Apocalypse Part One

Apocalypse
Part One
Daniel & Matthew
Bandula Jayamanne

Copyright © 2020 Bandula Jayamanne
All rights reserved.
Published by:
Bandula Jayamanne
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Table of Contents
Apocalypse 5
Prophecy 8
The Book of Daniel 13
Daniel - Overview 16
The Gospel of Matthew 26
Matthew - Overview 31
Annexure One 37
Daniel 2 38
Daniel 7 44
Daniel 8 51
Daniel 9 57
Daniel 10 64
Daniel 11 67
Daniel 12 77
Annexure Two 80
Matthew 13 81
Matthew 24 97
Matthew 25 104

Apocalypse
The word ‘apocalypse’ invokes visions of global catastrophe.
The word is used in different contexts- global warming
pandemic contagions, natural disasters and nuclear war.
Throughout the ages, the world has gone through such
cataclysms. Yet the world has survived without absolute
annihilation.
However, is it possible that all of the above catastrophes
could happen at the same time bringing about the ultimate
apocalypse- a global catastrophe affecting planet Earth? Is it
possible to predict such an event by considering what is
happening around us, the signs of our times?
What are the signs of our times?
The forests are burning, often deliberately set on fire. Plastic
waste is found in the deepest depths of the ocean. Polar ice
is melting. Drought and floods in different regions of the earth.
Earthquakes are frequent, some causing tsunamis and death
of thousands. Famine and malnutrition are endemic in certain
parts of the world. The recent nova coronavirus is only the
latest of diseases spread by retroviruses, something not
known before the mid-twentieth century.
Humanity is at the lowest moral ebb. Fake news is a new
phenomenon. Truth is alternate facts. Truth is relative. People
are lovers of money, power, and fame. Few enjoy wealth. The
majority suffer poverty. Farmers are encouraged not to plant
crops or not to gather the harvest to ensure prices remain
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high. Corruption is found in high and low places. Sexual
abuse, rape, and paedophilia are in the news daily.
Can we discern the times of our times?
We can consider humanistic predictions. And there a many of
these. They depend on limited human knowledge and
understanding. We cannot be satisfied with such sources
because they often contradict each other. These may be false
predictions. A better prospect is biblical prophecy, for God is
eternal, self-existent, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent and sovereign. That he is eternal, self-existent,
immutable describes who he is. That he is omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent and sovereign pertains to what he
does. In his sovereignty, he plans the course of human
history, in his omniscience he knows what lies ahead, in his
omnipresence he guides the course of events, and in his
omnipotence he is able to accomplish his plans.
In this book, I am exploring the biblical prophecies of how it
will all end since we already know the beginning, the creation.
Since the end is still in the future, we can only look to sources
that have ideas as to what the end will be and indicate signs
of when it will happen. Prophecy, the ability to foretell the
future accurately, is an essential part of any religion because
fulfilled prophecy is one sure way of knowing whether the
religion is true or not. Therefore, it is necessary that religion
has significant prophetic content. In this regard, the Bible is
unsurpassed.
From Genesis to Revelation, we find prophecies that are to
occur hundreds and even more than two thousand years in
the future in extraordinary detail. We can trust biblical
prophecy, because of God’s omniscience- his foreknowledge
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that certain events will happen at certain times. We also trust
biblical prophecy, because of his omnipotence- his ability to
predestine certain events to happen at precise moments in
time. Thirdly, we can trust biblical prophecy because many
prophecies have already been fulfilled.
The prophecy of Isaiah that speaks of the sin-bearing
Messiah is an example: Isa 53:2 For He shall grow up before
Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He
has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is
no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and
rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised,
and we did not esteem Him. (All references are from the New
King James Version of the Bible - NKJV). This was fulfilled in
Jesus, the Nazarene.
When we look back, however, we are surprised that the Jews
in Jesus’ day failed to realize that these, and several other
related prophecies were being fulfilled before their very eyes.
It is because of their failure that Jesus wept that day saying,
"If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the
things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden
from your eyes…. because you did not know the time of your
visitation." (Luke 19:40-44). How could they have been so
blind and not recognise the signs of the times?
There is an important lesson for us in this: We must take care
to study prophetic books such as Revelation; and read the
signs of our times correctly, lest we make an even greater
mistake and accept the false Christ when he appears. As Paul
advises- 2 Thess 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is
according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and
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lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among
those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God
will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the
lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe
the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The lawless one commits the abomination of desolation at the
time many prophets have called the Day of the Lord. This is
how Jesus describes it: For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning of the world until
this time, no, nor ever shall be. Matt 24:21.
This is the apocalypse. Therefore, it is best to be able to
discern the signs of our times to warn of the arrival of the great
tribulation.
Prophecy
There are many prophecies found in most biblical books, both
in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Gospels
that are in between the two.
In the Old Testament, we read of many prophets. Their calling
was to warn the kings and the nation of Israel about the evil
he and the citizens were doing. These warnings came with
dire consequences: if they did not repent and mend their way
ways, the nation would be removed. They also came with
blessings for them if they obeyed the warnings. Unfortunately,
united Israel and the two divided nations were found wanting.
They were removed from the Promised Land.
These are conditional prophecies based on repentance.
There also unconditional prophecies. These are prophecies
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of events that are pre-ordained. These are events that will
happen anyway. The promise of the millennial kingdom in
Isaiah and promise of Israel’s heart changed from stone to
flesh in Jeremiah and the promise of Israel being restored as
a nation are a few of these.
These unconditional prophecies are fundamentally based on
the promise given in Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her
Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His
heel.
We know that His “word that goes forth from His mouth; It
shall not return to Him void, but it shall accomplish what I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which He sent it.”
Isa 55:11.
To fulfil this word, a lineage is chosen from which a woman is
chosen to birth the seed, a child. The chosen lineage is of
Abraham.
Matt 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son
of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac
begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron,
and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab,
Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth,
Obed begot Jesse,
6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot
Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon
begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot
Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram,
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and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham
begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot
Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.
11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time
they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot
Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel
begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14
Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot
Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and
Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the
husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called
Christ.
The seed-child is born of a virgin: Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
The seed-child is born in Bethlehem: Mic 5:2 "But you,
Bethlehem Ephrata, Though you are little among the
thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of
old, From everlasting."
The heel of seed-child is bruised in crucifixion and the
serpent’s head is bruised in his resurrection: Isa 53:10 Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When
You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in His hand.11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and
be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall
justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
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All these were accomplished through the lineage of Abraham
on account of his faith in the word he heard from God, through
Mary, a descendant of Abraham and her son, Jesus when he
died on the Cross more than four thousand years later.
We find such unconditioned and pre-ordained events
prophesied throughout the book of Daniel. These prophecies
run from his time until time’s end. Therefore, Daniel has been
chosen for an in-depth study in the book.
Daniel lived in the period of the Old Testament. The
Testament was a covenant or agreement between God and
man. It was based on the divine Law given to Moses on Mount
Sinai. Obedience to the Law meant blessings. Disobedience
ensured curses. It only made known the standards of Godthe
Law of Moses but It did not give the ability and the power
to live up to that standard. And all men were condemned.
Jesus came to bring in a better Covenant, the New Covenant
(Testament). Yet for a New Covenant to be brought in, the
Old has to be satisfied. By living a sinless and pure life, he
fulfilled the Law. Thus God, the first party to the Old
Covenant, himself ensured its fulfilment when he sent his only
begotten Son, Jesus to pay the price on the Cross. After he
rose from the grave, he spent forty days with his disciples and
ascended to the Father, he established the New Covenant.
The New Covenant is of grace towards sinners who repented
from their sin and accepted Jesus as their Saviour and Lord.
The prophecies of the sequence of events that begin with the
church established on the day of Pentecost more than two
thousand years ago are found in the Gospels.
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Apocalypse
The period between Jesus’ birth and his death bridges the
gap between the Old Covenant and the New. This period is
chronicled in the Gospels. Of the four, we chose that of
Matthew because in it Jesus clearly speaks prophecies of
signs of his second coming. From the Gospels and the
writings of the Apostles, we obtain further insights.
This in-depth study of prophecy is focused on the Book of
Daniel, the Gospel of Matthew. The reason is obvious; the
source of these revelations are the same, the Lord. In the Old
Testament, he is Jehovah and in the Gospel, he is the
Incarnate Jesus.
I realise that these books do not stand alone and are linked
with other biblical books from both the Old and New
Testaments. In the Old Testament, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
Zechariah, and Joel and in the New, the epistles of the
Apostles help us.
For the sake of brevity, overviews of both Daniel and Matthew
are presented. However, their detailed study verse-by-verse
has been given in the Annexures One (Daniel) and Annexure
Two (Matthew). The reader is encouraged to consult these
regularly.
.
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The Book of Daniel
The history of Israel as a nation begins with the conquest of
Canaan by Joshua in 1325 BC. The period of Judges
extended until 1191 BC. After the people asked for a king,
Saul was anointed in1043 BC. Since he was unfaithful, David
replaced him as king. He was succeeded by his son,
Solomon. After Solomon’s death, ten tribes in the north
rebelled against his son Rehoboam and carved out a
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separate kingdom. This was the northern kingdom named
Israel. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal.
This was the southern kingdom named Judah. The kingdom
was divided in 931 BC.
All kings of Israel were unfaithful, guiding the nation into
idolatry. The nation was invaded by Assyria 753 BC and did
not regain nationhood again. A few kings of Judah were
faithful. They were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and
Josiah. However, it fell into idolatry and moral decay in the
time of Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz. He was replaced by his uncle,
Jehoiachin after Judah was invaded by Babylon under
Nebuchadnezzar. He was renamed, Zedekiah.
In the time of Jeremiah, the prophet, Judah, the southern
kingdom paid tribute to Babylon. Jeremiah said that this was
because of God’s displeasure of Judah’s idolatry. He warned
King Zedekiah that it would suffer the same consequences of
destruction as Israel. Yet, King Zedekiah imprisoned
Jeremiah in a well because he said it was God’s will to
surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He preferred
to listen to false prophets who prophesied otherwise- of
victory over Babylon. In the ensuing rebellion, Judah was
utterly defeated, Jerusalem captured and plundered. The
Temple was destroyed in 586 BC. Zedekiah was exiled. Most
of the gifted youth of Judah including Daniel found
themselves in exile in Babylon.
In the biblical book that bears his name, we learn the value of
living by the principle of God’s word and not by expediency.
However, our present intention is not to find out what he did
to live by that principle but to focus attention on the various
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prophetic dreams and visions we read of in this book. These
have bearing on our current study of the end times.
In chapter 2, we read of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its
interpretation by Daniel. In chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar had
another dream, which was again interpreted by Daniel.
Chapters 7 and 8 are of prophetic dreams and visions of
Daniel himself. The first of these, the vision of four beasts,
occurred in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign (Ch. 7). The
second vision was of the ram and goat. This occurred in
Belshazzar’s third year (Ch. 8). The vision of the 70 weeks
was in the first year of Darius the Mede, who conquered
Babylon (Ch. 9). Chapters 10 to 12 is one continuous vision
of prophetic events. This occurred in the first year of Persian
Cyrus, the Great. These are further revelations given to
elucidate and expand on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Let us begin the study of these visions so that we may
understand them that describe the progression of human
history until the end.
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Daniel - Overview
The figure above summarises the king’s dream and the
visions of Daniel. The timeline runs from top to bottom. To get
a better understanding of all these kingdoms, we look at each
one separately in the sequence given in the timeline- from
Daniel’s time to the end of human history.
Detailed study verse-by-verse
Annexure One- page 37
Babylon
In his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he said the
king was this head of gold Dan.2:38. In Dan.7, it is
represented by a winged lion whose wings have been
plucked off and driven you from men, your dwelling shall be
with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass
like oxen for seven years (Dan.3). This was on account of the
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Daniel - Overview
idol of gold erected by Nebuchadnezzar to receive worship.
On repentance, he was restored (Dan.4).
Babylon became a regional force in 605 BC. However, it
captured Judah (the southern kingdom) in 586 BC. It is in 539
BC, under the co-regency of Belshazzar, Babylon was
overrun by the Median king Darius, when he was desecrating
the articles plundered from the Temple in Jerusalem in
festivities.
There is no mention of the golden head (Babylon) in the rest
of the visions of Daniel because its identity is established.
Media-Persia
Dan.2 describes this kingdom as arms and chest- an alliance
of two nations. In Dan.7, chest and arms of silver appear as
a bear raised up on one side and three ribs in its mouth. This
symbolises this kingdom was an alliance of two nations. In
Dan.8, it is represented by a ram which had two horns, and
the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other,
and the higher one came up last. The ram which you saw,
having the two horns — they are the kings of Media and
Persia.
Medes and Persians occupied the land of modern-day Iran.
The Medes were stronger than the Persians at first, but under
Cyrus, the Persians became stronger.
The three ribs are the indication that Cyrus overcame three
other kingdoms before he overran Babylon in 539 BC.
The prophecy of the 70 weeks (years) determined to Israel is
revealed in Dan 9:25: Know therefore and understand, that
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Daniel - Overview
from the going forth of the command to restore and build
Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again,
and the wall, even in troublesome times.
It commenced in 445 BC when the Persians dominated Israel
and the whole region. Historically, Media-Persia was
defeated by the Greeks, under Alexander the Great in 332
BC.
Greece
Dan.2 describes this kingdom as belly and thighs of the king’s
dream- one torso dividing to two thighs. This is represented
by a leopard with four wings and four horns in Dan.7.
Son of Phillip II of Macedon, Alexander was 24 years old
when he captured Babylon from the Persian. He entered
Egypt and founded Alexandria as its capital. His empire
stretched from the Indus to the Adriatic and in the south to
Egypt.
In Dan.8, the ‘belly and thighs’ is represented as a male goat
with one horn. He fought against the 2-horned ram and
overcame it. He grew very great. Alexander died in Babylon
when 33 years old.
Thereafter, his empire was divided between four of his
generals: Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus,
and Seleucus (known as The Diadochi or `successors').
Ptolemy became ruler of Egypt (323–282 BC) and founded
the Ptolemaic dynasty which ruled it for the next three
centuries, turning Egypt into a Hellenistic kingdom
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Daniel - Overview
and Alexandria into a centre of Greek culture. This is the ‘king
of the south’ in Dan.11.
The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic state ruled by the
Seleucid dynasty, which existed from 312 BC to 63 BC;
Seleucus I Nicator founded it, following the division of the
Macedonian Empire vastly expanded by Alexander the Great.
Its capital was Syrian Antioch. This is the ‘king of the north’ in
Dan.11.
This explains why it was described as belly and thighs in
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream- the empire starting as one
becomes two.)
Then started the five Syrian wars from 274 BC to 168 BC.
These are wars between the king of the north and king of the
south. Although I will not go into the details of these wars, it
is intriguing to note how these prophecies have been fulfilled.
Out of the Seleucid dynasty emerges the little horn of Dan.8:
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who desecrated the Jewish Temple
by placing an image of Zeus and offering a pig in sacrifice.
This was called the abomination of desolation. Sacrifices
ceased for a period of 2300 days (Dan.8:14.). The
desecration of the Jewish Temple led to the revolt of the
zealous Maccabean Jews. They were able to carve out a
semi-autonomous kingdom. (167 – 63 BC). Of this period,
they were fully independent for 47 years.
Meanwhile, the Roman Republic was gaining in strength.
Rome
Dan.2 describes this kingdom as legs, of which are two,
representing two centres of power, two capital cities. In
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Daniel - Overview
Dan.7, the legs of the image is shown as a dreadful, terrifying
beast with ten horns (kings).
In 63 BC, Roman general Pompey of the Roman Republic
captured Jerusalem from the Maccabees. Two years after the
death of Pompey in 48 BC, Julius Caesar became dictator.
After his assassination, a civil war ensued between his
assassins, Brutus and Cassius on the one side and loyalists
Mark Antony, Lepidus and Octavius on the other. The latter
won and formed the Second Triumvirate- three co-rulers. In
33 BC, Lepidus was expelled. In 31 BC, there was a falling
out between Mark Anthony, who was married to Octavia,
Octavius’s sister, and Octavius on account of Cleopatra,
queen of Egypt and Anthony’s mistress. Octavius won the
subsequent battle and was made Emperor in 27 BC.
Jesus was crucified in 32 AD under the Roman occupation.
This signalled the end of the sixty-ninth week of the 70 weeks
prophecy determined for Israel. Dan 9:26 And after the sixtytwo
weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And
the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till
the end of the war desolations are determined.
By 285 CE the Roman Empire had grown so vast that it was
no longer feasible to govern all the provinces from the central
seat of Rome. Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into
halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantium
(later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed
from Rome 1 . (This explains why it was described as two legs
1
Ancient History Encyclopaedia
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Daniel - Overview
in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.) The western Empire fell in 476
AD. The Eastern Empire lasted until 1453 AD.
The preceding prophecies have all been fulfilled. The events
prophesied hereafter are for the seventieth week of Dan.9.
We realise that the seventieth week did not occur just after
the end of the sixty-ninth week in 32 AD. For if it had
happened, we, who live nearly 2000 years after, should have
gone through the seven years of the seventieth week under
the fifth kingdom, daily sacrifices will have been allowed and
stopped, judgment will be a thing of the past, the world will be
under the stone kingdom of the Son of man, the dead will
have been raised and final judgment will have occurred.
Therefore, the omniscient God has introduced a time interval
after 32 AD that continues to the present day. This means that
the seventieth week is still in the future.
It is a historical fact that Jerusalem was destroyed and the
second Temple razed to the ground and the city we destroyed
in 70 AD. Thus, began the Jewish Dispersion- a harrowing
time for the Jews. However, God promised that He will bring
you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries
where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an
outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. (Ez.20:34).
This promise has already been fulfilled: The nation of Israel
was established in 1948. Since then, it has survived under
difficult circumstances. The people have returned. But the
Temple has not been rebuilt. Neither have the sacrifices
begun. However, there is talk that the Third Temple is to be
rebuilt shortly. The first step was the recognition of Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel by the United States and Australia. We
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Daniel - Overview
could expect to see the prophecy being fulfilled shortly. The
seventieth week still future.
Western Roman Empire fell in 475 AD and the Eastern
Empire fell to the Ottomans in the sixteenth century. These
are historical facts. The next kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream should have arrived soon after the crucifixion of Jesus
in 32 AD. It obviously has not. Therefore, Daniel’s seventyweek
prophecy has been interrupted. It has gone on for more
than 2000 years and counting.
The kingdom of Feet and Toes
This kingdom is at the beginning of the seventieth week of
Daniel. Dan.2 describes this kingdom as feet and ten toes
made of iron and clay. It has all the strength of iron but is as
brittle as burnt clay. In Dan.7, the dreadful and terrible,
exceeding strong fourth beast with ten horns kingdom is
revived under ten contemporary kings in uneasy unity. From
this revived kingdom, a little horn (king) emerges subduing
three of the kings. Of the ten kings three are deposed and
their authority usurped by the little horn (king). Seven of the
original ten continue to have authority although the other
three continue as vassal kings. The Little Horn persecutes
saints for 3½ years. He changes times and the law. In Dan.9,
Little Horn is recognised as the prince from the Roman
people. He begins his rule at the start of the seventieth week.
The Roman Prince allows the Temple to be rebuilt and the
daily sacrifices to commence in the first half of the seventieth
week. Yet in the second half of the seventieth week, the
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Daniel - Overview
sacrifices are caused to cease 2 by placing an image in the
Temple to be worshipped as ‘god’, causing sacrifices to be
offered to that image 3 . Why would that happen? Does the
Roman Prince change his character and his mind? Or is it the
one who makes desolate and puts an end to the sacrifices is
the one that causes the abomination of desolation? Earlier,
we called him One Unknown.
Hopefully, his true identity can be found in the book of
Revelation.
Stone Kingdom
After the abomination of desolation, thrones were put in place
and judgment begins of all ungodly. It is after this judgment
that the Stone kingdom of the Son of man begins (Dan.2). In
Dan.7 the Ancient of Days establishes the kingdom of the Son
of man. Dan.9:24 …to finish the transgression, to make an
end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in
everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the Most Holy.
In Dan.12:2, we read of the resurrection of the dead and
judgment of all, some to eternal life in Heaven and some to
eternal torment in the lake of fire. His Kingdom will last
forever.
2
As to when this happens is not clear. Perhaps, we will have further insights when we
discuss the book of Revelation.
3
2 Thess 2:3 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 is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes
and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in
the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
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Daniel - Overview
The dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetically outlined the
course of history from the time of Babylon. The subsequent
visions of Daniel were elaborations of that timeline. After
Babylon, the two that followed are identified as Persia and
Greece. The fourth dreadful beast with ten horns is Imperial
Rome. History confirms these were fulfilled. The little horn
that emerged from this dreadful beast, subduing three horns
is the kingdom of feet and toes of a mixture of iron and clay is
unidentified.
The sixth-ninth year of the prophecy of the seventy weeks
was completed in 32 AD when Jesus was crucified. From that
date, the prophecy has been interrupted, for although the
seventieth year should have followed, it did not. The
seventieth year is still in the future.
In that seven-year period, first the Roman Prince and later the
One Unknown will play crucial roles. They represent the
kingdom of feet and toes. The Prince will enforce an
agreement to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and
allow daily sacrifices to begin. (Should that not be disturbing
to true Christians for the death of Jesus on the Cross was a
once-for-all sacrifice for sin? Do we not celebrate the
communion in remembrance of that event? Heb 10:14 For by
one offering He has perfected forever those who are being
sanctified.) The One Unknown will commit the abomination of
desolation and cause the sacrifices to cease. The Unknown
One is the Lawless One of 2Thess. 2:9 The coming of the
lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all
power, signs, and lying wonders,…
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Daniel - Overview
However, the time for the stone kingdom to appear is after the
seventieth week and it is obvious it has not yet arrived. The
sign of its arrival is the appearance of the Roman Prince and
the rebuilding of the third Temple and the commencement of
the daily sacrifices. A time-gap is evident from 32 AD to the
present, a period of nearly two millennia.
The timeline relevant to Daniel is seen in the figure below.
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The Gospel of Matthew
If we follow the narrative of Jesus’ life in the Gospel according
to Matthew, we read that Satan tempted Jesus. After He
overcame these temptations, Jesus began to preach:
“Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” 4 His
intention was to usher in the Kingdom at that time, if the Jews
were willing to accept Him as the long-promised Messiah.
Isaiah prophesied some years before that the coming of the
4
Matt. 4.7.
26

