own plan dubbed as "Great Middle East".
“‘This proves that Tehran and Beirut enjoy common views on existing
threats in the region, he added. A memorandum of understating (MOU)
is to be signed by the two countries to further broaden defense
cooperation and boost trade between Iran and Lebanon,’ he said.” (My
emphasis)
TOGAMARAH, MESHECH AND TUBAL—WATCH TURKEY!
Now
the plot thickens with the Turks exceedingly disturbed regarding the
SUCCESSFUL ELECTIONS of the Kurds and the USA's entanglements with that awful
prospect: KURDISTAN . . . and why not? Turkey’s 20 million
Kurds are exceedingly restless and will look to Iraq’s “progress” with great
glee and hope for a future Kurdistan
and the final dismemberment of the
Ottoman Empire!
“Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said Turkey has no territorial designs on Iraq but added that it cannot remain indifferent to the sufferings of the Turkmens should an altered demographic composition of Kirkuk trigger an ethnic clash. In an exclusive interview with the TDN, Foreign Minister Gül stressed that Turkey was not threatening an intervention but that everyone should bear in mind that the government of any democratic country must take into consideration the sentiments and sensitivities of its public.”
Turkey’s
anxiety over the burgeoning independence and strengthening of the autonomous
state of Kurdistan in northern
Iraq has just about put the Turks over the
top, especially since the Kurds want
Kirkuk’s
“disposition” to be included into Kurdistan’s
“jurisdiction” in Northern Iraq!
Today,
as said in our previous articles, the Turks are taking far greater “defensive”
action with both Syria and Iran (for the Turks are technically an "Islamic
Republic" of sorts and a "sneaky one" at that . . . for what pundit knows what
lurks within the mind of the Turk
whose
ancestry springs from centuries of Byzantine politics and intrigue!).
Furthermore, the Turks fully understand why the USA has prepositioned her
forces throughout the Balkans . . . including upwards of 5 military bases in
Bulgaria, scores in Romania, Georgia, Macedonia and the Serbian province of
Kosovo, as well as Bosnia: It’s that
Caspian oil pipeline WHICH WILL NOT PASS THROUGH TURKEY!
The oil reserves of the five STANS in Central
Asia (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan) hold
such unbelievable amounts of natural gas and oil that it must, in the
immediate, consider itself to be as rich or MORE SO, than the Persian Gulf
(here we could be talking about 200BB and that “B” as in Billion
Barrels); therefore, the USA has for years sought to protect this "stash" from
both the Chinese and, quite frankly, the Russians. Now that Turkey is
“having problems” the USA will simply divert its “pipeline
aspirations”
direct from Baku on the Caspian through friendly Azerbaijan and on through
Georgia.
From here it will travel by super tanker across the international waters of the Black Sea and into Bulgaria (where the USA now has five military installations) and into Kosovo/Macedonia/Albania (all very friendly with the USA and full of US installations like Bondsteel).
Now that Afghanistan is in the bag and the Pakistan "problem" has been relatively resolved (aside from finding OBL and the traditional flaps with India), we're able to get that natural gas and some oil out through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean. Our Balkan network of military bases and the military cooperation with the STANS, and Georgia/Azerbaijan, is the ultimate strategy to control the earth’s resources (Biblically speaking: HIDDEN TREASURES).
The Russian government has always understood that this pipeline was part of the broader US strategy to cut all links with Moscow to the former Soviet states in the Caucasus, building a new economic infrastructure that would dissuade the Caucasus group of nations from ever renewing these ties with the former Evil Empire.
PREPOSITIONING “HIM” IN THE MIDDLE EAST
“And at the end time the king of the South will collide with HIM, and the king of the North will storm against HIM . . . and HE will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through . . . HE will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall . . . then HE will stretch out has hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape . . . but HE will gain control over the HIDDEN TREASURES of gold (black gold?) and silver, and over all the precious things . . . ” (Daniel 11:40-43) (My emphasis).
Thence,
all the US Troop deployments (prepositioning) throughout the region . . . and
I mean an increasing number of US military bases for land, naval and air
(Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine (Yes, even Ukraine now that “democracy” has broken
out in the Ukraine!), Cyprus, Poland, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia,
Greece, Iraq, Georgia, the STANS, the Persian Gulf, ISRAEL, Jordan, Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, the Horn of Africa, and on and on—count
them: Some 735+ and growing overseas bases and nearly half the nations
of the planet! Shall I say it again: WHO IS ABLE TO MAKE WAR WITH
HIM! Listen, we’re not talking about minor investment here . . .
one-half trillion dollars in one year alone is pouring into this operation and
every single member of the planet (that’s right, the planet because they’re
financing our horrendous deficits) is paying for it!
All this to say that the USA has "had it" with these terrorists . . . and so has Israel . . . in any event . . . watch Turkey and especially Egypt (King of the North, King of the South) . . . for it’s through them that Gog shall arise.
All "Islamic Hell" is about to break loose. We're calling it just like IT IS! Remember, it was the Ottoman Turks who put the Sunnis in control of Iraq OVER 500 YEARS AGO . . . now, the "upstart USA" comes in and turns Turkey’s little theater of operations upside down! And, worse yet, KURDISTAN and the final demise of the Ottoman Empire has commenced in earnest. Likewise, don’t forget that Turkey told the Iranians that the “three of them (Turkey, Iran and Syria) could make war against the Kurds” . . . AS IF THE USA DIDN’T EXIST (e.g., “over my dead body you will”).
What's astounding in all of this is the stupidity of Gog! Yet, there is NOTHING, ABOSOLUTELY NOTHING more galvanizing than Islamic fundamentalism gone amok . . . and you, my friend are about to see it very soon—hoards of SUICIDE BOMBERS stomping through minefields in human waves just to get at this HIM whereof Daniel speaks!
But, remember, the Word of God—though they sneer at it/us and though they scoff throughout their protestations on how “awful” is our God to “permit such a thing” to happen; just remember, HE THAT SITS IN THE HEAVENS SHALL LAUGH, THE LORD SHALL HAVE THEM IN DERISION! We are witnessing the culmination of Gentile World Power seen by Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Zechariah, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Jude, James, and most assuredly, John the apostle. They know not, these nations, that “they have gathered against the Lord, and against His Messiah!” (Psalms 2).
“HE (ANTICHRIST) WILL GAIN CONTROL OVER THE HIDDEN TREASURES”
“. . . Gog . . . Have you come to capture spoil and to seize plunder . . . great spoil?” (Daniel 11:43; Ezk. 38:3, 12-13)
(Part II of “Hidden Treasures”)
I
initiated this blog with the full intent of
illuminating the coming conflagration of the Gog/Magog War, Syria’s imminent
disaster, and the ensuing conflicts as “rumors from the East and from the
North” which “will disturb him, (causing him to) go forth with great wrath to
destroy and annihilate many” (Daniel 11:44). But, alas! The Holy
Spirit has once again foiled my plans . . . and has, I humbly affirm, put His
priorities ahead of mine . . . and to this end I pray it be so . . . not out
of presumption, but by the grace of God that His Word will encourage us all to
pursue the unadulterated truth found in the Book of books.
Matters material to the announced subject will be shared more fully, including why the mad rush for the “hidden treasures” and why “rumors from the North and East” so disturb and enrage him to the extent that the Gog/Magog Scenario is but a stepping stone in his quest for world hegemony!
But first things first . . . let
the Scriptures lay the foundation to this ultimate analysis. This is not
easy to follow, I admit, however, neither has his nefarious trail been brought
to us in Technicolor! Remember, he is the DECEIVER, the “Angel of Light”
yet the “Prince of Darkness.” His “best practices” throughout the ages
have been hidden in the deep crevices of
history’s
subtleties and shadows . . . but the Scripture’s light gladly exposes this
“lord of flies” like a giant cockroach who scatters when we turn on the light
of this Book by the Power of the Spirit!
Encapsulated within Daniel 11 and Ezekiel 38 is the nature of man’s inherent fear to loose his ill-gotten gain, or so it would appear. However, Daniel’s recordation gives an entirely different raison d’être for the intentions of the one revealed to him through Gabriel (Dan. 8:16; 9:21) and the one whose appearance could very well be the Son of Man Himself (Daniel 10:5-6).
What we witness in Daniel 11:43 is, we believe, a picture of that great end-times’ “desolator” . . . “the one who makes desolate” alluded to in Daniel 9:27b, and, thus, prefigured in the Maccabean Nemesis, the Seleucid Prince: Antiochus Epiphanes (Daniel 8:9; 175 B.C). This is the “little horn” who came out of the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great, whose great horn of total authority was broken into four parts at his death and divided among his four generals: Cassander of Macedonia; Lysimachus of Thrace and Asia Minor; Seleucus of Syria; and Ptolemy of Egypt (Daniel 8:5, 8).
Daniel’s introduction to the totality of Gentile World Power, that ultimate manifestation of Total Global Dominance in its hegemonic ascendance upon the planet, is given elaborate fanfare in the mind of one, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; and interpreted by Daniel the Prophet as the evolving IMAGE of Gentile World Power, both in antiquity and its final and horrific conclusion:
“You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them . . . then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold (of the image) were crushed all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35).
