HAVE ANY OF THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL ELEVEN BEEN FULFILLED?

PREFACE

Luke, through the Holy Spirit, tells us exactly how to study the Word of God when he wrote in Acts 17:11, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scripture daily, whether those things were so”. The phrase I would like us to consider is that which tells us that they “searched the scripture“. In other words, in order to determine the truth of Scripture, they did not search out man’s historical records, they searched the scriptures.

But all of the commentaries I have read have attributed the events described in Daniel 11:2 through, at least verse 20 (some through verse 35) to events that are  not recorded in the Word of God.  For example, the notes in the Companion Bible on verse 5 read, “the king of the south. We give the commonly held view, Ptolemy Soter, son of Lagus, king of Egypt (verse 8). He took the title ‘king’; whereas his father ‘Lagus’ had been only governor”. Verse 8 does not give a name. In other words, this note defers to secular historians to supply the name. And in verse 6 the note on “the king’s daughter” reads, “Bernice, daughter of Ptolemy II of Egypt”. In verse 7 the note on the phrase “the branch of her roots” reads, “Her brother Ptolemy III (Euergetes), roots referring to their father Ptolemy II Philadelphus”. As one reads these notes it is apparent that the names ascribed to the persons to which these verses pertain are taken, not from Scripture, but from secular historians.

Another note in the Companion Bible on this passage of Scripture reads, “Those who take vv. 5-20 as belonging to the past do not agree as to the interpretation from history”. In other words some historians see these prophecies as having been fulfilled by persons other than those suggested above. How are we to know if these people did indeed fulfill these prophecies, especially in view of the fact that some historians do not believe they did? Is it a question of which historian do we accept? Or is it a question of taking the view of the majority of historians? The understanding of Bible prophecy should not be determined by how many secular historians believe it “fits”. Prophecy, like everything else in God’s Word should be interpreted by comparing Scripture with Scripture. 

There is another issue that is at stake here. It is the issue of Satan’s involvement in history in order to promote his own interests. As an example of that I would like to draw the reader’s attention to Dan. 11:1-20. As far as I know, all Bible teachers see this prophecy as having been fulfilled because it “fits” the historical events. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that the prophecies of Dan. 11:1-20 do fit the events of history. But are those events the fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word or are they Satan’s counterfeit of God’s prophecies? Let us consider this passage.

We read in Dan. 10:5, “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphas; His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes are lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude”. Who was this “man”? Let us compare this passage with Rev. 1:13-18 which speaks of “the Son of Man” in verse 13. Note the phrase in Rev. “girt about the papas with a golden girdle” and compare it with Dan. 10:5, “loins were girded with fine gold of Uphas“. Compare also Rev. 1:14 “His eyes were as a flame of fire” with Dan. 10, “his eyes are lamps of fire”. Also compare Rev. 1:15, ”His feet like unto the fine brass”, with Dan. 10, “his feet like in colour to polished brass”. And let us also compare Rev. 1:15, “His voice as the sound of many waters” with Dan. 10, ” voice of his words like the voice of a multitude”..

The reader will see that the “Man” who appeared to Daniel, as recorded in Dan. chapter 10 is the same “Man” Who appeared to John as recorded in Rev. 1. If there should be any doubt as to Who this “Son of man” is, Rev. 1:18 puts that doubt to rest, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death”. That Man is, of course, Jesus Christ.

So chapter 10 records Christ speaking to Daniel. We read in verse 13 where Christ said to Daniel, “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; and I remained there with the king of Persia”. Michael is of course, the archangel, i.e. a spirit being as opposed to a human being. So this battle was between Christ with His angels against  spirit beings who were His enemies.

Why was this battle fought? We read in verse 14, “Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy People in the latter days….”. The battle was fought for three weeks in an attempt to prevent Christ from declaring unto Daniel what shall happen in the latter days. Those events which Christ fought so hard to bring to Daniel are obviously those events recorded in the last two chapters of Daniel, i.e. chapters 11 and 12.