Matthew
Messiah to establish the Kingdom with be accompanied by
signs and wonders 5 .
Having said that in chapter 4, he goes on to speak of the
principles of the kingdom in chapters 5, 6 and 7. This is the
Sermon on the Mount. In the first beatitude, he speaks of a
kingdom in Heaven. In the others, he speaks of the meek, the
merciful and peacemakers. He extolls righteousness and
purity of heart. This kingdom he spoke of is contrary to the
Old Covenant (Testament) based on the Law of Moses. The
Law demands tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. What
applies in his kingdom are forgiveness and love for enemies.
In chapter 6, in the prayer, we call the Lord prayer but should
be our own, he stated the actual fact that God’s kingdom was
only in Heaven and not on earth 6 . In chapter 7, he spoke of
two gates and two ways. One was narrow and the other
broad. He recommended the narrow although it is difficult to
find because it was the right gate and the right way.
Then in chapter 8 and 9, he proves His credentials as the
Messiah, by cleansing a leper, healing the centurion’s servant
and Peter’s mother-in-law, stilling the sea, casting out
demons, even forgiving the sins of a paralytic, restoring life of
a girl, sight of a blind man and hearing of a deaf man.
In chapter 10, He instructs His new disciples to preach the
same message to Israel–“the Kingdom is at hand’, even as
5
Isa 29:18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind
shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
6
Matt 6:10- Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
27

Matthew
He sends them out to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise
the dead, cast out demons 7 .
But even John the Baptist, who declared of Jesus “Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” had
doubts. John. 1.29. For later, he sends disciples to ask him
“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus
answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things
which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised
up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And
blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” 8
In chapter 12, we read that a man was brought to Him who
was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him
so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all
the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son
of David?” meaning “Could this be the Messiah”. Now when
the Pharisees heard it, they said: This fellow does not cast
out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 9 ”
Jesus answered: “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be
your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God,
surely the kingdom of God has come upon you 10 ”.
He continues: “Therefore I say to you, every sin and
blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against
7
Matt. 10.5-8.
8
Matt.11. 3-6.
9
Matt.12.23, 24.
10
Matt.12.27, 28.
28

Matthew
the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him,
either in this age or in the age to come 11 ”.
This was the beginning of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their
Messiah. After the rejection of Jesus as their king, he began
to speak of the seven parables of the kingdom. These were
the parables of the sower, wheat & tares, the mustard seed,
the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price and
the dragnet we read in Matthew 13.
When the disciples asked him why he spoke in parables, He
answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
them it has not been given 12 ”. To the disciples is given
understanding of the parables as the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven. To others, this understanding is not
given.
Because all prophets, including Daniel, were not disciples,
they had no knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven. In the book of Daniel were prophecies of physical,
visible worldly kingdoms. He was not aware of the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven. These were hidden from him. They
are also hidden from the Jewish spiritual leadership.
To Jesus, a parable is a simple story using everyday things
and events to point to a spiritual principle or truth. What were
11
Matt.12:31-32.
12
Matt 13.11.
29

Matthew
the spiritual truths that these parables were pointing to? What
were the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven?
The kingdom-in-mystery is not a kingdom that is visible, but a
kingdom that is invisible. It is something spiritual, not material.
It is a kingdom of Heaven, not of earth. It is a kingdom of
meekness, mercy, peace, righteousness and purity of heart.
It is a kingdom not of this world. It is not a literal kingdom as
Israel was. It is a ‘spiritual’ kingdom.
The principles of this heavenly kingdom are very different
from the principles of the material kingdom of Israel under
Mosaic Law. This heavenly kingdom offers grace- the
unmerited, undeserved favour of God. This is the good news
he brought- the Gospel of grace.
Since the Gospel of grace did not exist in his day, the
parables are prophetic pronouncements of events connected
with it. The kingdom parables are prophecies of
developments through time of events that affect the Gospel;
its corruption by heresy and its restoration. Let us consider
these events that are to happen after the time of Jesus.
30

Matthew - Overview
Kingdom Parables
Detailed study verse-by-verse at
Annexure Two - Matthew 13 - page 82
In Matthew 13, Jesus shared the kingdom parables pointing
to a hidden spiritual truth- the kingdom of heaven. In the
parable of the sower, the seed was the gospel. It is of
meekness, mercy, peace, righteousness, and purity of heart.
Jesus spoke of four different persons that hear the ‘seed’, the
gospel. Some will pay no attention to it due to a lack of
understanding of its simplicity. These are the ‘wayside’. They
do not join the church. Some will enthusiastically accept the
Gospel and come into the church, yet because of the trails
that follow the church fall away. These are ‘stony places’.
Some will sincerely accept the Gospel and enter the church
but are overcome by concerns of the world and by the
deceitfulness of riches. These are described as ‘among
thorns’. They are selfish and unfruitful. The fourth category is
the ‘good ground’, the selfless and fruitful.
This was the first phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began
on the day of Pentecost when the church was initiated. There
is a distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the
church. The kingdom of heaven is a spiritual entity. The
church was and is a physical manifestation. At any given
time, the church includes all categories other than the firstthe
’wayside’. However, ‘stony places’ are excluded from the
31

Matthew – Overview
kingdom of heaven. ‘Among thorns’ and ‘good ground’
included in the kingdom of heaven.
This principle of these four groups of people who react to the
gospel differently applies right through the history of the
seven parables of the kingdom of heaven and of the church.
In the second parable, the concept of tares, various kinds of
heresies, is introduced. The faithful of the ‘good ground’ and
the indifferent of the ‘wayside’ would be unaffected by these
heresies. ‘Among thorns’ may believe a heresy that limits the
gospel to the here and now and addresses concerns of the
present life. The ‘stony places’ may be tempted if the heresy
does not lead to persecution. They may not fall away. Thus,
the physical church may include these as well. The church
may grow but the kingdom of heaven may not.
The powerful heresy of the mustard seed of the third parable
may even tempt the ‘wayside’ to join the church, hoping to
find favour with the king, the ruler and the privileged few.
‘Stony places’ would find it difficult to resist. ‘Among thorns’
may also be tempted. The ‘good ground’ does not fall prey to
this heresy. The church grows even more.
The leaven of the fourth parable works out from within the
leadership to infest the whole church as it grows. The ‘good
ground’ and ‘among thorns’ who remain are of the kingdom
of heaven. They become a small minority of the leavened
church.
The discovery of the hidden treasure on the fifth parable
enables those who are dissatisfied with the heretical leaven
to separate themselves and form a new reformed church.
However, not only the ‘good ground’ and ‘among thorns’ enter
32

Matthew – Overview
this church. Others who are dissatisfied for reasons other
than the heretical corruption may join for selfish reasons.
They remain a majority.
The beautiful pearls of the sixth parable bring spiritual
awakening. It brings new spiritual birth to many from the
leavened and reformed church. It also brings spiritual
awakening to those who were in the ‘wayside’ and who were
on ‘stony places’. The kingdom of heaven is restored as the
awakened church. It grew into Pentecostalism. However,
some would enter for selfish reasons.
The seventh parable was of the dragnet is associated with the
abundant life movement which sprang from the Pentecostal
charismatics. It is a distortion of the kingdom of heaven,
promising the best life today. It is the time for the final
reckoning. The people who were faithful to the kingdom of
heaven are gathered into good vessels. The others are
thrown in the furnace of fire.
Olivet Discourse
Detailed study verse-by-verse at Annexure Two
Matthew 24 – page 97
Matthew 25 – page 104
In Matt. 24-25 is Jesus’s Olivet discourse. He prophesied the
destruction of the Second Temple. This was fulfilled 70 AD
when Titus, the Roman general, razed it to ground and
destroyed the city. This was followed by prophecies of wars,
rumours of war of nations rising up against others. He also
prophesied of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in
33

Great Tribulation
Matt.24
various places.
sorrows.
Matthew – Overview
These, he said, were the beginning of
After the ‘sorrows, there will be persecution of Christians and
Jews in a period of tribulation. Worse will come when the
tribulation becomes great and the abomination of desolation
appears in the Temple. That will mean the Temple will be
rebuilt. At that time, the Son of man, the Christ will come down
in a cloud and the elect will be gathered up to him.
He warns of the futility of guessing the exact time of his
second coming. Therefore, be ready. This warning is for his
servants, the ministers of the church; for some will genuine
and some will minister for their own benefit.
In Matt. 25, in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, his
warning is to be spiritually prepared to be invited to his
marriage feast. He also warns that everyone will have to give
an account of his actions according to the unction they have
received 13 . Then, he judges the nations according to their
treatment of his brethren.
Afterwards, Jesus mentioned the abomination of desolation
spoken of In Dan. 9. This is the introduction of an idol into the
Temple in Jerusalem. It is obvious the second Temple
destroyed in 70 AD will be rebuilt. We learned that sometime
in the future the Roman Prince enters into a seven-year
covenant with Israel and allows the daily Jewish sacrifices to
commence in the rebuilt Third Temple. Also, we learned that
midway of the seven years, the sacrifices will cease by the
abomination of desolation. Jesus advised the inhabitants of
13
1 Cur 3:9-15.
34

Matthew – Overview
Jerusalem to flee for false christs and false prophets will
perform signs and wonders 14 .
Immediately after the great tribulation, the sun and the moon
will be darkened and the stars will fall from the sky. Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. And he himself
comes on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
At the sound of a trumpet, the elect from every nation are to
be gathered to Christ himself. All nations will mourn when
they see the Son of Man.
…………
In our study of Matthew, the seven parables of the kingdom
of heaven are successive phases of the church, which was
inaugurated in 32 AD on the Day of Pentecost. The final
phase of the kingdom of heaven arrived in 1950. Jesus said
this event will be followed by the signs of the beginning of
sorrows. He also warned us about being ready for his return.
The ‘sorrows’ are to be followed by the tribulation, the
abomination of desolation and the great tribulation.
Therefore, both the tribulation and the great tribulation will
happen in the seventieth year of Daniel. And the fulfilment of
that prophecy is still awaited. Its arrival has been interrupted
for more than 2000 years and counting.
The figure overleaf is a graphical representation of the
prophetic timeline of Matthew.
14
2 Theses 2:88 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. 9 The coming of the
lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders
35

Matthew – Overview
This study has raised more questions than it has answered.
Therefore, we need to dig deeper into the Word, the Bible, to
be able to answer these questions. Hopefully, we will find
them when we go on to study the Book of Revelation in my
book entitled-
36

Annexure One
37

Daniel 2
Dan 2:1 now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled
that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to
call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the
Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and
stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, "I have
had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream."
They obviously wanted him to describe his dream, which he
refused to divulge. They said, “It is a difficult thing that the
king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." For this
reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the
command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the
decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and
they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Dan
2:11-13. After prayer with his friends, Daniel volunteered to
describe the dream and interpret it.
The Dream
Dan 2: 31 "You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great
image! This great image, whose splendour was excellent,
stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image's
38

Daniel 2
head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly
and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron
and partly of clay.
The dream was of a colossal image of a man-made up of
varied qualities from head to feet.
34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands,
which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke
them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the
silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like
chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them
away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that
struck the image became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth.
The Stone ‘cut out without hands’ is One uncreated and selfexistent
God. The ‘stone’ kingdom arrives after the kingdom
of ‘feet and toes’ appears. At that time, all the kingdoms with
the qualities that gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay will be
crushed together and destroyed so that there will no trace of
these characteristics thereafter.
Daniel’s Interpretation.
Dan 2:36 "This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation
of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For
the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength,
and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the
beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given
them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all —
you are this head of gold.
39

