Chapter 2
Was 19th Century biblical prophecy just an intellectual exercise that grew in popularity during a time of philosophical transition? This “renaissance in thinking” also saw the emergence of Marxism, Materialism, and Social Darwinism. The shift in theology began as did Darwin’s Origin of the Species around 1848. The author was Nelson Darby the father of modern dispensational theology. His system of thought predicts a 7-year “Wrath of God” that begins with the Anti-Christ deceiving Israel as he prepares to destroy the Jewish nation and take control of the entire world. The Anti-Christ’s deception involves a “false covenant” with the leader or leaders of Israel.
Darby promoted a new translation of a prophecy given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel in about 532 BC. Gabriel calls it the “70 weeks Prophecy.” The prophecy reveals that Jesus fulfilled 69 weeks when he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a week before his death on the cross. Darby and the Futurists believe that Daniel’s final week of 7 years has not been fulfilled. Today the majority who speak or write on biblical prophecy take this same position. These proponents dominate most Denominations and Prophecy conferences and rarely allow other viewpoints to be represented.
Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Evangelicals, and members of Bible and non-denominational churches agree with the Futurists and teach that Daniel’s final week represents a 7-year “Wrath of God” still to come. They teach that the Anti-Christ will begin this final week of judgment by signing a false covenant with the nation of Israel. Then in the middle of the week or after 3.5 years the Anti-Christ will place the Abomination of Desolation in a Jewish Temple that must be built in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.
This opens the idea that the Anti-Christ is alive today and may be Trump with his new peace initiative or an influential Jew like Jerud Kushner who recently established the Abraham Accord. We should not be looking for the Anti-Christ but should be looking for and sharing Jesus Christ. We should seek Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. Research shows those who read God’s Word at least 4 times per week will share more, memorize more, learn more, and will live healthier lives. This may be due to Beta-endorphins that help us deal with stress, anxiety, and any challenge in life.
The 7-year “Wrath of God” concept inspires a false flag mentality that may motivate insecure people to distrust good leaders who are peacemakers with a popular following. The “evil covenant” conspiracy can generate inappropriate behavior and media hype that do not fit the context nor the basic logic of God’s message of love and grace. Why would God intend this? The Archangel Gabriel shared “Good News” of significant impact to both Mary and to Zechariah the father of John the Baptist concerning the births of Jesus and his cousin John. And we know Gabriel did not appear to Joseph to calm his anxiety about Mary’s pregnancy. That was not his mission. Precedence indicates that Gabriel’s purpose focused primarily on events related to the celebration of the coming Messiah.
When Gabriel spoke to Daniel, he was announcing the coming of an “anointed prince” or Messiah who “in the middle of the week” or after a 3.5-year ministry, will introduce a new covenant. Jesus Christ fulfilled this when he died for our sins after ministering God’s grace and love for 3.5 years. Soon after his baptism he manifested his majesty and power by defeating Satan’s temptations. He declared that he was bringing in the Kingdom of God and his public ministry overcame the effects of sin on the body and souls of countless people. He overcame Satan again at the Cross by defeating death and sin at the Resurrection. All this was done in public and it ended the need for “sacrifice and offerings.”
He was the one who was “made desolate” in the “wing of Abomination.” He was betrayed by Judas and in his time of need he” was abandoned by his disciples. The Roman soldiers whipped, beat, mocked, and spit upon Him. They stripped off his clothes and forced a crown of thorns on his head. Alone on the Cross he took upon himself all the sins of the world past, present, and future. He was “made desolate on the wing of abomination.” No future commander nor Anti-Christ can fulfill this powerful divine prophecy.
Jesus Christ is our eternal sacrifice, and He purposefully ended the need for animal sacrifices and offerings for sin. From heaven He directed Gabriel to share this message of hope with Daniel to encourage the exiled Jewish nation in 532 BC and later as they endured four hundred years of silence. Also, God may have wanted to alert Jews and the young Christian Church in the first century of an impending attack on Jerusalem by a large Roman army.
The Roman Empire which tortured and persecuted both the Jewish nation and the early Church represents the iron-toothed fourth hybrid beast in Daniel’s vision of 4 Empire Beasts. The Roman Empire was also the iron legs in Nebuchadnezzar’s metallic giant. It is interesting to note that in 90-91 AD Jesus Christ gave John the Apostle a vision of two other beasts that would persecute the Church and the tribulation saints.
