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Article #37 – Daniel Study

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Daniel Study – Article #37

AN INTERESTING STUDY and insights of Daniel and perhaps Bible Codes:

In reading several studies and web-pages on the names given to Daniel and his three friends, we find some very interesting information.

Here is a brief summary:

For example, in a study done by William Shea (Andrews University Seminary Studies, Spring 1988) it is inferred that the Babylonian names given to Daniel and his three friends may have been purposely corrupted by Daniel! Now, the Hebrew names of these young men showed that they were worshippers of the true God, Jehovah!

Hananiah — Jehovah (God) is gracious
Mishael — who belongs to or is like God
Azariah – Jehovah (God) helps
Daniel — God is my judge

Daniel 4:8 reveals that king Nebuchadnezzar renamed these Hebrews after his gods! New names were given to these captives from Israel, not just to blend them into the Babylonian court, but to change their allegiance from their God to the gods of Babylon.

Daniel, who wrote the BOOK OF DANIEL, and who wouldn’t even eat the king’s food not only because it contained unclean meats, but also contained the meats offered to the Babylonian gods, would no doubt be very much troubled by these Babylonian names and thus even when using them in his accounts changed them slightly.

Daniel’s friend, Azariah, (Jehovah helps) was renamed Abednego according to scripture. “Abed” means “servant” but we find no god named “nego”. For the name to be authentically referring to a “Babylonian god” it should read “servant of some god “. However, if the name is read Abednebo— then we have a well-known Babylonian god! Nebo was the Babylonian god of wisdom. This could be a translation issue; Abednego should be translated Abednebo. The “B” and the “V” in Hebrew are interchangeable letters.

Could it be that Daniel had such an aversion to calling his friend the “servant of Nebo” that he purposely corrupted his Babylonian name?

Found on a list of an ancient Babylonian clay tablet is the name Arbenebo–Official of the royal prince. This name is the equivalent to the Aramaic name Abednebo and may in fact be the first mention of one of Daniel’s friends found outside of the Bible.
Apparently this Abednego (Abednebo) was given the position as secretary to the crown prince Amel-Marduk (called Evil-Marduk in the Bible).

Misheal was renamed Meshach
Another name found on the list of that same clay tablet is Meshaku-Marduk – Official to Nebuchadnezzar. Marduk was the name of a Babylonian god. If Marduk is dropped from the name we end up with the name Meshaku which is very similar in pronunciation to Meshach.

The Hebrew Mishael means “Who is like God?”
Meshach (Meshaku) means “Who is like Aku?”
Aku was the Babylonian god of the moon.

Hananiah (Jehovah keeps him or Jehovah is gracious)
was renamed Shadrach Or Shadaku which means “Command of Aku”. Aku being the moon god.

William Shea of Andrews University Seminar Studies came to the conclusion that Daniel’s given name was not really Belteshazzar, but Belshazzar, — the same as the king that perished that night when Babylon fell. He entitled his study “Bel(te)shezzar meets Belshazzar”.

Now if Abednego’s name was slightly changed to avoid being called a servant of a false god, could it be that Daniel’s name, Belteshazzar, was also slightly changed ? The “shazzar” part means “protect the king”, thus “Belte” should be the name of a Babylonian god. But we find no god by that name in Babylon. However, Bel, is another name for Nebuchnezzar’s favorite god, Marduk.

In Dan. 5 King Belshazzar seems opposed to calling Daniel by his name Belteshazzar. Why so? “If the Hebrew wise man that stood before Belshazzar bore the same name as the king himself, it would have been natural for the king to have been restrained to have used his own name for him.”

We also find in a tablet writing that Amel-Marduk had as his chief officer one named Belshazzar. We also know that *Amel-Marduk released from house-arrest the exiled Hebrew monarch Jehoiachin, and elevated him and honored him above all of the other kings who were captive in Babylon. *Some translations call him Evil-Marduk but not evil.

BELSHAZZAR MEANS BEL PROTECT THE KING

With these thoughts concerning Bel(te)shazzar and Belshazzar, what lessons can we learn from the two men with the same name.

The one served the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone, but neither the god “Bel” nor any of these gods could protect him from the invading Med-Persian forces.

The other served the God of heaven, not the Babylonian god, his story continues in the promises that he will be among those who inherit the earth in the final everlasting kingdom of God.

Belshazzar means “Bel protect the king”.

Bel obviously could not protect king.

I don’t know what the “te” stands for, but I like to think it means “not”. How fitting that Daniel should change the Babylonian name assigned to him to “Bel not protect the king”– especially in the light of this history–(and the history in Daniel 4 as well) Only by trusting and following the God of heaven is their safety.

AMIL-MARDUK, WAS HE A BELIEVER?