Daniel 2
The head of gold represents the kingdom of Babylon. Its
quality was of precious gold. The colossus represents
successive worldly kingdoms that would progressively affect
Israel.
39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours;
then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over
all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as
iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters
everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break
in pieces and crush all the others.
Babylon will be succeeded by kingdoms of progressively
inferior quality. They have the qualities of silver, bronze and
iron. ‘Iron’ represents a kingdom that is militarily strong.
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay
and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the
strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron
mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were
partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with
ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they
will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with
clay.
The fifth kingdom is the mixed kingdom of iron and clay. It is
militarily strong, yet be brittle as burnt clay.
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
40

Daniel 2
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever.
The Stone shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. It is eternal.
45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the
mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron,
the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God
has made known to the king what will come to pass after this.
The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."
…………
The dream is a revelation of successive kingdoms from
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. The first is Babylon. However,
the author of the last kingdom is a stone was cut out without
hand signifying He is the uncreated God. His kingdom shall
not pass away.
Since these revelations are progressive, the identities of the
others are yet not revealed. However, there hints of what the
others are. The second silver kingdom is represented by
chest and arms. The arms may indicate two kingdoms
connected by the chest to form an alliance. The belly and
thighs of bronze could represent a kingdom that starts as one
and then bifurcates into two. The ‘iron’ legs may represent a
kingdom that would wield much power, crushing all others.
That the legs are long may indicate that this kingdom could
last for an extended period of time.
The kingdom of feet with ten toes and made of iron and clay
is described as a divided and mixed kingdom. Divided by
41

Daniel 2
land, sea, ideology or faith? The feet also represent a mixed
kingdom. Is the mix between the seeds of men and the seeds
of the angels who took the daughters of men as wives and
begot Nephilim (Genesis 6)? Perhaps, it is a mix of
authoritarianism (iron) and democracy (clay).
The ‘stone kingdom’ is not one of this world, because it
destroyed all these. It the kingdom of One uncreated and selfexistent.
It is of God. It will cover the whole earth. It would be
an eternal kingdom.
Chapters 3-6.
Upon hearing this interpretation of the ‘colossus’ he had
dreamt of, Nebuchadnezzar would have thought the original
dream was for his edification only. Therefore, he caused a
golden idol to be erected and wanted all to worship it, under
pain of death by casting into a fiery furnace. Daniel’s friends,
now named Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to
comply. In fury, the king ordered the furnace to be heated
seven times than normal. These three were cast into it. To his
surprise, the king saw them walking in the furnace and they
were joined by a fourth, in the likeness of the Son of God. He
called them out of the furnace unscathed. The king praised
God Most High. (Chapter 3).
Later on, Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. It was of a
very high tree overseeing the whole world and giving shelter
and food to all the beasts. An angel appeared and wanted
the tree to be cut down, leaving only the stump, bound with a
band of iron and bronze.
42

Daniel 2
Daniel was called to interpret this dream also. His
interpretation was that the mighty tree represents
Nebuchadnezzar personally. He would be humbled because
of pride in causing the erection of the colossal idol to be
worshiped. He would be driven from the company of men and
dwell amongst the beasts of the field, eating grass and
exposed to the elements. The punishment would last for
seven years, after which he will be restored to his throne,
because of his repentance. The prophetic dream was fulfilled.
After his restoration, the king praised God. (Chapter 4).
After Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar ruled as the co-regent
with his father Nabonidus as king of Babylon. He called for a
great feast. At this feast, he desecrated the vessels plundered
from the Temple in Jerusalem. At that time, there appeared
writings on the wall, which, when interpreted by Daniel, said
his kingdom was being taken away. The same night, the
Medes overran Babylon. This prophecy of the capture of
Babylon by Darius, the Mede was fulfilled in 539 BC. (It is
Darius, the Mede, who took Babylon. Later, it was Cyrus, the
Persian that captured Jerusalem.) That was the end of the
Babylonian kingdom. (Chapter 5).
Darius, the Mede, made Daniel the chief administrator of the
realm. However, his rivals influenced Darius to issue an edict
preventing Daniel from worshiping his God. Because Daniel
did not comply, he was placed in a lion’s den. When he came
out unharmed, the king honoured Daniel’s God. (Chapter 6).
We find more revelations these kingdoms ain chapters 7-12
43

Daniel 7
Dan.7.1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel
had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then
he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.
The Dream
2 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and
behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great
Sea. 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.
The first beast was a winged lion. The lion’s wings are torn
off and it is made stand as a man just as a king,
Nebuchadnezzar’s was humbled and restored (Dan.4).
Therefore, the lion corresponds to the golden head, Babylon.
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!'
The second beast, a bear raised up on one side. Could this
correspond to the arms and chest, an unequal alliance of two
kingdoms, one becoming dominant after the other?
44

Daniel 7
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.
The third beast, a leopard with four wings and four heads.
Could this correspond to the belly and thighs which begins as
one trunk and dividing to four of which two become
prominent?
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 fourth beast was dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly
strong. It had ten horns. Could this correspond to the strong
legs of iron?
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.
The little horn plucks out by the roots and he totally defeats
three kings of the ten. Is the little horn an actual man or does
he have only the appearance of a man? Does he represent
the kingdom of the feet and toes of clay mixed with iron?
When does he appear?
9 "I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of
Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the
45

Daniel 7
hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery
flame, its wheels a burning fire;
The final vision was of the Ancient of Days summoning the
Heavenly court.
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.
That books and the book of life are opened is mentioned in
Rev. 20:12.
11 "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous
words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast
was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning
flame.
The little horn is cast to the burning flame. Is the little horn the
same as the beast in Rev.19:15 because he too is cast to the
lake of fire?
12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken
away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
Does ‘the rest of the beasts’ mean the lion, the bear, the
leopard, and the dreadful ten-horned beast? Or does it refer
to ten horns of the dreadful beast? They continue for a season
and a time.
13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like
the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came
to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before
Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a
46

Daniel 7
kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should
serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not
be destroyed.
The Son of man is the stone not cut out with human hands.
He is the uncreated and self-existent God. He ushers in the
eternal kingdom.
15 "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the
visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of
those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he
told me and made known to me the interpretation of these
things: 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.'
Daniel was troubled by these visions, particularly of the fourth
dreadful and terrible beast and he was given explanation by
an angel.
19 "Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast,
which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful,
with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured,
broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; 20 and
the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which
came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had
eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose
appearance was greater than his fellows. 21 "I was watching;
and the same horn was making war against the saints, and
prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came,
and a judgment was made in favour of the saints of the Most
47

Daniel 7
High, and the time came for the saints to possess the
kingdom.
It is important that we understand who the little horn is,
especially if he is going to persecute the saints in the future
when the Ancient of Days comes to judge all mankind.
Daniel's Vision Interpreted
23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom
on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and
shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.
The fourth beast is the dreadful beast with ten horns- the legs
of iron?
24 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.
At what time in history does the different ‘another’ arise? Is it
at the time of the kingdom of feet and toes? Since he subdues
three kings, he could be the little horn.
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.
That he speaks pompous words confirms he is the little horn.
Does this kingdom represent the feet and toes of Dan.2? The
little horn rules for 3½ years. In Dan.9, we learn that this
period is exactly half of the 70 th week of years. During that
time, he persecutes the saints. In what way does he change
times and the law? We await answers.
48

Daniel 7
26 'But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away
his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.
The little horn’s kingdom is destroyed forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey
Him.'
‘His kingdom’ is the stone kingdom of the Son of man. It is
ruled by the saints.
28 "This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my
thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed;
but I kept the matter in my heart."
Although the dream was interpreted by an angel, Daniel was
still troubled about its meaning.
The first beast, the winged lion represents the head of gold of
the colossus is Babylon. Thus this vision is an elaboration of
the prophecies in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its
interpretation revealed (to and) by Daniel. Therefore, the
second beast, the bear, represents the arms and chest of the
colossus. In the same way, the third beast, the leopard, would
represent the belly/thighs of bronze of the colossal image.
Using the same logic, we could take the fourth beast to
correspond to the legs of iron.
Daniel’s particular concern was about the revival of the fourth
beast of ten dreadful horns (kings). He was also alarmed by
the other horn, the little horn which came up from it. It has
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Daniel 7
eyes like the eyes of a man. His appearance was greater than
his fellows. He changes times and the law.
In this regard, we note two changes were done in the past.
Changes in times... In 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII
introduced his Gregorian calendar, Europe adhered to the
Julian calendar, first implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.
Since the Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length
of the solar year by 11 minutes, the calendar had since fallen
out of sync with the seasons. This concerned Gregory
because it meant that Easter, traditionally observed on March
21, fell further away from the spring equinox with each
passing year. (https://www.history.com/news/6-things-youmay-not-know-about-the-gregorian-calendar)
Changes in...the law. According to the Bible we should
observe the seventh day of the week (Saturday), from even
to even, as the Sabbath of the Lord our God. Evening is at
sunset when day ends and another day begins. No other day
has ever been sanctified as the day of rest. The Sabbath Day
begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on
Saturday. Sabbath was changed. Sunday was another work
day in the Roman Empire. On March 7, 321, however, Roman
Emperor Constantine I issued a civil decree making Sunday
a day of rest from labour, stating: All judges and city people
and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the
sun.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_in_Christianity)
50

