CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The book of Daniel cannot be left out of any serious study on Biblical prophecy. However, for
brevity sake, I shall make reference only to certain passages which have long-range application
involving prophecy up to and including our day. What Daniel packed into 12 brief chapters is
quite phenomenal. While most of what he said related specifically to certain individuals and
kingdoms of ancient times, the predictions also had Law-of-Double-Reference connotations. That
being the case, you know I've got to comment on the book.
Some Christians actually object to those of us who relate the numbers of Daniel and Revelation to
history. This is a very strange reaction for surely the Holy Spirit inspired Daniel to record all
those numbers for someone's benefit --- in my opinion, ours. In fact, that it is for our day is even
implied by Daniel himself. Daniel once asked: (See Dan. 12:6).
"How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?"
And again in verse 8 he asked:
"What shall be the end of these things?"
Then Daniel gets his answer from the Lord in verse 9:
"Go thy way, Daniel: For the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."
We saw in Revelation that John was not to seal up his book and some expositors say this also
means Daniel's book became unsealed at that time. I don't think so. The command in Daniel 12:9
is clear. The facts are that some of Daniel's "secrets" were not to be understood "till the time of
the end". Now does the "time of the end" refer to the day the apostle John wrote or, does it not
simply mean what it says --- "the time of the end"? (Paradoxically, those who object --- i.e.,
those who see Daniel's book as "unsealed" at John's day --- call themselves literalists!)
Jesus' disciples asked Him about the sign of His return and of the "end of the age" (Matthew 24:3)
and His answer clearly relates to the last of the "last days". He made references to conditions
which would be prevailing on the earth during the very moments of His coming. Neither did He
give them some kind of vague answer insinuating the "end" meant all the days from His ascension
up till His return, (which is the teaching of some).
God made it quite clear He would Personally clear up the mysteries Daniel inquired about when
He said in verse 10:
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried: But the wicked shall do wickedly: and
none of the wicked shall understand: But the wise shall understand."
In other words, God would someday open certain eyes to Daniel's questions about the "time of
the end". This would not be plain to the "wicked" (unbelievers) but the "wise" (believers) would
know. Wisdom is a gift from God. It comes at His discretion, at His timing and is given to whom
He chooses.
I think the people who are upset by those of us who see prophetic significance in Biblical numbers
and Scriptures which contain allegory is because (1), they personally have difficulty seeing and
understanding allegory in the first place (whether it comes through numbers or words) and (2),
they are aware of others out of the past who (allegorizing) made certain predictions based on
these same passageswhich DIDN'T come true. Most of those were cults and their errors have had
the effect of steering Christians away from numbers and allegory. Sometimes
lack-of-understanding and sometimes over-reaction to Satan's scare-tactics produces skepticism.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love these skeptical menin the Lord. But I also feel the necessity not
to be intimidated by their convictions. Therefore, I must take the plunge into this "no man's land".
Remember, one of the characteristics of the final anti-Christ (as given right here in Daniel 7:25) is
to: "...think to change times and laws...". In other words, it is Satan who tries to confuse us. We
must never forget that he often sends his counterfeit prophets in advance of God's army in an
attempt to discredit them when they come with God's correct understanding. This has the effect
of deviating God's people away from the truth. Satan knows this. He's been in "Sunday School"
a long time now. So, there's nothing new here. Satan is following the same old procedure he
always has.
In spite of the fearless attitude I may have unintentionally conveyed, I want you to realize I do not
at all consider my observations as perfect knowledge. But I have to believe I've discovered
something of value here because of the amazing consistency among the FOUR prophecies we'll
study.
Each of the four specific prophecies I shall talk about will reveal a long span of years, beginning at
a certain time and place, in association with a specific person, and ending at some pertinent time
in the future. Now, right off, some will think I'm trying to set the exact date of the Lord's return.
I'm not. Jesus said that would be impossible. (See Matthew 24:36). However, I'm convinced
God has set the prophecies in motion and given adequate information so that we may approximate
the time. Jesus --- Who was the One that said we couldn't know the exact "day and hour" --- also
gave a detailed discourse on the highlights of the world scene just prior to His coming, making
clear that He wanted us to know the general time of His return.
