Category Archives: Eschatology

Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Wounded to Death, Part 3

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“Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land” — Daniel 11:19

In our previous post, we assessed the cryptic references to the mortal head wound administered by a sword to one of the heads of the Sea Beast (Revelation 13:3, 12, 14). With the Scriptural data, we were able to discern not only that the head wound must have been administered to one of the seven heads but also, like the wounds of the Lamb (Revelation 5:6), the mortal head wound must have occurred prior to its rise. John uses the same Greek phrase to refer to the Lamb “as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6), as he does for the Beast’s head, “as it were wounded” (Revelation 13:3). The mortal wound did not follow the rise of the Beast. It preceded it. The Beast is made up of the preceding empires (Revelation 13:2), and one of those heads received a mortal wound.

Our challenge is to discover which of the seven heads had been slain, for John says only one of them was wounded: either the Lion head, the Bear head, one of the four Leopard heads or the terrifying Roman head. Upon inspection, and having ruled out the Babylonian, Medo-Persian and Roman heads, we concluded that one of the four Leopard heads must have been wounded to death. Then, eliminating the Eastern, Western and Southern heads from consideration, we discovered the mortal wound administered to the Northern head. That mortal wound of the Northern Head is depicted in Daniel 11 by its  disappearance from the narrative after “he turn[ed] his face unto the isles … [but] he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land” (Daniel 11:18-19). Here Daniel has foreseen Antiochus III’s invasion of Greece and his defeat at the hands of Rome at Magnesia in 190 BC. As a result of that loss, Antiochus was forced to evacuate the Northern Territory entirely, and to remain in the Seleucids’ original holdings in the East. The Northern Head had been eliminated altogether.

This week, we provide the political, geographic and historical data related to the defeat of the Seleucids and their exile from the Northern territory (indicating the complete disappearance of the Northern Leopard Head from the narrative for more than a century) and its remarkable recovery and reappearance at the end of Daniel 11. The return of the King of the North at the end of the chapter sets the stage for the rise of Imperial Rome to rule over earth after an apocalyptic conflict with the King of the South depicted in Daniel 11:40-45. The Beast that follows Imperial Rome is none other than Roman Catholicism, and that mortal wound administered to “one of his heads” (Revelation 13:3) — an obscure reference subject to millennia of speculation since John recorded the vision — is an indictment of the Beast, for that mortally wounded head, as we shall see, grew back from Pergamos “where Satan’s seat is: and … where Satan dwelleth” (Revelation 2:13). And the Beast receives its “power, and … seat, and great authority” from him (Revelation 13:2).

Continue reading Wounded to Death, Part 3 →

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Daniel, Revelation

Wounded to Death, Part 2

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“… the beast … had the wound by a sword, and did live …” — Revelation 13:14

Last week we introduced our analysis of the “mortal head wound” of Revelation 13, highlighting an oft-overlooked fact: the Beast arose with the mortal wound already dealt to one head, and that head had already recovered from the deadly wound at the time the Beast arose. ln our analysis we first showed that the Seven-headed, Ten-horned Beast makes three appearances, each indicating something significant about it: the Beast is Next after the Roman Empire (Revelation 12), Satanic in power (Revelation 13), and geographically and empirically Roman (Revelation 17). The mortal wound is mentioned only three times, and only in Revelation 13. Each time it is mentioned, it is in relation to the object of worship by the people of the world: they worship the Dragon (Revelation 13:4a), the Beast (Revelation 13:4b, 12) and the Image of the Beast (Revelation 13:15). Each time the world is said to worship the Dragon, the Beast or the Image, John places it in the context of that mortal head wound. There is something about that head wound that reveals to us that the power and authority of the next empire after Rome is evil to its core. It is a warning, and as such, we should be able to identify that wounded head and the significance of its recovery from the mortal wound.

But to identify what the head wound is, we must first identify what it is not.

Continue reading Wounded to Death, Part 2 →

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Apparitions, Daniel, Eschatology, Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic Miracles, Idolatry, Revelation

Wounded to Death, Part 1

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Mortal Head Wound
“…and his deadly wound was healed…” — Revelation 13:3

We have made no effort to hide our view that the Papacy of Rome is the prophesied fifth earthly kingdom in Daniel’s succession of empires (Daniel 2 & 7). The Papacy is the Sea Beast of Revelation 13:1, the Seven Headed, Ten-horned Beast that succeeds the Roman Empire.  Christ’s future earthly kingdom, of course, will be the sixth. Nor have we hesitated to identify the False Prophet, which is none other than the Apparitions of Mary, the Land Beast of Revelation 13:11, the Two-horned, Lamb-looking, Dragon-speaking False Prophet that can make “fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Revelation 13:13). It is that False Prophet that “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth” and convinces them “that they should make an image to the beast” (Revelation 13:14), which refers to the Eucharistic bread idol of Rome that can come to life and speak, “the source and summit” of the Roman faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1324).

What we have not discussed yet is the mortal head wound of the Beast. John mentions it three times:

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast…” (Revelation 13:3-4)

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” (Revelation 13:12)

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. … as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” (Revelation 13:14-15)

Whatever that head wound may be (and we shall identify it in this short series), it factors significantly into the object of the world’s worship.

Continue reading Wounded to Death, Part 1 →

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Church History, Epistemology, Eschatology, Infallibility, Papal Infallibility, Tradition

As God Sitteth in the Temple

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“…he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:4

One of the most refreshing fruits of the Francis I pontificate is that it has awakened Roman Catholics to the truth that apostasy can originate from within the church. Paul warned,

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Of this “falling away,” or apostasia, Paul included a chilling note. It would begin from within: “the son of perdition … as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Indeed, speaking to bishops who could justifiably boast succession from the Apostles, he warned: “of your own selves shall men arise” (Acts 20:30). And Peter warned as well: “there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). As we have observed repeatedly here, the Great Apostasy occurred in the late 4th century, bursting forth as a veritable font of liturgical, ecclesial and doctrinal novelty and error. It manifested upon the earth as what we now know as Roman Catholicism. It originated from within, for one cannot “fall away” from without.

The historical Roman Catholic objection to such a claim is as predictable as it is banal: “But that would mean Jesus has not kept His promise in Matthew 16. If the church ever fell into apostasy, then that would make Jesus a liar!” We invite the reader’s attention to such examples as this, which claims that “There was no great apostasy of true Christianity” because Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Or this comment, in which a reader claimed that there could never be a widespread apostasy because Jesus promised that “the gates of hell would not prevail against the church.” Such objections presume first that we are claiming that the “True Church” could apostasize (we are not) and second, that Roman Catholicism is that “True Church” (it is not).

When we cite 2 Thessalonians 2:11 about the “strong delusion” by which God Himself would cause the vast majority to “believe a lie,” the Roman Catholic responds in a similar vein: “That is not possible because that would mean God purposely spread heresy and is the source of heresy.” Such responses again presume that Roman Catholicism is immune to error, and thus immune to an apostasy. Thus, the Roman Catholic historically has ruled out the very thing the Apostles clearly ruled in: that the great falling away would sweep up much of the church in its wake. Continue reading As God Sitteth in the Temple →

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Church History, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 10

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We continue with our series on Revelation 12, an Exodus narrative in which the Woman—representing the people of God—flees from the error that proceeds from the mouth of the Devil, and seeks her place of safety in the wilderness. Her only food is the Word of God,  her only loyalty, to her Savior. The Woman is depicted not only as National Israel in labor bringing forth the Messiah—”for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22)—but also as the post-Jerusalem gentile Church established by Christ—for the Kingdom of God had been “given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43). The Woman, having received Jesus’ words and instructions from the Apostles is like unto the “man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock” (Luke 6:48a). Persecution would shortly follow—first from the Jews (Matthew 10:17 ), then from the Gentiles (Matthew 10:18), followed by the most brutal persecution ever experienced by the people of God when the Devil was cast down to earth (303 – 313 A.D.), and the devil imprisoned the faithful (Revelation 2:10) and put them to death “with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8) when they refused to offer sacrifices to false gods. But “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11-13).

Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 10 →

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Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 9

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We return now to our series on Revelation 12, an Exodus narrative in which we find the Woman, fleeing from the error that proceeds from the mouth of the devil, seeking her place of safety in the wilderness. As we have noted in this series, many saints avoided the apostasy as Roman Catholicism was coming to power as the prophesied successor to the Roman Empire. Their objections were consistently raised against the oppressive episcopal hierarchy, clerical celibacy, the continuation of the Passover sacrifice in the form of the Roman mass, prayers for the dead, intercession of the saints, the inordinate magnification of Mary, the veneration of human remains in the form of relics, veneration of the wood of the cross, baptismal regeneration and Roman primacy. If we would find the Woman of Revelation, we need only discover the flood of error from the mouth of the serpent, and then find the people who stood on the Word to resist it. The flood of error is not hard to find, nor is it difficult to find the people who countered it with the Scriptures. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 9 →

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Daniel, Eschatology

The Ashes of Isaac

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Isaac on the altar
“…and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.” — Genesis 22:9

As our readers know, we have long held that the 70 Week prophecy of Daniel 9 is Mosaic rather than Messianic. Thus the prophecy finds its fulfillment under the Old Covenant rather than under the New. Instead of prophesying the advent of Christ and the end of sacrifices, the prophecy was rather that Cyrus, King of Persia, an anointed ruler (Isaiah 45:1), would be raised up to rebuild Jerusalem, that Onias III, the anointed high priest would be murdered, and that Antiochus IV would come and end sacrifices, but that faithful Jews would cleanse the sanctuary, anoint the altar, the most holy (Exodus 40:10) and restore Mosaic sacrifices. The fulfillment of that Seventieth Week, from 171-164 B.C. was Mosaic, not Messianic. Continue reading The Ashes of Isaac →

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2 Thessalonians, Church History, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 8

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"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness..." (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We continue now with our series on Revelation 12, a chapter that is an Exodus narrative in which the Woman is shown fleeing from the error of that proceeds from the mouth of the devil and seeking her place of safety in the wilderness. As we have noted in this series, the Woman of Revelation 12 must have taken her leave sometime between the end of the Diocletianic persecution (313 A.D.) and the rise of Roman Catholicism to the seat of civil power among the fragments of the Roman Empire in the last decade of the 4th century. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 8 →

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2 Thessalonians, Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Eucharistic Sacrifice, Mariolatry, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 7

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We continue now with our series on Revelation 12, a chapter that is an Exodus narrative in which the Woman is shown fleeing from the error of that proceeds from the mouth of the devil and seeking her place of safety in the wilderness. As we have noted in this series, the Woman of Revelation 12 must have taken her leave sometime between the end of the Diocletianic persecution (313 A.D.) and the rise of Roman Catholicism to the seat of civil power among the fragments of the Roman Empire in the last decade of the 4th century. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 7 →

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Church History, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 6

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Eagle in Flight
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

As we noted in our previous installment, Revelation 12 is an Exodus narrative in which the Woman is depicted as fleeing from the error of the devil and seeking her place in the wilderness. In a word, she leaves. The Church simply departs, and takes up refuge in the Wilderness, and is nourished there by Her Savior. In that installment, we provided evidence of the objections of Ærius, Jovinianus, Vigilantius, Sarmatio and Barbatianus to the novelties being introduced in the latter part of the 4th century. These men, according to the historical record, were all taking their leave of the company of error and striking out on a separate path (except Jovinianus, who was apparently imprisoned for his objections). Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 6 →

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Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 5

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We continue this week with our series on the Woman of Revelation 12. As we have maintained thus far, the Flood of Revelation 12 is the sudden irruption of error toward the end of the fourth century, which error in practice became known to the world as Roman Catholicism. The flood that emerged from the Serpent’s mouth was nothing else than the sudden step-wise emergence and nearly universal acceptance of Roman Catholic doctrines beginning at the end of the fourth century. In our pursuit of the Woman of Revelation 12, we seek out those late fourth century saints who resisted the flood of error, and escaped from it. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 5 →

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Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 4