From a historical viewpoint it was “commander” Titus who ended all Jewish animal sacrifices through the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Titus, as Daniel prophesied was just a commander, and not an emperor and was the one who destroyed “the temple and sanctuary.” As stated, Gabriel’s focus is not on the “commander” in verse twenty-six but on the main subject in the paragraph called the “anointed prince.” He is the one who ends the need for all animal sacrifices through the New Covenant of Grace. His sacrifice offers eternal forgiveness of sin. God’s plan would affect all of Heaven and earth. The New Covenant and Christ’s victory over sin and death is why history has the designation “Before Christ” and “After Christ.”
Gabriel’s message gave the Jewish people hope during their captivity. It would also influence what Daniel recorded on his scrolls. Teachers and students of the Bible agree that Daniel’s scrolls provided information that motivated Magi from the East five hundred years later to study the heavenly lights for a sign of a newborn King of the Jews. Gabriel’s focus was on the Messiah and his birth, linking prophecies given earlier by Isaiah, Malachi, Zechariah, Jeremiah, and King David to this special birth.
Gabriel’s announcement came after Daniel’s earlier vision of the multi-horned mutant beast with metallic teeth and Nebuchadnezzars’ dream of the metallic giant. Those supersized signs are like the Four Apocalyptic Horses and will follow throughout modern history giving each generation a healthy need to look up to God and seek Him with faith and hope. God will be testing individuals, nations, and tribes and thus, His voice and shaking will impact society. Through trials and testing God will draw people to him as He did with Jacob, Joseph, Gideon, Moses, and the other heroes of the Bible.
According to Revelation 19:16-20, Jesus Christ returns from Heaven after the rapture with an army of Saints and destroys the armies of the Anti-Christ, thus fulfilling the prophecy behind the defeat of the two supernatural metallic-like avatars in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, is the Rock that destroys Nebuchadnezzar’s metallic giant and the hero that overcomes the final metal toothed mutant beast in Daniel. He will also defeat the two beasts in Revelation. Changing or adding to any part of Gabriel’s important message would affect mankind’s understanding of God’s eternal plan and timing. It could alter our understanding of the Book of Revelation and the timing of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Note that God has warned us not to add or subtract from the message in Revelation.
Nelson Darby decided to change the interpretation of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy even though the early Church fathers did not entertain his theory. His theory runs contrary to the following comparison of Daniel’s prophecy in the books of Matthew and Revelation. Jesus is warning the disciples to flee Jerusalem when they see the Abomination of Desolation placed by Nero in the Temple. He warns them to immediately flee to the mountains. This is revealed in Matthew 24:15-17 ISV: “So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Anyone who’s on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house.”
Jesus then states, “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. Pray that it may not be in winter or on a Sabbath when you flee, because at that time there will be great suffering, the kind that has not happened from the beginning of time until now and certainly won’t ever happen again,” Matthew 24:19-21 ISV. This was a horrific event where all those who stayed in Jerusalem were starved to death, died of diseases, or were brutally killed when the seige ended.
Note that there two separate events where Jesus Christ warned the people to flee. Both were directed to those living in Jerusalem. The other one occurs at the 2nd Coming, when Jesus sets foot on the Mount of Olives and it splits in two. In this instance the people do not flee to the mountains. They flee through the eastern wall and the wide opening in the Mount of Olives. In this case all who see Jesus are saved and cry out “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” They are all divinely protected as they escape the forces of the Anti-Christ.
Revelation 13:5, describes length of time that the destructive beast called the Anti-Christ reigns. “The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months (3.5 years).” Then Revelation 19:20 states: “The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” This marks the end of the 3.5 years of the Wrath of God.
The above verse clearly states that the Beast, or Anti-Christ will “exercise authority” for 3.5 years and not 7 years. Jesus Christ will throw him into the lake of fire at the end of the 3.5 year “Wrath of God.” So, how can the Rider of the White Horse at the beginning of Darby’s 7-year Great Tribulation be the Anti-Christ? The Futurist insists on this because they claim the two 3.5-year periods are just one 7-year period, and that this one 7-year period is the Wrath of God. This requires that the Anti-Christ “exercise authority” for a full 7 years and not just forty-two months. This runs against what we just saw written in God’s Holy scripture.