What is in those chapters that someone fought for three weeks to prevent from being recorded by Daniel? Verses 1-20 of Dan. 11 are the only prophecies in God ‘s Word that record the events of the 30-40 years leading up to the seventieth week, the middle of which would be the tribulation.

In other words, someone was trying to prevent Daniel from recording the prophecy which would warn an generations of the impending tribulation  years before it will happen. Who is served by this? The antichrist is served. That is to say, the entire generation who will live at the time of the antichrist is warned of his coming to power in the first 20 verses of Dan. 11. But if that generation believes those prophecies have already been fulfilled (which is what is being taught by almost all Bible teachers) they will not be warned. (The body of this paper will prove from Scripture that the first 20 verses are end time prophecies and by definition will be fulfilled at the very end.)

In short, the prophecies of Dan. 11:1-20 may very well fit man’s record of history, but who is served by this? Satan is served by it. Therefore, it is quite possible that Satan arranged counterfeit fulfillments of those prophecies. That is to say, they looked like fulfilled prophecies, but they were not.

We know that Satan is a great counterfeiter, how do we know, for example that Alexander the Great was not Satan’s counterfeit? We don’t know. But if we are consistent and interpret Scripture with Scripture, we will know for a certainty that the fulfillment of God’s prophecies will be His fulfillment and not Satan’s counterfeit.

If we are seeking God’s truth as written in God’s Word, we must interpret Scripture with Scripture, not by man’s fallible record of history.

I would offer two other comments on this question. One of the many reasons I love to study the Word of God is because I know that it is  absolutely totally perfect. To be sure we don’t understand it perfectly, but I know that the truths are there, it is just a question of finding them. The same can not be said of the writings of secular historians. They may be correct, but they may also be in error on any given fact, there is no final authority in secular writings.

The second comment I will make in this regard concerns the practice of Bible study in general. If we allow ourselves to get away from the time honored practice of using Scripture to interpret Scripture, it cannot lead to positive results. As end time prophecies are fulfilled, those who have read those prophecies in the Bible will see their fulfillment and recognize them as the fulfillment of God’s prophecies.

I believe that the reason for the difficulty  centers on the 70 weeks of Dan. 9. That is to say,  most have assumed that the Holy Spirit really meant to state that prophecy in years, i.e. 490 years, and the events of Dan. 11:1-20 would add  30-40 years to the 490. But God did not state the prophecy in years, He chose rather to put it in terms of weeks.  So the Holy Spirit did not intend for  the prophecy to  be fulfilled in 490 years, but only in 70 weeks. In other words, there is a break between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week. We read in Dan. 9:26, “And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself”.  At this point there is a break during  which the events of  Dan.11:1-20 will take place (this is, of course, not counting the parenthetical dispensation of the mystery). And after the events of Dan. 11:1-20 are completed then “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”.

Furthermore, I believe that if we take this passage in Dan. 9 quite literally, and not assume that the entire prophecy must be fulfilled in 490 years, the meaning of the prophecy will be much easier to understand. For further consideration please see the paper on the 70 weeks of Dan. 9.

Having said that, let us go to Scripture to see if because the prophecies of Daniel 11 seem to have been fulfilled in past history, that is proof that they will not be fulfilled in the future.

THE LATTER DAYS

In Dan. 10:14 we read, “now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy People in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days”. Dan. 11:2 to the end of the chapter records the prophecies that will befall Israel in “the latter days”. Now the question is: what is meant by “the latter days”. Most believe that much of this prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great. But he is never mentioned in the Word of God. I am not questioning that the events as described in Daniel 11 did not resemble the events surrounding Alexander the Great. I am suggesting, however that, even if they did, they did not fulfill the God-given prophecies of the Bible because the events concerning Alexander the Great are not recorded in the Bible.