Daniel 8
Dan.8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a
vision appeared to me — to me, Daniel — after the one that
appeared to me the first time. 2 I saw in the vision, and it so
happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the
citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the
vision that I was by the River Ulai
3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside
the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns
were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher
one came up last.
The ram was with unequal horns, the larger coming up later.
As in the previous dream, horns represent kings. This
suggests the ram represents an unequal alliance of two
kingdoms (nations) as was the bear raised up on one side.
Could this correspond to the arms and chest of the colossus?
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and
southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was
there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did
according to his will and became great.
Its influence spreads towards the west, north, and south.
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Daniel 8
5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from
the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without
touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn
between his eyes.
The male goat represents a notable king. He comes from the
west. He travels quickly over the ground.
6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had
seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious
power. 7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved
with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two
horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but
he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there
was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
The alliance of the ram is not able to withstand the might of
the male goat.
8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he
became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it
four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.
This connects with the leopard of four wings and four heads
of Dan.7. Could this correspond to the belly and thighs of
the colossus?
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.
Out of which of these four leopard kingdoms comes a little
horn. He captures Jerusalem. Since the previous little horn
comes before the legs of iron, this little horn is different. He
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Daniel 8
could not be the feet of clay and iron of the colossus. Who
could he be?
10 And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it cast down
some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and
trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high as the
Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken
away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
At the time of this little horn, the daily sacrifices in the
Jerusalem Temple are ongoing. This happened in the time of
the Persian kings. This little horn causes them to be stopped.
12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the
horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to
the ground. He did all this and prospered.
The daily sacrifices are stopped because of transgression.
What is the nature of the transgression? The transgression is
of desolation, also called the abomination of desolation in
Dan.9.
13 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, the giving of both the sanctuary
and the host to be trampled underfoot?" 14 And he said to
me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the
sanctuary shall be cleansed."
Two thousand three hundred days are less than seven biblical
years (70 th week of Dan. 9).
The Vision Interpreted
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Daniel 8
Dan.8. 16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of
the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man
understand the vision." 17 So he came near where I stood,
and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he
said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers
to the time of the end."
18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep
with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me
upright. 19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you
what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at
the appointed time the end shall be.
Gabriel explains the part of the vision at the time of
indignation, the transgression of desolation, abomination of
desolation
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 ram (and the unequal bear) is the alliance of Media and
Persia. The historical record shows that Media was powerful
at first and was eclipsed by Persia later.
23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise,
having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. 24
His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall
destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall
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Daniel 8
destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25 "Through his
cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule, and
he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in
their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of
princes; but he shall be broken without human means.
Who are the transgressors that appear late in the period of
the Diadochi? And who is the fierce and sinister king?
26 "And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was
told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to
many days in the future."
…………
The identity of the head of gold was revealed earlier. It was
the kingdom of Babylon. The identity of the arms/chest of
silver is now revealed. It is the kingdom of Media-Persia, later
dominated by Persia. The identity of the third kingdom of
belly/thighs of bronze is the kingdom of Greece. Greece
under Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire.
After his death at a young age, his empire was shared by his
four generals, the Diadochi. The kingdom of Cassander
(circa 358–297 BC), consisted of Macedonia, most of Greece,
and parts of Thrace. The kingdom of Lysimachus (circa 361–
281 BC), included Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia, and other parts of
present-day Turkey. The kingdom of Seleucus (died 281 BC;
later the Seleucid Empire), comprised present-day Iran, Iraq,
Syria, and parts of Central Asia. The kingdom of Ptolemy I
(died 283 BC; later the Ptolemaic Empire) included Egypt and
neighbouring regions.
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Daniel 8
From the Diadochi of Greece arises a little horn, the
deceitful, sinister and cunning prince. He sets himself up as a
rival to the Prince of the host, at the time of the end. He will
be destroyed without human intervention.
Of the fourth kingdom of the dreadful beast with ten horns
(legs of iron) and the fifth kingdom of the feet/toes of iron and
clay, there is no mention.
56

Daniel 9
Dan 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of
the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm
of the Chaldeans — 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel,
understood by the books the number of the years specified
by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that
He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerusalem.
This prophecy of Jerusalem’s desolation for seven years on
account of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is
noted in Jer. 25. And in Jer. 29. It is written that after seventy
years the desolation will end. Daniel realised that the seventy
years are almost at an end.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by
prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession,
and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His
covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those
who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and
committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even
by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6
Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who
spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our
fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness
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Daniel 9
belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day — to
the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all
Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which
You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which
they have committed against You.
8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our
princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against
You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness,
though we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not
obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws,
which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes,
all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as
not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath
written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been
poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12
And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us
and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a
great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never
been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
13 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has
come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the
Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and
understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the Lord has kept the
disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God
is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have
not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who
brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty
hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day — we have
sinned, we have done wickedly! 16 "O Lord, according to all
Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be
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Daniel 9
turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain;
because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers,
Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around
us.
Daniel prayed a prayer of repentance for his people’s sin.
17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant,
and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face
to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God,
incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we
do not present our supplications before You because of our
righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. 19 O
Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not
delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your
people are called by Your name."
He asked forgiveness for his people.
The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
Dan 9:20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing
my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of
my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the
evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me,
and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to
understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the
command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are
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Daniel 9
greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and
understand the vision:
God answered the prayer of this righteous man.
24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for
your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of
sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the Most Holy.
God has determined seventy weeks of years, 490 biblical
years for Israel.
25 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth
of the command to restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah
the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in
troublesome times.
This command or edict was issued by the Persian Emperor,
Artaxerxes II to rebuild Jerusalem on 14 th March 445 BC.
(Neh.2:1-8).
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but
not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be
with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are
determined.
Exactly 483 biblical years (69 weeks) after, on 6 th April 32 AD,
the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus presented himself to
Israel as their Messiah. Later, he was crucified, cut off.
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Daniel 9
The people who destroyed the city and the sanctuary, the
Temple, in 70 AD were of the Roman Empire. The prince who
is to come sometime in the future is from the Roman people.
I will call him the Roman Prince. He is of the revival of the
fourth dreadful beast of Dan.2. His kingdom corresponds to
the feet and toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice
and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one
who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is
determined, is poured out on the desolate."
………..
The Roman Prince takes control of Jerusalem and causes
all relevant parties to enter into an agreement (covenant).
That would enable the Third Jewish Temple to be rebuilt and
allow the sacrifices and offerings to commence. However,
midway into the seven-year period of the seventieth week,
sacrifices and offerings are caused to cease.
Why would that happen? Does the Roman Prince change his
character and his mind? Or is it possible the Roman Prince is
deposed and another takes his place?
The answer may lie in this phrase: And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until
the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the
desolate. The one who makes desolate and puts an end to
the sacrifices is the one that causes the abomination of
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Daniel 9
desolation. Since we do not know who he is, let us call him
Unknown One.
After the sixty-ninth year ends, the seventieth week of years
begins. A seven-year covenant is signed at that time. If the
sacrifices and offering are to be stopped in the middle of the
seven-year period, they should have begun when the
covenant was signed 3½ years before, at the start of the
seventieth week. And for the sacrifices and offering to happen
the Temple in Jerusalem should have been rebuilt because
the Temple was razed to the ground in 70 AD.
However, the Third Temple has not been rebuilt yet and we
are in the year 2020 AD. Therefore, we can only conclude that
the seventieth week of years has not arrived. It is awaited,
although more than two millennia have elapsed after the sixtyninth
year of weeks has been completed. The prophecy has
been interrupted. The Roman Prince is awaited.
The fulfilment of this prophecy began in the time of the
Persian kingdom of Artaxerxes in 445 BC. The Persian
kingdom is the third of Dan. 2. It was not fulfilled in the time
of the Greeks, which the third of Dan.2. It was partially fulfilled
in 32 AD when Jesus was crucified and the Temple was
destroyed by the Roman general, Titus in 70 AD. This gives
us the identity of the fourth kingdom, dreadful beast. It is
Imperial Rome.
The prophecy will be completely fulfilled when the fifth
kingdom of Dan.2 appears in the future. It is the kingdom of
the Roman Prince, represented by ‘feet and toes’ that comes
in the seventieth week of years. It is of iron mixed with clay. It
is partly strong and partly fragile. It could represent a
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Daniel 9
democratic federation of states. The kingdom is also
represented by a mixture of human seed (DNA) with the seed
(DNA) of angels. This occurred at the time of Noah (Gen.6)
and also thereafter in Num. 13:33.
The Roman Prince will take control of Jerusalem and cause
all relevant parties to enter into an agreement (covenant).
That would enable the Third Jewish Temple to be rebuilt and
allow the sacrifices and offerings to commence. However,
midway into the seven-year period, One Unknown shall bring
an end to sacrifice and offering.
63