Thus,
embodied within the very King of Babylon, was the desolator himself! Is
there any wonder then, that the introduction of the BEAST of Revelation 11:7
who ascends out of the abyss—the same despicable and vile thing having ten
horns and seven blasphemous entitled heads, whose body is described like that
of a leopard, whose feet that of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a
lion (Rev. 13:1-2)—is the sum and substance of that hideous morphing,
culminating in a Frankenstein hodgepodge of beastly body parts known as THE
BEAST? Here is the epitome of man’s ghastly efforts, and Satan’s
despicable deceptions! Behold, the confusion of Babylon; the embodiment
of the Son of Perdition, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin spoken of by Paul the
Apostle (II Thessalonians 2:3, 8) and foreseen by Daniel in the once supreme
Head of Gold/King of Babylon who himself was divinely debased to prefigure the
very BEAST and BEASTLY KINGDOM himself:
“All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the BEASTS of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you (7 years which prefigures the “beastly reign of Antichrist” in Daniel’s 70th Week) . . . Nebuchadnezzar . . . was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:28-32 portions).
Alas! The KING OF BABYLON had become a BEAST! This is the source of all that man proclaims is his highest achievement . . . and the voice of the one who utters such inane profundities is none other than the King of Babylon, the Desolator, THE BEAST!
Yes, King Nebuchadnezzar, this IS your BABYLON THE GREAT, which you have built by your insatiable greed and avaricious propensities . . . YES, you, O King of Babylon, high and lifted up upon your palatial palace viewing the world your hands have crafted. Yes, YOU, who by the might of your power and for the glory of your inflated majesty, void of all that has anything to do with the God of the Universe . . . you can absorb all the glory and the majesty, for behind it all lurks the sinister and shadowy figure of what shall become of you—the ARCHETYPE of BOTH yourself, the Beast/King of Babylon, and your Kingdom/Babylon the Great.
Oh, yes, we shall see more of you in John’s Revelation and in Jesus’ reference to your abominations; indeed, your whereabouts so hidden from our sight, has, in these end of days, been UNSEALED, for all to see your unsightly and foul beginnings domiciled in the boastful prattling of the BEAST-KING, Nebuchadnezzar.
We recognize you, not as a man, but for what you are: THE BEAST! Prior to your boastings, you amassed the HIDDEN TREASURES of the earth, from whence your Empire extended itself upward and outward . . . your expanse was breathtaking, your wealth flabbergasted us all. But, now, behind it all, once again . . . you are driven away from all mankind, having nothing to do with us, for you are THE BEAST . . . your eating mimics the beast of the field, your body is exposed to the elements as are the vulgar beasts, your hair resembles the feathers of an eagle; likewise your nails . . . are characteristics of the beast, and not of man.
And, as the BEAST you prefigure . . . there is no communion with the Almighty, no human spirit that ignites with the Light of Life . . . for in you we see the Son of Destruction, of Perdition . . . the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, void of divine passion and beyond all fellowship with the God of the Universe: That’s what your Kingdom has wrought; that is your divine cataclysm. Yes, in you and within your vile entourage, we see the final end:
“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (Revelation 19:19-20).
You, and the reflection of all you are, THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST . . . the ultimate expression of Gentile World Power, of Total Global Dominance . . . your apostate religious system ultimately envisioned in a most appropriate, derogatory title, the Second Beast . . . yes, the LOT OF YOU . . . “the stone uncut from human hands” will SMASH YOU TO SMITHEREENS!
“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44; read 2:45).
In reality, Nebuchadnezzar’s “Neo-Babylonian” outburst which clearly illuminates that awful latter-day figure was, in point of Biblical fact, subsequent to Babel’s originations and counterfeit unity within the immediate environs of Nimrod’s Tower. Here, we trace, through divine inspiration what fixates today’s only super power: OIL!
“ . . . Nimrod . . . the beginning of his kingdom was Babel . . . in the land of Shinar (i.e., Babylon) . . . and the tower which the sons of men had built . . . they used brick for stone, and they used asphalt (tar) for mortar . . . come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name” (Genesis 10: 10a; 11:1-9, portions).
Oozing with petroleum molecules in pits upon the surface of the Plains of Shinar made such exposures an excellent bonding material with which to build their Tower of Power! Once heated and sealed, the bond acted like magic cement, keeping moisture out, and strengthening the base and the super structure that ascended into the clouds . . . perhaps not as primitive as we would think!