Let us come back now to the question as to what is meant by the “latter days”. The first occurrence of the term is in Gen. 49:1 where we read of Jacob blessing his twelve sons, the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. In regard to Simeon and Levi, we read “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel” (verse 7). This prophecy was fulfilled in Josh.19:1. (See also I Chron. 4:39-43.) But in verses 9-12 we read of  Judah’s blessing which concerns the millennial reign of Christ. Note verse 10, “the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be”. It is because of these two prophecies which cover the Old Testament history of Israel and beyond, that I agree with the note in the Companion Bible which reads, “A study of these (the blessings of this chapter) will show that the prophecy and blessings extend to, and embrace the days of Messiah and His first and second advents“.

The Hebrew term translated “latter days” is also used of the millennium in Isaiah 2:2 where we read, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it”. Hosea 3:5 is another passage where the term “latter days” refers to the millennial reign of Christ. “Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days“.

We have learned that the term “latter days” does not always refer to the same time period. That is to say, there is nothing in the term “latter days” itself which disproves the widely held view that the prophecies of Dan. 11 were not fulfilled by Alexander the Great and other non-biblical (i.e. those not mentioned in the Bible) people and events.

However, we read in Dan. 8:17 and 19 that the explanation of the vision which Daniel is about to receive does indeed apply to the end times. Verse 17 reads, “So he came  near to where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, ‘Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision‘”. And in verse 19 we read, “And he said, ‘Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end (same word as in verse 17) shall be”.

As we compare Daniel chapter 8 with Daniel chapter 11, we will find that Dan. 11 is a more complete prophecy of the same time period as Dan. 8. Because Daniel 8 has to do with the end times, so then does it’s more complete explanation as given in the 11th chapter have to do with the end times.

There are two questions, however, that need to be answered in order to be thorough in our study. One question is: what is meant by the term “end times”. That is to say, we have already seen that the term “latter days” does not always mean the time immediately surrounding the second coming of Christ. So, in light of that discovery, how are we to understand the Scriptural use of the term “end times”? The second question is: how do we know that Daniel 11 deals with the same time frame as Daniel 8? Let us examine the first question and discover from Scripture what the Holy Spirit means by His use of the term “end times”.

THE END TIMES

The first occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “end” in Dan. 8:17 and 19 is found in Gen. 4:3, “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering onto the Lord”. The word is translated “process” in this verse, but in almost every other occurrence it is translated “end” or “after”. It is clear that “process” is not the best translation. The note on this word in the Companion Bible reads,“Heb. at [the] end of days”. And indeed, as we discover in the context of Gen. 4:3, it is Cain’s last days before being branded as a “fugitive and vagabond”, (verse 12).

Going on with our study of the word translated “end” in Dan. 8:17 and 19, we read in Gen. 6:13, “…the end of all flesh is come…”

Gen. 8:6, “at the end of 40 days…”

Ex. 12:41, “at the end of 420 years….all the hosts of the Lord went out of Egypt.

Deut. 9:11, “at the end of 40 days…”.

Deut. 15:1 and 31:10 we read, “at the end of every seven years…”.

Skipping now to the prophets who use this Hebrew word, we read in Is. 23:15, “after the end of 70 years…”

Jer. 34:17, “at the end of 7 years…”

Ezek. 29:13, “at the end of 40 years…”.

A comparison of Daniel 12:4, 6 and 7 will show that the term “end times” is used of the tribulation. “But thou Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” (verse 4). “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” (verse 6). “….It shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all the things shall be finished” (verse 7). The term “a time, times, and an half” refers to the three and one-half years of the great tribulation (see Rev. 12:14).

It is clear from how it is used that the word translated “end” can only mean the very end of a specific period. It is never used of a prolonged period of time, as is the term “latter days”. That is to say, unlike the term “latter days” where we have seen that the latter days refers to the years covered in the Old Testament and the coming of our Lord, the word “end” can not refer to anything but the end of something. Therefore, the prophecies of Daniel 8, as we shall see, can not refer to anything but the years immediately leading up to and including the tribulation. And because Dan. 11 speaks of the same time as Dan. 8, the prophecies of Dan. 11 can also not refer to anything but the years immediately leading up to and including the tribulation.