Daniel 10
Chapters 10 thru 12 form one continuous vision.
Daniel had a vision of a man. When we compare this vision
with the vision of John, the apostle, we realise the Man in
Daniel's vision is similar to Lord Jesus in Revelation. The Man
in Daniel was the Pre-Incarnated Son of God. In Revelation,
the Man was the Post-Incarnated Son of God.
Dan.10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message
was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called
Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time
was long; and he understood the message, and had
understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was
mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat
or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till
three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Daniel understood the prophecy of seventy weeks. However,
he was troubled that its fulfilment was taking too long. So, he
fasted and prayed.
4 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by
the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes
and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose
waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like
beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like
torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in
colour, and the sound of his words like the voice of a
multitude.
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Daniel 10
Compare this vision with the one in Rev 1:12: Then I turned
to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw
seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven
lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden
band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as
snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like
fine brass as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the
sound of many waters;
7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were
with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon
them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was
left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength
remained in me; for my vigour was turned to frailty in me, and
I retained no strength. 9 Yet I heard the sound of his words;
and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep
on my face, with my face to the ground.
10 Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on
my knees and on the palms of my hands.
Is this experience what we now call being slain in the spirit?
And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved,
understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright,
for I have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this
word to me, I stood trembling. 12 Then he said to me, "Do not
fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to
understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your
words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
The prayer of a righteous man is answered instantly it may be
hindered by principalities and powers. Best to wait patiently
until the answer comes. And surely, it will come.
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Daniel 10
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me
twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there
with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you
understand what will happen to your people in the latter
days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come."
The further details of Persia and Greece are to be revealed.
15 When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face
toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And
suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched
my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him
who stood before me, "My lord, because of the vision my
sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no
strength. 17 For how can this servant of my lord talk with you,
my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is
any breath left in me."
Why did Daniel call the angel Lord? Is it because he
recognised him as Yahweh, the pre-incarnate Son?
18 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched
me and strengthened me. 19 And he said, "O man greatly
beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!"
So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, "Let
my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
When the angel speaks, Daniel receives strength.
20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? And
now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when
I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. 21
But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth.
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Daniel 11
The vision continues to prophesy the future developments in
the Middle East.
Dan 11:2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more
kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than
them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up
all against the realm of Greece.
The fourth king of Persia, after Darius II, was Darius III (336-
330 BC).
3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great
dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he has
arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the
four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor
according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom
shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
The Persian kingdom was defeated by Alexander the Great
of Greece in 332 BC. After his death in 323 BC, his kingdom
was shared by his four generals- The Diadochi- Cassander of
Macedonia, Lysimachus of Turkey, Seleucus of Iran, Iraq,
Syria, and Ptolemy of Egypt. The king of the south is of the
Ptolemaic Empire and the king of the south is of the Seleucid
Empire.
5 "Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as
one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have
dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And at
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Daniel 11
the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter
of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to
make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her
authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she
shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him
who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those
times. 7 But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his
place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the
king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he
shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes
and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall
continue more years than the king of the North.
First Syrian War (274–271 BC) Ptolemy II faced Antiochus
I, the Seleucid king who was trying to expand his empire's
holdings in Syria and Anatolia. His recent marriage to his
court-wise sister Arsinoe II of Egypt had stabilized the volatile
Egyptian court, allowing Ptolemy to successfully carry out the
campaign.
9 "Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the
king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10 However
his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great
forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass
through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.
Second Syrian War (260–253 BC) Antiochus II succeeded
his father in 261 BC, and a new war for Syria was begun. It
concluded around 253 BC with the marriage of Antiochus to
Ptolemy's daughter, Berenice Syra.
11 "And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and
go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall
muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into
the hand of his enemy. 12 When he has taken away the
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Daniel 11
multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens
of thousands, but he will not prevail.
Third Syrian War (246–241 BC) Berenice asked her brother
Ptolemy III to come to Antioch and help place her son on the
throne. When Ptolemy arrived, Berenice and her child had
been assassinated. Ptolemy declared war and campaigned
with great success.
13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude
greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end
of some years with a great army and much equipment. 14
"Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the
South. Also, violent men of your people shall exalt
themselves in fulfilment of the vision, but they shall fall.
Fourth Syrian War (219–217 BC.) Upon taking the Seleucid
throne in 223 BC, Antiochus III the Great (241–187 BC). The
ambitious king turned his eyes toward Syria and Egypt.
Rather than promptly invading Egypt, Antiochus waited in
Phoenicia for over a year. He was joined by violent men of
your people (Israelites- the zealots?)
15 So the king of the North shall come and build a siege
mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces of the South
shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no
strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him shall do
according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him.
He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his
power. 17 "He shall also set his face to enter with the strength
of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall
he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to
destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him. 18
After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall
take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them
to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back
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Daniel 11
on him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of
his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
Fifth Syrian War (170–168 BC) In 170 BC, Ptolemy VI
declared war on the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
In the same year, Ptolemy VII and Cleopatra II were declared
co-rulers in order to bolster the unity of Egypt. Antiochus
quickly gained the upper hand. He occupied Jerusalem. At
the end of 169 BC, he withdrew his army in obedience to
Rome. The upright ones (Maccabees) were with him.
At this time, let us try to answer the question of the identity of
the little horn of Dan.8. Let us consider that whole passage-
Dan.8:9 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. 10 And it grew up to the host of
heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the
stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted
himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily
sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary
was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was
given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he
cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
Compare Dan.8:9-12 with the historical narrative of Antiochus
IV Epiphanes.
The Greeks and those friendly toward them were united into
the community of Antiochians; the worship of Yahweh and all
of the Jewish rites were forbidden on pain of death. In the
Temple an altar to Zeus Olympios was erected, and sacrifices
were to be made at the feet of an idol in the image of the King.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antiochus-IV-
Epiphanes.)
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Both passages speak of Jewish traditions being forbidden,
including the daily sacrifices, the erection of an idol of Zeus in
the Jewish Temple (the transgression, also called the
abomination of desolation) and the substitution of Jewish
sacrifices with sacrifices to the king.
We conclude that the little horn of Dan.8:9 is a reference to
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the victor of the Fifth Syrian War
(Dan.11:15).
However, the little horn of Dan.7:8 is different because it
comes out of the fourth beast of Dan.7:7. That little horn had
eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
He is one of ten kings of the fifth kingdom, described as the
‘feet of iron and clay’. The fifth kingdom would appear before
the end. It would be destroyed by the ‘Stone was cut out
without hands’. We return to Dan.11.
20 "There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on
the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be
destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.
In 63 BC- Pompey from Republican Rome captured
Jerusalem and imposed taxes in Judea. He, Crassus and
Julius became the First Triumvirate. He was replaced by
Julius when he became Caesar after the death of Crassus.
21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they
will not give the honour of royalty; but he shall come in
peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the
force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and
be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after
the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he
shall come up and become strong with a small number of
people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest
places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have
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not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them
the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans
against the strongholds, but only for a time.
In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. In 43 BC, the
Second Roman Triumvirate (league, covenant) of Antony,
Octavian, Lepidus was formed to avenge Caesar. In 33 BC,
Octavian broke the covenant.
25 "He shall stir up his power and his courage against the
king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South
shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army;
but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him.
26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall
destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall
fall down slain. 27 Both these kings' hearts shall be bent on
evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall
not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.
28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall
be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage
and return to his own land.
Octavian (northern king) battled with Antony and Cleopatra
(southern king and queen of Egypt). They go to war because
Antony, being married to Octavia, Octavian’s sister, marries
Queen Cleopatra in Egypt. Octavian is victorious at the Battle
of Actium (31 BC). https://www.historyhit.com/the-last-civilwar-of-the-roman-republic/
Octavian becomes Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. The
empire he founded is the legs of iron of the image of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
We have learnt that the third kingdom of belly/thighs of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the kingdom of Greece,
established by Alexander the Great after defeating the
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kingdom of Medo-Persia, the arms/chest of the colossus.
After the untimely death, his vast kingdom was shared by his
four generals- the Daidochi. The Ptolemies and the Seleucids
fought the Syrian five wars for mastery of Syria. The fifth and
last was won by the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose
desecration of the Jewish Temple led to the revolt of the
Maccabees and the establishment of the independent
Hasmonean Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the Roman Republic was gaining strength and
captured Palestine under Pompey. After the assassination of
Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire was established under
Octavian Augustus Caesar. The Empire was divided into two
by Diocletian (284 AD). The western Empire lasted until 476
AD when the Germans overran Rome, the capital. The
eastern Empire gained prominence when the first Christian
Emperor Constantine made Constantinople its capital. The
east lasted until it was defeated by the Ottomans in 1453 AD.
The preceding prophecies have all been fulfilled. The
events prophesied hereafter are for the seventieth week
of Dan.9 and for the kingdom of feet and toes of Dan.2.
They are to be fulfilled sometime in the future.
Dan.11:29 At the appointed time he shall return and go
toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter.
The phrase ‘At the appointed time’ signifies that these
prophetic events are pre-ordained, that they are predetermined.
Who is the ‘he’ that returns at this time? Does
‘he’ not represent the revived Rome and the Roman Prince
who appears at the beginning of the seventieth week of
Dan.9? He imposes a seven-year agreement (covenant) on
all parties that allows the third Temple in Jerusalem to be
rebuilt and the sacrifices and offering to begin, only to be
stopped by the One Unknown.
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30 For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore
he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy
covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show
regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And
forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the
sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily
sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
After ‘he’ encounters resistance from Cyprus, ‘he’ returns in
rage and shows favour to those corrupt the New Covenant of
grace. ‘He’ causes the daily sacrifices to cease by placing
the abomination of desolation in the rebuilt Temple. This ‘he’
cannot be the Roman Prince because he reverses when the
Roman Prince has done. Is ‘he’ the one waiting on the wing
in Dan. 9:27? Earlier, we called him Unknown One.
32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall
corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall
be strong, and carry out great exploits.
Unknown One flatters some and they wickedly degrade the
covenant (the gospel of grace). But the people of God, true
believers, carry out great exploits by proclaiming the Gospel.
33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct
many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame,
by captivity and plundering.
True believers teach many of the gospel. They are
persecuted and martyred.
34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help;
but many shall join with them by intrigue.
Many believe in secret.
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35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine
them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of
the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
The faithful are martyred. The purpose is to refine them, purify
them, and make them white, until the time of the end. It is still
not the end.
36 "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall
exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak
blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till
the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been
determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the God
of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god;
for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place
he shall honour a god of fortresses; and a god which his
fathers did not know he shall honour with gold and silver, with
precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act
against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he
shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause
them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
Who is this foreign god? It is a god of military power and god
of greed.
40 "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack
him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a
whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and
he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass
through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many
countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his
hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42
He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the
land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over
the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious
things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow
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at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall
trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy
and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his
palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet
he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
Who are kings of the south and the north? We do not know
because it is still in the future. The northern king is victorious
over Egypt and countries in North Africa. But Edom (southwestern
Jordan) and Moab (west-central Jordan and west
Iraq) and rulers of Ammon (present-day Jordan) are spared.
This vision, begun in Dan.10 is continued and concluded in
Dan. 12.
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Daniel 12
This is the continuation of the vision of Dan.10.
Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great
prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And
there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since
there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your
people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in
the book.
A time of trouble is called the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer.
30:7). It is also called the ‘Day of the Lord (Yahweh)’. (Zeph
1:15). It is the DAY OF THE LORD (Isa 2:12; 13:6,9; 34:8;
Ezek 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:11; Amos 5:18; Zeph 1:14; Zech
14:1). It is a "day of visitation" (Isa 10:3), a day "of the wrath
of Yahweh" (Ezek 7:19), a "great day of Yahweh" (Zeph 1:14).
It is the seventieth week of Dan.9. It is the kingdom of ‘feet
and toes’ consisting of a mix of iron and clay.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and
everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like
the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to
righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
All are resurrected and judged.
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Dan 12:4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the
book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall increase."
What kind of knowledge increases- of the world or of the
spirit?
5 Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on
this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. 6 And one said
to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the
river, "How long shall the fulfilment of these wonders be?" 7
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the
waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left
hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, 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.
‘A time, times, and half a time’ is 3½ years. It is the second
half of the seventieth week when the abomination of
desolation halts the Jewish sacrifices and offerings.
8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My
lord, what shall be the end of these things?" 9 And he said,
"Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed
till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the
wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall
understand, but the wise shall understand. 11 "And from the
time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the
abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one
thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who
waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and
thirty-five days. 13 "But you, go your way till the end; for you
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shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the
days."
The prophecy can only be understood by the wise at the end.
1335 days are completed 2½ months before the end of the
3½ years after the abomination. Those who persevere until
that day with be blessed.
At the very end of Daniel’s book, he is asked to seal up the
vision because it could be understood in the end times. Since
the signs of the last days are open to us, it is possible to
unseal the meanings of these astounding prophecies.
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Annexure Two
80