The point to be made is the
uncanny resemblance of Babylon’s Tower with Iraq’s oil rich reserves, now
occupied by Babylon the Great! How ironic that the BEAST has returned to
his
vomit! How unbelievable is this? The same galvanizing force that
struck fear into the hearts and minds of those whom he conquered—“like Nimrod
a mighty hunter against the Lord . . . and the beginning of his
kingdom was Babel”—for he subdued the Plains of Shinar
and made the people as one, was one who honored the god of fortresses and war!
Indeed, we can safely say that Nimrod blazed the initial “going forth
conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2) among the children of men.
Josephus, the famous Jewish Historian speaks of Nimrod’s purposes:
“He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He gradually changed the government into tyranny - seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon his power. He (Nimrod) also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers.” (Josephus--Book I, Chap. IV)
In point of fact, the entire book of Daniel, bespeaks of Nimrod’s usurpations and connivances . . . for as Nimrod’s brutal rise to dominance was fraught with war and whose city and tower was held together by OIL or petroleum-based products of the earth, the desired effect was akin to that of Nebuchadnezzar: TOTAL GLOBAL DOMINANCE (as they knew it) . . . and, in so far as Nimrod was concerned, without OIL, the expression of his kingdom would not be possible! Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian expression of the Great City was nothing less than the original attempt made by his predecessor, Nimrod.
Daniel’s release from the lion’s den ushers in his own visions of the four beasts and the Ancient of Days . . . of the progression of Gentile World Powers and of judgment which shall be rendered by the Ancient of Days in favor of the “saints of the Most High.”
Now, Nebuchadnezzar’s figure morphs from chapter six of Daniel, where we see the King of Babylon, into the “little” or “younger horn” of Daniel 7, whereof we read:
“After
this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful
and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It
devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it
was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns”
(Daniel 7:7).
So it is here that the first mentioning of the COMPOSITE BEAST . . . the CONGLOMERATION of Gentile World Power, witnessed in Rome and her Empire, comes upon the earthly scene . . . and, therefore, the initiation of the beastly description: TEN HORNS! Again, these ten horns will become the reoccurring theme of the Beast’s Kingdom and rule in Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7, 12, 16.
PROGRESSION OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION . . . HAS COME FULL CIRCLE
Once again, at this juncture, and to highlight this BEASTLY FIGURE throughout the book of Daniel, I would rivet your attention to the introduction of the BEAST with TEN HORNS in Daniel 7:8 . . . for it is OUT OF these TEN HORNS that we hear these visionary statements:
“While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one (as in “younger horn”), came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8).
Thus, it is here that the
Babylonian (Lion with wings of an eagle); the Persian (Bear with three ribs in
its mouth); the Grecian (Leopard with the four wings on its back and its four
heads); and, finally, the FOURTH BEAST of Daniel 7:7 records the march of
Western Civilization from those original oil drenched Plains of
Shinar. As the evolution of Western
Civilization is magnified under the divine microscope of Daniel’s insightful
descriptions, he immediately turns from the imagery of Nebuchadnezzar’s
Beastly experience, to that of the Roman Imperium
. . . for assuredly, this is the successor of Grecian dominance, who in fits
and starts dating back before 700 B.C. cast off its Republic, for the
Dictatorship and PAX ROMANA, the Peace of Rome and the
Age
of Roman Empire prior to the birth of Christ when the Roman Senate ceded
political power to Octavia, who took the name of the beloved Julius Caesar to
become, PONTIFF MAXIMUS, Augustus Caesar: HAIL CAESAR!
But what Daniel witnessed was so prophetically advanced; catapulting the eschatological time frame into the very end of days! For, it would be from the Beast’s original ROMAN ROOTS that a “young horn” would arise having “a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8b).
Although Daniel immediately projects the victory of one like unto the “Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13) and reassures us of the ultimate triumph expressed in “His kingdom . . . which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14) . . . he immediately picks up the beastly theme once more . . .
“Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was large in appearance than its associates” (Daniel 7:19-20).
Here,
Daniel seems transfixed upon the deeds of this wretched character when he
describes the following scene wrought, not by the Fourth Beast per se, but by
the “little horn” which had burst forth from the Ten Horns:
“I kept looking, and that horn (i.e., “little horn”) was waging war with the saints and overpowering them” (Daniel 7:21).
“Waging war with the saints and overpowering them” . . . this very phraseology is picked up again in John’s Revelation where we read:
“The beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them (i.e., the Two (Corporate) Witnesses), and overcome them and kill them . . . and the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus . . .” (Revelation 11:7; 12:17).
As in a film, the scenes we view are fast moving . . . projecting from present to distant future with New Testament prophets, like John, substantiating and expanding upon the original vision of Daniel, amplifying the divine revelation, giving abundant clarity in greater detail, and then thrusting us back into Daniel’s account where even greater detail emerges; far more than we could even fathom upon our initial encounter with his writings.