As mentioned above, this paper will show that Dan. 11 is a prophecy of the same time period as the vision of Dan. 8. But Dan. 11 refers to this period as “the latter days” and Dan. 8 refers to it as “the time of the end”. But we have seen that the two terms do not refer to the same length of time. That is to say, “the latter days” can refer to a very long time, but “the time of the end” refers to a comparatively short time immediately before the tribulation. Is there a contradiction here? Of course not. Both Dan. 11 and 8 include the tribulation and Dan. 11 includes several years before the tribulation. That being the case, the Holy Spirit gives us a clue that the prophecy of Dan. 11, while covering more or less the same time period as does chapter 8,  covers a period which is  a bit longer than the prophecy of chapter 8.

A COMPARISON OF DANIEL 8 WITH DANIEL 11

We come now to the second question posed above, i.e. How do we know that Daniel 11 deals with the same time period as Daniel 8? By comparing Scripture with Scripture we will see that the prophecies recorded in Daniel 11 are a fuller explanation of the prophecies recorded in Daniel 8. If that is true, and I believe it is, that will tell us that the “latter times” of Dan. 10:14 refers to the same period as Daniel 8 plus 30-40 years. Let us look for the things these two chapters have in common.

In Dan. chapter 8 verse 3, we read, “Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns….”. In verse 20 we are told what that ram represents, “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. In chapter 11 verse 2 we read, “And now I will shew thee the truth, Behold, there shall stand up yet another three kings in Persia…”. So we have, in both of these chapters, a prophecy concerning the kings of Persia. That is the first point that Dan. 8 and 11 have in common.

In chapter 8 verse 5 we read, “And as I was considering, behold an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground“. And in verse 21 we are told that the “goat is the king of Grecia“. In chapter 11 verse 2 we read, “by his ( a king of Persia) strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of  Grecia“. So we have here a second point in common in these two chapters; i.e. they both have to do with Greece. So far both chapters concern Persia and both concern Greece.

Daniel 8:22 explains 8:8. We read in 8:8, “Therefore, the he goat waxed very great and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven“. Verse 22 reads, “Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his own power”. And in chapter 11 verse 4 we read, “And when he shall stand up his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity…..”. The third point then, that Dan. 8 and 11 have in common is that a great king shall be “broken” and his kingdom shall be divided into four kingdoms, i.e. towards the “four winds of heaven”.

As we continue let us look at 8:9 and its explanation in verse 22-25. Dan. 8:9 reads, “And out of one of them (one of the four kingdoms of Greece) came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land“. (The “pleasant land” is Israel, see Ezek. 20:6 and 15.) In verses 23-25 of chapter 8 we read the explanation of the vision recorded in the earlier part of the chapter. “In the latter time of their kingdom (i.e. the four kingdoms of Greece vs. 22)…..a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences shall stand up. …..he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes…”. It is clear that the “little horn” of 8:9 is the antichrist who will “stand up against the Prince of princes”, i.e. Jesus Christ. Is there a point of commonality in Dan.11? There is, it is found in Dan. 11:16. The KJV of Dan. 11:16 reads, “….he shall stand in the glorious land (Israel) which by his hand shall be consumed”. But the NIV reads, “He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it”. In my opinion the NIV translation is closer to the original meaning, as Israel will never be completely “consumed”. So the king of the north does establish power in Israel which will later be assumed by the “vile person”, i.e. the antichrist of 11:21. The Hebrew word translated “estate” in verse 21 occurs also in verses 7, 20 and 38 in this chapter. It is clear from the usage in those verses that the meaning is “in his place”. Therefore, the antichrist will stand in the place of the “raiser of taxes” who had stood in the place of the king of the north. Both will assume the power of the one whose place he will take, including the “power to destroy” Israel (see 11:16, NIV). The fourth point that these two chapters have in common is that they both speak of the antichrist coming to power in Israel.  But where Dan. 8 gives us just that fact, Dan. 11 describes in verses 17-20 (see below) in detail how the antichrist came to have that power in Israel.