Another question that arises from this study is:

Might the unpopular Amil-Marduk, son of Nebuchadnezzar, been unpopular due to his Jewish favoritism or following in the new faith of his father Nebuchadnezzar? The only mention of him in the scriptures is his act of liberating the Jewish king.

2 Kings 25.27-30 and Jeremiah 52:31-34
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that “Evil (Amil)-Merodach”, king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign, did release Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the Kings that were with him inBabylon; And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.

With Abednego as his secretary, Daniel as his chief officer, and the former king of Jerusalem as a favored member of his court, one wonders if this king, Amil-Marduk, who reaped the wrath of the Babylonian hierarchy and was assassinated, might have continued in his father Nebuchadnezzar’s new faith; something the powerful priestly society in Babylon would not tolerate. Once he was assassinated, there was no remaining honor or respect for the God of creation. Of course, secular history would NOT mention this as it would require recognizing God for who He is.

Christians serve the Only God Who came to die so they might live.

Thus Belshazzar’s rebellion against the God of Heaven would not have been his alone, but also of Babylon itself. As God has done to so many other nations, He punishes a nation along with the leader(s) when they [Babylonians] openly reject God. For more understanding of this rejection by the Babylonians, see the Book of Esther.

Revelation – Chapter 20

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There is plenty to discuss in this short chapter but as usual, we will take the approach of Dr. jStarkidentifying or defining the significant and major points made by the Apostle John. Revelation 20, 21, and 22 could easily fall in sub captions of 1) the fall of the dragon (Satan), 2) The new Heaven, and 3) The New Earth; a closing well deserving our attention.

A Revelation 20 outline subhead form looks like this:

  1. Millennial or statement per the thousand years,
  2. Satan’s final judgment,
  3. The Great White Throne judgment of those resurrected to face their eternal decision on earth while alive.

We could add the Battle of Gog and Magog along with the Lake of Fire but these will fall into our discussion of the above outline of a, b, & c.  In chapter 19 many theologians and commentators would identify as Armageddon and chapter 20 as the Battle of Gog/Magog. Either way, keep in mind that both battles follow the 7-year Tribulation. Yes, there will be wars and rumors of wars [Matthew 24:6] but these lead us up to and into the Great Tribulation. Satan is alive and well and can cause such destruction that Jesus has to return to the earth less there are no humans left alive [Matthew 24:22].

Hosea the prophet clearly tells us that the latter days are a specific time when the Tribes of Israel will return to the State of Israel. They are dispersed throughout the world; the four corners of the earth. [Isaiah 11:12]. However, Israel today is mostly those descended from the Tribe of Judah. They are the New Testament Jews who crucified Jesus. “Jews” descended from those who were exiled for 70 years in Babylon. Only a very small remnant returned. There has yet to be a massive return of Israelites from the other 11 tribes. We mistakenly try to identify the Jew as all-inclusive of Israelites. In the first five books of the Bible [written by Moses] he never Identifies Israelis as Jews. The word Jew is the Anglo-Saxon/Greek version of Judah or from the country or territory of Judah; the predominant people in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus Christ on earth. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew_(word)]

The sequence so far is: Church Rapture – 3 ½ Tribulation plus 3 ½ years of Great Tribulation – The return of Jesus to the Mount of Olives – the earth shudders, shakes and divides along natural fault lines (including the one geologists say goes right through the center of the Mount of Olives – Armageddon – the beast and false prophet captured, judged, and thrown into the Lake of Fire – birds of the wild feast on the dead the dead 200 million man combined army in Har Megiddo 55 miles north of Jerusalem who try to attack Jerusalem – THEN CHAPTER 20: the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on the Throne of David in Jerusalem.

This is the point at which one can get distracted by or caught up in the theological positions of a-millennialism [no millennium], postmillennialism [all after the fact including Christ’s return; the power of the church binds Satan not the angel from heaven], and premillennialism [the position of this website since it makes most sense without drawing at straws or spiritualizing factual scripture throughout the Bible]. We are deliberately side-stepping the minor disagreements between the classical and the dispensational premillennialists; both for the sake of the reader of this blog and its authorJ.

A lengthy but good discussion on Revelation 20 can be found at: http://www.centralbaptist1873.org/downloads/revelation/Outline%20for%20Revelation%2020.pdf.  Not yet studied by us, website blog appears to be solid.

We won’t get into the theories of what the key or chain may represent in verse one. The bottom line: this angel has the power to grab, hold, restrain, and bind Satan in such a manner as his personal powers are useless to either escape or to any longer influence the peoples and nations of this world. Powerless until the thousand year millennium is over. One might ask as we addressed in the previous blog, “why must Satan be released even if it is but for a short time after the millennial reign of Jesus and God?”