Matthew 13
___Parable of the sower___
Matt.13 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables,
saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed,
some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and
devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did
not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up
because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was
up they were scorched, and because they had no root they
withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns
sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground
and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Jesus himself explained its meaning:
Matt 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not
understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away
what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by
the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony
places, this is he who hears the word and immediately
receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but
endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution
arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears
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the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he
who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and
produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
Prophetic Meaning: The seed that is sown is the gospel. It
is of meekness, mercy, peace, righteousness, and purity of
heart.
It is heard by four kinds of people (soils). They are
represented by the ‘wayside’ (those who do not understand
its simplicity), ‘stony places’ (those who readily accept and do
not persevere when persecution comes because of it),
‘among thorns’ (those who accept but are overcome by the
system of the world and are unfruitful) and ‘good ground’
(those have overcome the world and are fruitful).
Historical Fulfilment: Jesus was the first to sow the seed. It
was heard by most of Israel and some others besides. The
Pharisees and Israel’s religious leaders were the ‘wayside’.
We are not certain who fell into the category of ‘stony places’.
The 120 who were gathered in the upper room on the Day of
Pentecost were those who were in the categories of ‘among
thorns’ and ‘good ground’. These constituted the first church.
Some, including the disciples, sowed the seed and
proclaimed the gospel. Peter preached mostly to the Jews
and won many converts from Judaism. Three thousand were
of ‘good ground’ on the Day of Pentecost alone. Philip found
‘good ground’ in the eunuch and the Gospel reached
Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. Phillip also witnessed
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to the Samaritans. Tradition has it that Thomas went to India
and established the church there.
The church grew. We note that in the church were people of
the categories of ‘stony places, ‘among thorns’ and ‘good
ground’. The people described as the ‘wayside’ were not in
the church.
Paul was converted directly by Jesus on the road to
Damascus. After his conversion, Paul preached to the
Gentiles. The Gospel was established in Antioch, Ephesus,
Corinth, Thessalonica, Derbe, Iconium, Berea and other cities
in Greece. He afterward carried it to Rome, where it had
already been known before, and possibly as far as Spain, the
western boundary of the empire. (Paul’s teaching was written
down by 60 AD, the Gospels by 75 AD and the other epistles
by 80 AD).
Those who yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty, were the ‘good ground’. ‘Stony places’ people fell
away. ‘Among thorns’ remained but did not yield a crop.
This is the first phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began after
Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, on the Day of
Pentecost (32 AD) when the church was initiated.
___Parable of wheat & tares___
Matt.13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The
kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his
field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed
tares among the wheat and went his way.26 But when the
grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also
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appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to
him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then
does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done
this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go
and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you
gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the
tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the
wheat into my barn.”’”
Jesus himself explained its meaning of this parable also:
Matt 13:37 "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the
kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39
The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the
end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore
as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be
at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His
angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast
them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and
gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to
hear, let him hear!
Prophetic Meaning: Jesus and later the disciples sowed the
true Gospel. The results were sons of the kingdom. In
response, the devil sows tares. These are the initial heresies
intended to subvert the Gospel. The results were sons of the
‘evil one’. They would continue to exist, side by side until the
final judgment. The sons of the devil are cast into the lake of
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fire. The sons of the kingdom would inherit the kingdom of
heaven.
Historical Fulfilment: Several sons of the kingdom from this
period, who preached the true Gospel, are mentioned in the
literature: Ignatius of Clement of Rome (died ~100 AD),
Antioch (martyred~110 AD), Polycarp (martyred 155 AD),
Justin Martyr (martyred 165 AD), Irenaeus (ca. 130–202 AD),
Origen (died 254 AD, due to injuries from persecution),
Cyprian of North Africa (martyred 258 AD).
In 125 AD, emerged the first of these heresies in the form of
the gospel of Thomas, which is non-canonical in the sense it
is not a historical account of the life of Jesus; it is composed
by 114 saying purported to be of Jesus. It is called the first of
the gnostic gospels 15 . Others followed- the gospel of Mary
(145 AD), the gospel of Phillip (265-300 AD) and the gospel
of the Egyptians (~ 250 AD). These gospels were an
expression of Gnosticism, which recognises secret
knowledge of two gods, one flawed and evil and the other
compassionate and good.
Consequently, several heresies were introduced.
Marcionism 16 is the idea there two gods, one good and the
other evil. Monarchianism 17 (adoptionism) is the heresy that
15 The Gnostic gospels are a product of Gnosticism. Gnosticism, broadly construed,
recognizes two deities: the Demiurge-flawed and wicked creator of a flawed and wicked
material world-who is often equated with the God of the Old Testament; and the "good
God," the Father of Jesus, who sent his Son to show humans the way of salvation from the
corrupt material world. Salvation, under Gnosticism, does not require forgiveness of sins or
necessarily entail any type of physical sacrament; it instead consists primarily of acquiring
secret knowledge, or gnosis. https://www.allaboutreligion.org/gnostic-gospels.htm
16
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marcionites
17
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Monarchianism
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the Father is the only true God and Jesus was a mere man.
Docetism 18 is the heresy that Jesus was not real, that he was
an illusion. Manicheans 19 taught that there were only eternal
principles, God and matter. Later, Arianism 20 taught that
Jesus was not God incarnate. There were many
combinations of these heresies as well.
Whilst this prophecy has been fulfilled, quite obviously, we
would have to await the final judgment to confirm that the
sons of the wicked one will be cast into the furnace, the Lake
of Fire, as the final judgment of the Book of Revelation.
This is the second phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began
in 145 AD with the gospel of Mary.
___Parable of the mustard seed___
Matt 13 31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The
kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took
and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the
seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and
becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in
its branches.”
Prophetic Meaning: At this prophetic time, the Gospel is
subject to both wheat and tares, sons of God and sons of
Satan. The former will sow seeds of the Gospel (wheat) and
the latter heresies (tares). At this time a rather serious tare
will be sown, a mustard seed. It produced a tree that grows
18
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Docetism
19
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manichaeism
gospel 20 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arianism
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Matthew 13
larger and taller than the herbs that are wheat and tares. Birds
rest on its branches. Now we saw ‘birds’ depicts the evil one,
Satan in the first parable. The implication is that Satan will
introduce a serious heresy. Satan’s false doctrines will be
accepted and tolerated.
Historical Fulfilment: In 312 AD, Constantine, the Roman
general, was converted to the Christian faith when he saw a
vision of the Cross in the sky and he believed that it is by this
vision that he overcame his enemies in battle. He became
Emperor.
After his conversion, Constantine chose Christianity. Many
people also converted into the Emperor’s faith to find favour
from him. It was the popular thing to do. The church grew as
was prophesied.
With the influx of many converts, lacking knowledge of the
true Gospel, many pagan ideas and images were added to
the church. From sun-worship came the celebration of the
birth of Christ, 25th December, the birthday of the Sun. The
pagan custom of burning candles was adopted. The worship
of Artemis (aka Diana and queen of heaven) was transferred
to the Virgin Mary.
The Bishop of Rome took on the mantle as the leader of the
church on account of the favour shown to him by Constantine,
who gave land and other privileges. He became the first
among the brethren, contrary to Jesus’ teaching. He is the
tall mustard tree that allowed ‘birds’ to rest on its branches.
He introduced false doctrine as was prophesied. The Gospel
lost its true character.
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This is the third phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began
shortly after the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD.
___Parable of the Leaven___
Matt.13.33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom
of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three
measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
Prophetic Meaning: Since the Gospel has lost its way, it is
likened to a lump of dough. As the leavened dough is
different from wheat which it is made of, so would the
church’ be far from the true church.
Leaven (yeast) when mixed with a lump of dough, changes in
its character from the inside. Throughout the Scriptures,
leaven (yeast) is considered a corrupting addition into God’s
Word. The Old Testament refers to physical leaven. For
example, Abraham prepared a meal with unleavened bread
for the three visitors 21 . The Passover meal was to be eaten
with bread without leaven 22 . The Israelites were asked not to
offer God’s sacrifice with leavened bread.
In the New Testament reference to leaven is figurative. Jesus
warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and Sadducees- heretical corrupting doctrines of the law and
traditions of the priesthood 23 . And in another context, he
referred to leaven of Herod (leaven of heresy, power and
21
Gen.19:3.
22
Exo.13:3.
23
Matt.16:11, 12.
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wealth) 24 . Paul had this to say about leaven 25 : Your glorying
is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump?
Leaven, in a spiritual sense, was to glorify oneself. This was
evident in the Pharisees, Sadducees and in Herod. The
‘church’ has now been overtaken by heresy. It bore no
resemblance to the original true church.
Historical Fulfilment: In 284 AD, Diocletian became
Emperor of Rome, he divided the empire into two halves- the
Western and Eastern Empires. He ruled the East and
Maximian the West. After Constantine, the last western
emperor was Romulus Augustulus. In 476 AD, the Western
Roman Empire was defeated by Goths. In the absence of a
secular ruler, the bishop of Rome acquired authority. The
papal election of March 483 was the first to take place without
the existence of a Western Roman emperor.
This papal church bases its doctrine not only on the Bible but
also in the traditions of the church- the leaven of the
Pharisees.
Gregory I, a Roman senator's son and himself the Prefect of
Rome at 30. Gregory tried the monastery but soon returned
to active public life, ending his life and the century as pope.
Although he was the first pope from a monastic background,
his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a
24
Mark 8:13.
25
1 Cur 5:6
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talented administrator, who successfully established papal
supremacy 26 .
In 592 AD, Gregory I reveals in a similar way the future
direction of Rome and of the papacy. A temporal ruler of
Rome, using monastic establishments to spread spiritual rule
throughout Europe - the pattern for the medieval papacy is in
place. For many centuries, the Pope wielded worldly power in
disposing of kings and rulers of Christian nations 27 . The Pope
assumed the title of Pontifex Maximus, a title used by Roman
Emperors- the leaven of Herod. Later, the pope called himself
the Vicar of Christ, the head of the church.
This is the fourth phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began in
592 AD with Pope Gregory I.
___Parable of the hidden treasure___
Matt.13 44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over
it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Prophetic Meaning: The treasure is the Word of the
kingdom. It was hidden. The man found it (by accident?). He
sacrifices everything for it.
Historical Fulfilment: During the time of the popes, the Bible
was not allowed to be read by the laity. Only the priesthood
had access to it. So much so, that John Wycliffe was
26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I
27
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac65#2840#ixzz5tF
bXCDar
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ostracised for translating it to English from the original
languages 28 .
Martin Luther, an ordained priest, was working in the library
of the monastery. He accidentally happened to come across
a Bible, which then was not available to the laymen. Turning
to the pages to the Epistle to the Roman church written by
Paul, the apostle, his eyes fell the verse chapter 1 verse 17:
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." This is the
treasure he found, that salvation comes by faith alone and not
by doing good deeds and through the traditions of men. He
found the hidden treasure and gave up everything for its sake.
Thus began the Reformation of the church. The Protestant
Reformation began on 31 October 1517, in Wittenberg,
Saxony, where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the
Castle Church, in Wittenberg. The theses debated and
criticized the church and the Pope, but concentrated upon the
selling of indulgences and doctrinal policies about purgatory,
particular judgment, Catholic devotion to Mary, "The Mother
of God", the intercession of and devotion to the saints, most
of the sacraments, the mandatory clerical celibacy, including
monasticism, and the authority of the Pope.
However, most did not really believe this doctrine of salvation
by faith alone and not of works. They came over for political
reasons, to become independent of the Pope. An example is
Henry VIII. Because the pope refused to devoice from his
28
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/john-wycliffe-condemned-heretic
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wife, Catherine of Aragon, he broke away from Rome and
declared the king (himself) as the head of the Church of
England.
This is the fifth phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began on
31 October 1517.
___Parable of Beautiful Pearls___
Matt. 13: 42 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one
pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought
it.
Prophetic Meaning: The kingdom of heaven is compared to
pearls of great value. The merchant seeks precious pearls.
He finds one. He gives up everything for it.
Historical Fulfilment: In early the 18 th century the spiritual
fervour had declined and the idea of secular rationalism was
being emphasized, and passion for religion had grown stale.
The response was the Evangelical Revival also called the
Great Awakening. It was a series of Christian revivals that
swept Britain and its Thirteen Colonies between the 1730s
and 1740s.
The revival movement permanently affected Protestantism as
adherents strove to renew individual piety and religious
devotion. The Great Awakening marked the emergence of
Anglo-American evangelicalism as a trans-denominational
movement within the Protestant churches. In the United
States, the term Great Awakening is most often used, while
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in the United Kingdom, it is referred to as the Evangelical
Revival.
Revivalists added to the doctrinal imperatives of Reformation
Protestantism an emphasis on providential outpourings of the
Holy Spirit. Extemporaneous preaching gave listeners a
sense of deep personal conviction of their need of salvation
by Jesus Christ and fostered introspection and commitment
to a new standard of personal morality.
Revival theology stressed that religious conversion was not
only intellectual assent to correct Christian doctrine but had
to be a "new birth" experienced in the heart. Revivalists also
taught that receiving assurance of salvation was a normal
expectation in the Christian life 29 .
The Evangelical Revival movement took the form of
Pentecostalism, having links to the Methodist, Wesleyan, and
Holiness movements 30 . Pentecostalism or Classical
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant
Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal
experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The
term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek name
for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event
commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the
followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles.
In 1900, Charles Parham, an American evangelist, and faith
healer began teaching that speaking in tongues was the Bible
29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Great_Awakening
30
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Holiness movement
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evidence of Spirit baptism and along with William J. Seymour,
a Wesleyan-Holiness preacher, he taught that this was the
third work of grace. The three-year-long Azusa Street
Revival, founded and led by Seymour in Los Angeles,
California, resulted in the spread of Pentecostalism
throughout the United States and the rest of the world as
visitors carried the Pentecostal experience back to their home
churches or felt called to the mission field.
This is the sixth phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began in
1727.
___Parable of the dragnet___
Matt 13 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet
that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat
down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad
away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will
come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and
cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.”
Prophetic Meaning: The dragnet is a picture of the Day of
Judgment. The ‘good’ and the ‘evil’ are separated from one
another. The ‘evil’ ones will be cast into the furnace of fire and
the ‘good’ into Heaven. This is the time mentioned in the
second parable of wheat and tares.
Historical Fulfilment: The classic Pentecostalism
movement usually traces its origin to the early twentieth
century, with the ministry of Charles F. Parham and the
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subsequent ministry of William Joseph Seymour and the
Azusa Street Revival. Its unique doctrine involved a dramatic
encounter with God, termed baptism with the Holy Spirit. The
evidence for having received this experience was interpreted
by some as speaking in tongues.
The charismatic movement represented a reversal of the
pattern of Pentecostal spirituality. The popularization and
broader acceptance of charismatic teachings and ideas are
linked to the healing revivals that occurred from 1946–1958.
The revivalists of the time, including William Branham, Oral
Roberts, and A. A. Allen, held large interdenominational
meetings that emphasized the gifts of the spirit. 31
One of the most well-known and controversial American
religious leaders of the 20th century was Granville Oral
Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009). He is
considered the godfather of the charismatic movement and
one of the most recognised preachers worldwide. He founded
the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts
University. His preaching emphasized seed-faith. His
ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a
period of over six decades. His healing ministry and bringing
American Pentecostalism into the mainstream had the most
impact, but he also pioneered televangelism and laid the
foundations of the prosperity gospel and abundant life
teachings. 32
31
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charismatic_movement
32
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_Roberts
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This is the seventh phase of the kingdom of heaven. It began
in 1950.
Jesus also elaborated on these events in his Olivet discourse
in Matt. 24-25. We will consider these next.
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The rejection of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah came to a head
in chapter 23. In that chapter, Jesus pronounces seven woes
upon the scribes, Pharisees and the hypocrites. In the final
few verses, he laments over Jerusalem. We read "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and
stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to
gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house
is left to you desolate; Matt 23:37,38.
We study further the prophecies of Jesus of what would
happen in the end times. These are found in Matthew 24 –
25.
Matt 24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple,
and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the
temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these
things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left
here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
Jesus was prophesying the Temple would be destroyed. Dan
9:26 "And after the sixty-two weeks [70 th week], Messiah shall
be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince
who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. This
was fulfilled in 70 AD.
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3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came
to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of
the age?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take
heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in
My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
If many come in the Name of Jesus, they would be
‘Christians’. They would not claim to be the Christ. There is
a contradiction here. This is because of the quotation marks,
‘…..’ that appear in the translation. These are not in the
original text. If we take these out. We read- ‘For many
[Christians] will come in My Name saying I [Jesus] is the
Christ, and will deceive many’. What Jesus meant was that
the deception will come from the church, possibly from
sermons from the pulpit. Is the deception of the Prosperity
Gospel that began in the 1950s?
6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that
you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these
are the beginning of sorrows.
Wars and rumours of wars, famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes: Are these things happening today?
9 "Then [toteh, Strong’s G5119, at that time] they will deliver
you up to tribulation [thlipis, Strong’s G2347, affliction,
persecution, trouble] and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name's sake.
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Tribulation: thlipis, Strong’s G2347, affliction, persecution,
trouble.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another,
and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will
rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold.
These are things expected in the Tribulation: the Gospel will
cause offense and Christians will be betrayed to authorise.
Preachers will call themselves prophets and deceive many.
Disobedience to God’s law will be the norm. Christians will
grow lukewarm (Laodicea?).
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come.
Is this not happening today?
15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of
desolation’, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the
holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who
is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his
house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get
his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to
those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
'Abomination of desolation’ is mentioned in Daniel 9. It is
when a man declares himself ‘god’ and erecting his image in
the Temple to receive sacrifices and offerings. Flee is the
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advice given the Jews because they know or should know,
what the abomination of desolation is.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not
been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no
flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will
be shortened.
Great Tribulation [megas, Strong’s G3173] of great intensity
and degree.
23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or
'There!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false
prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Some charismatic persons will call themselves Christ. They
will perform miracles, as did Pharaoh’s wise men did to
deceive. (2Thess.2:9-12).
25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 "Therefore if they say
to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He
is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.
Apparitions in the likeness of Christ will appear. Do not be
deceived for no one knows what he looks like.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to
the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28
For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered
together.
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The second coming of Jesus will be seen by all men. The
mention of carcasses prompts the question: Is there going be
bloodshed at that time?
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will
be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken.
We are reminded of the coming of the great and awesome
day of the Lord (Joel 2:31). This happens after the tribulation
and before the great tribulation.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
Zech 12:10 Then they will look on Me whom they pierced.
Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son,
and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Who are the elect of Israel? These are gathered by angels
sent by the Son of man.
32 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree 33 : When its
branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you
know that summer is near.
33
Since the fig tree represents Israel, is this prophecy linked to the establishment of Israel
in 1948?
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The fig tree represents Israel. Earlier, he cursed the fig tree
and it withered. The fig tree puts forth leaves, Israel is
restored.
33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is
near — at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this
generation will by no means pass away till all these things
take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My
words will by no means pass away.
This generation that sees Israel restored will see the second
coming.
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the
angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of
Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood
came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the
Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will
be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding
at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord
is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house
had known what hour the thief will come, he will have watched
and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
you do not expect.
This is a warning about guessing the actual day and hour of
his coming.
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The Two Servants
Matt 24:45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his master made ruler over his household, to give them food
in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master,
when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you
that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that
evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his
coming,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to
eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant
will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an
hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is a warning to Christian leaders, who think the Lord is
tarrying and start exploiting the congregation and indulge in
sin.
.
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Wise and Foolish Virgins
Matt 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to
ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were
foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took
no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with
their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all
slumbered and slept. 6 "And at midnight a cry was heard:
'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And
the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our
lamps are going out.'
9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be
enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and
buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him
to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 "Afterward the
other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12
But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not
know you.' 13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day
nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
The ‘virgins’ refer to Christians, Oil to the Holy Spirit. Each
has a measure of the fullness of the Spirit. The ‘virgins’ are
waiting for their Lord (bridegroom) to invite them to the
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Heavenly feast. The Rapture. The bridegroom (Jesus)
tarried. When waiting, the wise ‘virgins’ kept the fullness of
the Spirit in themselves. They could enter the festivities when
the groom finally came. The foolish ‘virgins’ could not enter
because they did not have the fullness of the Spirit. They
were asked to buy it from ministries that ‘sell’ it (for money?).
Acts. 8:18. this is a warning to all Christians to be filled with
the Holy Spirit continuously and thereby be ready to be
caught up in the rapture.
The Parable of the Talents
Matt 25:14 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling
to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered
his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one, to each according to his own
ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he
who had received the five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had
received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had
received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's
money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and
settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five
talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you
delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more
talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done,
good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things,
I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of
your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came
and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have
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gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to
him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said,
'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have
not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the
ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "But his lord
answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you
knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I
have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited
my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have
received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent
from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to
everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have
abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he
has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant
into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.'
The ‘man’ and ‘lord’ is Jesus Himself. ‘Servants’ are
Christian leaders. ‘Talents’ are enablement for ministry given
according to abilities. Eph. 4:11-16. The first two acted
according to their enablement. But the third did not.
Luke 12:48 For everyone to whom much is given, from him
much will be required; and to whom much has been
committed, of him they will ask the more.
The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations
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31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy
angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his
sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His
right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say
to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was
thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took
Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you
visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when
did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You
drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in,
or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick,
or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer
and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you
did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to
Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart
from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me
no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a
stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not
clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did
we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or
in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will
answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as
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you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it
to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The Son of Man will establish the Stone kingdom. (Dan. 2:44,
8:13, 14, 25.) The Son of Man will establish the millennial
kingdom. (Rev. 20:4.) The nations will be divided into sheep
and goat categories, according to the treatment of His
brethren, Israel. The sheep nations will enter his eternal
kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. The goat
nations will receive everlasting punishment in everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels.
Failure to heed these warnings results in severe
consequences- being cast to the outer darkness. There will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
These signs and warnings Jesus shared with his disciples
because he knew the Jewish religious leadership was plotting
to kill him. They found a willing accomplice in Judas Iscariot,
one of his disciples. Knowing that his time has come, he
celebrates ritual Passover meal of sharing the bread and
wine, a commemoration of the redemption of Israel from
slavery in Egypt. After supper, he prays in the garden of
Gethsemane, asking the Father to take away the suffering he
was destined to endure. On his departure from the garden,
Judas betrayed him with a kiss. He was accused by the
testimony of false witnesses. He was tried by the Jewish
priests and found guilty and sentenced to death for
blasphemy. Matt. 26.
Since the Jews did not have the authority to cause Jesus to
be crucified, he was presented to Pontius Pilate, the Roman
governor. Pilate questioned him and found no fault in him.
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Since the Jewish crowd was braying for blood, he asked them
to choose who he should crucify- Jesus or Barabbas, a known
criminal. And they chose Jesus. He was scourged and
crucified on Golgotha. This was the true meaning of the
Passover, redemption of all humanity from sin. His body was
laid to rest in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Matt. 27.
On the third day, he rose again and showed himself to his
disciples. He spent 40 days with them. And Jesus came and
spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age." 34
There are events not described in Matthew but are also
important in Christ’s ministry. These are given in the book of
the Acts of the Apostles authored by Luke. Jesus asked the
disciples to tarry in Jerusalem, promising them the Holy Spirit;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now 35 .
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched,
He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went
up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also
said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into
heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into
34 Matt 28:18-20.
35
Acts 1:5.
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heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into
heaven." He ascended to Heaven.
He is now seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in that which is to come 36 .
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with
one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to
them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of
them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance 37 .
This was the inauguration of the church, the kingdom of
heaven. The first mention of the church was in Matt.16- 16
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I
will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it
The way to enter the church, the kingdom of heaven is by
confessing "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God."
. 36 Eph.1:15-21.
37
Acts 2:1-4.
110

