After many months of Holy Spirit leading and preparation I am finally putting this research into writing from 01-01-10, the first day of this New Year. In writing this paper I want to consider the following big questions because they can help us break out of a status quo that marginalises the Kingdom of God in the world:
· what are our expectations for 2010 under God?
· where does 2010 fit in the prophetic timeline of the world?
· are we getting prepared to impact our world for Christ?
Can the bible help us know where we are in world history? If so, with what accuracy and for what purpose? The answer to these questions may surprise you and bring with them a renewed call to preparation for Kingdom purposes that bring meaning and true success to life.
In particular we will examine the prophecies of Daniel in Babylon around 600BC and cross-reference them against the mirrored prophecies of the Apostle John in approx 95AD when he was exiled to the island of Patmos, just off the Turkish coast near the seven churches of Revelation (Rev 1:9).
To do this we will engage the Scriptures with a deep sense of humility and dependency on the author, the Holy Spirit. We will seek to edify without being dogmatic whilst being encouraged along the way by the prophets and apostles of whom it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them” (Dan 10:12).
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care” (1 Peter 1:10)
Note: unless otherwise stated the Scriptures quoted in this paper are from the New International Version and any emphasis added are those of the author.
Where then does the prophetic Word of God place us on the timeline of planet earth?
Seven Super Powers
In the vision God gave Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, there was an image of a huge statue and only Daniel could interpret the vision. The statue represented five empires from Daniels lifetime onwards. The fourth empire (Rome) spawned the last diverse power which we now call the West. Preceding Daniel were two other empires (shown above the dotted line below). By putting these political and military powers into chronological order we gain the following overview:
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Chronological Order
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Description
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Reference
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1. Egypt
2. Assyria
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God deals with Egypt
God deals with Assyria
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Jer ch. 43
Jer 50:17-18, Isa 14:24-27
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3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. The West
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Statue’s Golden head
Silver Chest and Arms
Bronze Belly and Thighs
Legs of Iron
Feet and 10 toes of iron & clay
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Dan 2:31-49
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The empires represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream were replicated in two other visions God gave Daniel during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar’s descendant, Belshazzar (Dan 7). In this subsequent vision the five post-Assyrian empires are represented below the dotted line as follows:
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Chronological Order
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Description
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Reference
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1. Egypt
2. Assyria
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God deals with Egypt
God deals with Assyria
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Jer ch. 43
Jer 50:17-18, Isa 14:24-27
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3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. The West
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Lion
Bear
Leopard
Fourth beast with 10 horns
Fourth beast then little horn
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Dan 7:1-7
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Dan 7:7-8, 7:20
Dan 7:8, 7:20-25
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Finally Greece and Rome are identified by the angel Gabriel in the Daniel’s second vision during Belshazzar’s rule (Dan 8):
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Chronological Order
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Description
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Reference
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1. Egypt
2. Assyria
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God deals with Egypt
God deals with Assyria
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Jer ch. 43
Jer 50:17-18, Isa 14:24-27
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3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. The West
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2 horned Ram
Shaggy Goat
Little horn & stern-faced king
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Dan 8:1-12 )
Dan 8:20-21 )
Dan 8:9 & 8:23-25
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Note: the West is an extension from Rome that continues to contain the corrupt and ungodly practices that the Bible refers to as ‘Babylon’ in a generic sense. This satanic infiltration and corruption of trade and commerce is mapped in scripture from the very beginning at Ezek 28:13-18 to the very end at Rev 17. In the beginning man was mandated to subdue the world (Gen 1:28) and this mandate remains true today. This mandate to bring godly order to a disorderly world is central to our purpose in creation (John 17:18, Rom 8:18-21). This can be seen in the following intervention:
Rembrandt’s painting of Belshazzar seeing
the “Writing on the Wall” (Dan 5:1-31)
National Gallery, London
The prophecies of scripture and the evidence of History is clear - the “writing is on the wall” for every person, authority and power that does not honour our creator God.
The West
The extension of power and influence from Rome after the Apostle John’s time on Patmos is generically known as ‘the West’ for the following reasons:
a) the political and military powers post Daniel came “from the West” (Dan 8:5)
b) this power is described as having capacity to cross the whole earth “without touching the ground”, i.e. beautifully indicative of aero-space technology, IT and the media (Dan 8:5)
c) we can map the general westward movement of Christianity and its impact on civilisation following the Apostle Paul’s missions as follows:
· Jerusalem to Asia Minor
ð including the region of the seven churches of Revelation (now part of Turkey)
ð Note: Satan enthroned himself in Pergamum (Rev 2:12-13) to intercept and infiltrate the movement of Christianity from East to West - Pergamum is pretty well on the longitude that distinguishes the political East from the West
· Constantinople (now Istanbul) extending to the areas that became Eastern, Egyptian, Serbian and Russian Orthodox
· Macedonia and Greece
· Rome
· Europe and Britain
· The Americas
ð with missionary movements emanating from Britain, Europe and America
· Asia and Oceania
ð including the emergence of China as the second largest economy in the modern world as of the end of 2009
· and finally the silk route from China westward back to Jerusalem.