Good question. The answer is hidden in plain sight. If Satan is able to assemble a huge army after the thousand years of “iron scepter” (Revelation 2:27; Psalms 2:9; Revelation 12:5) rule of Jesus, it is obvious there are still those who do not Love or Accept Jesus as his or her Savior or King. Satan’s last stand (phrase borrowed from Custer’s Last Stand) will be judged. Satan first, then the books (plural) are opened and each person is judged according to his or her deeds; i.e. different levels of eternity in Hell (?).

Taking a slight step backward, be mindful that Jerusalem is the bride of God (O.T.) just as the church is the bride of Jesus Christ (N.T.). Let me borrow a quote from:  http://tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/emails/thewoman.html

The Church did not “replace” Israel; rather, it was grafted into Israel. At a future time, Israel (Zion) will receive all of the blessings promised to her millennia ago by God (Isaiah 45:17, 51:2,3,16; Jeremiah 50:4,5; Ezekiel 36:1–37:28). Also, the “woman” does not represent only Jews, who are descendants of Judah, since they are only one of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Read Revelation 11 once again or revisit the blogs in this website of Revelation 11, 12, 13, and 14)

Verse 4 of C20 is significant:revelation-20

(paraphrased) The souls (not bodies) of those beheaded, who had not worshiped the beast, his image, or taken the mark of the beast. These must be the Christians martyred DURING the tribulation and probably the voices of those “souls” heard under the Throne (Revelation 6:9) asking for justice (Revelation 6:10).

This, as hinted to in Revelation 6:11 and as previously discussed in this series of Revelation blogs, could be one of the two 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7:4 and again Revelation 14:1-5. It matters little as to if separate or different groups of 144,000 per Revelation 20:4. Those who die, for their witness of Jesus Christ during the Tribulation, will “Live and reign with Messiah (Christ) a thousand years.” (Also read Isaiah 51:11)

However, verse 6 should not be overlooked per a resurrection. This can get to be sticky theological detail here but here is the quick kick of it all. Being that if there is a pretribulation rapture, those who are the bride or church of Jesus Christ are already gone; i.e. Rapture. Those who die for their witness during the Tribulation are resurrected in verse 4.

Easy answer to the obvious question… who is left on earth before this resurrection? Answer: those who rejected God (O.T.) or reject Jesus (N.T.). This is how we get the first and the second resurrection. The dead in God/Christ are resurrected for the Millennial Reign. Recall from previous blogs in this study that millions have died by now via Satan’s effort to destroy mankind. Millions have also died at Armageddon; Tribulation ended. We calculate that between 1/3 and ½ of the world’s population have died within a short period of time. Then Gog and Magog deaths. No problem with overcrowding on earth.

The second resurrection is those who died without God or Christ. This is the Great White Throne judgment and capacity is no problem since “the heavens [sky] and earth flee the presents of God.” We see this verse in Revelation 20:11. But first let’s not skip some important discussion beginning in verse 7; i.e. Satan’s final judgment.

If unbelievers are wrong and chapter 20 is right, they have a serious and eternal problem of resurrection, judgment, and Hell. If I am wrong as a believer, then I will simply die like the rest of the world’s population; past and present. You decide but there are only two options. Reject Christ and possibly be wrong and the judgment correct, or accept Christ and be safe regardless of end time. Being a believer is not a safety net; it is a life style!

As already mentioned, Satan is bound a thousand years. When released, he raises an army the sized or “like the sand on the seashore; [then] march the breadth of the earth, surround Jerusalem [V9c], but never get to fight. They are devoured by fire from heaven… only to be raised in judgment in the second resurrection shortly thereafter. They see a second death; one of eternal punishment. I have been asked many times; what might Hell be likened to? My best guess is like the fire or burning of a deep-rooted hate, or lust for something one cannot get or get over. This feeling will be stamped into one’s mind to the power of ten, never to leave or be replaced by another thought while camping out at the lake of fire.

In verse 10 we are reminded that the beast (anti-Christ) and his false prophet are already in the Lake of Sulfur waiting for their cherished and loving Satan (pun intended) with very warm and open arms of welcome. Thanks for joining us you devil!!!!!! The beast and false prophet have already been there a 1,000 years. That is plenty of time to develop a very warm welcome for their master deceiver… Satan.

Finally, chapter 20 closes on the subject of the Great White Throne Judgment. We previously discussed some of this but allow us to point to or remind the reader-student the exposé of a few additional facts.