It is in Daniel that we initially view THE LITTLE HORN, THE BEAST, and then how that beastly figure emerges out from the original Ten Horns of the Beast proper. We read in Daniel 7:23-24:
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom (i.e., ROMAN EMPIRE) on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it” (vs. 23).
Clearly, Rome of antiquity, the bastion of Gentile World Power of yore, the cradle of civilization, Babylon, had now advanced to the West; and, as the West, its overwhelming expression: THE WORLD THAT WAS ROME! But, then Daniel’s fixation rivets back to his original “little horn” . . .
“As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings” (vs. 24).
Again, it is here that Daniel’s view turns cosmic . . . for he sees beyond Rome’s immediate jurisdictions and encounters “another (who) will arise after them” (i.e., after the Ten Horns) and this one (which undoubtedly is the “little horn” of Daniel 7:8, for it arises out of the original Ten Horns) will be different from the previous Ten Horns and will subdue three kings (thus, the horns are likened to authorities, i.e., “kings”).
Now, it is here that Daniel exposes, still further, this awful latter-day Beast:
“And he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
Here, the well-meaning, though prophetically disastrous calculations, engendered by the Historicists project the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte to be the figure mentioned in Daniel 7:25! To dispense with this confinement and even bizarre interpretation of Scripture is all I can do for now; however, the “time, times, and half a time” configurations are reiterated in Daniel 12:7, and again in Revelation 12:14.
The
time frame can be discovered in other Scriptures by an assortment of numerical
simulations: 42 months, 1,260 days, 3 ½ days, 3 ½ years. . . each
precisely designating the same period of time (i.e., one-half of the 70th
Week of Daniel’s prophecy found in Daniel 9:24-27, and generally spoken of as
the “Tribulation Period” in familiar parlance; e.g., Revelation 11 where the
“Court of the Gentiles” shall tread underfoot the Holy City for forty-two
months and the Beast, who leads the Court of the Gentiles, shall openly make
war against the Two Witnesses (i.e., the Holy City) for three-and-a-half days,
immediately following their prevailing testimony for 1,260 days or the first
half of Daniel’s 70th Week; the latter half of which is the time of
the “Great Tribulation” or the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble”).
Daniel, however, does not dispense with his elaborations regarding the Almighty’s antithesis, i.e., the Antichrist. Instead of leaving us at the pinnacle of Western Civilization from whence the “Little Horn” is identified “possessing eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8), Daniel substantiates the identity of this gruesome personage by advancing his subject into Daniel 8.
His eruption roots out of their place “three previous” horns, subduing these three by uprooting their kingdoms from his base. The younger horn announces his arrival within the context of familiarity. We have brought out in the past that America’s primary foundations within the “New World” displaced Britain, France and Spain, uprooting them from “shore to shore” and ultimately overshadowing them, economically, militarily, and even religiously. Even so, the triumvirate’s European colonial compatriots (i.e., Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Germany and Russia, all of whom walked the face of the earth as seen in the IMAGE in Daniel with the TEN TOES of Iron (stronger nations) and clay (weaker nations)) have dissipated glories compared to the younger horn to whom they have given, if you would, space and birth.
Thus, it was out of those who
claim the role of Caesar, Emperor, King, Kaiser, and Tsar . . . all the
metamorphosis of Rome—from Constantine to Charlemagne; from Byzantium to the
Holy Roman Empire, from the Emperor Napoleon to the Kaiser of Imperial
Germany; from Mussolini’s Roman Empire to Hitler’s Third Reich; from Imperial
Russia to Pax Britannica . . . comes a mixed multitude whose ascendancy out
from the waning IMPERIUM of his forebears, now
struts
and strides across earth’s stage:
“The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction” (Revelation 17:9-11)
In John’s day, these seven mountains/kings and kingdoms would be all too familiar, for they wrought extraterritorial havoc upon ancient Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece (the “five have fallen”) and Rome (“one is”) THE OTHER HAS NOT YET COME. . . “And when he comes, he must remain a little while (i.e., “the younger horn” or “youthful nation/kingdom”). “And the BEAST which was (ancient Rome) and is not (seemingly dissipated in the 10 Toes of the Image (some weak, some strong) is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven (i.e., the SEVENTH KING receives a wound and recovers from seeming death and becomes the BEAST: The EIGHTH, or “out of the SEVENTH”). Again, Dr. Barnhouse clarifies this exposition:
“If we look upon the Roman dictator as being the seventh, he becomes the eighth, the Antichrist at the time of the Satanic incarnation, and thereby becomes an eighth (note that the Greek is not the eighth), who is thus out of the seven, since Satan is the cause of all of the others. He now comes to his judgment, going down to perdition.” (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation, An Expositional Commentary, p. 330).
