QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Portals and Gateways

Q:  I just wanted to let you know that one of my best friends (a lady whom I work with, but still have a wonderful relationship with) is an ardent new age fan. She is into past life regressions etc. Now the one thing that I have noted about here supposed past life regressions is that whenever a new "place" is discovered (I think there is a new supposed lost society called Lunaria) then my friend and all of her other new age buddies have past life regressions to that very place. I always thought that it is the biggest load of rubbish, but as I was listening to you the other night, I realize that they are probably all "guided" by the same spirits and these spirits know all about the supposed lost societies, so now I don't find it so strange that they all regress to the same place.

Another interesting thing about my friend: she told me that she once regressed to ancient Egypt where she worked closely with a priest in one of the pyramids and that inside the pyramid there were portals where you could go to another world. Of course I just thought she was being her weird self but you mentioned something about portals the other day and seeing it in that context it is probably not so far fetched. Just thought I would share this bit with you. What are your thoughts on this?

A:  Portals and gateways are very real indeed.  Both good angels and bad angels use it often. Jerusalem to this day, is a gateway to heaven. There are however, gates which the Bible calls the gates of hell:  "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Matthew 16:18 

Pyramids were used as portals to create gateways between dimensions.  There are certain parts of the world that to this day are gateways to hell such as Stonehenge.  Another area that is notorious is the Bermuda Triangle.  Many strange and bizarre events have happened there.  Many of these new age "Chanelers" are influenced by familiar spirits (demons) and shown "past lives" which are really people they also inhabited or were very familiar with.  Thus the term "familiar spirits"

 Leviticus 19:31 "Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God." 

 

 Leviticus 20:6  "And the soul that turns unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people."

 

 Deuteronomy 18:11 "or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer."

 

 1 Samuel 28:3 "Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land."

 

 2 Kings 21:6 "And he made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced augury, and used enchantments, and dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger."

 

 2 Kings 23:24 "Moreover them that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah."

 

 Isaiah 8:19 "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?"

 

 Isaiah 19:3 "And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards."

 

Fallen Angels and Nephillim

 

Q:  Ever since I first read the passage about the nephilim in Genesis, I wanted to know HOW the fallen angels copulated with women. How did they get a physical body to do this? I do know that there are some instances in the Bible where angels (the good angels) took on human form (as when they visited Abraham), but I cannot recall an instance in the Bible when a "bad" angel took on human form without actually possessing a person. I know there is a Scripture in Matthew where Jesus said that angels are not given in marriage and a footnote in my Bible says that they cannot reproduce "after their own kind" (although the verse does not explicitly state this). I am just really interested to know what your view on this is. And by the way, I live in South Africa. What is Africa's role in the upcoming events in the world? Warm regards from the southern hemisphere.

 

A:  Greetings to you in South Africa.  Thank you for listening to our audio files on the Byte Show and your interest.  There are not many details about this event in the Bible, but you can read it in the Book of Enoch in much more detail.  Angels have the ability to materialize in human form, along with many other supernatural abilities we have no knowledge of.  That scripture you refer to is Mathew 22:30, and many people use this scripture to argue the point.  However, notice that it says as angels in heaven (not earth).  The other two scripture talk about this same event.

 

 Matthew 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven."

 

 Jude 1:6 "And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

 

 2 Peter 2:4 "For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment"

The Last Trump

Q: Is the last trump referred to by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 the same as the last trumpet judgment in Revelation 11:15?

A:  This is one of those areas where due to the lack of substantial evidence from the word of God, all we can do is speculate and share what the the Holy Spirit has revealed so far. The first two passages teach that the Church will be removed at the sound of a trump. One passage calls it The Trump of God and the other passage calls it The Last Trump. Trumpets are mentioned many times in the Bible. But nowhere does it say that the three scriptures quoted above are the same as the seventh trumpet that will be blown by the seventh angel during the Tribulation Period. Those who say The Last Trump (The Trump of God) is the same as the seventh trumpet that will be blown by the seventh angel during the Tribulation Period just assume that they are the same. It's probably just their interpretation or maybe something that they have heard others say. But it is not based on any solid explanation from the Bible.  The timing of The Last Trump will take place some time after the great rebellion and the revealing of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). This will be addressed at another time.  As to the exact timing when the Lord will gather His people within the context of the Book of Revelation, all that we can do is speculate.   

