Article #36 – Daniel Series

Article #36
Daniel 11:36-45
(End of chapter 11)

 36The king (the anti-Christ) will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods (https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2%20Thessalonians%202%3A4) He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed [7 year Tribulation; i.e. last 3 ½ years as Jacob’s Trouble], for what has been determined must take place. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38[This is the same description that scripture gives of the anti-Christ; II Thessalonians 2:4] Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will *distribute the land at a price.

False Promises

*Socialism at its best is false promises. It has been and always will at the expense of achievers, previous ownership, earned rights to any property, best defined as bribery or redistribution of wealth but only to those who will follow the so-called white horse ‘peace maker’ anti-Christ. This type of culture violates Leviticus 25 – Jubilee.

 40At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots (armored tanks; military vehicles?] and cavalry [Infantry] and a great fleet of ships.

JIV NOTE: “At this time of the end…” This is a critical Daniel passage very much needed to better help our understanding of a previous article in this study per a future yet not here. We previously discussed the fact that neither the Jewish people nor the Islamists will relinquish their (G)god to follow the other. We stated that by comparison of the Ptolemy (Egypt) and the Seleucid (Syria) kingdoms of Daniel 11 we discover a two-pronged prophecy. The first prophetic prong has already been fulfilled between the time of Alexander the Great and the time of the Roman Empire. The second prong is the End Time 70th week of Daniel’s Seventy 7s; that is, the 7 year tribulation. We very possibly will have a northern anti-Christ kingdom and a southern Islamist kingdom. They both will challenge each other…until Jesus Christ comes to finish it all by setting up HIS millennial kingdom.

He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood [Antiochus IV did this after Rome warned him to make a decision before stepping out of the circle in the sand]. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land [Jerusalem/today’s Israel. Antiochus IV did this after being ejected from Egypt by the Romans]. Many countries will fall, but [the territories of…] *Edom, *Moaband the leaders of *Ammonwill be delivered from his hand [*Land of Jordan today, 2020]. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will [eventually] not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites (Nubians/Ethiopians) in submission. 44 But reports from the east [possibly China] and the north [possibly Russia] will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he [antichrist] will come to his end, and no one will help him.

JIV NOTE: To-date [2020], the above paragraph has not come about in history; only parts of it materialized under the wrath of Antiochus IV. It is yet to be played out by forces we are not yet able to specifically name and identify. We know their generic (pronoun) identities from Daniel 11 as a ruler of the north and a ruler of the south. When Christ returns to set up HIS millennial Kingdom, there will be none to stop this from happening. There will be no one to come to the aid of either the king of the north or the king of the south.

Where the global gathering will take place.

The global gathering will be the Battle of Armageddon. Megiddo exists today. It is about 50 miles north of Jerusalem best known for its’ massive valley plains. It also is where massive oil deposits have been recently discovered. https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/zion-oil–gas-signs-agreement-to-begin-3-d-seismic-acquisition-in-israel-300902653.html

Oddly, and according to the silent media, Russia through Hungary has already succeeded at signing with Israel an “oil field development contract” in this territory. (see map to the right; agreement signed between Zion Oil & Gas and Acoustic Geophysical Services KFT (“AGS”), an international seismic company based in Budapest, Hungary.

This is where Daniel swings into full future prophecy; prophecy yet to be completed in 2020 or beyond. Some fundamental theologians suggest this is evidenced beginning around verse 36 (We suggest beginning the dual prong prophecy begins in Daniel 11:22) until the end of this chapter. The absolute historical accuracy of verses 11:1-36 makes many historians, mediocre bible believers and historical bible revisionists want to suggest that this portion of Daniel was written AFTER the fact. If true, Daniel 11:1-36 was inserted in the text of the Book of Daniel long after this history/prophecy was complete after Daniel was deceased. In turn, this suggests that the prophecy was not futuristic, but history after the fact denying the inspired, infallibility of scripture and prophecy. [This is the secularist’s and liberal preacher point of view; denying scripture prophecy as telling of a future that had not yet become a history]

The underlying doubt of such a rather naïve (above) suggestion is that verses 36 to the end of this chapter are part of a history but cannot be connected to any historical events. Such scripture revisionists are not real bible believers and don’t want to admit that Daniel’s prophecies came from his own hand inspired of God therefore they deftly attempt to deny prophetic words. They want the bible to be good, but not THAT GOOD AND ACCURATE. This in itself [End Time prophecy] is how those who play church [but in my own personal opinion] are singing from the wrong songbook.

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to read this for yourself. It took me many months of research to find the correct secular and historical names with events to fit the passages between verse 1 and 36/37 of Daniel 11. If I made any error it is unintentional. I could suggest that this transliteration of is about as close to a future actuality as we will get until God sends his Son to redeem and rapture the Church, telling us the real facts as recorded in Daniel 11. I suspect we won’t really care at that time. Praise God and pray for His quick return.

Dr. Jstark
2-25-2012/11-11-2013
Revised February 2020

Jeremiah Chapter 51 (Part A)

time-.jpg

The final chapters of both the Book of Jeremiah are the final chapters of the world as we know it. The Hebrew word *Yome [day] can mean a time of day and night; 24 period of time. However, there is an additional translation of the same word. According to Strong and Thayer it can mean:

*“a season, space, time of trouble, an age or period of time[paraphrased for understanding].

The King James puts it in verse 2 (Jeremiah 51) “shall empty her land in her day of trouble…” The Medes and Persians [Achaemenid Empire] occupied the land and conquered the peoples of Babylon. King Cyrus sat on the throne of Babylon. Does this sound like it was EMPTIED? Jeremiah 51:2 in the ASV, YLT, ABP, ISV, ESV and many other translations indicate the same thing. The Medes and Persians did not, per history, devastate Babylon. They snuck in through the river Euphrates after stopping up its flow, captured ad killed the leadership. They did not destroy it. They only occupied it. One may easily suggest it is a reference to the Babylon of the anti-christ of End Time.

V1… “I will send foreigners against her.”

Secular history reports that both the Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being taken “without battle”, whereas the Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon report that the city was besieged. The Book of Daniel implies that Babylon was taken in one night and that Belshazzar was killed. The total destruction prophesied in Jeremiah 51 was not fulfilled at this time. This means Babylon became part of Persia; today it is within the territory of Iraq. More on Babylon can be found in Revelation and Isaiah including the proverbial Whore of Babylon in End Time.

We should go back to verse 1 to explain the term Leb Kamai…”Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai…” Leb Kamai basically is a reference to “those who rise up against me.” Who is the ME in this vers? It is God! This is without doubt a reference to End Time when there are those who rise up against Jesus or the End Time following the thousand year reign of Christ and Satan is released for a short time gathering a great army to “rise up against Jesus.”

It may very well be that Jeremiah used a kind of code [Leb Kamai] which neither Babylonian security nor modern Scripture theorists have been able to crack. http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Leb-kamai.html. It may also simply mean those who rise up against God, Christ, Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 51:5 & 6 continue this thought of End Time judgement. Once again Jeremiah mentions Israel and Judah as God’s chosen. Guilty? YES! Forsaken? No! Verse 6 tells us that Jeremiah says to “flee the land of the Babylonians before her destruction” [ESV] However men like Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah remained in Babylon long after the King Darius defeated the Babylonians releasing the Judeans to return to their land, rebuilt the Temple, and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Perhaps the next verse (v7) helps our understanding. It speaks of the Babylon to which End Time evil is identified, even the Whore of Babylon, as [ESV]:

Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, *making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

*“making all the earth drunk.”

This is not just the historical territory of Chaldean Babylonians, but the entire world to which Jeremiah is referring. Recall that Abraham originated from the biblical land of the Chaldeans. This is a reference to a much greater population and territory; i.e. all the earth.

Jeremiah 51:8 could easily be understood as sarcastic in tone. “…wail for her and take balm to her for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.” In light of those who will survive the “time of Jacob’s trouble [tribulation]” and after the millennial reign of Christ, people will be measured and judged according to the intent [kavanah] of their heart. Satan will raise a huge army to try and return the world to destroy as many as he can. If he can destroy them before accepting the King of kings as savior, they will join him in the Lake of Fire. Babylon is the symbolic “world” at this time. Then will come this Great White Throne judgement.

51:9 “let us each go to our own country…” This points out that the world recognizes that they as humans are not in charge of the earth. Satan is bound. There is no longer any point to fight a lost battle with the King of kings.

In verse 10 & *11 Jeremiah returns in thought to the biblical time of the Jews in Babylon; the vindication of the Jews (Judeans). If this is in fact relevant to just that time in history, why would men like Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the future queen Esther along with men like Mordechai remain in Babylon? Simply put… this passage is in reference to two different periods of time; the time of the 70 captivity and End Time meaning the world itelf. Return each one to his own country…[ESV verse 9].

*V11 also says to “sharpen the arrows.” It sounds or reads like it a defensive move of those in Babylon. It certainly isn’t the Jews who are told to sharpen their arrows as God ordained the Medes and Persians to conquer Babylon without even a battle. The snuck in as previously mentioned in this article.

51:11b (NASB) “For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his Temple.” This seems to have little to do with the biblical event of the Babylonian captivity. Fact is, it is the anti-Christ’s abomination of the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. He sets himself up on the throne within the Temple requiring all to pay homage to him. He has offerings of abominable sacrificed to him in the Temple and on the Alter of God.