Revelation 12:13-14 states, “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that it might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times, half time (3.5 years).” Again, this verse warns of an attack on the “Woman” who is the nation of Israel and the male child which is both Jesus Christ and Christians (who have Christ in their heart). Those fleeing include the 144,000 “sealed” Jews and other believing Jews and Christians. This parallels the account in Matthew 24:15-21, where the believing Jews flee into the Judean mountains.
The woman and child are “taken care of” when they are quickly carried or transported on the “wings of eagles.” It is possible those Jewish saints flee Jerusalem in left-over tourist buses organized by Christians who have also prepared “the land” beforehand. This land is the Jordanian wilderness where dozens of Christian benefactors have bought and prepared hotels and motels for these refugees. They will “be taken care of for 3.5 years” while chaos worldwide is happening. As the Trumpet and Bowl judgments shake the entire world, they are protected.
Darby’s theory did not originate from any of the early Church fathers, not with John the Apostle the author of Revelation, nor with his associate Polycarp and Polycarp’s student Irenaeus. Their writings and those of other Church fathers do not entertain Darby’s interpretation. They saw and experienced great tribulation at the hands of cruel Ceasars such as Domitian, Nero, and Antonius Pius and were in the generation that witnessed the death of Paul, Peter, and James, and the destruction of Jerusalem. They were aware of the long rebellion and commotion that led to the seige organized by Titus. They knew that the Church had escaped due to the warning that Jesus gave them. It had all started when Nero placed an image of himself in the Temple in 67 AD. The city fell 3.5 years later in 70 AD.
This rebellion and seige is the 3.5-year period described in Daniel 12:7. Jesus refers to this in Matthew 24:9-10 when he says to his disciples, “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another.” This 3.5-year period foreshadows the 3.5-year Wrath of God that will occur at the end of time. The early Church fathers understood that both Daniel and Jesus had warned the Church and other inhabitants to flee Jerusalem before the total encirclement of the city by the Roman army. This same warning will remind them to flee Jerusalem 2000 years later when the Anti-Christ invades.
Darby’s focus on a 7-year Wrath and the Anti-Christ covenant has affected the teaching of prophecy in churches around the world? Romans 15:4, states “For everything written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may endure.” When we misinterpret scripture will it affect our hope and endurance? Revelation 1:3, states “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud and blessed are those who hear and obey the words written in it because the time is near!”
The time is near! This was stated to John the Apostle not us. Note that this is an exclamation. Does this imply that the 4 Horses of the Apocalypse happened soon after John was given God’s Revelation? This was a time when Caesar Domitian and others like Maximus killed many of the leaders of the church and committed severe persecution such as what happened in the Roman Colosseum. Many cults were forming, and many lies were being told. False Christs were trying to deceive young believers and non-believers, and wars and rumors of wars were spreading. The birth pains had begun and would continue to grow for almost 2000 years. Are we not ego-centric to think that our birth pains are the only ones that the Church has seen throughout history?
In his theory Darby sought to remove the idea that the Four Horses of the Apocalypse and their Riders had already been released. Artists, historians, and others however have depicted those “horses and riders” throughout history as causing cataclysmic geo-political events that ravaged nations, tribes, and entire regions. The early church fathers in the time of Irenaeus saw the death and distress caused by this Apocalyptic spirit in their generation. They and following generations experienced horrible wars, pestilence, famine, rebellion, and/or economic hardship such as slavery. We cannot ignore the bloody Arab invasion that occurred in the 8th century and the Ottoman Empire that persecuted Jews and the Church for over 400 years. World Wars and revolutions such as Mao’s cultural revolution and his war of independence killed millions of Christians and others. Famines and pestilence killed millions more.
Romans 15:4 states, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” This refers to prophecy and the correct interpretation of the Word of God. Misguided leaders or teachers can affect the Churches understanding of both the timing and the sequence of prophetic signs, events, and warnings. Can this misinterpretation affect our hope and joy? The phrase, “in the middle of the week, sacrifices and offerings are ended,” is not a future event since Jesus Christ fulfilled it in 32 AD. Darby’s re-interpretation also ignores the true Abomination of Desolation that Nero committed around AD 67 when he put his own image in the Temple. We Christians are now the Temple and there won’t be an Abomination of Desolation in a future Temple.