Actually, even if we knew for sure what the Biblical numbers meant, we still couldn't calculate
fulfillment dates with certainty because of the inaccuracies in our calendar systems. As already
noted, even Jesus' Own birth date is in dispute, varying from 2 to 8 B.C. among reputable scholars
(5 B.C. being my presumption, you'll recall). Surely, in His sovereignty, God has allowed these
variations. He could have let us maintain unquestionable records if that had been His desire. But
He obviously had specific reasons for doing it the way He has. However, just because we don't
have absolutely precise information on exact dates, we don't want to over-react to the other
extreme either --- paying no heed to what God has given us to work with. My guess is that on all
these evaluations to be discussed, we are off no more than five or six years at the most. As for
the purpose of numerics, I suspect it may be God's way of reaching a certain 'kind' of personality.
Like it or not, folks, there are people who are more inclined to numbers than they are words! So,
let's be generous, just as our heavenly Father is. Let's 'allow' God the space to reach into some of
these areas where our usual testimonies seem to have little effect. The case of doubting-Thomas
is again applicable here. Although He rebuked him (mildly), Jesus did honor Thomas' request to
see His scars. Why do you think Jesus showed him? I believe it's because God is:
"...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:9).
PROPHECY # ONE
The first prophecy to which I'd like to give attention is from Daniel 4. Daniel had miraculously
recalled king Nebuchadnezzar's dream he had forgotten. Then Daniel proceeded to also interpret
the dream for him. Nebuchadnezzar was to be driven out of his own kingdom (the Babylonian) to
live like an animal in the wilderness as indicated in verses 31 & 32:
"While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king
Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall
drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: They shall make
thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the
most high ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will."
The following verses (33 - 37) show Nebuchadnezzar did indeed go and live with "the beasts of
the field", after which he praised and extolled the king of heaven saying, "...those that walk in
pride He is able to abase." So, the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar's dream was fulfilled according
to Daniel's interpretation.
It is important to note how long 'Neb' was in the wilderness. He was there "seven times". We
remember from our Revelation study that "3 1/2 times" is equal to 1260 days. We also
determined that in certain prophecies this is talking about "prophetic days", which means years. If
3 1/2 times = 1260 days, then 7 times = 2520 days. Now the old king was with the "beasts" for
seven "times", which, literally-interpreted, means 7 Hebrew years. (Remember, 2,520 days = 7
Hebrew years).
So, Nebuchadnezzar was out of his mind for seven years (2,520 days), after which he returned to
normal and then praised the true God of heaven. I'm convinced (by the Law of Double
Reference) what happened to 'Neb' personally was a prophetic picture of several future kingdoms,
beginning with his and ending with the final anti-Christ kingdom.
In fact, I will go so far as to say I think this is the underlying reason God allowed
Nebuchadnezzar's predicament! Let me show you what I mean. Recall in our Revelation 17
study that John saw a certain number of empires which would come before God's kingdom would
finally be established? Now note the clear parallel between what happened to 'Neb' as an
individual and what has occurred on a grander scale of mankind's kingdoms on the whole. Neb's
craziness in the wilderness for 2520 literal-days was a portrayal of all fallen-mankind's craziness in
the "wilderness" for 2520 prophetic-days (years).
This is a beautiful picture of the Law of Double Reference. If we are to make any real,
prophetic-sense (other than the typical generalizations most make of this) of the links between the
books of Daniel and Revelation, we've got to get more specific. Let me do that now.
In our Revelation study we saw that the apocalyptic Scripture references set Babylon as the first
in a string of certain earthly empires. Most historians give a beginning date of 606 B.C. as when
Babylon took Israel into captivity, holding them then for seventy years. Now, Israel has always
been God's prophetic "time-clock". Therefore, I think it is reasonable to take the year of their
captivity as the signficant beginning date of this particular prophecy. Following through on that
thought one day, here's what was discovered:
2,520
- 606
1,914
+ 4
= 1,918 A.D.
(The reason for the addition of the four years, you recall, is due to the calendar error. I'm
assuming Jesus' birth as 5 B.C.).
What do we know about the year 1918 that might be of prophetic significance? That's the year
WW1 ended! Since we are looking for something which would relate to national Israel here, the
question arises, "can we find anything of pertinence in this regard?" We sure can!
Near the end of WW1, Great Britain drove the Turks out of Israel (the nation 'Neb' held captive;
the same nation God dispersed for 2,000 years from their land; the same "fig-tree" nation Jesus
told us to watch at the end of the age, etc.,). It was this British action that set the stage for the
Balfour Declaration which allowed Jews to once again purchase land in their ancient homeland.
Now let's try to make some sense of all these facts. I believe World War One was a battle which
marked a special time-spot of gigantic prophetic significance, call it a breaking up of the old
order. It was the beginning of the time of the end. It is no little thing that the conflict was
world-wide. Modern man tends to think of such conflicts as commonplace but a war of this
magnitude had never occurred before in all history!
We have determined there 'just happens' to be a 2,520 year time-span separating
Nebuchaddezzar's day (606 B.C.) and the year which saw the beginning of the re-establishment in
our day of Israel, God's prophetic-time-clock nation. Remember now, this is the same literal
number of days (2520) that Nebuchaddezzar spent in the wilderness. We see again how God used
a literal-day situation as a prophetic scenario which would later have a long-range counterpart.
And look at this: counting forward 30 years from 1918, we come to 1948. Do you know the
Biblical inference of the number 30? It means maturity. (Ex: Jesus began His ministry at age 30.)
And what was important about 1948? That was the very year Israel was once again established as
a real nation.
Another important number which relates here is 70, the number of a generation. Counting
forward 70 years from 1918 brings us to 1988. And if we count backwards 2,520 from 1988, we
come to 536 B.C. which, according to Reese's Chronological Bible, was the coincidental year of
the end of Israel's captivity in Babylon! Can you accept all these dates and times involving Israel
are but mere-chance occurrences? Not me.
Recall from our Revelation study of chapter 18, that spiritual Babylon (Babylon The Great) would
eventually reach a point when the "bride" and the "Bridegroom" would no longer be in her (which
has reference to the Rapture and the marriage feast). Well, just as surely as there finally came a
time for national Israel to be released from national Babylon in 536 A.D., a time will come for
'spiritual Israel' --- Christ's "bride", the Church --- to likewise be released from 'spiritual Babylon'.
I'm not predicting a specific year this will occur but there is too much fulfilled prophecy and
parallelism here, both in words and numbers, to not realize the Christian age is fast-approaching a
climactic state. Jesus said the Father alone knows the exact "day and hour" of the end but the
stage seems to now be set. The fog is lifting. And, there is yet more proof.
Let me again comment on the recent war in the Middle East. Iraq is the modern name for
Babylon. And just as in days of old, her purpose was to destroy national Israel. Oil, the
Palestinian issue and all the rest, are but surface problems associated with the deeper, spiritual
conflict which still lingers in the hearts and minds of those possessing the
'Nebuchadnezzar-complex'. Saddam Hussein is possessed by this drive. The Gulf War illustrates
the Mohammadan-uprising forecasted earlier in this book. (Remember, much of the information
here was written long before this war. The first draft of this book was finished in 1979. It has
been edited several times since then including this final version now in 1994.)
PROPHECY # TWO
The next prophecy I want to comment on also seems to have a double application. It comes from
Daniel 5 and concerns another Babylon king. He had seen a hand writing on a wall which said:
"And this is the writing that was written; mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." (Daniel 5:25).
As we've seen, distant prophecies are often found hidden in the time it took for some particular,
short-range prophecy to take place. Using the Law of Double Reference, one takes the number of
those literal days and assumes they have a yearly meaning also. (This assumption is not mere
speculation. The text itself usually includes implications of long-range applicability.) But here in
Daniel 5, we find the 'mysterious' numbers hidden another way. The words mene, mene, tekel and
upharsin are Aramaic weights. (This particular segment of Daniel was written in Aramaic in the
original writings --- not Hebrew.)
It is strange (though not unusual) that God would not only reveal such a profound truth to an
ungodly king, but also that it would be given in such an odd manner. Just imagine the actual
situation: the king (Belshazzar) had thrown a great party and had demanded his princes to bring
the beautiful things his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from Israel. They were eating and
drinking and having a grand-ole-time when, all of a sudden, king Belshazzar sees this hand (no
body mind you, just a hand!) writing out words on a wall. Now that would get anybody's
attention! Here's how Belshazzar responded:
"Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the
joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another." (Daniel 5:6).
This verse always makes me smile. It says God has a great sense of humor. But there is a very
serious revelation here too. Following in his grandfather's footsteps, Belshazzar calls on Daniel to
interpret the vision. Daniel comes and says:
"This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and
finished it. Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Peres: Thy
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." (verses 26 - 28)
Now this interpretation had application for both Belshazzar as an individual and his kingdom as a
whole. For Belshazzar it meant he would die that night; it also meant his kingdom would later be
taken by the Medes and the Persians. Both happened. At the time, Daniel limited his verbal
interpretation to these two short-range events. But notice this very important little detail in
Daniel's explanation: Belshazzar had also seen a word called upharsin --- Aramaic. But when
Daniel interpreted it he changed this word (and only this word), to "peres" --- a Hebrew word!
Now why did he do that? Was this a mere slip of the pen? A mistranslation? Or, was it
designed as a clue for us? I think the latter. Let's follow Daniel's suggestion and change
Belshazzar's vision of all the Aramaic weights to Hebrew:
MENE = MINAH
MENE = MINAH
TEKEL = SHEKEL
UPHARSIN = PERES
Minah, shekel and peres are Jewish weights. Now the lowest, useful Jewish weight was the
"gerah". Let's convert all the larger weights into the common gerah and see what we've got:
MINAH = 1000 GERAHS
MINAH = 1000 GERAHS
SHEKEL = 20 GERAHS
UPHARSIN = 500 GERAHS
TOTAL = 2520 GERAHS
Look at the interesting number that "pops up" again! The very same number which was earlier
associated with Belshazzar's grandaddy, Nebuchadnezzar. In "Neb's" case, we saw the prophecy
logically related to the end of age, specifically, I think, to the document which allowed Israel to
begin the re-establishment of their nation (1918). To arrive at that we simply started with the
Babylonian captivity and counted forward 2520 years. In Belshazzar's case though, the ancient
date of significance is his own death, (see verse 30) which history has recorded as 539 B.C.
(It is quite reasonable for us to make this assumption because Belshazzar's death is what set the
stage for the commencement of the next empire, the Medo-Persian).
Following the pattern, let's count forward 2520 years from Belshazzar's death and see where it
ends:
2520
- 539
= 1981
+ 4
= 1985 A.D.
I'm uncertain as to exactly what was supposed to have happened in 1985 insofar as fulfilled
prophecy is concerned. It is interesting to note, however, that Iran (modern name for Persia) was
at war with Iraq (modern name for Babylon) from about 1982 until the mid-80s. Was this conflict
perhaps but another indicator of the end of this age?
Think about this: 2520 years ago the Persians fought Babylon and killed king Belshazzar --- and
now, 2520 years later, Persia (Iran) has once again been battling with Babylon (Iraq). And
remember, the mysterious handwriting had related to the old king that his days were "numbered",
and that written message had contained in it a secret number which just happened to be 2520, the
number of years separating the ancient war from today's Gulf conflicts! Again I ask, do you
believe all this is just chance-coincidence? No way. This is fulfilled prophecy.
THE SACRED CUBIT
With consideration given to the fact that Daniel's 'mystery' here involved a certain measuring
system of his day, I find it interesting that in this very hour America is undergoing a change of our
system of weights and measures. There is a big push from within and without, to get us away
from the old tried-and-true British system, into the European metric system. I have worked with
metrics in practical situations for 30+ years (essentially all optometric measurements are based on
it), so I'm probably more acquainted with the system than the average American citizen. From
many practical considerations, the metric concepts are not an improvement. It may be man's best,
admittedly appealing in some situations, but I'm convinced God 'consigned' earth with a better
measuring system.
Yes, you heard me right. I believe God actually gave a special measuring system to certain,
ancient men of God. It is based on the Sacred Cubit. Let me give you a brief rundown: First of
all, the Sacred Cubit is distinctly different from the common cubit of 18 inches. Without going
into all the background, the Sacred Cubit was probably used in the building of Noah's Ark, the
Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Solomon's Temple, the Ark of the Covenant and, of all things, the
Great Pyramid of Giza in Cairo, Egypt.
The Sacred Cubit is about 25 inches long and it was broken down into 25 equal parts, one part
being the Sacred Inch. An amazing fact to me was to learn that the Sacred Inch just happens to
be almost exactly equal to our English inch.
My own tests and observations indicate that the human body seems to be designed around it! The
length of human fingers, the thumbspan, the handbreadth, the average length of the forearm, and
much more, seem to have a definite relationship to the English system when average comparisons
are made.
Now, let me show you another astounding fact: The polar radius of the earth, as recently
determined from the orbits of artificial Earth satellites, is 3,949.89 miles. Dividing this figure by
10,000,000 equals 25.027 British inches, which is the precise length of the Sacred Cubit to three
decimal places! This means the radius of the earth is 10,000,000 Sacred Cubits. Why is this so
astounding? Well, first note the perfect round number. Secondly, this degree of accuracy of
measurement was not realized by modern man until 1958. Thirdly, this exactness was obviously
known by someone 5,000 years ago.
You mathematicians will notice that in terms of 'significant numbers' the British inch is the same as
the sacred inch. In other words, there are 25.03 British inches in 25 sacred inches, or 1 SACRED
CUBIT. For all practical purposes then, the British inch is the same as the sacred inch! The
amazing thing about this is that so few people seem to know anything about it. I discovered it
only 14 years ago. I was surprised to learn that there is actually a great deal of literature available
on it. (Reference book related to Sacred Cubit: "Flee To The Mountains" by R. E. Dunlop)
Surely such accurate measurements in ancient times could have been known only by God. And
being the loving God He is, He has revealed something of His perfect nature in this very beautiful
manner. I mean, after all, God made the earth so it should not surprise us to learn that He would
have no problem in knowing (and sharing with us) a system which would be most accurate to use
in working within His creation. But man has abused God's laws --- all God's laws --- including
those physical laws designed for ordinary life here on this planet.
Through ignorance and unbelief, Europe, for the most part, has already thrown God's measuring
systems away. Today, America is in the process of doing the same thing. Fallen-man is tossing
out God's spiritual-yardstick, the Bible, which was God's way of 'measuring' us, godly-wise and
morally-wise. And we're also now dumping God's physical yard-stick measuring system, the
British System, which was obviously based on the God-given Sacred Cubit System. So what does
all this mean?
Folks, mankind is being "...weighed in the balances," and is being "...found wanting."
Unregenerate man always thinks he has a better idea. He wants the easy way out. Since the
building of the tower of Babel he has continued his search to do his own thing, in his own way ---
without God. Yielding the English measuring system and joining the ranks of the general
mediocrity is but one of many ways we demonstrate unbelief. I like the old system. It feels right
in my hands. I sense its correctness in my heart. And I hate to see it go.
PROPHECY # THREE
Most apocalyptic-Scripture interpreters agree that Alexander The Great is prophesied in Daniel 8.
In verse 5 he is represented as a "he-goat".
"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 the goat had a notable horn between his eyes."
In verse 8 we are told:
"...when he was strong, the great horn was broken:..."
This refers to the early death of Alexander. He died at age 33. Now for further validation that
this king was in fact Alexander the Great, look at verse 21:
"And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: And the great horn that is between his eyes is
the first king."
Now, once again we find one of those mystery numbers. Note how cleverly Daniel worked it into
the Scriptures: (Actually, it was the Holy Spirit's work.)
"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which
spake, 'How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of
desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?' And he said
unto me, 'unto two thousand and three hundred days: Then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.'" (Daniel 8:13 & 14)
This topic intrigued me so much a few years ago I wrote a tract on it. Earlier I had given a
certain pastor a copy of one of my first drafts of the manuscript you are now reading. He had
rejected much my overall presentation but after reading the tract on Alexander he later said to me,
"Lance, this is really good!" (I guess a smaller "bite" of my overall concept was "digestible" but
not the whole thing at once! That was hard for me to accept at the time but I'm learning it's a
normal process when men have already made up their minds about something. But, since it
reached my pastor friend, I'll share with you the same information I wrote in the tract.)
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
One of the most influential men to have ever lived, ancient or modern, would have to be
Alexander The Great. Much has been written about him and most encyclopedias will give you a
fairly good picture of the man and his accomplishments.
Briefly, Alexander built one of the ancient-world's largest empires, stretching from the
Mediterranean Sea to India. He did this in eleven years, ending in early death at age 33 in 323
B.C. Since his life and accomplishments were just 'peaking out', most humanists would probably
say his was a very untimely death. Actually, just the opposite is true. My main purpose here is to
neither praise nor degrade Alexander The Great. I merely want to report about him with the same
attitude as the Scriptures portray: a powerful ruler who became head of one of the most
prominent ancient empires.
In 1981, when I first wrote about this, I became aware of seven occurrences that year which,
directly and/or indirectly, involved the great historical figure, Alexander The Great.
1. In the December issue of Time magazine, one of the books reviewed was called "Funeral
Games" by Mary Renault, which mainly emphasized Alexander The Great.
2. In the same issue was an advertisement about an exhibition going on in America at that time
called "The Search For Alexander".
3. Bookstores everywhere were featuring a book by that title.
4. That summer (1981), I took my daughter and one of her friend's to Carmel for a vacation.
While the girls shopped in the novelty stores, I browsed around and became somewhat startled by
the fact that seemingly half the items bore a picture of a one-horned animal --- sometimes a goat!
It was the "fad" of that year.
5. Also that summer (in fact, right at the exact time I was studying Daniel 8 and doing this
research on Alexander), I was shocked one morning as I sipped my coffee and read the morning
newspaper. Right there on the front page staring me in the face, was a picture of a real-life,
one-horned, shaggy white goat! I am not kidding!