It gets more clear and obvious that this prophecy in chapter 51 has dual meanings as we continue to the next verses in Jeremiah 51. Read verses 12 and 13 then look at v14 through 18. Verse 17a says it all (NASB) “All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge.” When we are devoid of knowledge, there is not a chance of understanding.

Verses 19-24: Jeremiah once again brings Jacob/Israel into the scripture. He is no longer addressing the Babylonian captivity or Judean release. God is telling us HE has a covenant with Jacob/Israel; a covenant that does not apply to the rest of mankind. Jesus in the New Testament makes provision for the rest of us.

[NASB; Jeremiah 51:19-24]shatter

He says, “You (Israel) are My war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
“With you I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,
And with you I shatter man and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and youth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.
“But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea
for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.

If one does not like what is quoted above from the NASB bible, that is precisely what is stated in ‘v17a’ in the previous paragraph…“All mankind is stupid, [because they are] devoid of knowledge.” Without knowledge there cannot be understanding. Without understanding, we make poor choices or none at all.

Jeremiah 51:24b: “before our very eyes”(ESV)… Jeremiah could not be speaking in the first person being his own eyes as God initially punished Babylon the city-state 70 years after this fact. Jeremiah would have been long gone. So, whose eyes is Jeremiah writing about? This too is End Time prophecy. The world will see this punishment brought upon the anti-God forces of its armies. In short, this is the forces of the king of the north (anti-Christ), king of the south, kings of the east…confirmed in the next verse (v25)… (ESV) “I am against you, declares the Lord which destroys the whole earth. There we have it. Jeremiah finally identifies these enemies as the whole world. Babylon is symbolic of this prophetic destiny; imminent and eminent. (Jeremiah 51 part B is next week)

miniJim

Jeremiah Chapter 47

palestine-gaza-strip-in 2015

Gaza Strip 2015

Is it ironical, paradoxical or prophetic? The very same land Jeremiah 47 is talking about, Philistia, is still a major issue to Israel today; Gaza Strip. It has been a thorn in the side of Israel/Judah since Israel of old was established as a confederation of tribes in the Book of Judges. The Tribe of Dan was to destroy them but instead abandoned their Joshua assigned territory. They went north of Israel, conquered Laish, a city of isolated Sidonians, and renamed it Dan.

Philistia/Gaza has been there a long time. Jeremiah, as he prophesied in chapter 46 the troubles of Egypt, he in Jeremiah 47 warns them of their present and future fate…God’s direct judgement.

Egypt currently borders Gaza. It was the same in Jeremiah’s time. For him to warn these people as God commanded, it would be a short journey to get there. What is of some interest in chapter 47 is stated in the first verse of chapter 47, “…before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.” However, Jeremiah warns them of a flood tide enemy from the north. Egypt is located to the south of Gaza, Babylon is due-east. Jeremiah 47:2…”Thus says the LORD: Behold, waters are rising out of the north…” Commentaries often take the easy way out and forget geography in that process.

There is little reason to question whether or not Babylon overran this territory as it moved into Egypt to do the same thing. However, it remains there today; Gaza Strip, Palestinians, sworn enemies of Israel. Could there be more to this passage in Jeremiah? Of course there could. It may be as much a future prophecy as it was an imminent one.  Recall that Jeremiah’s prophesy against Egypt was two-fold; pending and End Time. This force from the north as the “flood waters or a torrent” could also include an attack by the Antichrist; i.e. the King of the North (Europe) against the King in the south (Muslim confederation or Caliphate in the south). It is highly unlikely Muslims will accept the Antichrist as their 12 Imam. That is not how the end is written in their “book.”

There is another strong thought about timing. While Nebuchadnezzar was besieging Judean cities (Jerusalem included), history tells us that the Pharaoh of Egypt attacked Gaza. It is likely that this Pharaoh was Pharaoh Necho. He attacked and smote Gaza, either when he came to Carchemish [the battle of] to confront the Assyrians, or when he returned from there, after he had slain King Josiah of Judah who had foolishly aligned with Assyria.

map for c47This map shows where Ur is located. It is almost directly east of Israel, thus Philistia/Gaza strip. Ur is the land from where Abraham came. It was identified as the Land of the Chaldeans. Ur is the city, part of what we would see today as Kuwait at the head of the Persian Gulf and outlet of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. See Genesis 11:31.
Since the descendants of Philistia (Dirty Arabs) still live in this area it does not fit with the rest of chapter 47. We read that they will be in such a panic they will even leave their children behind [47:3]. This author is not familiar with any other secular or biblical sources saying that this already happened. History seems to tell us that this small portion of land is occupied by a people who historically are perpetual occupants. Egypt in contrast to the Assyrians and later the Babylonians, did not remove a conquered people to other lands or the hinterlands of unoccupied or sparsely occupied territories. Pharaoh Necho would not have removed them.