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

We continue our series this week on the Woman of Revelation 12, turning our attention now to the Flight of the Woman, the Flood of Error from the Serpent and in particular the Woman’s resistance to the Flood by the Word of God. As we noted in part 2, the Flight, and therefore the Flood, must occur in the period of the Toes of Daniel 2—after the 5th Seal of Revelation 6 is opened but before the Little Horn of Daniel 7 accedes to civil dominion. As we described in Do Not Weep for Nicomedia, the 5th Seal occurred in 311 A.D., and as we described in The Fifth Empire, part 3, Roman Catholicism took up the mantle of civil power in 395 A.D.. The Flight and the Flood occur between those two events. This week, we begin to examine the fledgling resistance movement—the first signs of protest against the emerging Roman leviathan. What we find is a group of godly Christian men who, against all odds, stood on the Scriptures to withstand the Flood of error that proceeded from the mouth of the Serpent. The whole world was swept up in the novelties being introduced at the time, but the Church was not.
Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 4 →

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Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 3

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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

In our previous installments of this series, we addressed the structure of Revelation 12 in which John provides a time frame for the events described, as well as the identity of the Woman and her Man Child as well as the duration of her time in the wilderness (Revelation 12:1-6).  As we noted in part 1, the time frame of the chapter covers the period of the persecution by the Little Horn of Daniel 8 for “time, times, and an half” (Daniel 12:7) through the persecution by the Little Horn of Daniel 7 for “time and times and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:25). The chapter thus straddles not only the transition of the Woman from National Israel to Ecclesial Israel, but also the transition of world empires from Bronze to Iron to Iron & Clay in the statue of Daniel 2, from Legs to Feet to Toes. In part 2, we showed that the flight of the Woman must therefore occur in the period of the Toes of Daniel 2—after the  5th Seal of Revelation 6 but before the rise of the Little Horn of Daniel 7. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 3 →

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Church History, Eschatology, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 2

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"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness..." (Revelation 12:14) “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

In our previous installment, by mapping key events in Revelation 12:4,7 to the book of Daniel, we sought to identify the bounds of the time frame of the events depicted in Revelation 12 as well as the identities of the Woman and the Man Child. As we noted there, the time frame in chapter 12 encompasses everything from the persecution of the Jews by the Little Horn of Daniel 8 “for a time, times, and an half” (Daniel 12:7), to the persecution of the Church by the Little Horn of Daniel 7 for “a time and times and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:25). The Woman of Revelation 12 begins as National Israel suffering under Greek persecution as the stars of heaven are cast down (Daniel 8:10, Revelation 12:4), and then under Roman imperial oppression as the serpent attempts to devour the Man Child when He is born (Daniel 12:1, Revelation 12:4). The Man Child is Christ who lived, died, rose and “was caught up unto God, and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5) during the Roman Empire, by which time the Woman has become Ecclesial Israel who would flee to the wilderness after being persecuted by the devil, only to endure even more persecution by the ungodly empire that would succeed Rome. It is in the context of that transition from National to Ecclesial Israel that Michael “standeth for the children of thy people” (Daniel 12:1) and “fought against” the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:7-10). In this installment we now turn our attention to the timing of the Flight of the Woman and the Flood let loose by the Serpent by evaluating the effects of Michael’s extradition of Satan in the context of Daniel’s prophecies. Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 2 →

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Church History, Revelation

Come Hell or High Water, part 1

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"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness..." (Revelation 12:14)
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…” (Revelation 12:14)

As we noted in our previous post, Revelation 12 depicts an abiding hostility between the Dragon and the Woman who flees to the Wilderness for safety. The conflict that unfolds in this chapter is similar to that which occurred in the Garden of Eden, as well as that which came upon Jesus when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted. In Eden, God said one thing to Eve: “…thou shalt not eat…” (Genesis 2:17), and the Serpent said another: “Yea, hath God said …?” (Genesis 3:1). In the “wilderness of Judæa” God said one thing to Jesus: “This is my beloved Son…” (Matthew 3:1,17), and then in the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus to question God’s Word, saying “If thou be the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3). Eve’s decision came down to a choice between obedience stemming from belief, or the disobedience of unbelief. Would she believe the Word of God or the word of the serpent? The options presented to Jesus in Matthew 4 were essentially the same: would He trust His Father’s words, and reject the Devil, or would He trust the Devil’s words, and question His Father’s? In Revelation 12, the same choice is again laid before the Woman: will she trust the Word from the mouth of her Lord or succumb to the error that comes from the mouth of the Serpent?