Now let us correlate the visions of Daniel with the revelation of the Apostle John on Patmos:
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Chronological Order
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Description
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Reference
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1. Egypt
2. Assyria
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God deals with Egypt
God deals with Assyria
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Jer ch. 43
Jer 50:17-18, Isa 14:24-27
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3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. The West )
8. End times )
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Lion
Bear
Leopard
Seven hills
7th king with 10 horns
8th king/little horn/anti-Christ
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Rev 13:2
Rev 13:2
Rev 13:2
Rev 17:9
Rev 17:10, 12
Rev 17:1/Dan 7:8/2 Thess 2:3-4
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Note: in scripture 7 denotes God’s number of completion and 8 denotes new beginnings. The hope of new beginnings was celebrated in Canberra on 08.08.08 as the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-10) was prophetically enacted in the great hall of the National Parliament of Australia.
In answer to our question: where then does the prophetic Word of God place us on the timeline of planet earth?... the above research indicates that we are in the period of the seventh and final global power. In the scriptures there are no more empires or super powers after the 7th king (which is represented above as the epoch of the West). Therefore we can confidently place ourselves in the time of ‘the West’ just before the rise of the anti-Christ (Dan 7:8, Rev 13:11-18, 17:11).
Daniel’s first prophetic vision was very clear that the last political power is the feet of iron and clay with 10 toes (Dan 2:21-35). We have seen above that this correlates to the 7th beast with 10 horns (Rev 17:7). On the scale of the creation the author submits that the current time is around 11:58 pm.
The Two Beasts
In Rev 13 there are two beasts that emerge. In 13:1 the first beast comes out of the sea with 10 horns and 7 heads. These have been decoded above. The term ‘out of the sea’ is explained by the angel at Rev 17:15 - "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages…” - which nicely takes in the seven powers listed above (see also Rom 13:1).
The second beast at Rev 13:11 comes out of the earth and creates a global government that enforces the mark of the beast (666: Rev 13:16-18). Although we haven’t yet seen this beast emerge we can make the following observations:
a) the technology to enforce 666 globally is now available
b) the threat of global warming and the inability of current world leaders to resolve the issue may pave the way for an anti-Christ leader to emerge ‘out of the earth’ or out of the need of the earth. This is a distinct possibility that should not surprise us.
Note: as Christians we have responsibility as co-carers of God’s creation to look after the earth and not damage its beauty and ecology by greed and pollution. However this is quite different to satanic manipulation of global felt needs to create a one world government that will facilitate an anti-Christ leader who will fulfil the words of Jesus: "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains..." (Matt 24:15-16).
The Ten Horns
Over the last two millennia commentators have sought to interpret the 10 horns in the context of their understanding of world events. However it has proven very difficult to align any 10 Kings with the 10 horns, from the Caesars to the Economic Union. In Rev 17:10-12 the 10 horns belong to the 7th King who is “yet to come” in John’s time. Therefore the 10 horns of 17:12 do not belong to the time of the Caesars. This is also confirmed by subsequent history over the last 2000 years.
Nor can we align the 10 horns with the Economic Union which currently has 27 member states. However it is interesting to note that the EU was founded by six states signing the Treaties of Rome in 1957. This reinforces the thesis that the 7th King of Daniel and Revelation is an extension of Rome into what we now know as the West.
A new Proposition to help us Interpret the 10 Horns
Auspiciously in 2010, the author proposes that the previous problems encountered in trying to identify the 10 horns was an outcome of an incorrect presupposition. The previous presupposition was that the construct of the horns was the same construct as that of the 7 kings – i.e. national or trans-national political and military powers.
Instead the author proposes that the 10 horns are the 10 main constructs of a modern society and that the devil is using these constructs to attack the lamb of God (Rev 17:14). At best estimate these 10 primary constructs or domains are, in alphabetical order:
How does this proposed construct relate to what we see in the world today? Do we not see the enemy manipulating these key cultural and economic drivers to marginalise our Judeo/Christian heritage and in its place bring anti-Christian values and attitudes? The sting in the tail is legislation progressively making it illegal to discriminate against anti-Christian values. Look through the above list and read your local paper to identify where the cultural wars are taking place. The final twist will be the implementation of 666 which will preclude buying and selling without the mark of the beast imprinted by micro-chip in people’s hands or foreheads (Rev 13:17). Only the true church will refuse this imposition, suffer for it and be rewarded by God for doing so (Rev 13:6 and 20:4).
“This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy" (Dan 2:45, see also Rom 9:33 and 1 Cor 10:4).
At this point you need to have your Bible open at Rev chapter 17 so that we can look at this part of John’s prophecy in more detail. The author offers the following insights for testing by the reader:
