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In the interest of reaching every truth-seeking mind that desires to escape the path that leads to destruction of both body and soul, as long as this issue lasts, this tract will be distibuted free of charge.
GOD ALONE KNOWS THE FUTURE
FORETOLD IN PICTORIAL MODE
A LION, A BEAR, A LEOPARD AND A
NON-DESCRIPT BEAST
LEOPARD-LIKE BEAST, THE
The Fall Of Protestantism
And The Rise Of Despotism
TWO-HORN BEAST, THE
Type Of "The Image
Of The Beast"
SCARLET-COLORED BEAST DRIVEN BY
BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
Whom Does Babylon
Personify?
FINAL PHASE OF THE BEASTS, THE
"The Sea" Locates
The Territory Of The Five Beasts
"The Earth"
Locates The Two-Horn Beast's Domain
"The Wilderness"
Locates The Scarlet-Colored Beast's Domain
TWELVE-STAR-CROWNED WOMAN AND
HER REMNANT, THE
Out Of Babylon's
Dominion Into Their Own Land
A New Division
Of The Land
GENTILES WILL BE DRIVEN OUT OF
THE HOLY LAND, THE
Who Is Gog?
LORD WILL SPOIL AND JUDGE THE
NATIONS, THE 5 CURRENT EVENTS THAT MAY FULFILL PROPHECY
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DANIEL ELEVEN--THE SUMMARY
"That Which Is Noted
In The Scripture"
The Identifying Acts
Of The King Of The North
A Number Of Regimes
The Key
North Defeats South--
Takes Egypt And Palestine
In The Glory Of The
Kingdom
Overflown By A Flood--Loses
Egypt And Palestine
Again Rising To
Power
The
Historical Record Of Flattery And Forced Christianity
History Explains
His dividing The Land For Gain
The Second Regime
Of The South; Defeats The Fourth Regime Of The North
Both Spoke Lies
Against The Holy
Covenant
Pollutes The Sanctuary,
Takes Away The Daily
Disregards A God
And The Desire Of Women
The Fifth Regime
Of The North
Review
Declares War--But
Not Against The King Of The South
His Last Act
Conclusion
TAKE IT TO HEART AND PROFIT
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As we are living in a time in which we can expect anything, but be sure of nothing, therefore all including alike statesmen, diplomats, and militarists, will doubtless be surprised at just what will emerge from the present European conflict.
At this moment (1941) Hitler's dread legions are continuing their inexorable drive upon the world's "Mistress of the Seas," and so far nothing has been able to withstand the fury of their onslaught, with the result that Europe stands in terrified amazement, and the whole world in alarmed wonderment at what is ahead, willing as was Nebuchadnezzar in his day, to give almost anything to know, but
The wise men of today can no more tell the future than could the wise men of the prophet Daniel's time (Dan. 2). If you think this an extravagant statement then meet the challenge: "Produce your cause saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall
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happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods." Isa. 41:21-23.
The One Who foretold the rise and fall of Babylon and of the nations succeeding it, is the only one who knows what will be the outcome of the present "distress of nations." Luke 21:25. For light, then, on this momentous question now uppermost in every rational mind, we turn to the God of the prophets, Who bids us look to the writings of His ancient seers. There, all the world events that concern His "sons" (Isa. 45:11), are
The world's history in prophecy is recorded first, in literal terms; second, in parabolical terms; third, in typical terms; and fourth, in pictorial terms. For the sake of brevity, and in the interest of facilitating comprehension, precluding the possibility of side-tracking, this silent messenger presents its message in the pictorial mode.
The kingdoms that have gone down, the kingdoms that still exist, and the kingdoms that are yet to come, whose legislations involve God's people, have been pictorially chronicled by both Daniel and John the Revelator.
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Now in order that even the most skeptical and unbelieving mind be persuaded, the subject-matter of this tract is introduced with the symbolisms whose prophetic import has already become history:
A Lion, A Bear, A Leopard, And A Non-descript Beast.
"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Dan. 7:2-8.
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PICTURE
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These four great beasts said the angel, "are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." Dan. 7:17.
Prior to Daniel's vision of these beasts, Nebuchadnezzar, king of ancient Babylon while in a quandary as to the duration of his kingdom, was shown in a dream a great image composed of four metals. Its head was of "gold"; its breast and arms were of "silver"; its thighs, of "brass"; its legs, of "iron"; and its feet, of "iron mixed with miry clay." Interpreting the vision Daniel said to the king:
"Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over an the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron:... And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the Iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Dan. 2 :38-44.
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PICTURE
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Plainly, the four metals of the great image symbolize, as do the four beasts, a succession of four kings in their respective periods. The feet (right and left) of iron and clay obviously represent two divisions of kings (rightists and leftists) in a fifth period -- the time in which the God of Heaven shall "set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed." The toes of the feet, indicate, of course, a multiplicity of kings in both parties, the rightists and the leftists.
In another symbolism, a ram and a threephase goat, Daniel saw that the goat in its first phase (that of the "great horn" -- the king of "Grecia"), trampled down the ram ("Media and Persia"), and that after the great horn broke off (Alexander's passing away), four horns came up in its stead (the kingdom divided into four parts), and that finally from one of the four, came a fifth, the "exceeding great horn" (Rome). (See Daniel 8:9, 20, 21-23.)
Some think the "exceeding great horn" -- the fifth -- symbolizes Antiochus, who ruled one of the four divisions, but this cannot be, because the exceeding great horn's coming out of one of the four, symbolizes a fifth kingdom not one of the four expanded. Moreover, the term, "exceeding great," in contrast to the term, "great," denotes a greater kingdom than Alexander's. And as Antiochus' kingdom in its greatness
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PICTURE
was not half so great as Alexander's, the theory is discredited.
The Roman Empire is the one that was much greater than Alexander's, and therefore
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it alone answers to the symbolism. In going south, then east, then on toward the pleasant land, the west (Palestine), it necessarily went toward the four corners of the compass, which is just what Rome did.
Daniel 8:9 says that the "exceeding great horn" came out of one of the four horns of the goat, but does not tell out of which one. Daniel 11:5, however, explains that "one of the princes" of the kingdom of the south was to have a great dominion. This prince, therefore, is symbolized by the exceeding great horn, and shows that it came from the horn which symbolized the Ptolemaic Dynasty -- the southern division. Here is shown what history fails to chronicle concerning the origin of Pagan Rome.
Now we see that though in Daniel 2 and 7 the names of the kings are not made known they are revealed in Daniel 8. And as Daniei 2 and 8 corroborate Daniel 7, it follows that the four metals of the great image, and the four great beasts, are symbolical of the four ancient empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia Grecia, and Pagan Rome, respectively.
The following four maps show that history corroborates prophecy.
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PICTURE
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PICTURE
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PICTURE
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PICTURE
The feet and toes of the image (Dan. 2), being a mixture of iron and clay, forecast an empire which cannot cleave together, the clay causing it to break into parts -- into separate kingdoms: some large, some small, "partly strong, and partly broken."
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Obviously this scripture describes the present family of kings in their intermarried state (mingled "with the seed of men"). Coming as a result of the crumbling of Pagan Rome, they make a fifth and multipartite empire. Thus this prophetic picture clearly foretells that the rulers of today, unable to cleave one to another (Dan. 2:42, 43), are doomed to continual ruptures and hostilities among themselves.
Map 5 shows the modern
divisions, prior to World War II, of the ancient world.
PICTURE
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As widely accepted, the fourth beast's two-phases -- one with ten horns, the other with seven horns along with the "little horn" (Dan. 7:7, 8) -- portray, first, Pagan Rome, and second, Ecclesiastical Rome, and the "little horn" (the hornhead), the power that then ruled, was religious-political.
These four beasts coincide respectively with the "gold," "silver," "brass," and "iron" of the "great image."
In this prophetic four-beast symbolism, along with its historical fulfillment, we see the passing political events and the consequent changing political status of the world from the time of ancient Babylon on down to the time of Christianized Rome. The great image, however, brings us down to the present, the time in which we find ourselves ruled by its toe-kings. But as Daniel's series of beasts delineates but a part of the world's history, another series is necessary to complete it. The only other such series is in The Revelation, the first symbol in which is
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten
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crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
"If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Rev. 13:1-10.