The article explained how a couple had discovered an ancient technique for breeding such an
animal. I'm not vouching on the authenticity of this. However, the animal made the 6:00 o'clock
television news that same night and after that he was a regular 'show-goat' at Africa-Marineworld
near San Francisco. Another thing which got my attention that day was the pet's name: he was
called LANCELOT --- my own, childhood nickname! Folks, when God wants to get our
attention He sometimes works it in, in strange and mysterious ways!
6. On January 1, 1981 of that same year, modern Greece (the modern remnant of Alexander's
empire) became the 10th member of the Common Market. (More on this fact later.)
7. About the same time, another newspaper article which I had earlier clipped out and saved,
came to my mind. It was a report of a recent archealogical discovery. They had found artifacts of
a place where ancient Olympic Games had been held in Greece. The point of interest? They
approximated the date the place was last active as 2300 years ago! (Remember this number.)
THE ANALYSIS
I think it is important for you to realize that the above seven things happened almost
simultaneously and, amazingly, during this very writing. I didn't engineer any of it. I merely
observed it. Daniel 8 was the central focus of my attention in my on-going prophecy study at that
time, which I also didn't plan. It just worked out that way. I had started my study of prophecy in
1978 and in the summer of 1981, I had, in God's providential timing and control of things, arrived
at the pertinent passage in Daniel at that strategic point in time.
Suppose you were a prophetically-inclined individual and these facts came your way at the same
time: a book about Alexander which suddenly hits the market in 1981, + an ongoing, worldwide
exhibition of recently-discovered Alexandrian artifacts, + other books suddenly appearing on the
scene on the Search for Alexander, + novelty shops filled with pictures of one-horned animals, + a
real, one-horned shaggy-goat is bred with your nickname, + Greece becomes the 10th member of
the EEC and finally --- super + --- the discovery of a 2300 year old Grecian-Olympic-Games
arena. Also, imagine that all these realities developed in the same year. How would you handle
those facts?
You need one more piece of the puzzle to see how it all fits together. The Scripture in Daniel 8
says that the truth of God would be trodden under foot for a period of 2300
'EVENINGS-MORNINGS', after which would come a restoration. It doesn't say 2300 "days" in
the original. Your version may say "days" (as my quotation from the King James above) but if
you look it up in the NAS you'll see "evenings and mornings". Although this is better, it still isn't
quite accurate because no "and" appears in the original language. Evenings-mornings would be a
closer English rendering of the original language, the dash conveying some kind of link between
the "evenings" and the "mornings".
I wondered why Daniel would give so much careful attention to this point. I had read(1) that in
those days (i.e., Daniel's day) that people often used an expression similar to our word "evening"
when they wanted to make reference to the darker portion of the year --- the fall-winter season;
and "morning" to that portion of the year which has more daylight hours --- spring-summer.
When the two terms are put together like this --- evening-morning --- the result is a rather
obvious connotation of a one-year cycle! Now, with that background, all of a sudden a whole
new picture emerges from this passage. The obvious inference is that 2300 "evenings-mornings"
means 2300 years!
To prove that this is a correct interpretation, note how it was explained to Daniel:
"And the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but keep the
vision secret, for IT PERTAINS TO MANY DAYS IN THE FUTURE." (Dan. 8:26).
If the one explaining Daniel's vision had only meant 2300 literal days, surely he wouldn't have
used this kind of language. (That this definitely "pertains to the time of the end", see also Daniel
8:17). The phrase "many days in the future" provides the key to understanding that this Scripture
refers to a long, long time ahead. We also get more exact information by realizing the facts
behind the little-known, "evenings-mornings" expression. But even if one agrees that the far
distant future is in view here, the question remains, "where does one start counting and what is
supposed to happen at the end of the 2300 years?"
I approached this with the same logic as I did in Belshazzar's case --- i.e., the leader's death. As I
said earlier, Alexander died in 323 B.C. (i.e., when the 'notable horn' was 'broken'). Now we are
beginning to see why God has allowed this date to be so well recorded for us (i.e., everybody
seems to agree on this one, Bible scholars and secular-historians alike). So, back again to the
same little formula:
2300
-323
= 1977
+ 4
= 1981 !!!
Well, what do you know? We arrive at yet another date which ended in our era! But that brings
up another question: what was supposed to happen in 1981? Obviously the main thing concerned
Greece becoming the 10th member of the EEC, having been offically recognized January 1,
1981. Another point I observed was the fact that this date completed exactly 23 years of the
EEC since its inception. Was this perhaps God's way of providing a double emphasis relative to
the 2300 years? Folks, God deals in the affairs of men in very real, recognizable and recordable
ways.