Continue reading Come Hell or High Water, part 1 →

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Eschatology, Revelation

The Other Woman

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"Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?" —Job 39:27
“Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?” —Job 39:27

While many Protestants deny that Roman Catholicism is a Christian denomination, one of the most persistent criticisms of Protestants by Roman Catholics is that we, allegedly, can only trace our religion back to the 16th century. Arguing that point, the Roman Catholic apologist offers what he believes to be the most compelling rebuttal possible: if Roman Catholicism is not the True Church, then the True Church must have perished shortly after it was formed, being then revived only in the 16th century, making Jesus a liar (Matthew 16:18). The Protestant is thereby presented with an unpalatable dilemma: either accept that Roman Catholicism is and always has been the True Church, or acknowledge that Jesus Christ is a liar. Many a professing Evangelical has stumbled at the false dilemma, concluding that because Jesus is not a liar, then Roman Catholicism must be the True church.

Continue reading The Other Woman →

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Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Legs of Iron, part 6

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The Scriptures identify the transition from Legs to Feet.
The Scriptures identify the transition from Legs to Feet.

Historically, the church has had very little trouble identifying the time periods of the Gold, Silver, and Brass of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. The time periods of the Lion, the Bear, and the Leopard are as easily identifiable in Daniel 7, as are those of the Ram and the He-goat in Daniel 8. Those figures represent a series of world empires, each dominating the world in succession—Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. Continue reading Legs of Iron, part 6 →

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Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Legs of Iron, part 5

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The Scriptures identify the transition from Legs to Feet.
The Scriptures identify the transition from Legs to Feet.

In this series, we have been discussing the dating of John’s vision on Patmos based on the scriptural evidence. Although Irenæaus seems to place the vision at the end of the first century, other early writers of his era place it before Paul’s epistles and even as early as emperor Claudius, as we discussed in Part 1. While the external testimony is inconsistent and contradictory, we believe the date of the vision can be found based on the internal testimony, especially in light of the Danielic nature of the angelic narrator’s language in Revelation 17:10. Continue reading Legs of Iron, part 5 →

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Church History, Daniel, Eschatology, Revelation

Legs of Iron, part 4

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The Scriptures Identify the transition from Legs to Feet.
The Scriptures Identify the transition from Legs to Feet.

One thing that can be said of Jesus’ and John’s eschatology is that it is certainly Danielic. Jesus refers to Daniel both directly (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14) and indirectly (Matthew 21:44, 24:30, 26:64; Mark 13:26, 14:62) when speaking of the immediate and distant future. John’s descriptions of the dragon of Revelation 12, the sea beast of Revelation 13 and the scarlet beast of Revelation 17 are all derivative of the four beasts of Daniel 7. The scene of the throne room of Revelation 4-5 with “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (5:11) surrounding the Lord is clearly resonant of the same scene depicted in Daniel 7:10 where “thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.” Our eschatology, like Jesus’ and John’s, must be Danielic as well. Continue reading Legs of Iron, part 4 →

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Church History, Daniel, Revelation

Legs of Iron, part 3

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The Scriptures Identify the Transition from Legs to Feet
The Scriptures Identify the Transition from Legs to Feet

In the previous two weeks we have discussed the dating of the book of Revelation based on the internal evidence. As we noted last week, the angelic narrator provides textual cues as to the dating of the book, and three of those cues are found in Revelation 17: the placement of the “scarlet coloured beast” of Revelation 17 chronologically between the red dragon of Revelation 12 and the sea beast of Revelation 13; the description of the beast which “was, and is not; and shall ascend,” and the placement of the vision between the fifth and seventh king of the empire (Revelation 17:10). John’s narrator was clearly providing cues to the dating of the book, and was using Danielic imagery to do it. When understanding Revelation 17 through the lens of Daniel 2, there are only three possible periods during which Revelation could have been written—during the Legs, during the Feet, or during the Toes of the Statue. Last week we ruled out the period of the Toes because the vision takes place when the ten Toes or ten Kings are yet future, and “have received no kingdom as yet” (Revelation 17:12). This week, we will rule out the period of the Feet altogether. Continue reading Legs of Iron, part 3 →

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