Dan. 11:17-20, as mentioned above, includes the events which eventually give rise to the “vile person” (verse 21, i.e. the antichrist). Those events include giving a daughter to the king of the south (verse 17),the king of the south will come against various nations (verse 18). A “raiser of taxes ” shall stand “in his estate” but will be destroyed. And finally, in the place of the “raiser of taxes”, will stand the antichrist (verse 21).

Daniel 8:10 speaks of the time of the antichrist’s activities during the tribulation, when he will reveal himself as the enemy of God. “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them” A comparison of Rev. 12:3-4 will show that this verse is speaking of the antichrist of the tribulation. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon (Satan, see verse 9) having seven heads and ten horn, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth….”. May I respectfully remind the reader that the antichrist will receive his power and dominion from Satan, (see Dan. 8:24). So in Revelation we see this scene from heaven, in Daniel 8 we see it from earth.

Dan. 11 verses 21-30 describe the events that will occur between the time the antichrist appears on the scene (i.e. the “vile person”, vs. 21) and the time he reveals himself as the enemy of God ( verse 31). We are told in verse 31, “…..and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate….”. In Matthew 24:15-16 our Lord says, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, …then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains”. That abomination in the holy place is the sign of the coming of the tribulation. Therefore , the fifth point chapters 8 and 11 have in common is the fact that both tell us of the activities of the antichrist, once he is revealed as the enemy of God.

In Dan. 8:19 we read, “…..what shall be in the last end of the indignation“. The Hebrew word translated “indignation” is the same word found in Dan. 11:36, “The king shall ………prosper until the indignation be accomplished“. This is the sixth point of commonality in these two chapters.

Daniel 8:25c tells us only that the antichrist shall “be broken without hand“. Dan. 11:37 through 45 explains the details of the antichrist’s dealings with the nations, but we read in 45b, “yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him”. The seventh point these two chapters have in common is that they both tell of the end of the antichrist.

In comparing chapter 8 which is a prophecy for the “end times” with chapter 11, we find that both speak of the same time period. Because that is the case, the “latter times” of 10:14, must then refer to the years immediately leading up to and including the tribulation, just as the term “end times” in 8:17 and 19 does.

SUMMING UP

Let me summarize the comparison of chapters 8 and 11.

At the beginning of chapter 8 we are told that the prophecy which Daniel is about to receive begins with Media-Persia and Greece. At the beginning of chapter 11 we are told that the prophecy which Daniel is about to receive begins with Persia and Greece.

In chapter 8 we read of Greece being split into four kingdoms. In chapter 11 we read of Greece being split into four kingdoms.

In chapter 8 we read of the antichrist. In chapter 11 we read of the antichrist .

In chapter 8 we read in verses 17 and 19 that the prophecy of that chapter concerns the “end times” In 10:14 we are told that the prophecy which Daniel will receive as recorded in chapter 11 concerns the “latter days”. Because both chapters are prophecies concerning the same time period, it is only logical to conclude that they both concern the end times, i.e. the tribulation, but that chapter 11 also includes the 30-40 years immediately before the tribulation.

CONCLUSIONS

One of my purposes in writing this study was to explain Daniel chapters 8 and 11. Another, arguably a more important purpose, was to prove that God’s Word is complete and therefore does not need to be interpreted by secular writings. While it is true that many of the events described in chapter 11 do seem to fit the historic events as described by secular historians, those historians are not inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore, have no place, in my opinion, in interpreting God’s Word. In other words, Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture, and by Scripture only. This is not to say that secular writers are not helpful in understanding the Bible. It is meant to say that prophecy is not fulfilled in the writings of secular historians. As I hope to have shown, the prophecies of Dan. 11 apply to events of the future. So by not using Scripture to interpret Scripture scholars have misinterpreted Scripture.

There is one other reason for my belief that Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture or we cannot hope to come to a correct understanding of God’s prophecies. We read in Dan. 8:5, “….an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground…..”. Again, the goat is interpreted by most to represent Alexander the Great. But how would he have come from the west on the face of the earth without touching the ground? Horses don’t fly. On the other hand, if we see this as the end time prophecy that it is, we may conclude that the king of Greece will fly in an airplane when he comes to Persia and all is clear.