Thus, the SEVENTH KING is indeed the extension and full revival of PAX ROMANA, but his eruption in the Latter Days comes forth from the Ten Toes who colonized the planet as the Image began to walk; and, specifically has morphed himself into that Great City admired by the ancient King of Babylon and so adroitly depicted by Daniel the Prophet.
But, again, Daniel solidifies his example of this Latter-Day King and Kingdom, and his relationship to Israel in the time of the Maccabean Revolt, as well as her future ingathering in Daniel 8 through 12, while, at the same time, concentrating his full description as Greco-Roman Man, the West.
In Daniel 8 we view a ram “butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him” (vs. 4). Note the initial direction of the Persian Empire is westward. This two-horned ram (the Medes and the Persians; vs. 3) is confronted by a “male goat coming from THE WEST OVER THE SURFACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH having a conspicuous horn between his eyes” (vs. 5). Eventually, this male goat attacks the ram with two horns, rushing “at him in his mighty wrath” (vs. 6-7).
It is here (and we must keep in mind Daniel’s theme of the BEAST throughout these Scriptures) that “the male goat magnified himself exceedingly” (i.e., Alexander the Great) . . . “But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven” (vs. 8). Again, these are Alexander’s four generals (Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy).
Now . . . Daniel picks up the tempo and intensity of his beastly theme:
“And out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down” (vs. 9 and 10).
A number of salient points emit from these passages: (1) The “small horn” or “little/younger horn” is reintroduced in the drama of Gentile World Powers . . . and, it is certain, this pertains to Antichrist as originally depicted at the commencement of this final set of visions by Daniel (cf. Daniel 7:8); (2) The “small horn’s” move is initiated against “The Beautiful Land” (i.e., Israel); and (3) The “initial figure of Antiochus Epiphanes” is immediately transfigured into a “cosmic image” beyond the pale of mortal flesh for “it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.”
John’s apocalyptic drama takes up Daniel’s format in Revelation:
“And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth . . . and the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him . . . woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (Revelation 12:3, 4, 9, 13)
“And leave out the court (i.e., the “Court of the Gentiles”) which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will TREAD UNDER FOOT the Holy City for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2).
This, we affirm, is the final TREADING DOWN of the Holy City, by the Evil One foreseen in Daniel 8; and, in case you are still not clear of whom Daniel speaks . . . he continues his enunciations and diatribes regarding this one:
“It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper” (Daniel 8:11 and 12).
Here, the reader is tossed about by the classic prophetical utterances of the Hebrew prophet; moving from the cosmic to the mundane, from the celestial to the terrestrial, from heaven to earth, so quickly it boggles the doctrinaire disciplined mind to the uttermost . . . for this is divine inspiration, not limited by finite brains caught in the bondage of the scientific method of the Enlightenment!
Alas! You are still confused, and so was Daniel . . . therefore, the straightforward interpretation of the vision is given:
“And he said, ‘Behold, I am
going to let you know what will occur at the final period
of
the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. The
ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is
between his eyes is the first king (i.e., Alexander the Great). And the
broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms
which will arise from his nation, although not with his power” (Daniel
8:19-22).
Fast forward to “the appointed time of the end” we go . . . but then we speak of the Medes and the Persians . . . of Alexander the Great and his four generals?
Ah, but this is not what catches the mesmerizing fixations of Daniel . . . once again . . . he elaborates upon “the little horn” . . . for Daniel is not limited by time and space. These contestations between the ram and the male goat are but shadows of the major cosmic conflict at “the appointed time of the end.”
So, Daniel fully discloses the Little Horn’s maneuverings in antiquity and into the information age:
“And in the latter period of
their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise
insolent and skilled in intrigue. And his power will be mighty,
but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and
prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence;
and 
he
will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at
ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes (Alas! Has
Antiochus, the “little horn” taken on the “Prince of princes” Himself?), but
he will be broken without human agency” (but Antiochus simply died of natural
causes in
Tabae,
Iran in 164 B.C. . . .
so, again, the cosmic figure lurks behind the image of Antiochus) (Daniel
8:23-25).
Daniel concludes this portion of his vision by this mysterious time frame:
“And the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but keep the vision secret, for it pertains to many days in the future” (Daniel 8:26).
The sum of Daniel 8 is in total agreement with Daniel 7. The “little horn” of Daniel 7 (the final end-times’ Roman Empire, or all that bespeaks of that concluding behemoth of Gentile World Power that burst forth upon the North American Continent) is in agreement with the “little horn” of Daniel 8 who intrudes into the Beautiful Land, both then and into the future (Daniel 11:41) as the “cultured” side, if you would, of GRECO-ROMAN man.