Nero’s abomination caused a rebellion in Jerusalem that lasted over 3 years under four different emperors and the general Titus who continued the battle against the Jewish zealots and started the siege on Jerusalem. This siege began in April of AD 70 resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands and the total destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. The five Roman leaders responsible were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, and Titus the son of Vespasian. In its entirety it was a 3.5-year campaign against the Jewish leadership and the zealots. Can this atrocity be judged as an abomination? Since hundreds of thousands of innocent people died, it would seem so.
Does Darby’s change in interpretation demote the glorious sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross for all who believe? No, but as shown, it does confuse all end time theology. The true message given to Gabriel transcends time offering Salvation to all who trust in Jesus Christ as both Savior and standard bearer of the New Covenant. His Name is above all names, and He is the New Covenant which supersedes the Old Covenant. The veil in the Temple was torn in two declaring that Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man and no Temple is necessary.
In the 1st Coming Jesus Christ fulfils over 350 Prophecies given by God to Daniel and the other prophets. His Resurrection and the Gift of the Holy Spirit mark the beginning of the Church Age. The last 3.5 years or the “Wrath of God” will come after the Rapture of the Church and will begin after the great earthquake described in the 6th Seal Judgment. Following the chaos caused by this worldwide earthquake the devastated world will seek a strong leader who will be the Anti-Christ. He will take political control over the world and will organize a large force that will attack a rebellious nation of Israel and its capitol city Jerusalem.
The Anti-Christ’s army along with the million-man army from the East and the Arab armies will surround and destroy Jerusalem. This will be the third destruction of this great city. The first one occurred when Babylon conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC and the second when Nero claiming to be God put a statue of himself in the Temple. It was Nero who desecrated the Temple and caused the “abomination of desolation” mentioned by Paul in 2nd Thessalonians. He was the perfect Anti-Christ type. History describes him as the one who torched Rome and set live Christians on fire as living torches. Will the modern-day Anti-Christ behave in the same way? He will try to kill all those who do not receive the “number of the beast.” He will also kill the two witnesses that are preaching on the streets of Jerusalem. These two witnesses will begin their ministry before the attack on the city to warn its citizens and the citizens of other nations who sin against God. They will inspire the 144,000 who will be sealed by God, Revelation 7:3. The two witnesses will be killed by the Anti-Christ but will be resurrected by God in 3 days.
As revealed earlier, the last week of Gabriel’s 70-week prophecy bookends modern history with one 3.5-year period happening during the ministry of Jesus Christ and the second one happening at the end of the Church age. The 1st 3.5-year period begins with the baptism of Jesus Christ. It ends with His Ascension in 32 AD. The total time span between the Ascension of Jesus Christ and the uplifting of the Church in the rapture is about two thousand years. The last 3.5-year period might begin in 2028 and end in 2032. The whole “Church Age” covers the gap between these two 3.5-year periods and represents rise and fall of nations and the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world. The final 3.5 years are God’s Judgment on sin and His Victory over Satan, the false prophet, and Anti-Christ. It will end with Christs 2nd Coming, the battle of Armageddon and then the Millennial Kingdom will follow.
Prophets like Daniel, Zechariah, and Joel spoke of this final 3.5-year period as being the “Day of Lord.” In the book of Revelation, this period has also been described as lasting only 3.5 years. As stated earlier the Bible never states that the “Wrath of God” lasts 7 years. For instance, why is the White Horse in the first Seal Judgment considered part of the Wrath of God? This horse and rider represent deception and lies and not death. This is an Anti-Christ spirit that has been active since the Gospel began. Apostle John warns about this deception, I John 2:18, “Dear children this is the last hour; and as you have heard the anti-christ is coming, even now many anti-christs have come.” These Anti-Christs will prepare the way for the Rider of the Red Horse who brings death, terrorism, civil war, and even world war. This is man’s wrath upon man and not God’s Wrath. The Black Horse and Rider represent economic suppression and a digital currency that will monitor all spending and savings. The Green Horse with Death as its Rider and followed by Hades represents the death of all those who are unbelievers. This has happened throughout history as God has guided “redeeming armies” to defeat the forces and powers of darkness.