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PICTURE
The composite make-up of this beast -- mouth of a lion, feet of a bear, body of a leopard, and ten horns -- is faithful witness that he is a descendant of Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Grecia (leopard), and Pagan Rome (ten horns). Hence this beast is the melting pot of the four ancient world-empires, and must, along with its seven heads and ten crowned horns, characterize the world of today.
The beast's forty-and-two-month period, falls in the time of Ecclesiastical Rome -- the empire after Pagan Rome; whereas
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its wounded state (Rev. 13:3), symbolizes her during the Protestant period. Moreover, the beast represents three periods -- (1) the period prior to its wounded state; (2) the period during its wound; and (3) the period in which its wound is healed.
Furthermore, this symbolization shows that Inspiration reckons the Protestant world still a Roman world. This we know from several angles, the first of which is in the fact that the beast's forty-two months' period parallels that of the little horn's "time" (12 months), "times" (24 months), "and dividing of time" (6 months). The work against God and His people in both records is forty-two months long.
The horns of the non-descript beast's having no crowns, and the horns of the leopard-like beast's having crowns, point out that the latter symbolizes the world after the crownless horns (kings that were to arise -- Dan. 7:24) of the former beast were crowned.
Now, as we have seen, it is clear that Ecclesiastical Rome (the second phase of the non-descript beast) was a combined church and state power (a horn-head, having "the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" -- Dan. 7:8), and that the Protestant Reformation caused the separation of the two. So while Ecclesiastical Rome's rise and reign are prefigured by the non-descript beast's horn-head, her downfall is depicted by the leopard-like
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beast's wounded common head -- the horned part (the civil power) having been taken away. The church was stripped of the sovereign power with which the state had clothed her, with the result that the governments are now independent of the church, and the church is in subjection to the governments.
It being true that the wounded head symbolizes a religious body, and that there is no distinction in appearance between the wounded head and the six uninjured heads, then the fundamental truth is that they all are figures of religious bodies. Moreover, as these symbolical prophecies deal with the Western Civilization, the home of Christendom, the heads definitely characterize the Christian denominations, just as do "the seven churches of Asia" (Rev. 2, 3), the one difference being that the churches of Asia perhaps cover a longer period of time than do the heads.
Furthermore, whereas the beast's receiving the deadly wound pictures Christianized Rome humiliated unto death (deprived of her civil power), its recovering from the wound pictures her exalted unto life again (having regained her civil power). And as the wound was inflicted by the hand of the Reformation it could never have healed had the hand continued wielding at it the sharp two-edged sword. The healing, therefore, vividly depicts
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The Fall of Protestantism And The Rise of Despotism.
Though there is but one right interpretation of each Bible doctrine, yet a multitude of conflicting interpretations are in the Christian world today, with the result that it is split into many sects and schisms (heads), with no two believing alike. Therein lies decisive evidence that these churches are divest of the Holy Spirit, and are running ahead in darkness. Because of professing to teach the Truth, but teaching instead the doctrines and commandments of men, they are reproved by having "the name of blasphemy" written over their heads (Rev. 13:1).
Even now, in the closing hours of the gospel period, the church says: "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing", -- neither truth nor prophets, -- though in fact she is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:16, 17), and about to be spued out if she fails now to anoint her eyes with this fresh, extra oil. And being unmindful of her wretched condition, she is now ready not only to reject the last message that comes to her with warnings and reproofs just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), but also again to crucify the Saviour should He in person rebuke her, thereby repeating her rebelliousness of old, as symbolized by Moses'
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striking the "rock" twice (Num. 20:11).
Detail by detail, we are thus far enabled to see that the healing of the wound is indicative not only of the church's failing to carry the Protestant Reformation to completion, but also of the world's governments' soon reverting to the despotic principles of the Dark Ages -- to the rule of action before the wound was inflicted. This repetition of the past is to be brought about by
"And I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake
as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the
first beast whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders,
so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight
of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means
of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying
to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast,
which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
"And he had power to give
life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
"Here is wisdom.
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it
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is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev. 13:11-18.
The power that is represented by this two-horn beast will identify itself with "the false prophet," for together they are "cast alive into a lake of fire." Rev. 19:20. From this it is plain to see that the wonders which the beast does in the sight of men, and by which he deceives them "that dwell on the earth" (Rev. 13:13, 14), are wrought by the false prophet (Rev. 19:20) "in the sight of the beast." Rev. 13:14. Clearly, then, the beast's civil authority, combined with the prophet's supernatural power, points to a union of beast and prophet -- an affiliation of state and of church representatives.
Having only two horns, not ten, the beast therefore depicts a local, not a universal, government. Nevertheless, he will influence all Christendom to "make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live"; that is, he will engineer a world-wide governmental setup, re-enthroning the principles of the
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church-state rule of Ecclesiastical Rome. Being the restorer of these principles, he, along with the prophet, will become the world's chief dictator, and shape not only the political and the religious policies of the governments, but also the world's commerce. He shall decree "that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Rev. 13:17.
This beast represents a man who stands at the head of a nation, and whose influence goes far and wide among the kings of the earth. He is further identified by a number -- the mystical number "six hundred threescore and six." Rev. 13:18.
The prevailing belief that the number "666" is the numerical identification of some other power, is the spawn of the Prince of Darkness, and is calculated to conceal if possible the identification of this two-horn power. Inspiration puts the number on the two-horn beast, and there we must leave it. When the number is finally made up, the servants of God will be able to convince all the "wise" as to just whom the beast symbolizes. We now see, though, that no one who studies the Word of God, need be deceived when this power does appear on the stage of action. Yet notwithstanding God's warning against giving allegiance to the beast, the world fails to give heed, with the result that even after his number is made up, "he causeth all, both
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small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads." Rev. 13 :16.
The passage, "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand," denotes that all who, after hearing the truth, continue to pay homage, either religiously or secularly, to the image, "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation." Rev. 14:9, 10.
A full realization of the glorious reward that awaits mankind will even now compel men to shout for joy! And a like realization of the dreadful penalty that awaits all who fail to make God their refuge, will cause them even now to weep and gnash their teeth. That all might realistically see these alternative prospects, and be impelled thereby to repentance, the Lord has been at supreme pains not only to record a graphic description of the evil which, through the instrumentality of the beast Satan has determined upon the whole world, but also aforehand to make of a similar evil, a perfect
Type of "The Image of the Beast."
The type was struck when --
"Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains,
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the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up....
"Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchsdnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." Dan. 3:1-6.
In the outworking of this drastic and unrighteous decree, there are three outstanding aspects: The first warningly reveals the manner in which the beast will compel all the nations and peoples within his dominion to worship him and the image which he shall make; the second sustainingly promises that just as in Nebuchadnezzar's day, Michael delivered and promoted those who refused to worship the golden image (Dan. 3:12-30), so today will He deliver and promote all who refuse to worship the beast and his image; and the third glorifyingly reveals that just as all who then stood faithful, led a multitude of both high and low to acknowledge Him as the Most High God, so today will all who heed the warning not to worship the beast or his image, "shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Dan. 12:1-3.
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Hand in hand with history, the "more sure word of prophecy," having led us symbol by symbol down through the empires beginning with ancient Babylon, and down to the present state-ruled sectarian world, will certainly lead us through to the end of time. We are therefore confronted with the logical necessity of another beast-symbol, one predicting the religious-political world of tomorrow. Without a symbolism to carry us beyond the world of today, the prophetic Word of God would be incomplete. So, for the sake of logic, continuity, and completeness, this succession of beast-symbolisms must include another beast, one which in particular is to unveil The World of Tomorrow. The only such symbol remaining is
THE SCARLET COLORED BEAST, DRIVEN BY BABYLON THE GREAT.
"And there came one of
the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying
unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with
the wine of her fornication.