About Author
I consider myself fortunate to have been alive and in the prime
of my youth during the nineteen-sixties and seventies. It was
a time when authority everywhere was being challenged,
when youth left home and went in search of themselves to
exotic destinations; a generation that refused to accept
anything because of tradition and custom. It was a time of
experimentation, often aided by psychedelic drugs.
Absolutism retreated in the face of the tidal wave of relativism.
Tolerance of diversity and intolerance of the establishment
marked this new era. Nothing was sacred. The spirit of
rebellion swept the world. Public protests brought the
Vietnam War to an end. Students brought the French
president to his knees. The spirit of the times found
expression in music. The ‘Beatles’ showed the way.
Everything changed.
Growing up in Sri Lanka, I was far from the excitement but not
immune to the winds of change that were blowing. I, too, went
on a trip but not one induced by drugs. In my idealism, I
thought I would find true peace and contentment in some
philosophy or religion, but that was not to be. Although I went
from one philosophy to another and from one religion to
another, what I was seeking proved to be elusive. The little
peace I found in these was of short duration. Therefore, in my
mid-twenties, I resigned myself to the inevitable and joined
the establishment. I sought fulfilment in my career in business
and in my family. I found success but not fulfilment.
Late in life, I found rest and fulfilment in Christ Jesus on 4 th
February 1993 at 2.30 in the afternoon
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