There are major differences between the last trump (trump of God) and the 7^th trumpet judgment in the book of Revelation. First it is clear that the last trump (the trump of God) has to do with believers being evacuated or removed from planet earth due to impending cataclysmic disasters resulting from God's wrath. When the last trump of God sounds, the deceased believers will be raised, then the  believers who are still alive on planet earth will be changed into incorruptible bodies and the entire Church will be caught up to heaven at the same time. However, when the angel blows the seventh trumpet it will cause anger on earth, lightening, thunder, an earthquake, great hail, and it will lead to the seven last bowls of God's wrath.

The voice of God is not the sound of a trumpet blown by an angel (Rev. 11:15). It is a voice that sounds like a trumpet (Rev. 1:10; 4:1). There is a difference between the sound of a trumpet and a voice that sounds like a trumpet.

The last trump (the trump of God) will be an act of God's mercy and grace towards His elect, where the angels gather them into heaven Mathew 24:31.

Matthew 24:31 "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Whereas the trumpet blown by the seventh angel in Revelation 11:15 will be an act of wrath. It has to do with divine judgment and the pouring of God's wrath upon those on earth.

Revelation 11:15-19  "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who is, and was, and is to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned. And the nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward unto your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them who destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."

When the last trump (the trump of God) sounds Jesus won't be in heaven. Jesus will descend with a shout and remain in the clouds above the earth to meet the Church (I Thess. 4:16-17). There's no mention of Jesus descending or shouting or remaining in the clouds when the seventh angel blows the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:15-19.

Some people believe that the ascension of the two witnesses is a picture of the rapture; however the saints will be gathered at the last trump (the trump of God). On the other hand, the two witnesses will be raised from the dead and they will ascend to heaven before the seventh angel blows the trumpet. The saints will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. But the two witnesses will stand on their feet while all the world will see them. Apparently, instead of being removed in the twinkling of an eye, whereas the two witnesses will remain on earth after they are raised from the dead long enough for television cameras to transmit their images all over the world.

There is an amazing event that took place during the days of Moses in the wilderness that may be a type and shadow of what will happen at the last trump (the trump of God). Moses took the people to meet God near Mt. Sinai. Among other things, he took them there for the purpose of receiving God's Commandments and having His people agree to keep them.  Notice what happened:

Exodus 19:16-19  "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceedingly loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the lower part of the mount. And mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke of it ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice."

Exodus 20:18 "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they moved, and stood far off."

We are living today in the beginning of the third day since Messiah came.  A day with the Lord is like a thousands years, and a thousand years like a day (2 Peter 3:8).  The morning represents the beginning of the third day after Messiah came. Notice the thick cloud upon the mount (Jesus will meet the Church in the clouds) and the voice of the trumpet (the voice not the sound) exceeding loud. Compare this voice to Rev. 1:10 and 4:1]; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. Notice how similar what they saw and heard to what the apostle John saw in the Island of Patmos and recorded in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 4:5 "And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

Revelation 8:5 "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake."

Revelation 11:19 "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."

Revelation 19:6 "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns."

In Exodus 19:16-20 it says that "Moses prepared the people to meet God (the Lord wants His people prepared to meet Him when He returns).  Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God (a picture of the Church going forth to meet Jesus); and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended (a picture of Jesus descending out of heaven to meet the Church at the Rapture) upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder (the voice of the trumpet sounded several times getting louder and louder), Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up (a picture of the Church going up).

Notice that the voice of the trumpet was exceeding loud. It even sounded long and waxed louder and louder. This is important because God told the Jews to make trumpets and blow them on their feast days (Num. 10:2, 10). This would include all seven of the feast days: The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:1-36). The Church began on the Feast of Pentecost and most believe the Church will be Raptured on The Feast of Trumpets. Either way, the Jews blow trumpets on their feast days (Numbers 10:10),  and on the Feast of Trumpets, the trumpet is blown one hundred times. The one hundredth blast or the last blast of the trumpet on the Feast of Trumpets is the longest and loudest. The Jews call it the Tekiah, Teruah, Shevarim which means The Great Blast. Many believe that The Last Trump (The Trump of God) is represented by The Great Blast on the Feast of Trumpets.

 

Daniel's 70th Week and The Abomination of Desolation

 

Q: What about the Scripture Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:15 when He spoke about the Abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke about? Also Paul in 2Thess 2 refers to antichrist going into the temple and declare Himself to be God?  Surely this is referring to the same passage Daniel refers to in Ch 9:27  Can you explain this to me "And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him"  Surely this cannot also be referring to Jesus?

 

A:  This is a two part question, on a very misunderstood and difficult to understand subject.  Everyone in the early church understood what these three scriptures meant, and interpreted it correctly.  Most of the older commentaries (Albert Barnes, Adam Clarke, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) and others also understood what these three scriptures meant and interpreted it correctly.  Three scriptures are mentioned; let's take a look at them:

 

Daniel 9:24-27  "Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

 

Matthew 24:15 "When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand.)"