"So he carried me away
in the Spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten
horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and
decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in
her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon
her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
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THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her,
I wondered with great admiration.
"And the angel said unto
me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery
of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven
heads and ten horns.
"The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into
perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were
not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when
they behold the beast that was and is not, and yet is.
"And here is the mind
which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which
the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and
one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue
a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten
horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as
yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have
one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
"These shall make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords,
and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and
faithful.
"And he saith unto me,
The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou
sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate
and naked and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
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reigneth over the kings of the earth." Rev. 17:1-18.
Now from the manifest similarity between the leopard-like beast and the scarlet-colored beast, one should recognize that the latter is the image of the former, his deadly wound having been healed and his horns uncrowned. The crownless horns of the latter show that he represents the world in a time in which there are no crowned kings, but that instead the world is ruled by an ecclesiastical head -- the woman that drives the beast.
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Moreover, the statement, "the ten horns...are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast" (Rev. 17:12), positively imports that the crowned kingdoms of today, which emerged from fallen Rome, and which are represented by the crowned horns of the leopard-like beast, will be uncrowned, dethroned.
The crownless horns of the scarlet-colored beast, moreover, "have one mind," and "give their power and strength unto the beast" (Rev. 17:13) while the woman "reigneth over the kings of the earth." Rev. 17:18.
Her sitting on the heads (Rev. 17:9), denotes that she is to control the churches; and her driving the beast denotes that she is to be the sovereign of the world. This system of worship and reign is not a new thing under the sun, for "in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." Rev. 18:24. She is, therefore, rightly called Babylon, the name of the oldest, the first, world empire -- the type.
This antitypical Babylon, from which God's people at this time are to be called out, is even to monopolize the world's commerce, as is clearly revealed in the prediction that when her reign ends, then shall--
"...the merchants of the earth...weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of
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pearls, and fine linen, and purple,
and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory,
and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and
wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat and beasts, and sheep, and horses
and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men....
"The merchants of these
things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas that
great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and
decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
"For in one hour so great
riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster and all the company
in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and
cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like
unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried,
weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made
rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for
in one hour is she made desolate." Rev. 18:11-13, 15-19.
So, shortly after it is set up, this federation of church and state will be plunged headlong into oblivion, even as a great "millstone" that is cast into the sea (Rev. 18:21). And the cry of her mourners shall be: "In one hour so great riches is come to nought." Rev. 17:12; 18:10, 17. This hour which brings the death throes of Babylon, can be none other than that which, according to Jesus' parable (Matt. 20:11-16), is the last parabolic hour (period) of the day (probationary time); that is, from the eleventh-hour call for laborers (the last
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message to the world -- Mal. 4:5), to the twelfth hour (sunset ancient timepiece), the end of the day -- the close of the gospel period (Matt. 24:14), the close of the harvest (Jer. 8:20), the close of probation (Rev. 22:11).
The "ten horns" of the scarlet-colored beast (the rulers which she dominates for an hour) ultimately "shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Rev. 17:16. Thus at length they shall unseat her forever, and the system which she symbolizes, the "image of the beast," shall be demolished. At this resounding crash of Babylon, "the kings of the earth...shall bewail her, and lament for her,...standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!" Rev. 18:9, 10.
The lamentation of the "kings" shows that they are sympathetic toward her, while the horns hate her. The "kings," therefore, cannot be those who are symbolized by the beast's crownless horns, but rather those who are symbolized by the crowned horns of the leopard-like beast. They are the crowned kings who arose after the fall of pagan Rome, and who are now speedily going into exile.
The identity of Babylon being a much mooted subject among students of The Revelation, there arises, therefore, the necessity of ascertaining:
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Now that the light has completely dispelled the darkness which has long enveloped this subject, the student of prophecy can plainly see from the symbolism that in the first place Babylon personifies the forthcoming ecclesiastical-political-economic system of the nations, not some institution or organization; second, that the beast she drives is a figure of her dominion; and third, that it is about to pass from prophecy into history -- indeed, is already beginning to loom up out of the haze as did the shores of America to Christopher Columbus and his companions as they approached the great Western Continent.
The beast's being driven by the woman, Babylon clearly reveals three important truths: first, that the call of God's people to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4), is a call for them to come out from among the nations that are symbolized by the beast which she is driving (ruling); second, that the called ones are to come out from her sin-filled dominion because it is to be ruined by the plagues; and third, their coming out necessitates their going into a place where sin does not exist and where there is no danger of the plagues' falling. Thus their coming out of her dominion must be their going into God's kingdom.
Then the warning against receiving the mark (Rev. 14:9-11), along with the call to come out will be repeated with an exceeding
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loud cry throughout Babylon's dominion.
Both those who find themselves in her dominion, and those who find themselves out of it, must then immediately decide to receive the seal of God instead of the mark of the beast if they want to escape the wrath of God. To do this, the former class must come out of her, and the latter class must stay out of her. Despite the death penalty for taking such a stand (Rev. 13:15), there must be no hesitancy or indecision on the part of either class.
Those who are in Babylon must heed the Voice which says: "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4. And those who are out, must carefully heed the warning: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." Rev. 14:9, 10.
The light on this subject will spread as fire in stubble until it finally illuminates the whole earth (Rev. 18:1), and all who walk in its blaze will have their names placed in the Lamb's Book of Life. They will find deliverance from the Enemy's last determined effort to plunge the world into
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the bottomless pit of eternal ruin. For them, said the angel, "shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people...and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12:1.
The symbolism now leads us to
THE FINAL
PHASE OF THE BEASTS.
PICTURE
The beasts of Daniel 7 and the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13, came up from
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the sea, but the two-horn beast came up from the earth (Rev. 13:11), and the scarlet-colored beast stood in the wilderness (Rev. 17:3). So to find the geographic location of each beast-government, it is necessary first to ascertain the symbolical meaning of the "sea," the "earth," and the "wilderness."
"The Sea" Locates the Territory of the Five Beasts.
Since in the realm of nature, the sea is the storehouse (home) of the waters, therefore in the realm of symbols, the "sea" must be the birthplace of the nations -- the Old Country. The five beasts' (the lion, bear, leopard, and the non-descript beast, along with the leopard-like beast) coming from the sea, denotes that they represent kingdoms that have arisen in the Old Country, just as history confirms.
Inasmuch as the sea locates the territory of these beasts, obviously, then,
"The Earth" Locates the Two-Horn Beast's Domain.
As the birthplace of the nations is symbolized by the sea, then the "earth," the opposite of the "sea," locates the domain of the two-horn beast away from the Old Country. But to find exactly which one of the New Country's governments it stands
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for, we must consider the characteristics of the beast itself.
His two crownless horns show two non-royalist rulers, while their lamb-like appearance forecasts youthful innocency. And his having the power to dictate who should buy and who should not, shows that he represents a nation that leads in controlling the world's wealth and industry.
The United States of America is the only government in the world that answers to all these specifications. It originated in a new world ("the earth"), not in the territories of the ancient world ("the sea"). It is the only government which is lamb-like -- youthful and Christian, established upon the innocent principles of peace and liberty, having two non-royalist ruling parties (crownless horns), the Republican and the Democratic.
As the symbolical "sea" and "earth," along with the beasts' characteristics, perfectly locate the abode of each beast, likewise
"The Wilderness" Locates the Scarlet-Colored Beast's Domain
By contrast, a wilderness is the opposite of a vineyard. And since a vineyard is figurative of the home of God's people (Isa. 5:7), the wilderness can only represent the
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home of the Gentiles. The beast's being in the wilderness indicates that at the time it comes into existence, there is a vineyard. Obviously, it would be superfluous to designate "the wilderness" if the whole world is wilderness.
(For full details concerning these symbolical beasts, read The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2.)
The certainty that both the vineyard and the wilderness are in existence at the same time, shows, first, that Babylon, riding (ruling) the beast, reigns only over the wilderness (Gentile world); and second, that from it are God's people called to go into the vineyard (the kingdom restored), where there are no sins, and where there is no fear of their receiving the plagues. Of this kingdom of safety the prophet Daniel wrote:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Dan. 2:44.
The subject of the vineyard, now, necessitates the analysis of
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THE TWELVE-STAR-CROWNED
WOMAN AND HER REMNANT.
PICTURE
It is self-evident that the woman, Babylon, is the counterfeit of the "woman" that brought forth the Son of God (Rev. 12:1), of whom the Scriptures say:
"And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which
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brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." Rev. 12:13, 14.
To begin with, we see from this scripture that the woman left her vineyard (homeland -- Palestine) and went into the Gentile world after her child was born; that is, in her Christian period, when the dragon persecuted her through the instrumentality of the Jews (Acts 8:1; 13:46, 50, 51). Next we see that after she was there for some time, conditions became such as to hinder her longer nourishing herself, and that it therefore became necessary that she be nourished by someone "for a time, and times, and half a time."
Three and one half years after Christ's resurrection, the church left Palestine (vineyard), and while she was in the Gentile world (wilderness), "the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman [forced the heathen to be baptized into Christianity, and to join the church], that he might cause her to be carried away [heathenized] of the flood." Rev. 12:15. While thus flooded, she had to be nourished (sustained) by the Lord, because many of her followers were heathenized, and nearly all of those who were not, were carried to death by the "flood." So had He not nourished her (kept her in existence) by a miracle, the Church would have perished during those dark ages of
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religion. True, she has been able to nourish herself since the Reformation, but the unconverted (flood) are still in her midst. She has, however, this promise of rescue:
"And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." Rev. 12:16.
Or, literally stated, the unconverted who are now in the midst of the church, are to be slain and buried. The converted are then to be taken into the kingdom. Then will the dragon be "wroth with the woman, and...make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17.
Stirred to fury over her purification, the dragon will make war "with the remnant of her seed." Against her personally, though, he will not war, because her communicants, the 144,000 (the first fruits -- Rev. 7:3-8; 14:4), those who go first into the kingdom, stand with the Lamb, the King, on Mount Sion (Rev. 14:1) His palace grounds. Thus being the rulers of the tribes, they are symbolized by the crowned woman. And being in their own land, they are protected from the dragon who consequently persecutes only the "remnant," those who are left behind, who are still in Babylon but who are finally called out of her (Rev. 18:4).
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(For full particulars on Revelation 12, read The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2, pp. 64-82.)
The first fruits of the kingdom come as a result of the shaking, the separation in the church, as is demonstrated by the parables of the net and of the field: The good fish are removed from the net (the church), and put into vessels (the kingdom -- Matt. 13:48), and the wheat is taken from among the tares, and put into the barn (the kingdom -- Matt. 13:30). As bad fish, they are cast away; as tares, they are burned. (For a detailed study of the harvest, read Tract No. 3, The Judgment and the Harvest.)
The second fruits, however, those that are still in Babylon after the purification, are taken from among the bad (Rev. 18:4), rather than the bad from among the good (Matt. 13:49).
The dragon's warring against them is occasioned by their having the Testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 19:10), by becoming commandment-keepers instead of worshipers of the beast and his image. The dragon's aim is to keep them from coming out of Babylon and thus from going into the rapidly growing Kingdom. Then it is, though, that the world shall behold all God's people coming
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Out of Babylon's Dominion Into Their Own Land.
The truth now being clearly established that the scarlet-colored beast is the symbol of the dominion over which reigns "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots," it follows that her boundaries will extend as far as the boundaries of the nations that bow down to her authority. Therefore, the call, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4), is a call for them to come out of her dominion, that they share not in her sins, nor receive of her plagues. Those who respond to the Lord's bidding, must, of course, have a sin-free place to go to, where they may "dwell safely," though there be "neither bars nor gates" around it (Ezek. 38:11). To this haven they shall be "brought forth out of the nations, and [there] they shall dwell safely all of them." Ezek. 38:8. So, "all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isa. 54:13.
God's people at that time can no more serve the Lord in "Babylon" and in "Egypt" than they could have in the days of Ezra or of Moses, for when the plagues are poured upon Babylon, as the "fire and brimstone" were poured upon Sodom and Gomorrah, then if they be living among worldlings, they can no more escape the damage of the plagues than Lot could have
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survived the fire, had he stayed in Sodom. So all who want to escape the foretold ruin verily must come out of Babylon, as Lot and his family came out of Sodom.
"And it shall," therefore, "come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isa. 2:2-4. (Read also Isaiah 11:11, 12, 15, 16.)
"...Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves
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any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.
"And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My Servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever.
"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." Ezek. 37:21-28.
In confirmation of the truth that God's people are again to become a kingdom, Ezekiel prophesies of
The prophet presents a division of the land entirely different from that of
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Joshua's time (Josh. 17): It is to be in strips from the east to the west. Dan is to have the first portion in the north, and Gad, the last portion in the south. Between the borders of these two are to be the portions of the rest of the tribes. The sanctuary is to be in the midst of the land, and adjacent to it is to be a city. (See Ezekiel 48).
The fact that such a division of the promised land has never been made, shows that it is yet future. Also the fact that the sanctuary is to be there, whereas it is not to be in the earth made new (Rev. 21:22), positively proves that this unique set-up is pre-millennial. Moreover, the twofold fact that the name of the city is "The Lord is There," and that its location, according to the division of the land, necessarily must be different from that of old Jerusalem, shows that Jerusalem proper is not that city.
Moreover, the Scriptures plainly point out that
THE GENTILES WILL BE DRIVEN OUT OF THE HOLY LAND.
"Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord shewed me four carpenters. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the
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horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it." Zech. 1:18-21.
Here we see, first, that the heathen powers in their scattering of God's ancient people, are represented as four horns, and later, in their casting out the Gentiles, they are represented as four carpenters. Thus it is predicted also pictorially that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, [only] until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24.
(Read Ezekiel 36 and 37; Jeremiah 30 and 31.)
Although our first question should be, "What shall we do to avoid giving allegiance to the enemies of God, so as to be found worthy of a place in His kingdom when this evil time shall come?" yet the majority make their first question,
For one to try on his own resources to explain who Gog is, is for him to try to do the impossible -- a venture which can result only in disappointment. This is seen in the fact that although the Bible plainly states that the place of unwalled villages is in the mountains of Israel, -- Israel's own land (Palestine), where the fathers of the Israelitish nation dwelt, -- yet men have attempted to tell us that it is in America!
So it is that in their own craftiness
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THE LORD WILL SPOIL AND JUDGE THE NATIONS.
"And they that dwell in
the citiesof Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the
weapons both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and
the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven
years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down
any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and
they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them,
saith the Lord God.
"And it shall come to
pass in that day that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel,
the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop
the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his
multitude: and they shall call it The Valley of Hamongog. And seven
months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse
the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them;
and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith
the Lord God.
"Therefore thus saith
the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy
upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name; after
that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they
have trespassed against Me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none
made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people,
and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them
in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their
God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but
I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any
more there. Neither will I hide My face any more from them: for I
have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God."
Ezek. 39:9-13, 25-29.
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"For, behold, in those
days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah
and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down
into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people
and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations,
and parted My land.
"Proclaim ye this
among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men
of war draw near; Iet them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and
your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble
yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round
about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the
heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there
will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." Joel 3:1, 2, 9-12.
"And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:32-34.
But to them that are at His left hand shall He say: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46.
(For a complete study of the kingdom, read Tract No. 8, Mt. Sion at the Eleventh Hour, and Tract No. 9, Behold I Make All Things New, pp. 40-64 .)
These are some of the future events that are soon to follow in quick succession in the ushering in of the kingdom. Then follows
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the closing of probation, and the pouring out of the seven last plagues, which shall fall upon those who figuratively stand on His left hand -- those who are outside Palestine. Then while the plagues are falling, the mightiest of all battles will be fought, "the battle of that great day of God Almighty", -- the long expected end of the world, -- the Armageddon (Rev. 16:12-16).
Coming back now to our present world crisis, since, as previously mentioned, the crowned kings of today (Rev. 13) have already dwindled to a handful, and since the churches, in their cry for peace and safety, are endeavoring to clasp hands with one another, we should do wisely now to inquire into
CURRENT EVENTS THAT MAY FULFILL PROPHECY.
Because the bone of contention among the angry nations of today is the world's markets, and because the churches are threatened by the totalitarian governments, and thus urged to press together in order to preserve Christianity, the fact is thereby evidenced that the time is nigh for the arrival of the predicted world-wide religious-political-commercial empire, the supposed remedy for the world's ills.
Now is seen that the prophecy of Revelation 17 and 18, the last scene in the drama played by the nations, is about to be enacted.
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The warring nations are already divided into two distinct ideological camps: On the one side are the democratic governments, while on the other side are the totalitarian. If the latter continue successfully to prosecute their relentless conquest for world-dominion and sovereignty, the only victorious way out for the Christian nations, as they humanly view their plight, will be to surrender their power to the church. For, seeing Catholic set against Catholic, and Protestant against Protestant, in mortal combat, they will in dread fear be inspired to saddle the beast, and to re-establish the church as its driver in order to free themselves from the shackles of totalitarianism, and to safeguard Christianity. They will see victory in this stratagem, if it be denied them in war, for the very evident reason that many of the millions of communicants of these churches, in every army of the totalitarian states allied in the conflict, will honor the dictates of the church, above those of their respective governments.
Such a combination of circumstances will result in a replication of the international church-and-state rule of the Middle Ages, and will relegate to the scrap heap the world's finest instrument of human liberty -- the divinely inspired Constitution of the United States of America. Since this development will make the world's ills worse, it will signalize that the four angels
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have let loose the winds, and that the 144,000 Israelites are sealed (Rev. 7:3-8).
And what is more, a system that will, on pain of death for nonconformity, exact a form of worship in violation of the conscience, is anything but Democracy and Christianity. Enforced religion is nothing less than an order of truckling subjects, rather than an order of voluntary disciples.
The fast falling crowned kings of the nations (symbolized by the crowned horns of the leopard- like beast) in contrast with the ascending crownless rulers of the nations (symbolized by the crownless horns of the scarlet-colored beast), show that the world is passing out of the period of royalist governments, and into the period of non-royalist governments.
A totalitarian overthrow of the democracies would endanger the continuation of nationalistic Christianity. To withstand this storm, the Christian governments will before long seat upon the beast the predicted world-queen -- Babylon the Great. Then she will say in her heart: "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." Rev. 18:7.
This church and state union will bring "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." Dan. 12:1. Nevertheless, "whosoever will save [protect] his life" by sacrificing the truth, "shall lose it," says Christ, "and whosoever will lose [risk] his life for My sake" by standing
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firm for the truth, "shall find it." Matt. 16:25. And the prophet declares that "at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book... Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 12:1, 10.
Without Christ no system can unravel the world's tangle, but can only make the knot worse. Babylon the great, therefore, can endure but a short time -- one symbolical "hour" -- and then she will be swept away by the crownless horns (Rev. 17:16), the resultant time of trouble finally culminating in the close of probation, and in the triumph and coronation of the "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16), Whose right it is to reign.
So it shall be that "in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:" but "it shall stand for ever." Dan. 2:44. "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:34. Then, and not until then, may the world expect peace.
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Thus "the more sure word of prophecy," which never fails to tell the truth, declares that neither England nor Germany, but rather Babylon the Great (the image of the beast) will finally, for a short season, profit by the war. Permanently, though, none but God's people will be benefited. They shall be made free by becoming a "kingdom, which shall never be destroyed" or "left to other people." Dan. 2:44.
How necessary, then, that we retain the light thus far shed in our minds by the never-failing Word of Prophecy, and its historical fulfillment, so that we not only may depart from the path that leads to destruction, but also may walk in the path of eternal security. To this end, let us consider a chapter of the Bible which has ever baffled students of prophecy, but which now, in the light of Present Truth, has become one of the most simple and comprehensible of Bible prophecies:
"That Which is Noted in the Scripture."
"And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled:
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for his kingdom shall be plucked up,
even for others beside those." Dan. 11:2-4.
PICTURE
Clear it is, from these verses, that the Medo-Persian Empire was to be subdued by the "mighty king" of Grecia (Alexander
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the Great), and subsequently be divided into four parts (to the south, to the north, to the east and to the west), "plucked up, even for others." Thus it was that after Alexander's death, the empire was split up, "and one part assigned to each of the four generals who formed the league. First, Ptolemy assumed the regal power in Egypt; second, Seleucus, in Syria and Upper Asia; third, Lysimachus, in Thrace and Asia Minor as far as Taurus; and fourth, Cassander took as his share Macedonia." -- Universal History, p. 100.
It is well to remember
that aside from stating the geographic locations of the four Grecian divisions,
the prophetic record of the entire chain of events is devoted to the king
of the south and to the king of the north. The acts of the king of
the north, however, are especially emphasized showing that the whole prophetic
account is given particularly to expose his meddling with holy things.
Hence follows an enumeration of some of
The Identifying Acts Of The King Of The North.
| (1) | He defeats the king of the south, and takes his kingdom (Dan. 11:15, 16), after which he stands in the "glorious land" (Dan. 11:16) ---Palestine. |
| (2) | In the glory of the kingdom, a raiser of taxes stands up (Dan. 11:20). |
| (3) | His kingdom is "overflown" with arms of a flood from before him (Dan. 11:22), and he loses Egypt and Palestine. |
| (4) | Afterwards he works deceitfully, and becomes strong with a small people (Dan. 11:23). |
| (5) | He flatters wicked ones for their wickedness (Dan. 11:32). |
| (6) | He divides the land for gain (Dan. 11:39). |
| (7) | He becomes strong the second time, yet is defeated by the king of the south (Dan. 11:25, 29, 30). |
| (8) | Both kings speak lies at one table (Dan. 11:27). |
| (9) | Having become strong the second time, and having engaged in an unsuccessful war with the king of the south, he sets his heart against the holy covenant (Dan. 11:28). |
| (10) | He pollutes the sanctuary of strength, and takes away the daily (Dan. 11:31). |
| (11) | He forsakes the god of his fathers (Dan. 11:37), acknowledges a strange god (Dan. 11:39), and disregards the desire of women (Dan. 11:37). |
| (12) | In the time of the end, he again defeats the king of the south, enters into the countries, overflows and passes over (Dan. 11:40); then once more stands in the glorious land. Following this, Edom and Moab and the chief children of Ammon, escape I out of his hand (Dan. 11:41); and the Libyans, also the Ethiopians, follow at his steps (Dan. 11 :43). |
| (13) | Tidings out of the east and out of the north trouble him. Therefore, he goes forth with great fury, destroys, and utterly makes away many (Dan. 11 :44). |
| (14) | He also plants the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, yet comes to his end, and no one helps him. |
Covering such a long period of time, many centuries, the dominion of the kings whose history is chronicled in this prophecy, obviously has passed under
Seeing that no human being has lived on and on throughout these centuries, it is
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obvious that the titles, "king of the south" and "king of the north," are applicable to two lines of rulers. Seeing also that no government or kingdom has stood intact throughout the ages, it likewise is obvious that these two lines have undergone many
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supersessions of sovereigns -- many regimes. For this reason, the Bible differentiates them by their lineal-geographic titles.
It is now clear from the Scriptures that the Grecian division south of the Mediterranean, the Ptolemaic, first receives the title, "king of the south," whereas the division north of the Mediterranean, the Lysimachian, first receives the title "king of the north." In relation to the territories of these two lines of rulers, the Mediterranean, therefore, becomes the point of compass from which they must be reckoned.
In 281 B.C., Lysimachus added to his dominion Cassander's; then in 279 B.C., Seleucus defeated Lysimachus and seized his kingdom, whereupon the eastern, the northern, and the western divisions became one, while Ptolemy held his own, the southern division. The Seleucidan dynasty, therefore, ushered in the second northern regime, whereas the Ptolemaic dynasty continued to be the first southern regime.