What's the prophetic significance of becoming the 10th member of the EEC? Just this. In the
preceding chapter (7), Daniel describes this very organization. He explains it as a ten-horned
beast which will arise at the end of the age. And from this group will later rise its final king who
will link them in one accord. This will be a 'resurrection' of the Roman Empire over which will
reside the greatest empire-ruler to have ever come on the scene --- Alexander having been one of
the greatest forerunners. (We have already covered much of this in Revelation. Daniel 7 and 8
are the Old-Testament counterpart.)
Now the main point to see here is that THE TEN must be in place before we can expect the "man
of sin" (as Paul calls him) to come. He will come from the eleventh horn. He is not one of THE
TEN. What we must understand though is that when Greece became the tenth (fulfilling the
prophecy of the "notable horn" of Daniel 8), the stage was set for the final anti-Christ picture to
unfold. Quite obviously the "TEN" had to come first before an eleventh could arise. What I'm
saying folks is that the prophecies of Daniel 7 and 8 are RIGHT NOW almost complete.
One final word on "Prophecy # 3": Daniel 8:14 says:
"And he said to me, 'For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be
cleansed.'
This 2300-year prophecy is not predicting the end of time; I believe the intended meaning is that
the end of the 2300 "evenings-mornings" prophecy signals the soon-to-follow Kingdom of Christ.
Only Christ can "cleanse" the sanctuary and it won't be done until His second coming.
Therefore, we have now seen three prophecies, none of which spell out the actual date of the end,
but each provides its own unique part of the overall puzzle of the times and conditions JUST
PRIOR to the end. This, I believe, is what Jesus meant when He said:
"...Behold the fig tree (Israel), and all the trees (other pertinent nations of prophetic
importance); as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that the
summer is now near. Even so you, too, when you see these things happening, recognize
that the kingdom of God is near." Luke 21:29-31.
PROPHECY # 4
DANIEL 12: THE 1290 AND 1335 "DAYS" AND
THE 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION'
Insofar as chronology is concerned, the main essence of this chapter is found in verses 11 and 12:
"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that
maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days.
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty
days."
Most prophecy 'experts' teach these 1290 and 1335 days start from the mid-way point of the final
7-year period. They believe that (1) the 'abomination that maketh desolate' refers to the
anti-Christ and (2) the "time that the daily sacrifice" being taken away refers to the anti-Christ
having put a stop to the then re-established Jewish custom of animal sacrifices. This may
eventually be true but at this time (1994), as usual, I believe the Historical aspect must first take
priority over the Futuristic.
Now, let's put all the Biblical references to the "abomination of desolation" together for easy
comparison:
1. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place, ..." Matt. 24:15.
2. "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing where it ought not, ..." Mark 13:14.
3. "And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and
shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh
desolate." Dan. 11:31.
4. "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination
that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."
Dan. 12:11.
In the Mark 13 passage we saw that Judea was to "flee into the mountains" when they saw the
"abomination of desolation". In our Revelation study I shared my belief that the "abomination"
was a reference to the Mohammadan Dome of the Rock, and the "fleeing into the mountains"
referred to Israel's "flight" into the many nations during the Christian era.
Now note the slight variations in the way the different authors made reference to the "abomination
of desolation": One said it "stands"; another called it an "it", still another said it was "placed" and
finally that it was "set up". An unbiased, straight-forward interpretation of these words leads to
only one logical conclusion --- a BUILDING was in mind. The anti-Christ system may very well
be the futuristic side of this coin but we must search out the more obvious meaning first.
As pointed out earlier, the dome on the Mohammadan mosque in Jerusalem was completed in 691
A.D. Now let's assume the Daniel and Gospel references are speaking of this as the Historical
"abomination of desolation" (not to preclude the later Futuristic application). If this is true, 691
A.D. would seem to be the feasible beginning date of this prophecy. Let's also assume that the
1290 and the 1335 "days" are 'prophetic days' (i.e., years). Thus, to arrive at the distant-end of
the prophecies we merely add these numbers to the year 691 A.D. (No 4 year correction need be
made here for the calendar errors occurred prior to 691 A.D.)
Date # 1
.....691 A.D. (mosque finished)
+ 1290
= 1981 A.D.
Date # 2
....691 A.D.
+1335
= 2026 A.D.
THE INTERPRETATION
The first and most obvious observation is that the 1290 "days" end the same year as Prophecy # 3
did, although starting from a completely different date and based on completely different
concepts! That alone is striking. The thing common to chapters 8 and 12 is that they both refer
to the time of anti-Christ when much wickedness occurs, which is to be followed by a period of
righteousness.