 

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

 

We are going to look at Daniel 9:24-27 first.  This passage refers to what is known as the 70^th week of Daniel.  Christians recognize that these 70 weeks or 490 days are symbolic of years, each day representing a year.  A lot of modern day preachers who adhere to the futurist interpretation believe that there is a huge gap of 2,000 years that separates the 69^th week from the 70^th week.  They believe that this 70^th week are 7 years of tribulation when the antichrist will make a covenant with the Jews, allow them to build the temple and make sacrifices there, and then later he will break the covenant causing the sacrifices to stop.  I will attempt to show you that this event spoken of in Daniel 9:24-27 was fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

 

*DANIEL 9:24*

 

Everything in Daniel 9:24 has to do with the coming of the Messiah and the work He would do:  Finish the transgression, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up (fulfill) the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Jesus Christ).  Let us look at each one:

 

"Finish the transgression and make an end of sins"

 

Hebrews 1:3 "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high"

 

Hebrews 9:26 "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the age has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

 

"To make reconciliation for iniquity"

 

2 Corinthians 5:18 "And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation"

Ephesians 2:16 "And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby"

 

Hebrews 2:17 "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."

 

Hebrews 10:17 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

 

"To bring in everlasting righteousness"

 

Romans 3:22 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference"

 

Romans 3:25-26 "Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus."

 

Romans 5:18-19 "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

 

"To seal up the vision and prophecy"

 

Jesus sealed the Old Testament prophecies by fulfilling what was written in them. 

 

Acts 3:18 "But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled."

 

"To anoint the most Holy"

To anoint, (from which comes Mashiach, the Messiah, the anointed one), signifies in general, to consecrate or appoint to some special office. Here it means the consecration or appointment of our blessed Lord, the Holy One of Israel, to be the Prophet, Priest, and King of mankind.

Acts 4:27 "For of a truth against your holy child Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together"

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised"

 

*DANIEL 9:25-26*

In Daniel 9:25 the prophecy of the seventy weeks was to begin with the decree to restore and build Jerusalem. That well-known date is 457 B.C., when Artaxerxes sent out the decree (Ezra 7:13). From that date, 457 B.C., the Jews would have exactly 490 years to finish filling up their cup of iniquity by rejecting the Messiah. That 490-year probation ended in A.D. 34, and the Jews ceased to be God's chosen people. Daniel 9:25 says that the Messiah would be anointed after sixty-nine of those prophetic weeks had passed by. That would be 483 years from the decree date of 457 B.C  and It brings us to the year A.D. 27, the very year that Jesus was baptized by John and the Holy Spirit anointed Him for His ministry.

Seventy weeks were assigned as probation to the Jewish people, but Jesus Christ appeared as the Messiah after sixty-nine weeks. That left the seventieth week for Christ to minister to the Jews before their probation period ended. This scripture tells us what would happen in the seventieth week:

Daniel 9:27 "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."

Nowhere in this verse does it say anything about an antichrist making and breaking a covenant with the Israel.  Antichrist is nowhere to be found in this verse.  However, if we accept the fact that this verse is referring to Messiah, Jesus Christ everything makes sense and falls perfectly into place.  The middle of the week is three and a half years from the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.  According to the scriptures, the ministry of Jesus lasted for three and a half years, or half of the 70^th week. In the spring of A.D. 31 He was crucified. The veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51) symbolizing the oblations and sacrifices had been terminated.

Through His death, Jesus Christ caused sacrifices to cease in the Jewish temple as far as God was concerned, although the Jews continued to offer sacrifices in the temple until  the middle of 66 AD; approximately three and a half years later the Roman armies destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.  After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, another three and a half years remained of the seventy weeks and the end of Jewish probation.  There are two possibilities as to when the remaining three and a half years are fulfilled.

One possibility is that the divine clock of the seventy weeks of the Jewish probation was stopped at the death of Messiah leaving three and a half years left.  From that moment on, the focus has been on the Gentiles, although the Bride of Jesus Christ is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.  Jews can be a part of the Bride, but they must come in through the strait and narrow gate like everyone else and be washed by the Blood of the Lamb and filled with His Spirit.  After approximately two thousand years, the clock will re-start again at the end of the age when the times of the gentiles is fulfilled.  At that time the Jews will be given one last opportunity to turn to Him, or to receive the false Messiah.  This may be the mystery that the Apostle Paul referred to when he said that the blindness of Israel was for a season until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, and then Israel would be saved (Romans 11:25-26). 