To this point, the prophetic vision has been open to all, but from here on, it has remained closed though many have tried to open it. To open, without a key, a locked door, is, of course, to break the door. But, being unbreakable, the locked door of Prophecy is impossible to open without
The simple and positive way not to lose sight of the identity of these two kings, is
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to let the pen of Prophecy trace on the map of history, the successive rulers of Egypt and Palestine. For the titles of the kings who conquered and who lost these ancient countries, are chronicled in this prophetic chapter to preserve the identity and to expose the evil intents of both the king of the south and the king of the north.
Remember now, to begin with, the king of the south rules the "glorious land," Palestine, along with Egypt, and the king of the north takes the glorious land twice (Dan. 11:16, 41). If he takes it twice, then he must have lost it once. Consequently, both kings ruled it twice, and lost it twice. But the king of the north, the last to rule it rules it "in the time of the end," the time many run to and fro, and the time knowledge has increased (Dan. 12:4) -- our time. Mark this carefully, for these transactions of the land provide the key to the identity of these kings from the time of Alexander's death to our time.
The angel emphatically declared that the kings to rule Palestine, together with Egypt, were to be as follows: First, the king of the south (Ptolemy); second, the king of the north (Pagan Rome); third, the king of the south (Turkey); and fourth the king of the north (England). Here, in the following twenty-five pages, are the details of prophecy correlated with history.
In the light of these foregone fundamental facts, we should now be able to rightly
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evaluate the unfolding of the scroll, and to intelligently match the page of prophecy with the page of history as we pass from the time of the first northern regime, that of the Lysimachian, on beyond the time of the second northern regime, that of the victorious Seleucidae, who subjugated the Lysimachian dynasty, and on to the time of the third northern regime, that of Rome, the power which overthrew the Seleucidan kingdom. And as the prophetic account was given to expose the work of the king of the north during the third regime, we are therefore led to examine the aforenumbered group of prophetic acts, as pointed out on pages 59-61.
(1)
North Defeats South -- Takes Egypt and Palestine.
"So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land [Palestine], which by his hand shall be consumed." Dan. 11:15, 16.
This scripture definitely brings us to the time of the third regime in the kingdom of the north, that of Pagan Rome, which completely overthrew the first regime of the kingdom of the south, that of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Egypt and Palestine then passed
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from the hands of the king of the south (Ptolemy) into the hands of the king of the north (Rome): "In the year 63 B.C. the Roman general Pompey... marched against Jerusalem....Syria...had become a Roman thing." -- The Battleground, by Helaire Belloc. And in 31 B.C. "Egypt became a Roman Province." -- New Student's Reference Book.
Since the power which overthrew the Ptolemaic dynasty and took Egypt and Palestine, is by the angel identified as the king of the north, and since Pagan Rome was that power, it follows that the title, "king of the north," after passing from Lysimachus (whose rule was the first northern regime), to Seleucus (whose rule was the second northern regime), fell to the Roman emperors (whose rule was the third northern regime). See Map 4, p. 17.
With this supersession of regimes, we are brought down to about 31 B.C., at which time Rome ruled not only the dominions of Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy, but also the dominion of Cassander -- Alexander's entire empire.
(2)
"Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom." Dan. 11:20.
Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor, is the one who taxed the world:
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"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)." Luke 2:1-4.
As this raiser of taxes was to stand when the kingdom was in its glory, the statement implies that its glory was to wane.
(3)
Overflown by a Flood -- Loses Egypt and Palestine
"And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea also the Prince of the covenant." Dan. 11:22.
Here is shown the break-up of the Roman Empire at the hands of the barbarian hordes which swept down and, as a flood, overflowed it. See map 8.
(4)
"And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people." Dan. 11:23.
From this prophetic statement, we see that Rome was to rise from its ruin and
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humiliation, and again become strong, but this time by deceit, and with a "small people." In this chain of prophecy, then, Rome is shown in two different phases, Pagan and Ecclesiastical, just as it is
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shown by the fourth symbolical beast of Daniel 7. Thus it was that after Pagan Rome saw itself overrun and humbled to the ground, down and out, so to speak, it conceived a deceit by which to bring itself to power again. The scheme resulted in an ecclesiastical code of laws, the enforcement of which it carried out with a "small people" -- the so-called Christians.
It did not call for dethroning the kings, but rather for Christianizing them. Thus peaceably the king of the north succeeded in putting over his scheme to reign as spiritual king of kings in the name of the Christian's God. First it reigned over nations, second over kings of nations.
These historical and Biblical facts show that the Christianized nations, under one spiritual head, constitute Rome's second phase, and Inspiration gave him the title "king of the north." At his throne, kings and peasants alike, within the far-flung boundaries of Christianized Rome, bowed down in absolute submission and worship. So through subtlety, he again became strong, as the following paragraphs of history confirm.
(5)
The Historical Record of Flattery and Forced Christianity.
"The bishops, or overseers of the Christian churches, at first demeaned themselves
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in the meek spirit of the founder of their religion. But at length they sought temporal power, and worldly advantage. The bishops of the great cities assumed authority over those of the surrounding country; and Rome Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem became the seats of ecclesiastical power; and their bishops might be said to constitute an oligarchy in the church.... Rome became, through the dark ages, a king of kings; nay more -- he assumed to be in the place of God." -- Universal History, pp. 198, 199.
"At the coronation of Charlemagne, Pope Leo III., after placing the crown upon his head, saluted him with the title of emperor of the Romans. He had quelled the barbarous nations of Europe, with the exception of the Danes, or Normans, and his kingdom comprised France, Germany, Italy, and the north of Spain. From the east Irene, the empress of Constantinople, sought his friendship, and even the caliph of Bagdad, the princely Haroun al Raschid, entered into a correspondence with him, and sent him the keys of the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem. Charlemagne, though a barbarian who at first could not write his name, but 'signed his treaties with the hilt of his sword, and enforced them with its point,' had yet great sympathy with learned men...." -- Universal History, p. 203.
"...WITIKIND, the most valiant and renowned of their chiefs, at length embraced
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Christianity, and resigned his arms. Charlemagne then obliged the Saxon people, under penalty of death, to receive baptism. He invaded and conquered the Huns and Sclavonians." -- Universal History, p. 202.
"...Charles, unable to repel the invaders, ceded to them the province of Nuestria, thereafter called Normandy, and gave to Rollo, his daughter in marriage. The Norman chief was however, to do homage to Charles, kneeling and kissing the royal toe...." -- Id., p. 202.
"Alfred [king of England] granted the Danes permission to settle in Northumberland and East Anglia, on condition of their being governed by his laws, and embracing Christianity. They were accordingly baptized; and the king himself stood godfather for GUTHRUM their chief...." -- Universal History, p. 209.
"He found a pretext for invading the kingdom of Lombardy, in the hostilities of DESIDERIUS against the pope. Charlemagne crossed the great St. Bernard from Geneva, and successively took Pavia and Verona. Lombardy was soon reduced to submission, and the king made captive. Charlemagne next visited Rome, where he was received by pope Adrian 1., with every demonstration of joy, and hailed as the deliverer of the church. He caused himself to be crowned king of Lombardy." -- Universal History, p. 201.
In this subtle manner came the king of the north, and obtained "the kingdom by
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flatteries" (Dan. 11:21) and by honoring "the god of forces," as prophesied in Dan. 11:24, 38, 39.
(6)
History Explains His Dividing the Land for Gain
"The FEUDAL SYSTEM is a term used to express the manner in which the chiefs, who conquered by the aid of their armies, and settled in the conquered countries, divided the lands among their followers; and the liabilities and privileges growing out of this division. When the chief, or king, saw the whole undivided territory on the one hand, and the body of his followers wishing to settle it on the other, the question naturally arose, how should he divide it? The unsettled state of the world was to be considered. If he divided it among his people, without preserving a warlike attitude, they would become the prey of some of the armed hordes, still moving in search of settlements. The leader, therefore, after retaining what he chose, gave out the lands in large portions to his principal captains, -- on condition of their doing homage to him, paying a certain sum of money, and appearing in the field with a certain number of retainers, whenever he called for their aid. These chief officers, after keeping what they desired for their own use, divided the remainder of the land assigned them, to their own favorites;
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who were to furnish money and soldiers to them, as they were to the king. The conquered inhabitants who remained became slaves, and were transferable with the lands. These kings rose by their own prowess; but on settling with their nation, the monarchy was generally first elective in their families, then hereditary." -- Universal History, p. 200.