His “religious persecutions” were introduced in Daniel 7:21 (“That horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them”); against all those considered “saints of the Most High” throughout the ages, but, in particular at the close of this age in which we now live. Finally, his rage in Daniel 8 is seen toward Israel, the final days of Jacob’s Trouble.
Daniel became sick and exhausted for days following these visions . . . “and there was none to explain it” (Daniel 8:27).
Daniel’s famous prayer is then uttered at the beginning of Daniel 9:3-19. It is here (Daniel is now in his 80s) that Daniel receives one of the most intensified portions of prophetical Scriptures ever divinely announced . . . and we poor puny humans have been scrambling ever since to dissect these remarkable passages of Holy Write!
A full dissertation of Daniel 9:24-27 this is not. However, I would simply draw your immediate attention, once again, to the beastly figure pursued by Daniel the Prophet, who relentlessly and steadfastly refuses to give him one spare chapter where he can rest from the prophet’s dogged pursuit and exposure!
Within the aforementioned Gordian knot of prophetic intensity, Daniel, nevertheless, rips off the veneer of princely titles seen in the coming Titus of Rome who destroyed the Herodian Temple in 70 A.D. Daniel commits this destruction, not to the “Prince who is to come,” but to the Prince’s people who bear the immediate commencement of Israel’s desolations. Instead, “The Prince who is to come . . . will make a ‘defense pact’ (not THE covenant . . . such is NOT in the original Hebrew text) with the many (i.e., a regathered Israel), but in the middle of the week (the 70th Week of Daniel) he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations (i.e., the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the Prophet) will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate” (Daniel 9:26-27 portions).
The true Messiah, the Prince is juxtaposed to “The Prince who is to come” (i.e., Jesus Christ vs. Antichrist . . . Note: Not the Messiah vs. the “spirit of antichrist,” but vs. “THE ANTICHRIST” . . . “the ‘prince who is to come’” or as Sir Robert Anderson describes him: “The Coming Prince.”
The dimensions of Daniel’s spiritual struggles are revealed in Daniel 10 . . . he is given a final burst of divine exhilaration in the midst of his exhausted state . . . for, even then, the battle revealed to him was of immense spiritual confrontation by angelic beings who occupy the hierarchy of the divine platform . . . principalities in high places (Daniel 10:13, 20, 21).
Then, not skipping a beat, Daniel is once again thrust into disclosing greater details of Antichrist, seen in the earthly figure of Antiochus Epiphanes and chronicled in the direct review of Antichrist himself seen in Daniel 11:36-45.
Again and again, Daniel
repeatedly keeps up the pressure and, ipso facto, the exposure, of
Antichrist and his deceitful and shameful exploits. Antiochus
Epiphanes is but a haughty impression strutting
upon life’s stage and then he vanishes away . . . but he serves as an
Archetype of that dastardly and revolting end-times’ figure: THE
Antichrist . . . the one who is wholly opposed to the true Messiah and who is
the very COUNTERFEIT of Messiah
Himself!
In sum . . . as seen in Antiochus, “The Glorious One” (for so presumptuous was he to assume such a title unto himself), this useful braggart leaves an abominable legacy of falderal recorded in Daniel 11:21-35 (as Antiochus) and 11:36-45 (clearly as Antichrist); thus, highlighting his wretched person and works:
1. He is a “despicable person” (vs. 21)
2. The “honor of kingship” was not “officially conferred” upon him (vs. 21)
3. He comes to power in a relative time of “tranquility” (vs. 21)
4. He seizes the kingdom by intrigue (vs. 23)
5. After an alliance is made with him, he will practice deception (vs. 23)
6. He goes up and gains power “with a small force of people” (vs. 23)
7. In a “time of tranquility” he will enter the “richest parts of the realm” (vs. 24)
8. He will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors (vs. 24)
9. He will distribute plunder, booty, and possessions (vs. 24)
10. He will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time (vs. 24)
11. Ultimately, he is “enraged at the holy covenant and takes action” (vs. 30).
12. Ultimately, he commits the “Abomination of Desolation” in the Temple (vs. 31)
13. He’s a “smooth talker” who “turns to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant” (vs. 32)
14. He will do as he pleases (vs. 36)
15. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god (vs. 36)
16. He will speak monstrous things against the God of gods (vs. 36)
17. He will prosper until the indignation is finished (vs. 36)
18. He will show no regard for the gods of his father (vs. 37)
19. He will show no regard for the desire of women (vs. 37)
20. He will show no regard for any other god (vs. 37)
21. He will magnify himself above them all (i.e., all gods) (vs. 37)
22. He will honor a god of fortresses (vs. 38)
23. He will honor a god his fathers did not know (vs. 38)
24. He will give to this “god” by honoring him “with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures” (vs. 38)
25. He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god (vs. 39)
26. He will give great honor to those who acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price (vs. 39)
27. The King of the South (at the “end time”) will collide with him (vs. 40)
28. The King of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships (vs. 40)
29. He will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through (vs. 40) (This verse introduces the Gog/Magog Conflagration.).