With regards to Prophecy # 4, verse 10 says concerning the end of the 1290 days:
"Many will be purged, purified and refined; but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of
the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand."
Again Daniel had sought to know the meaning of these numbers and how they applied to the
coming events. He was told:
"...Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed up until the end time." Daniel 12:9.
O.K., suppose the end of the 1290 "days" of Daniel 12 is intended to be coincident with the end
of the 2300 "evenings-mornings" of Daniel 8, why were the 1335 "days" mentioned in the same
passage? As I've studied other views on this subject, I've learned this one gives everybody
problems. It doesn't "fit" perfectly into my Historical concepts either but neither do the Futurists
handle it very well. However, as you might guess, I do have a perspective on it.
Let's look at the verse again:
"How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1335 days!" Dan. 12:12.
Looking back at the above mathematics, we see that counting forward 1335 "days" from 691
A.D. will bring us to the year 2026. Is there anything we presently know of which might be
predictable to occur that year? After all, if the anti-Christ and his government is soon to come,
the 1,335 prophetic days would take us into the millennium!
I'm not sure about this but there is a very significant anniversary coming up in 2026 A.D. It will
be precisely 2,000 years since the year Jesus started His earthly ministry during His first advent!
How did I get this?
Jesus' age: (see Luke 3:23) ........... 30 years
Jesus' assumed birth year (5 B.C.)... -4 years
....................................................= 26 A.D.
................................................... +2000 years
Brings us to the year:.......................2026 A.D.
In making this computation, I have followed the same assumptions used throughout the book,
that Jesus' birth was 5 B.C. As a reminder, there is no "0" year so one must add (or subtract as
the case may be) 4 years. If this is the God-intended meaning of this passage, then the numerical
aspect of the Scripture would indeed be fulfilled in the year 2026 A.D.
But there's another significant point here. Looking again at verse 12, we see that Daniel was told,
"...BLESSED is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1335 days!" Why would this "he" be so
"BLESSED" by "waiting and attaining"? Is it not a fair appraisal to guess that this "he" refers to
anyone who goes into the millennium with Christ? What a blessing to "wait" for; what a blessed
reality to "attain"! Therefore, it could refer to (1) Christians or (2) bloodline Jews who go into
the Kingdom under Christ's rule. In either case, this "he" (or she) could most-appropriately be
called "blessed".
So, although I can't be dogmatic about this evaluation, it certainly brings life to the mysterious
1335 "days", doesn't it? If I could be so bold, it could even be God's answer as revealed in verse
9 which says that "...these words are sealed up until the end time", the "seal" perhaps being
broken right now.
SUMMARY
We have examined four prophecies in the book of Daniel. The first one, associated with
Nebuchadnezzar, had a number which related to time, 'hidden' by a term called "seven times"
which we learned means 2520 "days". The second number, also 2520, was discovered to be
Aramaic weights, but which, again, had time associated with it. The third mysterious number was
2300, which the prophet referred to as "evenings-mornings". Then fourthly, we saw in combo,
1290 and 1335 "days".
Now the incredible facts are that each of these prophecies in its original context was found to be
associated with a particular empire, person or place, all of which have been dated by both secular
and Biblical historians through God's providential control. Simply counting forward from a
particular event described in each of the Scripture passages, we discovered that every one of the
predictions had a "deadline" year which contained some particular event that seemed to meet the
requirements demanded by each prophecy. Equally interesting, and even more importantly, these
prophecies --- while starting as much as 13 centuries apart --- all end in our era!!!
In a nutshell, all I have done was to consider each situation, count forward the number of years as
stipulated in the text, note the year of destination, and then look at modern, well-known facts
which seem to relate to what Daniel was talking about. You also need to know I did not attempt
to force certain events into the prophecy. These things came to my attention in amazing ways,
which would in itself require a small book to explain them all.
Now I've perhaps introduced several new ideas to you, but if you'll take the time to go back
through the book, I think you'll agree that my approach has been both logical and
straight-forward. We must balance the Historical and Futuristic perspectives of Biblical prophecy.
In my opinion, neither viewpoint makes altogether good sense without the other. It is my hope
and prayer that this effort will at least be a significant reminder to Christians that God is a
prophetic God of the Ages, not just of the last few moments right before the end. Indeed,
understanding the Historical, with its own end clearly a part of the whole, is what allows us to get
a better view of when the Futuristic begins. If I may one last time borrow the apostle John's
closing comment from Revelation: