The Beast with 10 Horns (7:7-8, 17-25)
Of all the images in Daniel's first vision, the image of the Beast with 10 horns disturbs Daniel the most (7:19). The
final unknown beast has one little horn which consumes 3 other horns and utters great with great pride. Out of
this Roman empire will come 10 nations. One of the kingdoms will subdue three of the others. This one will speak
out against God and persecute the saints for three and half years. Revelation 13 records the Apostle John's vision
of what appears to be the same beast. John's beast also had 10 horns (Rev. 13:1), and had elements of all three of
Nebuchadnezzar's parade of animals: bear, leopard, and lion (Rev. 13:2). This beast also was prideful (Rev. 13:5),
reigned for three and half years (Rev. 13:5), and persecutes the saints (Rev. 13:7).
Because there has been no historical kingdom which fits these events, it seems this must be describing a yet future event
[6]. What 10 nations succeeded the Roman empire. The question then must be
asked why there is at least a 2,000 year gap in the timeline of this prophecy? This is explained in the fifth kingdom,
the stone kingdom.
The Kingdom of God--the Christian Church
The Stone (2:34-35, 44-45)
The final kingdom which will last forever is represented in Nebuchadnezzar's Dream as a stone which destroys the
statue of worldly kingdoms. Scripture often describes the Messiah as a stone (Ps. 118:22, Is. 8:14, 28:16, 1 Peter 2:6-8), and in
the gospels, Jesus quotes Ps. 118:22 and declares himself to be its fulfillment (Matthew 21:42, Mark 22:44, Luke
20:18).
There are those who claim that this final kingdom is the establishment of antichrist Israel, and that the stone that crushes the nations comes by the reestablishment of a worldly Israel kingdom. The argument goes that the dispensation of the church was merely a parenthesis between two more important Jewish dispensations--one in the past one one yet to be established.
This, however, does not seem to fit with the rest of prophecies of Daniel.
The Ancient of Days (7:9-14, 26-27)
The coming stone kingdom, is not a future event which will take place at the second coming of Christ but it is in fact the Kingdom of God established by Jesus. The
scene is described vividly as Daniel observes one called the Ancient of Days who is holy and pure. This Ancient
of Days sends One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. To Him is given the earth as his
kingdom, to which all the nations belong. This seems at first to indicate that Jesus's Kingdom will be composed of all the worldly kingdoms of the earth. We know, however, that the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom that reigns from the heart and the future Kingdom of God will be a Kingdom of the heart.
The 70 Weeks (9:24-27)
In chapter 9, Daniel realizes that the 70 years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah is about to be accomplished. So
Daniel prays to God, confessing his peoples sin, and basically asking God, "OK, what happens next?" God
responds by sending Gabriel in a vision who tells him the future of God's people.
The remaining history of Israel lasts 70 weeks (literally seventy sevens), or 490 years. It is at the end of this 490
years that Israel will be finished with its sin and enter everlasting righteousness. We have seen this era in Israel's
history predicted in nearly all the other prophets as a time when Israel's enemies would no longer prevail, and
God's people will never stray away from God. This is clearly the eternal era of the Kingdom of God that was established by Jesus. Israel became the Christian Church as taught by St. Paul in Romans 2:28,29, Galatians 3:28,29, Philippians 3:3, etc.
The clock starts when the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem is issued (vs. 25). According to Nehemiah
2:1-8, this took place on March 14, 445 BC. The streets and walls will be rebuild during a period of 7 weeks and
then 62 weeks.
At the end of this time, the Messiah shall be cut off (vs. 26). These 434 years extend right up to the very first Palm
Sunday, when Jesus presented himself as the Messiah (Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:28-40) [7]. Jesus himself was aware
of this prophecy, for in Luke 19:41-44 he weeps for the coming destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Romans
("the people of the prince who is to come") [8] as predicted in verse 26 and fulfilled in 70 AD.
The cutting off of the Messiah was also predicted in Isaiah 53:8 where it says "He was cut off from the land of the
living..." This chapter also describes how the Messiah would be rejected and despised, even by the majority of Jews
themselves. In Matt.21:33-45, Jesus knew that the Jews would reject him, and declared that because of their
rejection, "the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." It seems that
Jesus was stating that the Jews would be set aside because of their rejection of Christ, and in its place
the church would receive the kingdom (Romans 11:22-25).
The removal of the kingdom of God from Israel has led Protestant dispensationalist to specualate about an unspecified gap of time between the
69th and 70th week. This is where they have created a "prophetic Church parenthesis between two Jewish dispensations. [9]: 1) The gap is invented by pro-Zionist Protestants to justify their support for the retoration of a modern antichrist Israel kingdom.
It is at the end of this 70th week that Zionist "christians" preach that modern Israel's kingdom will be established
again. According to this teaching this final reestablished kingdom of the Jews would be ruled by Jesus himself. They view this as the
culmination of the sovereignty of God over kings and nations. This is the worldly and carnal kingdom that Zionist "christians" believe
that "every knew should bow." (Philippians 2:10)
The antichrist modern kingdom of Israel today is being pushed by the Zionist "christians" as the fulfillment of Daniels 70th week kingdom
This is where our differences are focused!!
I believe that the reestablishment of modern antichrist Israel is a counterfeit and the work of Satan, you and other Zionist "christians" believe it is of God.
Time will tell who is correct--who is a false teacher and a false prophet. |