  1. The earth and sky flee from the presents of “him who is seated on the throne.”
  2. The dead resurrected, small and great, stand before the Great White Throne.
  3. The BOOKS are opened; books that have recorded his and her life and deeds while on earth. This opens up the possibilities of greater or lesser punishments but does not eliminate the fact of a judgment.
  4. Another book (singular) is opened and those whose names are written in the [Lamb’s] Book of Life are given life with God (trinity). These are possibly those who are still alive on earth but repent of their sin before the judgment day of reckoning. (emphasis mine)
  5. V13c: (NIV) “…and each person was judged according to what s/he had done (while on earth). (emphasis mine – see #3)
  6. “If anyone’s name is not found written in the Book of Life, s/he is thrown (accordingly) into their Lake of fire for eternity.” (emphasis mine)

Revelation Chapter 13 – (Part 2)

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What we find in 13:11-18miniJim

  1. A second beast from the earth or abyss, not the sea of people. He is a false prophet declaring the glory of the 1st beast and the Dragon. Just like the prophets of scripture but deceivers and false.
  2. The above also hints of a comparison to Christ descending; the begotten of God as his son; the one to be worshiped and through whom one reaches the Father.
  3. We now have a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth/abyss.
    1. The second beast gets his power from the Dragon (Satan)
    2. Given power over the first and perhaps second layer of heavens, earth, mankind, and authority.
  4. We get a talking idol/image of the 1st beast but order to be made by the 2nd
  5. The mark is given to all who worship the dragon and the 1st beast
  6. The mark of Christ is also given; everyone living on earth at this time receives a mark; one of Satan or one of God/Christ.

Rev 13:11 sounds a bit like one being in the image of the dragon (Satan). He rises from the Abyss not the sea. The first beast being raised from the sea of people is similar to Jesus being raised amongst men and from a sea of people. This furthermore is a reflection or parallel to Jesus being given power from God as is this second beast is given its power from the Dragon. Jesus was given authority over heaven and earth by the Father God. In Jesus’ 40 day wilderness trip, Satan tried to bribe him with the “kingdoms of the world.” There are additional parallels but not for this blog. Length is not the goal.

One might reasonably ask or even be expected to ask at this point, where is the Holy Spirit duplication in Satan’s trinity? This is the false prophet or 2nd beast who does not seek worship in or of himself. He directs this worship toward the 2nd beast and his authoritarian “father”… the dragon/Satan. Just as the dragon is symbolically an anti-God and the first beast is anti-Christ, the second beast and false prophet will be anti-Spirit. Remember here that the word “anti” in the Greek can also mean “an alternative to” or instead of. In Revelation 13:11-18 it is not a free will choice but a forced choice by the anti-Christ.

V13:11… “he has two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon.” Is this an indication the 2nd beast is the false prophet (perhaps from the Vatican) is the spokesperson and enforcer of the Dragon and the 1st beast? Good possibility.

Here is what we get from the second half of Revelation 13:

  • One seemingly in the image of Satan but from the earth, not the sea of people
  • The first beast has the wound
  • The 2nd beast requires the world to worship the first beast AND the dragon via the image.
  • V12 and 14 indicate its only miraculous signs are while in the presence of the 1st beast
  • It commands an image be made to the 1st beast (the wounded guy)
  • He appears to give the image that men are ordered to make, life. What a BIG deception. Man makes an idol and one finally comes to life. How much more deception will be needed?
  • The image “causes” (hin’-ah) people to worship the beast or die. (intent does not mean total success) Humans will accept this command as didn’t they make the image themselves?
  • The image orders the mark of the beast on all mankind; their death if not done.
  • The sign or seal of Satan is the dictatorship of commerce, religion, and everyday activity.
  • There are two signs; one of Christ and one of Satan. Both exclusive; one eternally deadly.
    • The 666 is not reversible and sets the destination of those individuals…HELL!

https://pixabay.com/get/e836b10c21f1073ed1534705fb0938c9bd22ffd41db712449cf9c178ae/idol-1303956_1920.jpgIt is the 2nd beast that tells mankind to build an image to the first (wounded) beast. He commands humans to worship the first beast and the dragon; similar to Christians worshiping Jesus the Son of god and praying to God the Father. The Mark of the beast is an economic mark; the power to buy, sell, trade and do business. It is also a mark of worship and acceptance of the evil one as a [false] god. It is the image that speaks (v15) and startles those remaining on earth.

Christ was also wounded for our transgressions and sin [Isaiah 53:5]. However, accepting him is not forced. It is a choice. Satan again tries to replicate what God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit has already done; it is Satan’s deception at its greatest point. It is his attempt to parallel God’s plan. When any person does not worship this image and beast it is death when caught. Just like in Islam… accept or die. In Christianity we have a choice UNTIL death. Only then is it judgement day.

One might take note that this 2nd beast or false prophet only performs these miraculous signs when “in the presence of the 1st beast.”  What do we have so far:

  1. Satan acting like a god the father – B) 1st beast as the son of Satan; i.e. anti-Christ – C) The 2nd beast acting as a prompting spirit not commanding worship of himself but directing worship to the image, 1st beast and the dragon – D) Image as a spokesperson (V15).

But God has his plan and it will not be altered by even Satan himself. This leads into chapter 14 of Revelation. We will explain the number 666 in a separate blog as will be the 144,000 discussion from chapter 14.

Rev. Dr. James W. Stark
May 2016