That brings us to another point. As stated above, I believe that the purpose of chapters 8 and 11 is to forewarn those living at the time of the emergence of the antichrist. If these prophecies were fulfilled by such people as Alexander the Great, as is assumed by most, why would Satan have tried to prevent Christ from giving those prophecies to Daniel? On the other hand, if we see them as being fulfilled by end times people and events which would forewarn the generation to which the antichrist will come, the reason is obvious.

Some have objected that Alexander the Great must have fulfilled the prophecy of the Greek king because it “fits so well”. Let us examine that thought. As mentioned above, Satan had fought Christ for three weeks in an effort to prevent the prophecy of Dan. 11 from being given to Daniel. But, Satan  failed in that endeavor. Did that put an end to his efforts? I believe not. I believe that Alexander the Great is Satan’s counterfeit. Why would Satan put up a counterfeit? To make those who might be warned believe that the prophecy had already been fulfilled. Let us consider just a few of Satan’s counterfeits.

THE COUNTERFEIT OF CHRIST HIMSELF

We read in II Thess. 2:4, “who (the antichrist) opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God; shewing himself that he is God“. We know that Christ is God and will sit in the Temple of God in His millennial reign. But we read here of the antichrist claiming to be Christ. Is this not a counterfeit of the greatest magnitude?

THE COUNTERFEIT OF CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION

We read in Rev. 13:3, “And I saw one of his (the beast) heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed….”. Here we have the antichrist, represented as one of the heads of the beast, which was “wounded to death”. The note in the Companion Bible makes this meaning very clear. That note reads, “deadly wound = death stroke“. So this verse tells us that the antichrist died and was “healed”. Is this not a counterfeit of Christ’s death and resurrection?

THE COUNTERFEIT OF THE NAME ON THE FOREHEAD OF THE 144,000

In Rev. 7:3 we read of the sealing of the 144,000, “…hurt not the earth…….till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads“. Rev. 14:1 tells us that it is the Father’s name which is written on the foreheads of the 144,000. The note in the Companion Bible on this sealing is very interesting: “This sealing is visible and protects the elect (Matt. 24:31) of Israel during the tribulation, marking them off as worshippers of the true God”.

Let us consider the mark of the beast. We read in Rev. 13:16-17. “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The mark of the beast is a counterfeit of God’s sealing of the 144,000.

THE COUNTERFEIT OF GOD’S MIRACLE OF FIRE FROM HEAVEN

Let us also consider the miracles described in Rev. 13:13-15, “and he  (another beast) doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men”. This is an obvious counterfeit of the miracle recorded in I Kings 18:30-38 where after taunting the prophets of Baal, Elijah soaked the altar of God with water and in verse 38 we read, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench”. Again, we see Satan’s counterfeit of the miracle of God in I Kings 18.

SATAN’S ARMY OF REV. NINE AND GOD’S ARMY OF JOEL TWO

We read in Rev. 9:3-11 of an army of locusts. Verses 7-8 describe these locusts, “And the shape of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads, were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. and they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle”.

And we also read in Joel 2:4-10 of an army of locusts. Verses 4-5 describe them, “the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array”.

Note the similarities: both armies were locusts that looked like horses. Note both passages mention the noise of this army. But they are not the same army. The army of Rev. 9 is Satan’s army. Rev. 9:11 reads, “and they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon”. The note in the Companion Bible tells us that “Abaddon” means “destruction” and Apollyon” means “destroyer”. Given that the head of this army comes from the “bottomless pit”, we may conclude that Satan is the king of this army. On the other hand, verse 11 of Joel 2 tells us that that army is the Lord’s army, “and the Lord shall utter His voice before His army….”.

My point is that even though there are similarities in these two armies of locusts, it is clear that Satan’s army, which will march in the tribulation is a counterfeit of God’s army which will march in the day of the Lord.

This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. I would like to hear your reactions to this paper. Please e-mail me at: janjoyce@aol.com