Jeremiah 47: 6 & 7 make a good case for this being the judgement of God in End Time. He commanded his sword to punish and will not recall it.

(ESV) Ah, sword of the LORD! How long till you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard; rest and be still!

How can it be quiet when the LORD has given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore he has appointed it.”

Might this include another invasion of this land yet to happen? An invasion that God ordains upon the Hezbollah and anti-Israeli occupants of Gaza; i.e. Ashkelon. God’s judgements continue in chapter 48. Now it is Moab, offspring of Lot through one of his daughters.

miniJimJ Stark

December 2018

The Millennial Reign

What happens during the Millennial Reign of God and Jesus?

I have often wondered what it is going to be like during the Millennial (1,000) Reign following the Tribulation. Let me begin by telling you there are many hints of how we will live during these years, what will happen to us, how long life expectancy will be, if work is still required, will there be families, children, animals? Let’s begin by understanding something that Isaiah 55:8 tells us:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.”

The meaning is too obvious. We need to take God and the Word of God at its word without trying to make God into something that fits our ideals. We need to understand that he makes us into something he wants. After all, if we created god then it/he is useless for eternal or even current needs or events. But God created us. That being so, he is the potter and I (we) are the clay. The clay pot does not tell the potter what we wish to look like; what shelf we want to be on; do we get a window view; or if am I going to be a tall, short, round, skinny or a corpulent pot. We are what we are so let’s get past that. What we need to know is our purpose. That is to worship the Lord God almighty, make Christianity a way of life not a religion, and realize our destiny is determined by our acceptance or neutral or flat out rejection of HIM.

Let’s avoid for now the discussion of the Tribulation (pre-post-or mid), plan of salvation, or any preaching. Let’s simply review the facts as the Bible tells us per what life will be like during the Millennial Reign of King Jesus.

Understand that this will not be a totally inclusive blog per life in the Millennial, but it will be inclusive of enough references to give us a great idea of what it will be like during the Millennial Reign.

Wikipedia defines the Millennial *Reign as:

*Often identified as Kingdom.

Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for “thousand years”), or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which “Christ will reign” for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state (the “World to Come” of the New Heavens and New Earth).

Theopedia describes the Millennial Kingdom as: (http://www.theopedia.com/millennial-kingdom)

…the thousand-year reign of Christ specifically mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6. This is usually seen as the same Messianic Kingdom anticipated by the Old Testament prophets.

Let’s first realize the 1,000 years will not be spent on the beach, in churches, standing around the Throne of God in Jerusalem or flying about the universe with a pair of angel wings. All but the last are possible but not the norm for life during the Millennial Kingdom. Recall, or learn for the first time, this reign of Christ in Jerusalem will come out of and at the end of the Great Tribulation. The pre-Tribulation time will be as “the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37). It will be wise for the reader to read through to verse 39. This is the world situation leading up to the beginning of the 7-year tribulation and the Apocalypse, Day of Reckoning, Armageddon or Day of Destruction as so many movies, books and discussions have and continue to be based upon. But this is not a written monologue of pre-tribulation events.

Mankind, along with some strong assistance from Satan, will have all but been eliminated by wars, disease, starvation, murder when Christ returns to the Mount of Olives and proclaims himself King of Kings and ruler of the world. Yes, there is a little thing called Armageddon at this point in history and yet to be played out, but this article is about life for those who survive and enter the Millennial Kingdom.

Skipping past the resurrection of some of the dead, the return of those who were (will be) in the Rapture prior to the Tribulation period, and those Christians and Jews killed during the Tribulation we get to our goal; life during the Millennial Kingdom and reign of Jesus Christ ON EARTH. It is not my intention to explain why some of these prophecies have what is known as plural or dual points in history and that which has yet to happen. We are going to simply look at life during the Millennial Kingdom; ”thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth (millennial kingdom) as it is (already) done in heaven.”

Here is the setting: Christ returns to the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem; an area now known as the West Bank. He declares himself King of the world then must defeat the combined forces of the King of the North (Antichrist: Europe or the resurrected Holy Roman Empire), the king of the South (Islam?: Middle East and Africa) and the forces from the north and east:*China and Russia? These forces will gather together to invade and eliminate Jerusalem/Israel (Joel 3:2; Zechariah 14:2; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 20:8) but only after having fought amongst themselves (Matthew 24:7). Continue reading