The other possibility is that during those three and a half years after the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles worked mostly with the Jews until 34 A.D. when the seventy weeks probation ended. Stephen was stoned and the gospel began to go to the Gentiles (Acts 8:4). The Jews had rejected the gospel message and were no longer God's people-just as Daniel had predicted. Now they could only be saved as individuals, the same way as the Gentiles. He now has made a covenant with many;these are his spiritual seed in all ages: Psalms 22:30; Isaiah 53:1.  As a nation, the Jews had been rejected as God's chosen people. Here is the way the Bible describes that rejection:

Matthew 21:43 "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you."

Matthew 21:19 "And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away." (The fig tree was a symbol of the Jewish nation.)

Matthew 23:38 "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

Galatians 3:29 "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Romans 10:12 "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him."

Romans 9:6-8 "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are ... the children of the promise are counted for the seed." (The New Testament teaches the acceptance of spiritual Israel, and the rejection of physical Israel and the children of the flesh.)

Romans 2:28, 29 "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter."

Acts 13:46 "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."

I would also like to point out that in the part that says: "the people of the prince that shall come" does not refer to the antichrist.  This is where the ridiculous belief among many theologians that the antichrist would come from Rome came from.  Many times throughout the book of Daniel, when you see the word prince, the angel is referring to an angelic prince.  I believe in this case the angel was referring to the prince of the Roman Empire, who would come after the prince of Greece. The people of the Roman prince to come of course were the Roman armies who came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary in 70 AD.

 

Daniel 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; for I had remained there with the kings of Persia."

 

Daniel 10:20-21 "Then said he: Know you why I come unto you? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I have gone forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come. But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that upholds me in these things, but Michael your prince."

 

Daniel 12:1 "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your 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 your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

 

*DANIEL 9:27*     

 

This is the part where most get in trouble.  The confirming of the covenant during that "one week" must be consistent with some work or event that would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease in the middle of that period.  The sacrifices and offerings "ceased" at the death of Christ - in the middle of the "week." Many times Jesus said: "My time is not yet come" (John 2:4; 7:6, 30).  Then just prior to His death He said: "My time is at hand" and "the hour is come" (Mathew 26:18, 45; John 17:1). These verses clearly indicate that there was a definite time in the divine plan when Jesus had to die.  He came to fulfill the scriptures, and there is only one scripture that predicted the time of His death; the prophecy that stated that Messiah would be cut off in the midst of the 70^th week, after 3 1/2 years of ministry.  Those who state that the confirming of the covenant and the causing of the sacrifices to cease refer to a future antichrist, completely destroy the awesome fulfillment of this beautiful prophecy.

 

The death of Christ was, in fact, the thing which made the sacrifices and oblations to cease, and the fact that the great atonement has been made, and that there is now no further need of those offerings, is the only philosophical reason which can be given why the Jews have never been able again to rebuild the temple, and why for eighteen hundred years they have found no place where they could again offer a bloody sacrifice. The "sacrifice and the oblation" were made, as the result of the coming of the Messiah, to "cease" for ever, and no power of man will be able to restore them again in Jerusalem.  If it were to occur again, that event by itself would be the abomination of desolation in the eyes of God.

 

Hebrews 8:6-8 "But now has he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah"

 

Hebrews 9:15 "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."

 

Hebrews 10:16-18 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." 

 

And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate.  Nothing could be more appropriate, in the common estimation of the Jews, than to speak of such an object as a Roman military standard planted in any part of the temple, as an "abomination,;" and no word would better denote the character of the Roman conqueror than the word "desolator" - for the effect of his coming, was to lay the whole city and temple in ruins.

 

Mt 24:15 "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place"

 

There can be no doubt that the Lord is referring to the passage in Daniel 9:27 or that the events that occurred in the attack on Jerusalem and the temple fully correspond with the language used here.  Josephus says, that when the city was taken, the Romans brought their ensigns into the temple and placed them over the eastern gate and sacrificed to them there. This is in perfect agreement with the language above and the destruction of the city and temple.

 

Daniel 9:27 "and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

The Hebrew word (shomem) means "to be laid waste, to be made desolate".   The reference is to Jerusalem being seen as desolate or reduced to ruins by the hand of the foreign Roman army. The angel perhaps contemplating it as he speaks, sees it in ruins or as desolate, and he sees this also as the termination of the series of prophecies regarding Israel, and in view of everything that will take place, speaks of Jerusalem appropriately as "the desolate." A desolator has come there to spread destruction, and this shall continue even to the end of the whole matter; the completion of Jerusalem's overthrow as determined by God.