30. He will enter the Beautiful Land (vs. 41)
31. Many countries will fall . . . but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon (i.e., modern Jordan) (vs. 41)
32. He will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape (vs. 42)
33. He will gain control over the hidden treasures . . . of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians (Cush) will follow at his heels (vs. 43)
34. Rumors from the East will disturb him (vs. 44)
35. Rumors from the North will disturb him (vs. 44)
36. He will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many (i.e., in the East and North (vs. 44)
37. He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas a the beautiful Holy Mountain (vs. 45)
38. He will come to his end, and no one will help him (vs. 45)
I am confident that others could glean more characteristics from the chapter than I; however, let us keep before us THE culprit. The adumbrative prophetic style, common among the Hebrew prophets, suggests this pathetic excuse, who craves our worship, has been brought up before the divine court (for the “court sat” and judgment was rendered on behalf of the saints) wherein his final conviction is decided by an overwhelming compilation of evidence aforementioned in Daniel’s elaborate presentation of this “crime scene investigation” par excel lance!
We most certainly will draw upon this panoply of prophetic evidence from time to time. The point of the matter is this: Daniel has documented this one can no longer hide his serpentine pursuits seen in his Archetype, Antiochus Epiphanes, nor in the more overt expressions revealed in the latter part of Daniel 11.
And, lest we forget, elsewhere in Daniel his blatant enumerations are endless:
39. His Roman heritage (i.e., the Fourth Beast), as iron, crushes and shatters all things . . . especially, the aforementioned kingdoms who preceded it (Daniel 2:40).
40. He, the FOURTH BEAST (again, his source is Rome) is dreadful and terrible and extremely strong (Daniel 7:7).
41. He is described as having “iron teeth.” (Daniel 7:7)
42. He “trampled down the remainder with its feet” (Daniel 7:7)
(Note: Jesus Himself uses this to describe Gentile World Powers which “trod(den) down” Jerusalem until the “times of the Gentiles” are fulfilled (Luke 21:24) (Also, cf. Revelation 11:2)
43. He is the “younger horn” among the kingdoms (Daniel 7:8)
44. He possessed eyes like the eyes of a man (Daniel 7:8)
45. His mouth utters great boasts (Daniel 7:8)
46. He will uproot three other horns when he arises (Daniel 7:8)
47. He, “the younger horn” will utter “the sound of the boastful words” (Daniel 7:11).
48. Ultimately, he will be slain and his body will be destroyed and given to the burning fire (Daniel 7:11)
49. He is described as exceeding dreadful (Daniel 7:19)
50. He devours, crushes, and tramples down the remainder with its feet (Daniel 7:19).
51. He has TEN HORNS on his head + “the other horn (i.e., the ELEVENTH HORN) which came up” before which three of them fell (Daniel 7:20)
52. He is larger in appearance than his (its) associates (Daniel 7:20).
53. He wages war with the saints and overpowers them (Daniel 7:21).
54. He is “different from all the other kingdoms” (Daniel 7:23).
55. He “will devour the whole earth” (Daniel 7:23).
56. Again, it will “tread it down and crush it” (Daniel 7:23).
57. He will “subdue three kings” after the TEN KINGS (i.e., “horns”) have been raised up (Daniel 7:24).
58. “He will speak out against the Most High” (Daniel 7:25).
59. He will “wear down the saints of the Highest One” (Daniel 7:25).
60. “He will intend to make alterations in times and in law” (Daniel 7:25).
61. The saints will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time (3 ½ years, 3 ½ days, 42 months).
62. “His dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever” (Daniel 7:26).
63. He is referred to as “a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land” (Daniel 8:9).
64. He “grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down” (Daniel 8:10).
65. He will “magnify itself to be equal with the Commander of the host” (Daniel 8:11).
66. Eventually, “he will remove the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down” (Daniel 8:11).
67. The “host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice” (Daniel 8:12) because of “transgression.”
68. He will “fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper” (Daniel 8:12b).
69. This “little horn” is described as “insolent and skilled in intrigue</