Step by Step Through Daniel/Program 4

Introduction

Ankerberg: Welcome to our program. We’re taking you step by step through the book of Daniel and we’re comparing that to the book of Revelation, and trying to tie the two together; and also trying to tie it to the events that are happening in our world so you can understand the power, the impact, these books have and where God says we are going in the future. You know, the fact is that Daniel gave some amazing, amazing prophecies. Jesus Christ Himself quoted from Daniel quite a bit in His sermons, and you find that in the New Testament. And one of the things that Daniel talked about that’s coming is a world empire that’s going to be controlled and led by a political leader called the Antichrist in the future. And there is going to be a time period, which represents our third pillar over here in Daniel, a time period in which things are going to happen after the rapture, followed closely by the alignment of the nations against Israel.

Now, Jimmy, for our folks that are just joining us this week, we’ve got three white pillars that are talking that are talking about the outline of the book of Revelation. What are these pillars? And then again, what are these pillars and where are we at this week?

DeYoung: As we look at the three in front of me here, those would represent the three main events in book of Revelation in the future. The first one from your left to right would be the rapture of the church. There is a space between that and the second pillar, which represents the 2 ^nd coming of Jesus Christ. That space between is the seven year period of time, John, which is talked about as the terrible time of Jacob’s trouble in the book of Jeremiah. But it’s also the tribulation period; it’s a time of judgment upon the earth. God gives Jesus Christ the title deed to the earth to bring the earth under submission and earth dwellers under submission during that period of time, so He can come back and set up His kingdom, which is the space between the second and the third pillar, and that’s the thousand year period of time, the millennial kingdom, followed by the Great White Throne Judgment in which time Jesus Christ will be the Judge. He’ll sentence those who have rejected Him into the lake of fire, which is the second death; and then eternity future, new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem unfolds after that. But that seven year tribulation period, though, there are 16 chapters in the book of Revelation that give us details about it.

When you come to the book of Daniel, represented by these four pillars, and these are the four main chapters of prophecy in the book of Daniel. This is chapter 2, the revival of the old Roman Empire; and the structure I believe is in place for that. And then last time we were together we talked about the little horn that comes out of the ten horns. Ten horns in chapter 7 and verse 7, and the little horn in verse 8. When you look at the rest of chapter 7 of the book of Daniel, it defines the Antichrist. He will not be subservient unto any god at all. He will be a willful king. He will do exactly what he wants to do. He will speak blasphemy against the Most High God. It’s referred to in Revelation chapter 13 that indeed he will use blasphemy against the Most High God, which is talked about in the book of Daniel, making the connection between these two very important prophetic books.

What’s interesting John the Revelator, was able to have read the book of Daniel. Jesus Christ, as you mentioned to a moment ago, did refer to the book of Daniel. In fact, when we come to chapter 9 in today’s study, we’re going to see what He was talking about there in chapter 24 and verse 15 when He was talking about the abomination of desolation as spoken of by the prophet Daniel. That in a moment. But here we see the little horn coming out of the ten horns. The ten horns would be ten kings who come to power in the last days. They are political leaders. And when we say ten, that number ten, we talked about the European Union as the infrastructure for the Revived Roman Empire. Well, they have 27 member states and they’re going to add another 17, the Mediterranean Union. That will be 44 member states. That constitution – and I say constitution; they call it a treaty, the Lisbon Treaty, but it’s basically a constitution for the operation – it’s the law of the land today for the European Union. One of the articles in that treaty that they signed in Lisbon, called the Lisbon Treaty – it’s been ratified in November of 2009, now it’s in place, it’s jelled European Union as a political unit – one of those articles calls for the Union to be divided into regions; thus, that gives them an opportunity to manage the entire 44 member states. And the number mentioned, even by the headquarters of the European Union, ten regions which they’ll divide into, and in fact they’re already in the process of dividing those regions.

The book of Revelation, though, when it deals with the tribulation period, after the rapture of the Church there must be the revival of the Roman Empire. There must be then the appearance of the Antichrist before we get into the entire seven year period of time. During that seven years there will be 21 judgments that get progressively worse as they go through the seven years. There will be two witnesses that will preach from the city of Jerusalem. And those two witnesses will have results immediately with 144,000 male, virgin Jews that come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. They spread around the world leading everybody to the opportunity of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

There’s going to be a battle in the heavenlies when evil angels are thrown out of the heavenlies down to the earth and continue to persecute the Jewish people with intensity in the last three and a half years. That will be followed by the seven trumpet judgments, the seven vial judgments, and the trumpets and the vials ecological judgment upon the face of the earth. The ocean turning to blood, the fish in the sea dying, etc. That is culminated with the kings of the east making their way into Jerusalem for the battle of Armageddon. Then Jesus Christ returns to Jerusalem, chapter 19, verse 11 and following of the book of Revelation, and sets up His kingdom.

Well, I said before that seven years begins you have the revival of the Roman Empire, you have the appearance of the leader of that empire, the Antichrist, and then we come to chapter 9 of the book of Daniel, which gives us three elements that are required in that seven year tribulation period. And that is going to happen, actually, before the tribulation gets under way, because the first element is the tyrant, the Antichrist, who has to deal with peace in the Middle East.

Ankerberg: Alright, Jimmy, let me place this for people again is that you’ve got four pillars that outline the book of Daniel, and you’re at pillar 3, which is the terrible time of the tribulation. Where does the terrible time of the tribulation come into in terms of going back to Revelation with the big events? You’ve got the rapture, second coming, and the final judgment. Where does pillar number 3 come in?

DeYoung: Pillar number 3, John, comes in between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Now, let me remind you again, I said it a moment ago but it’s important that we drive this home to everybody, that after the rapture of the church the seven year period does not start. The clock will not begin ticking until we get to chapter 9. Chapter 2, we have the revival of the Roman Empire. Chapter 7, we have the appearance of the leader of that empire, the Antichrist, the willful king, all of the names that he has throughout all of the Scriptures. This leader, I believe has to be in place, because what he is going to do when we look at chapter 9 in just a moment, he is going to confirm a peace treaty. He’s going to be a major player in the seven year period of time. And we also see, next time we get together we’ll talk about chapter 11 which is the alignment of the nations that come against Israel. The Antichrist will be a major player as these nations form a coalition to destroy the Jewish State of Israel. He’s going to be the false Messiah. Jesus Christ referred to him in His Olivet discourse as the false messiah. Those Jewish people are going to accept a Gentile. Isn’t that interesting? He comes out of the Gentile world; the Jewish people accept a Gentile as their Messiah. Many people ask me, how in the world will that happen? Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 8 to 12. Those who have rejected the love of the truth that they might be saved, God shall send them a strong delusion so that they believe the lie. They believe the lie of Satan that this is their Messiah. That will set the stage for chapter 9 to be fulfilled with the tyrant, the treaty, and the temple.

Ankerberg: Yeah, I love the fact that we’ve got a time period that the Bible says is coming up ahead and in that time period, the terrible time of the tribulation that takes place after the rapture, there are three things that Daniel and Revelation say must appear, must happen, events that must take place. And we are going to take a break. When we come back we are going to talk about the tyrant, the treaty, and the temple all taking place inside of pillar number 3. So stick with us, we’ll be right back.

Ankerberg: Alright, we’re back. I’m here with my guest, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, who’s a journalist and a prophecy scholar who lives in Jerusalem, and he’s done it since 1991. Knows the prime minister; he’s interviewed all the prime ministers since 1991. He knows the political leaders, and the religious leaders. And he knows his Bible backwards and forwards. And we’re taking you through the book of Daniel, step-by-step through the book of Daniel. And these four pillars represent the key chapters in Daniel that you can put the other chapters around and these then relate to the book of Revelation. And, Jimmy, we are talking about a time period with pillar number 3, the terrible time of the tribulation. Explain that and then bring it back to Revelation.

DeYoung: John, I’ve got to remind everybody, and I don’t believe we can say it too often, that indeed after the rapture the tribulation does not begin. There is a period of time. The Bible is silent on how long that time period is going to be. I don’t believe it will be very, very long at all, but we have to have the revival of the Roman Empire, that’s chapter 2 in the book of Daniel, the first pillar. We have to have the appearance of the Antichrist, that world leader who’s going to capture the hearts and the imaginations of all the people, coming to power, being supposedly the messiah, the Jewish people accept him as the messiah. Albeit, Jesus Christ said he will be a false messiah. He has to be in position to do the very first thing he is going to do, found here in chapter 9 and verse 27. Chapter 9 verses 24 to 27, one of the most powerful passages of prophecy in the entire Word of God. I hope that sometime in the future we can spend some time looking at Daniel 9:24-27. But verse 27 talks about the seven year period of time that’s described over here between the rapture and the return of Jesus Christ. Again, I remind you, a short time before the tribulation stars. But it says in Daniel 9:27 “and he,” the he referring to the Antichrist. In fact, it refers and it modifies the term in verse 26 of Daniel 9, the prince that shall come, one of the 27 names for the Antichrist. And he shall confirm that peace treaty with the Jewish people and the neighbors of the Jewish people, their enemies, for one week, a seven year period of time. It’s during that time that the Antichrist starts the clock ticking on the seven year tribulation period. The confirmation of the peace treaty. But again, it has to be a world leader of prominence in this world on the stage today that can indeed command the authority to establish peace between the Jewish people and their enemies. That’s a very key component here.

Ankerberg: And oh, by the way, everybody’s waiting for that fellow to come on because we need a peace treaty between the Palestinians and the Israelis and everybody else. Iran’s threats and Syria’s threats and some of the other people are threatening them. The fact is, we need peace in the Middle East. We all agree we don’t have it. This treaty is talked about right now, and you’re saying it’s coming.

DeYoung: Well, in fact I believe it’s already on the table, John. There are actually three treaties on the table now between Israel and some of her neighbors. For example, back in 1979 it was the Camp David Accords. Jimmy Carter, then the president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, and then the prime minister of Israel, Menachem Begin met at Camp David, which is the presidential retreat grounds in Maryland just out of Washington, DC. And they put together the Camp David Accords, a peace treaty; in fact, the first peace treaty in the history of the world between Israel and one of her neighbors, between Egypt and Israel. That peace treaty on the table. That peace treaty has never been normalized. It’s on the table. It’s simply not working.

The second peace treaty I would talk about would be the Oslo Accords. September 13, 1993, the White House, Washington, DC, then President Bill Clinton with the prime minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian people. They come together, they sign the Oslo Accords, supposedly to be a peace treaty between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Well, that one’s on the table, and everyday’s activities in Israel indicate that peace treaty is not working. Never has been normalized. On the table, not working.

A year later, and I was at this peace treaty signing there in Jordan, in the Arabah, which is an extension of the Jordan Valley. There King Hussein of Jordan and all his politicos, Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, all the Israeli politicos, along with Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, they come center stage. They sign this peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. Again, another peace treaty on the table, not working. Recently there was a survey taken among Jordanians: 97% of the Jordanians said that, though they have a peace treaty with Israel, they do not believe it’s worth the paper that it is written on. It is not working.

What’s interesting, the text says in the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 27, that he, the Antichrist, will confirm, it doesn’t mean he will sign a peace treaty. The word in Hebrew is “ gabar.” It literally means to “confirm, strengthen, or make stronger.” So these peace treaties, the three of them on the table not working, will be confirmed by this tyrant, the Antichrist, who comes on the scene. That then sets the stage for the third element in the tribulation period, and in fact in the first six months of the tribulation period, a temple standing on the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem.

Ankerberg: It also opens up the door for this fourth one that’s coming. And just give us a taste of the fourth pillar here.

DeYoung: The fourth pillar talks about an alignment of nations. When the first nation to move against Israel, Syria, makes their attack, then all the other nations that have come together in a coalition will attack Israel. It’s the second of the seal judgments at the beginning of the tribulation period. We will get more into that next week. But, indeed, you are exactly right: that peace treaty is that which sets the stage for these to attack Israel, because Israel thinks the Messiah is here. They’re living in peace, they’ve laid down their weapons, and in comes this alignment of nations.

Ankerberg: Alright, let’s make this practical. How close are we to the three events that you’re talking about here under the time period of the tribulation?

DeYoung: Well, I believe the Antichrist is alive and well on planet earth right now, ready to be energized by Satan.

Ankerberg: Somewhere in the world.

DeYoung: Somewhere in this world. And has to come out of the Revived Roman empire, which will probably mean he has to come out of the European Union, which is the infrastructure for the Revived Roman Empire. Then that treaty, every single world leader is doing whatever she or he can to bring peace to the Middle East. The Obama Administration has ratcheted up their efforts. They are now working with their peace envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. They’ve asked Tony Blair to come alongside and help them bring peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which everybody says if they get that peace in place then peace will spread throughout the Middle East. Tony Blair in fact said we could have that peace within one year.

But there is another element that we need to get into more details about, and that is the temple. The temple has to be standing at the midway point of the tribulation over there, halfway between the rapture and the return of Jesus Christ, because the Antichrist is going to walk into the temple, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 4, sit down and claim to be God. So there must be a temple early on in the tribulation period. We see that as the third element in Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:27.

I have to tell you this, John. I’ve done great investigation and documentation of the preparations to build the temple. They have selected the 28,000 men needed to be the priests to do those priestly duties. Up near Jericho now those 28,000 men, who have the book learning from the book of Leviticus, are now getting hands on training with the sacrificial system that they are practicing in preparation to go to the Temple Mount and do all that’s needed there. They have the 4,000 harps that will be played by the Levites when the temple is standing in the city of Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin is in place. The Sanhedrin are those men, those 70 wise Jewish scholars, who administer the temple. They’ve selected the high priests. The priests even have their garments. They’re in boxes now. They’re in the homes of these men qualified to be priest with a little note on top of the box and it says this, “When you see the Dome of the Rock destroyed on the Temple Mount put your priestly garment on and report immediately to the Temple Mount.” We’re ready to move forward. They know where the Ark of the Covenant is. Everything is set. They’ve got the red heifers ready to have the ashes to accomplish what that needs to be done. Every preparation for the temple is in place and they’re ready to start building the temple. But the tyrant and the treaty has to be in place first, then the temple comes alongside.

Ankerberg: Alright, folks, what we are going to do in a program up ahead, we’re going to take you to Jerusalem where Jimmy and I actually filmed some of these utensils that are being made for the temple. They’re already on display and we’ve got the pictures and we will show that to you in a program up ahead. But next week we’re going to the fourth pillar, which is current events, Jimmy, it’s the alignment of the nations that are coming against Israel. God says it’s going to happen and we’re going to talk all about the events that He says are going to happen. And we’re going to talk about that via Daniel and the book of Revelation next week. So I hope that you’ll join us then.