Prophecy throughout scripture tells us that there will be a massive attack on Israel in the future. This large force will strike Israel and surround Jerusalem, and it will almost succeed since two thirds of the Jewish population will perish (Zechariah 13:8-9), “It will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two-thirds of the people living there will perish.” In the last battle Jesus Christ will intervene as He splits the Mount of Olives in two allowing those who call upon His Name to flee down into the Dead Sea and then southward to lands prepared for their safe habitation. This is the second Coming of the Lord described in Revelation 19:11-21. They will join the 144,000 Jews sealed by God (Rev.7:3) and others who fled into this southern wilderness over 3 years earlier, Revelation 12:14, “However, the woman was given the wings of a large eagle so that she could fly away from the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she could be taken of for a time, times, half a time” (three and one half years). All of these believing Jews and other Christians will be safe while the Trumpet and Bowl Judgments severely shake the rest of the world. This will be Wrath of God.
The prior chapter explained why Darby’s Anti-Christ will not make a covenant with Israel and will not end all sacrifices and offerings in a future physical Temple. We know that animal sacrifices cannot happen without a Jewish Temple constructed on the Temple Mount. We know that Islam has imbedded itself in nations around the world and will not allow the construction of a Jewish Temple near their Dome of the Rock. They would declare jihad throughout the West. Third we know that the average Jew and most secular people worldwide do not want animal sacrifices. And fourth we discovered that there is no “covenant” made by an enemy “commander of the people.”
It is likely that Darby misinterpreted Daniel’s use of the phrase “Most Holy Place” in Daniel 9:24. This phrase refers to the “Most Holy Place” discussed by Ezekiel and Zechariah and is not a future Temple on the Temple Mount. Jesus would have told him that it was a Temple. No, this Holy Place will have the throne of David and will not bear the Ark of the Covenant. Nations will come to it for it is the Holy Seat of Government and Justice. Jesus Christ sits on throne with an iron scepter. The people who worship Him are the Temple of God.
The message from Gabriel does not point to the nation of Israel nor the corrupted Temple in the time of Jesus. There was no nation of Israel at this time. In his Triumphal entrance Jesus Christ cried for Jerusalem and condemned the religious leaders that had taken it hostage. The Temple Mount was therefore under God’s judgment. The Temple in Jerusalem at this time in history was not the “Most Holy Place.”
Also, the word “sacrifice” is not in italics in Daniel 9:27, but it is in Daniel 8, 11, and 12. This is because the word “sacrifice” was added by early translators, however it was not added in Daniel 9:27 since it was in the original text. In the KJV any word not in the original text was in italic. The emphasis points to Jesus Christ ending the sacrifice. Note that Jesus, the Lamb of God, did not die in the Temple grounds, He was crucified on a cross “upon the wing of abomination,” or outside the walls of Jerusalem. The Temple Mount will only become the “Most Holy Place” in the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ sits on David’s throne.
Darby’s Anti-Christ or “Commander” cannot and will not end the sacrificial system. There have not been any animal sacrifices since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. If the Temple and its outer court were reconstructed today, it would be an “abomination of desolation” for the very fact that it would be a denial that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Sacrifice for all who receive Him. Christians, Jews, and even Islamists would be against it. For emphasis, most Jews do not believe that they need a Temple. They have lived two thousand years without animal sacrifices. The only supporters would be the ultra-orthodox and those zealot Christians who want to usher in the Anti-Christ.
The idea that the average Jew wants a Temple is a made-up theory. In fact, what prevents the destruction of Jerusalem by future anti-Jewish forces may be the very fact that the Dome of Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are still on the Temple Mount. The Israel Defense Forces know that it shielded Jerusalem’s ancient city walls from missile attacks. The future “Commander and his people” will seek to destroy Jerusalem and not the Temple Mount because their focus will be to decapitate the government and kill soldiers and other Jews. The Word of God says that the two witnesses will preach in the streets of Jerusalem and not on the area of the Temple Mount for the very reason that the Dome of the Rock is still there. Islamic religious leaders would not allow this preaching and would incite riots. The rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is not popular with any political group in Israel nor in the world.