(7)
The Second Regime of the South; Defeats the Fourth Regime of the North
"And 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 forecast devices
against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall
destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall
be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits and return to his
own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward
the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
"For the ships of Chittim
shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and
have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even
return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant."
Dan. 11:25, 26, 28-30.
We have already seen from prophecy, also from history, that the first regime of the south (the Ptolemaic) was overthrown by the third regime of the north (that of
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Pagan Rome). And as Pagan Rome never waged war against any other power of the south, two points stand out clearly: First, following the Ptolemaic regime, another king of the south must have risen; and second, the war against this king of the south was waged by the regime subsequent to Pagan Rome, that of Christianized Rome, the fourth regime of the north. It stirred up "his power and his courage against the king of the south."
The only regime that has risen from the south since the Ptolemaic dynasty went down, and that has ruled Egypt and Palestine, is that of the Moors: "a Mohammedan, Arabic-speaking race of mixed descent, forming part of the population of Barbary, and deriving their name from the Mauri, the ancient inhabitants of Mauretamia, whose pure lineal descendants are, however, the Amazirgh, a branch of the Berbers. The modern Moors have sprung from a union of the ancient inhabitants of this region with their Arab conquerors, who appeared in the 7th century. As the Mohammedan conquerors of the Visigoths in Spain (711-713) came from North Africa, the name Moor was also applied to them by Spanish chroniclers, and in that connection is synonymous with Arab and Saracen. These Moors pushed northward into France, until their repulse by Charles Martel at the great battle of Tours in 732, after which they practically restricted
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themselves to Spain south of the Ebro and the Sierra Guadarrama.... The expelled Moors, settling in the north of Africa, founded cities from which to harass the Spanish coasts, and finally developed into the piratical states of Barbary, whose depredations were a source of irritation to the civilized Christian powers even till well into the present century." -- Twentieth Century Cyclopaedia, Vol. VI, p. 24.
The conflicts between the south and the north following the Greeko-Roman wars, were between the Mohammedans and the Christians. At that time, therefore, while the title, "king of the north," applies to the rulers of Christianized Rome, the title, "king of the south," applies to the Mohammedan rulers.
(Inasmuch as the Saracens, Moors, Arabs, and Turks -- the Moslems -- are the successors of Mohammed's empire in different regimes, we herein, for the sake of brevity, use the name "Mohammedans" for all, as if they were one regime.)
These prophetically and historically chronicled events make it impossible to misapply the titles, or to misconstrue the powers.
Moreover, the verses (Dan. 11:25, 26, 28-30) upon which we are now concentrating, credit victory to the king of the south, and history shows that, at the exact time the scripture points out, the Mohammedans arose from Africa, and also invaded the
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Christian nations north of the Mediterranean. Then it was that Rome lost Egypt and Palestine.
In these verses, the personal pronouns of the two antagonists the "king of the south" and the "king of the north," are not traceable by grammatical law, but only by the logic of events:
"And he [the king of the north] 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 [the king of the north] shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat [the meat of the king of the north], shall destroy him [the king of the north], and his [king of the south's] army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.... Then [being defeated] shall he [the king of the north] return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he [the king of the north] shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter." Dan. 11:25, 26, 28, 29.
Though the "he" of Dan. 11:28 returns to "his land with great riches," he did not take them as booty from the king of the south, whose army overflowed him and caused many to "fall down slain," not to stand (Dan. 11:26), but he must have received them from the converts to his religion. Those who ate the portion of his meat (Dan. 11:26), his servants, and who later destroy him, were, at the outset, the Protestants.
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As the "he" of Dan. 11:29 returns at the appointed time and comes toward the south, "he" is therefore the king of the north gone down for another battle. These are the particulars which history confirms, and thus it is seen that the bracketed identification of the pronouns is correct.
The western incursion of the Mohammedans began "in 639 A.D.," when they "invaded the country, and Egypt became a Mohammedan province." -- The New Student's Reference Book.
Thus, following the Ptolemies, the Mohammedans, whose rule was the second southern regime, came into the title, "king of the south."
By 814 A.D., Rome (the king of the north) had already ceded Egypt and Palestine to the Mohammedans (to the king of the south).
Conscience-dominating Christianity from the north, and conscience-dominating Mohammedanism from the south, have ever since been in territorial and religious conflict. And whichever one took a slice of the other's dominion, he forced, upon penalty of death for nonconformity, his religious beliefs upon his captives.
(8)
"And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table;
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but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." Dan. 11:27.
The one table at which both kings speak, is, of course, figurative; that is, Ecclesiastical Rome declared to their captives that the Roman religion was foreshadowed by the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she was to bear a son the Saviour of the world; likewise Mohammedanism next declared to the same people (at the same table), when they became their captives, that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mohammed and gave him the religion which all the people of the earth must have.
Though Rome's declaration as to just what Gabriel said to Mary, is founded in fact, Rome's actual religion, merely coated with Christianity, was not the religion of the One Whose birth Gabriel forespoke. As to Mohammed's receiving his religion from Gabriel, he never did. Thus, both the Mohammedanized pashas and the Christianized lords, were speaking lies at one table -- the people's. But these "shall not prosper," declared the angel, "for yet the end shall be at the time appointed"; that is, their false religions will come to an end at an appointed time: they will not endure forever.
Map 9 shows the final results -- the nations that were permanently Christianized, and the nations that were permanently Mohammedanized.
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PICTURE
(9)
Seeing the necessity of compromising with the heathen in order to make an easy prey of them, the king of the north therefore set his heart against the "holy covenant"
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(Dan. 11:28, 30, 32) that is, he dropped from the Christian's creed the Sabbath of creation (Ex. 20:8-11), which the Lord "blessed and hallowed" as a memorial of His works, "a perpetual covenant." Ex. 31:16, 17.
The king of the north's having intelligence only with those who did "forsake the holy covenant," clears two points: first that all did not forsake the Sabbath; second that the small people with whom he became strong, were not the faithful followers of Christ, but the unfaithful ones.
"And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Dan. 11:32.
This verse reveals the character of each class: first, of the unfaithful; and second, of the faithful. As to the destiny of the faithful, we read:
" And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
"Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries." Dan. 11:33, 34.
These verses, besides foreshadowing the martyrdom of the faithful followers of Christ, predict the Reformation, the "little help," and foretell that its present fallen state is caused by "flatteries."
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(10)
Pollutes the Sanctuary, Takes Away the Daily
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall Dan. 11:31.
That these three links of Truth (the polluting of the sanctuary, the taking away of the daily, and the placing of the abomination) in the prophetic chain of events, bring us several centuries into the Christian era, is conclusively confirmed by Christ's referring to them as in the future from the time He uttered the command:
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains." Matt. 24:15, 16.
A heathen sanctuary is already unclean, and therefore cannot be polluted. Clearly, then, the sanctuary of strength (not the heathen) was polluted by bringing into it a pagan priesthood and unconverted
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heathen. The "sanctuary" is the Christian church, for during the period in which the pollution took place there was no sanctuary in Jerusalem. (Concerning the "daily," read Tract No. 3, The Judgment and the Harvest pp. 38, 39.)
(11)
Disregards a God and the Desire of Women
"Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." Dan. 11:37, 39.
No nation but Christianized Rome fulfills this prophecy, for she is the only one that disregarded the god of her fathers (the Pagan god), and acknowledged a strange god (the God of the Christians).
And although she professed to have wholeheartedly accepted the Christian's God, this scripture exposes the falsity of her profession.
"Neither shall he regard...the desire of women." Dan. 11:37.
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Woman's desire is a home (Gen. 3:16) -- a desire which the Lord placed in her heart. The Roman institution of nunneries, therefore, is not in God's order.
(12)
The Fifth Regime of the North Defeats the Second Regime of the South
"And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at...the king of the north." Dan. 11:40.
The angel that dictated Daniel's writings, explains that in the time of the end these prophecies were to be revealed, and that at that time "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.
Modern inventions, especially in the realm of travel and of communication, are recognized as the fulfillment of the predicted increase of knowledge. The present increase of knowledge, therefore, shows that we are now living in the time of the end. At the beginning of it, declared Inspiration, (in the eighteenth century) the king of the south "shall push" at the king of the north -- the time in which the king of the north shall --
"...come against him [against the king of the south] like a whirlwind, with chariots,
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and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps." Dan. 11:40-43.
Passing beyond the prophetic declaration of the Mohammedan victories, and coming to "the time of the end," in the eighteenth century, we find that the Christianized king of the north in his fifth regime (the Christian governments independent of the church) is at the outset to overrun the king of the south (the Mohammedan Empire), and is finally to retake from him Egypt and Palestine and many other countries besides those which comprised the Mohammedan Empire.
Map 10 emphasizes the Turkish Empire in its greatness, and also gives the dates the various provinces fell. According to the map, the decline of the Empire commenced in 1699 (at the time of the end -- Dan. 12:4).
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PICTURE
"Until 1915, when England declared Turkish suzerainty at an end and established a protectorate, Egypt was nominally a Turkish dependency. But since 1883,
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following Arabi Pasha's rebellion, Egypt had been practically ruled by Great Britain under a consul-general." -- The New Student's Reference Book.
"Palestine [the glorious land], for long years the home of the Hebrew race, was under control of Rome in the time of Christ. In the seventh century it passed under the Moslem power, and from 1516 to 1919 was in the hands of the Turks and a part of the Turkish Empire." -- The World Book.
Edom, Moab, and the chief children of Ammon (those of the Trans-Jordan) then came under the mandate of Great Britain. (See Map 5, page 18.) The Word, however, says they "shall escape out of his hand," showing that though he now has them, he is to lose them.
And "the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps"; perhaps they shall follow him -- be for him.
In order to fix the truth in our minds before passing from prophecy fulfilled to prophecy unfulfilled, it is expedient to attend to the following
After the dividing of Alexander's dominion, Egypt and Palestine were, as previously seen, ruled first, by the Ptolemies; second, by Pagan Rome (Dan. 11:15, 16); third, by the Dan. 11:22);
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and fourth, again by the Christians -- specifically by Great Britain (Dan. 11:41).
These are the only historically and prophetically recorded supersessions involving the ancient lands of Egypt and Palestine. The surrendering of these countries, by one prophetic king to the other, unmistakably identifies "the king of the north" and "the king of the south" from the time of the dividing of Alexander's empire to the present time, and leaves no room for doubt or for argument .
Rome's (the king of the north's) entering a second time into "the glorious land" (Dan. 11:41), shows that though, as aforementioned it once took the land from the Ptolemies (Dan. 11:16) it later, in 633 A.D., lost it to the Turks, and in 1919 -- "in the time of the end" wholly regained it.
Here is simple proof that in modern times the Mohammedan rulers are in prophecy called the "king of the south," while England's kings, along with the disrupted family of Christianized kings whom prophecy says will not cleave one to another (Dan. 2:43), are called "king of the north."
In her Pagan period, Rome is symbolized by the great image's two legs of iron, and in her Christianized period, by its feet and toes of iron mixed with clay.
That the "king of the north" (Dan. 11:7) and the little-horn-power (having the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great
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things -- Dan. 7:25) are one and the same power, is again shown by the fact that "time, times, and an half," is the time given in both instances. See Daniel 12:7. (The twelfth chapter is a continuation of the eleventh.)
It is now clearly seen that the passing of Egypt and Palestine from the hands of one people to another, is the key which has unlocked the mystery of Daniel 11. And the truth, shining out with such resplendence, makes exceedingly clear that the popular doctrines that Turkey is "the king of the north," and that England is the emerged kingdom of Israel, are calculated by the spirit of error so as to cause God's people utterly to lose sight of the truth, and to take their stand, they know not where.
(13)
Declares War But Not Against the King of the South
So far in this chain of events, each link has been a prophecy fulfilled, but the verses which we are next to consider, contain the links of prophecy unfulfilled. Through the eye of faith, therefore we are now to look into the future:
"But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many." Dan. 11:44.
The king's final trouble is not to arise from the king of the south's pushing at
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him, but from "tidings out of the east and out of the north," showing that he is drawn into this last struggle for supremacy, not by anyone's declaring war against him, but by his declaring war against many because "tidings out of the east and out of the north" have troubled him.
If Germany's aggressive activities on the north of the Mediterranean, and the Japanese on the east of it, are the tidings which have led England into war against many, and there is no doubt about it, then this second world's war will lead to the fulfillment of the entire chapter under consideration.
(14)
"And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." Dan. 11:45.
It is self-evident that planting "the tabernacles of his palace" cannot mean planting his capitol. The tabernacles, therefore, may denote a branch of his palace. And his choosing to plant them "in the glorious holy mountain," indicates that the place is intended to attach to his tabernacles the holiness of the Christian's God. Investing the tabernacles of his palace with such sanctity, can mean that it is to house the headquarters of the soon-coming ecclesiastical world-government, which we have already considered.
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But one location, perhaps Mount Sinai, is "between the seas" -- the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. His choosing it instead of Jerusalem, implies that it is because Palestine, as well as Edom, Moab and Ammon, shall "escape out of his hand."
The statement, "he shall come to his end, and none shall help him," shows that he has previously been helped by some other power, and that he will not continue long thereafter, and most likely means that his ecclesiasticism will be overthrown by the horns of the scarlet-colored beast (Rev. 17:16).
It now being apparent that "the tabernacles of his palace" are supposed to represent holiness, and that the woman riding the beast (Rev. 17:3), settles the world's social, economic, political, and religious problems, the truth is clear that the present Christian governments are to be reorganized, and ruled by an ecclesiastical head -- not by Hitler.
Our prayer, therefore, is that all make sure that their names be in Michael's Book of Life, for those whose names are not there, will be left to go down in eternal ruin.
As parting reassurance that we are now living in the time of the end, and as that time is about to pass into eternity, we quote the angel's solemn words:
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the
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children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Dan. 12:1, 2.
Since the prophecies dealt with herein, link together many centuries of history, we have, in the scope of this tract been able but briefly to treat of the history involved, giving especial attention to the part by which the Lord is to guide the feet of everyone who is anxious to take up the cross and to follow Him safely over the bottomless pit, into which all other living are soon to fall. The truth here brought to light, shining as clearly as it does, should convince and convert all the honest who wish to escape the coming doom. Therefore may all
As a life line to keep Christ's faithful followers from being swept away by the religion of either power, God has wrought the prophetic chain of events herein brought to view.
Those who expect to be led and to be saved by the Word of Truth, also to be delivered from the time of trouble, by
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Michael's standing up (Dan. 12:1), which trouble the present distress of nations is about to bring forth, should not hesitate now to take their stand on the side of right and truth. For this cause, Brother, Sister, is the light now shining on your path.
To those who take to heart the Lord's warning and who stand on His side, is made the promise: "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Dan. 12:3.
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 12:10.
And now having heard "the conclusion of the whole matter, fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Eccles. 12:13. Now rise and shine, make the Psalmist's praise your own; say, "O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared Thy wondrous works." "O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Ps. 71:17; Isa. 25:1.
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Numbers 1-4, 6 and 7 are adaptations from among the maps in Empires of the Bible, by A.T. Jones.
Number 5 is adapted from among the maps appearing in The Dallas Morning News during 1941.
Number 8 is adapted from one of the series of maps in Myers' Ancient History, Revised Edition.
Numbers 9 and 10 are reproduced from among the maps in The New World Problems in Political Geography.
Cover page illustrations: Top one by Knott in The Dallas Morning News; bottom one by Sakren.