The Lord Jesus himself interpreted these words of the Roman armies standing in the holy place, and the desolation of Jerusalem they would cause:

 

Luke 21:20-24 "And when you shall see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let them who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them who are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter into it. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that nurse children, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."

 

Luke 13:34-35 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and stones them that are sent unto you; how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen does gather her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, you shall not see me, until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

 

 

*2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-4*

 

2 Thessalonians 2:4 “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

 

This scripture is not referring to Daniel 9:27 or Mathew 24:15.  Most Bible scholars believe that he was referring to the coming Popes and the arrogant Papal Infallibility Doctrine adopted by the Catholic Church after Constantine in 325 AD.  It is recorded history what the Popes did during hundreds of years to oppress, kill and persecute the Christians and forced them to submit to the pope as if he was God.  By the temple of God, you must understand that it is referring to the church of living God, the external, visible church which professes the faith of Christ and bears his name. It is in this temple of God that the man of sin sits in.  The phrase "the temple of God" is several times used with reference to the Christian church in 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:21; 1Co 3:16-17;

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

 

2 Corinthians 6:16 “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

 

Ephesians 2:19-21 “Now therefore you are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord”

 

The temple was the proper symbol of the church, and an apostle such as Paul, trained among the Hebrew institutions would naturally speak of the church as the temple of God. The temple at Jerusalem was regarded as the peculiar dwelling-place of God on earth. When the Christian church was founded, it was spoken of as the peculiar dwelling-place of God. See the passages referred to above. He dwelt among his people. He was with them, and walked with them, and manifested himself among them, as He had done in the previous temples in the Holy of Holies.

 

The New Testament does not restrict this language to an “edifice” or a "church," as the word is now commonly used, but rather it denotes the church as a society and the idea is that the Antichrist here referred to would present himself in the midst of that church as claiming the honor due to God alone. In the temple at Jerusalem, God himself was there; there he gave laws to his people; there he manifested himself as God and there He was worshipped.

 

When the "man of sin" sits in the Christian church, he would usurp the place which God had occupied in the temple and he would claim divine attributes and homage; he would give laws and responses as God did there; he would be regarded as the head of all ecclesiastical power and the source from which all authority emanated. This does not refer to the pope sitting in any particular church building or temple, but to his claim to the same universal supremacy, absolute authority, unerring infallibility and homage which God had in the temple at Jerusalem. No one can fail to see that the authority claimed by the pope of Rome, and the homage he demands meets the full force of the language used here by the Apostle Paul.

 

The sentence showing himself that he is God, does not necessarily mean that he actually claimed to be God, but that he usurped the place of God and claimed to be the Vicar of Christ (in place of God), receiving the honors due to God like accepting the worship of people or allowing people to kiss his hand, feet or the ring on his hand. The pope in Rome has in past times been called "Our Lord God the Pope” and King of kings and Lord of lords. This is heresy and blasphemy. The Catholic Church believes that the power of the Pope is greater than all created power, and extends itself to things celestial, terrestrial, and infernal.

 

The Pope has throughout history done whatsoever he believes, even things unlawful. For over a thousand years, the Pope in Rome held the highest place and authority in the Christian Church, where he acted as God, taking upon himself God's titles, attributes and the authority that belongs to the Most High.  Even today, kings, presidents and heads of states still bestow upon the pope those same attributes paying homage to him such as kissing his hand and ring.  

 

Sometimes, the scriptures in the bible have a dual fulfillment.  Although the coming of the Roman Papacy and the Catholic Church were a partial fulfillment of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, I believe it will also have a future fulfillment in a coming final Pope, except that the Catholic Church will cease to exist as such and will be replaced by a New World Religion led by the two horned beast of Revelation 13.  There will come two beasts, one beast will be political and the other will be religious.  It is my belief that the coming next Pope may very well be the one spoken of in the book of Revelation 13:10-17.  He may possibly rule from a new temple in Jerusalem built by the Masons and the Illuminati, serving as the headquarters for the new world religion, and could also be a partial fulfillment of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

 

The beast will rule the world in a New World Order or The New Atlantis in conjunction with the ten kings of the earth for three and one half years or forty two months Daniel 7:25; Revelation 11:2; 12:6; 13:5.  Nowhere can you find the beast ruling the earth for seven years.  Satan will be given the same amount of time the Lord Jesus Christ had to prove his case on the showcase of earth through the antichrist, false prophet and the ten kings of the earth.  No more.   

(Continued in page 2)